A high-performance, sensitive, low-cost LIG/PDMS strain sensor for impact damage monitoring and localization in composite structures.

Health monitoring of composite structures in aircraft is critical, as these structures are commonly utilized in weight-sensitive areas and innovative designs that directly impact flight safety and reliability. Traditional monitoring methods have limitations in monitoring area, strain limit, and signal processing. In this paper, a multifunctional sensor has been developed using acid-treated laser-induced graphene (A-LIG) with a multi-layer three-dimensional conductive network. Compared to untreated laser-induced graphene, the sensitivity of A-LIG sensor is increased by 100%. Furthermore, PDMS is used to fill the pores, which improves the fatigue performance of the A-LIG sensor. To obtain clear monitoring results, a data conversion algorithm is provided to convert the electrical signal obtained by the sensor into a strain field contour cloud map. The impact test of the A-LIG/PDMS sensor on the carbon fiber panel of the aircraft wing box segment verifies the effectiveness of its strain sensing. This work introduces a novel approach to fabricating flexible sensors with improved sensitivity, extended strain range, and cost-effectiveness. The sensor exhibits high sensitivity (gauge factor,GF≈ 387), is low hysteresis (∼53 ms), and has a wide working range (up to 47%), and a highly stable and reproducible response over multiple test cycles (>18 000) with good switching response. It presents a promising and innovative direction for utilizing flexible sensors in the field of aircraft structural health monitoring.

Isolation, Optimization of Fermentation Conditions, and Characterization of an Exopolysaccharide from Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans Hao 2018.

In recent years, the wide application of exopolysaccharides (EPSs) in food, cosmetics, medicine, and other fields has drawn tremendous attention. In this study, an EPS produced by Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans Hao 2018 was isolated and purified, and its fermentation conditions were optimized. Its structure and biological functions were also studied. The purity and molecular weight of EPS were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and the EPS exhibited a number average of 2.26 × 105 and a weight average of 2.84 × 105. EPS has good adsorption for Cu2+ and Pb2+. The adsorption rates can reach up to 69.79% and 82.46%, respectively. The hygroscopic property of EPS was higher than that of chitosan, but slightly lower than that of sodium hyaluronate. However, the water-retaining activity of EPS was similar to that of chitosan and sodium hyaluronate. EPS has strong ability to scavenge free radicals, including OH radical and O2- radical. Further, its activity on O2- radicals has similarities with that of vitamin C. EPS has broad application prospects in many fields, such as cosmetics, environmental protection.

[Histone Deacetylation Down-regulates the Expression of BNIP3 in Renal Cell Carcinoma].

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the down-regulation mechanism of (bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa interacting protein 3 (BNIP3) expression in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). METHODS: RCC cell lines 786-O, ACHN and A498 were treated with different concentrations of histone deacetylase inhibitor TSA. Thereafter, the proliferation of RCC cells was determined with CCK-8 assay, cell apoptosis was observed by flow cytometry, and the expression levels of BNIP3 were determined by Q-PCR and Western blot, and the acetylation status of histone H3 in the promoter of BNIP3 was detected by ChIP. RESULTS: After the treatment with TSA, the proliferation of the three RCC cell lines was significantly inhibited (P<0.05), the early apoptosis of cells obviously increased, and the expression levels of BNIP3 mRNA (P<0.05) and protein were up-regulated. The histone H3 in BNIP3 promoter of both 786-O and ACHN was deacetylated, while the histone H3 in BNIP3 promoter of A498 was acetylated. CONCLUSIONS: Histone deacetylation may be the important mechanism of BNIP3 silencing in RCC.

