Performance-based seismic isolation design using the theory of spatially concave friction distribution

Seismic isolation devices were designed to protect three similar building structures, containing different objects with different fragilities, in a strong earthquake region. And a performance-based assessment framework, established by the PEER, was used to identify the seismic isolation efficiency of these devices. It optimized the ratios of spring part, viscous damping part and friction part in the seismic isolation devices, aiming at different functional buildings. Results show that a spatially concave friction distribution, combined with a weak spring, not only can reduce the structural acceleration response during earthquakes, but also decrease the structural residual displacement after earthquakes. Moreover, the spatially concave friction distribution can dissipate earthquake energy, but cannot hinder the recentering of structure like that of general uniform friction distributions. Consequently, the spatially concave friction distribution can partly or fully replace the viscous dampers, which are more expensive and short-lived. The reasonable combination of different components in the seismic isolation devices can satisfy different seismic requirements, aiming at different functional buildings

Performance-based seismic isolation design using the theory of spatially concave friction distribution

Seismic isolation devices were designed to protect three similar building structures, containing different objects with different fragilities, in a strong earthquake region. And a performance-based assessment framework, established by the PEER, was used to identify the seismic isolation efficiency of these devices. It optimized the ratios of spring part, viscous damping part and friction part in the seismic isolation devices, aiming at different functional buildings. Results show that a spatially concave friction distribution, combined with a weak spring, not only can reduce the structural acceleration response during earthquakes, but also decrease the structural residual displacement after earthquakes. Moreover, the spatially concave friction distribution can dissipate earthquake energy, but cannot hinder the recentering of structure like that of general uniform friction distributions. Consequently, the spatially concave friction distribution can partly or fully replace the viscous dampers, which are more expensive and short-lived. The reasonable combination of different components in the seismic isolation devices can satisfy different seismic requirements, aiming at different functional buildings

Impact of meteorological factors on the COVID-19 transmission: A multicity study in China

The purpose of the present study is to explore the associations between novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID- 19) case counts and meteorological factors in 30 provincial capital cities of China. We compiled a daily dataset including confirmed case counts, ambient temperature (AT), diurnal temperature range (DTR), absolute humidity (AH) and migration scale index (MSI) for each city during the period of January 20th to March 2nd, 2020. First, we explored the associations between COVID-19 confirmed case counts, meteorological factors, and MSI using non-linear regression. Then, we conducted a two-stage analysis for 17 cities with more than 50 confirmed cases. In the first stage, generalized linear models with negative binomial distribution were fitted to estimate city-specific effects of meteorological factors on confirmed case counts. In the second stage, the meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the pooled effects. Our results showed that among 13 cities that have less than 50 confirmed cases, 9 cities locate in the Northern China with average AT below0 °C, 12 cities had average AHbelow4 g/m3, and one city (Haikou) had the highest AH (14.05 g/m3). Those 17 cities with 50 and more cases accounted for 90.6% of all cases in our study. Each 1 °C increase in AT and DTR was related to the decline of daily confirmed case counts, and the corresponding pooled RRs were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.85) and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.86, 0.95), respectively. For AH, the association with COVID-19 case counts were statistically significant in lag 07 and lag 014. In addition,we found the all these associations increased with accumulated time duration up to 14 days. In conclusions, meteorological factors play an independent role in the COVID-19 transmission after controlling population migration. Local weather condition with low temperature, mild diurnal temperature range and low humidity likely favor the transmission

Heterogeneous N2O5 reactions on atmospheric aerosols at four Chinese sites : improving model representation of uptake parameters

Heterogeneous reactivity of N2O5 on aerosols is a critical parameter in assessing NOx fate, nitrate production, and particulate chloride activation. Accurate measurement of its uptake coefficient (gamma N2O5) and representation in air quality models are challenging, especially in the polluted environment. With an in situ aerosol flow-tube system, the gamma N2O5 was directly measured on ambient aerosols at two rural sites in northern and southern China. The results were analyzed together with the gamma N2O5 derived from previous field studies in China to obtain a holistic picture of gamma N2O5 uptake and the influencing factors under various climatic and chemical conditions. The field-derived or measured gamma N2O5 was generally promoted by the aerosol water content and suppressed by particle nitrate. Significant discrepancies were found between the measured gamma N2O5 and that estimated from laboratory-determined parameterizations. An observation-based empirical parameterization was derived in the present work, which better reproduced the mean value and variability of the observed gamma N2O5. Incorporating this new parameterization into a regional air quality model (WRF-CMAQ) has improved the simulation of N2O5, nitrogen oxides, and secondary nitrate in the polluted regions of China.Peer reviewe

VPA improves ferroptosis in tubular epithelial cells after cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury

Background: As a novel non-apoptotic cell death, ferroptosis has been reported to play a crucial role in acute kidney injury (AKI), especially cisplatin-induced AKI. Valproic acid (VPA), an inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC) 1 and 2, is used as an antiepileptic drug. Consistent with our data, a few studies have demonstrated that VPA protects against kidney injury in several models, but the detailed mechanism remains unclear.Results: In this study, we found that VPA prevents against cisplatin-induced renal injury via regulating glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) and inhibiting ferroptosis. Our results mainly indicated that ferroptosis presented in tubular epithelial cells of AKI humans and cisplatin-induced AKI mice. VPA or ferrostatin-1 (ferroptosis inhibitor, Fer-1) reduced cisplatin-induced AKI functionally and pathologically, which was characterized by reduced serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and tissue damage in mice. Meanwhile, VPA or Fer-1 treatment in both in vivo and in vitro models, decreased cell death, lipid peroxidation, and expression of acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4), reversing downregulation of GPX4. In addition, our study in vitro indicated that GPX4 inhibition by siRNA significantly weakened the protective effect of VPA after cisplatin treatment.Conclusion: Ferroptosis plays an essential role in cisplatin-induced AKI and inhibiting ferroptosis through VPA to protect against renal injury is a viable treatment in cisplatin-induced AKI