A Dual Circularly Polarized Array Antenna for Ka-Band Satellite Communications

This work presents a dual circularly polarized 8-by-8 array antenna using inbuilt polarizers for satellite communications. The design consists of five metal layers, including two feeding layers for the dual circular polarizations and a polarizer layer that utilizes a pair of sector cavities as phase delay elements for each sub-array. Two corporate feeding networks using folded E-plane and H-plane T-junctions are proposed to excite the radiating elements. Simulated results of the array antenna have shown that the axial ratios are less than 1 dB from 29 to 31 GHz for both polarizations. The realized gains for both polarizations are larger than 25 dBi at center frequency

Millimeter-Wave Vertical Transitions between Ridge Gap Waveguides and Microstrip Lines for Integration of MMIC with Slot Array

This paper presents two low-loss vertical transitions between ridge gap waveguides and microstrip lines. The transitions can be utilized as packaging techniques for system level integration of MMICs with waveguide components such as slot array antennas. Both vertical transitions feature microstrip lines being the bottom layer but facing opposite directions. The first vertical transition consists of a microstrip line facing upwards with a patch in the end. Simulation results show that the reflection coefficient is better than -15 dB from 74 to 82 GHz. The second transition of microstrip line facing downwards features E-plane probe with back-short cavity surrounded by periodic pins. Simulation results show that the reflection coefficient is better than -15 dB from 71 to 86 GHz. Comparing with other same layer transitions, the vertical solutions provide more flexibility for the routing of antenna feeding line and have the ability of implementing a more compact design

Mechanism and Prevention Technologies of Reservoir Gas Disaster in Abandoned Oil Well of Coal Mine

AbstractThe reservoir gas disaster has distinct characteristics and is a key factor that threatens the safe and green mining of coal mines in the costorage area of coal and petroleum resources. In order to solve the problem of prevention and control of reservoir gas disasters in coal mines, the characteristics of oil-bed gas disasters in abandoned oil wells in coal mines were analyzed, and the oil-bed gas disaster mechanism of abandoned oil wells without isolation coal pillars was revealed to study the scope of gas disasters around oil wells under the influence of production. The research shows that: (1) abandoned oil well reservoir gas disasters have the characteristics of high gas pressure, high concentration, large lateral influence area, wide vertical sweep range, and frequent disasters, which seriously threaten the safety and green mining of coal mines; (2) divide the reservoir gas disaster of abandoned oil wells into the high-pressure gas disaster in the well and the disaster in the surrounding oil-bed gas enrichment area; (3) according to the numerical simulation results that the maximum damage depth of the coal seam mining floor is 38.6 m and the seepage height of high-pressure oil-bed gas is 40 m, the safety factor k is introduced, and the reservoir gas sweeping range of the abandoned oil well is determined to be 95.4 m below the coal seam to the surface; (4) the comprehensive prevention and control technical scheme of oil-bed gas for controlling high-pressure oil-bed gas in wells by ground plugging and downhole injection and injection of diluent to control enriched areas was proposed, which successfully solved the problem of safe and efficient exploitation of Shuangma coal mine in Ningdong coalfield by abandoned oil wells. The research results provide effective solutions for the realization of green mining in many coal mines in the costorage area of coal and oil resources in China and have important application value for the prevention and control of dynamic disasters in the costorage area of resources

Gapwaveguide Automotive Imaging Radar Antenna with Launcher in Package Technology

A 77 GHz gapwaveguide radar antenna system with launcher-in-package (LiP) technology is presented in this paper for automotive imaging applications. Firstly, state-of-the-art LiP technology integrated with radar transceivers is proposed. The transceivers are equipped with waveguide interfaces for RF connection, enabling direct integration with waveguide antennas. Robust interconnects for coupling transceivers to waveguide antennas with non-galvanic contacts are proposed using gapwaveguide packaging technology. A simultaneous multi-mode imaging radar system using 4 cascaded aforementioned transceivers is introduced. Designated antenna elements of the system are realized by slot arrays with center-fed ridge gapwaveguides. Ultimately, the imaging radar antenna has a top radiating slot layer, a middle distribution layer and a bottom interconnect layer capable of accommodating 4 LiP radar transceivers with considerable assembly tolerance which is really one of the key aspects for commercial automotive radar applications. Input matching and radiation patterns of the antenna are verified by measurement. The results indicate that the proposed gapwaveguide imaging radar antenna in conjunction with the novel LiP packaging is able to serve the radar system properly. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the proposed gapwaveguide antenna system is the first imaging radar antenna system ever developed for LiP components. This work provides a compact, high-efficiency and cost-effective solution for the integration of complex radar systems with waveguide antennas

Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Maps Immune Cell Heterogeneity in Mice with Allogeneic Cardiac Transplantation

Objective: Immune cells play important roles in mediating allograft rejection and tolerance after cardiac transplantation. However, immune cell heterogeneity at the single-cell level, and how immune cell states shape transplantation immunity, remain incompletely characterized. Methods: We performed single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) on immune cells in LNs from a mouse syngeneic and allogeneic cardiac transplantation model. Nine T cell clusters were identified through unsupervised analysis. Pathway enrichment analysis was used to explore the functional differences among cell subpopulations and to characterize the metabolic heterogeneity of T cells. Results: We comprehensively determined the transcriptional landscape of immune cells, particularly T cells, and their metabolic transcriptomes in LNs during mouse cardiac transplantation. On the basis of molecular and functional properties, we also identified T cell types associated with transplantation-associated immune processes, including cytotoxic CD8 + T cells, activated conventional CD4 + T cells, and dysfunctional Tregs. We further elucidated the contribution of JunB to the induction of Th17 cell differentiation and restriction of Treg development, and identified that HIF-1a participates in T cell metabolism and function. Conclusions: We present the first systematic single-cell analysis of transcriptional variation within the T cell population, providing new insights for the development of novel therapeutic targets for allograft rejection

Concerns regarding complementary feeding practices among urban Chinese mothers: a focus group study in Xi\u2019an

Background: Complementary feeding (CF) is an important determinant of infant growth and development. However, CF practices are influenced by caregivers\u2019 perceptions and knowledge. This study aimed to describe perceptions and factors that potentially influence CF practices among Chinese mothers living in Xi\u2019an, a rapidly developing city in China. Methods: This focus group study included three discussion groups. Topics related to practices and concerns regarding CF were discussed among women with at least one child aged 4\u201336 months. A brief questionnaire was used to collect demographic information for mothers and their children. Results: Among study participants, the timing of starting CF for their children varied from age 4 to 8 months. Grain was ranked as the top food for CF, and homemade food was preferred to commercial CF products. Food additives and preservatives were the priority concerns when purchasing commercial baby food, particularly regarding uncertainty about their safety. In terms of nutrition, deficiencies in minerals and vitamins were of major concern. The issue of bio-availability of added nutrients in baby food was also raised during the discussions. Participants showed a strong reliance on information obtained from the Internet via computers or smartphones as their main source of CF knowledge, but felt this information lacked expertise. Conclusions: Participating mothers from Xi\u2019an prefer homemade food for CF to commercial products. More scientific knowledge of CF and related food safety issues should be available, perhaps via Internet-based approaches

Long Noncoding RNA Expression Signatures of Metastatic Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma and Their Prognostic Value

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have recently been found to play important roles in various cancer types. The elucidation of genome-wide lncRNA expression patterns in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) could reveal novel mechanisms underlying NPC carcinogenesis and progression. In this study, lncRNA expression profiling was performed on metastatic and primary NPC tumors, and the differentially expressed lncRNAs between these samples were identified. A total of 33,045 lncRNA probes were generated for our microarray based on authoritative data sources, including RefSeq, UCSC Knowngenes, Ensembl, and related literature. Using these probes, 8,088 lncRNAs were found to be significantly differentially expressed (2-fold). To identify the prognostic value of these differentially expressed lncRNAs, four lncRNAs (LOC84740, ENST00000498296, AL359062, and ENST00000438550) were selected; their expression levels were measured in an independent panel of 106 primary NPC samples via QPCR. Among these lncRNAs, ENST00000438550 expression was demonstrated to be significantly correlated with NPC disease progression. A survival analysis showed that a high expression level of ENST00000438550 was an independent indicator of disease progression in NPC patients (). In summary, this study may provide novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for NPC, as well as a novel understanding of the mechanism underlying NPC metastasis and potential targets for future treatment

