Experimental and Analytical Estimation of Damping in Beams and Plates with Damping Treatments

The research presented in this dissertation is devoted to the problem of damping estimation in engineering structures, especially beams and plates with passive damping treatments. In structural design and/or optimization, knowledge about damping is essential. However, due to the complexity of the dynamic interaction of system components, the determination of damping, by either analysis or experiments, has never been straightforward. In this research, currently-used methods are reviewed and gaps are identified first. Then both analytical and experimental studies on the damping estimation are conducted and possibilities of improvement are explored. Various passive damping treatments using ViscoElastic Materials (VEMs) are designed, manufactured and then added to aluminum and composite beams and plates. Experiments on these damped structures are conducted. Currently used experimental methods, namely, the free-decay method, the modal curve-fitting method and the Power Input Method (PIM), are used to process the experimental data and investigate the damping characteristics. Especially, 1) experimental procedures of the power input method are carefully identified and investigated; 2) the power input method is applied to non-uniformly damped structures; 3) the power input method is applied in an extended frequency range (from 0 to 5000 Hz) to meet emerging needs of the transportation industries. A new analytical power input method is proposed for evaluating the loss factor of builtup structures, based on the finite element model with assigned properties of the constituents. Finite Element (FE) models of beams and plates with various damping configurations are developed so a frequency response solution suffices to provide mobility and energy results needed by the new analytical power input method. The analytical power input method is evaluated by comparison with the commonly used Modal Strain Energy (MSE) method. Instead of making an approximate correction of the constant material properties, this analytical power input method directly takes into account the frequency-dependent material properties of the viscoelastic material using the MSC/NASTRAN direct frequency response solution. Features of each method are compared and summarized. Especially, 1) the complex frequency-dependency of viscoelastic materials used in constrained layer damping is modeled using MSC Patran/NASTRAN; 2) a new procedure of estimating loss factors is presented, using the concept of the power input method. Particle damping is also investigated. A fluid analogy is proposed and applied to composite beams and metallic plates. Results show that the fluid analogy can effectively estimate peak damping frequencies and peak damping levels. Both experimental and analytical loss factor results for various engineering structures are presented and discussed

MiR-486 protects against acute myocardial infarction via regulation of PTEN

Purpose: To investigate the effect of miR-486 on rats with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and its mechanism of action.Methods: A rat model of AMI was established. They were randomly divided into 4 groups, namely, sham, model, agomiR-486 and antagomiR-486 groups, respectively. Rats in these different groups were treated with agomiR-21 (5 μL, 40 nmol/mL), antagomiR-21 (5 μL, 40 nmol/mL) or agomiR-NC (5 μL, 40 nmol/mL), respectively. Then, key miRNAs were sorted out using gene-chip assay and verified by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assay. Luciferase reporter gene assay was conducted to determine the interaction between miR-486 and gene of PTEN. After intraperitoneal injection of agomiR-486 and antagomiR-486, hemodynamics was measured to determine the effect of miR-486 on myocardial function of the rats. The effect of miR-486 expression level on the expression of myocardial enzymes in serum, the morphology of myocardial tissues, and the apoptosis of myocardial tissues in rats, were investigated. Additionally, the effect of miR-486 expression level on PTEN/AKT signaling pathway in the rats was determined by Western blotting.Results: The results of gene-chip and qRT-PCR assays revealed that there were 8 differentially expressed genes in rat myocardial tissues in the model group when compared with the sham group. MiR-486 improved the cardiac function of rats and the morphology of myocardial tissues, but reduced AMI-induced apoptosis of myocardial cells and the expression of myocardial enzymes (markers of myocardial injury) in a dose-dependent manner (p < 0.05). The results of luciferase reporter gene assay showed that PTEN was a direct target of miR-486. In rat models of AMI, a raised expression of miR-486 remarkably suppressed the protein expression level of PTEN and up-regulated that of p-AKT/AKT (p < 0.05).Conclusion: MiR-486 protects against AMI in rats probably by targeting PTEN and activating the AKT signaling pathway. The results of the current study may provide new insights for the treatment of AMI

Bringing class back in: class consciousness and solidarity among Chinese migrant workers in Italy and the UK

The growing literature on international migration has a tendency to emphasize homogenous elements such as shared ethnic background, social network and cultural similarities in shaping immigrants' identity. We argue that this underestimates the differences (and sometimes conflicts) of interests between ethnic employers and migrant workers and that class needs to be brought back into the studies of ethnic relationship. Based upon findings from a series of fieldwork in Veneto, Italy and East Midlands, UK, this article contends that class consciousness has co-existed, sometimes uneasily, alongside co-ethnic and cultural relationships among Chinese migrant workers and has played an important part in the making of new Chinese communities. By analysing the perspectives of Chinese migrant workers and their relationship with co-ethnic entrepreneurs, this article illustrates complex factors behind the formation, diffusion and development of class consciousness among Chinese migrant workers

