Evaluation of the effectiveness and mechanism of action of the Chang-Kang-Fang formula combined with bifid triple viable capsules on diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome

IntroductionThe Chang-Kang-Fang (CKF) formula, a traditional Chinese herbal formula, can decrease serotonin (5-HT) levels and treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Probiotics have a better synergistic effect on diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) when combined with 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. The present study aimed to elucidate the efficacy and the mechanisms of action of the CKF formula combined with bifid triple viable capsules (PFK) against IBS-D.MethodsThe rat models of IBS-D were induced by gavage with senna decoction plus restraint stress. The CKF formula, PFK and their combination were administered to the rats. Their effects were evaluated based on general condition of the rats and the AWR score. The levels of 5-HT and fos protein in the colon and hippocampus were measured by immunohistochemistry. The levels of SP and VIP, as well as ZO-1 and occludin in the colon, were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry. The intestinal microbiota in faeces was analyzed by 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing.ResultsThe results showed that the oral CKF formula combined with PFK (CKF + PFK) could significantly relieve the symptoms of IBS-D, including elevating the weight rate and decreasing the AWR score. Compared with the MC group, administration of CKF + PFK significantly reduced the expression of fos in the colon and hippocampus and that of 5-HT, SP and VIP in the colon and increased the levels of 5-HT in the hippocampus and ZO-1 and occludin in the colon. The above indexes exhibited statistical significance in the CKF + PFK group relative to those in the other groups. Moreover, treatment with CKF + PFK improved the diversity of intestinal microbiota and the abundance of Firmicutes, Lachnospiraceae and Ruminococcaceae but decreased those of Bacteroidetes and Prevotellaceae.ConclusionsThe CKF formula combined with PFK may have a synergistic effect on IBS-D by slowing gastrointestinal motility, lowering visceral hypersensitivity, enhancing the intestinal barrier function and modulating the composition of intestinal microbiota

Detection of electromagnetic signal injection attacks on actuator systems

An actuator is a device that converts electricity into another form of energy, typically physical movement. They are absolutely essential for any system that needs to impact or modify the physical world, and are used in millions of systems of all sizes, all over the world, from cars and spacecraft to factory control systems and critical infrastructure. An actuator is a “dumb device” that is entirely con- trolled by the surrounding electronics, e.g., a microcontroller, and thus cannot authenticate its control signals or do any other form of processing. The problem we look at in this paper is how the wires that connect an actuator to its control electronics can act like antennas, picking up electromagnetic signals from the envi- ronment. This makes it possible for a remote attacker to wirelessly inject signals (energy) into these wires to bypass the controller and directly control the actuator. To detect such attacks, we propose a novel detection method that allows the microcontroller to monitor the control signal and detect attacks as a deviation from the intended value. We have managed to do this without requiring the microcontroller to sample the signal at a high rate or run any signal processing. That makes our defense mechanism practical and easy to integrate into existing systems. Our method is general and applies to any type of actuator (provided a few basic assumptions are met), and can deal with adversaries with arbitrarily high transmission power. We implement our detection method on two different practical systems to show its generality, effectiveness, and robustness

Associations between artificial sweetener intake from cereals, coffee, and tea and the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A genetic correlation, mediation, and mendelian randomization analysis.

BackgroundPrevious studies have emphasized the association between the intake of artificial sweeteners (AS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the causative relationship remains ambiguous.MethodsThis study employed univariate Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to assess the causal link between AS intake from various sources and T2DM. Linkage disequilibrium score (LDSC) regression was used to evaluate the correlation between phenotypes. Multivariate and mediation MR were applied to investigate confounding factors and mediating effects. Data on AS intake from different sources (N = 64,949) were sourced from the UK Biobank, while T2DM data were derived from the DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis.The primary method adopted was inverse variance weighted (IVW), complemented by three validation techniques. Additionally, a series of sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate pleiotropy and heterogeneity.ResultsLDSC analysis unveiled a significant genetic correlation between AS intake from different sources and T2DM (rg range: -0.006 to 0.15, all P 0.05, PFDR > 0.05).ConclusionThe MR analysis has established a causal relationship between AS intake in coffee and T2DM. The mediation by HDL-C emphasizes potential metabolic pathways underpinning these relationships

Analysis on effect of shaft strut hydrofoil on anti-cavitation performance for surface ship

