BACKGROUND Iron overload cardiomyopathy is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.Standard iron chelation therapy is less efficient in alleviating iron accumulatio...BACKGROUND Iron overload cardiomyopathy is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.Standard iron chelation therapy is less efficient in alleviating iron accumulation in many organs,especially when iron enters the cells via specific calcium channels.AIM To validate our hypothesis that adding amlodipine to the iron chelation regimen is more efficient in alleviating myocardial iron overload.METHODS Five databases,including PubMed,Cochrane Library,Embase,ScienceDirect,and ClinicalTrials.gov,were systematically searched,and three randomized controlled trials involving 144 pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia were included in our meta-analysis based on the predefined eligibility criteria.The quality of the included studies was assessed based on the Cochrane collab-oration tool for bias assessment.The primary outcome assessed was myocardial-T2 and myocardial iron concentration,while the secondary results showed serum ferritin level,liver iron concentration,and treatment adverse outcomes.Weighted mean difference and odds ratio were calculated to measure the changes in the estimated treatment effects.RESULTS During the follow-up period,Amlodipine treatment significantly improved cardiac T2 by 2.79 ms compared to the control group[95%confidence interval(CI):0.34-5.24,P=0.03,I2=0%].Additionally,a significant reduction of 0.31 in myocardial iron concentration was observed with amlodipine treatment compared to the control group[95%CI:-0.38-(-0.25),P<0.00001,I2=0%].Liver iron concentration was slightly lower in the amlodipine group by-0.04 mg/g,but this difference was not statistically significant(95%CI:-0.33-0.24,P=0.77,I2=0%).Amlodipine also showed a non-significant trend toward a reduction in serum ferritin levels(-328.86 ng/mL,95%CI:-1212.34-554.62,P=0.47,I2=90%).Regarding safety,there were no significant differences between the groups in the incidence of gastrointestinal upset,hypotension,or lower limb edema.CONCLUSION Amlodipine with iron chelation therapy significantly improved cardiac parameters,including cardiac-T2 and myocardial iron,in patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia without causing significant adverse events but enhancing the efficacy of iron chelation therapy.展开更多
Collimating lenses are an important component of laser ranging systems,and high overload environments severely affect the beam shaping effect of such lenses.This study proposes a buffer isolation method on the basis o...Collimating lenses are an important component of laser ranging systems,and high overload environments severely affect the beam shaping effect of such lenses.This study proposes a buffer isolation method on the basis of impact stress wave attenuation theory for collimating lens spacers,ANSYS finite element software was applied to simulate the high load dynamics of collimating lenses,and the buffer isolation performance of different materials and composite structures was compared and analysed.Optical simulation analysis of the collimating lenses under different buffer conditions was performed using ZEMAX software to study the mechanism by which a high overload affects the collimating lenses.High overload and optical shaping experiments based on theoretical analysis were further conducted.Results showed the superiority of butadiene rubber to polytetrafluoroethylene after application of 70000 g impact acceleration.The combination-gasket method was superior to the single-gasket method,and the sandwich combination-gasket method was superior to the double-layer combination-gasket method.展开更多
Iron overload has been evidenced to contribute to obesity-associated metabolic disorders,including insulin resistance.Strategies to reduce iron levels might help manage the metabolic complications associated with obes...Iron overload has been evidenced to contribute to obesity-associated metabolic disorders,including insulin resistance.Strategies to reduce iron levels might help manage the metabolic complications associated with obesity.Here,it is demonstrated that the specific accumulation of oleic acid-modified polyoxovanadates(OPOVs)in adipose tissue leads to the reduction of iron concentrations in adipocytes in mice fed with a high-fat diet(HFD).Conjugation of oleic acids to polyoxovanadates enables tissue-specific depletion of iron from white adipose tissue(WAT)by OPOVs,protecting mice from HFD-induced obesity and obesity-associated metabolic deteriorations.Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity are improved in OPOV-treated mice,which demonstrates that the OPOV-induced iron depletion can reverse the metabolic degeneration caused by HFD-induced obesity.Furthermore,a decrease in expression of the marker genes of iron overload suggests the participation of OPOVs in maintaining iron homeostasis and a potential medical application of vanadium clusters in targeting the iron overload caused by obesity.These findings underscore the potential of vanadate-based clusters tailored to address the complex interplay between iron metabolism and metabolic health.展开更多
In air combat,one effective way to counter an incoming missile attacking an aircraft is to launch a defense missile compared with traditional passive defense strategies such as decoy and electronic countermeasures.To ...In air combat,one effective way to counter an incoming missile attacking an aircraft is to launch a defense missile compared with traditional passive defense strategies such as decoy and electronic countermeasures.To address this issue,this paper proposes a three-body cooperative active defense guidance law with overload constraints from the perspective of a small speed ratio.First,a cooperative guidance-oriented model for active defense is established and linearized to provide a foundation for the design of the guidance law.Then,the essential quantity known as Zero-Effort-Miss(ZEM)is analyzed during the engagement process.In order to minimize the influence of inaccurate estimates of remaining flight time in the ZEM,the concept of Zero-Effort-Velocity(ZEV)is introduced.Subsequently,utilizing the sliding mode control method,the guidance law is designed by selecting the ZEM and ZEV as sliding mode surfaces,combined with the fast power reaching law,and its finite-time stability is analyzed using the Lyapunov method.Furthermore,to quantitatively evaluate the performance of the proposed active defense guidance law,the interception rendezvous angle index is introduced.The proposed active defense guidance law considers integrating information from the incoming missile,aircraft,and defense missile with fewer simplifications and assumptions,and ensures that the aircraft is effectively protected with less overload required for the defense missile.Finally,simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptability of the proposed active defense guidance law.展开更多
