Structural state detection using quaternion-based three-channel joint transmissibility

This paper presented the use of quaternion-based three-channel joint transmissibility (QTJT) in structural state detection. During the detection process, the time-domain pure quaternion sequences were obtained based on the three dimensional spatial vibration signals from two different testing points. Then QTJTs of the object structure under different states were calculated by discrete quaternion Fourier transform (DQFT). Subsequently, modular vectors of the QTJTs were utilized to construct the state matrix of the object structure and the Karhunen-Loeve Transform (K-LT) was employed to calculate the state feature index vectors. Finally, Euclidean distance between state feature index vectors was obtained, which was considered as the state indicator. An actual experiment was performed on the test platform of ballastless track and the result with 100 percent correct identification was achieved. Combined with the experimental results, the advantages of QTJT comparing to transmissibility based on scalar signals were discussed. The QTJT can be used when the vibration composes from multiple dimensional synchronous vibrations. And more importantly, the QTJT is consistent with its theoretical value in spite of the installation orientation of the sensors

Stability Analysis and Reinforcement of the Existing Karst Cave Passing through Yujingshan Tunnel

High-speed Railway tunneling in karst terrain presents a huge challenge to the engineer including the identification, stability analysis and reinforcement of the karst cavities. The Cheng-Gui high-speed railway tunnel had to pass through the largest karst cave discovered in tunnel construction. To guaranteeing the tunnel construction safety, a series of corresponding prevention and control measures are put forward. To begin with, geological drilling, electromagnetic method and surface electrical resistivity tomography are adopted to detect and delineate the underground karst zone. Based on the detection results, this paper has put forward strategies to make the pre-support of karst cave and the main technical of those strategies include: the side-walls or in the crown was applied with shotcret (C40 steel fiber concrete); use expanding-shell pre-stressed hollow anchor rod and pre-stressed cable reinforcement; fix steel-mesh-bolting; the shotcrete sealing was applied. Moreover, if instabilities would develop in the side-walls, it should be sufficient to stabilize the cavities, to do dental cleaning of the broken rocks, and fill the voids with shotcrete or pumped lean concrete. At last, systematic grouting treatment around the excavated section, and was excavated with the layer-step method. The solutions presented here may provide guidance for the design and construction of high-speed railway tunnels to be implemented affected by karst processes. The technical validation of the proposed solutions was demonstrated by the successful completion of the Yujingshan tunnel. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Structural state detection using quaternion-based three-channel joint transmissibility

This paper presented the use of quaternion-based three-channel joint transmissibility (QTJT) in structural state detection. During the detection process, the time-domain pure quaternion sequences were obtained based on the three dimensional spatial vibration signals from two different testing points. Then QTJTs of the object structure under different states were calculated by discrete quaternion Fourier transform (DQFT). Subsequently, modular vectors of the QTJTs were utilized to construct the state matrix of the object structure and the Karhunen-Loeve Transform (K-LT) was employed to calculate the state feature index vectors. Finally, Euclidean distance between state feature index vectors was obtained, which was considered as the state indicator. An actual experiment was performed on the test platform of ballastless track and the result with 100 percent correct identification was achieved. Combined with the experimental results, the advantages of QTJT comparing to transmissibility based on scalar signals were discussed. The QTJT can be used when the vibration composes from multiple dimensional synchronous vibrations. And more importantly, the QTJT is consistent with its theoretical value in spite of the installation orientation of the sensors

Structural state inspection using dual-tree quaternion wavelet transform

The dual-tree quaternion wavelet transform (QWT) was used in conjunction with quaternion-based three-channel joint transmissibility (QTJT) for state inspection. Multiple QTJTs from the same structural state were used to construct a state matrix, which was considered as a feature image. Then QWT coefficients of the feature image were calculated. It supported one magnitude and three phases, in particular, the low-frequency magnitude-phase was set as state feature index. Ultimately, the difference of the state feature indexes were utilized as the state indicator. This method reduced the influence on state inspection caused by measurement uncertainty of single testing sample, because it took overall consideration of multiple testing samples and described the similarity from multiple directions. The availability of suggested method was demonstrated by a real experiment, in which the state changing was realized by loosening fasteners and altering the longitudinal force of rail. This method was also compared with method based on Karhunen-Loeve Transform (K-LT) and artificial neural network (ANN). Experimental result indicated that the suggested method was integrated optimal, moreover, the resolution of the longitudinal force of rail was less than 10 MPa which was equivalent to temperature change of 1.75 °C for full-lock rail

Effects of Anode Flow Field Design on CO2 Bubble Behavior in μDMFC

Clogging of anode flow channels by CO2 bubbles is a vital problem for further performance improvements of the micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC). In this paper, a new type anode structure using the concept of the non-equipotent serpentine flow field (NESFF) to solve this problem was designed, fabricated and tested. Experiments comparing the μDMFC with and without this type of anode flow field were implemented using a home-made test loop. Results show that the mean-value, amplitude and frequency of the inlet-to-outlet pressure drops in the NESFF is far lower than that in the traditional flow fields at high μDMFC output current. Furthermore, the sequential images of the CO2 bubbles as well as the μDMFC performance with different anode flow field pattern were also investigated, and the conclusions are in accordance with those derived from the pressure drop experiments. Results of this study indicate that the non-equipotent design of the μDMFC anode flow field can effectively mitigate the CO2 clogging in the flow channels, and hence lead to a significant promotion of the μDMFC performance

