Saint-Venant’s torsion of composite shafts reinforced with arbitrarily or periodically dispersed coated fibers

It is known that a circular shaft containing a number of composite cylinders, upon suitably designed material parameters, is an exactly solvable configuration under Saint-Venant’s torsion [Chen, T., Benveniste, Y., & Chuang, P. C. (2002). Exact solutions in torsion of composite bars: Thickly coated neutral inhomogeneities and composite cylinder assemblages. Proceedings of the Royal Society A, 458, 1719–1759]. Here we consider the boundary value problem of a circular shaft containing coated fibers under torsion without any restrictions on the material parameters. The formulation is based on a complex variable method together with simple mapping techniques, representing the warping fields in Laurent or Taylor series based on different origin points. Particularly when the coated fibers are periodically dispersed inside the host shaft, we show that the unknown coefficients for each coated fiber are correlated in specific manners, and thus rendering the governing framework much simplified. We verify analytically that our results conform with the exact results of partly neutrality and complete neutrality of the exact solvable configuration of a circular shaft containing neutral coated fibers. This work presents a feasible solution procedure that complements the exact configurations in which the material parameters must follow restrictive constraint, and also provides an estimate for the torsional rigidity in which the bounds are not sufficiently close.     

Multi-displacement continuum model for discrete systems

A first-order multi-displacement microstructure continuum model is introduced to represent a discrete diatomic lattice system. This model is developed based on a two-term Taylor series expansion of the local displacement of the lattice. It is found that the multi-displacement continuum model obtained by keeping two terms in the Taylor series yields, in general, a better representation of the lattice system than the effective modulus model. However, this microstructure continuum model cannot characterize the negative group velocity of an optical mode of harmonic wave motion in the diatomic lattice. To capture the negative group velocity, a higher-order multi-displacement continuum model is necessary.     

Spindle position regulation for wind power generators

The three-time-scale plant model of a wind power generator, including a wind turbine, a flexible vertical shaft, a variable inertia flywheel (VIF) module, an active magnetic bearing (AMB) unit and the applied wind sequence, is constructed. In order to make the wind power generator be still able to operate as the spindle speed exceeds its rated speed, the VIF is equipped so that the spindle speed can be appropriately slowed down once any stronger wind field is exerted. Currently, most of wind energy input is, as a matter of fact, a waste since the commercially available wind power generators only operate for fairly mild or low-speed wind field. To prevent any potential damage due to collision by shaft against conventional bearings, the AMB unit is proposed to replace the traditional bearings and regulate the shaft position deviation. By singular perturbation order-reduction technique, a lower-order plant model can be established for the synthesis of feedback controller. It is found that two major system parameter uncertainties, an additive uncertainty and a multiplicative uncertainty, are constituted by the wind turbine and the VIF, respectively. The upper bounds of system parameters variation can be therefore estimated and the frequency shaping sliding mode control (FSSMC) loop is proposed to account for these uncertainties and suppress the unmodeled higher-order plant dynamics. At last, the efficacy of the FSSMC is verified by intensive computer and experimental simulations for regulation on position deviation of the shaft and counter-balance of unpredictable wind disturbance.     

A qualitative energy-based unified representation for buildings

This paper presents the development of energy-based unified representations for buildings called Archi Bond Graphs and then specialises them as qualitative Archi Bond Graphs that combine graphical representations and qualitative equations. They can be applied to simulations of people behaviour and people-energy behaviour in space-people systems, building energy flows and building energy variations in different building energy systems, and energy interactions between these building subsystems. The applicability of qualitative Archi Bond Graphs is demonstrated through a building simulation for the dynamic energy interactions between the space-people system and building energy systems, including lighting system, and hydraulic system in a town-house design.     