[Objectives] In order to improve the anti-cavitation performance of shaft strut on a surface ship,[Methods] we study the front strut, compare the pressure distribution and anti-cavitation performance of the improved hydrofoil with those of the original hydrofoil at different attack angles of incident flows, and analyze the hydrodynamic performance of the improved hydrofoil at different flow rates and attack angles. We also predict the initial cavitation speeds of three types of hydrofoil according to the cavitation conditions,and verify the predicted values according to the calculation results.[Results] The results show that the hydrodynamic performance and initial cavitation speed of the improved hydrofoil-1 have been significantly improved when compared with those of the original hydrofoil at the incident flow attack angles of 0°,5° and 10°;the improved hydrofoil-2 has better anti-cavitation performance at the attack angles of 0° and 5°,while worse anti-cavitation performance at 10°;the initial cavitation speed predicted according to the pressure distribution is relatively close to the results based on the cavitation, which shows that it is feasible to predict the initial cavitation speed by this method when the accuracy requirement is not high.[Conclusions] This provides a technical approach for vibration and noise reduction of a surface ship

Modeling the Effect of Mineral Particles of Mixture of Sandy Soil on Its Physical–Mechanical Properties Based on the Triangular Nomogram

Soil is regarded as a multi-component, multi-phase (solid, liquid and gaseous) dynamic system. The solid component, especially soil mineral particles, has a significant influence on the properties of soil, including its physical, physical–chemical and physical–mechanical properties. By studying the literature, we know that the majority of studies have explained the influence of mineral particles on the physical and physical–mechanical properties of soil bino–mixtures (sand–silt, sand–clay, coarse sand, etc.) through two-dimensional figures. Obviously, for multi-component soil, these two-dimensional figures are not sufficient and should be improved in order to show the influence of soil particles more comprehensively. Therefore, in this paper, we applied a new model—the triangular nomogram—to describe and analyze the change in the inter-friction angle of soil mixtures under different particle size distributions. Through the obtained result, we found that the triangular nomogram is an effective model that can be used to analyze and simulate the properties of soil mixtures

Modeling the Effect of Mineral Particles of Mixture of Sandy Soil on Its Physical–Mechanical Properties Based on the Triangular Nomogram

Soil is regarded as a multi-component, multi-phase (solid, liquid and gaseous) dynamic system. The solid component, especially soil mineral particles, has a significant influence on the properties of soil, including its physical, physical–chemical and physical–mechanical properties. By studying the literature, we know that the majority of studies have explained the influence of mineral particles on the physical and physical–mechanical properties of soil bino–mixtures (sand–silt, sand–clay, coarse sand, etc.) through two-dimensional figures. Obviously, for multi-component soil, these two-dimensional figures are not sufficient and should be improved in order to show the influence of soil particles more comprehensively. Therefore, in this paper, we applied a new model—the triangular nomogram—to describe and analyze the change in the inter-friction angle of soil mixtures under different particle size distributions. Through the obtained result, we found that the triangular nomogram is an effective model that can be used to analyze and simulate the properties of soil mixtures

Summary of analytical results for MVMR.

BackgroundPrevious studies have emphasized the association between the intake of artificial sweeteners (AS) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the causative relationship remains ambiguous.MethodsThis study employed univariate Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to assess the causal link between AS intake from various sources and T2DM. Linkage disequilibrium score (LDSC) regression was used to evaluate the correlation between phenotypes. Multivariate and mediation MR were applied to investigate confounding factors and mediating effects. Data on AS intake from different sources (N = 64,949) were sourced from the UK Biobank, while T2DM data were derived from the DIAbetes Genetics Replication And Meta-analysis.The primary method adopted was inverse variance weighted (IVW), complemented by three validation techniques. Additionally, a series of sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate pleiotropy and heterogeneity.ResultsLDSC analysis unveiled a significant genetic correlation between AS intake from different sources and T2DM (rg range: -0.006 to 0.15, all P P = 0.021, PFDR = 0.042). Further multivariable and mediation MR analyses pinpointed high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) as mediating a portion of this causal relationship. In reverse MR analysis, significant evidence suggested a positive correlation between T2DM and AS intake in coffee (β = 0.013, 95% CI: 0.004–0.022, P = 0.004, PFDR = 0.012), cereal (β = 0.007, 95% CI: 0.002–0.012, P = 0.004, PFDR = 0.012), and tea (β = 0.009, 95% CI: 0.001–0.017, P = 0.036, PFDR = 0.049). No other causal associations were identified (P > 0.05, PFDR > 0.05).ConclusionThe MR analysis has established a causal relationship between AS intake in coffee and T2DM. The mediation by HDL-C emphasizes potential metabolic pathways underpinning these relationships</div