Alterations in the Genomic Distribution of 5hmC in In Vivo Aged Human Skin Fibroblasts

5-Hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) is a functionally active epigenetic modification. We analyzed whether changes in DNA 5-hydroxymethylation are an element of age-related epigenetic drift. We tested primary fibroblast cultures originating from individuals aged 22–35 years and 74–94 years. Global quantities of methylation-related DNA modifications were estimated by the dot blot and colorimetric methods. Regions of the genome differentially hydroxymethylated with age (DHMRs) were identified by hMeDIP-seq and the MEDIPS and DiffBind algorithms. Global levels of DNA modifications were not associated with age. We identified numerous DHMRs that were enriched within introns and intergenic regions and most commonly associated with the H3K4me1 histone mark, promoter-flanking regions, and CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) binding sites. However, only seven DHMRs were identified by both algorithms and all of their settings. Among them, hypo-hydroxymethylated DHMR in the intron of Rab Escort Protein 1 (CHM) coexisted with increased expression in old cells, while increased 5-hydroxymethylation in the bodies of Arginine and Serine Rich Protein 1 (RSRP1) and Mitochondrial Poly(A) Polymerase (MTPAP) did not change their expression. These age-related differences were not associated with changes in the expression of any of the ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes or their activity. In conclusion, the distribution of 5hmC in DNA of in vivo aged human fibroblasts underwent age-associated modifications. The identified DHMRs are, likely, marker changes.     

Genetic and genomic analysis of age at first insemination in Israeli dairy cattle

We performed a genetic analysis of age at first insemination, including estimation of the heritability and genetic correlations with other economic traits, and the consequences of including this trait in the Israeli selection index. The genetic factors affecting age at first insemination were determined via GWAS. Five data sets were analyzed. Data sets 1, 2, and 3 were used to compute variance components among age at first insemination, first calving age, days from first insemination to calving, and the 9 traits included in the Israel breeding index. Heritabilities for age at first insemination, calving age, and days from first insemination to calving in Israeli Holsteins as computed by REML individual animal model analyses of 273,239 Israeli Holstein cows were 0.072, 0.042, and 0.014. The estimated genetic correlation between the first 2 traits was 0.88. In addition to the fact that heritability of age at first insemination is 1.7 times the heritability for calving, the former trait has the advantage that the number of records is greater, and the records are generated earlier. Absolute values of the genetic and residual correlations between age at first insemination and the 9 traits included in the Israeli index were all less than 0.2. Data set 4 included first insemination dates of 1,181,600 calves born from 1985 through 2018. Genetic evaluations were computed by a single trait animal model. Annual phenotypic and genetic trends for age at first calving for calves born since 1985 were “positive,” that is, economically negative, at 0.320 ± 0.003 and 0.169 ± 0.005 d, respectively. Applying the GCTA-GREML software, 54% of variance in the transmitting ability of 1,585 sires could be explained by considering all 40,498 markers included in the GWAS analysis. The significant markers were mainly associated with milk production genes. The SNP UA-IFASA-8854 on chromosome 11 had the lowest probability value, 1.2 × 10^?24. This marker is located between the genes RETSAT and ELMOD3, both of which are overexpressed in human mammary glands. The gene RETSAT is reported to be essential for lipid accumulation and adipogenesis promotion. Gene enrichment analysis found that genes in the genomic region flanking significant markers are associated with vasopressin receptor activity, which was shown to mediate puberty in humans. If age at first insemination is included in the index with a weighting to account for 9% of the index, reductions of 2.8 and 2.6 d for age at first insemination and first calving age after 10 yr of selection are predicted, as compared with reductions of 1.4 and 1.1 d with the current index. Gains for the other index traits are only marginally affected. We suggest selection on age at first insemination as an alternative to selection for early calving.     

