Effects of contusion load on cervical spinal cord:A finite element study

Injury of cervical spine is a common injury of locomotor system usually accompanied by spinal cord injury, however the injury mechanism of contusion load to the spinal cord is not clear. This study aims to investigate its injury mechanism associated with the contusion load, with different extents of spinal cord compression. A finite element model of cervical spinal cord was established and two scenarios of contusion injury loading conditions, i.e. back-to-front and front-to-back loads, were adopted. Four different compression displacements were applied to the middle section of the cervical spinal cord. The distributions of von Mises stress in middle transverse cross section were obtained from the finite element analysis. For the back-to-front loading scenario, the stress concentration was found in the area at and near the central canal and the damage may lead to the central canal syndrome from biomechanical point of view. With the front-to-back load, the maximum von Mises stress located in central canal area of gray matter when subject to 10% compression, whilst it appeared at the anterior horn when the compression increased. For the white matter, the maximum von Mises stress appeared in the area of the anterior funiculus. This leads to complicated symptoms given rise by damage to multiple locations in the cervical spinal cord. The illustrative results demonstrated the need of considering different loading scenarios in understanding the damage mechanisms of the cervical spinal cord, particularly when the loading conditions were given rise by different pathophysiological causes

Application of nonlinear stiffness mechanism on energy harvesting from vortex-induced vibrations

This study investigates the potential of vortex-induced vibration (VIV) as a renewable energy source, achieved when fluid flow interacts with a bluff body, inducing self-sustained oscillations through vortex shedding in the wake. While VIV research has traditionally focused on understanding its mechanisms and mitigating detrimental effects, interest in VIV energy harvesting has surged as a means to convert marine hydrokinetic (MHK) energy into usable electrical power. The nonlinear effects of two linear oblique springs on VIV energy harvesting are explored using the wake oscillator model, encompassing bistable and Duffing hardening stiffness. The study examines the response and energy harvesting performance while considering the impact of undeformed spring length, structural damping, and initial conditions on VIV energy conversion. Findings show that nonlinear stiffness application in the VIV system can broaden the synchronization bandwidth or reduce the VIV initiation flow speed. Bistable stiffness may broaden the synchronization velocity range, while Duffing hardening stiffness efficiently reduces the VIV initiation speed with small energy harvesting loss. Combining both stiffness types with appropriate control strategies presents a promising approach for achieving a broad synchronization VIV bandwidth and low initiation flow speed. Key parameters, such as the nondimensional parameter defining spring system obliquity and the ratio between undeformed spring length and cylinder diameter, significantly influence VIV response and energy harvesting. Moreover, optimal structural damping is vital to maximize energy harvesting efficiency, and understanding and controlling initial conditions are crucial for optimizing VIV synchronization bandwidth and energy harvesting efficiency for both bistable and Duffing hardening stiffness. This study provides valuable insights into VIV system dynamics and energy conversion potential with nonlinear springs, offering promising avenues for enhancing energy harvesting efficiency and inspiring further applications of nonlinear effects in VIV energy converters

CD151 Drives Cancer Progression Depending on Integrin α3β1 through EGFR Signaling in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background Tetraspanins CD151, a transmembrane 4 superfamily protein, has been identified participating in the initiation of a variety of cancers. However, the precise function of CD151 in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) remains unclear. Here, we addressed the pro-tumoral role of CD151 in NSCLC by targeting EGFR/ErbB2 which favors tumor proliferation, migration and invasion. Methods First, the mRNA expression levels of CD151 in NSCLC tissues and cell lines were measured by RT-PCR. Meanwhile, CD151 and its associated proteins were analyzed by western blotting. The expression levels of CD151 in NSCLC samples and its paired adjacent lung tissues were then verified by Immunohistochemistry. The protein interactions are evaluated by co-immunoprecipitation. Flow cytometry was applied to cell cycle analysis. CCK-8, EdU Incorporation, and clonogenic assays were used to analyze cell viability. Wound healing, transwell migration, and matrigel invasion assays were utilized to assess the motility of tumor cells. To investigate the role of CD151 in vivo, lung carcinoma xenograft mouse model was applied. Results High CD151 expression was identified in NSCLC tissues and cell lines, and its high expression was significantly associated with poor prognosis of NSCLC patients. Further, knockdown of CD151 in vitro inhibited tumor proliferation, migration, and invasion. Besides, inoculation of nude mice with CD151-overexpressing tumor cells exhibited substantial tumor proliferation compared to that in control mice which inoculated with vector-transfected tumor cells. Noteworthy, we found that overexpression of CD151 conferred cell migration and invasion by interacting with integrins. We next sought to demonstrate that CD151 regulated downstream signaling pathways via activation of EGFR/ErbB2 in NSCLC cells. Therefore, we infer that CD151 probably affects the sensitivity of NSCLC in response to anti-cancer drugs. Conclusions Based on these results, we demonstrated a new mechanism of CD151-mediated tumor progression by targeting EGFR/ErbB2 signaling pathway, by which CD151 promotes NSCLC proliferation, migration, and invasion, which may considered as a potential target of NSCLC treatment

