FATIGUE INITIATION LIFE ASSESSMENT FOR OFFSHORE STRUCTURAL DETAILS

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Revisiting Initializing Then Refining: An Incomplete and Missing Graph Imputation Network

With the development of various applications, such as social networks and knowledge graphs, graph data has been ubiquitous in the real world. Unfortunately, graphs usually suffer from being absent due to privacy-protecting policies or copyright restrictions during data collection. The absence of graph data can be roughly categorized into attribute-incomplete and attribute-missing circumstances. Specifically, attribute-incomplete indicates that a part of the attribute vectors of all nodes are incomplete, while attribute-missing indicates that the whole attribute vectors of partial nodes are missing. Although many efforts have been devoted, none of them is custom-designed for a common situation where both types of graph data absence exist simultaneously. To fill this gap, we develop a novel network termed Revisiting Initializing Then Refining (RITR), where we complete both attribute-incomplete and attribute-missing samples under the guidance of a novel initializing-then-refining imputation criterion. Specifically, to complete attribute-incomplete samples, we first initialize the incomplete attributes using Gaussian noise before network learning, and then introduce a structure-attribute consistency constraint to refine incomplete values by approximating a structure-attribute correlation matrix to a high-order structural matrix. To complete attribute-missing samples, we first adopt structure embeddings of attribute-missing samples as the embedding initialization, and then refine these initial values by adaptively aggregating the reliable information of attribute-incomplete samples according to a dynamic affinity structure. To the best of our knowledge, this newly designed method is the first unsupervised framework dedicated to handling hybrid-absent graphs. Extensive experiments on four datasets have verified that our methods consistently outperform existing state-of-the-art competitors

Nucleated red blood cells as a novel biomarker in the diagnosis and prediction of sepsis severity in children

IntroductionSepsis is a vitally serious disease leading to high mortality. Nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) are present in some noninfectious diseases, but the relationship between NRBCs and sepsis in children remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics and outcomes of sepsis with positive NRBCs and negative NRBCs in children, and to further explore whether the count of NRBCs has a relationship with the severity of sepsis.MethodsWe enrolled children with sepsis who were admitted to the Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between January 2020 and December 2022. The children’s clinical data, laboratory data and outcomes were recorded and analyzed.ResultsOne hundred and fifteen children met the inclusion criteria in our study. Compared to negative NRBCs patients, the C-reactive protein, alanine transaminase, urea nitrogen values, mortality rate and length of hospitalization were found to be significantly increased, while platelet counts, and hemoglobin were significantly decreased in sepsis patients with positive NRBC (P < 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves analysis showed that the optimal cutoff value of the NRBC count in the diagnosis of severe sepsis was 3, with a sensitivity of 87.5% and specificity of 94.9%. The area under the ROC curve was 0.877 (95% CI: 0.798-0.957).DiscussionThese findings demonstrated that NRBC count has the potential to be a biomarker for the diagnosis of sepsis in children, especially an NRBC count greater than 3, which may predict the severity and poor prognosis in children suffering from sepsis

Compressible extruded granules containing microencapsulated oil powders

Gelatine-based dough formulations (47%, 60% or 70% w/w total solids) with embedded microencapsulated fish oil powders were extruded, dried and compressed to obtain tablets with 35% w/w oil. The effects of dough total solids and pre-conditioning temperature (20, 35 or 50 °C) prior to extrusion on the amount of oil leakage from the tablets were examined. Oil leakage from tablets was lowest when made from extrudates of dough with 47% w/w TS and pre-conditioned at 35 °C. Increasing dough total solids increased oil leakage. This suggests that adequate hydration of the matrix, necessary for functionalization of the protein, was essential for subsequent tableting performance. The ability to make directly compressible formulations with embedded microencapsulated oil powders broadens the application of spray-dried fish oil powders into the nutritional supplement markets

Influence of an Extended Stub at Connector Ports on Signal Launches and TRL De-embedding

