Study on Variable Action Value Standard for Harbor Infrastructures

To meet with different levels of requirements from proprietors and users and to offer a basis for variable action value to the designers, associated with the standards, this dissertation studied the value standard of load effect and environmental effect. For load effect, on the foundation of analyzing variable load effect model, we used equal exceeding probability principle to calculate the load adjustment coefficient for the cargo loading in harbor and river port under different designing service life. For environmental effect, according to the ranks of marine chloride environment in standards GB/T 50476-2008, after analyzing and comparing the research achievements on surface chloride concentration at home and abroad, we obtained the value standard of chloride ion loading in different ranks of chloride environment

A Gin4-Like Protein Kinase GIL1 Involvement in Hyphal Growth, Asexual Development, and Pathogenesis in Fusarium graminearum

Fusarium graminearum is the main causal agent of Fusarium head blight (FHB) on wheat and barley. In a previous study, a GIN4-like protein kinase gene, GIL1, was found to be important for plant infection and sexual reproduction. In this study we further characterized the functions of GIL1 kinase in different developmental processes. The Δgil1 mutants were reduced in growth, conidiation, and virulence, and formed whitish and compact colonies. Although phialide formation was rarely observed in the mutants, deletion of GIL1 resulted in increased hyphal branching and increased tolerance to cell wall and cell membrane stresses. The Δgil1mutants produced straight, elongated conidia lacking of distinct foot cells and being delayed in germination. Compared with the wild type, some compartments in the vegetative hyphae of Δgil1 mutants had longer septal distances and increased number of nuclei, suggesting GIL1 is related to cytokinesis and septation. Localization of the GIL1-GFP fusion proteins to the septum and hyphal branching and fusion sites further supported its roles in septation and branching. Overall, our results indicate that GIL1 plays a role in vegetative growth and plant infection in F. graminearum, and is involved in septation and hyphal branching

Efficiency of electrochemical chloride removal from concrete at different environmental temperatures

Electrochemical chloride removal (ECR) is an effective and curative method to treat existed reinforced concrete structures about to suffer or already suffering from chloride attack, however, its application is still limited due to its side effect and efficiency, including the velocity and maximum capacity of chloride removal. This paper presents a temperature related numerical transport model to study the effect of temperature on efficiency of electrochemical chloride removal from concrete. Based on Fick’s law and Nernst-Planck equation with Gauss’ Law, temperature effect, chloride binding, multi-species coupling, electrochemical reactions were taken into account in this model. Temperature effect was considered on diffusion coefficient, chloride binding, ions migration capacity as well as electrolyte concentration. The model was validated by the comparison between the calculated results and experimental data. The results indicate that temperature dose have a considerable influence on electrochemical chloride removal and controlling temperature during treatment is a practical method to improve the electrochemical chloride removal when applied current density is not amplified

Degree Distribution of Arbitrary AANET

Taking the safe distance between two adjacent planes in the same airline into account, we give a model for the multiairline aeronautical ad hoc network (AANET). Based on our model, we analyze the plane’s degree distribution of any arbitrary AANET. Then, the expressions of the degree distributions of one single plane and the whole networks are both worked out and verified by the simulations, in which we generate several random AANETs. Since our model is a reasonable abstraction of the real situation, the theoretical result we get is very close to the result of the real networks, which is also shown in the simulations

Preparation and pre-clinical characterization of sustainedrelease ketoprofen implants for the management of pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis

Purpose: To prepare and evaluate sustained-release ketoprofen implants for prolonged drug release and activity.Methods: Ketoprofen implants were prepared with poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) and chitosan in the form of tablets. The implants were analyzed for drug loading, thickness, hardness, swelling, in vitro drug release, as well as in vivo analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities.Results: The implants were round, smooth in appearance, uniform in thickness and showed no cracks or physical defects on the surface. Their friability was < 1 % while drug content ranged from 89.98 ± 2.06 to 92.95 ± 1.65 %. In vitro drug release ranged from 70.23 to 92.04 % at the end of 5 days. Implants containing higher amounts of PLGA produced the highest swelling (40.24 ± 1.08 %). Implant IKT3 showed maximum analgesic activity (7.75 ± 1.00 s) and shortest time of maximum analgesia (2.5 h) in hot plate method. Inhibition of rat paw edema for IKT1, IKT2 and IKT3 was 79.95, 69.98 and 82.24 %, respectively, after 24 h.Conclusion: Ketoprofen-loaded implant IKT3 (4:4:2 ratio of PLGA, chitosan and ketoprofen) provides relatively quick onset and prolonged duration of analgesic effect. Thus, ketoprofen implants have a potential for development into therapeutic products for prolonged management of pain and inflammation in osteoarthritis.Keywords: Osteoarthritis, Ketoprofen implant, Prolonged analgesia, Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid), Chitosa

