Impact of Farm Equipment Loading on Rigid Pavement Performance Using Finite Element Analysis

The increase in agricultural product sales in recent years has led to the use of larger hauling and application equipment to transfer farm productions. This rapid shift in equipment size has raised a concern about their potential to cause significant damage in pavements and bridges. The study reported in this paper (part of a larger pooled fund study initiated in 2007) discusses the impact of farm equipment loading on rigid pavement performance based on Finite Element (FE) analysis. The study considered various types of farm equipment to determine the pavement responses and to quantify their damage on rigid pavement systems. The ISLAB2005 FE pavement response model was employed for numerical modeling and analysis of the test sections subjected to farm equipment loading. The results of FE analysis demonstrated that the rigid pavement damage caused by farm vehicles is governed by their axle weight rather than the gross vehicle weight. The FE analysis also showed that the damage resulting from farm equipment loading coupled with PCC slab curling could have a devastating effect on concrete pavement performance

Discovery of Endothelium and Mesenchymal Properties of Primo Vessels in the Mesentery

Recent evidences demonstrated that endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) has a crucial role in cancer and is recognized as a unique source of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Primo vascular system (PVS) is a new circulatory system which may play an important role in cancer metastasis and regeneration. In the current study, we applied previously established time-saving method to identify primo vessels and further investigated the immunocytochemical properties of primo vessels. Both primo vessels and primary primo vessel cells in the mesentery expressed endothelial markers and fibroblast markers. Double-labeling experiments demonstrated that endothelial and fibroblast markers are coexpressed in primo vessels. In addition, under the stimulation of TGF-β1 in vitro, primary primo vessel cells differentiated into fibroblasts. Therefore, we found that primo vessels in the mesentery had a transitional structure between endothelium and mesenchymal. This is a new finding of EndMT in normal postnatal animals

Hyperprogressive disease during PD-1 blockade in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer

The occurrence of markedly accelerated tumor growth during immunotherapy is considered a new mode of progression called hyperprogressive disease (HPD) and its impact on pancreatic cancer (PC) patients receiving immunotherapy is unknown. In this study, we described and explored the incidence, prognosis and predictors of HPD in patients with advanced PC treated with programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) inhibitors. We retrospectively analyzed clinicopathological data from 104 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who were treated with PD-1 inhibitors at our institution during 2015–2020 and identified 10 (9.6%) patients with HPD. Overall survival (OS) was significantly poorer in patients with HPD compared to patients with progressive disease (PD) (median OS: 5.6 vs. 3.6 months, p 2, liver metastasis, antibiotic therapy within 21 days before immunotherapy (Abx B21), hemoglobin (Hb) level 2. Subgroup analysis showed that high levels of CA19-9 at baseline were associated with the development of subsequent HPD (p = .024) and a worse prognosis (mOS:16.2 months vs. 6.1 months, p < .01). Our study demonstrated that HPD may occur in PC patients treated with PD-1 inhibitors and is associated with several clinicopathological characteristics and poor prognosis. The baseline tumor marker CA19-9 may be one of the early predictors of HPD development in PC patients receiving immunotherapy

Impact of Farm Equipment Loading on Low-Volume Concrete Road Structural Response and Performance

The rapid increase in farm equipment size in the United States of America agricultural industry has raised significant concerns regarding its impact on the low-volume road infrastructure. The study described in this paper investigated the impact of heavy farm equipment (or agricultural vehicle) on the structural behaviour of rigid pavement system. A series of full-scale traffic tests were conducted at the Minnesota’s Cold Weather Pavement Testing Facility (more commonly known as MnROAD) on two existing low-volume rigid pavement sections: (1) to study the effects of agricultural vehicle and weights, traffic wander pattern, pavement structure, and environmental factors on rigid pavement responses (deflections, strains and stresses), and (2) to compare these responses with those of a standard 356 kN (80 kips) five-axle, semi-trailer truck for assessing relative rigid pavement damage caused by heavy farm equipment. Numerical analyses were also carried out for rigid pavement fatigue damage estimations by simulating field test conditions. The Finite Element Model was able to predict rigid pavement responses under complicated heavy agricultural farm equipment loading. The study findings revealed that seasonal change, traffic wander, vehicle loading/configurations, pavement thickness, slab length and modulus of subgrade support are all important factors   to be considered in designing rigid pavement subjected to heavy farm equipment loading. The use of tandem or tridem axles is recommended for all farm equipment because those axles help to distribute the load and minimize rigid pavement damage

Exploring the biological function of immune cell-related genes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA)

