An improved corner dealiasing and recognition algorithm for 2D Wadell roundness computation.

This paper optimizes the 2D Wadell roundness calculation of particles based on digital image processing methods. An algorithm for grouping corner key points is proposed to distinguish each independent corner. Additionally, the cyclic midpoint filtering method is introduced for corner dealiasing, aiming to mitigate aliasing issues effectively. The relationships between the number of corner pixels (m), the central angle of the corner (α) and the parameter of the dealiasing degree (n) are established. The Krumbein chart and a sandstone thin section image were used as examples to calculate the 2D Wadell roundness. A set of regular shapes is calculated, and the error of this method is discussed. When α ≥ 30°, the maximum error of Wadell roundness for regular shapes is 5.21%; when 12° ≤ α < 30°, the maximum error increases. By applying interpolation to increase the corner pixels to the minimum number (m0) within the allowable range of error, based on the α-m0 relational expression obtained in this study, the error of the corner circle can be minimized. The results indicate that as the value of m increases, the optimal range interval for n also widens. Additionally, a higher value of α leads to a lower dependence on m. The study's results can be applied to dealiasing and shape analysis of complex closed contours.

Development of a BIM-based bridge maintenance system (BMS) for managing defect data.

Bridges might experience many defects during use, such as pavement cracks and reinforcement corrosion, which easily produce an accumulated impact that threatens bridge safety. Thus, there is a need for the regular inspection and maintenance of bridges. This paper presents a bridge maintenance system (BMS) based on building information modelling (BIM), which is utilized in bridge defect information management using a digitalization method. A bridge defect three-dimensional BIM (BIM3D) library is established and combined with a bridge model to visualize bridge defect conditions. Based on bridge inspection data, bridge defect information is digitally classified and encoded according to the international framework for dictionaries (IFD) standard and used to establish a database. An evaluation of bridge technical conditions is performed, and the results are graded and displayed in different colours, reflecting the visualization function of BIM technology. Maintenance suggestions are provided according to the range of bridge technical condition scores, reflecting the informatization function of BIM technology. With the Xinjiang Cocodala Bridge in China as a case study, a bridge BIM3D model and inspection data are imported into the BMS to utilize the functions of 'visualization of bridge defect conditions', 'evaluation of bridge technical conditions' and 'recommendations of bridge maintenance methods'.

Mesoscopic and macroscopic investigation of a dolomitic marble subjected to thermal damage.

Thermal loading is an important factor that could lead to the weakening and deterioration of rock materials. Understanding the thermal properties of rocks and their evolution under different high temperatures is important in the post-fire-hazard evaluation and cultural heritage conservation. Yet it is challenging to understand the evolution of thermally-induced changes in rock properties and to quantitatively study degrees of thermal damage when samples are limited. This study investigates the effects of high temperatures (i.e., 200 °C, 400 °C, 600 °C, 800 °C, and 1000 °C) on a dolomitic marble using combined mesoscopic and macroscopic testing techniques. The test results show that increasing marble temperature led to a deterioration of physical properties (i.e., increasing open porosity and weight loss; but decreasing P-wave velocity) and mechanical properties (i.e., increasing axial strain corresponding with the peak stress; but decreasing uniaxial compressive strength, Young's modulus, and brittleness). There existed a threshold temperature of 600 °C, which marks different thermal damage mechanisms. Below the threshold, the rock deterioration was mainly caused by physical changes such as crack propagation and grain breakage, which can be characterized by mesoscopic parameters (i.e., linear crack density and mineral grain size distribution). On the contrary, when the temperature was higher than the threshold, the deterioration was caused by chemical changes, including mineral decomposition and re-crystallization, which was indicated by the changes in mineral compositions and relative atomic mass calculation. Based on the experimental results (e.g., mineralogical and physico-mechanical changes) and obtained relationships between the parameters in mesoscale and macroscale, a novel scheme for thermal damage evaluation is proposed to estimate thermally-induced changes in macroscopic parameters (e.g., Young's modulus) based on the corresponding mesoscopic parameters (e.g., particle size distribution and linear crack density).

