The present study investigates the flexural behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) beams; the longitudinal reinforcing rebars of the beams were corroded and then strengthened with carbon ...fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP). The corrosion of the longitudinal tension reinforcing rebars in eleven beam specimens was accelerated in order to obtain different corrosion levels. Afterwards, the beam specimens were strengthened by bonding one layer of CFRP sheets to the tension side to restore the strength loss due to the corrosion. The failure modes, flexural capacity, and midspan deflection of the specimens with different corrosion levels of the longitudinal tension reinforcing rebars were obtained by the four-point bending test. It was found that the flexural capacity of the beam specimens decreased with the increase in the corrosion level of the longitudinal tension reinforcing rebars and that the relative flexural strength was only 52.5% when the corrosion level was 25.6%. The stiffness of the beam specimens decreased significantly when the corrosion level was higher than 20%. Through a regression analysis of the test results, a model for the flexural bearing capacity of the corroded RC beams strengthened with CFRP was proposed in the study.
Low-power wide-area networks (LPWANs), such as LoRaWAN, play an essential role and are expanding quickly in miscellaneous intelligent applications. However, the collision problem is also expanding ...significantly with the mass promotion of LPWAN nodes and providing collision-resilient techniques that are urgently needed for these applications. This paper proposes BackLoRa, a lightweight method that enables collision-resilient LoRa transmission with extra propagation information provided by backscatter tags. BackLoRa uses several backscatter tags to create multipath propagation features related to the LoRa nodes’ positions and offers a lightweight algorithm to extract the feature and correctly distinguish each LoRa node. Further, BackLoRa proposes a quick-phase acquisition algorithm with low time complexity that can carry out the iterative recovery of symbols for robust signal reconstructions in low-SNR conditions. Finally, comprehensive experiments were conducted in this study to evaluate the performance of BackLoRa systems. The experimental results show th compared with the existing scheme, our scheme can reduce the symbol error rate from 65.3% to 5.5% on average and improve throughput by 15× when SNR is −20 dB.
As a milestone in the exploration of topological physics, Fermi arcs bridging Weyl points have been extensively studied. Weyl points, as are Fermi arcs, are believed to be only stable when preserving ...translation symmetry. However, no experimental observation of aperiodic Fermi arcs has been reported so far. Here, we continuously twist a bi-block Weyl meta-crystal and experimentally observe the twisted Fermi arc reconstruction. Although both the Weyl meta-crystals individually preserve translational symmetry, continuous twisting operation leads to the aperiodic hybridization and scattering of Fermi arcs on the interface, which is found to be determined by the singular total reflection around Weyl points. Our work unveils the aperiodic scattering of Fermi arcs and opens the door to continuously manipulating Fermi arcs.
Purpose Circulating tumour cell (CTC) and CTC-white blood cell (CTC-WBC) clusters are related to the prognosis of tumour patients. However, the relationship between CTC-WBC clusters and prognosis in ...renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients is not clear. We evaluated the prognostic value of CTC-WBC clusters using metastasis-free survival (MFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with RCC. Materials and methods The baseline, survival, and CTC data of patients with RCC were statistically analysed by R. Results The Cox risk proportional regression model suggests that the total CTCs, pathology type, and CTC-WBC clusters can be used as prognostic indicators for the MFS of RCC patients. Total CTCs and solid tumour diameter can be used as prognostic indicators for the OS of RCC patients. Using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, we found that patients with total CTCs, pathology, and CTC-WBC clusters greater than the cut-off value had a worse MFS, and patients with total CTCs greater than the cut-off value had a worse OS. Conclusion The analysis of the clinical sample data in patients with RCC shows that CTC-WBC clusters play an important role in monitoring the prognosis of RCC. Among them, total CTCs, pathology, and CTC-WBC clusters were combined as prognostic factors for the MFS of RCC patients. Total CTCs and solid tumour diameter can be combined as prognostic factors for the OS of RCC patients. These prognostic factors provide more convenient and accurate condition monitoring for renal cancer patients and can be used to actively improve the prognosis of patients. Keywords: Renal cell carcinoma, CTC-WBC cluster, Circulating tumour cells, Metastasis-free survival, Prognosis
The stress–strain relation of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) after carbonation is very important to the assessment of the durability of RAC. The objective of this study is to investigate the ...uniaxial compressive stress–strain curves of RAC after carbonation. In this study, the specimens were prepared with 70-mm diameter and 140-mm height cylinders, and the carbonation of the specimens was accelerated after curing 28 days. Then a uniaxial compressive loading test on the specimens was performed by using a mechanical testing machine. The results show that the peak stress (σ0) and elastic modulus (Ec) of all specimens increase with the increase of carbonation depth. The ratio of ultimate strain to peak strain (εu/ε0) and relative toughness of the specimens decrease with the increase of carbonation depth. Furthermore, carbonation has a stronger effect on natural coarse aggregate concrete (NAC) than the 50% replacement rate of RAC with similar compressive strength. Stress–strain models of recycled aggregate concrete with different carbonation depths were established according to experimental results.
