A method for predicting failure load of masonry wall panel based on structural stress state

This paper proposed a method for predicting failure loads of masonry wall panels subject to uniformly distributed lateral loading based on a concept of structural stress state. Firstly, the characteristics of the structural stress state of masonry wall panels subjected to uniform distributed lateral loading were investigated through experimental results. Then, a new parameter was proposed to characterize the structural stress state. Next, the relation of the failure loads between a specified base wall panels and other wall panel was established using the proposed parameter. In this way, a method (called a ST method) based on a structural stress state parameter to predict the failure load of masonry wall panel from the base wall panel was established. The following case studies validated the ST method by comparing the predicted failure load with the experimental results, as well as those predicted from the existing yield line theory (YLT), the FEA method and the GSED-based cellular automata (CA) method. The ST method provided an innovative way of structural analysis on the basis of structural stress state

A meta-analysis of the effect of Sjögren′s syndrome on adverse pregnancy outcomes

Objective: This study aimed to assess the correlation between Sjögren′s Syndrome (SS) and adverse pregnancy outcomes, with the aim of providing a basis for preconception and pregnancy interventions in women with SS. Methods: A search of electronic databases in English and Chinese databases from January 2005 to December 2021, was conducted to collect the literature of case-control studies or cohort studies on the association between SS and pregnancy outcome studies. Literature inclusion and data extraction were performed according to established criteria, and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale was used to evaluate the quality of the literature. Stata 15 software was used for meta-analysis. Results: A total of nine papers were included in this study. Meta-analysis results showed that SS was associated with spontaneous abortion (RR = 8.85, 95% CI 3.10‒25.26), preterm birth (RR = 2.27, 95% CI 1.46‒3.52), low birth mass (RR = 1.99, 95% CI 1.34‒2.97), and birth defects (RR = 4.28, 95% CI 3.08‒5.96). Conclusion: SS can increase the incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes

htSNPer1.0: software for haplotype block partition and htSNPs selection

BACKGROUND: There is recently great interest in haplotype block structure and haplotype tagging SNPs (htSNPs) in the human genome for its implication on htSNPs-based association mapping strategy for complex disease. Different definitions have been used to characterize the haplotype block structure in the human genome, and several different performance criteria and algorithms have been suggested on htSNPs selection. RESULTS: A heuristic algorithm, generalized branch-and-bound algorithm, is applied to the searching of minimal set of haplotype tagging SNPs (htSNPs) according to different htSNPs performance criteria. We develop a software htSNPer1.0 to implement the algorithm, and integrate three htSNPs performance criteria and four haplotype block definitions for haplotype block partitioning. It is a software with powerful Graphical User Interface (GUI), which can be used to characterize the haplotype block structure and select htSNPs in the candidate gene or interested genomic regions. It can find the global optimization with only a fraction of the computing time consumed by exhaustive searching algorithm. CONCLUSION: htSNPer1.0 allows molecular geneticists to perform haplotype block analysis and htSNPs selection using different definitions and performance criteria. The software is a powerful tool for those focusing on association mapping based on strategy of haplotype block and htSNPs

Analysis of a high-pier railway bridge under spatial stochastic stationary and non-stationary earthquake excitations

Ciljevi ovoga rada su provesti komparativnu analizu velikog sustava željezničkog mosta na visokim stupovima izloženog stacionarnim i ne-stacionarnim prostorno promjenjivim uzbudama potresa primjenom metode pseudo-uzbude (pseudo-excitation method - PEM), te procijeniti može li se ili ne može ne-stacionarna stohastička analiza željezničkih mostova na visokim stupovima izloženih trosmjernim prostornim podzemnim gibanjima zamijeniti jednostavnijom stacionarnom slučajnom analizom kako bi se izbjegla prekomjerna računanja. Zasnovane na ANSYS softveru konačnih elemenata, analize stacionarnih i ne-stacionarnih stohastičkih uzbuda mosta na visokim stupovima pretvorile su se u harmonične analize i determinističke prijelazne analize u našem istraživanju, primjenom PEM-a. Učinak prolaza vala i učinak nekoherentnosti modelirani su kao ključni čimbenici, a ukupno je razmotreno dvanaest slučajeva u svrhu ispitivanja učinka prolaza vala i učinka nekoherentnosti na seizmičku reakciju željezničkog mosta na visokim stupovima izloženog stacionarnim i ne-stacionarnim uzbudana potresa. Rezultati pokazuju da je reakcija konstrukcije pod stacionarnom uzbudom veća nego kod ne-stacionarne uzimajući u obzir bilo učinak prolaza vala ili učinak nekoherencije. Kad se uspoređuju reakcije konstrukcije pod stacionarnom pobudom s onima kod ne-stacionarne, sve stope rasta su manje od 25 %, što je u tehnici prihvatljivo, a to znači da se ne-stacionarna stohastička analiza željezničkih mostova na visokim stupovima pri trosmjernim prostornim gibanjima u zemlji može pojednostavniti u stacionarnu analizu kako bi se izbjeglo prekomjerno računanje.The objectives of this paper are to perform a comparative analysis of the large-scale system of a high-pier railway bridge subjected to stationary and non-stationary spatially varying earthquake excitations using the pseudo-excitation method (PEM), and to estimate whether or not the non-stationary stochastic analysis of the high-pier railway bridges under tri-directional spatial ground motions can be simplified into a stationary random analysis to avoid excessive computation. Based on the finite element software ANSYS, the stationary and non-stationary stochastic excitations analyses of a high-pier bridge were transformed into harmonic analyses and deterministic transient analyses in the study, respectively, by using PEM. The wave-passage effect and the incoherence effect were modelled as the key factors, a total of twelve cases were considered to investigate the wave-passage effect and incoherence effect on the seismic response of a high-pier railway bridge under stationary and non-stationary earthquake excitations. Results show that structural responses under stationary excitation are larger than those under non-stationary by considering either the wave-passage effect or the incoherence effect. Through comparing structural responses under stationary excitation with those under non-stationary one, all the growth rates are less than 25 %, which is acceptable in engineering, meaning that a non-stationary stochastic analysis of high-pier railway bridges under tri-directional spatial ground motions can be simplified into a stationary analysis to avoid excessive computation