Proteome-wide identification of palmitoylated proteins in mouse testis.

The reversible lipid modification, S-palmitoylation, plays regulatory roles in various physiological processes, e.g., neuronal plasticity and organs development; however, the roles of palmitoylation engaged in testis have yet remained unexplored. Here, we used combined approaches of palm-proteomics, informatics and quantitative PCR to systematically analyze the expression of key enzymes related to protein palmitoylation and identify proteome-wide palmitoylated proteins during the processes of spermatogenesis. Specifically, different timepoints were chosen to collect samples to cover the initiation of meiosis (postnatal, P12), the appearance of the first batch of sperm (P36) and fully fertile status (P60) in mouse. Interestingly, our results showed that only a few enzymes related to protein palmitoylation are highly expressed at later stages (from P36 to P60), rather than in the earlier phase of testis development (P12). To focus on the molecular event of spermatogenesis, we examined the palm-proteomics of testes in P36 and P60 mouse. In total, we identified 4,883 palmitoylated proteins, among which 3,310 proteins match the published palmitoyl-proteome datasets and 1,573 proteins were firstly identified as palmitoylated proteins in this study. Informatics analysis suggested that palmitoylation is involved in events of protein transport, metabolic process, protein folding and cell adhesion, etc. Importantly, further analysis revealed that several networks of palmitoylated proteins are closely associated with sperm morphology and motility. Together, our study laid a solid ground for understanding the roles of protein palmitoylation in spermatogenesis for future studies.

Hydrochemical analysis and identification of open-pit mine water sources: a case study from the Dagushan iron mine in Northeast China.

The identification of open-pit mine water sources is of great significance in preventing water disasters. Combined with hydrochemistry and multivariate statistical analysis, this paper systematically analyzed the hydraulic connections between aquifers and the complex seepage water sources in the pit and roadway of Dagushan iron mine through qualitative analysis and quantitative calculation. According to the hydrochemical characteristics of the study area, the causes of seepage water at different positions in the mining area were reasonably explained. The results show that there is a possible hydraulic connection or similar source of water body between the bedrock fissure aquifer and the eluvium pore aquifer. The water seepage of 2# roadway mainly comes from bedrock fissure aquifer in the north of mining area. The reason for serious water seepage in the 3# roadway and the western side of the pit is that the fault connects the shallow alluvial pore aquifer and bedrock fissure aquifer. The source of water on the southern side pit comes from the river and groundwater on the southern side of the mine. The results presented here provide significant guidance for the management of mine water seepage problems.

Spatial distribution, risk assessment, and source identification of pollutants around gold tailings ponds: a case study in Pinggu District, Beijing, China.

This work investigated heavy metal and cyanide pollution in surface soils and edible plants around Yanzhuang gold tailings ponds in the region of Yanzhuang Village in Pinggu District, Beijing. Surface soil samples were collected from 33 sites around gold tailings ponds, and concentrations of seven heavy metals (i.e., Sb, As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg) and cyanide were analyzed to determine their spatial distributions, pollution degrees, and sources. The potential ecological risks of As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg were preliminarily assessed. The results showed that the mean cyanide, Sb, As, Cd, Cu, and Pb concentrations were higher than the standard values. The pollutant concentrations around the tailings ponds were high and decreased with increasing distance from the ponds. The single pollution index indicated that cyanide, As, and Cd were the main pollutants. The Nemerow pollution index revealed a large region and serious degree of heavy metal pollution in soils. The potential ecological risk level of the study area was moderate, with Cd and As posing the main risks. Multivariate statistical analysis suggested that the heavy metal and cyanide pollution present mainly derived from gold tailings, with agricultural pollution also had a certain effect. However, the 12 edible plants sampled were basically not polluted.

GFAP hyperpalmitoylation exacerbates astrogliosis and neurodegenerative pathology in PPT1-deficient mice.

