Bayesian regularized NAR neural network based short-term prediction method of water consumption

With the continuous construction of urban water supply infrastructure, it is extremely urgent to change the management mode of water supply from traditional manual experience to modern and efficient means. The water consumption forecast is the premise of water supply scheduling, and its accuracy also directly affects the effectiveness of water supply scheduling. This paper analyzes the regularity of water consumption time series, establishes a short-term water consumption prediction model based on Bayesian regularized NAR neural network, and compares and evaluates the prediction effect of the model. The verification results show that the Bayesian based NAR neural network prediction model has higher adaptability to the water consumption prediction than the standard BP neural network and the Bayesian regularized BP neural network. The prediction accuracy can more accurately reflect the short-term variation of water consumption

Limit analysis approach for accessing stability of three-dimensional (3-D) slopes reinforced with piles

The stabilization of slopes by placing piles is one of the most innovative and effective slope reinforcement techniques in the coastal engineering in recent years. Due to the simplicity and efficiency, limit analysis method is the most common approach for assessing the stability of slopes. However, the majority of existing limit analysis methods is limited to slope without the presence of piles. In this technical note, a novel upper-bound limit analysis method was proposed to access the stability of three-dimensional slopes reinforced with piles incorporating the admissible rotational failure mechanism where toe failure, face failure, and base failure were taken into account. The effects of key designing parameters, e.g., pile location, pile spacing, slope angle, slope width on the stability of earth slopes, and geometry of critical slip surface were presented and discussed. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach is more appropriate for assessing the stability of slopes reinforced with piles and can be also utilized in the design of piles stabilizing the unstable slopes

Three-dimensional transient stability of slopes during pile driving using upper-bound limit analysis

A 3D rotational failure model for calculating the transient stability of a slope during pile driving was established based on the upper-bound limit analysis. The influences of the pile driving force and the lateral force between pile and soil on the slope stability were considered. The variation of the anti-slide safety factor of the slope during pile driving was analyzed in detail through examples. The parametric studies were carried out to explore the effects of pile diameter, pile location and slope angle on the anti-slide safety factor of the slope. The results demonstrate that the pile driving leads to a steady decrease of the safety factor during the earlier stage of pile driving and the safety factor increases significantly because of the anti-sliding effect of the pile body after the end of pile reaching the sliding surface. The greater the pile diameter is, the lower the safety factor is and the faster it drops during the earlier stage of pile driving. The closer to the top of the slope the pile location is, the faster the safety factor decreases and the lower the safety factor of the most dangerous depth is. The safety factor decreases dramatically with the increase of the slope angle during the whole process of pile driving

The effect of iron dextran on vitamin D3 metabolism in SD rats

Abstract Background Iron and vitamin D (VD) is essential to health. Previous studies have shown that iron homeostasis has a potential effect on VD metabolism, but the mechanism is not fully understood. Objectives To explore the relationship between VD metabolism and iron metabolism, as well as the regulatory mechanism of iron on VD metabolism. Methods 40 male rats were fed adaptively for 7 days and randomly divided into control (C, n = 6 normal diet) group and model (M, n = 24 iron deficient diet) by simple randomization, the latter was used to establish iron deficiency anemia (IDA) model. After 6 weeks of feeding, the M group was randomly divided into: iron deficiency group (DFe), low iron group (LFe), medium iron group (MFe) and high iron group (HFe) by block randomization. Different doses of iron dextran (based on iron content (100 g·bw·d)): 0, 1.1, 3.3 and 9.9 mg) were given respectively. After 4 weeks, the rats were anesthetized with 8% chloral hydrate, Blood (collected from the abdominal aorta), liver and kidney tissues were collected. The serum and tissues were separately packed and frozen at -80℃ for testing. Results The results showed that the levels of hemoglobin (Hb), red blood cell (RBC), serum iron (SI), liver iron, and kidney iron in DFe group were lower than those in the other four groups, while the levels of total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), transferrin (TF) and transferrin receptor (Tfr) in DFe group were higher than those in other groups; The serum levels of 25-(OH)D3 and 1,25-(OH)2D3 in DFe group were significantly lower than those in C group (P < 0.05). The correlation analysis showed that the levels of 25-(OH)D3 and 1,25-(OH)2D3 were negatively correlated with TIBC, TF and Tfr no correlation with SI. Western blotting, immunofluorescence, and q-PCR results showed that compared with C group, the protein and gene expressions of CYP2R1, CYP27A1, and CYP24A1 in DFe group were down-regulated, and the expression of CYP27B1 protein and gene was up-regulated in DFe group. Conclusion Iron may be involved in the metabolism of VD3 by regulating the expression of VD3 hydroxylase, suggesting that appropriate iron supplementation might promote the activation of VD3

