Experimental Studies on Progressive Collapse Behavior of RC Frame Structures: Advances and Future Needs

Wei?Jian Yi,Fan Yi,Yun Zhou 한국콘크리트학회 2021 International Journal of Concrete Structures and M Vol.15 No.4

In the recent two decades, the progressive collapse of reinforced concrete (RC) frame structures attracted unprecedented research interests in the structural engineering community. Experiments are regarded as an essential method in this field since actual cases can barely provide sufficient and effective data to support rigorous research. In this paper, prevailing experimental assumptions and configurations among over 100 series of experiments are quantitatively revealed by a bibliometric collection based on systematic search in an academic database. Since numerous experiments have been reported on the progressive collapse of RC frame structures, this paper subsequently presents a state-of-the-art review summarizing both experimental consensuses and controversies constituted by three main aspects: (a) static mechanisms, (b) dynamic behavior, and (c) threat-dependent research. The significance of secondary mechanisms, existing problems of dynamic effects, and potential flaws of the threat-independent assumption are discussed in detail with experimental findings. Future needs are emphasized on research targets, correlations between experiments and design, dynamic effects, threat-dependent issues, and retrofitting. These recommendations might help researchers or designers realize a more reliable and realistic progressive collapse design of RC frame structures in the future.

DNA methylation and mRNA expression of COL6A3 in antler mesenchyme of female and male reindeer

Jian‑Cheng Zhai,Ruo‑Bing Han,Sheng‑Nan Wang,Qiang‑Hui Wang,Yan‑Ling Xia,Wei‑Shi Liu,Ya‑Jie Yin,He‑Ping Li 한국유전학회 2019 Genes & Genomics Vol.41 No.9

Backgroud Reindeer is the only deer species that both male and female produce antlers, which provides a particularly interesting case in studying the differences between antlers of the two sexes. Alpha 3(VI) Collagen Gene (COL6A3), forms a microfibrillar network associated with the structural integrity and biomechanical properties, has been found to be one of the differentially expressed genes in antler mesenchyme of female and male reindeer. Objective and Methods The promoter sequence of reindeer COL6A3 gene was obtained using the cloning technology and analyzed by the bioinformatics methods. Bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP) was used to detect the methylation status of the COL6A3 promoter in reindeer antler mesenchyme. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect COL6A3 expression in the antler mesenchyme of female and male reindeer. Results Sequence analysis revealed that the reindeer COL6A3 partial promoter sequence was 983 bp including the possible promoter region at + 105 bp to + 155 bp. Homology and phylogenetic analysis indicated that the COL6A3 promoter of reindeer had the closest genetic distance with Bos taurus, Capra hircus and Ovis aries. BSP results indicated that the methylation level of COL6A3 promoter in the female reindeer antler mesenchyme was significantly higher than in the male. Correlating with increased methylation status, we also found that COL6A3 mRNA expression in female reindeer antler mesenchyme was significantly lower than in the male. Conclusion The higher methylation level of the COL6A3 gene in female reindeer antler mesenchyme coincides with decreased COL6A3 mRNA expression, thereby affecting the transposon silencing mechanism and possibly contributing to apparent differences of antlers in female and male reindeer.

Inhibition of microRNA-214 promotes epithelial mesenchymal transition process and induces interstitial cystitis in postmenopausal women by upregulating Mfn2

Jian-Wei Lv,Wei Wen,Chen Jiang,Qi-Bo Fu,Yin-Jun Gu,Ting-Ting Lv,Zhen-Dong Li,Wei Xue 생화학분자생물학회 2017 Experimental and molecular medicine Vol.49 No.-

