Integrative computational approach to evaluate risk genes for postmenopausal osteoporosis

In recent years, numerous studies reported over a hundred of genes playing roles in the etiology of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PO). However, many of these candidate genes were lack of replication and results were not always consistent. Here, the authors proposed a computational workflow to curate and evaluate PO related genes. They integrate large‐scale literature knowledge data and gene expression data (PO case/control: 10/10) for the marker evaluation. Pathway enrichment, sub‐network enrichment, and gene–gene interaction analysis were conducted to study the pathogenic profile of the candidate genes, with four metrics proposed and validated for each gene. By using the authors'' approach, a scalable PO genetic database was developed; including PO related genes, diseases, pathways, and the supporting references. The PO case/control classification supported the effectiveness of the four proposed metrics, which successfully identified eight well‐studied top PO genes (e.g. TGFB1, IL6, IL1B, TNF, ESR2, IGF1, HIF1A, and COL1A1) and highlighted one recently reported PO genes (e.g. IFNG). The computational biology approach and the PO database developed in this study provide a valuable resource which may facilitate understanding the genetic profile of PO.Inspec keywords: biology computing, genetics, diseases, boneOther keywords: risk genes, postmenopausal osteoporosis, integrative computational approach, gene expression data, gene‐gene interaction analysis, IL1B, TNF, ESR2, HIF1A, COL1A1, PO genes     

Solvent-dependent evolution of cyclic penta-twinned rhodium icosahedral nanocrystals and their enhanced catalytic properties

Cyclic penta-twinned noble metal nanocrystals exhibit promising properties due to their unique geometric and electronic structures. However, the controlled synthesis of cyclic penta-twinned nanostructures, especially of noble metals with a high cohesive energy (e.g., Rh), is very difficult, and the corresponding growth mechanism is not fully understood. Herein, we report a facile one-pot hydrothermal approach for the synthesis of cyclic penta-twinned Rh icosahedral nanocrystals. It was found that apart from regulating the surface free energy by changing the concentration or category of the capping agents, the solvent might influence the adsorption ability of the surfactant on the Rh crystal surface, which results in a change in the surface free energy and thus allows the formation of Rh cyclic penta-twinned nanostructures. In addition, due to their unique electronic and geometric structures, the Rh icosahedral nanocrystals exhibit superior catalytic activity and stability for the electrooxidation of ethanol as compared to single-crystal Rh tetrahedral nanocrystals and commercial Rh black.

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Photoluminescent two-dimensional SiC quantum dots for cellular imaging and transport

Two-dimensional (2D) ultrathin SiC has received intense attention due to its broad band gap and resistance to large mechanical deformation and external chemical corrosion. However, the synthesis and application of ultrasmall 2D SiC quantum dots (QDs) has not been explored. Herein, we synthesize a type of monolayered 2D SiC QDs with advanced photoluminescence (PL) properties via a facile hydrothermal route. Their average size and thickness can be easily adjusted by altering the reaction time. The ultrasmall 2D SiC QDs exhibit a long fluorescence lifetime of 2.59 μs due to efficient quantum confinement. The applications of SiC QDs are demonstrated through labeling A549, HeLa, and NHDF cells and delivering agents for intracellular low-abundant microRNA (miRNA) detection. This advance in preparing photoluminescent SiC QDs is of great significance for broadening their potential in biomedical and optical applications.

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压电发电悬臂梁的非线性动力学建模及响应分析

以单晶悬臂梁压电发电装置为研究对象,在考虑压电材料非线性的情况下,利用广义Hamilton原理、Rayleigh-Ritz法、Euler-Bernoulli梁理论及压电元件恒定电场假设建立了悬臂梁压电发电装置的分布式机电耦合模型,通过数值计算分析谐振频率附近解的特性与系统参数及初始条件的关系,揭示了压电材料非线性、外激励参数对系统响应的影响规律,并通过实验验证了解析解的正确性.结果表明,压电材料的非线性特性会导致近似解的共振峰向左偏移,呈现软特性的非线性特征;当激励频率变化时,系统响应存在多解、跳跃等现象,主共振解的真正实现与初始条件的选取有关.     