Systematic analysis of the role and significance of target genes of active ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine injections in the progression and immune microenvironment of hepatocellular carcinoma

Background: Traditional Chinese medicine in China is an important adjuvant therapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and traditional Chinese medicines injections have a wide range of clinical applications. The purpose of this study was to identify the active ingredients and related genes of traditional Chinese medicine injections that can treat hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods: Effective small molecule components were extracted from 14 types of traditional Chinese medicines from 8 injections and the main gene targets were identified. The 968 patients with HCC were classified based on the target gene set, and the characteristics of patients with different subtypes were analyzed. Patients with two subtypes of HCC were compared with normal tissues and cirrhosis to identify important gene targets related to traditional Chinese medicines in HCC progression.Results: In this study, 138 important genes associated with traditional Chinese medicines were identified and two HCC subtypes were identified. By analyzing the differences between the two subtypes, 25 related genes were associated with HCC subtypes. Through clinical and pharmacological analysis, this study identified quercetin as an important traditional Chinese medicines small molecule and secreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1) as an important oncogene in HCC.Conclusion: Traditional Chinese medicines injection is an important adjuvant treatment modality for HCC. SPP1 is an important oncogene in HCC

Microbial signatures of neonatal bacterial meningitis from multiple body sites

As a common central nervous system infection in newborns, neonatal bacterial meningitis (NBM) can seriously affect their health and growth. However, although metagenomic approaches are being applied in clinical diagnostic practice, there are some limitations for whole metagenome sequencing and amplicon sequencing in handling low microbial biomass samples. Through a newly developed ultra-sensitive metagenomic sequencing method named 2bRAD-M, we investigated the microbial signatures of central nervous system infections in neonates admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Particularly, we recruited a total of 23 neonates suspected of having NBM and collected their blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and skin samples for 2bRAD-M sequencing. Then we developed a novel decontamination method (Reads Level Decontamination, RLD) for 2bRAD-M by which we efficiently denoised the sequencing data and found some potential biomarkers that have significantly different relative abundance between 12 patients that were diagnosed as NBM and 11 Non-NBM based on their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination results. Specifically, we discovered 11 and 8 potential biomarkers for NBM in blood and CSF separately and further identified 16 and 35 microbial species that highly correlated with the physiological indicators in blood and CSF. Our study not only provide microbiological evidence to aid in the diagnosis of NBM but also demonstrated the application of an ultra-sensitive metagenomic sequencing method in pathogenesis study

Single-cell transcriptomics reveals peripheral immune responses in non-segmental vitiligo

BackgroundVitiligo is a common autoimmune depigmented dermatology due to destruction of melanocytes. Much evidence suggests that vitiligo is associated with systemic immune activation. Previous studies have focused on immune cell infiltration in and around lesion areas, but few studies have investigated the cell types and function of circulating immune cells in peripheral blood. Here, single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) was used to investigate the mechanisms of peripheral immune responses in vitiligo patients.MethodsPeripheral blood was collected from five patients with progressive non-segmental vitiligo and three healthy controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were obtained by Ficoll-Paque density gradient centrifugation, and scRNA-seq was performed on isolated cell populations to obtain single cell transcriptomes and characterize important genes and intracellular signaling pathways. The key findings were validated with qPCR and flow cytometry assays.ResultsWe identified 10 major cell types by scRNA-seq. Among these cell types, neutrophils were specifically observed in our scRNA-seq data from PBMCs. Peripheral blood effector CD8+ T cells from vitiligo patients did not show significant differences at the transcriptome level compared with healthy controls, whereas regulatory T cells showed pro-inflammatory TH1-like properties. Innate immune cells, including natural killer cells and dendritic cells, showed increased antigen processing and presentation as well as upregulated interferon responses. B cells, monocytes, and neutrophils all showed activation. B cells, especially memory B cells, had upregulated expression of genes related to humoral immunity. Monocytes showed production of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Neutrophils showed strong chemokine ligand-receptor (L-R) pair (CXCR8-CXCR2) autocrine signaling pathway.ConclusionThis study revealed the genetic profile and signaling pathway characteristics of peripheral blood immune cells in vitiligo patients, providing new insights into its pathogenesis, which may facilitate identification of potential therapeutic targets