Finite-Time Boundedness Control of Time-Varying Descriptor Systems

This paper mainly studies a control problem of finite-time boundedness of time-varying descriptor systems. Firstly, a sufficient and necessary condition of finite-time stability is given, then a sufficient condition of finite-time boundedness for time-varying descriptor systems is given. Secondly, we analyze the finite-time boundedness control problem and design the finite-time state feedback controller; the controller is given based on LMIs for time-varying descriptor systems and time-varying uncertain descriptor systems, respectively. Finally, a numerical example is given to prove the effectiveness of the method

Identification of the Metabolic Enzyme Involved Morusin Metabolism and Characterization of Its Metabolites by Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatogaphy Quadrupole Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS/MS)

Morusin, the important active component of a traditional Chinese medicine, Morus alba L., has been shown to exhibit many vital pharmacological activities. In this study, six recombinant CYP450 supersomes and liver microsomes were used to perform metabolic studies. Chemical inhibition studies and screening assays with recombinant human cytochrome P450s were also used to characterize the CYP450 isoforms involved in morusin metabolism. The morusin metabolites identified varied greatly among different species. Eight metabolites of morusin were detected in the liver microsomes from pigs (PLMs), rats (RLMs), and monkeys (MLMs) by LC-MS/MS and six metabolites were detected in the liver microsomes from humans (HLMs), rabbits (RAMs), and dogs (DLMs). Four metabolites (M1, M2, M5, and M7) were found in all species and hydroxylation was the major metabolic transformation. CYP1A2, CYP2C9, CYP2D6, CYP2E1, CYP3A4, and CYP2C19 contributed differently to the metabolism of morusin. Compared to other CYP450 isoforms, CYP3A4 played the most significant role in the metabolism of morusin in human liver microsomes. These results are significant to better understand the metabolic behaviors of morusin among various species

New Metal Niobate and Silicotitanate Ion Exchangers: Development and Characterization

This project is a continuing EMSP project entitled ''New Silicotitanate Waste Forms: Development and Characterization.'' In our original study, the phase selection and chemical durability of silicotitanates (including commercially available IE-911) as a function of temperature (500 to 1000 C) was fully characterized by a combination of techniques including XRD, TEM, SEM, NMR, Raman spectroscopy, XAFS, XANES, and by thermodynamic studies. In addition, work on this program led to new discoveries not anticipated in the originally proposed research. Of particular importance was the discovery of a new ion exchange material that is selective for divalent cations under extreme conditions (e.g., acid solutions, competing cations), thus providing an alternative for removing Sr from mixed wastes. This material is converted easily by high-temperature, in situ heat treatment into a perovskite phase, which is also a major component of Synroc, a titanate ceramic waste form used for sequestration of high-level waste (HLW) from reprocessed, spent nuclear fuel. This renewal project is based on the current needs in separation of cesium and strontium and the results obtained from our previous EMSP work. The purpose of this project is to deliver pertinent information that can be used to make rational decisions on selection of separation processes for cesium, strontium, and actinides. The objectives of this project are: (1) to establish the structure/property relationship between inorganic ion exchanger materials and their ability to selectively separate divalent cations under extreme operating conditions-This includes optimizing stoichiometry, synthesis, and pretreatment conditions for metal niobate and silicotitanate ion exchangers for maximum strontium and actinide-surrogate selectivity. (2) to fully characterize the phase relationships, structures, and thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of these new phases and their related condensed phases (as potential ceramic waste forms) (3) to understand the chemical and thermodynamic stabilities of silicotitanate ion exchangers based on an in-depth comprehension of local bonding configurations and thermochemistry (4) to apply fundamental understanding to tailoring an ion exchanger that is ideally suited for a DOE needs and therefore has the potential for short-term deployment in the DOE complex

New Metal Niobate and Silicotitanate Ion Exchangers: Development and Characterization