Characterization of PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) is usually associated with measurement using a VNA (Vector Network Analyzer) in the frequency-domain or a TDR (Time Domain Reflectometer) in the time-domain. The often used signal launch techniques on PCBs based on the VNA or TDR measurement in the microwave frequency range use SMA or 3.5 mm connectors, in edge-launch or vertical-launch fashions. The signal transition between the launch port and the DUT (Device Under Test) introduces errors in the measurement, which is dominant when compared with a transmission line itself on the PCB as the technologies of PCB manufacturing well developed today. Discontinuities at connector ports depend on the port structures and the dielectric properties of the substrate materials. However, an extended stub at a connector port may significantly influence signal launches, or even corrupt a TRL calibration in a measurement

A Hybrid Approach to Decrease Port Influence in Transmission Line Characterization

Characterization and models for multi-gigabit signaling is an important issue in modern digital system. A good physical based model relies on a precise characterization of the test board. Typically, the characterization of the test board is associated with scattering matrix parameter measurement, which can be done with a VNA (Vector Network Analyzer) in the frequency-domain or a TDR (Time Domain Reflectometer) in the time-domain. The commonly used launch techniques on PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) associated with the VNA or TDR measurement in the microwave frequency range use SMA or 3.5 mm connectors, in edge-launch or vertical-launch fashions. The transition between the launch port and the DUT (Device Under Test) introduces errors in the measurement. Embedding/deembedding techniques are used to remove the port influences in the measurement generally. For example, TRL (Through, Reflect, and Line) calibration is the typical method used in measurement to eliminate port influences. However, extra test kits are needed for TRL calibration, and furthermore the TRL calibration is sometimes difficult to implement, such as in coupled differential lines. In this paper, an effective hybrid approach for transmission line characterization is proposed, which includes choosing a suitable port launch technique for the test board, port parasitic parameters estimation, and building up a proper circuit model for evaluation with genetic algorithms (GA)

Targeting Neuroglial Sodium Channels in Neuroinflammatory Diseases

The Hodgkin-Huxley model, at its 66th anniversary, remains a footing stone of neuroscience, which describes how the action potential (AP) is generated. As the core player of AP initiation, voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs) are always considered to be required for electrogenesis in excitable cells. Cells which are not traditionally been considered to be excitable, including glial cells, also express VGSCs in physiological as well as pathological conditions. The dysfunction of glial VGSCs is seemingly not related to abnormal excitation of neurons, but of importance in the astrogliosis and M1 polarization of microglia, which could induce refractory neuroinflammatory diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Therefore, in this chapter, we aim to describe the physiological and pathological roles of VGSCs contributing to the activity of glial cells and discuss whether VGSC subtypes could be used as a novel drug target, with an eye toward therapeutic implications for neuroinflammatory diseases

Scorpion Toxins from <em>Buthus martensii</em> Karsch (BmK) as Potential Therapeutic Agents for Neurological Disorders: State of the Art and Beyond

Scorpions are fascinating creatures which became residents of the planet well before human beings dwelled on Earth. Scorpions are always considered as a figure of fear, causing notable pain or mortality throughout the world. Their venoms are cocktails of bioactive molecules, called toxins, which are responsible for their toxicity. Fortunately, medical researchers have turned the life-threatening toxins into life-saving therapeutics. From Song Dynasty in ancient China, scorpions and their venoms have been applied in traditional medicine for treating neurological disorders, such as pain, stroke, and epilepsy. Neurotoxins purified from Chinese scorpion Buthus Martensii Karsch (BmK) are considered as the main active ingredients, which act on membrane ion channels. Long-chain toxins of BmK, composed of 58–76 amino acids, could specifically recognize voltage-gated sodium channels (VGSCs). Short-chain BmK toxins, containing 28–40 amino acids, are found to modulate the potassium or chloride channels. These components draw attention as useful scaffolds for drug-design in order to tackle the emerging global medical threats. In this chapter, we aim to summarize the most promising candidates that have been isolated from BmK venoms for drug development