The effects of the degree of hybridisation on the design of hybrid-electric aircraft considering the balance between energy efficiency and mass penalty

The growing interest in the application of the hybrid-electric concept demands a rigorous method applied to balancing the energy efficiency improvement with the mass penalty. In hybrid-electric aircraft (HEA) design, it is necessary to avoid excessive usage of energy, which is caused by deliberate hybridising in pursuit of high electrical energy conversion efficiency. This paper presents a design method to achieve multi-objective designs conducted within a framework of multi-disciplinary design exploration appropriate for HEA, meeting the requirement of minimising the maximum take-off mass (MTOM) and fuel saving. A theoretical analysis proposes the existence of the optimum design area of HEA. This is followed by a series of demand-focused numerical design experiments that have verified the existence and position of the optimum design area by taking the mission of a short-range narrow-body airliner as the design target, considering the predicted technology timeline until 2050. Compared to a fuel-powered twin-turbofan aircraft, 65.56% fuel-saving, 16.4% reduction in flight operation cost, 44.58% reduction in block CO2emission, and 75% improvement in the cost-specific air range (COSAR) are achieved via hybridisation using the proposed design optimisation method

The alignment between the distribution of satellites and the orientation of their central galaxy

We use galaxy groups selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to examine the alignment between the orientation of the central galaxy (defined as the brightest group member) and the distribution of satellite galaxies. By construction, we therefore only address the alignment on scales smaller than the halo virial radius. We find a highly significant alignment of satellites with the major axis of their central galaxy. This is in qualitative agreement with the recent study of Brainerd, but inconsistent with several previous studies who detected a preferential minor-axis alignment. The alignment strength in our sample is strongest between red central galaxies and red satellites. On the contrary, the satellite distribution in systems with a blue central galaxy is consistent with isotropic. We also find that the alignment strength is stronger in more massive haloes and at smaller projected radii from the central galaxy. In addition, there is a weak indication that fainter (relative to the central galaxy) satellites are more strongly aligned. We present a detailed comparison with previous studies, and discuss the implications of our findings for galaxy formatio

The Alignment between the Distribution of Satellites and the Orientation of their Central Galaxy

We use galaxy groups selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to examine the alignment between the orientation of the central galaxy (defined as the brightest group member) and the distribution of satellite galaxies. By construction, we therefore only address the alignment on scales smaller than the halo virial radius. We find a highly significant alignment of satellites with the major axis of their central galaxy. This is in qualitative agreement with the recent study of Brainerd (2005), but inconsistent with several previous studies who detected a preferential minor axis alignment. The alignment strength in our sample is strongest between red central galaxies and red satellites. On the contrary, the satellite distribution in systems with a blue central galaxy is consistent with isotropic. We also find that the alignment strength is stronger in more massive haloes and at smaller projected radii from the central galaxy. In addition, there is a weak indication that fainter (relative to the central galaxy) satellites are more strongly aligned. We present a detailed comparison with previous studies, and discuss the implications of our findings for galaxy formation.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 1 table (which lists the past attempts) adde

ZYZ-168 alleviates cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction through inhibition of ERK1/2-dependent ROCK1 activation

Selective treatments for myocardial infarction (MI) induced cardiac fibrosis are lacking. In this study, we focus on the therapeutic potential of a synthetic cardio-protective agent named ZYZ-168 towards MI-induced cardiac fibrosis and try to reveal the underlying mechanism. ZYZ-168 was administered to rats with coronary artery ligation over a period of six weeks. Ecocardiography and Masson staining showed that ZYZ-168 substantially improved cardiac function and reduced interstitial fibrosis. The expression of α–smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and Collagen I were reduced as was the activity of matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9). These were related with decreased phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and expression of Rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1). In cardiac fibroblasts stimulated with TGF-β1, phenotypic switches of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts were observed. Inhibition of ERK1/2 phosphorylation or knockdown of ROCK1 expectedly reduced TGF-β1 induced fibrotic responses. ZYZ-168 appeared to inhibit the fibrotic responses in a concentration dependent manner, in part via a decrease in ROCK 1 expression through inhibition of the phosphorylation status of ERK1/2. For inhibition of ERK1/2 phosphorylation with a specific inhibitor reduced the activation of ROCK1. Considering its anti-apoptosis activity in MI, ZYZ-168 may be a potential drug candidate for treatment of MI-induced cardiac fibrosis

