Analysis of a thaumasite attack in a railway tunnel

Concrete linings failed before the acceptance of a railway tunnel in a north mountain area of China. A series of experiments were done to analyze the cause of this case. Thaumasite, ettringite, gypsum and calcite were found in the deteriorated concrete linings. The composition of on-situ soil and water samples were also analyzed. Though the sulfate concentration soil behind the linings are not very high, the underground water bring plenty of sulfate after its upsteam flow through a gypsum stratum. It is the external sulfate that induce the deterioration in a low temperature environment which is suitable for thaumasite formation

Applying Opponent Modeling for Automatic bidding in Online Repeated Auctions

Online auction scenarios, such as bidding searches on advertising platforms, often require bidders to participate repeatedly in auctions for the same or similar items. We design an algorithm for adaptive automatic bidding in repeated auctions in which the seller and other bidders also update their strategies. We apply and improve the opponent modeling algorithm to allow bidders to learn optimal bidding strategies in this multiagent reinforcement learning environment. The algorithm uses almost no private information about the opponent or restrictions on the strategy space, so it can be extended to multiple scenarios. Our algorithm improves the utility compared to both static bidding strategies and dynamic learning strategies. We hope the application of opponent modeling in auctions will promote the research of automatic bidding strategies in online auctions and the design of non-incentive compatible auction mechanisms

EFFECTS OF TWO TYPES OF CONTROLLABLE DEFORMATION ON ENERGY EXTRACTION OF A FLEXIBLE HYDROFOIL

Energy extraction capacity of controllably flexible hydrofoil was studied under two identified deformation modes. Deformation modes, flexure parameters (flexure amplitude and flexure coefficient ) and motion parameters (reduced frequency f* and pitching amplitude 0) were investigated to understand the effects of controllably flexible deformation on energy extraction. The results reveal that deformation modes affect the effective angle of attack and vortex structure, which influence hydrodynamic performance. The energy extraction capacity improves from the deformation mode 2 to the rigid hydrofoil and then to the deformation mode 1. Under the deformation mode 1, lift, moment and power coefficients are increased obviously with the increase of , while they increase slightly with . Power coefficients and efficiency are sensitive to , which influences the development of leading-edge vortices. The flexible coefficient affects the wake structure, which has less impact on variation of force coefficient. As the increase in f*, averaged power coefficients firstly increase and then decrease. Further, the optimal f* is subjected to 0. Interestingly, a critical reduced frequency f*s, which is generally increase with increasing 0, was found under three modes. The condition that f* > f*s. is a prerequisite for subsequent adjustments of flexure modes and parameters according to different requirement of power coefficient under different tidal currents. The range of high efficiency () is: deformation mode 1 (36.1% rigid hydrofoils (34.2% deformation mode 2 (26.9%<<30.3%)

Identification of an env-defective HIV-1 mutant capable of spontaneous reversion to a wild-type phenotype in certain T-cell lines

BACKGROUND: Attempts to eradicate HIV from cellular reservoirs are vital but depend on a clear understanding of how viral variants are transmitted and survive in the different cell types that constitute such reservoirs. Mutations in the env gene of HIV may be able to exert a differential influence on viral transmission ability in regard to cell-free and cell-associated viral forms. METHODS: The ability of HIV containing an env G367R mutation in cell-free and cell-associated viruses to cause infection and to revert to wild-type was measured using several T cell lines. To determine factors that might potentially influence the reversion of G367R, we studied each of entry inhibitors, inhibitors of cellular endocytosis, and modulators of cell growth and activation. RESULTS: We demonstrate that an HIV-1 variant containing a G367R substitution within the CD4 binding site of gp120 was non-infectious as free virus in culture but was infectious when infected cells were co-cultured with certain T cell lines or when cells were transfected by a relevant proviral plasmid. Differences in viral infectivity by cell-associated G367R viruses were determined by the type of target cell employed, regardless which type of donor cell was used. Reversion was slowed or inhibited by entry inhibitors and by inhibitors of cellular endocytosis. Interleukin 2 was able to block G367R reversion in only one of the T cell lines studied but not in the other, while phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) inhibited G367R reversion in all the T cell lines. CONCLUSIONS: Env-defective HIV may have a different phenotype as cell-free versus cell-associated virus. The persistence of defective forms can potentially lead to the emergence of virulent forms. The heterogeneity of cell types that constitute the HIV reservoir can contribute to viral variability, even among similar types of cells. This is the first demonstration of a mutation in the HIV envelope, i.e. G367R, that can compromise infection by cell-free virus but less severely by cell-associated virus and that does so in a cell type-dependent manner