Our study aims to investigate the roles that microRNA-214 (miR-214) plays in the epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) process and the development of interstitial cystitis (IC) in postmenopausal women by targeting Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2). IC bladder tissues and adjacent normal bladder tissues were collected from postmenopausal women. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was conducted. The target relationship between miR-214 and Mfn2 was determined by a dual luciferase reporter gene assay. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) were extracted from postmenopausal rats and assigned to the blank, mimics, miR-214 inhibitors, mimics negative control (NC), inhibitors NC, Mfn2 siRNA, miR-214 inhibitors and Mfn2 siRNA groups. Exosomes secreted by transfected ADMSCs were instilled into the bladders of postmenopausal rats. The expression of miR-214 and Mfn2 mRNA and EMT markers was assessed by qRT-PCR and western blotting. It was confirmed that Mfn2 was the target gene of miR-214 in IC. Compared with the normal bladder tissues, miR-214 decreased, but Mfn2 increased in IC bladder tissues. Compared with the blank group, the expression of miR-214 and the expression levels of N-cadherin, Fibronectin, Twist1, Snail and Vimentin mRNA and protein increased, whereas the expression levels of Mfn2, E-cadherin and ZO-1 mRNA and protein decreased in the miR-214 mimics and Mfn2 groups. The expression of MiR-214 and the expression levels of N-cadherin, Fibronectin, Twist1, Snail and Vimentin mRNA and protein decreased, whereas the expression levels of Mfn2, E-cadherin and ZO-1 mRNA and protein increased in the miR-214 inhibitors group. Our findings indicate that the inhibition of miR-214 promotes the EMT process and contributes to bladder wall fibrosis by up-regulating Mfn2, thus leading to the occurrence of IC in postmenopausal women.

Review of the Macrophya regia group (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) from China with the descriptions of two new species

Ze‐Jian Li,Meng-Meng LIU,Meicai Wei,Chao-dong Zhu 한국곤충학회 2018 Entomological Research Vol.48 No.5

The Macrophya regia group is reviewed and five species are recognized from China, among them two new species, M. acutiserrula Li, Liu & Wei sp. nov. and M. frontalis Li, Liu & Zhu sp. nov., and three known species, M. regia Forsius 1930, M. maculoclypeatina Wei et al. 2003, and M. xiaoi Wei et al. 2003. A key to the Chinese species of the Macrophya regia group are provided.

Silencing of Lysyl Oxidase Gene Expression by RNA Interference Suppresses Metastasis of Breast Cancer

Liu, Jian-Lun,Wei, Wei,Tang, Wei,Jiang, Yi,Yang, Hua-Wei,Li, Jing-Tao,Zhou, Xiao Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2012 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.13 No.7

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate possible mechanisms of LOX gene effects on invasion and metastasis of breast cancer cells by RNA interference. Methods: LOX-RNAi-LV was designed, synthesized, and then transfected into a breast cancer cell line (MDA-MB-231). Expression of LOX, MMP-2 and MMP-9 was determined by real-time PCR, and protein expression of LOX by Western blotting. Cell migration and invasiveness were assessed with Transwell chambers. A total of 111 cases of breast cancer tissues, cancer-adjacent normal breast tissues, and 20 cases of benign lesion tissues were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results: Expression of LOX mRNA and protein was suppressed, and the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 was significantly lower in the RNAi group than the control group (P<0.05), after LOX-RNAi-LV was transfection into MDA-MB-231 cells. Migration and invasion abilities were obviously inhibited. The expression of LOX protein in breast cancer, cancer-adjacent normal breast tissues and benign breast tumor were 48.6% (54/111), 26.1% (29/111), 20.0% (4/20), respectively, associations being noted with clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, tumor size and ER, PR, HER2, but not age. LOX protein was positively correlated with MMP-2 and MMP-9. Conclusion: LOX displayed an important role in invasion and metastasis of breast cancer by regulating MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression which probably exerted synergistic effects on the extracellular matrix (ECM).

A New Ambiguity Elimination Method for BSS Block Signals in Time Domain

Wei Zhao,Fengshan Wang,Yuehong Shen,Yuanyuan Wu,Zhigang Yuan,Pengcheng Xu,Pengcheng Xu,Yimin Wei,Wei Jian 보안공학연구지원센터 2015 International Journal of Signal Processing, Image Vol.8 No.11

This paper deals with the ambiguity problem of blind source separation (BSS) in the case where continuously received mixture signals are split in time and processed block by block. Due to the inherent permutation and scaling ambiguities of BSS, tying the separated components at each adjacent time blocks doesn’t recover the original source signals correctly in general. Inspired by the Permutation Method of reconstructing source signal blocks in time domain, a new ambiguity elimination approach is proposed in this paper. This method aims to concatenate the separated components in adjacent blocks by artificially setting contrast blocks for each adjacent time blocks. The core idea of this method is to utilize the associativity between components recovered from contrast blocks and corresponding adjacent blocks. Compared with Permutation Method, the main advantage of this new method consists in the fact that it is much more efficient in terms of separation quality and computational speed. Besides, a tradeoff can be adjusted between separation quality and computational speed by choosing different length of contrast blocks. Real-life experiments are performed to validate the performance of this method on the wireless communication system with two transmitting and receiving antennas.

