Anchoring the CFRP strengthening of concrete bridge decks: A comparison of methods

Debonding failures are a common problem in concrete bridge decks strengthened with adhesively attached carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. Accordingly, in this study, rectangular concrete slabs strengthened with CFRP have been experimentally evaluated to simulate the strengthening of T-beam and box girder slabs. The resulting static load data have been used to compare the effects of four different anchoring methods in terms of crack distribution, deflection, reinforcing steel strain curve, and CFRP strain distribution. The most suitable bridge deck strengthening anchoring method has been then identified and analysed using extant strengthening design methods. The results show that the most practical anchoring method is the use of open CFRP strips attached with concentrated adhesive. The findings of this study indicate that when strengthening T-girder bridges, more than two CFRP anchorage strips should be evenly spaced within the extension of the anchorage length, while for box girder bridges, even more evenly spaced strips should be used. This research and its conclusions can be used as a reference for the improved design of bridge deck strengthening

Anchoring the CFRP strengthening of concrete bridge decks: A comparison of methods

288-299Debonding failures are a common problem in concrete bridge decks strengthened with adhesively attached carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips. Accordingly, in this study, rectangular concrete slabs strengthened with CFRP have been experimentally evaluated to simulate the strengthening of T-beam and box girder slabs. The resulting static load data have been used to compare the effects of four different anchoring methods in terms of crack distribution, deflection, reinforcing steel strain curve, and CFRP strain distribution. The most suitable bridge deck strengthening anchoring method has been then identified and analysed using extant strengthening design methods. The results show that the most practical anchoring method is the use of open CFRP strips attached with concentrated adhesive. The findings of this study indicate that when strengthening T-girder bridges, more than two CFRP anchorage strips should be evenly spaced within the extension of the anchorage length, while for box girder bridges, even more evenly spaced strips should be used. This research and its conclusions can be used as a reference for the improved design of bridge deck strengthening

Anti-hepatoma effect of taccalonolide A through suppression of sonic hedgehog pathway

AbstractTaccalonolide A has been reported to have anti-tumour efficiency. However, the underlying mechanism for taccalonolides A therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is still obscure. Cell viability was evaluated by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Apoptosis was determined by flow cytometry. Protein expression of B cell lymphoma (Bcl-2), Bcl-2 associated X (Bax), sonic hedgehog (Shh), Smoothened (Smo) and Gli family zinc finger 1 (Gli1) was analyzed by western blot. The expression of Shh, Smo and Gli1 mRNA was determined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Results showed that taccalonolide A inhibited cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest at the G0/G1 phase, and improved the cytotoxicity of sorafenib in HCC cells. The expressions of Shh, Smo, Gli1 mRNA and protein were decreased after taccalonolide A treatment. More importantly, activation of the Shh pathway attenuated taccalonolide A-induced inhibition on cell viability and promotion on apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in HCC. Also, activation of the Shh pathway neutralized the effect of taccalonolide A on sorafenib cytotoxicity in HCC. We clarified that taccalonolide A suppressed cell viability facilitated apoptosis, and improved the cytotoxicity of sorafenib in HCC by inhibition of the activation of the Shh pathway, providing alternative treatments for HCC

A Radar Emitter Recognition Mechanism Based on IFS-Tri-Training Classification Processing

Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) is one of the basic pieces of combat equipment necessary for the electromagnetic situational awareness of aircraft in modern operations and requires good rapid performance and accuracy. This paper proposes a data processing flow for radar warning devices based on a hierarchical processing mechanism to address the issue of existing algorithms’ inability to balance real-time and accuracy. In the front-level information processing module, multi-attribute decision-making under intuitionistic fuzzy information (IFS) is used to process radar signals with certain prior knowledge to achieve rapid performance. In the post-level information processing module, an improved tri-training method is used to ensure accurate recognition of signals with low pre-level recognition accuracy. To improve the performance of tri-training in identifying radar emitters, the original algorithm is combined with the modified Hyperbolic Tangent Weight (MHTW) to address the problem of data imbalance in the radar identification problem. Simultaneously, cross entropy is employed to enhance the sample selection mechanism, allowing the algorithm to converge rapidly

A Radar Emitter Recognition Mechanism Based on IFS-Tri-Training Classification Processing

Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) is one of the basic pieces of combat equipment necessary for the electromagnetic situational awareness of aircraft in modern operations and requires good rapid performance and accuracy. This paper proposes a data processing flow for radar warning devices based on a hierarchical processing mechanism to address the issue of existing algorithms’ inability to balance real-time and accuracy. In the front-level information processing module, multi-attribute decision-making under intuitionistic fuzzy information (IFS) is used to process radar signals with certain prior knowledge to achieve rapid performance. In the post-level information processing module, an improved tri-training method is used to ensure accurate recognition of signals with low pre-level recognition accuracy. To improve the performance of tri-training in identifying radar emitters, the original algorithm is combined with the modified Hyperbolic Tangent Weight (MHTW) to address the problem of data imbalance in the radar identification problem. Simultaneously, cross entropy is employed to enhance the sample selection mechanism, allowing the algorithm to converge rapidly

Enhancing the Nutritional and Functional Properties of <i>Auricularia auricula</i> through the Exploitation of Walnut Branch Waste