The water lily genome and the early evolution of flowering plants

Water lilies belong to the angiosperm order Nymphaeales. Amborellales, Nymphaeales and Austrobaileyales together form the so-called ANA-grade of angiosperms, which are extant representatives of lineages that diverged the earliest from the lineage leading to the extant mesangiosperms1–3. Here we report the 409-megabase genome sequence of the blue-petal water lily (Nymphaea colorata). Our phylogenomic analyses support Amborellales and Nymphaeales as successive sister lineages to all other extant angiosperms. The N. colorata genome and 19 other water lily transcriptomes reveal a Nymphaealean whole-genome duplication event, which is shared by Nymphaeaceae and possibly Cabombaceae. Among the genes retained from this whole-genome duplication are homologues of genes that regulate flowering transition and flower development. The broad expression of homologues of floral ABCE genes in N. colorata might support a similarly broadly active ancestral ABCE model of floral organ determination in early angiosperms. Water lilies have evolved attractive floral scents and colours, which are features shared with mesangiosperms, and we identified their putative biosynthetic genes in N. colorata. The chemical compounds and biosynthetic genes behind floral scents suggest that they have evolved in parallel to those in mesangiosperms. Because of its unique phylogenetic position, the N. colorata genome sheds light on the early evolution of angiosperms.Supplementary Tables: This file contains Supplementary Tables 1-21.National Natural Science Foundation of China, the open funds of the State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics and Germplasm Enhancement (ZW201909) and State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, the Fujian provincial government in China, the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under European Research Council Advanced Grant Agreement and the Special Research Fund of Ghent University.http://www.nature.com/naturecommunicationsam2021BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Molecule recognition of nucleic acids, nucleosides, nucleotides, and their derivatives

It has long been known that the efficiency of anticancer drugs is limited by the emergence of resistance due to the evolving repair of such DNA lesions in malignant cells. Therefore, development of pharmaceutical agents, which can interfere with the DNA repair pathways, may represent a novel approach to enhance the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy by reducing drug resistance. Abasic sites (AP sites) are the key intermediates in the BER pathway and promising targets for BER inhibition. In chapter 2, we report the synthesis of two small molecules specifically targeting at AP sites and the evaluation of their activity in terms of interstrand crosslinking formation. Our results show no covalent adduct is induced, which is due to the weak DNA binding affinity. In chapter 3, we try to use TFOs to deliver the interstrand crosslinking moiety to the AP site in a sequence specific manner. Two modified phosphoramidites were synthesized and incorporated into the 5\u27 end of TFOs. The activity was evaluated by using various biophysical and biochemical experiments. The work reported in chapter 4 is focused on the G-quadruplex structure formed in the guanine rich telomeric sequence. Many studies have shown G4 ligands can induce and stabilize G-quadruplex within telomere region and inhibit the activity of telomerase that is overexpressed in 80-90% of cancer cells. Our results indicate that phenanthroline based metal complexes, Ni(Phen) 2 , have strong binding affinity and selectivity towards G-quadruplex over duplex DNA. The effect of Ni(Phen) 2 on telomerase activity and cytotoxicity towards cancer cells was also investigated. Calixarenes containing DNA building units such as nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleobases have recently aroused much interest because of their versatile applications. In chapter 5, we report the synthesis of calix[4]arenes ( 5.11-5.14 ) functionalized with a single nucleobase (thymine, adenine, guanine, or cytosine) at the upper rim via click chemistry. Their complexation with alkali metal ions was examined using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and their molecular interactions were determined using 1 H NMR. All calix[4]arene derivatives show good complexation with alkali metal ions with apparent selectivity. The results also reveal that nucleobase-calix[4]arenes are capable of self-association in CDC1 3 and calix[4]arenes bearing complementary nucleobases can bind to each other via base pairing

Molecule recognition of nucleic acids, nucleosides, nucleotides, and their derivatives

It has long been known that the efficiency of anticancer drugs is limited by the emergence of resistance due to the evolving repair of such DNA lesions in malignant cells. Therefore, development of pharmaceutical agents, which can interfere with the DNA repair pathways, may represent a novel approach to enhance the cytotoxic effects of chemotherapy by reducing drug resistance. Abasic sites (AP sites) are the key intermediates in the BER pathway and promising targets for BER inhibition. In chapter 2, we report the synthesis of two small molecules specifically targeting at AP sites and the evaluation of their activity in terms of interstrand crosslinking formation. Our results show no covalent adduct is induced, which is due to the weak DNA binding affinity. In chapter 3, we try to use TFOs to deliver the interstrand crosslinking moiety to the AP site in a sequence specific manner. Two modified phosphoramidites were synthesized and incorporated into the 5\u27 end of TFOs. The activity was evaluated by using various biophysical and biochemical experiments. The work reported in chapter 4 is focused on the G-quadruplex structure formed in the guanine rich telomeric sequence. Many studies have shown G4 ligands can induce and stabilize G-quadruplex within telomere region and inhibit the activity of telomerase that is overexpressed in 80-90% of cancer cells. Our results indicate that phenanthroline based metal complexes, Ni(Phen) 2 , have strong binding affinity and selectivity towards G-quadruplex over duplex DNA. The effect of Ni(Phen) 2 on telomerase activity and cytotoxicity towards cancer cells was also investigated. Calixarenes containing DNA building units such as nucleotides, nucleosides, and nucleobases have recently aroused much interest because of their versatile applications. In chapter 5, we report the synthesis of calix[4]arenes ( 5.11-5.14 ) functionalized with a single nucleobase (thymine, adenine, guanine, or cytosine) at the upper rim via click chemistry. Their complexation with alkali metal ions was examined using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry and their molecular interactions were determined using 1 H NMR. All calix[4]arene derivatives show good complexation with alkali metal ions with apparent selectivity. The results also reveal that nucleobase-calix[4]arenes are capable of self-association in CDC1 3 and calix[4]arenes bearing complementary nucleobases can bind to each other via base pairing

