Verification of the Photogrammetric Approach on the Torsion Test Method for Timber Beams

The photogrammetric approach was proposed in this study to evaluate torsional behaviour of glulam timber beams during the torsion test. The main objectives of the experimental work were to investigate the applicability of the photogrammetric approach on the torsion test and to monitor more details of angles of twist of glulam timber beams subjected to torsional loading. Experimental tests were conducted on glulam timber beams subjected to torque, and the photogrammetric approaches as well as the inclinometers were employed to measure, respectively, the twists on the long and short sides of the cross section of the glulam specimens. The accuracy of the photogrammetric approach was validated by comparing the average rotations of the targets with those measured by the conventional inclinometer sensors. After validating the proposed approach, its measurements were compared with the inclinometer readings. The test results showed that the optical system allowed monitoring the rotations of the samples at different locations which would not be possible to obtain using the traditional techniques. The experimental results showed that there is a non-linearity from the measurement of the shear displacements along the long side of the cross-section. However, the average rotation shows clear agreements with the inclinometer readings

Applicability of the Torsion Test and Photogrammetric Approach on Structural Timber Beams

The torsion test is recommended as a standard approach to determine the shear modulus of structural-size timber and glulam beams. However, there is a difficulty in measuring the rotational deformations of timber joists. A stereo camera system and photogrammetric approach is therefore proposed in this study. This study evaluates the applicability of the proposed photogrammetric approach to the torsion testing method conducted on glulamtimber beams. Tests were performed comparing rotational values of specific points determined by the photogrammetric approach with those measured by traditional devices.Remarkable findings were obtained which may help to develop an outline for future research programmes in the field of evaluating material properties of glulam. The results also showed that the optical system not only allowed assessing performance and reliability of traditional sensors, but also allowed monitoring the deformation of samples at various locations by providing more information which would be unobtainable using traditional techniques

CRISPR RNA-guided activation of endogenous human genes

Catalytically inactive CRISPR-associated 9 nuclease (dCas9) can be directed by short guide RNAs (gRNAs) to repress endogenous genes in bacteria and human cells. Here we show that a dCas9-VP64 transcriptional activation domain fusion protein can be directed by single or multiple gRNAs to increase expression of specific endogenous human genes. These results provide an important proof-of-principle that CRISPR-Cas systems can be used to target heterologous effector domains in human cells

Rab25-Mediated EGFR Recycling Causes Tumor Acquired Radioresistance.

Tumor acquired radioresistance remains as the major limit in cancer radiotherapy (RT). Rab25, a receptor recycling protein, has been reported to be enhanced in tumors with aggressive phenotype and chemotherapy resistance. In this study, elevated Rab25 expression was identified in an array of radioresistant human cancer cell lines, in vivo radioresistant xenograft tumors. Clinical investigation confirmed that Rab25 expression was also associated with a worse prognosis in patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Enhanced activities of EGFR were observed in both NPC and LUAD radioresistant cells. Rab25 interacts with EGFR to enhance EGFR recycling to cell surface and to decrease degradation in cytoplasm. Inhibition of Rab25 showed synergized radiosensitivity with reduced aggressive phenotype. This study provides the clinical and experimental evidence that Rab25 is a potential therapeutic target to alleviate the hyperactive EGFR signaling and to prevent RT-acquired tumor resistance in patients with LUAD and NPC

Photogrammetric Evaluation of Glulam Timber Shear Modulus Using Torsion Test Method and Dual Stereo Vision System

The shear modulus of timber and timber-based composite materials is a fundamental me-chanical property which is used in the design of timber and engineered wood products. The problem of experimentally determining appropriate values of shear modulus for timber-based composite is not as simple and straightforward as in isotropic materials. Although the torsion test is a recommended standard approach to determine the shear modulus of structural-size timber and glulam beams, it is a difficult to measure the rotational deformations of the timber beams. Therefore, in this paper, a stereo camera system combined with a photogrammetric approach is proposed to evaluate the values and variations of the shear modulus of glulam beams under the torsion test. The photogrammetric approach is a non-contact method which provides an efficient and alternative approach for measuring the deformations of the torsion specimens in three dimensions. A series of experiments were conducted on glulam timber beams under the torsion test to investigate the applicability of the optical approach to evaluate the values and variations of shear modulus as well as to investigate the effect of applying torques in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction on the shear modulus of the beams. This optical system not only allows the performance and reliability of the traditional sensors to be assessed, but also allows the rotational deformation of the torsion samples to be monitored at various locations. This enables the values of shear modulus at different cross-sections of the torsion specimens to be evaluated without the need to use more devices. The test results showed that applying torques to the glulam timber specimens during loading and unloading in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction does not influence or cause a significant change in the shear modulus of the beams. By comparing shear modulus values of glulam beams measured based on different shear spans, it was found that the larger the shear span the smaller the shear modulus value. This might indicate that the variations of shear modulus values at these different gauge lengths needs to be considered

RNF185, a Novel Mitochondrial Ubiquitin E3 Ligase, Regulates Autophagy through Interaction with BNIP1