Rheumatoid meningitis: a rare neurological complication of rheumatoid arthritis

ObjectiveTo describe the clinical and neuroimaging characteristics of rheumatoid meningitis (RM) in Chinese patients. MethodsThe patients admitted to our hospital with the diagnosis of RM in the past 8 years were retrospectively analyzed. ResultsSix patients with RM were identified among 933 patients admitted with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The symptoms of meningitis occurred after onset of arthritis in five patients and before onset in one. Headache (n=6), hyperacute focal neurological deficits (n=4) and seizures (n=3) were the most prevalent symptoms. The nadir modified Rankin Scale score was ≥3 in five patients. Rheumatoid factor was elevated in all patients, and interleukin-6 levels in cerebrospinal fluid were dramatically elevated in three of four tested patients. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain revealed that the meninges were affected in all patients and the cerebral parenchyma was affected in one patient. The lesions were generally located in the frontoparietal region and showed restricted diffusion along the adjacent subarachnoid space. RM occurred during disease-modifying therapy in four patients. In the acute episode, three patients improved on tocilizumab and the other three improved on pulse corticosteroids. For maintenance therapy, two patients received combined therapy of tocilizumab and other immunosuppressive agents, one received adalimumab and methotrexate, and two received low-dose oral corticosteroids with an immunosuppressive agent. Five patients had a good outcome, and one died of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia after stabilization of his neurologic conditions. No relapse of RM occurred on immunotherapy during follow-up. ConclusionsChinese patients with RM share some remarkable clinical and neuroimaging features and respond well to appropriate immunotherapy. Tocilizumab could be a treatment option for this severe complication of RA

S-Propargyl-Cysteine Ameliorates Peripheral Nerve Injury through Microvascular Reconstruction

Microvascular reconstruction is essential for peripheral nerve repair. S-Propargyl-cysteine (SPRC), the endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) donor, has been reported to promote angiogenesis. The aim of this study is to utilize the pro-angiogenic ability of SPRC to support peripheral nerve repair and to explore the potential mechanisms. The effects and mechanisms of SPRC on angiogenesis and peripheral nerve repair were examined under hypoxic condition by establishing a sciatic nerve crushed injury model in mice and rats, and a hypoxia model in human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs) in vitro. We found that SPRC accelerated the function recovery of the injured sciatic nerve and alleviated atrophy of the gastrocnemius muscle in mice. It facilitated the viability of Schwann cells (SCs), the outgrowth and myelination of regenerated axons, and angiogenesis in rats. It enhanced the viability, proliferation, adhesion, migration, and tube formation of HUVECs under hypoxic condition. SPRC activated sirtuin1 (SIRT1) expression by promoting the production of endogenous H2S, and SIRT1 negatively regulated Notch signaling in endothelial cells (ECs), thereby promoting angiogenesis. Collectively, our study has provided important evidence that SPRC has an effective role in peripheral nerve repair through microvascular reconstruction, which could be a potentially effective medical therapy for peripheral nerve injury

Static Micromixer–Coaxial Electrospray Synthesis of Theranostic Lipoplexes

Theranostic lipoplexes are an integrated nanotherapeutic system with diagnostic imaging capability and therapeutic functions. They hold great promise to improve current cancer treatments; however, producing uniform theranostic lipoplexes with multiple components in a reproducible manner is a highly challenging task. Conventional methods, such as bulk mixing, are not able to achieve this goal because of their macroscale and random nature. Here we report a novel technique, called the static micromixer–coaxial electrospray (MCE), to synthesize theranostic lipoplexes in a single step with high reproducibility. In this work, quantum dots (QD605) and Cy5-labeled antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (Cy5-G3139) were chosen as the model imaging reagent and therapeutic drug, respectively. Compared with bulk mixing, QD605/Cy5-G3139-loaded lipoplexes produced by MCE were highly uniform with polydispersity of 0.024 ± 0.006 and mean diameter by volume of 194 ± 15 nm. MCE also showed higher encapsulation efficiency of QD605 and Cy5-G3139. QD605 and Cy5 also formed the Förster resonance energy transfer pair, and thus the cellular uptake and intracellular fate of theranostic lipoplexes could be visualized by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. The lipoplexes were efficiently delivered to A549 cells (non-small cell lung cancer cell line) and down-regulated the Bcl-2 gene expression by 48 ± 6%