[Immediate Inguinal Lymph Node Dissection Improves Survival in Patients of Penile Cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical outcome of immediate inguinal lymph node dissection on the survival of the patients with penile carcinoma. METHODS: A total of 67 patients of penile carcinoma whose inguinal lymph nodes (ILN) were initial clinically impalpable, received inguinal lymph node dissection (ILND) from Dec 2008 to April 2014. Among them, 33 patients received immediate ILND within 1 month after the resection of penile cancer, while 34 patients underwent delayed ILND which was performed when ILN was found clinically apparent during follow-up. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was performed. The prognostic factors was evaluated by log-rank test, including age, morphology, location, T stage, grade of primary tumor, clinical status of ILN before ILND, lymphatic pathology, time to ILND. Cox proportional hazard model was used to find the independent risk factors on survival. RESULTS: The median age was 50 year-old (range 26 to 84 year-old). The median follow-up time was 23 months (range 3-76 months). The 3-year and 5-year overall survival were 70.1% and 65.4%, respectively, The 5-year survival rate in immediate ILND and delayed ILND group were 93.1%, and 33.7% respectively. Positive ILN metastasis was found in 7 patients from immediate ILND group but 26 patients from delayed ILND group that the prognostic factors included T stage, tumor grade, clinical status of inguinal lymph nodes before ILND, and lymphatic pathology. Cox model found the status of inguinal lymph nodes was independent prognostic factor for the survival. CONCLUSION: Inguinal lymph node metastasis is the important prognostic indicator of the survival of penile cancer. Immediate ILND could improve survival for the patients with clinically impalpable lymph nodes.

Sensitivity-based dynamic performance assessment for model predictive control with Gaussian noise.

Economic model predictive control and tracking model predictive control are two popular advanced process control strategies used in various of fields. Nevertheless, for a given process, which controller should be chosen to achieve better performance is uncertain when noise exists. To this end, a sensitivity-based performance assessment approach is proposed to pre-evaluate the dynamic economic and tracking performance of them and guide the controller selection in this work. First, their controller gains around the optimal steady state are evaluated using the sensitivities of corresponding constrained dynamic programming problems. Second, the controller gains are substituted into the control loop to derive the propagation of process and measurement noise. Subsequently, the Taylor expansion is introduced to simplify the calculation of variance and mean of each variable. Finally, the tracking and economic performance surfaces are plotted and the performance indices are precisely calculated through integrating the objective functions and the probability density functions. Moreover, boundary moving (i.e., back off) and target moving can be pre-configured to guarantee the stability of controlled processes based on the proposed approach. Extensive simulations under different cases prove that the proposed approach can provide useful guidance on performance assessment and controller design.

Steady-state sequence optimization with incremental input constraints in two-layer model predictive control.

Steady-state optimization is of vital importance in two-layer model predictive control for bringing better steady-state and dynamic performance. However, the global optimality of steady-state sequences provided by local steady-state optimization cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, a new steady-state sequence optimization approach is proposed in the paper, to improve the global optimality of steady-state sequences. First, the non-global optimality of local steady-state sequences is discussed using an example. Subsequently, aiming at improving the global optimality, a novel sequence optimization strategy designed for steady-state optimization is proposed. Its basic formulation is given and the lower bound of the introduced parameter is analyzed. Then, the relation and difference between the proposed steady-state sequence optimization and the existing global steady-state optimization and local steady-state optimization are discussed. Finally, the steady-state performance, dynamic performance, and computational burden of the proposed approach are studied. The proposed approach provides engineers a brand-new way to realize steady-state optimization and effectively improves the global optimality of calculated steady-state sequences. Extensive simulations verify the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed method.

Double-layer model predictive control integrated with zone control.

This paper proposed a double-layer model predictive control (DLMPC) strategy integrated with zone control. In the steady-state target calculation (SSTC) layer, the controlled output variables are pretreated based on the analysis of process principle and production data. Subsequently, the optimal input-output targets and corresponding zone parameters are obtained by solving the steady-state optimization problem and transmitted to the dynamic control layer for tracking. Meanwhile, the weighted and priority soft constraints relaxation methods are discussed when the SSTC problem is infeasible. Compared with conventional DLMPC and zone model predictive control (ZMPC), the proposed algorithm can not only achieve smooth control, but also have better robustness and economic performance. Finally, a simulation example is taken to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Screening of potent neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 using convalescent patients-derived phage-display libraries.

