Comprehensive Analysis Method of Acquiring Wall Heat Fluxes in Rotating Detonation Combustors

Accurate perception of the combustor thermal environment is crucial for thermal protection design of a rotating detonation combustor (RDC). In this study, a comprehensive analysis method is established to calculate the non-uniform heat flux distribution of the RDC by utilizing the measured temperature distribution of the combustor outer wall obtained by the high-speed infrared thermal imager. Firstly, in order to determine the inverse heat flux solving method, a physical model based on the geometric characteristics of the RDC is constructed and its thermal conductive process is simulated, given by different heat flux boundary conditions. Then the wall heat fluxes are inversely calculated by the Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M) method based on the above numerical data. Results show that the L-M method can obtain more accurate heat flux distribution even in the zones with large heat flux gradients, considering the axial heat conduction within the combustor outer wall caused by the non-uniform heat flux. Finally, the wall heat flux distribution is analyzed coupling the L-M method together with the experimental measurements in kerosene two-phase RDC. The analyses show that the highest temperature of combustor outer surface and the highest wall heat flux occurs within the region of 20mm from the combustor head, which corresponds to nearly 14% of the combustor length. With the increase of axial distance, the heat flux is rapidly reduced, and then the heat flux distribution is more uniform at the downstream region of the combustor. The heat flux peak and thermal heat rate are positively correlated with the combustor equivalence ratio in the range between 0.44 and 0.64.Comment: 26 pages, 21 figure

Intelligent demand response for industrial energy management considering thermostatically controlled loads and EVs

In this paper, an intelligent energy management framework with demand response capability was proposed for industrial facilities. The framework consists of multiple components, including industrial processes modeled by the state task network (STN) method, thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) like the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system with chilled water storage (CWS), renewable generation like photovoltaic (PV) arrays and electric vehicles (EVs). These components were firstly modeled and the operation of them is then optimized in time-of-use (TOU) pricing schemes. Factors that affect several components at the same time, e.g. the number of workers, are considered. The optimization is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problem. A general tire manufacturing facility was investigated as the case study. Simulation results show that the proposed intelligent industrial energy management (IIEM) with DR is able to effectively utilize the flexibility contained in all parts of the facility and reduce the electricity costs as well as the peak demand of the facility, while satisfying all the operating constraints

Hints from Hertz: Dynamic Frequency Scaling Side-Channel Analysis of Number Theoretic Transform in Lattice-Based KEMs

Number Theoretic Transform (NTT) has been widely used in accelerating computations in lattice-based cryptography. However, attackers can potentially launch power analysis targeting NTT because it is usually the most time-consuming part of the implementation. This extended time frame provides a natural window of opportunity for attackers. In this paper, we investigate the first CPU frequency leakage (Hertzbleed-like) attacks against NTT in lattice-based KEMs. Our key observation is that different inputs to NTT incur different Hamming weights in its output and intermediate layers. By measuring the CPU frequency during the execution of NTT, we propose a simple yet effective attack idea to find the input to NTT that triggers NTT processing data with significantly low Hamming weight. We further apply our attack idea to real-world applications that are built upon NTT: CPA-secure Kyber without Compression and Decompression functions, and CCA-secure NTTRU. This leads us to extract information or frequency Hints about the secret key. Integrating these Hints into the LWE-estimator framework, we estimate a minimum of $35\%$ security loss caused by the leakage. The frequency and timing measurements on the Reference and AVX2 implementations of NTT in both Kyber and NTTRU align well with our theoretical analysis, confirming the existence of frequency side-channel leakage in NTT. It is important to emphasize that our observation is not limited to a specific implementation but rather the algorithm on which NTT is based. Therefore, our results call for more attention to the analysis of power leakage against NTT in lattice-based cryptography

Targeted metabolomics analysis of nucleosides and the identification of biomarkers for colorectal adenomas and colorectal cancer

