Recovery of High-energy Low-frequency Quasi-periodic Oscillations from Black Hole X-ray Binary MAXI J1535-571 with a Hilbert-Huang Transform Method

We propose a method based on the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) to recover the high-energy waveform of low-frequency quasi-periodic oscillations (LFQPOs). Based on the method, we successfully obtain the modulation of the phase-folded light curve above 170 keV using the QPO phase reconstructed at lower energies in MAXI J1535-571 with Insight-HXMT observations. A comprehensive simulation study is conducted to demonstrate that such modulation indeed originates from the QPO. Thus the highest energies turn out to significantly exceed the upper limit of ~100 keV for QPOs reported previously using the Fourier method, marking the first opportunity to study QPO properties above 100 keV in this source. Detailed analyses of these high-energy QPO profiles reveal different QPO properties between the 30-100 keV and 100-200 keV energy ranges: the phase lag remains relatively stable, and the amplitude slightly increases below ~100 keV, whereas above this threshold, soft phase lags and a decrease in amplitude are observed. Given the reports of a hard tail detection in broad spectroscopy, we propose that the newly discovered QPO properties above 100 keV are dominated by the hard tail component, possibly stemming from a relativistic jet. Our findings also indicate a strong correlation between the QPOs originating from the jet and corona, supporting the scenario of jet-corona coupling precssion. We emphasize that our proposed HHT-based method can serve as an efficient manner in expanding the high energy band for studying QPOs, thereby enhancing our understanding of their origin.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

The Epitope Study on the SARS-CoV Nucleocapsid Protein

The nucleocapsid protein (N protein) has been found to be an antigenic protein in a number of coronaviruses. Whether the N protein in severe acute respiratory syndrome-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is antigenic remains to be elucidated. Using Western blot and Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), the recombinant N proteins and the synthesized peptides derived from the N protein were screened in sera from SARS patients. All patient sera in this study displayed strong positive immunoreactivities against the recombinant N proteins, whereas normal sera gave negative immunoresponses to these proteins, indicating that the N protein of SARS-CoV is an antigenic protein. Furthermore, the epitope sites in the N protein were determined by competition experiments, in which the recombinant proteins or the synthesized peptides competed against the SARS-CoV proteins to bind to the antibodies raised in SARS sera. One epitope site located at the C-terminus was confirmed as the most antigenic region in this protein. A detailed screening of peptide with ELISA demonstrated that the amino sequence from Codons 371 to 407 was the epitope site at the C-terminus of the N protein. Understanding of the epitope sites could be very significant for developing an effective diagnostic approach to SARS

The Genomes of Oryza sativa: A History of Duplications

We report improved whole-genome shotgun sequences for the genomes of indica and japonica rice, both with multimegabase contiguity, or almost 1,000-fold improvement over the drafts of 2002. Tested against a nonredundant collection of 19,079 full-length cDNAs, 97.7% of the genes are aligned, without fragmentation, to the mapped super-scaffolds of one or the other genome. We introduce a gene identification procedure for plants that does not rely on similarity to known genes to remove erroneous predictions resulting from transposable elements. Using the available EST data to adjust for residual errors in the predictions, the estimated gene count is at least 38,000–40,000. Only 2%–3% of the genes are unique to any one subspecies, comparable to the amount of sequence that might still be missing. Despite this lack of variation in gene content, there is enormous variation in the intergenic regions. At least a quarter of the two sequences could not be aligned, and where they could be aligned, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rates varied from as little as 3.0 SNP/kb in the coding regions to 27.6 SNP/kb in the transposable elements. A more inclusive new approach for analyzing duplication history is introduced here. It reveals an ancient whole-genome duplication, a recent segmental duplication on Chromosomes 11 and 12, and massive ongoing individual gene duplications. We find 18 distinct pairs of duplicated segments that cover 65.7% of the genome; 17 of these pairs date back to a common time before the divergence of the grasses. More important, ongoing individual gene duplications provide a never-ending source of raw material for gene genesis and are major contributors to the differences between members of the grass family

Application of Strain Energy on BIW Mode Optimization

This paper takes the BIW model as the research object, completes modal analysis, and verifies the finite element model by comparing the simulation results with the test results. In order to improve the frequency of BIW, the weak structure of D pillar is found and then optimized by the method of strain energy, and the frequency of BIW is changed from 28.80Hz to 32.15Hz. Finally, the method of strain energy has great positive effects on modal optimization

Application of Strain Energy on BIW Mode Optimization

This paper takes the BIW model as the research object, completes modal analysis, and verifies the finite element model by comparing the simulation results with the test results. In order to improve the frequency of BIW, the weak structure of D pillar is found and then optimized by the method of strain energy, and the frequency of BIW is changed from 28.80Hz to 32.15Hz. Finally, the method of strain energy has great positive effects on modal optimization