As the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to threaten public health worldwide, the development of effective interventions is urgently needed. Neutralizing antibodies (nAbs) have great potential for the prevention and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, ten nAbs were isolated from two phage-display immune libraries constructed from the pooled PBMCs of eight COVID-19 convalescent patients. Eight of them, consisting of heavy chains encoded by the immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene-variable region (IGHV)3-66 or IGHV3-53 genes, recognized the same epitope on the receptor-binding domain (RBD), while the remaining two bound to different epitopes. Among the ten antibodies, 2B11 exhibited the highest affinity and neutralization potency against the original wild-type (WT) SARS-CoV-2 virus (KD = 4.76 nM for the S1 protein, IC50 = 6 ng/mL for pseudoviruses, and IC50 = 1 ng/mL for authentic viruses), and potent neutralizing ability against B.1.1.7 pseudoviruses. Furthermore, 1E10, targeting a distinct epitope on RBD, exhibited different neutralization efficiency against WT SARS-CoV-2 and its variants B.1.1.7, B.1.351, and P.1. The crystal structure of the 2B11-RBD complexes revealed that the epitope of 2B11 highly overlaps with the ACE2-binding site. The in vivo experiment of 2B11 using AdV5-hACE2-transduced mice showed encouraging therapeutic and prophylactic efficacy against SARS-CoV-2. Taken together, our results suggest that the highly potent SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibody, 2B11, could be used against the WT SARS-CoV-2 and B.1.1.7 variant, or in combination with a different epitope-targeted neutralizing antibody, such as 1E10, against SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Analysis of the incompleteness of the priority ascent strategy of feasibility judgment and soft constraint adjustment.

The priority ascent strategy of feasibility judgment and soft constraint adjustment has been playing a significant role in two-layer model predictive control for decades of years. Nevertheless, our latest researches indicate the present priority ascent strategy is incomplete in some extent, which could have been repaired through some technical adjustment. Therefore, an augmented method is proposed to fundamentally settle the problem in the paper. Firstly, a special case is presented to verify the incompleteness of the present strategy. Secondly, some existing methods which can partly solve the problem are carried out and discussed. Then, an augmented priority ascent strategy which considers all hard constraints in advance is proposed to solve the incompleteness of the present strategy. Furthermore, a brief proof is given to demonstrate the completeness of the proposed approach. Finally, some simulations are discussed to indicate its feasibility and effectiveness.

Minimally invasive vs open radical cystectomy in patients with bladder cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

OBJECTIVE: Minimally invasive surgical (MIS) approaches to radical cystectomy (RC) develop well in the past decades. We performed the present study to compare the perioperative outcomes, pathological outcomes, and oncologic outcomes between MIS approaches and open radical cystectomy (ORC) for bladder cancer. METHOD: We conducted a comprehensive study search up to March 2019, searching the online database Embase, PubMed and Cochrane Library. RESULTS: A total of 8 randomized controlled trials comprising 805 patients were included. We observed that MIS approaches were significantly associated with lower estimated blood loss (WMD = -343.21; 95%CI -431.34 to -255.08; P < 0.001), shorter length of stay (WMD = -0.76; 95%CI -1.28 to -0.24; P = 0.004), shorter time to flatus and diet (WMD = -0.46; 95%CI -0.64 to -0.27; P < 0.001; WMD = -0.92; 95%CI -1.58 to -0.28; P = 0.005; respectively), longer operation time (WMD = 61.38; 95%CI 34.89 to 87.88; P < 0.001), fewer 30-day overall complication (OR = 0.36; 95%CI 0.17 to 0.75; P = 0.007). And we did not detect significant difference in terms of 30-day (P = 0.278) and 90-day major complication (P = 0.899), positive surgical margins (P = 0.986), lymph node yield (P = 0.711), OS (P = 0.473), CSS (P = 0.778), RFS (P = 0.880), PFS (P = 0.324) between MIS approaches and ORC. CONCLUSION: In the present studies, we demonstrated that MIS approaches improved perioperative outcomes and had similar pathological and oncological outcomes compared with ORC. Stratified by type of MIS approaches, the results are similar. In conclusion, MIS approaches could serve as an alternative choice in patients with bladder cancer. However, long-term clinical outcomes highlight the need for future studies.