When only a portion of the shield lining structures in a full-line tunnel are overloaded,their bearing and failure characteristics are significantly different from those in the full-line overloaded case.In existing st...When only a portion of the shield lining structures in a full-line tunnel are overloaded,their bearing and failure characteristics are significantly different from those in the full-line overloaded case.In existing studies,one or several segmental lining rings have been studied,with overload applied to selected lining rings to analyze the performance evolution of the lining structures;however,this approach fails to reveal the bearing and failure characteristics of shield lining rings under localized overload.To address this research gap,we employ 3D finite element modeling to investigate the mechanical performance and failure mechanisms of shield segmental linings under localized overload conditions,and compare the results with full-line overload scenarios.Additionally,the impact of reinforcing shield segmental linings with steel rings is studied to address issues arising from localized overloads.The results indicate that localized overloads lead to significant ring joint dislocation and higher stress on longitudinal bolts,potentially causing longitudinal bolt failure.Furthermore,the overall deformation of lining rings,segmental joint opening,and stress in circumferential bolts and steel bars is lower compared to full-line overloads.For the same overload level,the convergence deformation of the lining under full-line overload is 1.5 to 2.0 times higher than that under localized overload.For localized overload situations,a reinforcement scheme with steel rings spanning across two adjacent lining rings is more effective than installing steel rings within individual lining rings.This spanning ring reinforcement strategy not only enhances the structural rigidity of each ring,but also limits joint dislocation and reduces stress on longitudinal bolts,with the reduction in maximum ring joint dislocation ranging from 70%to 82%and the reduction in maximum longitudinal bolt stress ranging from 19%to 57%compared to reinforcement within rings.展开更多
For a finite Markov chain, by rotating the transition matrix by 180°, or relabelling the states, one can define a new Markov chain. This Markov chain in fact is the imbedded Markov chain of an inverse process. Du...For a finite Markov chain, by rotating the transition matrix by 180°, or relabelling the states, one can define a new Markov chain. This Markov chain in fact is the imbedded Markov chain of an inverse process. Duality properties about this Markov chain sometimes are not difficult to obtain. Similarly, one can discuss an infinite Markov chain with states 0,±1,±2,…. However, many applications involve transition matrices with various boundary modifications where rotation cannot directly apply. After introducing some duality properties for a boundaryfree or finite Markov chain, we will mainly focus on some interesting application problems and show how to use the duality from rotation to these problems.展开更多
Sparse code multiple access(SCMA)is a non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)scheme based on joint modulation and spread spectrum coding.It is ideal for future communication networks with a massive number of nodes due to...Sparse code multiple access(SCMA)is a non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)scheme based on joint modulation and spread spectrum coding.It is ideal for future communication networks with a massive number of nodes due to its ability to handle user overload.Introducing SCMA into visible light communication(VLC)systems can improve the data transmission capability of the system.However,designing a suitable codebook becomes a challenging problem when addressing the demands of massive connectivity scenarios.Therefore,this paper proposes a low-complexity design method for high-overload codebooks based on the minimum bit error rate(BER)criterion.Firstly,this paper constructs a new codebook with parameters based on the symmetric mother codebook structure by allocating the codeword power so that the power of each user codebook is unbalanced;then,the BER performance in the visible light communication system is optimized to obtain specific parameters;finally,the successive interference cancellation(SIC)detection algorithm is used at the receiver side.Simulation results show that the method proposed in this paper can converge quickly by utilizing a relatively small number of detection iterations.This can simultaneously reduce the complexity of design and detection,outperforming existing design methods for massive SCMA codebooks.展开更多
Along with the progress of sciences and technologies, a lot of explorations are taken in many countries or organizations in succession. Lunar, the natural satellite of the earth, become a focus of the space discovery ...Along with the progress of sciences and technologies, a lot of explorations are taken in many countries or organizations in succession. Lunar, the natural satellite of the earth, become a focus of the space discovery again recently because of its abundant resource and high value in use. Lunar exploration is also one of the most important projects in China. A primary objective of the probe in lunar is to soft-land a manned spacecraft on the lunar surface. The soft-landing system is the key composition of the lunar lander. In the overall design of lunar lander, the analysis of touchdown dynamics during landing stage is an important work. The rigid-flexible coupling dynamics of a system with flexible cantilevers attached to the main lander is analyzed. The equations are derived from the subsystem method. Results show that the deformations of cantilevers have considerable effect on the overloading of the lunar lander system.展开更多
Calpains are ubiquitous non-lysosomal Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteases also present in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria.Numerous experimental studies reveal an essential role of the calpain system in myocardial in...Calpains are ubiquitous non-lysosomal Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteases also present in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria.Numerous experimental studies reveal an essential role of the calpain system in myocardial injury during ischemia,reperfusion and postischemic structural remodelling.The increasing Ca2+-content and Ca2+-overload in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria during ischemia and reperfusion causes an activation of calpains.Upon activation they are able to injure the contractile apparatus and impair the energy production by cleaving structural and functional proteins of myocytes and mitochondria.Besides their causal involvement in acute myocardial dysfunction they are also involved in structural remodelling after myocardial infarction by the generation and release of proapoptotic factors from mitochondria.Calpain inhibition can prevent or attenuate myocardial injury during ischemia,reperfusion,and in later stages of myocardial infarction.展开更多
This paper analyzed the reliability and put forward the reliability index of overload protection for moulded case circuit breaker. The success rate was adopted as its reliability index of overload protection. Based on...This paper analyzed the reliability and put forward the reliability index of overload protection for moulded case circuit breaker. The success rate was adopted as its reliability index of overload protection. Based on the reliability index and the reli- ability level, the reliability examination plan was analyzed and a test device for the overload protection of moulded case cir- cuit-breaker was developed. In the reliability test of overload protection, two power sources were used, which reduced the time of conversion and regulation between two different test currents in the overload protection test, which made the characteristic test more accurate. The test device was designed on the base of a Windows system, which made its operation simple and friendly.展开更多
