To evaluate the cardiovascular damage of patients with COVID-19, and determine the correlation of serum N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP） and cardiac troponin-I (cTnI） with the ...severity of COVID-19, and the impact of concomitant cardiovascular disease on severity of COVID-19 was also evaluated.
A cross-sectional study was designed on 150 consecutive patients with COVID-19 in the fever clinic of Tongji Hospital in Wuhan from January 19 to February 13 in 2020, including 126 mild cases and 24 cases in critical care. Both univariate and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the correlation of past medical history including hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease (CHD）, as well as the levels of serum NT-proBNP and cTnI to the disease severity of COVID-19 patients.
Age, hypersensitive C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) and serum creatinine levels of the patients were higher in critical care cases than in mild cases(all
<0.05). Prevalence of male, elevated NT-proBNP and cTnI, hy
In this study, a novel vibration isolator is developed. The developed isolator possesses the characteristics of high-static–low-dynamic stiffness (HSLDS) and can act passively or semi-actively. The ...HSLDS property of the isolator is obtained by connecting a mechanical spring, in parallel with a magnetic spring that is constructed by a pair of electromagnets and a permanent magnet. The mechanical spring is a structural beam whose stiffness exhibits a hardening behavior. The stiffness of the magnetic spring can be positive or negative, depending on the polarity of the current to the electromagnets. A passive HSLDS isolator is obtained when the electromagnet current is zero. In the stiffness characterization study, the analytical model for each of the springs is established and the tuning parameters are identified. Using the stiffness models, the design optimization issues are investigated. In the experimental study, the effectiveness of the isolator for vibration isolation is tested. The analytical natural frequencies of the isolator are validated experimentally. The relationships between the displacement transmissibility and the exciting frequency are measured both under the passive mode and under the semi-active mode. The on-line tuning capability of the isolator is investigated.
Existing studies have widely examined the link between energy consumption, economic growth, and CO2 emissions regionally and globally across development levels. Very few studies conducted at the ...African level overlooked the difference in regions and income levels of the countries involved in the research. This study empirically examined the long-run impact of energy intensity, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth on CO2 emissions across regions and income levels over 50 African countries from 1980 to 2018. The most recent panel estimators, causality test, and impulse response and variance decomposition analysis were employed. The findings from panel estimators revealed that renewable energy consumption contributed to mitigating CO2 emissions, while energy intensity promoted emissions across regions and income levels, and at the African level. Economic growth affected CO2 emissions negatively at the African level but the effect was mixed across regions and income levels. The causality test confirmed bi-directional causations between CO2 emissions and its determinants in African, and some regions and income levels. Again, unidirectional causation was highly supported across regions and income levels. Moreover, results of impulse response and variance decomposition analysis showed that both energy intensity and economic growth counted higher variations of CO2 emissions, while renewable energy highly contributed to reducing emissions within 10 years. Our findings grasp new insight into country development, income levels, and regions for regional and government policymakers related to effectively mitigate CO2 emissions.
•We focus on factors affecting CO2 emissions in African countries over 38 years.•CS-DL, causality, and variance decomposition were employed.•Renewable energy consumption reduces CO2 emissions.•Energy intensity promotes emissions across regions and income levels.•Economic growth insignificantly influences emissions in subgroups.
This paper presents a simple approach to quantify the effect of initial soil density on the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC) of unsaturated soils. This approach is based on an incremental ...relationship between the degree of saturation and the initial void ratio, which satisfies the intrinsic constraints for three-phase porous materials. The incremental relationship can be incorporated into existing SWCC equations to model the water retention behaviour for deformable soils. Only one additional parameter is introduced, which can be conveniently calibrated by way of conventional water retention tests. The SWCCs for the same soil at different initial void ratios can be found using the proposed approach. The proposed approach is validated against experimental data from drying tests for both compacted and reconstituted soils.
Comparative studies have greatly contributed to our understanding of the organization and function of visual pathways of the brain, including that of humans. This comparative approach is a ...particularly useful tactic for studying the pulvinar nucleus, an enigmatic structure which comprises the largest territory of the human thalamus. This review focuses on the regions of the mouse pulvinar that receive input from the superior colliculus, and highlights similarities of the tectorecipient pulvinar identified across species. Open questions are discussed, as well as the potential contributions of the mouse model for endeavors to elucidate the function of the pulvinar nucleus.