This project is a continuing EMSP project entitled ''New Silicotitanate Waste Forms: Development and Characterization.'' In our original study, the phase selection and chemical durability of silicotitanates (including commercially available IE-911) as a function of temperature (500 to 1000 C) was fully characterized by a combination of techniques including XRD, TEM, SEM, NMR, Raman spectroscopy, XAFS, XANES, and by thermodynamic studies. In addition, work on this program led to new discoveries not anticipated in the originally proposed research. Of particular importance was the discovery of a new ion exchange material that is selective for divalent cations under extreme conditions (e.g., acid solutions, competing cations), thus providing an alternative for removing Sr from mixed wastes. This material is converted easily by high-temperature, in situ heat treatment into a perovskite phase, which is also a major component of Synroc, a titanate ceramic waste form used for sequestration of high-level waste (HLW) from reprocessed, spent nuclear fuel. This renewal project is based on the current needs in separation of cesium and strontium and the results obtained from our previous EMSP work. The purpose of this project is to deliver pertinent information that can be used to make rational decisions on selection of separation processes for cesium, strontium, and actinides. The objectives of this project are: (1) to establish the structure/property relationship between inorganic ion exchanger materials and their ability to selectively separate divalent cations under extreme operating conditions-This includes optimizing stoichiometry, synthesis, and pretreatment conditions for metal niobate and silicotitanate ion exchangers for maximum strontium and actinide-surrogate selectivity. (2) to fully characterize the phase relationships, structures, and thermodynamic and kinetic stabilities of these new phases and their related condensed phases (as potential ceramic waste forms) (3) to understand the chemical and thermodynamic stabilities of silicotitanate ion exchangers based on an in-depth comprehension of local bonding configurations and thermochemistry (4) to apply fundamental understanding to tailoring an ion exchanger that is ideally suited for a DOE needs and therefore has the potential for short-term deployment in the DOE comple

The Optimal Axial Anatomical Site for a Single-Slice Area to Quantify the Total Volume of Visceral Adipose Tissue in Quantitative CT

PurposeDetermine the association between cross-sectional visceral adipose tissue (VAT) area of different anatomic locations and total abdominopelvic VAT volume; identify the optimal measurement site in a single-slice to quantify the total VAT volume.MethodParticipants who underwent non-contrast abdominal scan by quantitative CT (QCT) were enrolled from May 2021 to October 2021. The VAT area (cm2) at different anatomic sites as upper-pole, lower-pole, and hilum of the kidney, intervertebral disc of L2/L3 and L5/S1, and umbilical level were measured on QCT PRO BMD workstation (Mindways QCT PRO workstation). The total VAT volume (cm3) from the upper pole of kidney to the L5/S1 intervertebral disc of the pelvis (abdominopelvic region) was obtained by using Siemens Healthineers Syngo via Frontier cardiac risk assessment. Regression models were used to identify the optimal single-slice in different gender for estimating VAT volume. Statistical significance was established at P < 0.05.ResultsTotal of 311 Chinese participants including 179 men [age, 55.1 ± 14.9 years; body mass index (BMI), 24.2 ± 3.2 kg/m2; total VAT volume, 2482.6 ± 1276.5 mL] and 132 women [age, 54.3 ± 14.9; BMI, 23.5 ± 2.9; total VAT volume, 1761.5 ± 876.4]. Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a strong association between the VAT area and total abdominopelvic VAT volume at the hilum of the kidney in both men (r=0.938, P<0.001) and women (r=0.916, P<0.001). Adjust for covariates including age, BMI, and waist circumference make a relatively small effect on predicting the total VAT volume.ConclusionsMeasurement of cross-sectional areas at the hilum of the kidney in both genders showed a strongest relation to TVAT volume. Our results may provide an identifiable and valuable axial landmark for measuring visceral adipose tissue in clinical practice

Endogenous L-Carnosine Level in Diabetes Rat Cardiac Muscle

A novel method for quantitation of cardiac muscle carnosine levels using HPLC-UV is described. In this simple and reliable method, carnosine from the rat cardiac muscle and the internal standard, thymopentin, were extracted by protein precipitation with acetonitrile. The method was linear up to 60.96 μg·mL−1 for L-carnosine. The calibration curve was linear in concentration ranges from 0.5 to 60.96 μg·mL−1. The relative standard deviations obtained for intra- and interday precision were lower than 12% and the recoveries were higher than 90% for both carnosine and internal standard. We successfully applied this method to the analysis of endogenous carnosine in cardiac muscle of the diabetes rats and healthy control rats. The concentration of carnosine was significantly lower in the diabetes rats group, compared to that in the healthy control rats. These results support the usefulness of this method as a means of quantitating carnosine and illustrate the important role of L-carnosine in cardiac muscle