Increasing evidence indicates that disruption of normal iron homeostasis may contribute to pathological development of Alzheimer's disease.Icariin,astragalus,and puerarin have been shown to suppress iron overload in ...Increasing evidence indicates that disruption of normal iron homeostasis may contribute to pathological development of Alzheimer's disease.Icariin,astragalus,and puerarin have been shown to suppress iron overload in the cerebral cortex and improve spatial learning and memory disorders in Alzheimer's disease mice,although the underlying mechanism remains unclear.In the present study,APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mice were administered icariin,astragalus,and puerarin(120,80,and 80 mg/kg,respectively,once a day,for 3 months).Iron levels were detected by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy.Interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α levels were measured in the cerebral cortex by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde content were determined by colorimetry.Our results demonstrate that after treatment,iron levels and malondialdehyde content are decreased,while glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities are increased.Further,interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α levels were reduced.These results confirm that compounds of icariin,astragalus,and puerarin may alleviate iron overload by reducing oxidative stress and the inflammatory response.展开更多
BACKGROUND: The liver, as the main iron storage compart-ment and the place of hepcidin synthesis, is the central organ involved in maintaining iron homeostasis in the body. Exces-sive accumulation of iron is an import...BACKGROUND: The liver, as the main iron storage compart-ment and the place of hepcidin synthesis, is the central organ involved in maintaining iron homeostasis in the body. Exces-sive accumulation of iron is an important risk factor in liver disease progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, we review the literature on the molecular pathogenesis of iron overload and its clinical consequences in chronic liver diseases. DATA SOURCES: PubMed was searched for English-language articles on molecular genesis of primary and secondary iron overload, as well as on their association with liver disease pro-gression. We have also included literature on adjuvant thera-peutic interventions aiming to alleviate detrimental effects of excessive body iron load in liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: Excess of free, unbound iron induces oxidative stress, increases cell sensitivity to other detrimental factors, and can directly affect cellular signaling pathways, resulting in accelerated liver disease progression. Diagnosis of liver cirrhosis is, in turn, often associated with the identiifcation of a pathological accumulation of iron, even in the absence of genetic background of hereditary hemochromatosis. Iron depletion and adjuvant therapy with antioxidants are shown to cause signiifcant improvement of liver functions in patients with iron overload. Phlebotomy can have beneifcial effects on liver histology in patients with excessive iron accumulation combined with compensated liver cirrhosis of different etiology. CONCLUSION: Excessive accumulation of body iron in liver cirrhosis is an important predictor of liver failure and avail-able data suggest that it can be considered as target for adju-vant therapy in this condition.展开更多
AIM: The pathogenesis of occurrence of liver inflammation and fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is not completely understood. Other than insulin resistance, iron abnormalities have been tho...AIM: The pathogenesis of occurrence of liver inflammation and fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is not completely understood. Other than insulin resistance, iron abnormalities have been thought to be one of the triggering factors. Therefore, our aim was to study the role of iron abnormalities and HFE gene mutations in patients with NASH. METHODS: Thirty-one patients of NASH diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination biochemistry, ultrasonography and liver biopsy (n = 14) were included in the study. Serum iron parameters (n = 23) (iron, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity and transferrin saturation), Perls' iron staining on liver biopsies (n = 14) and HFE gene mutations (C282Y and H63D) (n = 16) were studied in these patients. The association between iron staining, necroinflammatory activity and fibrosis stage on liver biopsies was also determined. RESULTS: Elevated serum iron, ferritin and transferrin saturation above 55% were observed in 4.3% of patients. On histology, 71% of the patients had negative iron staining, 21.4% had 1+ staining, 7.2% had 2+ staining and none had 3+ or 4+ staining. There was no association between the degree of iron staining and necroinflammatory activity (P=0.55) and fibrosis stage (P= 0.09) on histology. None of the patients had C282Y HFE gene mutation and four patients (25%) were found to be heterozygotes for H63D gene mutation. CONCLUSION: Our study does not favor iron overload and HFE gene mutations as major factors in the pathogenesis of NASH in Asian Indians.展开更多
The discovery of the natriuretic peptide system in the early 1980s aroused great interest among clinical cardiologists. The heart was not a mechanical pump alone, but also an endocrine organ that had powerful effects ...The discovery of the natriuretic peptide system in the early 1980s aroused great interest among clinical cardiologists. The heart was not a mechanical pump alone, but also an endocrine organ that had powerful effects on blood circulation. Natriuretic peptides caused both natriuresis and diuresis, and they responded to a volume overload which caused either stretch or pressure on the heart. As a result, the findings led to the conclusion that the human body had a hormone with effects similar to those of a drug which treats high blood pressure. Later, it became evident that the volume contraction was fortified by extrarenal plasma shift. Here, a hypothesis is presented in which the role of natriuretic peptides is to regulate oxygen transport as the volume contraction leads to hemoconcentration with an increased oxygen-carrying capacity. Wall stress, either chemical or mechanical, changes the oxygen gradient of the myocardium and affects the diffusion of oxygen within a myocyte. In support of this hypothesis, hypoxia-response elements have been found in both the atrial natriuretic peptide and the brain natriuretic peptide genes.展开更多