The morbidity and mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) have been increasing in recent years, and early detection of CRC can improve the survival rate of patients. RNA methylation plays crucial roles in many biological processes and has been implicated in the initiation of various diseases, including cancer. Serum contains a variety of biomolecules and is an important clinical sample for biomarker discovery. In this study, we developed a targeted metabolomics method for the quantitative analysis of nucleosides in human serum samples by using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We successfully quantified the concentrations of nucleosides in serum samples from 51 healthy controls, 37 patients with colorectal adenomas, and 55 patients with CRC. The results showed that the concentrations of N6-methyladenosine (m6A), N1-methyladenosine (m1A), and 3-methyluridine (m3U) were increased in patients with CRC, whereas the concentrations of N2-methylguanosine (m2G), 2′-O-methyluridine (Um), and 2′-O-methylguanosine (Gm) were decreased in patients with CRC, compared with the healthy controls and patients with colorectal adenomas. Moreover, the levels of 2′-O-methyluridine and 2′-O-methylguanosine were lower in patients with colorectal adenomas than those in healthy controls. Interestingly, the levels of Um and Gm gradually decreased in the following order: healthy controls to colorectal adenoma patients to CRC patients. These results revealed that the aberrations of these nucleosides were tightly correlated to colorectal adenomas and CRC. In addition, the present work will stimulate future investigations about the regulatory roles of these nucleosides in the initiation and development of CRC

Cultivation of oral English competence among Chinese Mainland EFL learners from the perspective of formulaic sequences

This paper aims to review the ideal language input and output unit based on formulaic sequences and the theoretical assumptions underlying input and output hypotheses in view of the relatively low oral English competence among EFL learners in Mainland China. Adopting a theoretical literature review approach, the authors have scrutinized the internal relationship among formulaic language, input and output hypotheses, and oral English competence based on the review. Our review showed that besides comprehensive input material, which has always been the Chinese EFL teachers' sole focus in teaching oracy skills, output opportunities connected with formulaic language should also be highly emphasized to increase students' oral competency. Implications: In light of this, several suggestions are offered to help cultivate Chinese EFL students' oral performance, namely 1) raising awareness of formulaic sequences, 2) broadening the channels of input of formulaic sequences, and 3) creating more opportunities based on formulaic sequences for students to practice speaking EFL classroom. This research reviews the ideal EFL teaching and learning unit from a new perspective by integrating input and output hypotheses with formulaic sequences. The highlight on creating authentic output opportunities based on formulaic language has been ignored in the past oracy skills teaching practice. This provides a solid theoretical foundation and implications for future EFL teaching practice in Mainland China

ABL1, Overexpressed in Hepatocellular Carcinomas, Regulates Expression of NOTCH1 and Promotes Development of Liver Tumors in Mice

