Comparative Study on the Spatial Layout of Buddhist and Taoist Temples in Chengdu

Buddhism and Taoism have enjoyed a flourishing development in Chengdu with many famous Buddhist and Taoist temples. This research takes typical Buddhist temple buildings and Taoist temple buildings in Chengdu as the research object. Through architectural surveying and mapping, the height and area data of temple buildings are quantized and counted, and their components and axial spatial plane and vertical layout characteristics are analyzed and compared. The results show that both Buddhist temples and Taoist temples are composed of two elements, including figure worship and non-figure worship. In the plane layout, they are mostly used in the south and straight line layout. The hierarchy of the halls in Buddhist temples is clear, while Taoist temples are more open. By clarifying their respective characteristics, the study achieved a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the spatial layout of Buddhist and Taoist temples in Chengdu, which is of great significance to enrich the connotation of religious architecture culture and improve the local culture of Sichuan

IGF binding protein 3 exerts its ligand-independent action by antagonizing BMP in zebrafish embryos

IGFBP3 is a multi-functional protein that has IGF-dependent and IGF-independent actions in cultured cells. Here we show that the IGF binding domain (IBD), nuclear localization signal (NLS) and transactivation domain (TA) are conserved and functional in zebrafish Igfbp3. The in vivo roles of these domains were investigated by expression of Igfbp3 and its mutants in zebrafish embryos. Igfbp3, and its NLS and TA mutants had equally strong dorsalizing effects. Human IGFBP3 had similar dorsalizing effects in zebrafish embryos. The activities of IBD and IBD+NLS mutants were lower, but they still caused dorsalization. Thus, the IGF-independent action of Igfbp3 is not related to NLS or TA in this in vivo model. We next tested the hypothesis that Igfbp3 exerts its IGF-independent action by affecting Bmp signaling. Co-expression of Igfbp3 with Bmp2b abolished Bmp2b-induced gene expression and inhibited its ventralizing activity. Biochemical assays and in vitro experiments revealed that IGFBP3 bound BMP2 and inhibited BMP2-induced Smad signaling in cultured human cells. In vivo expression of Igfbp3 increase

Novel Mechano-Luminescent Sensors Based on Piezoelectric/Electroluminescent Composites

A high-sensitivity mechano-luminescent sensor was fabricated on the basis of piezoelectric/electroluminescent composites. The working principle of this mechano-luminescent sensor was elucidated by analyzing the relationship between the piezoelectric-induced charges and the electroluminescent effects. When a stress is applied on the piezoelectric layer, electrical charges will be induced at both the top and bottom sides of the piezoelectric layer. The induced electrical charges will lead to a light output from the electroluminescent layer, thus producing a mechano-luminescence effect. By increasing the vibration strength or frequency applied, the mechano-luminescence output can be obviously enhanced. Mechano-luminescence sensors have potential in smart stress-to-light devices, such as foot-stress-distribution-diagnosis systems and dynamic-load-monitors for bridge hanging cables

Nuclear localization of Hif‐3α requires two redundant NLS motifs in its unique C‐terminal region

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145561/1/feb213202_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145561/2/feb213202.pd

Effects of Matching between the Inducer and the Impeller of a Centrifugal Pump on Its Cavitation Performance

The inducer is often used to prevent cavitation in a centrifugal pump. However, it may lead to deterioration of the cavitation performance of the pump when poorly matched with the impeller. Numerical simulations are employed to study the effects of the matching, specifically, the axial space and the circumferential deflection between the inducer and the impeller, on the cavitation performance. The results show that the inducer destroys the rotational symmetry of the velocity distribution at the inlet of the impeller, resulting in the influence of cavitation on the part of the channels in advance, which explains why the inducer cannot improve the cavitation performance even though it improves the inlet energy of the impeller. On the basis of not changing the geometric shape of the inducer and the impeller, the suction-specific speed is increased by nearly 300 by only adjusting the axial space and by nearly 100 by only adjusting the circumferential deflection. The cavitation performance is better with a larger axial space. There is an optimal value of the circumferential deflection at which the pump works at the best cavitation performance. The effect of the axial space on the overall cavitation performance is more significant than that of the circumferential deflection. The results provide a useful reference for the design and installation of a centrifugal pump inducer