The relationship between quality of life and health promotion behavior in patients with type B aortic dissection: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background To understand the current situation of health promotion behavior and quality of life among aortic dissection survivors and the correlation between them. Methods Sociodemographic characteristics were collected. T-test and variance analysis were applied for univariate analysis. Quality of life was measured using the SF-36 Questionnaire, and health-promoting behaviors were measured using the aortic dissection health promotion behavior questionnaire. The association between type B aortic dissection survivors’ health promotion behavior and health status questionnaire (SF-36) scores was determined through Pearson’s correlation coefficients. This association was analyzed through multivariable regression analysis. Results A total of 131 type B aortic dissection survivors were evaluated through the self-developed aortic dissection patient health promotion behavior scale and health status questionnaire (SF-36). Results showed that the health promotion behavior of Stanford B aortic dissection survivors (85.05 ± 11.28) correlated with their Mental Component Summary (MCS) (55.23 ± 30.72; r = 0.359, P < 0.01). The model showed 39.00% variance shared between behavior motivation and MCS (R 2 = 0.390, F = 13.189, P < 0.01). Conclusion Type B aortic dissection survivors in Zunyi, China had a lower quality of life. Medical staff can formulate intervention measures from behavioral motivation to improve the quality of life of aortic dissection survivors

Identification and Expression Analysis of NAC Gene Family in Weeping Trait of Lagerstroemia indica

Lagerstroemia indica is a widely used ornamental plant in summer gardens because of its desirable plant shape. The weeping traits of plants are related to secondary cell wall thickness and hormone signaling. NAC (NAM-ATAF1/2-CUC2), as one of the plant-specific transcription factors, is a switch for the secondary cell wall and also involved in leaf senescence, phytohormone signaling, and other growth processes. We identified a total of 21 LiNAC genes from the transcriptome data, which we divided into 14 subgroups and 2 groups. The physicochemical characteristics of amino acids, subcellular localization, transmembrane structure, GO and KEGG enrichment, and expression patterns were also examined. The qRT-PCR analysis showed that the expressions of LiNAC8 and LiNAC13 in upright L. indica &lsquo;Shaoguifei&rsquo; and weeping L. indica &lsquo;Xiariwuniang&rsquo; were significantly higher from the beginning to the end of growth stage (S1&ndash;S3), and the expressions of &lsquo;Shaoguifei&rsquo; were always higher than those of &lsquo;Xiariwuniang&rsquo;. However, LiNAC2 showed a downward trend in S1&ndash;S3 and the relative expression level of &lsquo;Shaoguifei&rsquo; was lower than that of &lsquo;Xiariwuniang&rsquo;. It is hypothesized that these LiNAC genes may be involved in the regulation of weeping traits in L. indica. The results of this study provide a basis for analyzing the functions of LiNAC genes and help to explore the molecular regulatory mechanisms related to the weeping traits in L. indica

Genome-Wide Identification and Expression Analysis of HSF Transcription Factors in Alfalfa (<i>Medicago sativa</i>) under Abiotic Stress

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is one of the most important legume forage species in the world. It is often affected by several abiotic stressors that result in reduced yields and poor growth. Therefore, it is crucial to study the resistance of M. sativa to abiotic stresses. Heat shock transcription factors (HSF) are key players in a number of transcriptional regulatory pathways. These pathways play an essential role in controlling how plants react to different abiotic stressors. Studies on the HSF gene family have been reported in many species but have not yet undergone a thorough analysis in M. sativa. Therefore, in order to identify a more comprehensive set of HSF genes, from the genomic data, we identified 16 members of the MsHSF gene, which were unevenly distributed over six chromosomes. We also looked at their gene architectures and protein motifs, and phylogenetic analysis allowed us to divide them into 3 groups with a total of 15 subgroups. Along with these aspects, we then examined the physicochemical properties, subcellular localization, synteny analysis, GO annotation and enrichment, and protein interaction networks of amino acids. Finally, the analysis of 16 MsHSF genes’ expression levels across all tissues and under four abiotic stresses using publicly available RNA-Seq data revealed that these genes had significant tissue-specific expression. Moreover, the expression of most MsHSF genes increased dramatically under abiotic stress, further validating the critical function played by the MsHSF gene family in abiotic stress. These results provided basic information about MsHSF gene family and laid a foundation for further study on the biological role of MsHSF gene in response to stress in M. sativa

Exogenous H2S Protects Against Diabetic Cardiomyopathy by Activating Autophagy via the AMPK/mTOR Pathway

Background/Aim: Autophagy plays an important role in cellular homeostasis through the disposal and recycling of cellular components. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) is the third endogenous gas that has been shown to confer cardiac protective effects. Given the regulation of autophagy in cardioprotection, this study aimed to investigate the protective effects of H2S via autophagy during high glucose treatment. Methods: This study investigated the content of H2S in the plasma as well as myocardial, ultrastructural changes in mitochondria and autophagosomes. This study also investigated the apoptotic rate using Hoechst/PI as well as expression of autophagy-associated proteins and mitochondrial apoptotic proteins in H9C2 cells treated with or without GYY4137. Mitochondria of cardiac tissues were isolated and RCR and ADP/O were also detected. AMPK knockdown was performed with siRNA transfection. Results: In a STZ-induced diabetic model, NaHS treatment not only increased the expression of p-AMPK in diabetic group but further activated cell autophagy. Following 48h high glucose, autophagosomes and cell viability were reduced. The present results showed that autophagy could be induced by H2S, which was verified by autophagic ultrastructural observation and LC3-I/LC3-II conversion. In addition, the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was significantly decreased. The expressions levels of autophagic-related proteins were significantly elevated. Moreover, H2S activated the AMPK/rapamycin (mTOR) signalling pathway. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that H2S decreases oxidative stress and protects against mitochondria injury, activates autophagy, and eventually leads to cardiac protection via the AMPK/mTOR pathway