The analysis of slope earthquake stability is one of the most important research subjects in geotechnical engineering and earthquake engineering.Two different concepts of slope earthquake stability are put forward:st...The analysis of slope earthquake stability is one of the most important research subjects in geotechnical engineering and earthquake engineering.Two different concepts of slope earthquake stability are put forward:strength reserve stability and dynamic overloading stability.The first concept of slope earthquake stability has been widely accepted,and relative analysis methods are also well de-veloped;the second one,however,is seldom mentioned until now,and the failure criterion and the analysis method based on this concept are yet to be explored.What are researched are just the failure criterion and the analysis method of dynamic overloading earthquake stability.The criterion of critical earthquake peak acceleration for the dynamic overloading stability of a slope and its analysis method,the load increasing method(LIM),are put forward.The dynamic overloading earthquake stability of a loess slope at Changshougou(长寿沟) in Baoji(宝鸡) City,Shaanxi(陕西) Province,China,is analyzed with LIM.The analysis result reveals that the dynamic overloading earthquake stability of the slope is quite high to the action of the earthquake ground motion,with exceeding probability of 10% in the next 50 years.展开更多
β-Sitosterol is a type of phytosterol that occurs naturally in plants.Previous studies have shown that it has anti-oxidant,anti-hyperlipidemic,anti-inflammatory,immunomodulatory,and anti-tumor effects,but it is unkno...β-Sitosterol is a type of phytosterol that occurs naturally in plants.Previous studies have shown that it has anti-oxidant,anti-hyperlipidemic,anti-inflammatory,immunomodulatory,and anti-tumor effects,but it is unknown whetherβ-sitosterol treatment reduces the effects of ischemic stroke.Here we found that,in a mouse model of ischemic stroke induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion,β-sitosterol reduced the volume of cerebral infarction and brain edema,reduced neuronal apoptosis in brain tissue,and alleviated neurological dysfunction;moreover,β-sitosterol increased the activity of oxygen-and glucose-deprived cerebral cortex neurons and reduced apoptosis.Further investigation showed that the neuroprotective effects ofβ-sitosterol may be related to inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress caused by intracellular cholesterol accumulation after ischemic stroke.In addition,β-sitosterol showed high affinity for NPC1L1,a key transporter of cholesterol,and antagonized its activity.In conclusion,β-sitosterol may help treat ischemic stroke by inhibiting neuronal intracellular cholesterol overload/endoplasmic reticulum stress/apoptosis signaling pathways.展开更多
Aim: To observe effects of angiotensin (Ang) II receptor antagonist (ATI) irbesartan and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor perindopril on rat myocardium calcineurin expression and sarcoplasmic retic...Aim: To observe effects of angiotensin (Ang) II receptor antagonist (ATI) irbesartan and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor perindopril on rat myocardium calcineurin expression and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase activity in the model of pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy. Methods: Forty male adult Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups One group was treated by sham operation; four groups were myocardium hypertrophy cases caused by banding aortic above renal artery. Drugs were given one week after operation. Group 1: sham group, rats (n=8) were gavaged with normal saline 2 ml/(kg·d) (ig); Group 2: control group, rats (n=8) were treated with normal saline 2 ml/(kg·d) (ig); Group 3: rats (n=8) were given perindopril 2 mg/(kg·d) (ig); Group 4: rats (n=8) were treated with irbesartan 20 mg/(kg·d) (ig); Group 5: rats (n=8) were given irbesartan 20 mg/(kg·d) plus perindopril 2 mg/(kg·d) (ig). Morphometric determination, calcineurin expression and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase activity were done at the end of 6 week of drug intervention. Expression of calcineurin in myocardium was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Left ventricular mass index (LVMI), transverse diameter of myocardial cell (TDM), calcineurin activity were remarkably decreased after drug intervention and this decrease was most remarkable in the combination drug therapy group. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase activity was increased after drug intervention, especially in the combined drug therapy group. Calcineurin expression in myocardium was remarkably decreased after drug intervention. LVMI was positively correlated with TDM and calcineurin, negatively correlated with sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase. Conclusion: These data suggest that irbesartan and perindopril inhibit cardiac hypertrophy through the increased activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase and decreased expression of calcineurin. Their combination had better effects on regressing of ventricular hypertrophy.展开更多
Anti-jamming solutions based on antenna arrays enhance the anti-jamming ability and the robustness of global navigation satellite system(GNSS)receiver remarkably.However,the performance of the receiver will deteriorat...Anti-jamming solutions based on antenna arrays enhance the anti-jamming ability and the robustness of global navigation satellite system(GNSS)receiver remarkably.However,the performance of the receiver will deteriorate significantly in the overloaded interferences scenario.We define the overloaded interferences scenario as where the number of interferences is more than or equal to the number of antenna arrays elements.In this paper,the effect mechanism of interferences with different incident directions is found by studying the anti-jamming performance of the adaptive space filter.The theoretical analysis and conclusions,which are first validated through numerical examples,reveal the relationships between the optimal weight vector and the eigenvectors of the input signal autocorrelation matrix,the relationships between the interference cancellation ratio(ICR),the signal to interference and noise power ratio(SINR)of the adaptive space filter output and the number of interferences,the eigenvalues of the input signal autocorrelation matrix.In addition,two simulation experiments are utilized to further corroborate the theoretical findings through soft anti-jamming receiver.The simulation results match well with the theoretical analysis results,thus validating the effect mechanism of overloaded interferences.The simulation results show that,for a four elements circular array,the performance difference is up to 19 dB with different incident directions of interferences.Anti-jamming performance evaluation and jamming deployment optimization can obtain more accurate and efficient results by using the conclusions.展开更多
