Bridge Design and Construction Management from the Perspective of Sustainable Development

As urbanization accelerates and transportation networks continue to evolve, bridges, as integral components of urban infrastructure, face increasingly formidable challenges in their design and construction management. This research explores the integration of environmentally friendly, economically efficient, and socially acceptable design principles and construction management methods in bridge engineering from the perspective of sustainable development. Through case analyses and data statistics, this paper presents optimized bridge design solutions under diverse environmental conditions and investigates strategies to minimize resource waste and enhance construction efficiency, thus achieving the sustainable development goals of bridge engineering

Integration of Ideological and Political Education into the Civil Engineering Curriculum: A Case Study of the “Steel Bridge” Course at Southwest Jiaotong University’s Hope College

This research paper explores the successful integration of ideological and political education into the curriculum of the civil engineering program, focusing on the course “Steel Bridge” at Southwest Jiaotong University’s Hope College. The study outlines the course objectives, curriculum design, teaching strategies, and assesses the impact of ideological and political education on students’ comprehensive development. By examining the course’s teaching methods, content, and effectiveness, the paper aims to provide insights into the broader implementation of ideological and political education in engineering education. The findings reveal notable improvements in students’ political awareness, moral character, and overall competence through the infusion of ideological and political elements within the technical curriculum. This case study serves as a model for similar courses and contributes to the ongoing discourse on cultivating well-rounded engineers with a strong sense of social responsibility and ethical values

Mesoporous polymer loading heteropolyacid catalysts: one-step strategy to manufacture high value-added cellulose acetate propionate

Cellulose esters are cellulose derivatives with broad application in plastics, films, fibers, coatings, textiles industries, and so forth. Taking cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) as an example, high-viscosity CAP products are widely used in printing inks, hot-melt dip coatings and lacquer coatings, and so forth. However, it was and remains to be a great challenge to manufacture high-viscosity CAP derivatives because of the overuse of sulfuric acid as catalyst that can degrade cellulose and then affect the viscosity and molecular weight of the product. Herein, with use of the copolymer of divinylbenzene with 4-vinylbenzyl chloride (PDVB–VBC) as support, imidazole-containing ionic liquid (IM) as linker, and polyoxometalates (POMs) as catalytic active sites, novel solid acid catalysts of PDVB–VBC–IM–POMs are prepared and fully characterized by Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Application of the as-prepared catalysts for CAP shows the following advantages: (1) high viscosity and high molecular weight (Mw) of CAP can be achieved; (2) partially substituted CAP product (degree of substitution, 2.18–2.77) can be obtained without necessity of the hydrolysis step, in which the relatively higher substitution degree of cellulose takes place at the C6 position. This work shows the great potential of new designed solid acid catalyst for high value-added cellulose derivatives

Sequential autologous CAR-T and allogeneic CAR-T therapy successfully treats central nervous system involvement relapsed/refractory ALL: a case report and literature review

BackgroundThe central nervous system (CNS) is the most common site of extramedullary invasion in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and involvement of the CNS is often associated with relapse, refractory disease, and poor prognosis. Chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) cell therapy, a promising modality in cancer immunotherapy, has demonstrated significant advantages in the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, due to associated adverse reactions such as nervous system toxicity, the safety and efficacy of CAR-T cell therapy in treating CNSL remains controversial, with limited reports available.Case reportHere, we present the case of a patient with confirmed B-ALL who experienced relapse in both bone marrow (BM) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) despite multiple cycles of chemotherapy and intrathecal injections. The infusion of autologous CD19 CAR-T cells resulted in complete remission (CR) in both BM and CSF for 40 days. However, the patient later experienced a relapse in the bone marrow. Subsequently, allogeneic CD19 CAR-T cells derived from her brother were infused, leading to another achievement of CR in BM. Significantly, only grade 1 cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) events were detected during the treatment period and showed improvement with symptomatic management. During subsequent follow-up, the patient achieved a disease-free survival of 5 months and was successfully bridged to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.ConclusionOur study provides support for the argument that CNS involvement should not be deemed an absolute contraindication to CAR-T cell therapy. With the implementation of suitable management and treatment strategies, CAR-T therapy can proficiently target tumor cells within the CNS. This treatment option may be particularly beneficial for relapsed or refractory patients, as well as those with central nervous system involvement who have shown limited response to conventional therapies. Additionally, CAR-T cell therapy may serve as a valuable bridge to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in these patients