Effects of Dietary Cholesterol Levels on the Growth, Molt Performance, and Immunity of Juvenile Swimming Crab, Portunus trituberculatus

The effects of dietary cholesterol levels on growth, molt performance, and immunity of juvenile swimming crab Portunus trituberculatus, were investigated at four cholesterol levels (0.2%-1.4%) of purified diets. Each diet was fed in triplicate to 18 crabs per replicate for 50 days. Crabs fed the diet with 1.0% cholesterol showed significantly higher (P<0.05) specific growth rate (SGR) than the other groups, who suffered from relatively lower molt death syndrome (MDS). Cholesterol content in the serum, whole body, and hepatopancreas increased in relation to dietary cholesterol. Muscle lipid content was significantly higher (P<0.05) in crabs fed the diet with 0.2% cholesterol compared to the other treatments. Crabs fed moderate dietary cholesterol levels showed higher alkaline phosphatase (AKP) or acid phosphatase (ACP) levels than those fed 0.2% or 1.4% cholesterol diets. The present study also showed that dietary cholesterol supplementation generally increased serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity. Overall, moderate dietary cholesterol (1.0 %) enhanced the performance of growth, survival, molting, and immunity of juvenile swimming crab P. trituberculatus

Association of heat shock protein polymorphisms with patient susceptibility to coronary artery disease comorbid depression and anxiety in a Chinese population

Background Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the severe diseases that threaten human health worldwide. In addition, the associated rate of comorbidity with depression and anxiety is extremely high. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a group of proteins that possesses cardiovascular and psychological protection properties. The objective of this study is to determine the association of the two most widely studied HSPs, namely, HSP70 and HSP90, with CAD comorbid depression and anxiety in a Chinese population. Methods A case-control study involving 271 CAD patients and 113 healthy individuals was conducted. The 271 CAD patients include individuals with (123) and without depression (148) and individuals with (57) and without anxiety (214). Ten single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for HSP70 and seven SNPs for HSP90 were selected and genotyped. Results Results revealed that the HSP70 rs10892958 C allele and HSP70 rs2236658 T allele were associated with a decreased risk of CAD (P < 0.05), whereas the G allele of the rs11218941 polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of CAD. The haplotype analysis results indicated that the haplotype TGGGC of the HSPA8 gene (coded the HSP70 family, rs4936770/rs4802/rs10892958/rs11218941/rs2236658) significantly increased the risk of CAD (P = 0.008). Among the patients with CAD, the carriers of the CC genotype for the HSP90 rs1042665 showed higher risks of anxiety than the carriers of another genotypes. However, no significant relationships were found among the CAD with depression and CAD without depression groups for the selected SNPs. These findings suggested that the genetic polymorphisms in the HSP gene, especially the HSPA8 of HSP70, contribute to CAD susceptibility and rs1042665 genetic polymorphisms might have an effect on the anxiety incidence among CAD patients