Influence of accelerated curing on the compressive strength of polymer-modified concrete

In recent building practice, rapid construction is one of the principal requisites. Furthermore, in designing concrete structures, compressive strength is the most significant of all parameters. While 3-d and 7-d compressive strength reflects the strengths at early phases, the ultimate strength is paramount. An effort has been made in this study to develop mathematical models for predicting compressive strength of concrete incorporating ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) at the later phases. Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) goodness-of-fit test was used to examine distribution of the data. The compressive strength of EVA-modified concrete was studied by incorporating various concentrations of EVA as an admixture and by testing at ages of 28, 56, 90, 120, 210, and 365 d. An accelerated compressive strength at 3.5 hours was considered as a reference strength on the basis of which all the specified strengths were predicted by means of linear regression fit. Based on the results of KS goodness-of-fit test, it was concluded that KS test statistics value (D) in each case was lower than the critical value 0.521 for a significance level of 0.05, which demonstrated that the data was normally distributed. Based on the results of compressive strength test, it was concluded that the strength of EVA-modified specimens increased at all ages and the optimum dosage of EVA was achieved at 16% concentration. Furthermore, it was concluded that predicted compressive strength values lies within a 6% difference from the actual strength values for all the mixes, which indicates the practicability of the regression equations. This research work may help in understanding the role of EVA as a viable material in polymer-based cement composites.     

武汉市一般人群血清中全氟及多氟烷基化合物浓度及其影响因素研究

目的 了解武汉市一般人群血清中全氟及多氟烷基化合物(PFASs)浓度,探索血清中PFASs浓度水平的影响因素。方法 以在武汉市某医院进行一般体检的人群为研究对象(n=67),通过超高效液相色谱-三重四级杆质谱(UPLC-TQ/MS)联用仪测定外周血清中12种PFASs浓度,采用多元线性回归分析方法分析一般人口学特征和血清中PFASs浓度的关联性。结果 武汉市一般人群血清中12种PFASs的平均浓度水平为11.60 ng/mL。全氟辛烷磺酸及其盐类(PFOS)和全氟辛酸及其盐类(PFOA)的贡献率较大,分别为45.03%和31.86%。男性人群血清中PFOS、PFOA、全氟己基磺酸(PFHxS)、全氟壬酸(PFNA)等主要化合物的浓度高于女性,其β值(95%可信区间)分别为0.708(0.313,1.104)、0.518(0.069,0.967)、0.724(0.388,1.059)和0.684(0.399,0.968)。同时,发现血清中PFOS、PFHxS、PFNA浓度和年龄呈正相关,其β值(95%可信区间)分别为0.062(0.042,0.081)、0.035(0.019,0.052)和0.030(0.016,0.045)。结论 性别和年龄对血清中PFASs浓度有影响,在进行人体PFASs暴露评估中应考虑这些因素。     

Common due date assignment scheduling for a no-wait flowshop with convex resource allocation and learning effect

This article addresses the no-wait flowshop scheduling problem with simultaneous consideration of common due date assignment, convex resource allocation and learning effect in a two machine setting. The processing time of each job can be controlled by its position in a sequence and also by allocating extra resource, which is a convex function of the amount of a common continuously divisible resource allocated to the job. The objective is to determine the optimal common due date, the resource allocation and the schedule of jobs such that the total earliness, tardiness and common due date cost (the total resource consumption cost) are minimized under the constraint condition that the total resource consumption cost (the total earliness, tardiness and common due date cost) is limited. Polynomial time algorithms are developed for two versions of the problem.     

特种车辆舱室送风系统布局仿真优化

特种车辆由于其功能特殊性和封闭性，无法像民用车辆一样利用窗户的开闭来控制舱室通风，长时间驾驶特种车辆，驾驶舱面临空间小、冷源少、热负荷大、缺乏新鲜空气等问题，且外部环境条件复杂。这就要求特种车辆舱室送风系统精细设计，满足人员和多个装置的热舒适和热控需求，因此有必要基于特殊车辆的驾驶舱特点，合理布局并优化通风系统，保证整舱热要求。为了让座舱送风与舱内热源热交换尽量完全，带出更多的热量，首先针对某型特种车辆，建立了典型舱室和乘员的三维物理模型和仿真模型。针对10种送风模式进行了详细的气流组织仿真优化分析，获得了特种车辆舱室多物理场。气流组织优化是从风口形式和送风口位置两方面进行，风口形式优化中提出多种风口组合形式，分别进行仿真。以设备温控、人员热舒适和空气龄等为目标，利用评价函数对仿真结果进行评价，对10种类型的送风工况进行了仿真。从仿真结果中，以上述多优化目标为依据，进一步开展了针对初步优选的送风形式的风口位置优化。在风口形式优化结果的基础上，采用遗传算法，将位置参数设为优化参数，选取两个评估函数作为优化的目标函数，并将头足温差等约束条件设置到优化模型中，对仿真结果进行筛选和逆优化研究，最终得到最优风口位置，完成气流组织优化。研究对于全密封特种车辆的有限空间热舒适性和空气质量研究具有一定意义。     