Background & Aims We investigated whether ABL proto-oncogene 1, non-receptor tyrosine kinase (ABL1) is involved in development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods We analyzed clinical and gene expression data from The Cancer Genome Atlas. Albumin-Cre (HepWT) mice and mice with hepatocyte-specific disruption of Abl1 (HepAbl–/– mice) were given hydrodynamic injections of plasmids encoding the Sleeping Beauty transposase and transposons with the MET gene and a catenin β1 gene with an N-terminal truncation, which induces development of liver tumors. Some mice were then gavaged with the ABL1 inhibitor nilotinib or vehicle (control) daily for 4 weeks. We knocked down ABL1 with short hairpin RNAs in Hep3B and Huh7 HCC cells and analyzed their proliferation and growth as xenograft tumors in mice. We performed RNA sequencing and gene set enrichment analysis of tumors. We knocked down or overexpressed NOTCH1 and MYC in HCC cells and analyzed proliferation. We measured levels of phosphorylated ABL1, MYC, and NOTCH1 by immunohistochemical analysis of an HCC tissue microarray. Results HCC tissues had higher levels of ABL1 than non-tumor liver tissues, which correlated with shorter survival times of patients. HepWT mice with the MET and catenin β1 transposons developed liver tumors and survived a median 64 days; HepAbl–/– mice with these transposons developed tumors that were 50% smaller and survived a median 81 days. Knockdown of ABL1 in human HCC cells reduced proliferation, growth as xenograft tumors in mice, and expression of MYC, which reduced expression of NOTCH1. Knockdown of NOTCH1 or MYC in HCC cells significantly reduced cell growth. NOTCH1 or MYC overexpression in human HCC cells promoted proliferation and rescued the phenotype caused by ABL1 knockdown. The level of phosphorylated (activated) ABL1 correlated with levels of MYC and NOTCH1 in human HCC specimens. Nilotinib decreased expression of MYC and NOTCH1 in HCC cell lines, reduced the growth of xenograft tumors in mice, and slowed growth of liver tumors in mice with MET and catenin β1 transposons, reducing tumor levels of MYC and NOTCH1. Conclusions HCC samples have increased levels of ABL1 compared with nontumor liver tissues, and increased levels of ABL1 correlate with shorter survival times of patients. Loss or inhibition of ABL1 reduces proliferation of HCC cells and slows growth of liver tumors in mice. Inhibitors of ABL1 might be used for treatment of HCC

Prevalence of Common Respiratory Viral Infections and Identification of Adenovirus in Hospitalized Adults in Harbin, China 2014 to 2017

Background: Respiratory infections pose a great challenge in global health, and the prevalence of viral infection in adult patients has been poorly understood in northeast China. Harbin is one of the major cities in northeast China, and more than half of any given year in Harbin is occupied by winter. To reveal the viral etiology and seasonality in adult patients from Harbin, a 4-year consecutive survey was conducted in Harbin, China.Methods: From January 2014 to December 2017, specimens were obtained from adult patients admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University with lower respiratory tract infections. Sputum samples were examined by direct immunofluorescence assays to detect seven common respiratory viruses, including influenza virus (type A and B), parainfluenza virus (type 1 to 3), respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus. Adenovirus positive samples were seeded onto A549 cells to isolate viral strains. Phylogenetic analysis was conducted on the highly variable region of adenoviral hexon gene.Results: A total of 1,300 hospitalized adult patients with lower respiratory tract infections were enrolled, in which 189 patients (14.5%) were detected as having at least one viral infection. The co-infection rate in this study was 25.9% (49/189). The dominant viral pathogen from 2014 to 2017 was parainfluenza virus, with a detection rate of 7.2%, followed by influenza virus, respiratory syncytial virus and adenovirus. Based on the climate seasons determined by daily average temperature, the highest overall viral detection rate was detected in spring (22.0%, 52/236), followed by winter (13.4%, 109/813), autumn (11.4%, 13/114) and summer (10.9%, 15/137). Adenovirus type 3 strains with slight variations were isolated from positive cases, which were closely related to the GB strain from the United States, as well as the Harbin04B strain isolated locally.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that common respiratory viruses were partially responsible for hospitalized lower respiratory tract infections in adult patients from Harbin, China, with parainfluenza virus as the dominant viral pathogen. Climate seasons could be rational indicators for the seasonality analysis of airborne viral infections. Future surveillance on viral mutations would be necessary to reveal the evolutionary history of respiratory viruses

Progress on application of dipeptidyl peptidase Ⅲ in the treatment of sepsis

Sepsis is still one of the important challenges of medicine in the 21st century. Dipeptide peptidase Ⅲ(DPP3)is a new biomarker associated with sepsis, which mainly degrades angiotensin Ⅱ in human body. It can not only inhibit cardiac systolic function, but also reduce vascular tension, resulting in insufficient cardiac output and low blood pressure, resulting in shock and multiple organ dysfunctions in patients with sepsis. Therefore, DPP3 may become a new target for sepsis treatment