The homeostasis of protein palmitoylation and depalmitoylation is essential for proper physiological functions in various tissues, in particular the central nervous system (CNS). The dysfunction of PPT1 (PPT1-KI, infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis [INCL] mouse model), which catalyze the depalmitoylation process, results in serious neurodegeneration accompanied by severe astrogliosis in the brain. Endeavoring to determine critical factors that might account for the pathogenesis in CNS by palm-proteomics, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was spotted, indicating that GFAP is probably palmitoylated. Questions concerning if GFAP is indeed palmitoylated in vivo and how palmitoylation of GFAP might participate in neural pathology remain unexplored and are waiting to be investigated. Here we show that GFAP is readily palmitoylated in vitro and in vivo; specifically, cysteine-291 is the unique palmitoylated residue in GFAP. Interestingly, it was found that palmitoylated GFAP promotes astrocyte proliferation in vitro. Furthermore, we showed that PPT1 depalmitoylates GFAP, and the level of palmitoylated GFAP is overwhelmingly up-regulated in PPT1-knockin mice, which lead us to speculate that the elevated level of palmitoylated GFAP might accelerate astrocyte proliferation in vivo and ultimately led to astrogliosis in INCL. Indeed, blocking palmitoylation by mutating cysteine-291 into alanine in GFAP attenuate astrogliosis, and remarkably, the concurrent neurodegenerative pathology in PPT1-knockin mice. Together, these findings demonstrate that hyperpalmitoylated GFAP plays critical roles in regulating the pathogenesis of astrogliosis and neurodegeneration in the CNS, and most importantly, pinpointing that cysteine-291 in GFAP might be a valuable pharmaceutical target for treating INCL and other potential neurodegenerative diseases.

An inducible model for specific neutrophil depletion by diphtheria toxin in mice.

Neutrophils are crucial for immunity and play important roles in inflammatory diseases; however, mouse models selectively deficient in neutrophils are limited, and neutrophil-specific diphtheria toxin (DT)-based depletion system has not yet been established. In this study, we generated a novel knock-in mouse model expressing diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) under control of the endogenous Ly6G promoter. We showed that DTR expression was restricted to Ly6G+ neutrophils and complete depletion of neutrophils could be achieved by DT treatment at 24-48 h intervals. We characterized the effects of specific neutrophil depletion in mice at steady-state, with acute inflammation and during tumor growth. Our study presents a valuable new tool to study the roles of neutrophils in the immune system and during tumor progression.

Distribution and removal characteristics of microplastics in different processes of the leachate treatment system.

Microplastics (MPs) in environments are widely concerned in recent years due to the widely occurrence and potential risk to environments. With a large amount of plastic waste discarded into the landfills, leachate generated from landfills was found to be an important pollution source of MPs. However, the removal efficiency and characteristics of MPs in leachate treatment system were not clear. In this study, the concentration variation and the removal performance of MPs in leachate treatment system with the process of pretreatment + biotreatment + advanced treatment were investigated. The results showed that 58.33% of MPs were removed during the leachate treatment process. The Ultrafiltration had the highest efficiency of removing MPs, but the advanced treatment technologies (Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis) did not contribute to the removal of MPs. Furthermore, the removal performance of MPs in leachate treatment process was determined by MPs properties, such as size, shape and polymer type. The whole leachate treatment process had higher removal efficiencies for particle MPs compared to fiber MPs, and only 50% of fiber MPs were removed in biological treatment and advanced treatment. Ultrafiltration had better removal effect on microplastics with the size of less than 1 mm, and MPs less than 0.5 mm were almost removed by advanced treatment but accumulated in the sludge with the abundance of 0.893 ± 0.252 items/g. The results showed that a considerable amount of MPs (106 items/day) discharged with the effluent (3200 t/d), and most removed MPs from leachate accumulated in sludge, which would cause potential risk to the environments.

Microplastics act as vectors for antibiotic resistance genes in landfill leachate: The enhanced roles of the long-term aging process.