This article analyzes the problem about the missile overload requirement in a homing terminal guidance under various engagement scenarios. An augmented proportional navigation guidance (APNG) model is introduced on ...This article analyzes the problem about the missile overload requirement in a homing terminal guidance under various engagement scenarios. An augmented proportional navigation guidance (APNG) model is introduced on the basis of linear kinematics. To analyze the peak-to-peak performance of the terminal guidance system, a new finite time L1 performance measure for a linear time-varying (LTV) continuous system is proposed. Then, according to the idea of the adjoint system, a novel method for computing the L1 norm of a linear continuous system is first derived. Within the finite time L1 framework, the quantitative relation between the guidance loop dynamics and the maximum missile-target maneuver ratio is offered. This relation is expressed in the form of graphs and formulas that can be used to synthesize some of the major subsystem specifications for the missile guidance system. The illustrative examples show that a significant performance improvement is achieved with the proposed guidance loop dynamics.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Iron overload cardiomyopathy is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients.Standard iron chelation therapy is less efficient in alleviating iron accumulation in many organs,especially when iron enters the cells via specific calcium channels.AIM To validate our hypothesis that adding amlodipine to the iron chelation regimen is more efficient in alleviating myocardial iron overload.METHODS Five databases,including PubMed,Cochrane Library,Embase,ScienceDirect,and ClinicalTrials.gov,were systematically searched,and three randomized controlled trials involving 144 pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia were included in our meta-analysis based on the predefined eligibility criteria.The quality of the included studies was assessed based on the Cochrane collab-oration tool for bias assessment.The primary outcome assessed was myocardial-T2 and myocardial iron concentration,while the secondary results showed serum ferritin level,liver iron concentration,and treatment adverse outcomes.Weighted mean difference and odds ratio were calculated to measure the changes in the estimated treatment effects.RESULTS During the follow-up period,Amlodipine treatment significantly improved cardiac T2 by 2.79 ms compared to the control group[95%confidence interval(CI):0.34-5.24,P=0.03,I2=0%].Additionally,a significant reduction of 0.31 in myocardial iron concentration was observed with amlodipine treatment compared to the control group[95%CI:-0.38-(-0.25),P<0.00001,I2=0%].Liver iron concentration was slightly lower in the amlodipine group by-0.04 mg/g,but this difference was not statistically significant(95%CI:-0.33-0.24,P=0.77,I2=0%).Amlodipine also showed a non-significant trend toward a reduction in serum ferritin levels(-328.86 ng/mL,95%CI:-1212.34-554.62,P=0.47,I2=90%).Regarding safety,there were no significant differences between the groups in the incidence of gastrointestinal upset,hypotension,or lower limb edema.CONCLUSION Amlodipine with iron chelation therapy significantly improved cardiac parameters,including cardiac-T2 and myocardial iron,in patients with transfusion-dependent thalassemia without causing significant adverse events but enhancing the efficacy of iron chelation therapy.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(51605227)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(NUST30915011303)。
文摘Collimating lenses are an important component of laser ranging systems,and high overload environments severely affect the beam shaping effect of such lenses.This study proposes a buffer isolation method on the basis of impact stress wave attenuation theory for collimating lens spacers,ANSYS finite element software was applied to simulate the high load dynamics of collimating lenses,and the buffer isolation performance of different materials and composite structures was compared and analysed.Optical simulation analysis of the collimating lenses under different buffer conditions was performed using ZEMAX software to study the mechanism by which a high overload affects the collimating lenses.High overload and optical shaping experiments based on theoretical analysis were further conducted.Results showed the superiority of butadiene rubber to polytetrafluoroethylene after application of 70000 g impact acceleration.The combination-gasket method was superior to the single-gasket method,and the sandwich combination-gasket method was superior to the double-layer combination-gasket method.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22101086)Guangzhou Basic and Applied Basic Research Project(No.202201010052)Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(No.2023A1515140030).
文摘Iron overload has been evidenced to contribute to obesity-associated metabolic disorders,including insulin resistance.Strategies to reduce iron levels might help manage the metabolic complications associated with obesity.Here,it is demonstrated that the specific accumulation of oleic acid-modified polyoxovanadates(OPOVs)in adipose tissue leads to the reduction of iron concentrations in adipocytes in mice fed with a high-fat diet(HFD).Conjugation of oleic acids to polyoxovanadates enables tissue-specific depletion of iron from white adipose tissue(WAT)by OPOVs,protecting mice from HFD-induced obesity and obesity-associated metabolic deteriorations.Glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity are improved in OPOV-treated mice,which demonstrates that the OPOV-induced iron depletion can reverse the metabolic degeneration caused by HFD-induced obesity.Furthermore,a decrease in expression of the marker genes of iron overload suggests the participation of OPOVs in maintaining iron homeostasis and a potential medical application of vanadium clusters in targeting the iron overload caused by obesity.These findings underscore the potential of vanadate-based clusters tailored to address the complex interplay between iron metabolism and metabolic health.
基金support provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.62173274)the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2019YFA0405300)+3 种基金the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province of China(No.2021JJ10045)Shanghai Aerospace Science and Technology Innovation Fund,China(No.SAST2020-004)Postdoctoral Fellowship Program of CPSF(No.GZB20240989)the Open Research Subject of State Key Laboratory of Intelligent Game,China(No.ZBKF-24-01).
文摘In air combat,one effective way to counter an incoming missile attacking an aircraft is to launch a defense missile compared with traditional passive defense strategies such as decoy and electronic countermeasures.To address this issue,this paper proposes a three-body cooperative active defense guidance law with overload constraints from the perspective of a small speed ratio.First,a cooperative guidance-oriented model for active defense is established and linearized to provide a foundation for the design of the guidance law.Then,the essential quantity known as Zero-Effort-Miss(ZEM)is analyzed during the engagement process.In order to minimize the influence of inaccurate estimates of remaining flight time in the ZEM,the concept of Zero-Effort-Velocity(ZEV)is introduced.Subsequently,utilizing the sliding mode control method,the guidance law is designed by selecting the ZEM and ZEV as sliding mode surfaces,combined with the fast power reaching law,and its finite-time stability is analyzed using the Lyapunov method.Furthermore,to quantitatively evaluate the performance of the proposed active defense guidance law,the interception rendezvous angle index is introduced.The proposed active defense guidance law considers integrating information from the incoming missile,aircraft,and defense missile with fewer simplifications and assumptions,and ensures that the aircraft is effectively protected with less overload required for the defense missile.Finally,simulation experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and adaptability of the proposed active defense guidance law.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.52008308).
