Development of DMPS-EMAT for Long-Distance Monitoring of Broken Rail.

The safety of railway transportation is crucial to social and economic development. Therefore, real-time monitoring of the rail is particularly necessary. The current track circuit structure is complex and costly, posing challenges to monitoring broken tracks using alternative methods. As a non-contact detection technology with a lower environmental impact, electromagnetic ultrasonic transducers (EMATs) have become a concern. However, traditional EMATs have problems such as low conversion efficiency and complex modes, which can limit their effectiveness for long-distance monitoring. Therefore, this study introduces a novel dual-magnet phase-stacked EMAT (DMPS-EMAT) design comprising two magnets and a dual-layer winding coil arrangement. The magnets are positioned at a distance equal to the wavelength of the A0 wave from each other, while the center distance between the two sets of coils beneath the transducer is also equal to the wavelength. After analyzing the dispersion curves of the rail waist, it was determined that the optimal frequency for long-distance rail monitoring is 35 kHz. At this frequency, adjusting the relative positions of the two magnets and the coil directly underneath to be one A0 wavelength can effectively excite a constructive interference A0 wave in the rail waist. The simulation and experimental results show that DMPS-EMAT excited a single-mode A0 wave, resulting in a 1.35-times increase in amplitude.

Decreased miRNA-146a in glioblastoma multiforme and regulation of cell proliferation and apoptosis by target Notch1.

OBJECTIVE: The primary purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the microRNA 146a (miR-146a) and the proliferation of cells occurring in glioblastoma multiforme. The secondary purpose of the paper is to investigate abnormalities of expression in miR-146a. METHODS: A real-time PCR assay was used to investigate the abnormal expression of miR-146a in glioma and adjacent tissue. Lipofection was used to transfect a mimic of miR-146a and induce the upregulation of miR-146a. Real-time PCR was used to observe the expression level of miR-146a. A cell viability analysis was conducted using MTT. A luciferase report vector was used to identify potential targets for miR-146a. RESULTS: The miR-146a component was found to be downregulated in glioma tissue compared with adjacent nontumor tissue (p<0.05). The upregulation of miR-146a in glioma cells through miR-146a mimic transfection led to reduction of cell viability and to an increase in the percentage of apoptosis. Notch1 was the name of the potential targeted gene for miR-146a in glioma. CONCLUSIONS: The study found that the presence of miR-146a potentially affected the proliferation of glioma cells by regulating the rate of Notch1 expression.

Elevated expression of Notch-1 and EGFR induced apoptosis in glioblastoma multiforme patients.

OBJECTIVE: The Notch signaling pathway has been well recognized as important adjuster in glioma tumorigenesis and could regulate the glioma cell proliferation through downstream factors such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Our current study was aim to investigate the clinical association between Notch-1 gene and EGFR gene as well as cell survival rate in human glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) samples. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Samples from 90 patients with GBMs and 20 normal brain tissues were analyzed in our study. Western blot and immunohistochemistry was used to detect Notch and EGFR protein expression. RT-PCR was used to detect Notch and EGFR mRNA expression. Apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry. RESULTS: Results demonstrated that the Notch and EGFR gene mRNA and protein levels were dramatically higher in GBM tissues compared to normal brain. Further analysis found these increased mRNA levels were only associated with patient survival period, but not related to patient age, gender and tumor size. A positive correlation was observed between Notch and EGFR protein expression. The positive correlations were also exhibited between Notch-1, EGFR gene expression and apoptosis percentage. CONCLUSION: Our study verified both Notch-1 and EGFR involved in GBM tumorigenesis and may provide important information for GBM clinical treatment and prognosis.