TableGPT: Towards Unifying Tables, Nature Language and Commands into One GPT

Tables are prevalent in real-world databases, requiring significant time and effort for humans to analyze and manipulate. The advancements in large language models (LLMs) have made it possible to interact with tables using natural language input, bringing this capability closer to reality. In this paper, we present TableGPT, a unified fine-tuned framework that enables LLMs to understand and operate on tables using external functional commands. It introduces the capability to seamlessly interact with tables, enabling a wide range of functionalities such as question answering, data manipulation (e.g., insert, delete, query, and modify operations), data visualization, analysis report generation, and automated prediction. TableGPT aims to provide convenience and accessibility to users by empowering them to effortlessly leverage tabular data. At the core of TableGPT lies the novel concept of global tabular representations, which empowers LLMs to gain a comprehensive understanding of the entire table beyond meta-information. By jointly training LLMs on both table and text modalities, TableGPT achieves a deep understanding of tabular data and the ability to perform complex operations on tables through chain-of-command instructions. Importantly, TableGPT offers the advantage of being a self-contained system rather than relying on external API interfaces. Moreover, it supports efficient data process flow, query rejection (when appropriate) and private deployment, enabling faster domain data fine-tuning and ensuring data privacy, which enhances the framework's adaptability to specific use cases.Comment: Technical Repor

The Journal of Nutrition Nutrition and Disease Tart Cherry Juice Decreases Oxidative Stress in Healthy Older Men and Women 1-3

Abstract Compared with young adults, older adults have significantly impaired capacities to resist oxidative damage when faced with acute stress such as ischemia/reperfusion. This impairment likely contributes to increased morbidity and mortality in older adults in response to acute trauma, infections, and the susceptibility to diseases such as atherosclerosis, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. Consumption of foods high in polyphenols, particularly anthocyanins, have been associated with improved health, but the mechanisms contributing to these salutary effects remain to be fully established. This study tested the hypothesis that consumption of tart cherry juice containing high levels of anthocyanins improves the capacity of older adults to resist oxidative damage during acute oxidative stress. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design, 12 volunteers [6 men and 6 women; age 69 6 4 y (61-75 y)] consumed in random order either tart cherry juice or placebo (240 mL twice daily for 14 d) separated by a 4-wk washout period. The capacity to resist oxidative damage was measured as the changes in plasma F 2 -isoprostane levels in response to forearm ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) before and after each treatment. The tart cherry juice intervention reduced the I/R-induced F 2 -isoprostane response (P , 0.05), whereas placebo had no significant effect. The tart cherry juice intervention also reduced basal urinary excretion of oxidized nucleic acids (8-hydroxy-29-deoxyguanosine, 8-hydroxyguanosine) (P , 0.05) but not urinary excretion of isoprostanes. These data suggest that consumption of tart cherry juice improves antioxidant defenses in vivo in older adults as shown by an increased capacity to constrain an oxidative challenge and reduced oxidative damage to nucleic acids

p40phox-Deficient Mice Exhibit Impaired Bacterial Clearance and Enhanced Pro-inflammatory Responses during Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium Infection

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is a major cause of acute gastroenteritis in humans. During infection, reactive oxygen species (ROS), generated from NADPH oxidase (a multisubunit enzyme complex), are required for pathogen killing upon phagocytosis and for regulating pro-inflammatory signaling in phagocytic cells. Mutations in subunits forming the NADPH complex may lead to enhanced susceptibility to infection and inflammatory disease. Compared to other NADPH oxidase subunits, the function of p40phox is relatively understudied, particularly in the context of intestinal bacterial infection. In this study, we utilized genetically engineered mice to determine the role of p40phox in the response to S. Typhimurium infection. We show that mice lacking p40phox are more susceptible to oral infection with S. Typhimurium, as demonstrated by significantly enhanced bacterial dissemination to spleen and liver, and development of exacerbated bacterial colitis. Moreover, we demonstrate that the increased infection and disease severity are correlated with markedly increased F4/80+ macrophage and Ly6G+ neutrophil infiltration in the infected tissues, coincident with significantly elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and TNF-α) and chemoattractant molecules in the infected tissues. Functional analysis of macrophages and neutrophils further shows that p40phox deficiency impairs bacteria- or PMA-induced intracellular ROS production as well as intracellular killing of Salmonella. These observations indicate that the p40phox subunit of NADPH oxidase plays an essential role in suppressing intracellular multiplication of Salmonella in macrophages and in the regulation of both systemic and mucosal inflammatory responses to bacterial infection