Fumonisin level in corn-based food and feed from Linxian County, a high-risk area for esophageal cancer in China

The level of mycotoxin fumonisins in corn-based food and feed collected from Linxian County, a high-risk area for esophageal cancer in China, has been analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatographic coupled with evaporative laser scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD). A total of 104 corn kernel samples were obtained from local households, granaries, wholesale markets (central markets), and retail markets (stores and supermarkets). Fumonisin B1 (FB1) was detected in the samples from households, granaries, central markets, and stores, with a positive rate of 61.5%, 50%, 33.3%, and 17%, respectively. No fumonisin was detected in samples from the supermarket. The highest FB1 levels (0.30–3.20 μg/ g; mean, 1.42 μg/g) were found in samples from the granary, followed by household (0.25–1.80 μg/g; mean, 0.73 μg/g), central market (0.25–1.10 μg/g; mean, 0.51 μg/g), and store (0.22–0.34 μg/g; mean, 0.28 μg/g). Among the 80 corn kernel samples collected from local households, 18 of 24 (75.0%) moldy samples contained high levels of FB1 (0.28–3.30 μg/ g; mean, 1.58 μg/g), and 20 of 56 (35.7%) apparently healthy samples contained low levels of FB1 (0.21–0.82 μg/g; mean, 0.46 μg/g). As the central market plays an important role in trade of corn-based food and feed in China, a total of 115 cornbased food and feed samples were collected from the local central market. The highest FB1 levels (0.30–3.13 μg/g; mean, 1.50 μg/g) were found in feed, followed by unprocessed food (0.31–0.63 μg/g; mean, 0.47 μg/g) and processed food (0.21– 0.28 μg/g; mean, 0.25 μg/g). The positive incidence of FB1 in feed, unprocessed, and processed food were 53.6%, 33.3% and 17.9%, respectively. In conclusion, the results showed that corn-based food and feed from Linxian County contained low level of FB1 (\u3c2 μg/g) in general, but efforts should be made to control the fumonisin contamination in corn kernels stored in granaries and households

Simulation and Analysis of Approach Power Compensation for Automatic Landing with Carrier Air Wake

In the process of carrier landing, the carrier air wake affects the height and speed of carrier aircraft, resulting in landing deviation and even going around. Aiming at the problem of poor accuracy of landing point caused by carrier air wake, this paper firstly introduces the traditional power compensation scheme with constant speed and the traditional power compensation scheme with constant angle of attack, and it improves the power compensator scheme with constant angle of attack to reduce the coupling between longitudinal height channel and speed channel, which can reduce the influence of carrier air wake on the control accuracy of glide path. The effects of three schemes on suppressing the steady component of carrier air wake are compared through numerical simulation. The simulation results show that the improved power compensation scheme with constant angle of attack can effectively suppress the influence of the vertical component of carrier air wake and reduce the influence of the horizontal component of carrier air wake

Study on hierarchical model of mine emergency command platform system

In view of problems of lack of theoretical system support, poor ability of coordination and difficulty of connecting with different platforms existed in mine emergency command platform in China, combining systems engineering and ICS framework, a hierarchical model of mine emergency command platform system was constructed based on six aspects (mission, task, combat capability, combat systems, platform/facility and system) of four basic levels (target and mission of systems, systems service, system target and system behavior), which could provide reference for qualitative and quantitative analysis of mine emergency command platform system

Regioselective Bromination of a Thymine-Acridine Conjugate by N-Bromosuccinimide

A thymine and acridine conjugate (1), containing a benzylic carbon of thymine and an electron-rich aromatic ring (acridine) within the same molecule, was synthesized. Treatment of 1 with N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) in anhydrous chloroform in the presence of azobisisobutylnitrile produced a dibromo-substituted thymine-acridine conjugate (7) as a major product, in which the bromination was only observed on the acridine ring. Nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) difference spectroscopy revealed that the actual bromination substitution was on C-2 and C-7 of acridine. Our results suggest that electrophilic aromatic substitution, not the expected benzylic radical reaction, takes place predominantly even when 1 is subjected to the NBS reaction condition, which favors radical processes. In addition, such selectivity is clearly solvent dependent