A Short-baseline Dual-antenna BDS/MIMU Integrated Navigation System

This paper puts forward a short-baseline dual-antenna BDS/MIMU integrated navigation, constructs the carrier phase double difference model of BDS (BeiDou Navigation Satellite System), and presents a 2-position initial orientation method on BDS. The Extended Kalman-filter has been applied for the integrated navigation system. The differences between MIMU and BDS position, velocity and carrier phase information are used as measurements. The experiment results indicate that the position error is less than 1m, the pitch angle error and roll angle error are less than 0.1°, and the heading angle error is about 1°. It shows that the new integrated navigation system has good performance and can be applied in various fields including USV and UAV

The Performance of the Construction of a Water Ecological Civilization City: International Assessment and Comparison

The water ecological environment problems brought about by rapid urbanization have prompted the proposal and implementation of different approaches to urban water ecological construction, such as eco-cities, best management practices (BMPs), and low-impact development (LID). As one of the most representative urban water ecological management policies in China, the Water Ecological Civilization City (WECC) was proposed in 2013, and 105 cities were selected for pilot construction. Many studies have evaluated the effectiveness of WECC construction, but international quantitative comparison is lacking. To address this, an urban Water-Human-Health (WHH) Assessment Model, considering water resources, ecological environment, economic and social development level, and water resources utilization, was developed and applied to five WECC pilot cities in China and 10 other cities worldwide, in which mainstream urban water ecological construction modes have been used. Principal component analysis of the index values in the assessment system was used to evaluate the current status of water ecosystem health in the 15 cities, showing that Sydney, Cleveland, and Hamburg were the most advanced in urban water ecological management. The two cities with the best evaluation results (Sydney and Cleveland), and the WECC city with the highest score (Wuhan) were selected for documentary analysis of their water ecological construction documents to identify similarities and differences to inform best practice internationally for urban water ecological construction. The results showed that Sydney and Cleveland attach similar emphasis across most constituents of urban water ecological construction, while, for Wuhan, greater importance is attached to water resource management and water culture. The advantages and disadvantages of WECC construction and international experience are discussed. The WHH assessment model proposed in this study provides a new quantitative evaluation method for international urban water ecological health evaluation, which could be further improved by including an urban flood risk indicator

Effect of aging on acute pancreatitis through gut microbiota

BackgroundCompared to younger people, older people have a higher risk and poorer prognosis of acute pancreatitis, but the effect of gut microbiota on acute pancreatitis is still unknown. We aim to investigate the effect of aging gut microbiota on acute pancreatitis and explore the potential mechanism of this phenomenon.MethodsEighteen fecal samples from healthy adult participants, including nine older and nine younger adults were collected. C57BL/6 mice were treated with antibiotics for fecal microbiota transplantation from older and younger participants. Acute pancreatitis was induced by cerulein and lipopolysaccharide in these mice. The effect of the aged gut microbiota was further tested via antibiotic treatment before or after acute pancreatitis induction.ResultsThe gut microbiota of older and younger adults differed greatly. Aged gut microbiota exacerbated acute pancreatitis during both the early and recovery stages. At the same time, the mRNA expression of multiple antimicrobial peptides in the pancreas and ileum declined in the older group. Antibiotic treatment before acute pancreatitis could remove the effect of aging gut microbiota, but antibiotic treatment after acute pancreatitis could not.ConclusionAging can affect acute pancreatitis through gut microbiota which characterizes the deletion of multiple types of non-dominant species. This change in gut microbiota may potentially regulate antimicrobial peptides in the early and recovery stages. The level of antimicrobial peptides has negative correlations with a more severe phenotype

AAV9-mediated gene delivery to liver grafts during static cold storage in a rat liver transplant model

IntroductionRecombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) is a novel strategy used clinically for gene delivery, but has not been characterized in the context of organ transplantation. We sought to determine the efficacy of rAAV-mediated gene delivery during static cold storage (SCS) prior to liver transplantation.MethodsA triple-plasmid transfection protocol was used to produce rAAV subtype-9 vectors containing firefly luciferase genomes in HEK293 cells. Lewis rat liver grafts were flushed and stored in cold HTK solution. Three experimental groups received rAAV at different doses, administered via the portal vein as a bolus during SCS. A control group did not receive rAAV (N = 2). Recipients then underwent syngeneic liver transplantation. Bioluminescence imaging to quantify in vivo luciferase expression was performed on post-operative days 7, 14, 28, and 56.ResultsControl animals demonstrated no bioluminescent activity, while animals receiving rAAV-treated livers had increasing bioluminescence, peaking at four weeks but sustained to the eight-week endpoint. This result was confirmed by experimental endpoint tissue luciferase activity assay.DiscussionrAAV mediates gene transduction in liver grafts when administered during SCS and has potential for gene therapy applications in solid organ transplantation

A sheep pangenome reveals the spectrum of structural variations and their effects on tail phenotypes

Structural variations (SVs) are a major contributor to genetic diversity and phenotypic variations, but their prevalence and functions in domestic animals are largely unexplored. Here we generated high-quality genome assemblies for 15 individuals from genetically diverse sheep breeds using Pacific Biosciences (PacBio) high-fidelity sequencing, discovering 130.3 Mb nonreference sequences, from which 588 genes were annotated. A total of 149,158 biallelic insertions/deletions, 6531 divergent alleles, and 14,707 multiallelic variations with precise breakpoints were discovered. The SV spectrum is characterized by an excess of derived insertions compared to deletions (94,422 vs. 33,571), suggesting recent active LINE expansions in sheep. Nearly half of the SVs display low to moderate linkage disequilibrium with surrounding single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and most SVs cannot be tagged by SNP probes from the widely used ovine 50K SNP chip. We identified 865 population-stratified SVs including 122 SVs possibly derived in the domestication process among 690 individuals from sheep breeds worldwide. A novel 168-bp insertion in the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) of HOXB13 is found at high frequency in long-tailed sheep. Further genome-wide association study and gene expression analyses suggest that this mutation is causative for the long-tail trait. In summary, we have developed a panel of high-quality de novo assemblies and present a catalog of structural variations in sheep. Our data capture abundant candidate functional variations that were previously unexplored and provide a fundamental resource for understanding trait biology in sheep

A Short-baseline Dual-antenna BDS/MIMU Integrated Navigation System

This paper puts forward a short-baseline dual-antenna BDS/MIMU integrated navigation, constructs the carrier phase double difference model of BDS (BeiDou Navigation Satellite System), and presents a 2-position initial orientation method on BDS. The Extended Kalman-filter has been applied for the integrated navigation system. The differences between MIMU and BDS position, velocity and carrier phase information are used as measurements. The experiment results indicate that the position error is less than 1m, the pitch angle error and roll angle error are less than 0.1°, and the heading angle error is about 1°. It shows that the new integrated navigation system has good performance and can be applied in various fields including USV and UAV

<i>TET1</i> Knockdown Inhibits <i>Porphyromonas gingivalis</i> LPS/IFN-γ-Induced M1 Macrophage Polarization through the NF-κB Pathway in THP-1 Cells

Tet-eleven translocation 1 (TET1) is a dioxygenase that plays an important role in decreasing the abundance of DNA methylation and changing the expression levels of specific genes related to inflammation. Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg.) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can induce periodontal diseases that present with severe bone loss and collagen fiber destruction accompanied by a high number of M1 macrophages. M1-polarized macrophages are pivotal immune cells that promote the progression of the periodontal inflammatory response, but the function of TET1 during M1 macrophage activation is still unknown. Our results showed that the mRNA and protein expression levels of TET1 decreased in THP-1 cells during M1 macrophage differentiation. TET1 knockdown resulted in a significant decrease in the production of proinflammatory markers such as IL-6, TNF-&#945;, CCL2, and HLA-DR in Pg. LPS/IFN-&#947;- and Escherichia coli (E. coli) LPS/IFN-&#947;-induced M1 macrophages. Mechanistically, TET1 knockdown downregulated the activity of the NF-&#954;B signaling pathway. After treatment with the NF-&#954;B inhibitor BAY 11-7082, M1 marker expression showed no significant difference between the TET1 knockdown group and the control group. Taken together, these results suggest that TET1 depletion inhibited Pg. LPS/IFN-&#947;-induced M1 macrophage polarization through the NF-&#954;B pathway in THP-1 cells

An Evaluation of Factors Influencing the Resilience of Flood-Affected Communities in China

In recent years, the acceleration of urbanization processes coupled with more frequent extreme weather including more severe flood events, have led to an increase in the complexity of managing community flood resilience. This research presents an empirical study to explore the factors influencing community flood resilience in six communities located in the Hubei Province of China. The study presents the development of a flood resilience evaluation index system, comprising the use of the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and interpretative structural modeling method (ISM) methods. The results show that the three most important factors affecting the flood resilience capacity of the community are (i) the investment in disaster prevention, (ii) disaster relief capacity and (iii) flood control and drainage capacity. The differences between the six communities were analyzed across four dimensions to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of the communities across these dimensions and in terms of their overall resilience. By analyzing the causal hierarchical relationship that affects community flood resilience, this study helps to enhance community resilience to flood disasters and reduce disaster risk. These findings are conducive to enhancing the sustainable development of urban communities and are expected to provide scientific guidance for community risk management and strategic decision-making