The unicost version of well-known set covering problem（SCP） is central to a wide variety of practical applications for which finding an optimal solution quickly is crucial. In this paper, we propose ...a new local searchbased algorithm for the unicost SCP which follows the general framework of the popular stochastic local search with a particular focus on the hyperedge selection strategy and weight diversity strategy. Specifically, a strategy as called hyperedge configuration checking strategy is proposed here to avoid the search trajectory which leads to local optima. Additionally, a new weight diversity strategy is proposed for the diversification of search results,by changing the weight of both covered and uncovered vertices in the current solution. The experimental results show that our algorithm significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art heuristic algorithm by one to two orders of magnitudes on the 85 classical instances. Also, our algorithm improves the current optimal solutions of11 instances.
Acupuncture is a typical example of Traditional Chinese Medicine and has been used in China for hundreds of years to treat a wide range of illnesses. However, in the clinic, issues and deficiencies ...were primarily seen in four areas: loss of accuracy in the operation process; difficulty understanding the depth of acupuncture; difficulty using reinforcing and reducing techniques; and lack of a clear dynamic effect of acupuncture points following acupuncture. Musculoskeletal ultrasonography may quantitatively evaluate the acupuncture location and display the distribution of small nerves near and within the fascia of the acupuncture point in real time. The subjects were asked how they felt about receiving
when the needle body reached different depths and different tissues. The
obtained from an acupuncture point and the connective tissue of the fascia can be further understood by combining the physiological response of the acupuncture point with the anatomical structure, which offers a new method for defining the nature of the acupuncture point and standardizing the acupuncture point.
The aim of this research was to examine the correlation between the exposure to bisphenol analogues (BPs), such as bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol S (BPS), and the risk of ...developing systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Ultra performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was utilized to measure the levels of BPA, BPF, and BPS in the urine of 168 female participants diagnosed with SLE and 175 female participants who were deemed healthy controls. Logistic regression models were utilized to assess the connections between levels of bisphenol and the risk of SLE. The findings indicated that levels of BPA and BPF in the urine of individuals with SLE were markedly elevated compared to those in the control group. Higher exposure to BPA and BPF exhibited positive dose-response relationships with increased SLE risk. No significant associations were identified between BPS and the risk of SLE. These findings suggest exposure to BPA and BPF may be implicated as novel environmental triggers in the development of autoimmunity such as SLE. The significantly increased levels of these bisphenol analogues detected in SLE patients versus healthy controls, along with the associations between higher exposures and elevated SLE risk, which offers crucial hints for comprehending how endocrine-disrupting substances contribute to the genesis of autoimmune illnesses. Further research using robust longitudinal assessments of bisphenol analogue exposures is warranted to corroborate these epidemiological findings. Overall, this study highlights potential environmental risk factors for SLE while calling for additional investigation into the impact of bisphenol exposures on autoimmunity development.
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•Urinary BPA and BPF levels were higher in SLE patients than controls.•High exposure to BPA and BPF associated with increased SLE risk.•Bisphenol analogues may be environmental triggers for autoimmunity disorders.
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) play a key role in cancer progression, especially metastasis, due to the rarity and heterogeneity of CTCs, fewer researches have been conducted on them at the molecular ...level. However, through the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, this kind of minority researches can be well integrated, the gene expression differences between CTCs and primary tumors can be identified, and molecular targets for CTCs can be found.
We analyzed 7 sets of gene chips (GSE82198, GSE99394, GSE31023, GSE65505, GSE67982, GSE76250, GSE50746) obtained by GEO. Analysis of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between CTCs and corresponding primary tumors by NetworkAnalyst. Metascape tool for Gene Ontology (GO) / Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis of differential genes and visual display. Cytoscape performs protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis and obtains the hub genes. Renal cancer patients' clinical specimens to verify the correctness of enrichment results. Prognostic analysis of hub genes in kidney cancer patients using the Kaplan-Meier plotter survival analysis tool.
We obtained a total of 589 DEGs. The GO / KEGG enrichment results indicate that the DEGs are mainly concentrated in cell adhesion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and apoptosis. Renal cancer clinical specimens suggest that CTCs have epithelial and mesenchymal types. At the same time, PSMC2 can be used as a poor prognostic indicator for renal cancer patients.
In summary, our study suggests that compared with primary tumors, CTCs mainly change cell adhesion, EMT, and apoptosis. PSMC2 can be used as a poor prognostic factor.
In recent years, researchers and manufacturers have started to investigate ways to enable autonomous vehicles (AVs) to interact with nearby pedestrians in compensation for the absence of human ...drivers. The majority of these efforts focuses on external human–machine interfaces (eHMIs), using different modalities, such as light patterns or on-road projections, to communicate the AV’s intent and awareness. In this paper, we investigate the potential role of affective interfaces to convey emotions via eHMIs. To date, little is known about the role that affective interfaces can play in supporting AV–pedestrian interaction. However, emotions have been employed in many smaller social robots, from domestic companions to outdoor aerial robots in the form of drones. To develop a foundation for affective AV–pedestrian interfaces, we reviewed the emotional expressions of non-humanoid robots in 25 articles published between 2011 and 2021. Based on findings from the review, we present a set of considerations for designing affective AV–pedestrian interfaces and highlight avenues for investigating these opportunities in future studies.
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