Parallel-Vector Design Sensitivity Analysis in Structural Dynamics

In this study, the design sensitivity analysis is for the purpose of providing constraint derivative information for structural optimization under dynamic loads. Various existing formulations are reviewed, and the direct differentiation method is justified as the best one for design sensitivity analysis in structural dynamics. An alternative formulation for design sensitivity analysis with direct differentiation method is developed. The alternative formulation works efficiently with the reduced system of dynamic equations, and it eliminates the need for expensive and complicated eigenvector derivatives, which is required in the existing reduced system formulation. The relationship of the alternative formulation and the existing reduced system formulation is established originally, and it is proven analytically that the two approaches are identical, when the transformation is exact, i.e, when all the modes are included. The alternative approach is accurate, simple, and efficient. Eigenvectors are used as the base vectors in system reduction for both dynamic response analysis and the design sensitivity analysis. Lanczos algorithm is used for eigensystem solutions. A modified mode acceleration method is presented, thus, not only the displacements but also the velocities and accelerations are shown to be improved. The accuracy of the dynamic response is checked by comparing with the original full system solution, and the accuracy of the sensitivity information is verified by comparing with the sensitivity information obtained by finite difference method of the original full system. Numerical studies have verified that the alternative formulation proposed could yield excellent accuracy. Numerical studies also show that the modal acceleration method could very effectively reduce the computation cost for both dynamic response analysis and design sensitivity analysis. An efficient parallel-vector algorithm for design sensitivity analysis in large-scale structural dynamics is developed. Parallel computation can be achieved in both the global and local levels. The developed parallel-vector algorithm is then implemented in the Cray 2 and Cray Y-MP parallel computers using a parallel Fortran language called Force. The efficiency of the parallel-vector algorithm is illustrated by analyzing of large-scale structural systems and making comparison with the sequential version of the algorithm

ee-basis Coefficients of Chromatic Symmetric Functions

A well-known result of Stanley's shows that given a graph $G$ with chromatic symmetric function expanded into the basis of elementary symmetric functions as $X_G = \sum c_{\lambda}e_{\lambda}$, the sum of the coefficients $c_{\lambda}$ for $\lambda$ with exactly $k$ parts is equal to the number of acyclic orientations of $G$ with exactly $k$ sinks. However, more is known. The $sink$ $sequence$ of an acyclic orientation of $G$ is a tuple $(s_1,\dots,s_k)$ such that $s_1$ is the number of sinks of the orientation, and recursively each $s_i$ with $i > 1$ is the number of sinks remaining after deleting the sinks contributing to $s_1,\dots,s_{i-1}$. Equivalently, the sink sequence gives the number of vertices at each level of the poset induced by the acyclic orientation. A lesser-known follow-up result of Stanley's determines certain cases in which we can find a sum of $e$-basis coefficients that gives the number of acyclic orientations of $G$ with a given partial sink sequence. Of interest in its own right, this result also admits as a corollary a simple proof of the $e$-positivity of $X_G$ when the stability number of $G$ is $2$. In this paper, we prove a vertex-weighted generalization of this follow-up result. In a later version of this manuscript, we will also conjecture a much stronger version of this theorem and provide supporting numerical and theoretical data.Comment: This is a preliminary form of the manuscript; a future version will contain additional informatio

Investigation of Frost-Heaving Characteristics of Horizontal- Cup-Shape Frozen Ground Surface for Reinforced End Soil Mass in Shield Tunnel Construction

Artificial freezing method is commonly adopted for reinforcingend soil mass of shield tunnel in the weak and rich aqueousformation, which is expected to prevent the construction riskin the originating and arriving of shield machine, whereas thearrangement of freezing pipes is sometimes varied due to variouscomplex limitations, and the corresponding frost-heavingcharacteristics of ground surface also differs from others. Inthis paper, a case of artificial freezing end soil mass with cupshape arrangement of horizontal freezing pipes is studied byfield investigation and numerical analysis, in which a numericalmodel coupled with water-heat-force interactions is proposedfor appropriately evaluating the frost-heaving characteristicsof ground surface in artificial freezing method. Theresults demonstrate that all the considered factors on brinetemperature, buried depth and cup bottom thickness have significantlyinfluences of frost-heaving characteristics of groundsurface in the artificial ground freezing (AGF) with cup shapearrangement of horizontal freezing pipes, in which the frostheave displacement of horizontal-cup-shape frozen groundsurface is increased with the increasing brine temperature andburied depth, whereas that is decreased with the increasing cupbottom thickness

A Machine Learning Method for Predicting Driving Range of Battery Electric Vehicles

It is of great significance to improve the driving range prediction accuracy to provide battery electric vehicle users with reliable information. A model built by the conventional multiple linear regression method is feasible to predict the driving range, but the residual errors between -3.6975 km and 3.3865 km are relatively unfaithful for real-world driving. The study is innovative in its application of machine learning method, the gradient boosting decision tree algorithm, on the driving range prediction which includes a very large number of factors that cannot be considered by conventional regression methods. The result of the machine learning method shows that the maximum prediction error is 1.58 km, the minimum prediction error is -1.41 km, and the average prediction error is about 0.7 km. The predictive accuracy of the gradient boosting decision tree is compared against that of the conventional approaches. Document type: Articl

