Stressing state characteristics of reinforcement concrete box-girders strengthened with carbon fiber reinforced plastic

This paper investigates structural performance of five reinforcement concrete (RC) box-girders under a combination loading of bending, shear and torsion, applying the structural stressing state theory. The measured strain data is modeled as generalized strain energy density (GSED) to characterize the structural stressing state mode. Then the Mann-Kendall (M-K) criterion is innovatively applied to detect the leap characteristics of RC box-girders’ stressing state from the E’-T curves, deriving the new definition of structural failure load. Furthermore, the reinforcement effects of different Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) wrapping schemes on the behaviors of experimental RC box-girders are revealed through comparing strain modes of stirrup and longitudinal reinforcement. Finally, the method of numerical shape function is applied to reasonably expand the limited strain data for further exploring the strain distribution of cross section and analyzing the stressing state characteristics of the RC box-girders. The research results provide a new angle of view to conduct structural analysis and a reference to the improvement of reinforcement scheme. First published online 29 November 201

Electrical characteristics analysis of a 314 mm2 double-sided spiral SDD for x-ray pulsar navigation

Pulsar navigation, to meet the physical needs of detecting pulsed x-ray contour, requires a large-area and high-energy resolution silicon drift detector (SDD). Until recently when we designed and fabricated a 314 mm ^2 double-sided spiral SDD, SDDs developed worldwide have been relatively small in size with a typical diameter less than 10 mm. The details of the design of our 314 mm ^2 double-sided spiral SDD had been reported in the literature (Li (2013) Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A 730 73–78). Present work involves the analysis of electrical characteristics simulations of a 314 mm ^2 double-sided spiral SDD. It is essential to study the carriers drift behavior of a 314 mm ^2 double-sided spiral SDD for the structural design optimization of the detector. Therefore, this paper analyzes the relevant electrical characteristics that can characterize the carriers drift behavior. Firstly, this paper illustrates the electric potential, electric field, and electron concentration of the detector. Then, it also provides an analysis of the transient current by simulated the single event transient (SET) effect. The SILVACO TCAD simulator was used to simulate these electrical characteristics. Based on TCAD simulation, the best drift electric field and optimal electron drift channel in a 314 mm ^2 double-sided spiral SDD are demonstrated. Moreover, the transient current and charge collection mechanism of the detector is also analyzed. Finally, we also tested the leakage current and capacitance of the detector at room temperature

DEM Void Filling Based on Context Attention Generation Model

The digital elevation model (DEM) generates a digital simulation of ground terrain in a certain range with the usage of 3D point cloud data. It is an important source of spatial modeling information. Due to various reasons, however, the generated DEM has data holes. Based on the algorithm of deep learning, this paper aims to train a deep generation model (DGM) to complete the DEM void filling task. A certain amount of DEM data and a randomly generated mask are taken as network inputs, along which the reconstruction loss and generative adversarial network (GAN) loss are used to assist network training, so as to perceive the overall known elevation information, in combination with the contextual attention layer, and generate data with reliability to fill the void areas. The experimental results have managed to show that this method has good feature expression and reconstruction accuracy in DEM void filling, which has been proven to be better than that illustrated by the traditional interpolation method

Soil nitrogen and its fractions between long-term conventional and no-tillage systems with straw retention in dryland farming in northern China

Knowledge about the changes in soil nitrogen pools under different tillage managements is necessary to assess the feasibility of adoption of conservation practices for sustaining productivity and protecting the environment in dryland farming in northern China. We investigated the long-term effects (22 years) of no-till with residue retention (NTR) on total soil N and its fractions in a dry-land winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cropping system in northern China. Compared with conventional tillage without residue retention (CT), significantly higher soil total N (STN) concentrations were observed in the surface soil layer (0–10 cm) under NTR. Meanwhile, more soil N accumulated for the whole soil profile (0 to 60 cm) in the NTR (3.38 Mg ha− 1) treatment relative to the CT (3.17 Mg ha− 1) treatment. The particulate organic matter N (PON), microbial biomass N (MBN), and water extractable organic N (WEON) levels in the NTR treatments were 52.3%, 116%, and 69.4% greater at a depth of 0–5 cm and 41.6%, 108%, and 44.9% greater at a depth of 5–10 cm, respectively, compared with the CT treatment. However, no differences were observed below the 10 cm layer. At a depth of 0–60 cm, the soil NH4-N content under CT was higher than that under NTR. However, the soil NO3-N contents in the NTR treatments were significantly greater at a depth of 0–10 cm and were not significantly different at a depth of 10–60 cm, relative to the CT treatment. Significantly positive correlations were observed between the STN and the labile organic N fractions. Overall, the results show that no-till coupled with residue retention is an effective management method for improving soil N stocks and increasing soil fertility. Nonetheless, other benefits associated with NT and residue retention present greater challenges regarding their popularization and application in the dryland farming areas in northern China

Proteomics analysis reveals distinct involvement of embryo and endosperm proteins during seed germination in dormant and non-dormant rice seeds

Seed germination is a complex trait which is influenced by many genetic, endogenous and environmental factors, but the key event(s) associated with seed germination are still poorly understood. In present study, the non-dormant cultivated rice Yannong S and the dormant Dongxiang wild rice seeds were used as experimental materials, we comparatively investigated the water uptake, germination time course, and the differential proteome of the effect of embryo and endosperm on germination of these two types of seeds. A total of 231 and 180 protein spots in embryo and endosperm, respectively, showed a significant change in abundance during germination. We observed that the important proteins associated with seed germination included those involved in metabolism, energy production, protein synthesis and destination, storage protein, cell growth and division, signal transduction, cell defense and rescue. The contribution of embryo and endosperm to seed germination is different. In embryo, the proteins involved in amino acid activation, sucrose cleavage, glycolysis, fermentation and protein synthesis increased; in endosperm, the proteins involved in sucrose cleavage and glycolysis decreased, and those with ATP and CoQsynthesis and proteolysis increased. Our results provide some new knowledge to understand further the mechanism of seed germination. (C) 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved

Experimental Study on Bond Performance and Damage Detection of Corroded Reinforced Concrete Specimens

This paper presents the results of an experimental research designed to investigate the combined effects of corrosion rate, concrete cover thickness, and stirrup spacing on the bond performance between reinforcement and concrete of reinforced concrete (RC) specimens. The RC specimens were immersed into sodium chloride solution to eliminate the passivation film on reinforcement. Then, an accelerated corrosion method was applied to corrode reinforcement embedded in concrete specimens. Pullout test was carried out to establish empirical formulas for ultimate slip and ultimate bond strength of RC specimens with three different corrosion rates, different concrete cover thicknesses, and different stirrup spacings. In addition, the bond-slip relation model was developed to predict and evaluate the bond performance of RC specimens. Finally, the ultrasonic technology was used to detect the damage of RC specimens, and the corresponding nonlinear coefficient β was proposed to characterize the damage degree of RC specimens. The susceptibility of β on the damage of specimens was compared with that of ultrasonic velocity, indicating β was more appropriate to evaluate the damage of RC specimens

Comprehensive Assessment of Nile Tilapia Skin (Oreochromis niloticus) Collagen Hydrogels for Wound Dressings

Collagen plays an important role in the formation of extracellular matrix (ECM) and development/migration of cells and tissues. Here we report the preparation of collagen and collagen hydrogel from the skin of tilapia and an evaluation of their potential as a wound dressing for the treatment of refractory wounds. The acid-soluble collagen (ASC) and pepsin-soluble collagen (PSC) were extracted and characterized using sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. Both ASC and PSC belong to type I collagen and have a complete triple helix structure, but PSC shows lower molecular weight and thermal stability, and has the inherent low antigenicity. Therefore, PSC was selected to prepare biomedical hydrogels using its self-aggregating properties. Rheological characterization showed that the mechanical strength of the hydrogels increased as the PSC content increased. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis indicated that hydrogels could form a regular network structure at a suitable PSC content. Cytotoxicity experiments confirmed that hydrogels with different PSC content showed no significant toxicity to fibroblasts. Skin repair experiments and pathological analysis showed that the collagen hydrogels wound dressing could significantly accelerate the healing of deep second-degree burn wounds and the generation of new skin appendages, which can be used for treatment of various refractory wounds

Survival benefit and biomarker of PD‐1 inhibitor combination therapy in first‐line of advanced biliary tract cancer: A retrospective study

Abstract Background Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) combination therapies have shown promise in the first‐line treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer (BTC). However, the best partner remains to be validated. Moreover, progress on biomarkers predicting the efficacy of ICI in BTC is slow. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and investigate reliable predictive biomarkers of programmed cell death protein‐1 (PD‐1) antibody combination therapy in the first‐line treatment of advanced BTC. Methods Clinical data from patients with advanced BTC who received chemotherapy or anti‐PD‐1 combination therapy as first‐line were collected. The primary outcome was overall survival (OS). Biomarkers, including peripheral blood inflammation scores, genetic alterations, and tumor microenvironment were investigated. Findings Sixty‐four patients were recruited and divided into four treatment groups: chemotherapy, anti‐PD‐1 plus chemotherapy, anti‐PD‐1 plus targeted therapy, and triple group (anti‐PD‐1 plus chemotherapy and targeted therapy). The median OS was 7.9, 11.3, 12.8, and 28.7 months, respectively. Compared to chemotherapy, mOS significantly prolonged in the triple group (p = 0.031). It showed that patients with five different peripheral blood inflammation scores had significantly prolonged mOS (p 2) group showed significantly superior OS (p = 0.003). Interpretation First‐line anti‐PD‐1 combination therapy was superior to chemotherapy, and triple therapy significantly improved survival. Peripheral blood immune‐inflammation score, FOXP3/CD8 ratio, and PLUS have potential as biomarkers for predicting the efficacy of first‐line anti‐PD‐1 therapy in advanced BTC

Proteome changes associated with dormancy release of Dongxiang wild rice seeds

Seed dormancy provides optimum timing for seed germination and subsequent seedling growth, but the mechanism of seed dormancy is still poorly understood. Here, we used Dongxiang wild rice (DXWR) seeds to investigate the dormancy behavior and the differentially changed proteome in embryo and endosperm during dormancy release. DXWR seed dormancy was caused by interaction of embryo and its surrounding structure, and was an intermediate physiological dormancy. During seed dormancy release, a total of 109 and 97 protein spots showed significant change in abundance and were successfully identified in embryo and endosperm, respectively. As a result of dormancy release, the abundance of nine proteins involved in storage protein, cell defense and rescue and energy changed in the same way in both embryo and endosperm, while 67 and 49 protein spots changed differentially in embryo and endosperm, respectively. Dormancy release of DXWR seeds was closely associated with degradation of storage proteins in both embryo and endosperm. At the same time, the abundance of proteins involved in metabolism, glycolysis and TCA cycle, cell growth and division, protein synthesis and destination and signal transduction increased in embryos while staying constant or decreasing in endosperms. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved