Treating Arterial Ageing in Patients with Diabetes: From Mechanisms to Effective Drugs

Diabetes mellitus is a major healthcare problem. It is not only characterized by hyperglycemia and chronic complications, but in longer lasting diabetes and a longer living population, it is also associated with accelerated arterial ageing, which importantly contributes to cardiovascular complications. The accelerated arterial ageing in patients with diabetes should be considered separately from arterial ageing in patients without diabetes. Basic and clinical research have allowed better insight into the mechanisms of arterial ageing. In a simplified mechanistic way, it could be considered that the three tightly connected cornerstone characteristics of arterial ageing in patients with diabetes are: phenotypic presentation as endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness, and the underlying basic ageing-facilitating mechanism represented as the impaired expression of genetic longevity pathways. Currently, specific drugs for preventing/treating arterial ageing are not available. Therefore, we aimed to review the capacity of available drugs, particularly antidiabetic drugs, to interfere with the arterial ageing process. In the near future, these characteristics could help to guide therapy in patients with diabetes. Overall, it appears that arterial ageing could become a new target in diabetes. The expanding knowledge regarding the capability of antidiabetic drugs and other available drugs to inhibit/delay arterial aging is therefore essential.     

Weighted regularized extreme learning machine to model the discharge coefficient of side slots

In the current research, a modern learning machine algorithm named “Weighted Regularized Extreme Learning Machine (WRELM)" is implemented for the first time for the simulation of the coefficient of discharge of side slots. For this purpose, an effective variable on the coefficient of discharge of side slots is firstly introduced, then five distinctive WRELM models are produced by it for the estimation of the coefficient. In the next stage, a database is created for verification of WRELM results. it should be mentioned that 70% of the data are utilized for training the WRELM models, while the rest (i.e. 30%) for testing them. After that, the optimal number of hidden layer neurons as well as the best activation function of the WRELM algorithm are chosen. In addition, the best regularization parameter and also the weight function of the WRELM are achieved. By conducting a sensitivity analysis, the most effective variable for the simulation of the coefficient of discharge along with the WRELM superior model is introduced. The WRELM superior model estimates values of the coefficient of discharge with the maximum exactness and the highest correlation. For instance, the estimations of the correlation coefficient and scatter index for this model are computed to be 0.930 and 0.051, respectively. The sensitivity analysis shows that the ratio of the side slot crest height to its length and the Froude number should be considered as the most important input variables. A comparison between the WRELM with the ELM displays that the former works much better. Furthermore, an uncertainty analysis is executed for both models. Eventually, an equation is suggested for the estimation of the coefficient of discharge and a partial derivative sensitivity analysis is performed on it.     

Electrochemical Quantification of Neurotransmitters in Single Live Cell Vesicles Shows Exocytosis is Predominantly Partial

Exocytosis plays an essential role in the communication between cells in the nervous system. Understanding the regulation of neurotransmitter release during exocytosis and the amount of neurotransmitter content that is stored in vesicles is of importance, as it provides fundamental insights to understand how the brain works and how neurons elicit a certain behavior. In this minireview, we summarize recent progress in amperometric measurements for monitoring exocytosis in single cells and electrochemical cytometry measurements of vesicular neurotransmitter content in individual vesicles. Important steps have increased our understanding of the different mechanisms of exocytosis. Increasing evidence is firmly establishing that partial release is the primary mechanism of release in multiple cell types.     

电容式力感知牙周探针设计建模与实验研究

针对当前牙周探针在探诊力控制方面的不足,提出一种基于悬臂梁挠曲效应的差动电容式力感知牙周探针解决方案,设计了探针验证结构,建立了探诊力作用下具有不规则形状的探针工作尖的挠曲模型,导出了探诊力和差动电容之间的求解方程,并通过仿真和实验对模型与方程进行了验证。结果表明,所建立的探针工作尖挠曲模型与静应力仿真结果的最大相对误差不超过±4.5%,所设计的力感知牙周探针多次重复探诊力检测实验的标准差小于均值的0.1%,所导出的求解方程的计算值与实验数据之间趋向一致,以探诊力为拟合权重进行修正后全量程的平均偏差为2.49%,具备进一步产品开发的可行性。     