Plasmonic Nanomaterials for Optical Sensor and Energy Storage and Transfer

Nanomaterials including noble metal nanomaterials and some metal oxide nanomaterials exhibit very strong lightmatter interactions under resonant excitation. Very large absorption and scattering at the localized wavelengths can been achieved. Because of their attractive optical properties, optical NPs and nanostructures have been commonly used in various fields from nanophotonics, analytical chemistry, biotechnology, and information storage to energy applications including photovoltaics and photocatalysisphotocatalysi

Time-Dependent Effects of Anesthetic Isoflurane on Reactive Oxygen Species Levels in HEK-293 Cells

The inhalation anesthetic isoflurane has been reported to induce caspase activation and apoptosis, which may lead to learning and memory impairment. However, the underlying mechanisms of these effects are largely unknown. Isoflurane has been shown to induce elevation of cytosol calcium levels, accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, reduction in mitochondria membrane potential, and release of cytochrome c. The time course of these effects, however, remains to be determined. Therefore, we performed a pilot study to determine the effects of treatment with isoflurane for various times on ROS levels in HEK-293 cells. The cells were treated with 2% isoflurane plus 21% O2 and 5% CO2 for 15, 30, 60, or 90 min. We then used fluorescence imaging and microplate fluorometer to detect ROS levels. We show that 2% isoflurane for 60 or 90 min, but not 15 or 30 min, induced ROS accumulation in the cells. These data illustrated that isoflurane could cause time-dependent effects on ROS levels. These findings have established a system to further determine the time course effects of isoflurane on cellular and mitochondria function. Ultimately, the studies would elucidate, at least partially, the underlying mechanisms of isoflurane-induced cellular toxicity

Analysis of the influence of side wall opening on the arch structure of metro station using the PBA method

In order to meet the traffic and commercial needs, it is sometimes necessary to open the side wall of the metro station, while the current research on the mechanical properties and safety of the arch caused by the opening of the side wall of the station by pile-beam-arch (PBA) method is rarely involved. In this paper, based on the Tianhe East Station project of Guangzhou Metro Line 11 located in soft-hard uneven stratum using PBA method, the settlement law and mechanical characteristics of the arch under different side wall opening conditions is analyzed, and the influence of opening construction and opening span on the safety of arch is also further studied. The results show that the settlement caused by the opening of the side wall is mainly concentrated in the upper part of the opening area, and gradually expands around the opening area with the increase of opening span, and the maximum settlement occurs in the middle part of the arch. Opening leads to the differential settlement at both ends of the arch. With the increase in opening span, the settlement growth trend of the right side of the arch is greater than that of the left side. The opening of the side wall leads to the increase of the safety factor of the arch body and the decrease of the safety factor of the right arch foot, while the change of the safety factor of the left arch foot is not obvious, and the safety factor meets the specification requirements

Synergistic Treatment of Tumor by Targeted Biotherapy and Chemotherapy via Site-Specific Anchoring of Aptamers on DNA Nanotubes

Background: Aptamers have been widely used as targeted therapeutic agents due to its relatively small physical size, flexible structure, high specificity, and selectivity. Aptamers functionalized nanomaterials, not only enhance the targeting of nanomaterials, but can also improve the stability of the aptamers. We developed aptamer C2NP (Apt) conjugated straight DNA nanotubes (S-DNT-Apt) and twisted DNA nanotubes (T-DNT-Apt) as nanocarriers for doxorubicin (DOX). Methods: The twisted DNA nanotubes (T-DNT) and straight DNA nanotubes (S-DNT) were assembled with a scaffold and hundreds of staples. Apt was site-specifically anchored on DNA nanotubes with either different spatial distribution (3 or 6 nm) or varied stoichiometry (15Apt or 30Apt). The developed nanocarriers were characterized with agarose gel electrophoresis and transmission electron microscopy. The drug loading and release in vitro were evaluated by measuring the fluorescence intensity of DOX using a microplate reader. The stability of DNT in cell culture medium plus 10% of FBS was evaluated by agarose gel electrophoresis. The cytotoxicity of DNA nanostructures against K299 cells was tested with a standard CCK8 method. Cellular uptake, cell apoptosis, cell cycle and reactive oxygen species level were investigated by flow cytometry. The expression of p53 was examined by Western Blot. Results: T-DNT-30Apt-6 exhibited the highest cytotoxicity when the concentration of Apt was 120 nM. After intercalation of DOX, the cytotoxicity of DOX@T-DNT-30Apt-6 was further enhanced due to the combination of chemotherapy of DOX and biotherapy of Apt. The enhanced cytotoxicity of DOX@T-DNT-30Apt-6 can be explained by the increase in the cellular uptake, cell apoptosis and intracellular ROS levels. Additionally, the interaction between Apt and its receptor CD30 could upregulate the expression of p53. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that both stoichiometry and spatial arrangement of Apt on T-DNT-Apt influence the anticancer activity. The developed twisted DNA nanotubes may be a solution for the synergistic treatment of cancer