As the third most edible fungus in the world, Auricularia auricular needs a lot of sawdust for cultivation; thus, it is a win–win method to develop waste wood sawdust suitable for black agaric cultivation. This study evaluated the growth, agronomic characters and nutritional quality of A. auricula cultured on different ratios of miscellaneous sawdust and walnut waste wood sawdust, and comprehensively analyzed the feasibility of cultivating black agaric with walnut sawdust using principal component method (PCA). The results showed that the macro mineral elements and phenolic substances in walnut sawdust were significantly higher than those of miscellaneous sawdust by 18.32–89.00%. The overall activity of extracellular enzymes reached the highest when the ratio of the substrate was 0:4 (miscellaneous sawdust: walnut sawdust). The mycelia of 1:3 substrates grew well and fast. In addition, the growth cycle for A. auricula was significantly lower for 0:4 (116 d) than for 4:0 (126 d). Then, the single bag yield and biological efficiency (BE) were highest at 1:3. Moreover, the nutrients and mineral elements of A. auricula cultivated in walnut sawdust were significantly higher than that of miscellaneous sawdust, expect for total sugar and protein, and the highest overall value was found at 1:3. Finally, the results of comprehensive evaluation by PCA showed that the D value was the highest when the substrate was 1:3 and the lowest when the substrate was 4:0. Therefore, the substrate ratio of 1:3 was the most suitable for the growth of A. auricula. In this study, the high yield and quality of A. auricula were cultivated by waste walnut sawdust, which provided a new way to utilize walnut sawdust

One-Part Plastic Formable Inorganic Coating Obtain from Alkali-Activated Slag /Starch(CMS) Hybrid Composites

Coating technology can be applied to decorate building constructions. Alkali-activated materials (AAM) are promising green and durable inorganic binders which show potential for development as innovative coating. In the paper, the possibility of using AAM composited with starch (CMS) as a novel plastic formable inorganic coating for decorating in building was investigated. The rheological properties, including plastic viscosity, yield stress, and thixotropy were considered to be critical properties to obtain the working requirements. Four different mixtures were systematically investigated to obtain the optimum formulation, and then were used to study their hardened properties, such as mechanical strengths (compressive, flexural, and adhesive strength), drying shrinkage, cracking behavior, and microstructure. Study results found that CMS could quickly and efficiently be hydrolyzed in an alkaline solution to produce organic plastic gel which filled in AAM paste, leading to the significant improvement of coating consistency, plastic viscosity, and thixotropy. The optimum coating composited with 15.40 wt% CMS shows a relatively stable rheological development, the setting time sufficient at higher than 4 h. Furthermore, CMS shows a significant positive effect on the cracking and shrinkage control due to padding effect and water retention of CMS, which results in no visible cracks on the coating surface. Although the mechanical strength development is relatively lower than that of plain AAM, its value, adhesive strength 2.11 MPa, compressive strength 55.09 MPa, and flexural strength 8.06 MPa highly meet the requirements of a relevant standard

Targeting SPHK1/PBX1 Axis Induced Cell Cycle Arrest in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85~90% of lung cancer cases, with a poor prognosis and a low 5-year survival rate. Sphingosine kinase-1 (SPHK1), a key enzyme in regulating sphingolipid metabolism, has been reported to be involved in the development of NSCLC, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In the present study, we demonstrated the abnormal signature of SPHK1 in NSCLC lesions and cell lines of lung cancers with a potential tumorigenic role in cell cycle regulation. Functionally, ectopic Pre-B cell leukemia homeobox-1 (PBX1) was capable of restoring the arrested G1 phase induced by SPHK1 knockdown. However, exogenous sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) supply had little impact on the cell cycle arrest by PBX1 silence. Furthermore, S1P receptor S1PR3 was revealed as a specific switch to transport the extracellular S1P signal into cells, and subsequently activated PBX1 to regulate cell cycle progression. In addition, Akt signaling partially participated in the SPHK1/S1PR3/PBX1 axis to regulate the cell cycle, and the Akt inhibitor significantly decreased PBX1 expression and induced G1 arrest. Targeting SPHK1 with PF-543 significantly inhibited the cell cycle and tumor growth in preclinical xenograft tumor models of NSCLC. Taken together, our findings exhibit the vital role of the SPHK1/S1PR3/PBX1 axis in regulating the cell cycle of NSCLC, and targeting SPHK1 may develop a therapeutic effect in tumor treatment

Investigation on welding sequence of I-beam by hybrid inversion

A thermal-mechanical model based on welding experiment and finite element (FE) method was developed for welding deformation analysis and welding sequence optimization of arc welding process used in hull steel structure forming process. By means of digital image correlation (DIC) and electrical measurement method, the deformation of T-beam was measured, and the equivalent heat source parameter (EHSP) was inversed by an optimization algorithm. The purpose of the inversion is to match the numerical results with the experiment results, so the EHSP has taken account into the influence of various factors on the welding deformation and residual stress. Thus, the developed method can avoid using the highly physical nonlinearity algorithm when considering the complex material constitutive and phase transformation process, which greatly improves the efficiency of calculation. Finally, the EHSP obtained from the hybrid inversion is applied to investigate the influence of welding sequence on welding deformation and residual stress in I-beam. This method can be applied to other metal materials and weld form