EGCG Enhances the Therapeutic Potential of Gemcitabine and CP690550 by Inhibiting STAT3 Signaling Pathway in Human Pancreatic Cancer

Background: Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) is an oncogene, which promotes cell survival, proliferation, motility and progression in cancer cells. Targeting STAT3 signaling may lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches for human cancers. Here, we examined the effects of epigallocathechin gallate (EGCG) on STAT3 signaling in pancreatic cancer cells, and assessed the therapeutic potential of EGCG with gemcitabine or JAK3 inhibitor CP690550 (Tasocitinib) for the treatment and/or prevention of pancreatic cancer. Methodology/Principal Findings: Cell viability and apoptosis were measured by XTT assay and TUNEL staining, respectively. Gene and protein expressions were measured by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. The results revealed that EGCG inhibited the expression of phospho and total JAK3 and STAT3, STAT3 transcription and activation, and the expression of STAT3-regulated genes, resulting in the inhibition of cell motility, migration and invasion, and the induction of caspase-3 and PARP cleavage. The inhibition of STAT3 enhanced the inhibitory effects of EGCG on cell motility and viability. Additionally, gemcitabine and CP690550 alone inhibited STAT3 target genes and synergized with EGCG to inhibit cell viability and induce apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells. Conclusions/Significance: Overall, these results suggest that EGCG suppresses the growth, invasion and migration of pancreatic cancer cells, and induces apoptosis by interfering with the STAT3 signaling pathway. Moreover, EGCG furthe

Tirofiban for Stroke without Large or Medium-Sized Vessel Occlusion

The effects of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor inhibitor tirofiban in patients with acute ischemic stroke but who have no evidence of complete occlusion of large or medium-sized vessels have not been extensively studied. In a multicenter trial in China, we enrolled patients with ischemic stroke without occlusion of large or medium-sized vessels and with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 5 or more and at least one moderately to severely weak limb. Eligible patients had any of four clinical presentations: ineligible for thrombolysis or thrombectomy and within 24 hours after the patient was last known to be well; progression of stroke symptoms 24 to 96 hours after onset; early neurologic deterioration after thrombolysis; or thrombolysis with no improvement at 4 to 24 hours. Patients were assigned to receive intravenous tirofiban (plus oral placebo) or oral aspirin (100 mg per day, plus intravenous placebo) for 2 days; all patients then received oral aspirin until day 90. The primary efficacy end point was an excellent outcome, defined as a score of 0 or 1 on the modified Rankin scale (range, 0 [no symptoms] to 6 [death]) at 90 days. Secondary end points included functional independence at 90 days and a quality-of-life score. The primary safety end points were death and symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage. A total of 606 patients were assigned to the tirofiban group and 571 to the aspirin group. Most patients had small infarctions that were presumed to be atherosclerotic. The percentage of patients with a score of 0 or 1 on the modified Rankin scale at 90 days was 29.1% with tirofiban and 22.2% with aspirin (adjusted risk ratio, 1.26; 95% confidence interval, 1.04 to 1.53, P = 0.02). Results for secondary end points were generally not consistent with the results of the primary analysis. Mortality was similar in the two groups. The incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage was 1.0% in the tirofiban group and 0% in the aspirin group. In this trial involving heterogeneous groups of patients with stroke of recent onset or progression of stroke symptoms and nonoccluded large and medium-sized cerebral vessels, intravenous tirofiban was associated with a greater likelihood of an excellent outcome than low-dose aspirin. Incidences of intracranial hemorrhages were low but slightly higher with tirofiban

The first complete chloroplast genome of Liparis nervosa and its phylogenetic position within Orchidaceae

Liparis nervosa is a plant of the family Orchidaceae and mainly distributed in subtropical and tropical regions of the world. In Chinese traditional medicine, it has been used for the treatment of hemostasis, carbuncle, and furuncle for centuries. The chloroplast (cp) genome of L. nervosa, sequenced based on next-generation platform (NEOSAT), is 157,274 bp in size. The cp genome encodes 130 genes, including eight rRNA genes, 85 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and 37 tRNA genes. Phylogenetic relationship analysis based on complete cp genome sequences exhibited that both of L. nervosa and L. loeselii were phylogenetically closer to Dendrobium officinale

Risk Analysis and Control Measures for Slurry Shield Tunneling Diagonally under an Urban River Embankment

The construction of urban cross-river tunnels usually requires passing under river embankments, which inevitably disturbs the embankment substratum and causes ground deformation. Previous engineering cases have shown that embankment settlement is greater than ordinary surface settlement and that uneven settlement results in cracks of in the embankment, reducing the embankment stability. Based on a cross-river tunnel project in China, the construction risks caused by the additional stress on the embankment substratum, asymmetrical embankment load, and shield tunneling in saturated fine sand are analyzed during a large-diameter slurry shield tunneling below an urban river embankment diagonally. Additionally, relevant risk control measures, such as slurry pressure, jacking thrust setting, and driving velocity in the saturated fine sand stratum, are evaluated. The results show that during shield tunneling under a diagonal urban river embankment, the additional stress and asymmetrical load effects should be considered, and the shield slurry pressure and jacking thrust should be adjusted according to the distance between the cutter head and the embankment. Furthermore, based on settlement monitoring data, the driving velocity of the shield should be reasonably adjusted in a timely manner to avoid disturbing the fine sand stratum below the embankment