Experimental Fire Studies on Load Bearing Steel Structures with Common Protective Coatings Used in China

Steel structures take the advantages of good stability, good ductility, low construction cost, fast construction and hence high flexibility in shape with high utilization rate. With the rapid economic growth, steel structures are popularly used in modern architecture, particularly in supertall buildings of height over 300 m in China. However, the fire behaviour of steel structures should be watched because the mechanical strength of steel reduces when temperature increases. In this paper, fire protective coatings commonly used in China for steel structures were studied by full-scale fire tests. Three types of ultra-thin, one type of thin and one type of thick coatings were evaluated. Test samples were prepared by applying the coatings on the typical H-type steel load bearing beams following standard fire resistance test. Different sets of fire protective coatings were applied on the surface of the sample as in the actual construction process. The coating thickness for the steel structural members met the Chinese regulation with ultra-thin fire protective coating of 2.00 mm ± 0.02 mm, thin fire protective coating of 5.0 mm ± 0.5 mm and thick fire protective coating of 25 mm ± 2 mm. Experiments were carried out in the large-scale testing facilities at Sichuan Fire Research Institute, Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China. The transient temperatures at different positions inside and outside the steel structure, and structural distortion of the steel structural members with different fire protective coatings under the testing condition were measured. Results on the measured temperatures, middle flexibility change values and corresponding time parameters on related parts of the test samples were then studied. A mathematical model was used for analyzing the result. The associated variables and correlation expressions among different variables were studied. Results can be taken as a reference for drafting new standards on evaluating the fire protective coatings for load bearing steel structures. For example, for the fire test of ultra-thin fire protective coating, it is possible to analyze and generalize the acquired data on temperature-time curve. For the thick-type steel structure fire protective coating, when the maximum temperature of the steel structure approaches 500oC and there is a high rate of temperature change, the fire resistance period of the structural members with protective coating can be predicted

Panax ginseng C.A Meyer root extract for moderate Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) impairs quality of life and leads to premature mortality. COPD sufferers experience progressive deterioration of lung function and decreased ability to undertake day-to-day activities. Ginseng has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine for respiratory symptoms. Several controlled clinical trials using ginseng for COPD have shown promising clinical effect, however these studies were generally small and with some potential bias, prompting the need for rigorously designed studies

A regulatory role of polycystin-1 on cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator plasma membrane expression.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is caused by genetic mutations in either PKD1 or PKD2, the genes that encode polycystin-1 (PC-1) and polycystin-2 (PC-2), respectively. ADPKD is characterized by the formation of multiple, progressive, fluid-filled renal cysts. To elucidate the mechanism of fluid secretion by ADPKD cysts, we examined the effect of PC-1 on the plasma membrane expression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a key Cl(-) secretory protein. Five stably transfected MDCK lines were used in this study: two transfected with empty vector (control cells) and three expressing human PC-1 (PC-1 cells). The cAMP-induced endogenous short circuit currents (I(sc)) were smaller in PC-1 cells than in control cells. Compared to control cells, PC-1 cells transiently expressing pEGFP-CFTR showed significant reduction of whole cell cAMP-activated Cl(-) currents. Cell surface biotinylation experiments also indicated a reduction in surface expression of CFTR in PC-1 cells compared to control. Furthermore, studies using CHO cells transiently expressing PC-1 and CFTR suggest the importance of the PC-1 COOH-terminus in the observed reduction of CFTR plasma membrane expression. No differences in either endogeneous K(+) currents or P2Y receptor responses were observed between PC-1 and control cells, indicating the specificity of PC-1's action. These results indicate that PC-1 selectively maintains low cell surface expression of CFTR. Moreover, these findings suggest that the malfunction of PC-1 enhances plasma membrane expression of CFTR, thus causing abnormal Cl(-)secretion into the cyst lumen

A next generation sequencing-based protocol for screening of variants of concern in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with strong genetic influences. There is an increasing demand for ASD genetic testing beyond the traditionally recommended microarray and syndromic autism testing; however, the current whole genome sequencing (WGS) and whole exome sequencing (WES) methods are lacking an academic standard for WGS variant annotation, reporting, and interpretation, tailored towards patients with ASD and offer very limited interpretation for clinical significance. Using WGS data from six family trios, we demonstrate the clinical feasibility and technical implementation of an evidence-based, fully transparent bioinformatics pipeline and report framework for an ASD-focused WGS genetic report. We confirmed a portion of the key variants with Sanger sequencing and provided interpretation with consideration of patients\u27 clinical symptoms and detailed literature review. Furthermore, we showed that identification of the genetic contributions of ASD core symptoms and comorbidities may promote a better understanding of the ASD pathophysiology, lead to early detection of associated comorbidities, and facilitate pharmacologic intervention based on pathological pathways inferred from the genetic information. We will make the bioinformatics pipeline and interpretation framework publicly available, in an easily accessible format, after validation with a larger cohort. We hope that the present proposed protocol can serve as a starting point to invite discourse and debate to further improve approaches in WGS-based genetic consultation for patients with ASD