Effect of aging time on discontinuous precipitates,continuous precipitates and mechanical properties of AZ80A magnesium alloy

The evolution of precipitates and mechanical properties of AZ80A magnesium alloy with aging time was studied by in situ observation with SEM, TEM and tensile testing. The results show that the continuous precipitation (CP) phases near the reaction front (RF) are replaced by the discontinuous precipitation (DP) phases at the early aging stage. In DP regions, the elliptical phases coarsen obviously with the increase of aging time, which results in a slightly slow reduction of the intracrystalline hardness of DP regions. In CP regions, some small plate phases reprecipitate simultaneously with the growth of the initial precipitates, which contributes to a slight increase in the intracrystalline hardness in CP regions at the later aging stage. The aging hardening of DP regions is faster and stronger than that of CP regions. However, the age strengthening of CP regions not only compensates for the overaging softening of DP regions but also improves the strength of the alloy.     

Zinc Nutrition and Inflammation in the Aging Retina

Zinc is an essential nutrient for human health. It plays key roles in maintaining protein structure and stability, serves as catalytic factor for many enzymes, and regulates diverse fundamental cellular processes. Zinc is important in affecting signal transduction and, in particular, in the development and integrity of the immune system, where it affects both innate and adaptive immune responses. The eye, especially the retina‐choroid complex, has an unusually high concentration of zinc compared to other tissues. The highest amount of zinc is concentrated in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) (RPE‐choroid, 292 ± 98.5 µg g^?1 dry tissue), followed by the retina (123 $\pm$62.2 µg g^?1 dry tissue). The interplay between zinc and inflammation has been explored in other parts of the body but, so far, has not been extensively researched in the eye. Several lines of evidence suggest that ocular zinc concentration decreases with age, especially in the context of age‐related disease. Thus, a hypothesis that retinal function could be modulated by zinc nutrition is proposed, and subsequently trialled clinically. In this review, the distribution and the potential role of zinc in the retina‐choroid complex is outlined, especially in relation to inflammation and immunity, and the clinical studies to date are summarized.     

浅析高校图书馆智慧服务

为教学、科研和师生服务是各高校图书馆永远的主题。信息时代的融合与创新促使高校图书馆正在由传统服务模式转向智慧服务模式。本文就如何在融合与创新中提升图书馆的智慧服务能力和水平,结合个人的认识和体会进行了分析和探讨,并提出了自己的看法和观点。     

青海交通社矿区碱长花岗岩锆石U-Pb年龄、岩石地球化学特征及成因探讨

交通社铌钽矿床位于阿尔金造山带,是该带近年来新发现的一个铌钽矿床。论文以该矿床为研究对象,通过开展矿床地质特征调查,利用锆石U-Pb年代学、岩石地球化学特征,探讨了与成矿密切相关的碱长花岗岩岩石成因类型及成岩成矿构造背景,探讨矿床成因。锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb同位素定年龄结果显示,碱长花岗岩为(453±4) Ma,属于高钾钙碱性系列,岩浆演化程度高;碱长花岗岩构造背景为后碰撞构造环境。微量元素表现为轻重稀土分馏不明显,稀土元素配分图显示,轻重稀土均相对平坦,具有明显Eu/Eu~*负异常。结合主量元素判别,同位素分析得出成岩、成矿物质为壳幔混合源。通过对比研究,结合矿床大地构造环境、成矿条件,认为交通社铌钽矿床形成于晚奥陶世,碱长花岗岩的侵入导致矿床的形成。矿床类型初步定为碱性花岗岩型铌钽矿床。