文摘When only a portion of the shield lining structures in a full-line tunnel are overloaded,their bearing and failure characteristics are significantly different from those in the full-line overloaded case.In existing studies,one or several segmental lining rings have been studied,with overload applied to selected lining rings to analyze the performance evolution of the lining structures;however,this approach fails to reveal the bearing and failure characteristics of shield lining rings under localized overload.To address this research gap,we employ 3D finite element modeling to investigate the mechanical performance and failure mechanisms of shield segmental linings under localized overload conditions,and compare the results with full-line overload scenarios.Additionally,the impact of reinforcing shield segmental linings with steel rings is studied to address issues arising from localized overloads.The results indicate that localized overloads lead to significant ring joint dislocation and higher stress on longitudinal bolts,potentially causing longitudinal bolt failure.Furthermore,the overall deformation of lining rings,segmental joint opening,and stress in circumferential bolts and steel bars is lower compared to full-line overloads.For the same overload level,the convergence deformation of the lining under full-line overload is 1.5 to 2.0 times higher than that under localized overload.For localized overload situations,a reinforcement scheme with steel rings spanning across two adjacent lining rings is more effective than installing steel rings within individual lining rings.This spanning ring reinforcement strategy not only enhances the structural rigidity of each ring,but also limits joint dislocation and reduces stress on longitudinal bolts,with the reduction in maximum ring joint dislocation ranging from 70%to 82%and the reduction in maximum longitudinal bolt stress ranging from 19%to 57%compared to reinforcement within rings.
基金The research of Y.Q. Zhao is supported by NSERC (Grant No.4452) and that of A.S. Alfa by NSERC(Grant No.OGP0006584).
文摘For a finite Markov chain, by rotating the transition matrix by 180°, or relabelling the states, one can define a new Markov chain. This Markov chain in fact is the imbedded Markov chain of an inverse process. Duality properties about this Markov chain sometimes are not difficult to obtain. Similarly, one can discuss an infinite Markov chain with states 0,±1,±2,…. However, many applications involve transition matrices with various boundary modifications where rotation cannot directly apply. After introducing some duality properties for a boundaryfree or finite Markov chain, we will mainly focus on some interesting application problems and show how to use the duality from rotation to these problems.
基金supported in part by the National Science Foundation of China(NSFC)under Grant 62161024Jiangxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation under Grant 20224BAB212002+3 种基金Jiangxi Provincial Talent Project for Academic and Technical Leaders of Major Disciplines under Grant 20232BCJ23085,China Postdoctoral Science Foundation under Grant 2021TQ0136 and 2022M711463the State Key Laboratory of Computer Architecture(ICT,CAS)Open Project under Grant CARCHB202019supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)under Grant 62061030supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)under Grant 62161023。
文摘Sparse code multiple access(SCMA)is a non-orthogonal multiple access(NOMA)scheme based on joint modulation and spread spectrum coding.It is ideal for future communication networks with a massive number of nodes due to its ability to handle user overload.Introducing SCMA into visible light communication(VLC)systems can improve the data transmission capability of the system.However,designing a suitable codebook becomes a challenging problem when addressing the demands of massive connectivity scenarios.Therefore,this paper proposes a low-complexity design method for high-overload codebooks based on the minimum bit error rate(BER)criterion.Firstly,this paper constructs a new codebook with parameters based on the symmetric mother codebook structure by allocating the codeword power so that the power of each user codebook is unbalanced;then,the BER performance in the visible light communication system is optimized to obtain specific parameters;finally,the successive interference cancellation(SIC)detection algorithm is used at the receiver side.Simulation results show that the method proposed in this paper can converge quickly by utilizing a relatively small number of detection iterations.This can simultaneously reduce the complexity of design and detection,outperforming existing design methods for massive SCMA codebooks.
基金HI-tech Research and Development Program of China
文摘Along with the progress of sciences and technologies, a lot of explorations are taken in many countries or organizations in succession. Lunar, the natural satellite of the earth, become a focus of the space discovery again recently because of its abundant resource and high value in use. Lunar exploration is also one of the most important projects in China. A primary objective of the probe in lunar is to soft-land a manned spacecraft on the lunar surface. The soft-landing system is the key composition of the lunar lander. In the overall design of lunar lander, the analysis of touchdown dynamics during landing stage is an important work. The rigid-flexible coupling dynamics of a system with flexible cantilevers attached to the main lander is analyzed. The equations are derived from the subsystem method. Results show that the deformations of cantilevers have considerable effect on the overloading of the lunar lander system.
文摘Calpains are ubiquitous non-lysosomal Ca2+-dependent cysteine proteases also present in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria.Numerous experimental studies reveal an essential role of the calpain system in myocardial injury during ischemia,reperfusion and postischemic structural remodelling.The increasing Ca2+-content and Ca2+-overload in myocardial cytosol and mitochondria during ischemia and reperfusion causes an activation of calpains.Upon activation they are able to injure the contractile apparatus and impair the energy production by cleaving structural and functional proteins of myocytes and mitochondria.Besides their causal involvement in acute myocardial dysfunction they are also involved in structural remodelling after myocardial infarction by the generation and release of proapoptotic factors from mitochondria.Calpain inhibition can prevent or attenuate myocardial injury during ischemia,reperfusion,and in later stages of myocardial infarction.
