The Unification of Nature and Human: From Cognition to Practice

Traditional Chinese civilization has had a long history of understanding the relationship between nature and human. The Chinese Ming dynasty physician Zhang Jingyue brought the cognition of "the unity of nature and human" into play by reconstructing Chinese medical theory and clinical practice thus achieving an important transition from cognition to practice. Based on the three main aspects of (i) holistic cognition and clinical application, (ii) yin-yang cognition and clinical application, and (iii) five elements-related cognition and clinical application, we further explore Zhang Jingyue's thoughts and applications from the cognition of "the unity of nature and human" to the practice of "the unity of knowledge and action" to provide reference and inspiration for the development of present-day medicine and even the progress of human civilization

The Unification of Nature and Human: From Cognition to Practice

Traditional Chinese civilization has had a long history of understanding the relationship between nature and human. The Chinese Ming dynasty physician Zhang Jingyue brought the cognition of "the unity of nature and human" into play by reconstructing Chinese medical theory and clinical practice thus achieving an important transition from cognition to practice. Based on the three main aspects of (i) holistic cognition and clinical application, (ii) yin-yang cognition and clinical application, and (iii) five elements-related cognition and clinical application, we further explore Zhang Jingyue's thoughts and applications from the cognition of "the unity of nature and human" to the practice of "the unity of knowledge and action" to provide reference and inspiration for the development of present-day medicine and even the progress of human civilization

A new characterization methodology for starch gelatinization

A gelatinization degree control system, with a combination of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and computer vision, was successfully developed. An intelligent measurement framework was purposely designed to achieve a precise investigation on phase transition and morphology change of starch in real time, as well as a process control during gelatinization. Base on a variation of birefringence number, the degree of gelatinization (DG) control system provided a direct and fast methodology without subjective uncertainty in studying starch gelatinization. In the course, the whole system was a cascade structure with the hot-stage temperature chosen as the inner-loop parameter, thus the granule morphology and birefringence at different DG could be easily observed and compared in real time, and the relative transition temperature was simultaneously calculated

Expression, Purification and Bioactivities Analysis of Recombinant Active Peptide from Shark Liver

The Active Peptide from Shark Liver (APSL) was expressed in E. coli BL21 cells. The cDNA encoding APSL protein was obtained from shark regenerated hepatic tissue by RT-PCR, then it was cloned in the pET-28a expression vector. The expressed fusion protein was purified by Ni-IDA affinity chromatography. SDS-PAGE and HPLC analysis showed the purity of the purified fusion protein was more than 98%. The recombinant APSL (rAPSL) was tested for its biological activity both in vitro, by its ability to improve the proliferation of SMMC7721 cells, and in vivo, by its significant protective effects against acute hepatic injury induced by CCl4 and AAP (acetaminophen) in mice. In addition, the rAPSL could decrease the blood glucose concentration of mice with diabetes mellitus induced by alloxan. Paraffin sections of mouse pancreas tissues showed that rAPSL (3 mg/kg) could effectively protect mouse islets from lesions induced by alloxan, which indicated its potential application in theoretical research and industry

Study on human-SRL synchronized walking based on coupled impedance

IntroductionSupernumerary robotic limbs (SRL) is a novel category of wearable robotics. Unlike prostheses (compensation for human limbs) and exoskeletons (augmentation of human limbs), SRL focuses on expanding human limbs and enhancing human activities, perception, and operation through the mutual collaboration of mechanical limbs and human limbs. The SRL of lower limbs are attached to the human waist, synchronized with the human walking in the forward direction, and can carry weight independently in the vertical direction.MethodsIn order to enhance the synchronization performance of the human-machine system during walking and minimize interference with human gait, it is essential to investigate the coupling dynamics within the human-SRL system. To facilitate our research, this paper focuses on relatively ideal working conditions: level road surfaces, no additional weight-bearing on the SRL, and humans walking in a straight line without any turns. We build upon the passive dynamic walking theory and utilize the human-SRL system model established by MIT to develop a coupling system model. Through numerical simulations, we identify the optimal values for the stiffness and damping coefficients of the human-machine connection. Additionally, we have designed the wheel-legged SRL structure and constructed the SRL control system for experimental validation.ResultsIt is found that a better synchronization of the human-machine walking process can be achieved by configuring suitable spring and damping units in the human-machine connection part.DiscussionIn this study, we explored the concept of SRL and its potential benefits for enhancing human motion, conducting simulations and experiments based on the coupled dynamics of human-SRL systems. The results indicate that by equipping the human-machine connection component with suitable spring and damping units, synchronization during the walking process can be improved

Progress of translational research on biomarker⁃based oral squamous cell carcinoma treatment

A biomarker is defined as a biological molecule found in the blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of normal or abnormal processes or a condition or disease. In cancer research, biomarkers are classified as diagnos⁃ tic, prognostic, or predictive. The identification and application of biomarkers in clinical practice are important for eval⁃ uating their usefulness for clinical diagnosis, treatment and prognostic warning and for determining the biological effects of anti⁃cancer drugs, and they are currently one of the hottest topics in oncological translational research. Currently, translational research on biomarkers mostly focus on oncological diagnosis and molecular typing, targeted therapy, treat⁃ ment protocol selection and optimization, prognostic prediction, etc. Here, we review the progress of translational re⁃ search on treatments based on biomarkers in oral squamous cell carcinoma as well as the clinical application of inhibi⁃ tors targeting EGFR, PD1, PI3K, WEE1, the Wnt/β ⁃catenin pathway, the SHH pathway, and the ERK pathway. The prospect of research strategies for personalized treatments based on biomarkers in oral squamous cell carcinoma is also discussed

Statistical Inversion Approach for Stress Estimation Based on Strain Monitoring in Continuously Pre-Stressed Concrete Beams

Stress is one of the most important physical indexes reflecting the mechanical behavior of concrete structures. In general, stress in structures cannot be directly monitored and can only be estimated through an established model of stress and strain. The accuracy of the estimated stress depends on the rationality of the established model for stress and strain. As the strain measured by sensors contains creep, shrinkage, and elastic strain, it is difficult to establish an analytical model for strain and stress. In this paper, a statistical inverse method was utilized to estimate the stress in continuously pre-stressed concrete beams based on the monitored strain. Stress in the beams and the model uncertainty factors were treated as model parameters. A linear-simplified method was adopted to determine the prior distribution of the stresses. The posterior distribution of the stresses at different locations during bridge construction can be obtained by the proposed method. A continuously pre-stressed concrete beam bridge was taken as the case study to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Additionally, the constitution of the total strain in the different construction stages was calculated. It was concluded that the creep strain is the dominant part of the total strain

Flexural Analysis Model of Externally Prestressed Steel-Concrete Composite Beam with Nonlinear Interfacial Connection

Interfacial slip effects and the unbonded phenomenon of external tendons are the key mechanical features of the externally prestressed steel-concrete composite beams (EPCBs). In this paper, an 8-node fiber beam element is built for the nonlinear analysis of the composite beam with interfacial slip effects. A multi-node slipping cable element is proposed for the simulation of external tendons. The derived formulations are programmed in OpenSees as newly developed element classes to be conveniently used for the flexural analysis of EPCBs. The effectiveness of the proposed model is fully verified against the experimental tests of simply supported and continuous beams and then applied to the parametric study. The results show that the increasing deviator spacing will significantly decrease the tendon effective depth at ultimate states and further decrease the flexural capacity. The larger effective depth is beneficial to the tendon stress increments and further improves the flexural capacity. The enhancement of interfacial shear connection degree will increase the structural capacity but the effects on the tendon stress increments and second-order effects were not monotonic