A SVM-based method for identifying fracture modes of rock using WVD spectrogram features of AE signals

In order to achieve the highly efficient and accurate identification of fracture modes including tension or shear fractures during rock failure, an intelligent identification method based on Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) spectrogram features of acoustic emission (AE) signals was proposed. This method was mainly constructed by the following steps: Firstly, AE hits corre-sponding to tension and shear fractures were obtained through conducting the Brazilian disc test (tension fracture) and direct shear test (shear fracture) of limestone. Secondly, the WVD spectro-grams of these tensile-type and shear-type AE hits were respectively extracted and then trans-formed into the image features of relatively low-dimension as the sample set based on the gray-level cooccurrence matrix (GLCM) and histogram of oriented gradient (HOG). Finally, on the basis of the processed and classified sample set of the WVD spectrogram features, an identifica-tion model of rock fracture modes was established by a support vector machine (SVM) learning algorithm. To verify this method, the fracture modes of limestone subjected to biaxial compres-sion were identified by the method. The results showed that the method not only can greatly re-veal the fracture modes change from tension-dominated to shear-dominated fractures, but also has advantages over the RA-AF value method, such as applicability, accuracy and practicality

Identification of novel and conserved microRNAs involved in fruit development and ripening in Fragaria vesca

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are class of noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, either by endonucleolytic cleavage or by translational inhibition. Strawberry is a popular worldwide fresh fruit and is believed to benefit human health. However, the function of miRNAs during this fruit development and ripening remains unknown and miRNAs for specific for these processes are expected to be discovered. In the study, we identified 218 conserved miRNAs and 87 novel miRNAs in Fragaria vesca. Expression profiling of miRNAs during fruit development and ripening was performed, and the expression of targets of the miRNAs was validated by qRT-PCR (quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). This study provided data for further research on molecular mechanisms involved in fruit development and ripening

Seroprevalence of avian influenza A (H5N1) virus among poultry workers in Jiangsu Province, China: an observational study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Since 2003 to 06 Jan 2012, the number of laboratory confirmed human cases of infection with avian influenza in China was 41 and 27 were fatal. However, the official estimate of the H5N1 case-fatality rate has been described by some as an over estimation since there may be numerous undetected asymptomatic/mild cases of H5N1 infection. This study was conducted to better understand the real infection rate and evaluate the potential risk factors for the zoonotic spread of H5N1 viruses to humans.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A seroepidemiological survey was conducted in poultry workers, a group expected to have the highest level of exposure to H5N1-infected birds, from 3 counties with habitat lakes of wildfowl in Jiangsu province, China. Serum specimens were collected from 306 participants for H5N1 serological test. All participants were interviewed to collect information about poultry exposures.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall seropositive rate was 2.61% for H5N1 antibodies. The poultry number was found associated with a 2.39-fold significantly increased subclinical infection risk after adjusted with age and gender.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Avian-to -human transmission of avian H5N1 virus remained low. Workers associated with raising larger poultry flocks have a higher risk on seroconversion.</p

Seroprevalence of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 in Pregnant Women in China: An Observational Study

BACKGROUND: We investigated the seropositive rates and persistence of antibody against pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus (pH1N1) in pregnant women and voluntary blood donors after the second wave of the pandemic in Nanjing, China. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Serum samples of unvaccinated pregnant women (n = 720) and voluntary blood donors (n = 320) were collected after the second wave of 2009 pandemic in Nanjing. All samples were tested against pH1N1 strain (A/California/7/2009) with hemagglutination inhibition assay. A significant decline in seropositive rates, from above 50% to about 20%, was observed in pregnant women and voluntary blood donors fifteen weeks after the second wave of the pandemic. A quarter of the samples were tested against a seasonal H1N1 strain (A/Brisbane/59/2007). The antibody titers against pH1N1 strain were found to correlate positively with those against seasonal H1N1 strain. The correlation was modest but statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The high seropositive rates in both pregnant women and voluntary blood donors suggested that the pH1N1 virus had widely spread in these two populations. Immunity derived from natural infection seemed not to be persistent well