A Genomic Landscape of Haplotype Diversity and Signatures of Phylogeographic Distribution in Zaire Ebolavirus during the 2014 EVD Epidemic

The Ebola virus (EBOV) disease epidemic from 2013 to 2015 is the largest in history, affecting multiple countries in West Africa. Genome sequencing of EBOV has revealed extensive genetic variation and mutation rate. The evolution and the variations among genotypes of EBOV observed remain low, which suggests that the viral haplotypes may be common in this transmission. To address this hypothesis, we investigated the genomic portrait of haplotype diversity in EBOV from 1976 to the 2014 outbreaks. We obtained 176 haplotypes in 305 gene-coding sequences of EBOV and found that the Hap8 in multiple viral haplotypes is the major epidemic lineage in the 2014 Sierra Leone outbreak. The phylogeographic analysis of EBOV transmission in Sierra Leone during 2014 outbreaks indicated that the genetic flow in EBOV was no more likely to occur within or without populations and the correlation between genetic and geographical distance is not significant. Our study first detected the diversity of viral haplotypes with systematic calculation of phylogeographic distribution in EBOV. This observation highlighted how Ebola virus is substantially different in virulence or transmissibility in comparison to the virus lineages associated with 2014 outbreaks in Sierra Leone, which provides a clue to understand the 2014 EBOV spreading

Comparison of efficacy and safety profiles of epidural analgesia and opioid analgesia in Chinese patients with thoracic trauma: A preliminary report

Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety profiles of epidural analgesia (EA) and opioid analgesia (OA) in Chinese patients with thoracic trauma (TT). Methods: Patients with confirmed diagnosis of thoracic trauma were given either EA (via a catheter) or slow-release OA. The following efficacy variables were assessed in the two treatment groups: pain score, and changes in cytokine and catecholamine levels from baseline after treatment. Moreover, respiratory parameters were determined before and after treatment. The safety associated with each anesthesia was also evaluated. Quantitative data were analyzed either with Student’s t-test or MannWhitney test, while  categorical data were analyzed using Fisher exact or Chi-square test, based on data size. Results: A total of 200 patients completed the study (100 patients in each group). Pain, as assessed by verbal rating scale (VRS), was slightly lower in patients after treatment with EA, when compared to the patients treated with OA. However, the difference was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Maximum inspiratory force (cmH2O) and tidal volume (liters) were slightly improved in patients  treated with EA, when compared to OA-treated patients, although the difference was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Moreover,  the two treatments produced comparable levels of cytokines and catecholamines. Conclusion: The efficacy and safety data for EA and OA in Chinese non-obese patients with TT indicate numerically favorable outcome for EA, when compared to OA. Keywords: Epidural analgesia, Opioid analgesia, Chinese patients, Thoracic traum

Flutter Characteristic Study of Composite Sandwich Panel with Functionally Graded Foam Core

This paper attempts to investigate the flutter characteristic of sandwich panel composed of laminated facesheets and a functionally graded foam core. The macroscopic properties of the foam core change continuously along this direction parallel to the facesheet lamina. The model used in the study is a simple sandwich panel-wing clamped at the root, with three simple types of grading strategies for FGM core: (1) linear grading strategy in the chord-wise direction, (2) linear grading strategy in the span-wise direction, and (3) bilinear grading of properties of foam core across the panel. The results show that use of FGM core has the potential to increase the flutter speed of the sandwich panel. Finally, a minimum weight design of composite sandwich panel with lamination parameters of facesheet and density distribution of foam core as design variables is conducted using particle swarm optimization (PSO)

What Makes it Difficult to Understand a Scientific Literature?

In the artificial intelligence area, one of the ultimate goals is to make computers understand human language and offer assistance. In order to achieve this ideal, researchers of computer science have put forward a lot of models and algorithms attempting at enabling the machine to analyze and process human natural language on different levels of semantics. Although recent progress in this field offers much hope, we still have to ask whether current research can provide assistance that people really desire in reading and comprehension. To this end, we conducted a reading comprehension test on two scientific papers which are written in different styles. We use the semantic link models to analyze the understanding obstacles that people will face in the process of reading and figure out what makes it difficult for human to understand a scientific literature. Through such analysis, we summarized some characteristics and problems which are reflected by people with different levels of knowledge on the comprehension of difficult science and technology literature, which can be modeled in semantic link network. We believe that these characteristics and problems will help us re-examine the existing machine models and are helpful in the designing of new one.Comment: Accepted by SKG201