Metagenomic Insights Into the Cycling of Dimethylsulfoniopropionate and Related Molecules in the Eastern China Marginal Seas

The microbial cycling of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and its gaseous catabolites dimethylsulfide (DMS) and methanethiol (MeSH) are important processes in the global sulfur cycle, marine microbial food webs, signaling pathways, atmospheric chemistry, and potentially climate regulation. Many functional genes have been identified and used to study the genetic potential of microbes to produce and catabolize these organosulfur compounds in different marine environments. Here, we sampled seawater, marine sediment and hydrothermal sediment, and polymetallic sulfide in the eastern Chinese marginal seas and analyzed their microbial communities for the genetic potential to cycle DMSP, DMS, and MeSH using metagenomics. DMSP was abundant in all sediment samples, but was fivefold less prominent in those from hydrothermal samples. Indeed, Yellow Sea (YS) sediment samples had DMSP concentrations two orders of magnitude higher than in surface water samples. Bacterial genetic potential to synthesize DMSP (mainly in Rhodobacteraceae bacteria) was far higher than for phytoplankton in all samples, but particularly in the sediment where no algal DMSP synthesis genes were detected. Thus, we propose bacteria as important DMSP producers in these marine sediments. DMSP catabolic pathways mediated by the DMSP lyase DddP (prominent in Pseudomonas and Mesorhizobium bacteria) and DMSP demethylase DmdA enzymes (prominent in Rhodobacteraceae bacteria) and MddA-mediated MeSH S-methylation were very abundant in Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea sediments (BYSS) samples. In contrast, the genetic potential for DMSP degradation was very low in the hydrothermal sediment samples—dddP was the only catabolic gene detected and in only one sample. However, the potential for DMS production from MeSH (mddA) and DMS oxidation (dmoA and ddhA) was relatively abundant. This metagenomics study does not provide conclusive evidence for DMSP cycling; however, it does highlight the potential importance of bacteria in the synthesis and catabolism of DMSP and related compounds in diverse sediment environments

A flexible dual-mode pressure sensor with ultra-high sensitivity based on BTO@MWCNTs core-shell nanofibers

Wearable flexible sensors have developed rapidly in recent years because of their improved capacity to detect human motion in wide-ranging situations. In order to meet the requirements of flexibility and low detection limits, a new pressure sensor was fabricated based on electrospun barium titanate/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (BTO@MWCNTs) core-shell nanofibers coated with styrene-ethylene-butene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS). The sensor material (BTO@MWCNTs/SEBS) had a SEBS to BTO/MWCNTs mass ratio of 20:1 and exhibited an excellent piezoelectricity over a wide range of workable pressures from 1 to 50 kPa, higher output current of 56.37 nA and a superior piezoresistivity over a broad working range of 20 to 110 kPa in compression. The sensor also exhibited good durability and repeatability under different pressures and under long-term cyclic loading. These properties make the composite ideal for applications requiring monitoring subtle pressure changes (exhalation, pulse rate) and finger movements. The pressure sensor developed based on BTO@MWCNTs core-shell nanofibers has demonstrated great potential to be assembled into intelligent wearable devices

Changes of predominant species/biovars and sequence types of Brucellaisolates, Inner Mongolia, China