The prognostic value of sarcopenia in patients with surgically treated urothelial carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Sarcopenia is associated with unfavorable prognosis in patients undergoing surgical treatments of the respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract and urinary tracts. We summarized all available evidence to investigate the prognostic value of sarcopenia in patients with surgically treated urothelial carcinoma (UC). METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive study search up to January 2019, searching the online database Embase, PubMed and Cochrane Library. The hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were extracted from the studies. RESULTS: A total of 12 research consisting of 2075 patients were enrolled in the quantitative synthesis. We observed that UC patients with sarcopenia had a worse OS (HR = 1.87; 95%CI 1.43-2.45; P < 0.001) and CSS (HR = 1.98; 95%CI 1.43-2.75; P < 0.001). Stratified by tumor, sarcopenia is also an unfavorable factor for OS and CSS in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) or urothelial carcinoma of bladder (UCB). CONCLUSION: Sarcopenia is an unfavorable factor for OS and CSS in patients with surgically treated UC. Besides, stratified by tumor, the results of patients with UTUC or UCB are consistent with previous results. More prospective studies are required to validate our findings.

Expression and epigenetic regulatory mechanism of BNIP3 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

The majority of clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCCs) are caused by an accumulation of hypoxia­inducible factor (HIF) and the overexpression of downstream genes in response to the von Hippel­Lindau (VHL) gene becoming inactivated. In the present study, our hypothesis was that BNIP3, a gene positioned downstream of HIF, would be expressed at a higher level in ccRCC; however, instead, lower levels of BNIP3 expression were identified in RCC tumor tissues compared with adjacent non­tumor tissues. These changes were associated with lower levels of VHL, and higher levels of HIF and vascular endothelial growth factor. BNIP3 was also undetectable in three investigated RCC cell lines (786­O, ACHN, A498) and GRC­1­1 cells. Methylation of the BNIP3 promoter was not detected, and neither did treatment with a methylation inhibitor cause cell proliferation. However, treatment with a histone deacetylation inhibitor, trichostatin A (TSA), inhibited cultured RCC cell proliferation, promoted apoptosis and restored BNIP3 expression. Furthermore, histone deacetylation of the BNIP3 promoter was identified in ACHN and 786­O cells, and the acetylation status was restored following TSA treatment. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that histone deacetylation, but not methylation, is most likely to cause BNIP3 inactivation in RCC. The data also indicated that restoration of BNIP3 expression by a histone deacetylation inhibitor led to growth inhibition and apoptotic promotion in RCC.

Hepatoprotective effects of erythropoietin on D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide-induced fulminant hepatic failure in mice.

Fulminant hepatic failure is a severe clinical syndrome associated with a high rate of patient mortality. Recent studies have shown that in addition to its hematopoietic effect, erythropoietin (EPO) has multiple protective effects and exhibits antiapoptotic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The present study aimed to determine the hepatoprotective effect of EPO and to elucidate the underlying mechanisms using a D-galactosamine (D-GalN)/lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced model of acute liver injury. Experimental groups of mice were administered with various doses of EPO (1,000, 3,000 or 10,000 U/kg, intraperitoneal) once per day for 3 days, prior to injection with D-GalN (700 mg/kg)/LPS (10 µg/kg). Mice were sacrificed 8 h after treatment with D­GalN/LPS. Liver function and histopathology, malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH­Px) activities and EPO receptor (EPOR) and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) mRNA expression were evaluated. D-GalN/LPS administration markedly induced liver injury, as evidenced by elevated levels of serum aminotransferases, as well as histopathological changes. Compared with the D-GalN/LPS group, pretreatment with EPO significantly decreased the levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and MDA, and increased the activities of SOD and GSH-Px. Furthermore, the protective effects of EPO were paralleled by an upregulation in the mRNA expression of EPOR and PI3K. These data suggest that EPO can ameliorate D-GalN/LPS-induced acute liver injury by reducing oxidative stress and upregulating the mRNA expression of EPOR and PI3K.