Microplastics (MPs) are found to be ubiquitous and serve as vectors for other contaminants, and the inevitable aging process changes MP properties and fates. However, whether the MPs in aging process affects the fates of antibiotic resistance gene (ARGs) in aquatic environments is poorly understood. Herein, the physicochemical property alteration of MPs being aged in landfill leachate, an important reservoir of MPs and ARGs, was investigated, and microbial community evolution and ARGs occurrence of MP surface during the aging process were analyzed. Aging process remarkably altered surface properties, including increasing specific surface areas, causing the formation of oxygen-containing groups, and changing surface morphology, which further increased the probability of microbial colonization. The bacterial assemblage on MPs showed higher biofilm-forming and pathogenic potential compared to leachate. ARGs quantification results suggested that MPs exhibited selective enrichment for ARGs in a ratio of 5.7-103 folds, and the aging process enhanced the enrichment potential. Further co-occurrence networks suggested that the existence of non-random, closer and more stable ARGs-bacterial taxa relations on MP surface affected the ARG transmission. The study of ARG partitioning on MPs indicated that extracellular DNA was a nonnegligible reservoir of ARGs attached on MP surface, and that biofilm bacterial community influenced ARGs partitioning pattern during the aging process. This study confirmed that the aging process could enhance the potential of MPs as vectors for ARGs, which would promote the holistic understanding of MP behavior and risk in natural environments.

Wettability-Controlled Directional Actuating Strategy Based on Bilayer Photonic Crystals.

Although the water-triggered bending behavior of bilayer films has been a wide concerned, there are few reports on wettability-controlled directional actuators with visible color changes. Using photonic crystals as carriers, bilayer directional bending structural color actuators were prepared based on the hydrophilic difference. Top inverse opal with strong hydrophilicity can promote water penetration and strengthen the effect of swelling. While, bottom inverse opal with weak hydrophilicity can inhibit water penetration and weaken the effect of swelling. When the bilayer structure is immersed in water, its wettability differences will produce different optical responses for visualization and will bring different swelling performances, resulting in directional bending. Infiltration differences are visualized as structural color red shifts or transparency. The mechanism of the design involves optical diffractions in the fabricated periodic nanostructures, differences in the surface wettability and swelling rate, uses the infiltration and capillary evaporation of water to realize the spectral diversity of reflectance, and the enhancement of bending by gradient infiltration. This work deeply analyzes the improvement of the photonic crystal structure on the optical and bending performance of the wettability-controlled actuator, provides a basic model for the design of bionic components, and opens an idea for the combination of bilayer photonic crystals and actuators.

Characteristics and weathering mechanisms of the traditional Chinese blue brick from the ancient city of Ping Yao.

The traditional blue brick was the dominant clay brick used in Chinese architecture before the mid-nineteenth century. The ancient city of Ping Yao, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) heritage site, is an outstanding example of blue brick architecture. The Ping Yao bricks within the damp areas (up to 4 m at highest) of the ancient city's walls and private houses are subjected to various weathering, including contour scaling, flaking, powdering and salt crystallization. This study aims to characterize the properties, analyse weathering mechanisms, determine the main weathering factors and discuss the anti-weathering strategies of blue bricks. To do so, samples of brick and salt efflorescence were collected from the historical buildings of Ping Yao and were studied with regard to their mineralogical and physico-mechanical (e.g. density, porosity, pore size distribution, water absorption and uniaxial compressive strength) properties. The resistance to salt crystallization and frost, and the maximum firing temperatures of the brick samples were determined in the laboratory. Weathering mechanisms and anti-weathering strategies were discussed. Salt crystallization and freeze-thaw cycles were found to be two important factors that lead to brick weathering. An anti-weathering strategy of 'damp blocking, desalination and brick replacing' was discussed based on the laboratory experiments, suggestions in literature and site conditions.

Recent Advances in Mouse Models of Sjögren's Syndrome.

Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is a complex rheumatoid disease that mainly affects exocrine glands, resulting in xerostomia (dry mouth) and xerophthalmia (dry eye). SS is characterized by autoantibodies, infiltration into exocrine glands, and ectopic expression of MHC II molecules on glandular epithelial cells. In contrast to the well-characterized clinical and immunological features, the etiology and pathogenesis of SS remain largely unknown. Animal models are powerful research tools for elucidating the pathogenesis of human diseases. To date, many mouse models of SS, including induced models, in which disease is induced in mice, and genetic models, in which mice spontaneously develop SS-like disease, have been established. These mouse models have provided new insight into the pathogenesis of SS. In this review, we aim to provide a comprehensive overview of recent advances in the field of experimental SS.

