A high-energy liquid-jet hammer with specially designed backward stroke end buffer structure

A high-energy liquid-jet hammer with specially designed backward stroke end buffer structure was investigated computationally. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) with the technique of dynamic and sliding meshes method was employed in this study. Results indicated that each of the geometric parameter of the buffer structure had a significant effect on the backward impacting energy of the impact body and brought a maximum of 49.8 % of backward impacting energy reduction. Experimental tests based on the non-contact measuring method were conducted to verify the simulation results, by which the accuracy and reliability of this CFD simulation method was proved. In addition, the high-energy liquid-jet hammer worked well with the optimal parameters of the buffer structure in bench testing and reached high penetration rate in a drilled borehole

Low-Quality Training Data Only? A Robust Framework for Detecting Encrypted Malicious Network Traffic

Machine learning (ML) is promising in accurately detecting malicious flows in encrypted network traffic; however, it is challenging to collect a training dataset that contains a sufficient amount of encrypted malicious data with correct labels. When ML models are trained with low-quality training data, they suffer degraded performance. In this paper, we aim at addressing a real-world low-quality training dataset problem, namely, detecting encrypted malicious traffic generated by continuously evolving malware. We develop RAPIER that fully utilizes different distributions of normal and malicious traffic data in the feature space, where normal data is tightly distributed in a certain area and the malicious data is scattered over the entire feature space to augment training data for model training. RAPIER includes two pre-processing modules to convert traffic into feature vectors and correct label noises. We evaluate our system on two public datasets and one combined dataset. With 1000 samples and 45% noises from each dataset, our system achieves the F1 scores of 0.770, 0.776, and 0.855, respectively, achieving average improvements of 352.6%, 284.3%, and 214.9% over the existing methods, respectively. Furthermore, We evaluate RAPIER with a real-world dataset obtained from a security enterprise. RAPIER effectively achieves encrypted malicious traffic detection with the best F1 score of 0.773 and improves the F1 score of existing methods by an average of 272.5%

Reverse Circulation Drilling Method Based on a Supersonic Nozzle for Dust Control

To reduce dust generated from drilling processes, a reverse circulation drilling method based on a supersonic nozzle is proposed. The suction performance is evaluated by the entrainment ratio. A series of preliminary laboratory experiments based on orthogonal experimental design were conducted to test the suction performance and reveal the main factors. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were conducted to thoroughly understand the interaction mechanism of the flows. The Schlieren technique was further carried out to reveal the flow characteristic of the nozzle. The results show that the supersonic nozzle can significantly improve the reverse circulation effect. A high entrainment ratio up to 0.76 was achieved, which implied strong suction performance. The CFD results agreed well with experimental data with a maximum difference of 17%. This work presents the great potential for supersonic nozzles and reverse circulation in dust control, which is significant to protect the envrionment and people’s health

Network Pharmacology Analysis and Molecular Characterization of the Herbal Medicine Formulation Qi-Fu-Yin for the Inhibition of the Neuroinflammatory Biomarker iNOS in Microglial BV-2 Cells: Implication for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Aberrant microglial activation drives neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The present study is aimed at investigating whether the herbal formula Qi-Fu-Yin (QFY) could inhibit the inflammatory activation of cultured BV-2 microglia. A network pharmacology approach was employed to predict the active compounds of QFY, protein targets, and affected pathways. The representative pathways and molecular functions of the targets were analyzed by Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway enrichment. A total of 145 active compounds were selected from seven herbal ingredients of QFY. Targets (e.g., MAPT, APP, ACHE, iNOS, and COX-2) were predicted for the selected active compounds based on the relevance to AD and inflammation. As a validation, fractions were sequentially prepared by aqueous extraction, ethanolic precipitation, and HPLC separation, and assayed for downregulating two key proinflammatory biomarkers iNOS and COX-2 in lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) challenged BV-2 cells by the Western blotting technique. Moreover, the compounds of QFY in 90% ethanol downregulated iNOS in BV-2 cells but showed no activity against COX-2 induction. Among the herbal ingredients of QFY, Angelicae Sinensis Radix and Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma contributed to the selective inhibition of iNOS induction. Furthermore, chemical analysis identified ginsenosides, especially Rg3, as antineuroinflammatory compounds. The herbal formula QFY may ameliorate neuroinflammation via downregulating iNOS in microglia

Clinical observation on the therapeutic efficacy of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes for rosacea

Objective To observe the therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes on rosacea. Methods Seventy-eight patients with rosacea, including 39 PPR type and 39 ETR type, were enrolled at the Changsha Mylike Cosmetic Hospital from January 2021 to January 2022. All patients were treated with microneedling infusion of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-exo) once a month for three months. The clinical efficacy, adverse reactions, erythema assessment scale (CEA), patient physical evaluation (PSA), investigators' global assessment (IGA) scale and skin barrier function were compared between the two groups. Results Treatment with MSC-exo significantly decreased both CEA and IGA scales, EI and TEWL, while increasing stratum corneum hydration (P<0.05 for all). After 3 treatments with MSC-exo, both CEA and IGA scales were higher in patients with ETR type than in that with PPR type (both P<0.05). Both EI and TEWL were lower in patients with PPR than in that with ETR (P<0.05). In contrast, both stratum corneum hydration levels and PSA were higher in patients with PPR than in that with ETR (P<0.05). The effective rates in patients with PPR type and ETR type were 89.74% and 64.10%, respectively (χ2=7.22, P=0.007). However, the adverse reaction rates were comparable between the two groups (χ2=1.92, P=0.166). Conclusions Treatments with MSC-exo can significantly improve the skin condition and skin barrier function in patients with rosacea. Compared with the ETR group, MSC-exo is more effective in improving skin condition in the PPR