Intelligent decision-making method for vehicles in emergency conditions based on artificial potential fields and finite state machines

This study aims to propose a decision-making method based on artificial potential fields (APFs) and finite state machines (FSMs) in emergency conditions. This study presents a decision-making method based on APFs and FSMs for emergency conditions. By modeling the longitudinal and lateral potential energy fields of the vehicle, the driving state is identified, and the trigger conditions are provided for path planning during lane changing. In addition, this study also designed the state transition rules based on the longitudinal and lateral virtual forces. It established the vehicle decision-making model based on the finite state machine to ensure driving safety in emergency situations. To illustrate the performance of the decision-making model by considering APFs and finite state machines. The version of the model in the co-simulation platform of MATLAB and CarSim shows that the developed decision model in this study accurately generates driving behaviors of the vehicle at different time intervals. The contributions of this study are two-fold. A hierarchical vehicle state machine decision model is proposed to enhance driving safety in emergency scenarios. Mathematical models for determining the transition thresholds of lateral and longitudinal vehicle states are established based on the vehicle potential field model, leading to the formulation of transition rules between different states of autonomous vehicles (AVs)

Highly stable Zn anodes realized by 3D zincophilic and hydrophobic interphase buffer layer

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) are promising contenders for energy storage systems owing to their low cost and high safety. However, their practical application is hindered by uncontrolled Zn dendrites and other side reactions. Here, the three-dimensional (3D) TiO2/Cu2Se/C heterostructure layer derived from MXene/Cu-MOF is constructed on the Zn anode to control the deposition/dissolution behavior, which has numerous active sites, better electrical conductivity and excellent structural stability. Based on DFT calculation, the built-in electric field (BIEF) formed of TiO2/Cu2Se/C can enhance charge transfer and ionic diffusion to inhibit the dendrites. Furthermore, hydrophobic coating has the ability to impede the corrosion and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) of zinc anode. Thus, TiO2/Cu2Se/C@Zn enable the stable and reversible Zn plating/stripping process with the outstanding lifetime of 1100 h at 2 mA·cm–2 and even 650 h at 10 mA·cm–2. The batteries constructed with commercial MnO2 cathodes demonstrate the remarkable capacity (248.7 mAh·g−1 at 0.1 A·g−1) and impressive cycle stability (with 71.3% capacity retention after 300 cycles). As well as extending the life of AZIBs, this study is also motivating for other metal anode based secondary batteries

Wip1-dependent modulation of macrophage migration and phagocytosis

Macrophage accumulation within the vascular wall is a hallmark of atherosclerosis. Controlling macrophage conversion into foam cells remains a major challenge for treatment of atherosclerotic diseases. Here, we show that Wip1, a member of the PP2C family of Ser/Thr protein phosphatases, modulates macrophage migration and phagocytosis associated with atherosclerotic plaque formation. Wip1 deficiency increases migratory and phagocytic activities of the macrophage under stress conditions. Enhanced migration of Wip1-/- macrophages is mediated by Rac1-GTPase and PI3K/AKT signalling pathways. Elevated phagocytic ability of Wip1-/- macrophages is linked to CD36 plasma membrane recruitment that is regulated by AMPK activity. Our study identifies Wip1 as an intrinsic negative regulator of macrophage chemotaxis. We propose that Wip1-dependent control of macrophage function may provide avenues for preventing or eliminating plaque formation in atherosclerosis

Toward 6G TKμ\mu Extreme Connectivity: Architecture, Key Technologies and Experiments

Sixth-generation (6G) networks are evolving towards new features and order-of-magnitude enhancement of systematic performance metrics compared to the current 5G. In particular, the 6G networks are expected to achieve extreme connectivity performance with Tbps-scale data rate, Kbps/Hz-scale spectral efficiency, and $\mu$s-scale latency. To this end, an original three-layer 6G network architecture is designed to realise uniform full-spectrum cell-free radio access and provide task-centric agile proximate support for diverse applications. The designed architecture is featured by super edge node (SEN) which integrates connectivity, computing, AI, data, etc. On this basis, a technological framework of pervasive multi-level (PML) AI is established in the centralised unit to enable task-centric near-real-time resource allocation and network automation. We then introduce a radio access network (RAN) architecture of full spectrum uniform cell-free networks, which is among the most attractive RAN candidates for 6G TK$\mu$ extreme connectivity. A few most promising key technologies, i.e., cell-free massive MIMO, photonics-assisted Terahertz wireless access and spatiotemporal two-dimensional channel coding are further discussed. A testbed is implemented and extensive trials are conducted to evaluate innovative technologies and methodologies. The proposed 6G network architecture and technological framework demonstrate exciting potentials for full-service and full-scenario applications.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figure