高超声速飞行器的滑模边界层模糊自适应控制方法研究

针对高超声速飞行器飞行过程中存在的高度非线性、强耦合、参数不确定性等问题提出了一种基于滑模边界层模糊自适应的控制方法;首先将纵向模型进行精确线性化,通过引入一个滑模边界层可调参数,在边界层外施加基于正切趋近律的准滑模控制律;在边界层内,去掉准滑模控制律,采用饱和函数法设计的控制律;边界层参数用模糊逻辑系统进行在线调节,从而消除了系统处于准滑动模态时的高频抖振;仿真结果表明:该方法在保证控制系统具有良好跟踪性能的同时,具有削弱抖振的能力和强鲁棒性。     

电能表自动化检定压接端子温升监测系统

提出了一种基于双套管结构光纤光栅封装探头形式,研究了基于该封装探头形式下光纤光栅测量温度的同时屏蔽外力影响;在电能表压接触头上布置双套管结构光纤光栅测温探头,通过光缆及光学分路器将传感器连接,并通过主光缆接到控制室的光纤光栅解调仪上,再通过监控软件对信息进行处理,从而构建了电能表压接温度监测系统;研究表明该系统不仅满足强电磁场环境下对温度监测实时性和精确性的要求,还可以屏蔽外部应力对温度监测的影响;温度监控软件对实时的温度信息处理,可以实现温度的图形显示、列表显示,超温时的报警显示等功能。     

纳米银-聚合物菱形剪纸薄膜应变传感特性的研究

采用银镜制备法和激光切割技术获得了纳米银颗粒/聚二甲基硅氧烷剪纸结构薄膜,并系统地研究了薄膜作为柔性应变传感器的力学及压阻特性。将数值模拟与实验相结合,测量了传感薄膜的应变比γ、压阻滞回特性、线性度及压阻敏感性,重点探讨了薄膜制备工艺、结构参数与上述薄膜传感特性的定量关系。结果表明,在给定结构下,结构薄膜整体与结构单元的应变比γ为常数,反映了结构薄膜的变形特性,是理想的力学性能表征参数。菱形剪纸结构薄膜具有量级可达200的大应变比,即在大应变下,材料的实际应变很小。这一特点极大地提升了薄膜的应变测量范围、压阻稳定性、线性度,并保持了合理的压阻灵敏度。     

A Flexible Conformal Piezoresistive Sensor Based on Electrospinning for Deformation Monitoring of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) materials are widely applied in various areas as key structure components. The structural health monitoring of the CFRP components is crucial to prevent catastrophic failure. However, the nonplane surfaces of CFRP components hinder the attaching of monitoring sensors with hard substrates. Therefore, the substrate conditions for sensor preparation are mainly considered in this study. To adapt the proposed sensors to the curved substrate, including nondevelopable surfaces, electrospinning method is used to prepare conformal piezoresistive fiber films, in which polymethyl methacrylate is served as the matrix and carbon nanotubes are utilized as the conductive filler. The piezoresistive fibers covered on CFRP substrates have a gauge factor up to 207.95 and can response to the strain less than 0.05%. Moreover, the sensor also has high durability and the ability to follow the dynamic excitation signals with as high as 50 Hz.     

Three-Dimensional Analytical Modeling of Axial-Flux Permanent Magnet Drivers

In this paper, the axial-flux permanent magnet driver is modeled and analyzed in a simple and novel way under three-dimensional cylindrical coordinates. The inherent three-dimensional characteristics of the device are comprehensively considered, and the governing equations are solved by simplifying the boundary conditions. The axial magnetization of the sector-shaped permanent magnets is accurately described in an algebraic form by the parameters, which makes the physical meaning more explicit than the purely mathematical expression in general series forms. The parameters of the Bessel function are determined simply and the magnetic field distribution of permanent magnets and the air-gap is solved. Furthermore, the field solutions are completely analytical, which provides convenience and satisfactory accuracy for modeling a series of electromagnetic performance parameters, such as the axial electromagnetic force density, axial electromagnetic force, and electromagnetic torque. The correctness and accuracy of the analytical models are fully verified by three-dimensional finite element simulations and a 15 kW prototype and the results of calculations, simulations, and experiments under three methods are highly consistent. The influence of several design parameters on magnetic field distribution and performance is studied and discussed. The results indicate that the modeling method proposed in this paper can calculate the magnetic field distribution and performance accurately and rapidly, which affords an important reference for the design and optimization of axial-flux permanent magnet drivers.     

Medical image contrast enhancement based on improved sparrow search algorithm

The collection or transmission of medical images is often disturbed by various factors, such as insufficient brightness and noise pollution, which will result in the deterioration of image quality and significantly affect the clinical diagnosis. To improve the quality of medical images, a contrast enhancement method based on improved sparrow search algorithm is proposed in this paper. The method is divided into two steps to enhance the medical images. First, a new transform function is introduced to improve the brightness or contrast of medical images, and two parameters in the transform function are optimized by the improved sparrow search algorithm. Second, adaptive histogram equalization method with contrast limited is used to equalize the result image of the previous step to make the pixel distribution of the image more uniform. Finally, a large number of experiments and qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted on the common data sets. The analysis results demonstrate that the presented approach outperforms some existing medical image processing approaches.