Application of Strain Energy on BIW Mode Optimization

This paper takes the BIW model as the research object, completes modal analysis, and verifies the finite element model by comparing the simulation results with the test results. In order to improve the frequency of BIW, the weak structure of D pillar is found and then optimized by the method of strain energy, and the frequency of BIW is changed from 28.80Hz to 32.15Hz. Finally, the method of strain energy has great positive effects on modal optimization

Study on Facile and Full-Scale Reuse Treatment of Wastewater Produced from Tail Gas Oxidation-Absorption Technology of Natural Gas Purification Plant

The oxidation-absorption technology of tail gas is perfect for natural gas purification plants to ensure the up-to-standard discharge of sulfur dioxide emissions, but it can produce a large amount of wastewater. In this paper, a facile and full-scale reuse treatment strategy based on the sequential combination of disc tube reverse osmosis and low-temperature and low-pressure evaporation desalination was proposed and studied. The produced light yellow wastewater was acid sulfate-rich organic wastewater, in which sulfate ions (SO42−) existed up to 6479 mg/L, and the chemical oxygen demand (COD), 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total organic carbon (TOC), ammonia nitrogen (ammonia-N), total nitrogen (TN) and suspended solid (SS) were 207, 71.9, 67.6, 1.28, 70.5 and 20.9 mg/L, respectively. After the reuse treatment, there was COD (6 mg/L), BOD5 (1.4 mg/L), TOC (0.9 mg/L), TN (2.07 mg/L), SS (6 mg/L) and SO42− (90 mg/L) in permeated water, and condensate water with COD (11 mg/L), BOD5 (2.3 mg/L), TOC (4.3 mg/L), SS (2 mg/L) and SO42− (1.2 mg/L) was obtained. Thereby, pollution indexes were reduced after the reuse treatment so as to meet the water quality standard (GB/T18920-2022) in China, and the total water recovery rate reached 98.2 vol%. Ultimately, the priority pollutant migration mechanism during the reuse treatment process was determined

Tyrosine-kinase inhibitor combined with iodine-125 seed brachytherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma refractory to transarterial chemoembolization: a propensity-matched study

Abstract Purpose To investigate the efficacy and safety of tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) combined with iodine-125 seed brachytherapy (TKI-I) versus TKI alone for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) refractory to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). Methods Data of patients with TACE-refractory HCC who received TKI (sorafenib or lenvatinib) or TKI-I from September 2018 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. A propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to diminish potential bias. The primary endpoints were overall survival (OS) and time to progression (TTP). Tumor responses and treatment-related adverse events (TRAEs) were also compared between the two groups. Results A total of 132 patients were included in this study. Under PSM, 48 paired patients were selected for comparison. The median OS was 23.2 (95% CI 20.9–25.1) months in the TKI-I group versus 13.9 (95% CI 11.1–16.7) months in the TKI group (P < 0.001). The median TTP was 12.8 (95% CI 10.1–15.5) months in the TKI-I group versus 5.8 (95% CI 5.0-6.6) months in the TKI group (P < 0.001). Patients in the TKI-I group had higher objective response rate (68.8% vs. 33.3%, P = 0.001) and disease control rate (89.6% vs. 66.7%, P = 0.007) than those in the TKI group. The incidence and severity of TRAEs in the TKI-I group were comparable to those in the TKI group (any grade, 89.7% vs. 92.2%, P = 0.620; ≥grade 3, 33.8% vs. 32.8%, P = 0.902). Conclusions TKI-I was safe and significantly improved survival over TKI alone in HCC patients with TACE refractoriness

A Strategy for Searching Antigenic Regions in the SARS-CoV Spike Protein

In the face of the worldwide threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to human life, some of the most urgent challenges are to develop fast and accurate analytical methods for early diagnosis of this disease as well as to create a safe anti-viral vaccine for prevention. To these ends, we investigated the antigenicity of the spike protein (S protein), a major structural protein in the SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Based upon the theoretical analysis for hydrophobicity of the S protein, 18 peptides were synthesized. Using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), these peptides were screened in the sera from SARS patients. According to these results, two fragments of the S gene were amplified by PCR and cloned into pET-32a. Both S fragments were expressed in the BL-21 strain and further purified with an affinity chromatography. These recombinant S fragments were confirmed to have positive cross-reactions with SARS sera, either by Western blot or by ELISA. Our results demonstrated that the potential epitope regions were located at Codons 469–882 in the S protein, and one epitope site was located at Codons 599–620. Identification of antigenic regions in the SARS-CoV S protein may be important for the functional studies of this virus or the development of clinical diagnosis