A constitutive, non-isothermal unified hardening (UH) model is presented to interpret the thermo-elasto-plastic behaviours of normally consolidated and overconsolidated clays. Two yield surfaces are ...adopted in the proposed model: the current yield surface and the reference yield surface. A UH parameter (H) is developed to describe the evolution of the current yield surface, and the plastic volumetric strain is employed to quantify the hardening of the reference yield surface. The similarity ratio (R
T
) between the current yield surface and the reference yield surface, which is a function of the temperature and the plastic volumetric strain, is developed to govern the volume change behaviour and the shear strength of soils with different stress histories and at varying temperatures. The performance of the proposed model is then discussed in five typical scenarios: isotropic heating and cooling, drained/undrained triaxial compression with constant temperatures, and heating under constant non-isotropic states (drained/undrained). The mechanisms for thermal contraction/swelling and thermal failure are interpreted within the framework of the proposed non-isothermal UH model. Finally, the proposed model is validated through test results in the literature: heating/cooling tests, temperature-controlled drained triaxial compressions, and temperature-controlled undrained triaxial compressions.
Genetic determinism of prickles in rose Zhou, N. N.; Tang, K. X.; Jeauffre, J. ...
Theoretical and applied genetics,
11/2020, Letnik:
133, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Key message
The genetic determinism of prickle in rose is complex, with a major locus on LG3 that controls the absence/presence of prickles on the rose stem.
Rose is one of the major ornamental ...plants. The selection of glabrous cultivars is an important breeding target but remains a difficult task due to our limited genetic knowledge. Our objective was to understand the genetic and molecular determinism of prickles. Using a segregating diploid rose F
1
population, we detected two types of prickles (glandular and non-glandular) in the progeny. We scored the number of non-glandular prickles on the floral and main stems for three years. We performed QTL analysis and detected four prickle loci on LG1, 3, 4 and 6. We determined the credible interval on the reference genome. The QTL on LG3 is a major locus that controls the presence of prickles, and three QTLs (LG3, 4 and 1) may be responsible for prickle density. We further revealed that glabrous hybrids are caused by the combination of the two recessive alleles from both parents. In order to test whether rose prickles could originate from a ‘trichome-like structure,’ we used a candidate approach to characterize rose gene homologues known in Arabidopsis, involved in trichome initiation. Four of these homologues were located within the overlapping credible interval of the detected QTLs. Transcript accumulation analysis weakly supports the involvement of trichome homologous genes, in the molecular control of prickle initiation. Our studies provide strong evidence for a complex genetic determinism of stem prickle and could help to establish guidelines for glabrous rose breeding. New insights into the relationship between prickles and trichomes constitute valuable information for reverse genetic research on prickles.
The paper presented a working fluid selection and parametric optimization using a multi-objective optimization model by simulated annealing algorithm. The screening criteria considered included heat ...exchanger area per unit power output (A/Wnet) and heat recovery efficiency (Ф). The independent parameters are the evaporation and condensation pressures, working fluid and cooling water velocities in tubes. A comparison of optimized results for 13 working fluids shows that boiling temperature of working fluids will greatly affect the optimal evaporating pressure. R123 is the best choice for the temperature range of 100–180°C and R141b is the optimal working fluid when the temperature higher than 180°C. When the exhaust temperature ranges from 100°C to 220°C, the optimal pinch point at evaporator is about 15°C. Economic characteristic of system decreases rapidly with heat source temperature decrease. When the heat source temperature is lower than 100°C, ORC technology is uneconomical.
► The optimal working fluid is selected for different heat source temperature. ► The boiling temperature of working fluids can greatly affect the optimal evaporating pressure. ► The optimal pinch point at evaporator is about 15 C ► The ORC technology is unsuitable for the waste heat that the temperature is lower than 100 C.
The field of dark matter detection is a highly visible and highly competitive one. In this paper, we propose recommendations for presenting dark matter direct detection results particularly suited ...for weak-scale dark matter searches, although we believe the spirit of the recommendations can apply more broadly to searches for other dark matter candidates, such as very light dark matter or axions. To translate experimental data into a final published result, direct detection collaborations must make a series of choices in their analysis, ranging from how to model astrophysical parameters to how to make statistical inferences based on observed data. While many collaborations follow a standard set of recommendations in some areas, for example the expected flux of dark matter particles (to a large degree based on a paper from Lewin and Smith in 1995), in other areas, particularly in statistical inference, they have taken different approaches, often from result to result by the same collaboration. We set out a number of recommendations on how to apply the now commonly used Profile Likelihood Ratio method to direct detection data. In addition, updated recommendations for the Standard Halo Model astrophysical parameters and relevant neutrino fluxes are provided. The authors of this note include members of the DAMIC, DarkSide, DARWIN, DEAP, LZ, NEWS-G, PandaX, PICO, SBC, SENSEI, SuperCDMS, and XENON collaborations, and these collaborations provided input to the recommendations laid out here. Wide-spread adoption of these recommendations will make it easier to compare and combine future dark matter results.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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