FRP structure design method based on equality of stiffness: case study and practice

Nowadays, Fiber reinforced polymer materials are getting widely used in civil engineering. They have some advanced engineering characters like high stiffness-to-weight ratio, high strength-to-weight ratio, anti-electromagnetic interference, electrical isolation and its long time durability. Metal and concrete, those main kinds of construction material, are prone to be failed before the structure service life because of the environmental attacks. Those harsh attacks are oxidization, acidification, high temperature and alkali corrosion. After the maintenance methods like isolating the attacks or protecting plastic skins, the interfaces between the protections are easily to be cracked and it caused the same worry on durability problems. Fiber reinforced polymer stands for a new era of civil engineering and surely the traditional material can be substituted by fiber reinforced polymer. This paper wants to unfold a case study on how fiber reinforced polymer worked in civil structures

Alteration of Gene Expression Signatures of Cortical Differentiation and Wound Response in Lethal Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinomas

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common malignancy of the adult kidney and displays heterogeneity in clinical outcomes. Through comprehensive gene expression profiling, we have identified previously a set of transcripts that predict survival following nephrectomy independent of tumor stage, grade, and performance status. These transcripts, designated as the SPC (supervised principal components) gene set, show no apparent biological or genetic features that provide insight into renal carcinogenesis or tumor progression. We explored the relationship of this gene list to a set of genes expressed in different anatomical segments of the normal kidney including the cortex (cortex gene set) and the glomerulus (glomerulus gene set), and a gene set expressed after serum stimulation of quiescent fibroblasts (the core serum response or CSR gene set). Interestingly, the normal cortex, glomerulus (part of the normal renal cortex), and CSR gene sets captured more than 1/5 of the genes in the highly prognostic SPC gene set. Based on gene expression patterns alone, the SPC gene set could be used to sort samples from normal adult kidneys by the anatomical regions from which they were dissected. Tumors whose gene expression profiles most resembled the normal renal cortex or glomerulus showed better survival than those that did not, and those with expression features more similar to CSR showed poorer survival. While the cortex, glomerulus, and CSR signatures predicted survival independent of traditional clinical parameters, they were not independent of the SPC gene list. Our findings suggest that critical biological features of lethal ccRCC include loss of normal cortical differentiation and activation of programs associated with wound healing

Role of Cytokinin, Strigolactone, and Auxin Export on Outgrowth of Axillary Buds in Apple

Shoot branching is regulated by phytohormones, including cytokinin (CK), strigolactone (SL), and auxin in axillary buds. The correlative importance of these phytohormones in the outgrowth of apple axillary buds remains unclear. In this study, the outgrowth dynamics of axillary buds of a more-branching mutant (MB) and its wild-type (WT) of Malus spectabilis were assessed using exogenous chemical treatments, transcriptome analysis, paraffin section, and reverse transcription-quantitative PCR analysis (RT-qPCR). High contents of CK and abscisic acid coincided in MB axillary buds. Exogenous CK promoted axillary bud outgrowth in the WT but not in MB, whereas exogenous gibberellic had no significant effect on bud outgrowth in the WT. Functional analysis of transcriptome data and RT-qPCR analysis of gene transcripts revealed that MB branching were associated with CK signaling, auxin transport, and SL signaling. Transcription of the SL-related genes MsMAX1, MsD14, and MsMAX2 in the axillary buds of MB was generally upregulated during bud outgrowth, whereas MsBRC1/2 were generally downregulated both in WT and MB. Exogenous SL inhibited outgrowth of axillary buds in the WT and the apple varieties T337, M26, and Nagafu 2, whereas axillary buds of the MB were insensitive to SL treatment. Treatment with N-1-naphthylphalamic acid (NPA; an auxin transport inhibitor) inhibited bud outgrowth in plants of the WT and MB. The transcript abundance of MsPIN1 was generally decreased in response to NPA and SL treatments, and increased in CK and decapitation treatments, whereas no consistent pattern was observed for MsD14 and MsMAX2. Collectively, the present results suggest that in apple auxin transport from the axillary bud to the stem may be essential for the outgrowth of axillary buds, and at least, is involved in the process of bud outgrowth

Possible association between SIRT1 single nucleotide polymorphisms and predisposition to antisocial personality traits in Chinese adolescents