Combination Therapy Strategy of Quorum Quenching Enzyme and Quorum Sensing Inhibitor in Suppressing Multiple Quorum Sensing Pathways of P. <i>aeruginosa</i>

Abstract The threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria has called for alternative antimicrobial strategies that would mitigate the increase of classical resistance mechanism. Many bacteria employ quorum sensing (QS) to govern the production of virulence factors and formation of drug-resistant biofilms. Targeting the mechanism of QS has proven to be a functional alternative to conventional antibiotic control of infections. However, the presence of multiple QS systems in individual bacterial species poses a challenge to this approach. Quorum sensing inhibitors (QSI) and quorum quenching enzymes (QQE) have been both investigated for their QS interfering capabilities. Here, we first simulated the combination effect of QQE and QSI in blocking bacterial QS. The effect was next validated by experiments using AiiA as QQE and G1 as QSI on Pseudomonas aeruginosa LasR/I and RhlR/I QS circuits. Combination of QQE and QSI almost completely blocked the P. aeruginosa las and rhl QS systems. Our findings provide a potential chemical biology application strategy for bacterial QS disruption

Reporting of ethical considerations in clinical trials in Chinese nursing journals

Background: It is acknowledged that publishers now require all primary research papers to demonstrate that they have obtained ethical approval for their research. Objectives: To assess the rate of reporting of ethical approval in clinical trials in core nursing journals in mainland China. Research design: A retrospective observational study. Participants: All clinical trials published in all of the 12 core nursing periodicals from 2016 edition China Science and Technology Journal Citation Report (core version) between 2013 and 2016 were retrieved by hand to explicate rate of reporting ethical approval and informed consent. Ethical considerations: The study did not require approval from the research ethics committee as it did not involve human subjects or records. Results: In total, 40,278 papers were published in 12 nursing periodicals between 2013 and 2016. Out of these, 9488 (23.6%) focused on clinical trials. Informed consent obtained from patients or the legally authorized representative was reported in 51.8% of clinical trials. Notably, only 27.4% of clinical trials reported that they had obtained written consent. Furthermore, 25.9% of clinical trials described ethical approval; however, the rate of reporting informed consent and ethical approval in these 12 nursing journals in China during 4 years from 2013 to 2016 improved markedly, with 38.1%, 44.0%, 59.0% and 66.6%, respectively (p<0.001), and 17.6%, 21.9%, 28.6% and 35.8%, respectively (p<0.001). In addition, both reporting informed consent and reporting written informed consent had a positive significant correlation with the reporting ethical approval (p<0.05 or p<0.01). Conclusion: Chinese scientific nursing journals have improved the rate of reporting informed consent and ethical approval in clinical trials during the last 4 years. However, it should be noted that nearly half of clinical trials still did not report either ethical approval or whether informed consent was obtained. Efforts from editors, researchers, sponsors and authors are needed to ensure the transparency of ethical scrutiny and adherence to ethical guidelines in publishing clinical trials in Chinese nursing journals

Papillary renal cell carcinoma with metastatic laparoscopic port site and vaginal involvement: a case report

10.1186/1752-1947-5-131Journal of Medical Case Reports513

IBIS (Inferred Biomolecular Interaction Server) reports, predicts and integrates multiple types of conserved interactions for proteins

We have recently developed the Inferred Biomolecular Interaction Server (IBIS) and database, which reports, predicts and integrates different types of interaction partners and locations of binding sites in proteins based on the analysis of homologous structural complexes. Here, we highlight several new IBIS features and options. The server's webpage is now redesigned to allow users easier access to data for different interaction types. An entry page is added to give a quick summary of available results and to now accept protein sequence accessions. To elucidate the formation of protein complexes, not just binary interactions, IBIS currently presents an expandable interaction network. Previously, IBIS provided annotations for four different types of binding partners: proteins, small molecules, nucleic acids and peptides; in the current version a new protein–ion interaction type has been added. Several options provide easy downloads of IBIS data for all Protein Data Bank (PDB) protein chains and the results for each query. In this study, we show that about one-third of all RefSeq sequences can be annotated with IBIS interaction partners and binding sites. The IBIS server is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Structure/ibis/ibis.cgi and updated biweekly