Establishment of in Vitro Binding Assay of High Mobility Group Box-1 and S100A12 to Receptor for Advanced Glycation Endproducts: Heparin's Effect on Binding

Interaction between the receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and its ligands has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory disorders. In this study, we establish an in vitro binding assay in which recombinant human high-mobility group box 1 (rhHMGB1) or recombinant human S100A12 (rhS100A12) immobilized on the microplate binds to recombinant soluble RAGE (rsRAGE). The rsRAGE binding to both rhHMGB1 and rhS100A12 was saturable and dependent on the immobilized ligands. The binding of rsRAGE to rhS100A12 depended on Ca2 and Zn2, whereas that to rhHMGB1 was not. Scatchard plot analysis showed that rsRAGE had higher affinity for rhHMGB1 than for rhS100A12. rsRAGE was demonstrated to bind to heparin, and rhS100A12, in the presence of Ca2, was also found to bind to heparin. We examined the effects of heparin preparations with different molecular sizesunfractionated native heparin (UFH), low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) 5000Da, and LMWH 3000Da on the binding of rsRAGE to rhHMGB1 and rhS100A12. All 3 preparations concentration-dependently inhibited the binding of rsRAGE to rhHMGB1 to a greater extent than did rhS100A12. These results suggested that heparin's anti-inflammatory effects can be partly explained by its blocking of the interaction between HMGB1 or S100A12 and RAGE. On the other hand, heparin would be a promising effective remedy against RAGE-related inflammatory disorders.</p

Covert Communications in STAR-RIS Assisted NOMA IoT Networks over Nakagami-m Fading Channels

The combination of simultaneously transmitting and reflecting-reconfigurable intelligent surface (STAR-RIS) and non-orthogonal multiple (NOMA) brings the necessary full-space degrees of freedom and spatial multiplexing gains for the Internet of Things (IoT) networks. The inherent network heterogeneity and sharing of wireless channels may however increase the exposure of the information interactions to the third party. To address this issue, we propose a covert communication scheme in STAR-RIS assisted NOMA networks over Nakagami-m fading channels, where both downlink and uplink IoT scenarios are considered. Under the NOMA protocol with imperfect successive interference cancellation (SIC), an IoT access point interacts with two IoT users aided by a STAR-RIS without being detected by two wardens. In this scenario, the two IoT users are located on both sides of the STAR-RIS which adopts coherent phase shifting and operates according to the mode switching protocol. To evaluate the wardens&#x2019; detection performance, the Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence is used. Furthermore, the cascaded channel gains of IoT users and wardens are respectively characterized as Gamma and complex Gaussian random variables. The closed-form expressions of the expectations of KL divergence and the interruption probabilities for downlink and uplink are derived. To further improve the performance, we formulate the effective covert rate maximization as the joint optimization problems of the transmit power and power allocation coefficient for downlink and uplink, subject to the constraints for covertness, reliability and power budget, which are respectively resolved analytically. Extensive simulation results indicate that the proposed scheme improves covertness compared with the benchmarks

Neuropathic Pain in Rats with a Partial Sciatic Nerve Ligation Is Alleviated by Intravenous Injection of Monoclonal Antibody to High Mobility Group Box-1

High mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) is associated with the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases. A previous study reported that intravenous injection of anti-HMGB1 monoclonal antibody significantly attenuated brain edema in a rat model of stroke, possibly by attenuating glial activation. Peripheral nerve injury leads to increased activity of glia in the spinal cord dorsal horn. Thus, it is possible that the anti-HMGB1 antibody could also be efficacious in attenuating peripheral nerve injury-induced pain. Following partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL), rats were treated with either anti-HMGB1 or control IgG. Intravenous treatment with anti-HMGB1 monoclonal antibody (2 mg/kg) significantly ameliorated PSNL-induced hind paw tactile hypersensitivity at 7, 14 and 21 days, but not 3 days, after ligation, whereas control IgG had no effect on tactile hypersensitivity. The expression of HMGB1 protein in the spinal dorsal horn was significantly increased 7, 14 and 21 days after PSNL; the efficacy of the anti-HMGB1 antibody is likely related to the presence of HMGB1 protein. Also, the injury-induced translocation of HMGB1 from the nucleus to the cytosol occurred mainly in dorsal horn neurons and not in astrocytes and microglia, indicating a neuronal source of HMGB1. Markers of astrocyte (glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)), microglia (ionized calcium binding adaptor molecule 1 (Iba1)) and spinal neuron (cFos) activity were greatly increased in the ipsilateral dorsal horn side compared to the sham-operated side 21 days after PSNL. Anti-HMGB1 monoclonal antibody treatment significantly decreased the injury-induced expression of cFos and Iba1, but not GFAP. The results demonstrate that nerve injury evokes the synthesis and release of HMGB1 from spinal neurons, facilitating the activity of both microglia and neurons, which in turn leads to symptoms of neuropathic pain. Thus, the targeting of HMGB1 could be a useful therapeutic strategy in the treatment of chronic pain

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Stability analysis of linear neutral systems with multiple time delays

This paper studies the asymptotic stability of linear neutral systems with multiple time delays. Using the characteristic equation of the system, new delay-independent stability criteria are derived in terms of the spectral radius of modulus matrices. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the validity of our new criteria.</p