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved catabolic process that allows recycling of cytoplasmic organelles, such as mitochondria, to offer a bioenergetically efficient pathway for cell survival. Considerable progress has been made in characterizing mitochondrial autophagy. However, the dedicated ubiquitin E3 ligases targeting mitochondria for autophagy have not been revealed. Here we show that human RNF185 is a mitochondrial ubiquitin E3 ligase that regulates selective mitochondrial autophagy in cultured cells. The two C-terminal transmembrane domains of human RNF185 mediate its localization to mitochondrial outer membrane. RNF185 stimulates LC3II accumulation and the formation of autophagolysosomes in human cell lines. We further identified the Bcl-2 family protein BNIP1 as one of the substrates for RNF185. Human BNIP1 colocalizes with RNF185 at mitochondria and is polyubiquitinated by RNF185 through K63-based ubiquitin linkage in vivo. The polyubiquitinated BNIP1 is capable of recruiting autophagy receptor p62, which simultaneously binds both ubiquitin and LC3 to link ubiquitination and autophagy. Our study might reveal a novel RNF185-mediated mechanism for modulating mitochondrial homeostasis through autophagy

PM2.5 induces renal tubular injury by activating NLRP3-mediated pyroptosis

Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-related health issues have received increasing attention as a worldwide public health problem, and PM2.5-related chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been emerging over the years. Limited research has focused on the mechanism of PM2.5-induced kidney disease. To investigate the impact of PM2.5 on the kidney and its potential mechanism, we generated a PM2.5-exposed C57BL/6 mouse model by using Shanghai Meteorological and Environment Animal Exposure System (Shanghai-METAS) for 12 weeks, urine, blood and kidney tissues were collected. The pathological changes and the function of the kidney were measured after PM2.5 exposure for 12 weeks. Along with glomerular damage, tubular damage was also severe in PM2.5-induced mice. The results of mRNA-seq indicate that pyroptosis is involved. Pyroptosis is defined as caspase-1-dependent programmed cell death in response to insults. The expression of the nucleotide-binding and oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3), Caspase-1, gasdermin D (GSDMD) and IL-1β was detected. NLRP3 inflammasome activation and subsequent pyroptosis were observed in PM2.5-exposed kidney tissues and PM2.5-exposed Bumpt cells too. At the meantime, the inhibitors of NLRP3 and caspase-1 were applied to the PM2.5 exposed Bumpt cells. It turned out to have a significant rescue effect of the inhibitors. This study revealed new insights into PM2.5-induced kidney injury and specific kidney pathological damage, as well as morphological changes, and defined the important role of pyroptosis in PM2.5-induced kidney dysfunction

Adsorption behavior of CO2 on pristine and doped phosphorenes: A dispersion corrected DFT study

The density functional theory (DFT) method was used to study the adsorption of CO2 molecules on pristine and doped phosphorenes. Twenty dopants were considered during this study: Fe, Co, Ni, Ti, Cu, Au, Ag, Ca, Cr, Pd, Pt, V, Sr, Mn, B, C, N, O, Si, Ge, Se, and S. Two initial configurations of CO2 on the pristine and doped phosphorenes were also studied. The results for adsorption energy, isosurface of electron density difference, partial density of states, and charge transferring analysis indicated that pristine phosphorene had a very weak interaction with CO2. Some of transition metallic dopants, namely Fe, Co, Ti, Ni, Cr, and V, significantly improved the interactions between phosphorenes and CO2. Some other metallic dopants, however, namely Au, Ag, Pd, and Pt, and nonmetallic dopants, namely Ge, Si, Se, S, N, C, B, and O had negligible effect on the interactions between CO2 and phosphorene. Cr, Fe, Ti and V-doped phosphorenes had the potential to enhance CO2 adsorption with a particular CO2 configuration. The role of charge donor or acceptor changed between CO2 and (V- Cr-, Fe-, and Ti-) doped phosphorenes when the initial CO2 configuration changed. Thus, the use of transition metallic dopants was an effective way to enhance the interactions between CO2 and phosphorene. In particular, (V- Cr-, Fe-, and Ti-) doped phosphorenes showed the potential to sense or capture CO2 molecules

Evaluations of oil and gas lateral migration across faults: A case study of Shigezhuang nose structure of Wen'an slope in Baxian sag, Jizhong depression, Bohai Bay Basin, East China

To study the possibility and location of lateral migration of oil and gas across faults, a quantitative evaluation method for lateral migration of oil and gas across faults was established using the Shuangjing Knipe graphic method to identify the juxtaposition site and juxtaposition patterns of sand and sand in the upper and lower walls of the reverse faults and the consequent faults, combined with the oil and gas limit method of fault lateral seal in the test oil area. The quantitative evaluation method was applied to the first and two members of the Paleogene Shahejie strata (referred to as Es1 and Es2) of Shigezhuang nose structure of Wen'an slope in Baxian sag, Jizhong depression, Bohai Bay Basin, to determine the juxtaposition site of sand and sand in the upper and lower walls of the fault, and the shale gouge ratio (SGR) lower values are 26% and 29% respectively in the strata Es1 and Es2. Thus, the location of lateral migration of oil and gas across faults was determined. Based on the oil and gas distribution characteristics of the strata Es1 and Es2, and variation trend of nitrogen compounds in 4 wells in the strata Es1, the results were consistent with the quantitative evaluation of the location of lateral migration of oil and gas across faults, the feasibility of the evaluation method was preliminarily verified. Key words: Bohai Bay Basin, Jizhong depression, Wen'an slope, hydrocarbon lateral migration, shale gouge ratio, fault lateral seal, oil and gas seal limit, Knipe diagram metho