Nifurtimox Hampered the Progression of Astroglioma In vivo Via Manipulating the AKT-GSK3ß axis.

BACKGROUND: Astroglioma, one major form of brain tumors, has remained principally tough to handle for decades, due to the complexity of tumor pathology and the poor response to chemo- and radio-therapies. METHODS: Our previous study demonstrated that nifurtimox could regulate the signaling axis of AKT-GSK3ß in various tumor types including the astroglioma U251 cells. Intriguingly, earlier case studies suggested that nifurtimox could possibly permeate the blood brain barrier and arrest neuroblastoma in the brain. These observations jointly encouraged us to explore whether nifurtimox would hinder the growth of astroglioma in vivo. RESULTS: Our results exhibited that nifurtimox could competently hinder the development of astroglioma in the mouse brain as compared to temozolomide, the first line of drug for brain tumors. Meanwhile the surviving rate, as well as the body-weight was dramatically upregulated upon nifurtimox treatment, as compared to that of temozolomide. These findings offered nifurtimox as a better alternative drug in treating astroglioma in vivo. CONCLUSION: Persistently, the manipulation of the signaling axis of AKT-GSK3ß in astroglioma was found in line with earlier findings in neuroblastoma when treated with nifurtimox.

Comprehensive meta-analysis reveals an association of the HLA-DRB1*1602 allele with autoimmune diseases mediated predominantly by autoantibodies.

The human leukocytes antigen (HLA)-DRB1*16:02 allele has been suggested to be associated with many autoimmune diseases. However, a validation of the results of the different studies by a comprehensive analysis of the corresponding meta data is lacking. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of the association between HLA-DRB1*16:02 allele with various autoimmune disorders. Our analysis shows that HLA-DRB1*16:02 allele was associated with systemic lupus erythematosus, anti-N-Methyl-d-Aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis, Graves' disease, myasthenia gravis, neuromyelitis optica and antibody-associated systemic vasculitis with microscopic polyangiitis (AASV-MPA). However, no such association was found for multiple sclerosis, autoimmune hepatitis type 1, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes and Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome. Re-analysis of the studies after their categorization into autoantibody-dependent and T cell-dependent autoimmune diseases revealed that the HLA-DRB1*16:02 allele was strongly associated with disorder predominantly mediated by autoantibodies (OR = 1.93; 95% CI = 1.63-2.28, P = 1.95 × 10-14) but not with those predominantly mediated by T cells (OR = 1.08; 95% CI = 0.87-1.34, P = .474). In addition, amino acid sequence alignment of common HLA-DRB1 subtypes demonstrated that HLA-DRB1*16:02 carries a unique motif of amino acid residues at position 67-74 which encodes the third hypervariable region. Taken together, the distinct pattern of disease association and the unique amino acid sequence of the third hypervariable region of the HLA-DRB1 provide some hints on how HLA-DRB1*16:02 is involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases.

Rotational Periodicity Display of the Tunable Wettability Pattern in a Photoswitch Based on a Response Bilayer Photonic Crystal.

Although the forward diffraction of the three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystal is easily applied to a photoswitch, backward diffraction rainbows are rarely reported. The first rotational photoswitch based on a bilayer 3D photonic crystal with backward diffractions similar to those of two-dimensional photonic crystals was fabricated by vertically combining different thicknesses of nanoparticle templates. When rotating the bilayer photonic crystal, the opening or closing of the rotational photoswitch shows periodic reproducibility values of 30 and 60°. Different periods are regulated by the thickness and scattering effect of the top layer. Moreover, invisible patterns can be encoded and erased by changing the wettability via pH. Because of the decreasing of the refractive index differentials, it will be revealed rapidly when immersed in water. The revealed pattern can be periodically turned on and off by rotating the bilayer photonic crystal. It has great application prospects in optical prism, warning board, anti-counterfeiting, steganography, watermarking, and complex information coding.