基金Project (No. E2005000039) supported by the Natural Science Foun-dation of Hebei Province, China
文摘This paper analyzed the reliability and put forward the reliability index of overload protection for moulded case circuit breaker. The success rate was adopted as its reliability index of overload protection. Based on the reliability index and the reli- ability level, the reliability examination plan was analyzed and a test device for the overload protection of moulded case cir- cuit-breaker was developed. In the reliability test of overload protection, two power sources were used, which reduced the time of conversion and regulation between two different test currents in the overload protection test, which made the characteristic test more accurate. The test device was designed on the base of a Windows system, which made its operation simple and friendly.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.81273983
文摘Increasing evidence indicates that disruption of normal iron homeostasis may contribute to pathological development of Alzheimer's disease.Icariin,astragalus,and puerarin have been shown to suppress iron overload in the cerebral cortex and improve spatial learning and memory disorders in Alzheimer's disease mice,although the underlying mechanism remains unclear.In the present study,APPswe/PS1ΔE9 transgenic mice were administered icariin,astragalus,and puerarin(120,80,and 80 mg/kg,respectively,once a day,for 3 months).Iron levels were detected by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy.Interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α levels were measured in the cerebral cortex by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.Glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde content were determined by colorimetry.Our results demonstrate that after treatment,iron levels and malondialdehyde content are decreased,while glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities are increased.Further,interleukin-1β,interleukin-6,and tumor necrosis factor-α levels were reduced.These results confirm that compounds of icariin,astragalus,and puerarin may alleviate iron overload by reducing oxidative stress and the inflammatory response.
基金supported by a grant from Polish National Science Centre(2011/01/B/NZ6/00320)
文摘BACKGROUND: The liver, as the main iron storage compart-ment and the place of hepcidin synthesis, is the central organ involved in maintaining iron homeostasis in the body. Exces-sive accumulation of iron is an important risk factor in liver disease progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, we review the literature on the molecular pathogenesis of iron overload and its clinical consequences in chronic liver diseases. DATA SOURCES: PubMed was searched for English-language articles on molecular genesis of primary and secondary iron overload, as well as on their association with liver disease pro-gression. We have also included literature on adjuvant thera-peutic interventions aiming to alleviate detrimental effects of excessive body iron load in liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: Excess of free, unbound iron induces oxidative stress, increases cell sensitivity to other detrimental factors, and can directly affect cellular signaling pathways, resulting in accelerated liver disease progression. Diagnosis of liver cirrhosis is, in turn, often associated with the identiifcation of a pathological accumulation of iron, even in the absence of genetic background of hereditary hemochromatosis. Iron depletion and adjuvant therapy with antioxidants are shown to cause signiifcant improvement of liver functions in patients with iron overload. Phlebotomy can have beneifcial effects on liver histology in patients with excessive iron accumulation combined with compensated liver cirrhosis of different etiology. CONCLUSION: Excessive accumulation of body iron in liver cirrhosis is an important predictor of liver failure and avail-able data suggest that it can be considered as target for adju-vant therapy in this condition.
文摘AIM: The pathogenesis of occurrence of liver inflammation and fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is not completely understood. Other than insulin resistance, iron abnormalities have been thought to be one of the triggering factors. Therefore, our aim was to study the role of iron abnormalities and HFE gene mutations in patients with NASH. METHODS: Thirty-one patients of NASH diagnosed on the basis of clinical examination biochemistry, ultrasonography and liver biopsy (n = 14) were included in the study. Serum iron parameters (n = 23) (iron, ferritin, total iron-binding capacity and transferrin saturation), Perls' iron staining on liver biopsies (n = 14) and HFE gene mutations (C282Y and H63D) (n = 16) were studied in these patients. The association between iron staining, necroinflammatory activity and fibrosis stage on liver biopsies was also determined. RESULTS: Elevated serum iron, ferritin and transferrin saturation above 55% were observed in 4.3% of patients. On histology, 71% of the patients had negative iron staining, 21.4% had 1+ staining, 7.2% had 2+ staining and none had 3+ or 4+ staining. There was no association between the degree of iron staining and necroinflammatory activity (P=0.55) and fibrosis stage (P= 0.09) on histology. None of the patients had C282Y HFE gene mutation and four patients (25%) were found to be heterozygotes for H63D gene mutation. CONCLUSION: Our study does not favor iron overload and HFE gene mutations as major factors in the pathogenesis of NASH in Asian Indians.
文摘The discovery of the natriuretic peptide system in the early 1980s aroused great interest among clinical cardiologists. The heart was not a mechanical pump alone, but also an endocrine organ that had powerful effects on blood circulation. Natriuretic peptides caused both natriuresis and diuresis, and they responded to a volume overload which caused either stretch or pressure on the heart. As a result, the findings led to the conclusion that the human body had a hormone with effects similar to those of a drug which treats high blood pressure. Later, it became evident that the volume contraction was fortified by extrarenal plasma shift. Here, a hypothesis is presented in which the role of natriuretic peptides is to regulate oxygen transport as the volume contraction leads to hemoconcentration with an increased oxygen-carrying capacity. Wall stress, either chemical or mechanical, changes the oxygen gradient of the myocardium and affects the diffusion of oxygen within a myocyte. In support of this hypothesis, hypoxia-response elements have been found in both the atrial natriuretic peptide and the brain natriuretic peptide genes.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40902086)
文摘The analysis of slope earthquake stability is one of the most important research subjects in geotechnical engineering and earthquake engineering.Two different concepts of slope earthquake stability are put forward:strength reserve stability and dynamic overloading stability.The first concept of slope earthquake stability has been widely accepted,and relative analysis methods are also well de-veloped;the second one,however,is seldom mentioned until now,and the failure criterion and the analysis method based on this concept are yet to be explored.What are researched are just the failure criterion and the analysis method of dynamic overloading earthquake stability.The criterion of critical earthquake peak acceleration for the dynamic overloading stability of a slope and its analysis method,the load increasing method(LIM),are put forward.The dynamic overloading earthquake stability of a loess slope at Changshougou(长寿沟) in Baoji(宝鸡) City,Shaanxi(陕西) Province,China,is analyzed with LIM.The analysis result reveals that the dynamic overloading earthquake stability of the slope is quite high to the action of the earthquake ground motion,with exceeding probability of 10% in the next 50 years.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,Nos.82104158(to XT),31800887(to LY),31972902(to LY),82001422(to YL)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation,No.2020M683750(to LY)partially by Young Talent Fund of University Association for Science and Technology in Shaanxi Province of China,No.20200307(to LY).