A Tight Coupling Cooperation Scheme with QoS Provisioning in WiFi/WiMAX Networks

A tight coupling cooperation scheme for WiFi/WiMAX networks with QoS provisioninghas been proposed in this paper. A new WFW (WiMAX for WiFi) module which enablesWiMAX ful ll the procedure of bandwidth request-con rm-grant for WiFi was describedwith a modi ed MAC layer of which MSH-DSCH (Mesh Distributed control message) re-newed, and thus overhead of interacting of WiFi control message was eliminated. The sched-ule is then evaluated through simulations in two typical transmission scenarios. Numericalresults show that more e ective WiFi/WiMAX heterogonous networks which o er QoS guar-antees are obtained with the utilization of the scheme. The eciency of WiFi Mesh networksincrease sharply without obvious decrease of WiMAX performance

Identification and Analysis of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) Cascades in Fragaria vesca

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are highly conserved signaling modules in eukaryotes, including yeasts, plants and animals. MAPK cascades are responsible for protein phosphorylation during signal transduction events, and typically consist of three protein kinases: MAPK, MAPK kinase, and MAPK kinase kinase. In this current study, we identified a total of 12 FvMAPK, 7 FvMAPKK, 73 FvMAPKKK, and one FvMAPKKKK genes in the recently published Fragaria vesca genome sequence. This work reported the classification, annotation and phylogenetic evaluation of these genes and an assessment of conserved motifs and the expression profiling of members of the gene family were also analyzed here. The expression profiles of the MAPK and MAPKK genes in different organs and fruit developmental stages were further investigated using quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). Finally, the MAPK and MAPKK expression patterns in response to hormone and abiotic stresses (salt, drought, and high and low temperature) were investigated in fruit and leaves of F. vesca. The results provide a platform for further characterization of the physiological and biochemical functions of MAPK cascades in strawberry

The evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the COVID-19 pandemic

Scientists have made great efforts to understand the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) to provide crucial information to public health experts on strategies to control this viral pathogen. The pandemic of the coronavirus disease that began in 2019, COVID-19, lasted nearly three years, and nearly all countries have set different epidemic prevention policies for this virus. The continuous evolution of SARS-CoV-2 alters its pathogenicity and infectivity in human hosts, thus the policy and treatments have been continually adjusted. Based on our previous study on the dynamics of binding ability prediction between the COVID-19 spike protein and human ACE2, the present study mined over 10 million sequences and epidemiological data of SARS-CoV-2 during 2020-2022 to understand the evolutionary path of SARS-CoV-2. We analyzed and predicted the mutation rates of the whole genome and main proteins of SARS-CoV-2 from different populations to understand the adaptive relationship between humans and COVID-19. Our study identified a correlation of the mutation rates from each protein of SARS-CoV-2 and various human populations. Overall, this analysis provides a scientific basis for developing data-driven strategies to confront human pathogens

Structure, Antioxidant, and Hypoglycemic Activities of Arabinoxylans Extracted by Multiple Methods from Triticale

Different methods of isolating arabinoxylans (AXs) from triticale were performed to investigate the extraction methods&rsquo; effects on the physiological functions of the AXs. Structural, antioxidant, and hypoglycemic activities were determined. The molecular weights (MWs) of enzyme- or water-extracted AXs were lower than those of alkali-extracted AXs. Opposite trends were shown by the arabinose&ndash;xylose ratio. Enzyme-extracted AXs exhibited higher glucose adsorption capacity and hydroxyl radical-scavenging efficiency than alkali-extracted AXs. The &alpha;-amylase inhibition ability, DPPH radical-scavenging capacity, and metal-chelating activity of alkali-extracted AXs were higher than those of enzyme-extracted AXs. Water-extracted AXs had the highest glucose dialysis retardation index. In conclusion, extraction methods can influence the physiological function of AXs through their structural features. AXs with higher MWs and esterified ferulic acid (FA) levels had higher antioxidant ability, whereas AXs with higher solubility and free FA level exhibited higher hypoglycemic activity