A Health Management Service with Beacon-Based Identification for Preventive Elderly Care

Jian-Wei Li,Yi-Chun Chang,Min-Xiong Xu,De-Yao Huang 한국정보처리학회 2020 Journal of information processing systems Vol.16 No.3

Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacon is an actively push-to-broadcast electronic signal and can be used for objectidentification. This paper uses such beacon-based identification and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies for theelder health management service system to simplify the user interfaces and steps for preventive elder care. Inthe proposed system, an elder’s family member, caregiver, or medical worker can conveniently and quicklyrecord daily health management information. Besides, through the statistics and analysis of the data on the backend of the system, it is helpful for the elderly to refer to the data of daily care management and futuremanagement trends. Similarly, it is also an essential reference data for system maintenance and the newpreventive health care services development.

Anti-HIV-1 Activity of Lignans from the Fruits of Schisandra rubriflora

Wei-Lie Xiao,Rui-Rui Wang,Wei Zhao,Ren-Rong Tian,Shan-Zhai Shang,Liu-Meng Yang,Jian-Hong Yang,Jian-Xin Pu,Yong-Tang Zheng,Han-Dong Sun 대한약학회 2010 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.33 No.5

This study investigated the 70% aqueous acetone extract of the fruits of Schisandra rubriflora which led to the isolation of eight lignans, including a new isolate, rubrisandrin C (1), and seven known lignans (2-8) . The structure of 1 was established by extensive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy and its absolute stereochemistry was determined by CD spectrum. Compounds 1-5 and 7-8 were evaluated for their anti-HIV-1 activity that showed inhibitory activity on HIV-1IIIB induced syncytium formation with EC50 values in the range of 2.26~20.4 μg/mL. Compounds 1 and 7 exerted their obvious protection of HIV-1IIIB inducted MT-4 host cells lytic effects with a selectivity index of 15.4 and 24.6, respectively.

Chemical Constituents from the Aerial Parts of Isodon coetsa and their Cytotoxicity

Wei Zhao,Jian Xin Pu,Xue Du,Yong Zhao,Fei He,Hai Bo Zhang,Yong Bo Xue,Wei Lie Xiao,Han Dong Sun,Ying Li Wu,Guo Qiang Chen 대한약학회 2011 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.34 No.12

Three new compounds (1-3), including a neolignan, a triterpenoid, and a diterpenoid, together with twenty known compounds (4-23), were isolated from the aerial parts of Isodon coetsa. Their structures and relative configurations were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. Compounds 1, 3, 5-9, 11-13, 16-17, and 19-23 were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against HT-29, BEL-7402, and SK-OV-3 human tumor cell lines. Compound 7 showed significant inhibitory effects on all three types of cells, with IC50 values of 2.52, 3.06, 2.14 μM, respectively.

Seismic Behavior of Low-rise Concrete Shear Wall with Single Layer of Web Reinforcement and Inclined Rebars: Restoring Force Model

Jian-Wei Zhang,Wen-Bin Zheng,Wan-Lin Cao,Hong-Ying Dong,Wan-Di Li 대한토목학회 2019 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.23 No.3

In order to study the restoring force model of low-rise concrete shear wall with single layer of web reinforcement and inclined rebars, a series of specimens were investigated by quasi-static tests. Based on the fitting of experimental data and theoretical analysis, the restoring force model considering four characteristic points (crack point, yield point, peak point and failure point) and degradation of unloading stiffness was established. The hysteretic rule of restoring force model was determined by analyzing characteristic of hysteresis curve for cyclic loading tests. The results show that skeleton curves and hysteresis curves calculated by the restoring force model are in good agreement with the test curves, which can provide reference for the elastic-plastic dynamic analysis of low-rise concrete shear walls with single layer of web reinforcements and inclined rebars. Shaking table tests of two low-rise concrete shear walls were also conducted to investigate dynamic performance and the seismic damage mechanism of low-rise concrete shear wall with single layer of web reinforcement and inclined rebars. Research on dynamic nonlinear simplified model of SAP2000 shows thatthe proposed restoring force model can be used to analyze the elastic and elastic-plastic dynamic response for the low-rise concrete shear wall with single layer of web reinforcement and inclined rebars.