Object-oriented development and application of a nonlinear structural analysis framework

This paper describes the framework and application of numerical simulation software on earthquake engineering research and practice. The analysis kernel is developed at the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering (NCREE) and is entitled as “Platform of Inelastic Structural Analysis for 3D systems (PISA3D)”. The design of PISA3D framework adopts the Design Pattern and the Unified Process. PISA3D provides structural modeling and high computational efficiency for engineers and researchers to simulate the responses of nonlinear systems under various kinds of load effects. It includes static or cyclic loads, displacements, earthquake ground accelerations, and earthquake aftershocks. PISA3D is easy to extend and maintain due to its object-oriented nature. Advanced users can derive or compose its objects’ libraries to perform different types of structural analyses. Based on object-oriented techniques, VISA3D (Visualization of Inelastic Structural Analysis for 3D systems) has been implemented with usage of OpenGL for 3D graphics and MFC for graphical user interface (GUI). Its framework allows further extension on new input formats and new element types. VISA3D has been mainly developed as a post-processor to examine the analytical results of PISA3D through 2D/3D static or dynamic graphic approaches. It includes graphical checking of the structural model, mode shapes, deformations, extents and locations of plastic hinges, plotting of nodal velocity, acceleration, and energy distribution time histories. This paper then introduces NCREE’s recent development on the pre-processing framework GISA3D (Graphical Interface of Inelastic Structural Analysis for 3D systems). The GISA3D does not only supply features as a “post-processor”, but also fully supports operations of “model generation” via mouse motion. Users can create, remove, modify and set elements/nodes through mouse clicking, dragging and selecting. Finally, this paper illustrates the networked sub-structural pseudo dynamic tests using PISA3D as the analysis engine, and concludes with several successful applications of PISA3D/VISA3D/GISA3D on various researches and actual structural engineering projects.     

Genetic Variation of Maize Hybrids in Grain Yield Response to Potassium and Inhibiting Nitrification

Nine maize hybrids were grown under five N levels with or without a nitrification inhibitor (nitrapyrin or an experimental inhibitor, XDE474) to evaluate the effect of inhibiting nitrification on grain yield performance and cannibalisation of nutrients from vegetative tissues during kernel maturation. Grain yield response of these hybrids also was evaluated under a paired combination of four N levels and two K levels. Hybrids responded differently to N, the form of N, and K treatments, and there appeared to be a genetic basis for preference of the form of N (ammonium versus nitrate nitrition). Crosses that involved the Mo17 family responded positively to inhibiting nitrification which provided a larger portion of the N in the ammonium form, but incorporation of early maturing genes reduced the positive response to ammonium nutrition. Like ammonium nutrition, maize hybrids showed a differential response to K treatments, and the availability of a large amount of K early in the growing season produced a negative effect on grain yield. The experimental nitrification inhibitor, XDE474, was more effective than nitrapyrin in increasing grain yield and minimising cannibalisation of nutrients in the leaf tissue.     

Self-assisted wound healing using piezoelectric and triboelectric nanogenerators

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An Innovative Customized Biomimetic Hydrogel for Drug Screening Application Potential: Biocompatibility and Cell Invasion Ability

The ability of Pluronic F127 (PF127) conjugated with tetrapeptide Gly-Arg-Gly-Asp (GRGD) as a sequence of Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide to form the investigated potential hydrogel (hereafter referred to as 3DG bioformer (3BE)) to produce spheroid, biocompatibility, and cell invasion ability, was assessed in this study. The fibroblast cell line (NIH 3T3), osteoblast cell line (MG-63), and human breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) were cultured in the 3BE hydrogel and commercial product (Matrigel) for comparison. The morphology of spheroid formation was evaluated via optical microscopy. The cell viability was observed through cell counting Kit-8 assay, and cell invasion was investigated via Boyden chamber assay. Analytical results indicated that 3BE exhibited lower spheroid formation than Matrigel. However, the 3BE appeared biocompatible to NIH 3T3, MG-63, and MCF-7 cells. Moreover, cell invasion ability and cell survival rate after invasion through the 3BE was displayed to be comparable to Matrigel. Thus, these findings demonstrate that the 3BE hydrogel has a great potential as an alternative to a three-dimensional cell culture for drug screening applications.     

FAK in Cancer: From Mechanisms to Therapeutic Strategies

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a non-receptor tyrosine kinase, is overexpressed and activated in many cancer types. FAK regulates diverse cellular processes, including growth factor signaling, cell cycle progression, cell survival, cell motility, angiogenesis, and the establishment of immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments through kinase-dependent and kinase-independent scaffolding functions in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Mounting evidence has indicated that targeting FAK, either alone or in combination with other agents, may represent a promising therapeutic strategy for various cancers. In this review, we summarize the mechanisms underlying FAK-mediated signaling networks during tumor development. We also summarize the recent progress of FAK-targeted small-molecule compounds for anticancer activity from preclinical and clinical evidence.