Peste des Petits Ruminants Virus in Tibet, China

Serologic and molecular evidence indicates that peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) infection has emerged in goats and sheep in the Ngari region of southwestern Tibet, People’s Republic of China. Phylogenetic analysis confirms that the PPRV strain from Tibet is classified as lineage 4 and is closely related to viruses currently circulating in neighboring countries of southern Asia

Iterative learning control applied to pulsed blowing for lift enhancement on a trailing-edge flap

A novel iterative learning control algorithm was developed and applied to an active flow control problem. The technique used pulsed air jets applied to a trailing-edge flap to enhance the lift. The iterative learning control algorithm used position-based pressure measurements to update the actuation. The method was experimentally tested on a two-element high-lift wing in a low-speed wind tunnel. Compressed air and fast switching solenoid valves were used as actuators to excite the flow, and the pressure distribution around the chord of the wing was measured as a feedback control signal for the iterative learning controller. Experimental results showed that the actuation was able to delay the separation and increase the overall lift by ΔCL =0.3 over the angle of attack range and increase CLmax from 2.7 to 3.0 compared to the nonactuated case. By using the iterative learning control algorithms, the controller was able to track the target lift, and by using an optimum control algorithm with an extended reference, the controller was able to maximize the lift enhancement

Iterative Learning Control for Trailing-Edge Flap Lift Enhancement with Pulsed Blowing

A novel iterative learning control algorithm was developed and applied to an active flow control problem. The technique used pulsed air jets applied to a trailing-edge flap to enhance the lift. The iterative learning control algorithm used position-based pressure measurements to update the actuation. The method was experimentally tested on a two-element high-lift wing in a low-speed wind tunnel. Compressed air and fast switching solenoid valves were used as actuators to excite the flow, and the pressure distribution around the chord of the wing was measured as a feedback control signal for the iterative learning controller. Experimental results showed that the actuation was able to delay the separation and increase the overall lift by ΔCL =0.3 over the angle of attack range and increase CLmax from 2.7 to 3.0 compared to the nonactuated case. By using the iterative learning control algorithms, the controller was able to track the target lift, and by using an optimum control algorithm with an extended reference, the controller was able to maximize the lift enhancement

Research on a Dual-Mode Infrared Liquid-Crystal Device for Simultaneous Electrically Adjusted Filtering and Zooming

A new dual-mode liquid-crystal (LC) micro-device constructed by incorporating a Fabry⁻Perot (FP) cavity and an arrayed LC micro-lens for performing simultaneous electrically adjusted filtering and zooming in infrared wavelength range is presented in this paper. The main micro-structure is a micro-cavity consisting of two parallel zinc selenide (ZnSe) substrates that are pre-coated with ~20-nm aluminum (Al) layers which served as their high-reflection films and electrodes. In particular, the top electrode of the device is patterned by 44 × 38 circular micro-holes of 120 μm diameter, which also means a 44 × 38 micro-lens array. The micro-cavity with a typical depth of ~12 μm is fully filled by LC materials. The experimental results show that the spectral component with needed frequency or wavelength can be selected effectively from incident micro-beams, and both the transmission spectrum and the point spread function can be adjusted simultaneously by simply varying the root-mean-square value of the signal voltage applied, so as to demonstrate a closely correlated feature of filtering and zooming. In addition, the maximum transmittance is already up to ~20% according the peak-to-valley value of the spectral transmittance curves, which exhibits nearly twice the increment compared with that of the ordinary LC-FP filtering without micro-lenses

The association between liver fibrosis and depression in patients after ischemic stroke

Abstract Background and objective Liver fibrosis has been considered a predictor of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to evaluate whether the degree of liver fibrosis is related to post-stroke depression (PSD) at 3 months follow-up. Methods We prospectively and continuously enrolled patients with first-ever ischemic stroke from June 2020 to January 2022. Liver fibrosis was measured after admission by calculating the Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) and stratified into two categories ( 7 were further evaluated using the Chinese version of the structured clinical interview of DSM-IV, for diagnosing PSD at 3 months. Results A total of 326 patients (mean age 66.6 years, 51.5% male) were recruited for the study. As determined by the FIB-4 score, 80 (24.5%) patients had advanced liver fibrosis. During the follow-up, PSD was observed in 91 patients, which accounted for 27.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 25.5%–30.5%) of the cohort. The prevalence of advanced liver fibrosis was higher in PSD patients than those without PSD (40.0% versus 24.0%; P = 0.006). After adjustment for covariates in the multivariate logistic analysis, advanced fibrosis was significantly associated with PSD (odds ratio [OR], 1.88; 95% CI, 1.03–3.42; P = 0.040). Similar results were found when the FIB-4 was analyzed as a continuous variable. Conclusions This study found that advanced liver fibrosis was associated with an increased risk of 3-month PSD. FIB-4 score may be valuable for screening depressive symptoms in ischemic stroke patients

Prognostic value of subclinical thyroid dysfunction in ischemic stroke patients treated with intravenous thrombolysis.

Data regarding the association between subclinical thyroid dysfunction and clinical outcomes in ischemic stroke patients with intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) are limited. We aimed to investigate the predictive value of subclinical thyroid dysfunction in END, functional outcome and mortality at 3 months among IVT patients. We prospectively recruited 563 IVT patients from 5 stroke centers in China. Thyroid function status was classified as subclinical hypothyroidism, subclinical hyperthyroidism (SHyper) and euthyroidism. The primary outcome was END, defined as ≥ 4 point in the NIHSS score within 24 h after IVT. Secondary outcomes included 3-month functional outcome and mortality. Of the 563 participants, END occurred in 14.7%, poor outcome in 50.8%, and mortality in 9.4%. SHyper was an independent predictor of END [odd ratio (OR), 4.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.86-9.68, P = 0.003], 3-month poor outcome (OR, 3.24; 95% CI, 1.43-7.33, P = 0.005) and mortality [hazard ratio, 2.78; 95% CI, 1.55-5.36, P = 0.003]. Subgroup analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between SHyper and clinical outcomes in IVT patients with endovascular therapy. In summary, SHyper is associated with increased risk of END, and poor outcome and mortality at 3 months in IVT patients without endovascular therapy