Abstract Background Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a chronic infectious disease characterized by consistent immune dysfunction. The objective of this study is to determine whether immune cell-related genes can be used as biomarkers for the occurrence of AIDS and potential molecular mechanisms. Methods A weighted gene co-expression network analysis was performed using the GSE6740 dataset from the Gene Expression Synthesis Database to identify the Hub gene, which contained microarray data from HIV-1 positive (HIV-1+) and HIV-1 negative (HIV-1−) individuals. The HIV-1+-related differentially expressed genes were then identified using the limma package. Subsequently, the characteristic immune cell-related genes were identified as diagnostic biomarkers for HIV-1+ using the random forest model (RF), support vector machine model, and generalized linear model. Results MEdarkgreen exhibited the strongest correlation with HIV clinical features of any of these modules. As the best model for diagnosing HIV-1±, RF was used to select four critical immune cell-related genes, namely, ARRB1, DPEP2, LTBP3, and RGCC, and a nomogram model was created to predict the occurrence of HIV-1 infection based on four key immune cell-related genes. Diagnostic genes were shown to be engaged in immune-related pathways, suggesting that immunological molecules, immune cells, and immune pathways all have a role in HIV-1 infection. The CTD database was explored for prospective medications or molecular compounds that might be utilized to treat HIV-1+ patients. = Moreover, in HIV-1+ individuals, the ceRNA network revealed that ARRB1, DPEP2, LTBP3, and RGCC could be regulated by lncRNAs through the corresponding miRNAs. Ultimately, RT-PCR results from clinical blood samples demonstrated that the four diagnostic genes were significantly downregulated in HIV-1+ patients. Conclusion We screened four immune cell-related genes, ARRB1, DPEP2, LTBP3, and RGCC, which may be considered as the diagnostic markers for HIV-1/AIDS. Our findings reveal that immune related genes and pathways involved in HIV-1 pathogenesis were regulated on both genetic and epigenetic levels by constructing a ceRNA network associated with lncRNA

Additional file 1 of Exploring the biological function of immune cell-related genes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA)

Additional file 1: GSE6740 gene expression profile

Additional file 1 of Exploring the biological function of immune cell-related genes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection based on weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA)

Additional file 1: GSE6740 gene expression profile

The Sit-and-Wait Hypothesis in Bacterial Pathogens: A Theoretical Study of Durability and Virulence

The intriguing sit-and-wait hypothesis predicts that bacterial durability in the external environment is positively correlated with their virulence. Since its first proposal in 1987, the hypothesis has been spurring debates in terms of its validity in the field of bacterial virulence. As a special case of the vector-borne transmission versus virulence tradeoff, where vector is now replaced by environmental longevity, there are only sporadic studies over the last three decades showing that environmental durability is possibly linked with virulence. However, no systematic study of these works is currently available and epidemiological analysis has not been updated for the sit-and-wait hypothesis since the publication of Walther and Ewald’s (2004) review. In this article, we put experimental evidence, epidemiological data and theoretical analysis together to support the sit-and-wait hypothesis. According to the epidemiological data in terms of gain and loss of virulence (+/-) and durability (+/-) phenotypes, we classify bacteria into four groups, which are: sit-and-wait pathogens (++), vector-borne pathogens (+-), obligate-intracellular bacteria (--), and free-living bacteria (-+). After that, we dive into the abundant bacterial proteomic data with the assistance of bioinformatics techniques in order to investigate the two factors at molecular level thanks to the fast development of high-throughput sequencing technology. Sequences of durability-related genes sourced from Gene Ontology and UniProt databases and virulence factors collected from Virulence Factor Database are used to search 20 corresponding bacterial proteomes in batch mode for homologous sequences via the HMMER software package. Statistical analysis only identified a modest, and not statistically significant correlation between mortality and survival time for eight non-vector-borne bacteria with sit-and-wait potentials. Meanwhile, through between-group comparisons, bacteria with higher host-mortality are significantly more durable in the external environment. The results of bioinformatics analysis correspond well with epidemiological data, that is, non-vector-borne pathogens with sit-and-wait potentials have higher number of virulence and durability genes compared with other bacterial groups. However, the conclusions are constrained by the relatively small bacterial sample size and non-standardized experimental data

Impact of Farm Equipment Loading on Rigid Pavement Performance Using Finite Element Analysis

The increase in agricultural product sales in recent years has led to the use of larger hauling and application equipment to transfer farm productions. This rapid shift in equipment size has raised a concern about their potential to cause significant damage in pavements and bridges. The study reported in this paper (part of a larger pooled fund study initiated in 2007) discusses the impact of farm equipment loading on rigid pavement performance based on Finite Element (FE) analysis. The study considered various types of farm equipment to determine the pavement responses and to quantify their damage on rigid pavement systems. The ISLAB2005 FE pavement response model was employed for numerical modeling and analysis of the test sections subjected to farm equipment loading. The results of FE analysis demonstrated that the rigid pavement damage caused by farm vehicles is governed by their axle weight rather than the gross vehicle weight. The FE analysis also showed that the damage resulting from farm equipment loading coupled with PCC slab curling could have a devastating effect on concrete pavement performance.This paper is from 10th International Conference on Concrete Pavements, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, July 8-12. p.546-560. Posted with permission.</p