Real higher-order Weyl photonic crystal

Higher-order Weyl semimetals are a family of recently predicted topological phases simultaneously showcasing unconventional properties derived from Weyl points, such as chiral anomaly, and multidimensional topological phenomena originating from higher-order topology. The higher-order Weyl semimetal phases, with their higher-order topology arising from quantized dipole or quadrupole bulk polarizations, have been demonstrated in phononics and circuits. Here, we experimentally discover a class of higher-order Weyl semimetal phase in a three-dimensional photonic crystal (PhC), exhibiting the concurrence of the surface and hinge Fermi arcs from the nonzero Chern number and the nontrivial generalized real Chern number, respectively, coined a real higher-order Weyl PhC. Notably, the projected two-dimensional subsystem with kz = 0 is a real Chern insulator, belonging to the Stiefel-Whitney class with real Bloch wavefunctions, which is distinguished fundamentally from the Chern class with complex Bloch wavefunctions. Our work offers an ideal photonic platform for exploring potential applications and material properties associated with the higher-order Weyl points and the Stiefel-Whitney class of topological phases

PCDHGB7 hypermethylation-based Cervical cancer Methylation (CerMe) detection for the triage of high-risk human papillomavirus-positive women:a prospective cohort study

BackgroundImplementation of high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) screening has greatly reduced the incidence and mortality of cervical cancer. However, a triage strategy that is effective, noninvasive, and independent from the subjective interpretation of pathologists is urgently required to decrease unnecessary colposcopy referrals in hrHPV-positive women.MethodsA total of 3251 hrHPV-positive women aged 30–82 years (median = 41 years) from International Peace Maternity and Child Health Hospital were included in the training set (n = 2116) and the validation set (n = 1135) to establish Cervical cancer Methylation (CerMe) detection. The performance of CerMe as a triage for hrHPV-positive women was evaluated.ResultsCerMe detection efficiently distinguished cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or worse (CIN2 +) from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 or normal (CIN1 −) women with excellent sensitivity of 82.4% (95% CI = 72.6 ~ 89.8%) and specificity of 91.1% (95% CI = 89.2 ~ 92.7%). Importantly, CerMe showed improved specificity (92.1% vs. 74.9%) in other 12 hrHPV type-positive women as well as superior sensitivity (80.8% vs. 61.5%) and specificity (88.9% vs. 75.3%) in HPV16/18 type-positive women compared with cytology testing. CerMe performed well in the triage of hrHPV-positive women with ASC-US (sensitivity = 74.4%, specificity = 87.5%) or LSIL cytology (sensitivity = 84.4%, specificity = 83.9%).ConclusionsPCDHGB7 hypermethylation-based CerMe detection can be used as a triage strategy for hrHPV-positive women to reduce unnecessary over-referrals.Trial registrationChiCTR2100048972. Registered on 19 July 2021.<br/

Concept for a Future Super Proton-Proton Collider

Following the discovery of the Higgs boson at LHC, new large colliders are being studied by the international high-energy community to explore Higgs physics in detail and new physics beyond the Standard Model. In China, a two-stage circular collider project CEPC-SPPC is proposed, with the first stage CEPC (Circular Electron Positron Collier, a so-called Higgs factory) focused on Higgs physics, and the second stage SPPC (Super Proton-Proton Collider) focused on new physics beyond the Standard Model. This paper discusses this second stage.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures, 5 table

The Structural Characterization and Antigenicity of the S Protein of SARS-CoV

The corona-like spikes or peplomers on the surface of the virion under electronic microscope are the most striking features of coronaviruses. The S (spike) protein is the largest structural protein, with 1,255 amino acids, in the viral genome. Its structure can be divided into three regions: a long N-terminal region in the exterior, a characteristic transmembrane (TM) region, and a short C-terminus in the interior of a virion. We detected fifteen substitutions of nucleotides by comparisons with the seventeen published SARS-CoV genome sequences, eight (53.3%) of which are non-synonymous mutations leading to amino acid alternations with predicted physiochemical changes. The possible antigenic determinants of the S protein are predicted, and the result is confirmed by ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) with synthesized peptides. Another profound finding is that three disulfide bonds are defined at the C-terminus with the N-terminus of the E (envelope) protein, based on the typical sequence and positions, thus establishing the structural connection with these two important structural proteins, if confirmed. Phylogenetic analysis reveals several conserved regions that might be potent drug targets