Accumulating evidence suggests an association between the SIRT1 gene and human psychiatric disorders. The aim of the study was to investigate the association between SIRT1 and predisposition to antisocial personality traits (ASP) in Chinese adolescents. Participants consisted of 327 controls and 261 juvenile offenders who were diagnosed with predisposition to ASP according to the Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire. Four tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (tagSNPs) of SIRT1, namely rs12778366, rs7896005, rs10823112, and rs4746720, were genotyped. Association analysis between individual SNPs and ASP risk revealed the CC genotype of rs4746720 to be significantly associated with reduced risk of ASP (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.33–0.77, adjusted P = 0.007). Haplotype analysis showed the TAAC haplotype was associated with reduced susceptibility to ASP (OR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.57–0.91, P = 0.005). Moreover, rs4746720 variants were found to not only have a direct impact on ASP susceptibility but also modulate the effect of alcohol consumption (Y = 0.022X + 0.431 vs. Y = −0.066X + 0.387). The present study is the first to report a significant association between SIRT1 polymorphisms and ASP in adolescents. This finding is expected to aid in the development of effective interventions for this socially and personally costly disorder.The study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 81373022 and 81573172).Published versio

Association of internet addiction With nonsuicidal self-injury among adolescents in China

© 2020 The Authors. Published by American Medical Association. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.6863Importance: Both nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), defined as the direct, deliberate damage of one's body tissue without suicidal intent, and internet addiction among adolescents are public health concerns. However, the possible association of NSSI with internet addiction is not well understood. Objective: To examine the occurrence of internet addiction with NSSI and any sex differences among Chinese adolescents. Design, Setting, and Participants: A multicenter, cross-sectional, survey study was conducted from February 18 to October 15, 2015, among adolescents aged 11 to 20 years from 343 classes in 45 public high schools across 5 provinces of China. Data analysis was performed from August 1, 2018, to March 1, 2019. Exposures: Possible internet addiction and internet addiction. Main Outcomes and Measures: Less-frequent (1-4 times) NSSI and more-frequent (≥5 times) NSSI were surveyed using the Chinese version of the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation. Results: A total of 15 623 students (8043 male [51.5%] and 7580 female [48.5%]) aged 11 to 20 years (mean [SD] age, 15.1 [1.8] years) participated. Of these, 4670 participants (29.9%) met the criteria for possible internet addiction and 509 participants (3.3%) met the criteria for internet addiction. A total of 2667 students (17.1%) engaged in less-frequent NSSI, while 1798 students (11.5%) engaged in more-frequent NSSI in the 12 months preceding the survey. Both possible internet addiction and internet addiction were associated with less-frequent or more-frequent NSSI. The adjusted odds ratios were 1.29 (95% CI, 1.17-1.42) for possible internet addiction and 1.41 (95% CI, 1.11-1.80) for internet addiction for less-frequent NSSI; for more-frequent NSSI, the adjusted odds ratios were 1.75 (95% CI, 1.56-1.96) for possible internet addiction and 2.66 (95% CI, 2.10-3.38) for internet addiction. These associations were similarly observed among age groups of 11 to 14, 15 to 17, and 18 to 20 years. No sex disparities were found in the associations of internet addiction with NSSI, except among adolescents aged 11 to 14 years, where the odds ratios for possible internet addiction with less-frequent NSSI were higher in male adolescents (1.53; 95% CI, 1.25-1.88) than female adolescents (1.13; 95% CI, 0.90-1.47). Conclusion and Relevance: Internet addiction appears to be associated with NSSI, and the findings of this study suggest that the association was similar between male adolescents and female adolescents. These data suggest that evaluation of the risk of NSSI for adolescents in association with internet addiction may help health care professionals in developing preventive interventions for NSSI.This study was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (81773457, 81302445 [Dr Tang], and 81373022 [Dr Yu]), and a European Union grant from Horizon 2020 MSCA (DEMAIRPO 799247 [Drs Tang and Chen]).Published versio