文摘β-Sitosterol is a type of phytosterol that occurs naturally in plants.Previous studies have shown that it has anti-oxidant,anti-hyperlipidemic,anti-inflammatory,immunomodulatory,and anti-tumor effects,but it is unknown whetherβ-sitosterol treatment reduces the effects of ischemic stroke.Here we found that,in a mouse model of ischemic stroke induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion,β-sitosterol reduced the volume of cerebral infarction and brain edema,reduced neuronal apoptosis in brain tissue,and alleviated neurological dysfunction;moreover,β-sitosterol increased the activity of oxygen-and glucose-deprived cerebral cortex neurons and reduced apoptosis.Further investigation showed that the neuroprotective effects ofβ-sitosterol may be related to inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress caused by intracellular cholesterol accumulation after ischemic stroke.In addition,β-sitosterol showed high affinity for NPC1L1,a key transporter of cholesterol,and antagonized its activity.In conclusion,β-sitosterol may help treat ischemic stroke by inhibiting neuronal intracellular cholesterol overload/endoplasmic reticulum stress/apoptosis signaling pathways.
文摘Aim: To observe effects of angiotensin (Ang) II receptor antagonist (ATI) irbesartan and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor perindopril on rat myocardium calcineurin expression and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase activity in the model of pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy. Methods: Forty male adult Sprague Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups One group was treated by sham operation; four groups were myocardium hypertrophy cases caused by banding aortic above renal artery. Drugs were given one week after operation. Group 1: sham group, rats (n=8) were gavaged with normal saline 2 ml/(kg·d) (ig); Group 2: control group, rats (n=8) were treated with normal saline 2 ml/(kg·d) (ig); Group 3: rats (n=8) were given perindopril 2 mg/(kg·d) (ig); Group 4: rats (n=8) were treated with irbesartan 20 mg/(kg·d) (ig); Group 5: rats (n=8) were given irbesartan 20 mg/(kg·d) plus perindopril 2 mg/(kg·d) (ig). Morphometric determination, calcineurin expression and sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase activity were done at the end of 6 week of drug intervention. Expression of calcineurin in myocardium was detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Left ventricular mass index (LVMI), transverse diameter of myocardial cell (TDM), calcineurin activity were remarkably decreased after drug intervention and this decrease was most remarkable in the combination drug therapy group. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase activity was increased after drug intervention, especially in the combined drug therapy group. Calcineurin expression in myocardium was remarkably decreased after drug intervention. LVMI was positively correlated with TDM and calcineurin, negatively correlated with sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase. Conclusion: These data suggest that irbesartan and perindopril inhibit cardiac hypertrophy through the increased activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca^2+-ATPase and decreased expression of calcineurin. Their combination had better effects on regressing of ventricular hypertrophy.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(62003354).
文摘Anti-jamming solutions based on antenna arrays enhance the anti-jamming ability and the robustness of global navigation satellite system(GNSS)receiver remarkably.However,the performance of the receiver will deteriorate significantly in the overloaded interferences scenario.We define the overloaded interferences scenario as where the number of interferences is more than or equal to the number of antenna arrays elements.In this paper,the effect mechanism of interferences with different incident directions is found by studying the anti-jamming performance of the adaptive space filter.The theoretical analysis and conclusions,which are first validated through numerical examples,reveal the relationships between the optimal weight vector and the eigenvectors of the input signal autocorrelation matrix,the relationships between the interference cancellation ratio(ICR),the signal to interference and noise power ratio(SINR)of the adaptive space filter output and the number of interferences,the eigenvalues of the input signal autocorrelation matrix.In addition,two simulation experiments are utilized to further corroborate the theoretical findings through soft anti-jamming receiver.The simulation results match well with the theoretical analysis results,thus validating the effect mechanism of overloaded interferences.The simulation results show that,for a four elements circular array,the performance difference is up to 19 dB with different incident directions of interferences.Anti-jamming performance evaluation and jamming deployment optimization can obtain more accurate and efficient results by using the conclusions.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China (60674 043)
文摘This article analyzes the problem about the missile overload requirement in a homing terminal guidance under various engagement scenarios. An augmented proportional navigation guidance (APNG) model is introduced on the basis of linear kinematics. To analyze the peak-to-peak performance of the terminal guidance system, a new finite time L1 performance measure for a linear time-varying (LTV) continuous system is proposed. Then, according to the idea of the adjoint system, a novel method for computing the L1 norm of a linear continuous system is first derived. Within the finite time L1 framework, the quantitative relation between the guidance loop dynamics and the maximum missile-target maneuver ratio is offered. This relation is expressed in the form of graphs and formulas that can be used to synthesize some of the major subsystem specifications for the missile guidance system. The illustrative examples show that a significant performance improvement is achieved with the proposed guidance loop dynamics.