一种基于实时几何测距的船桥主动防撞方法

本文提出一种基于实时几何测距的船桥主动防撞方法。该方法对船的改动量甚微,仅需维持多项距离矩阵,通过告警逻辑矩阵进行展示与告警,能起到很好的船桥防撞提示效果。     

Life time prediction of self-supporting flame-sprayed alumina-rich coatings

Main objective of the presented research is the life time prediction of self-supporting flame-sprayed Al₂O₃- and Al₂O₃ -ZrO₂ -TiO₂-materials under constant load. The characteristic life time and its scatter were derived from stable crack growth tests and Weibull-statistics including the four-point-bending and ball-on-three-balls method. The potential life time was estimated in order to assess room-temperature handling and long term storage of self-supporting flame-sprayed alumina components. In terms of flexural strength, energy release, and subcritical crack growth parameters, distinct differences between both materials were shown. In turn, the characteristic life times only barely deviated from each other. From that the conclusion was drawn that life time performance under constant load application is governed by the characteristic flame-spray microstructure. However, advantages in the flame-spray processing of Al₂O₃ - ZrO₂ -TiO₂ are still given, attributed to its lower melting temperature.     

Numerical study on the loss of fast ions produced by minority ion cyclotron resonance heating in EAST

The classical prompt loss of fast ions produced by minority ion cyclotron resonance heating(ICRH)is studied by a guiding center orbit following code in the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak(EAST).It is found that the loss of fast ions produced by ICRH mainly appears in both ends of the resonance layer,while the loss of fast ions in the middle resonance layer is very small.The dominant fast loss comes from trapped ions,rather than from passing ions.Controlling the location of resonance layer at the plasma core may be more beneficial to the EAST tokamak ICRH.In addition,the loss distribution of fast ions is studied.The results show that the fast ions are mainly lost near the midplane in the poloidal direction,but almost uniformly in the toroidal direction.Moreover,we investigate the dependence of fast ion loss on the ICRH power.The simulation results show that the loss fraction of fast ions in both ends of the resonance region increases with the ion cyclotron range of frequencies(ICRF)power,but barely affects the loss of fast ions in the middle region.     

Automatic design for shop scheduling strategies based on hyper-heuristics: A systematic review

Against the background of smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0, how to achieve real-time scheduling has become a problem to be solved. In this regard, automatic design for shop scheduling based on hyper-heuristics has been widely studied, and a number of reviews and scheduling algorithms have been presented. Few studies, however, have specifically discussed the technical points involved in algorithm development. This study, therefore, constructs a general framework for automatic design for shop scheduling strategies based on hyper-heuristics, and various state-of-the-art technical points in the development process are summarized. First, we summarize the existing types of shop scheduling strategies and classify them using a new classification method. Second, we summarize an automatic design algorithm for shop scheduling. Then, we investigate surrogate-assisted methods that are popular in the current algorithm field. Finally, current problems and challenges are discussed, and potential directions for future research are proposed.     

Role and prospects of green quantum dots in photoelectrochemical hydrogen generation: A review

Eco-friendly quantum dots (QDs) can be termed green QDs which stand as an attractive choice to modify the properties of known semiconductors in the direction of getting efficient photoelectrodes for solar-induced photoelectrochemical (PEC) splitting of water, due to their peculiar properties. Thus, it is of high significance to analyze their merit/demerit as an effective scaffold in PEC cell. QDs are known for their excellent optical properties however, the coupling of green QDs with semiconductor is not only useful in improving absorption characteristics but also promotes charge transfer. This review has undertaken the critical analysis on the worldwide research going on the green QDs modified photoelectrode with respect to their optical, electrical & photoelectrochemical properties, role, usefulness, efficiency, and finally the success in PEC system for hydrogen production. Various methods on the facile synthesis & sensitization techniques of green QDs available in the literature have also been discussed. Further, recent advances on the development of green QDs based photo-electrode, along with major challenges of using green QDs in this field have also been presented.