Pilot tests on methods to form working platform on soft clay

Pilot tests on the usage of vacuum preloading combined with short prefabricated vertical drains (PVDs) to form a working platform for future soil improvement work were conducted at a land reclamation site in Tianjin, China. The short PVDs were connected using three methods – the conventional vacuum preloading method, fish-bone connectors and embedded horizontal pipes. To investigate the influence of PVD spacing, short PVDs were installed in square grids with spacings of 0·4 m and 0·6 m. The ground surface settlement, pore water pressures, water content and undrained shear strength of the soil were measured during the specific period of vacuum preloading. The pilot tests indicated that short PVDs connected using embedded vacuum pipes installed at 0·4 m spacing were the most suitable method to form a working platform on the surface of the dredged marine clay. This method yields a substantial saving on construction cost and time while exhibiting similar efficiency to the conventional vacuum preloading method. The undrained shear strength and degree of consolidation of the soil after 60 d of vacuum preloading were 23·6 kPa and 85·1%, respectively, which met the requirements for the working platform.Published versio

A pilot test on a membraneless vacuum preloading method

A membraneless vacuum preloading method is proposed in this paper for soft soil improvement. The method offers several advantages over the conventional vacuum preloading in which membrane is used to create the airtight condition and sand blanket layer to distribute vacuum. To assess the effectiveness of the proposed method, a pilot test was conducted at a land reclamation site in Tianjin, China. The ground settlement and the pore water pressure (PWP) at different elevations in soil were measured. After vacuum preloading, the average water content of the soft soils reduced by approximately 12% and the undrained shear strength increased twofold. The average degree of consolidation at the end of the vacuum preloading achieved 85.1% based on the settlement data and 84.5% based on the PWP data. The pilot test data have shown that the proposed method exhibits similar efficiencies to the conventional vacuum preloading method.Accepted versio

Immune Landscape and an RBM38-Associated Immune Prognostic Model with Laboratory Verification in Malignant Melanoma

Background: Current studies have revealed that RNA-binding protein RBM38 is closely related to tumor development, while its role in malignant melanoma remains unclear. Therefore, this research aimed to investigate the function of RBM38 in melanoma and the prognosis of the disease. Methods: Functional experiments (CCK-8 assay, cell colony formation, transwell cell migration/invasion experiment, wound healing assay, nude mouse tumor formation, and immunohistochemical analysis) were applied to evaluate the role of RBM38 in malignant melanoma. Immune-associated differentially expressed genes (DEGs) on RBM38 related immune pathways were comprehensively analyzed based on RNA sequencing results. Results: We found that high expression of RBM38 promoted melanoma cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, and RBM38 was associated with immune infiltration. Then, a five-gene (A2M, NAMPT, LIF, EBI3, and ERAP1) model of RBM38-associated immune DEGs was constructed and validated. Our signature showed superior prognosis capacity compared with other melanoma prognostic signatures. Moreover, the risk score of our signature was connected with the infiltration of immune cells, immune-regulatory proteins, and immunophenoscore in melanoma. Conclusions: We constructed an immune prognosis model using RBM38-related immune DEGs that may help evaluate melanoma patient prognosis and immunotherapy modalities

Crosslinking Mechanism on a Novel Bacillus cereus Transglutaminase-Mediated Conjugation of Food Proteins

Until now, Streptoverticillium mobaraense transglutaminase (TG) is the only commercialized TG, but limited information is known about its selection tendency on crosslinking sites at the protein level, restricting its application in the food industry. Here, four recombinant Bacillus TGs were stable in a broad range of pH (5.0–9.0) and temperatures (<50 °C), exhibiting their maximum activity at 50–60 °C and pH 6.0–7.0. Among them, TG of B. cereus (BCETG) demonstrated the maximal specific activity of 177 U/mg. A structural analysis indicated that the Ala147-Ala156 region in the substrate tunnel of BCETG played a vital role in catalytic activity. Furthermore, bovine serum albumin, as well as nearly all protein ingredients in soy protein isolate and whey protein, could be cross-linked by BCETG, and the internal crosslinking paths of three protein substrates were elucidated. This study demonstrated Bacillus TGs are a candidate for protein crosslinking and provided their crosslinking mechanism at the protein level for applications in food processing

Pentraxin 3 is more accurate than C-reactive protein for Takayasu arteritis activity assessment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

AimsWhether the circulating levels of pentraxin 3 (PTX3), an acute phase reactant (APR), are higher in active Takayasu arteritis (TAK), and if so, whether PTX3 is more accurate than C-reactive protein (CRP) in TAK activity assessment has been investigated in this study.Study designResearch works such as PubMed, Embase, ScienceDirect, Cochrane Library, and two Chinese literature databases (CNKI and WanFang) were searched for studies conducted till August 30th, 2019. Two investigators searched the studies independently, who evaluated the quality of the study using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) and extracted data. Pooled standard mean difference (SMD) and diagnostic indexes, with a 95% confidence interval (CI), were calculated using a random-effect model.ResultsTotally, 8 studies involving 473 TAK (208 active and 265 inactive TAK) patients and 252 healthy controls were eventually included in the meta-analysis. PTX3 level in the blood in active TAK patients were found to be higher than that in dormant TAK with pooled SMD of 0.761 (95% CI = 0.38-1.14, pConclusionsPTX3 might be better than CRP in the assessment of TAK activity. Yet, it should be cautious before clinical use for moderate heterogeneity and potential publication bias of the meta-analysis

Screening Monoethanolamine As Solvent to Extract Phenols from Alkane

Coal tar is a byproduct of low temperature coal carbonization. The separation of the compounds has great significance since its main component is the mixture of phenols and hydrocarbons. In this paper, the separation of specific phenolic compounds from model coal tar (phenols + hexane) was studied. The solvent was screened by empirical analysis, the universal quasichemical functional group activity coefficient (UNIFAC), and conductor-like screening model COSMO-SAC (segment activity coefficient). COSMO-SAC was used to calculate the capacity, selectivity, and performance index of solvents. Finally, the monoethanolamine (MEA) was selected as the solvent to extract the phenols. The liquid–liquid equilibrium for the ternary mixture of phenols + hexane + MEA was measured at 303.15 K and 323.15 K under atmospheric pressure, and the results showed that MEA provided a high distribution coefficient, efficiency, and selectivity for phenols. Meanwhile, the extraction process of phenols was simulated based on the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) model, for which binary interaction parameters were obtained through calculations of phase equilibrium. The results showed that the purity of phenols can achieve more than 99.5 wt % using MEA as a solvent