BACKGROUND: Human brucellosis incidence in China was divided into 3 stages, high incidence (1950-1960s), decline (1970-1980s) and re-emergence (1990-2000s). Human brucellosis has been reported in all the 32 provinces, of which Inner Mongolia has the highest prevalence, accounting for over 40% of the cases in China. To investigate the etiology alteration of human brucellosis in Inner Mongolia, the species, biovars and genotypes of 60 Brucella isolates from this province were analyzed. METHODS: Species and biovars of the Brucella strains isolated from outbreaks were determined based on classical identification procedures. Strains were genotyped by multi locus sequence typing (MLST). Sequences of 9 housekeeping genes were obtained and sequence types were defined. The distribution of species, biovars and sequence types (STs) among the three incidence stages were analyzed and compared. RESULTS: The three stages of high incidence, decline and re-emergence were predominated by B. melitensis biovar 2 and 3, B. abortus biovar 3, and B. melitensis biovar 1, respectively, implying changes in the predominant biovars. Genotyping by MLST revealed a total of 14 STs. Nine STs (from ST28 to ST36), accounting for 64.3% of all the STs, were newly defined and different from those observed in other countries. Different STs were distributed among the three stages. ST8 was the most common ST in 1950-1960s and 1990-2000s, while ST2 was the most common in 1970-1980s. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of biovars and sequence types of Brucella strains from Inner Mongolia has changed over time in the three stages. Compared with those from other countries, new sequence types of Brucella strains exist in China

Comparison of the Effects of Acarbose and TZQ-F, a New Kind of Traditional Chinese Medicine to Treat Diabetes, Chinese Healthy Volunteers

Ethnopharmacological Relevance. TZQ-F has been traditionally used in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a formula for the treatment of diabetes. Aim of the Study. This study aims to compare the pharmacologic effects and gastrointestinal adverse events between TZQ-F and acarbose. Methods. The double-blind randomized placebo-controlled fivefold crossover study was performed in 20 healthy male volunteers. Plasma glucose, plasma IRI, and plasma C-peptide were measured to assess the pharmacologic effects. Flatus and bowel activity were measured to assess the adverse event of gastrointestinal effect. Results. 3 and 4 tablets of TZQ decreased the Cmax of plasma glucose compared with that of the previous day and with placebo. 3 tablets also decreased Cmax of plasma C-peptide compared with placebo. 4 tablets increased Cmax of plasma insulin after breakfast and the AUC of plasma C-peptide after breakfast and dinner. 2 tablets did not decrease plasma glucose and elevated the Cmax and AUC of C-peptide after breakfast and dinner, respectively. Acarbose 50 mg decreased the Cmax of plasma insulin and C-peptide after breakfast and the Cmax of plasma glucose and C-peptide after dinner. The subjects who received TZQ did not report any abdominal adverse events. Conclusions. 3 tablets of TZQ have the same effects as the acarbose

Heteropolyacids and sulfonic acid-bifunctionalized organosilica spheres for efficient manufacture of cellulose acetate propionate with high viscosity

Cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), a high value-added chemical, is traditionally prepared using H2SO4 as catalyst. Replacement of the mineral acids by solid acids is current research focus for green and sustainable production of CAP. Herein, we reported the fabrication of novel solid acid catalyst HPW/Si(Et)Si-Dim-SO3H (Si(Et)Si = ethyl-bridged organosilica and Dim = dihydroimidazole) by incorporating phosphotungstic acid (HPW) and sulfonic acid-based Brønsted acidic ionic liquids onto the organosilica nanospheres of the designed catalyst for efficient manufacture CAP via esterification. The results indicated that the as-prepared HPW/Si(Et)Si-Dim-SO3H with 7.5% HPW loading showed the best catalytic performance at 45 °C in 3 h and the resulting CAP exhibited viscosity of 447 mPa s, Mw of 102,882 and DS of 2.69. Most importantly, the HPW/Si(Et)Si-Dim-SO3H exhibited high catalytic stability over six consecutive cycles and the obtained products were stable too with similar DS, Mw and viscosity. As such, the designed heteropolyacids and sulfonic acid-bifunctionalized heterogeneous catalyst is highly promising for biomass conversion under mild conditions