K0−Kˉ0K^0-\bar{K}^0 mixing in the minimal flavor-violating two-Higgs-doublet models

The two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM), as one of the simplest extensions of the Standard Model (SM), is obtained by adding another scalar doublet to the SM, and is featured by a pair of charged scalars, which could affect many low-energy processes. In the "Higgs basis" for a generic 2HDM, only one scalar doublet gets a nonzero vacuum expectation value and, under the criterion of minimal flavor violation, the other one is fixed to be either color-singlet or color-octet, which are named as the type-III and the type-C 2HDM, respectively. In this paper, we study the charged-scalar effects of these two models on the $K^0-\bar{K}^0$ mixing, an ideal process to probe New Physics (NP) beyond the SM. Firstly, we perform a complete one-loop computation of the box diagrams relevant to the $K^0-\bar{K}^0$ mixing, keeping the mass and momentum of the external strange quark up to the second order. Together with the up-to-date theoretical inputs, we then give a detailed phenomenological analysis, in the cases of both real and complex Yukawa couplings of the charged scalars to quarks. The parameter spaces allowed by the current experimental data on the mass difference $\Delta m_K$ and the CP-violating parameter $\epsilon_K$ are obtained and the differences between these two 2HDMs are investigated, which are helpful to distinguish them from each other from a phenomenological point of view.Comment: 30 pages,10 figures, 2 table

Fault diagnosis and prognosis using a hybrid approach combining structural analysis and data-driven techniques

© 2021 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting /republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other worksThis paper presents a fault diagnosis and prognosis based on an hybrid approach that combines structural and data-driven techniques. The proposed method involves two phases. Firstly, the residuals structure is obtained from the structural model of the system using structural analysis without using mathematical models (only the component description of the system). Secondly, the analytical expressions of residuals are obtained from available historical data using a robust identification approach. The diagnosis part consists in checking the evolution of residuals during the process, any inconsistency of residuals can be considered as a fault, so that the thresholds for each residual are introduced. The residuals are obtained using the identified interval model that takes into account the uncertainty and noises affecting the system. Once the fault is detected, also it is possible to determine which fault occurred in the system using the FSM (Fault Signature Matrix) obtained from the structural analysis of the system and residual generation. The prognosis part is developed using the same steps, but instead of considering the actual situation, it evaluates the tendency of deviation respect the nominal operation condition to predict the future residual inconsistency, allowing estimating the RUL (Remaining Useful Life) of the system. The interval model is also introduced for the future prediction of residuals, thus there will be an interval of RUL for each residual which contains the maximum and minimum RUL values. The proposed approach is applied to a brushless DC motor (BLDC) used as a case study. Simulation experiments illustrate the performance of the approach.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Niaoduqing alleviates podocyte injury in high glucose model via regulating multiple targets and AGE/RAGE pathway: Network pharmacology and experimental validation

Purpose: The aim of present study was to explore the pharmacological mechanisms of Niaoduqing granules on the treatment of podocyte injury in diabetic nephropathy (DN) via network pharmacology and experimental validation.Methods: Active ingredients and related targets of Niaoduqing, as well as related genes of podocyte injury, proteinuria and DN, were obtained from public databases. Gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis were performed to investigate the potential mechanisms. High glucose (HG) -induced MPC5 cell injury model was treated with the major core active ingredients of Niaoduqing and used to validate the predicted targets and signaling pathways.Results: Totally, 16 potential therapeutic targets were identified by intersecting the targets of Niaoduqing and disease, in which 7 of them were considered as the core targets via PPI network analysis. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that AGE-RAGE signaling pathway was identified as the most crucial signaling pathway. The results of in vitro experiments revealed that the treatment of Niaoduqing active ingredients significantly protected MPC5 cells from HG-induced apoptosis. Moreover, Niaoduqing could significantly attenuate the HG-induced activation of AGE-RAGE signaling pathway, whereas inhibited the over-expression of VEGF-A, ICAM-1, PTGS-2 and ACE in HG-induced MPC5 cells.Conclusion: Niaoduqing might protect against podocyte injury in DN through regulating the activity of AGE/RAGE pathway and expression of multiple genes. Further clinical and animal experimental studies are necessary to confirm present findings

A triclinic polymorph with Z = 3 of N,N′-bis­(2-pyrid­yl)oxamide

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C12H10N4O2, contains three half-mol­ecules. Each half-mol­ecule is completed by crystallographic inversion symmetry. The title compound, (I), is a polymorph of the structure, (II), reported by Hsu & Chen [Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. (2004), 1488–1493]. In the original report, the compound crystallized in the tetra­gonal space group P 21c (Z = 8), whereas the structure reported here is triclinic (P , Z = 3). In both forms, each oxamide mol­ecule is almost planar (with maximum deviations are 0.266 and 0.166 Å) and the O atoms are trans oriented. The principal difference between the two forms lies in the different hydrogen-bonding patterns. In (I), two N—H⋯O and one N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the mol­ecules, forming a two-dimensional network, whereas in (II) there are no classical hydrogen bonds to O atoms and only weak C—H⋯O inter­actions are found along with rings of N—H⋯N bonds

The Design of Reference Service System in Cordova-based Hybrid Frameworks

With the rise of mobile technology, the library reference service has dramatically changed. Targeting the new requirements, this paper aims to design a new library reference service system in Cordova-based hybrid frameworks, which caters to the web service embedded in two major mobile platforms, iOS and Android, as well as the PC platform. The new system adopts the WebSocket based technology to realize the function of independent online reference, which improves the quality of the normal digital reference service. The newly designed system also applies the ECS cloud server technology, thereby significantly slashing the hardware setup cost, extending the basic reference service, and improving its fitness-for-use and convenience, and optimizing the allocation of local resources

Effect of ursolic acid on obesity-induced insulin resistance in rat liver

Purpose: To determine the expression of protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP-1B) and insulin receptor substrate-2 (IRS-2) in the liver tissue of obesity-induced insulin-resistant rats.Methods: Insulin resistance (IR) was induced in Wistar rats by placing them on a high fat diet for 6weeks, and ursolic acid (UA) was administered. Metformin served as positive control drug. The rats were divided into 5 groups based on the  treatments given: normal group, positive control group, metformin group, high-dose UA group, and low-dose UA group. The general conditions of the rats were assessed 4 and 8 weeks after the various treatments. Liver glycogen levels were measured, and liver  histological examination carried out after tissue processing and staining with hematoxylin and eosin (H & E). Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed for the determination of hepatic expressions of PTP-1B and IRS-2 mRNAs, while expressions of PTP-1B protein and IRS-2 protein, and  phosphorylation of IRS-2 tyrosine were assayed by Western blotting.Results: Liver glycogen levels were significantly increased in the UA-treated groups (p < 0.05). Moreover, UA provoked reductions in the expression of PTP-1B protein (p < 0.05), but up-regulated the expression of IRS-2 protein (p < 0.05), and enhanced IRS-2 tyrosine phosphorylation (p < 0.05).Conclusion: These results suggest that UA mitigates IR through blockage of PTP-1B expression and up-regulation of the expression of IRS-2 mRNA. Therefore, PTP-1B is a potential target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.Keywords: Ursolic acid, Insulin resistance, Liver, Protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B, Insulin receptor substrate