Anti-oncogenic and pro-differentiation effects of clorgyline, a monoamine oxidase A inhibitor, on high grade prostate cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A), a mitochondrial enzyme that degrades monoamines including neurotransmitters, is highly expressed in basal cells of the normal human prostatic epithelium and in poorly differentiated (Gleason grades 4 and 5), aggressive prostate cancer (PCa). Clorgyline, an MAO-A inhibitor, induces secretory differentiation of normal prostate cells. We examined the effects of clorgyline on the transcriptional program of epithelial cells cultured from high grade PCa (E-CA).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We systematically assessed gene expression changes induced by clorgyline in E-CA cells using high-density oligonucleotide microarrays. Genes differentially expressed in treated and control cells were identified by Significance Analysis of Microarrays. Expression of genes of interest was validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The expression of 156 genes was significantly increased by clorgyline at all time points over the time course of 6 – 96 hr identified by Significance Analysis of Microarrays (SAM). The list is enriched with genes repressed in 7 of 12 oncogenic pathway signatures compiled from the literature. In addition, genes downregulated ≥ 2-fold by clorgyline were significantly enriched with those upregulated by key oncogenes including beta-catenin and ERBB2, indicating an anti-oncogenic effect of clorgyline. Another striking effect of clorgyline was the induction of androgen receptor (AR) and classic AR target genes such as prostate-specific antigen together with other secretory epithelial cell-specific genes, suggesting that clorgyline promotes differentiation of cancer cells. Moreover, clorgyline downregulated EZH2, a critical component of the Polycomb Group (PcG) complex that represses the expression of differentiation-related genes. Indeed, many genes in the PcG repression signature that predicts PCa outcome were upregulated by clorgyline, suggesting that the differentiation-promoting effect of clorgyline may be mediated by its downregulation of EZH2.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that inhibitors of MAO-A, already in clinical use to treat depression, may have potential application as therapeutic PCa drugs by inhibiting oncogenic pathway activity and promoting differentiation.</p

Real-time Monitoring for the Next Core-Collapse Supernova in JUNO

Core-collapse supernova (CCSN) is one of the most energetic astrophysical events in the Universe. The early and prompt detection of neutrinos before (pre-SN) and during the SN burst is a unique opportunity to realize the multi-messenger observation of the CCSN events. In this work, we describe the monitoring concept and present the sensitivity of the system to the pre-SN and SN neutrinos at the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO), which is a 20 kton liquid scintillator detector under construction in South China. The real-time monitoring system is designed with both the prompt monitors on the electronic board and online monitors at the data acquisition stage, in order to ensure both the alert speed and alert coverage of progenitor stars. By assuming a false alert rate of 1 per year, this monitoring system can be sensitive to the pre-SN neutrinos up to the distance of about 1.6 (0.9) kpc and SN neutrinos up to about 370 (360) kpc for a progenitor mass of 30$M_{\odot}$ for the case of normal (inverted) mass ordering. The pointing ability of the CCSN is evaluated by using the accumulated event anisotropy of the inverse beta decay interactions from pre-SN or SN neutrinos, which, along with the early alert, can play important roles for the followup multi-messenger observations of the next Galactic or nearby extragalactic CCSN.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figure

Potential of Core-Collapse Supernova Neutrino Detection at JUNO

JUNO is an underground neutrino observatory under construction in Jiangmen, China. It uses 20kton liquid scintillator as target, which enables it to detect supernova burst neutrinos of a large statistics for the next galactic core-collapse supernova (CCSN) and also pre-supernova neutrinos from the nearby CCSN progenitors. All flavors of supernova burst neutrinos can be detected by JUNO via several interaction channels, including inverse beta decay, elastic scattering on electron and proton, interactions on C12 nuclei, etc. This retains the possibility for JUNO to reconstruct the energy spectra of supernova burst neutrinos of all flavors. The real time monitoring systems based on FPGA and DAQ are under development in JUNO, which allow prompt alert and trigger-less data acquisition of CCSN events. The alert performances of both monitoring systems have been thoroughly studied using simulations. Moreover, once a CCSN is tagged, the system can give fast characterizations, such as directionality and light curve

Detection of the Diffuse Supernova Neutrino Background with JUNO

As an underground multi-purpose neutrino detector with 20 kton liquid scintillator, Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) is competitive with and complementary to the water-Cherenkov detectors on the search for the diffuse supernova neutrino background (DSNB). Typical supernova models predict 2-4 events per year within the optimal observation window in the JUNO detector. The dominant background is from the neutral-current (NC) interaction of atmospheric neutrinos with 12C nuclei, which surpasses the DSNB by more than one order of magnitude. We evaluated the systematic uncertainty of NC background from the spread of a variety of data-driven models and further developed a method to determine NC background within 15\% with {\it{in}} {\it{situ}} measurements after ten years of running. Besides, the NC-like backgrounds can be effectively suppressed by the intrinsic pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) capabilities of liquid scintillators. In this talk, I will present in detail the improvements on NC background uncertainty evaluation, PSD discriminator development, and finally, the potential of DSNB sensitivity in JUNO