Advances in research on relationship between indoor artificial light at night and human health

With the acceleration of global urbanization, the intensity and coverage of artificial light at night (ALAN) are increasing, and its service duration is obviously prolonged. ALAN exposure is not only related to the occurrence and development of cardiovascular, metabolic, sleep, myopia, and mental diseases, but also may induce cancer. Previous studies have focused on the health effects of outdoor ALAN, but people spend more than 80% of their lives indoors, hence it is of great significance to understand the relationship between indoor ALAN and population health to create a healthy indoor environment and protect the health of the population

Association between NF-kB polymorphism and age-related macular degeneration in a high-altitude population.

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) gene polymorphism and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in a high-altitude population.MethodsFifty-five patients with AMD and 57 control subjects were recruited from the Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital, China. Genomic DNA was extracted from the blood sample of each participant. Four NF-kB polymorphisms (rs3774959, rs3774932, rs3774937, and rs230526) were genotyped using a MassARRAY system. The genotype and allele frequencies were compared between the case and control groups using the chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test.ResultsThere was no significant difference in sex, age, hypertension, diabetes, blood lipid level or smoking and drinking status between the AMD and control groups (P > 0.05). The genotype distributions of four NF-kB polymorphisms were in accordance with Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in the control group (P > 0.05). The frequencies of genotype AA of rs3774932 and genotype CC of rs3774937 were nominally significantly higher in the AMD group than in the control group (P = 0.046 and 0.023, respectively), although these associations did not survive the Bonferroni correction (corrected P > 0.05). Genotype distributions of rs3774959 and rs230526 were not significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.08 and 0.16, respectively). No significant difference in the allele frequencies of the four polymorphisms was found between the AMD and control groups (P > 0.05).ConclusionsGenotype AA of rs3774932 and genotype CC of rs3774937 in NF-kB might be risk factors for AMD

An Improved Model Equation Based on a Gaussian Function Trinomial for State of Charge Estimation of Lithium-ion Batteries

Establishing a model equation with high accuracy and high computational efficiency is very important for the estimation of battery state of charge (SOC). To ensure better SOC estimation results, most studies have focused on the improvement of the algorithm, while the impact of the model equation which may offset the benefits of advanced algorithms has been overlooked. To address this problem, this paper studies the widely used model equations and presents a new model equation based on a Gaussian function that improves the SOC estimation accuracy and computational efficiency. With the Worldwide harmonized Light Vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC) which is highly dynamic and more realistic than any other driving cycles, the proposed model equation is applied to different filtering algorithms to validate its performance in SOC estimation. The results indicate that the proposed model equation can greatly improve the accuracy of SOC estimation without an increase of computation. In addition, for the traditional polynomial-based model equations, the 6th-order power function polynomial has better performance in SOC estimation than polynomials with other orders

A Novel Layered Bidirectional Equalizer Based on a Buck-Boost Converter for Series-Connected Battery Strings

To eliminate the influence of the inconsistency on the cycle life and the available capacity of battery packs, and improve the balancing speed, a novel inductor-based layered bidirectional equalizer (IBLBE) is proposed. The equalizer is composed of two layers of balancing circuits connected in parallel. Each layer contains multiple balancing sub-circuits based on buck-boost converters. These balancing sub-circuits can equalize the corresponding cells simultaneously, and allow the dynamic adjustment of equalization path and equalization threshold. Analysis and simulation results demonstrate the IBLBE has a higher level balancing speed than other equalizers based on switched-capacitor or switched-inductor converters, and reduces the balancing time by 30% compared to existing inductor-based parallel architecture equalizers (PAEs). Experimental results are presented to validate the analysis and effectiveness of the proposed equalizer

Differentially expressed circRNAs in peripheral blood samples as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for acute angle-closure glaucoma

Abstract Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play vital roles in various biological processes as microRNA (miRNA) sponges and, thus, have been investigated as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets in numerous human diseases. However, the underlying mechanisms of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of glaucoma remain unclear. Therefore, transcriptome sequencing was performed to identify relevant circRNAs in peripheral blood samples from patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to investigate the potential roles of differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) in the pathogenesis of glaucoma. In total, 481 differentially expressed genes in addition to 345 DEcircRNAs were identified in patients with glaucoma. Based on a public database, targeted gene analysis identified 11 DEcircRNAs that potentially regulate the expression of five genes as miRNA sponges in glaucoma. In addition, quantitative reverse transcription PCR analysis verified that expression of the circRNA hsa-circ-0000745 was positively correlated with the expression of NEAT1 as a potential target gene. These results suggest that DEcircRNAs are involved in a gene expression regulatory network related to immune cell function and progression of glaucoma. Thus, DEcircRNAs in peripheral blood are potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for glaucoma

Influence Law of Interbedded Strata and Their Collapse on the Mining of Extremely Thick Coal Seam under Goaf

Interbedded strata and their collapse are vital to mining pressure control for extremely thick coal seam under goaf. To ensure the stability of the support and to avoid roof collapse, some traditional underground pressure theoretical models had been widely used in the control of surrounding rock and the selection of support. However, one of the challenges for extremely thick coal seam under goaf is that the abnormal disasters, such as support crushing and water inrush that were occurring frequently. To solve this problem, the movement characteristics of overburden rocks during the mining of extremely thick coal seam under the conditions of the interlayer thickness of 5 m and 40 m were studied by using the similar simulation experiments, while the numerical simulation experiments were carried out for the interval between coal seams of 15 m and 60 m, respectively. Finally, the structure and mechanical transfer mechanism of overburden in stope under different thickness interbedded strata were analyzed dynamically, and the condition of full-thickness connection between upper goaf and lower goaf and corresponding judgment criteria are obtained. These results can guide future research on the mechanical of extremely thick coal seam under goaf, which can provide a theoretical basis and engineering reference for similar projects

A Novel Inductor-Based Non-Dissipative Equalizer

Large numbers of non-dissipative equalizers have been proposed for solving the inconsistency problem of lithium battery strings. However, these equalizers face problems such as slow speed or using excessively large numbers of energy storage elements. This paper improved a multiple switch-inductors equalizer (MSIE), and proposed a novel inductor-based non-dissipative equalizer (NIBNDE). A simulation is built to compare the NIBNDE with two other equalizers, which indicated that the NIBNDE can reduce the number of energy storage elements while remaining at a good equalization speed. Experimental results validate the analysis of the simulation and the feasibility of the NIBNDE