Salt-Free Dyeing of Modified Cotton through Graft Polymerization with Highly Enhanced Dye Fixation and Good Strength Properties.

Modification of cotton fabric with 2-methacryloyloxyethyltrimethyl ammonium chloride (DMC) was achieved through free-radical initiated graft polymerization with K2S2O8/NaHSO3 as the initiator. Grafting of DMC was confirmed by ATR-IR of the modified cotton. The optimal grafting reaction conditions, including DMC dosage, mole ratio of initiator to DMC, temperature, and time, were determined by cation content and dye fixation results of the modified cotton. The modified fibers were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and whiteness measurement. Salt-free dyeing of the modified cotton with commonly used C. I. Reactive Blue 19, C. I. Reactive Yellow 145, and C. I. Reactive Red 195 presented high fixation of 96.8%, 98.7%, and 97.3%, respectively. These results indicated that the modification is effective for changing the surface charge of the fiber and increasing the dye-fiber reactivity. The color fastness and strength property were still very satisfactory. With excellent properties, this dyeing method shows promise in real application for eliminating the usage of salt and reducing environmental pollution.

Resveratrol derivative excited postsynaptic potentiation specifically via PKCß-NMDA receptor mediation.

Several decades have passed since resveratrol (RSV) was first identified in red wine. Researchers have reported the pleiotropic anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-aging, and neuronal protective effects of resveratrol and its glycosylated derivative. However, few studies have distinguished the minute differences in the properties between resveratrol and its glycosylated derivative in terms of synaptic plasticity. As an abundant natural product of glycosylated resveratrol, the derivative 2,3,4',5-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-ß-d-glucoside (TSG) has been determined to be a better option for long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus under physiological and pathological conditions than resveratrol. TSG, as well as its parent molecule RSV, could elicit early-LTP and recover fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) in the hippocampus. Using various modalities, including pre- and post-whole-cell patch clamping techniques in the calyx of Held, pharmacological inhibition of the N-methyl-d-aspartic acid receptor (NMDAr) and the α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole-propionic acid receptor (AMPAr) as well as protein kinase C (PKC) activation, we demonstrated that TSG, unlike RSV, could merely promote NMDA-mediated EPSC via PKCß cascade. Our results provide new knowledge that glycosylation of resveratrol could significantly improve its specificity in promoting sole NMDAr mediation of EPSPs, in addition to improving solubility and resistance against oxidation in vivo. These observations could contribute to further exploration of pharmaceutical evaluation of glycosylated stilbene in the future.

An improved cellular enucleation method with extracellular matrix and colchicine facilitates the study of nucleocytoplasmic interaction.

Enucleated mammalian cells (cytoplasts) have been widely used for studying differential roles of the cytoplasm and nucleus in various cellular processes. Here, we reported an improved enucleation protocol, in which cells were seeded in extracellular matrix (ECM)-coated 24-wells and spun at 4600 g and 35 °C for 60 min in the presence of cytochalasin B and colchicine. When glass-bottom wells were used, cellular structures and organelles in cytoplasts could be examined directly by confocal microscopy. Nuclear envelope rupture did not occur probably due to mild centrifugation conditions used in this study. Addition of paclitaxel or doxorubicin completely blocked proliferation of residual nucleated cells; however, to our surprise, paclitaxel dramatically prolonged the survival of cytoplasts. Results from Annexin V and Propidium Iodide staining showed that cytoplasts died predominantly by apoptosis, which was partially inhibited by ECM and further by paclitaxel. Mitochondria were mostly rod-shaped and formed a connected network in paclitaxel-treated cytoplasts, indicating lack of fusion and fission dynamics. Moreover, paclitaxel increased mitochondrial membrane potential, suggesting that perturbation of mitochondria might be critical to the survival of cytoplasts. In conclusion, we had established an efficient and fast procedure for enucleation of adherent animal cells, which could facilitate the investigation of nucleocytoplasmic interaction.