An integrated method of flammable cloud size prediction for offshore platforms

Zhang Bin,Zhang Jinnan,Yu Jiahang,Wang Boqiao,Li Zhuoran,Xia Yuanchen,Chen Li 대한조선학회 2021 International Journal of Naval Architecture and Oc Vol.13 No.1

Response Surface Method (RSM) has been widely used for flammable cloud size prediction as it can reduce computational intensity for further Explosion Risk Analysis (ERA) especially during the early design phase of offshore platforms. However, RSM encounters the overfitting problem under very limited simulations. In order to overcome the disadvantage of RSM, Bayesian Regularization Artificial Neural (BRANN)-based model has been recently developed and its robustness and efficiency have been widely verified. However, for ERA during the early design phase, there seems to be room to further reduce the computational intensity while ensuring the model's acceptable accuracy. This study aims to develop an integrated method, namely the combination of Center Composite Design (CCD) method with Bayesian Regularization Artificial Neural Network (BRANN), for flammable cloud size prediction. A case study with constant and transient leakages is conducted to illustrate the feasibility and advantage of this hybrid method. Additionally, the performance of CCD-BRANN is compared with that of RSM. It is concluded that the newly developed hybrid method is more robust and computational efficient for ERAs during early design phase.

MiR-26a promotes apoptosis of porcine granulosa cells by targeting the 3β-hydroxysteroid-Δ24-reductase gene

Zhang, Xiaodong,Tao, Qiangqiang,Shang, Jinnan,Xu, Yiliang,Zhang, Liang,Ma, Yingchun,Zhu, Weihua,Yang, Min,Ding, Yueyun,Yin, Zongjun Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2020 Animal Bioscience Vol.33 No.4

Objective: Apoptosis of ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) affects mammalian follicular development and fecundity. This study aimed to explore the regulatory relationship between microRNA-26a (miR-26a) and the 3β-hydroxysteroid-Δ24-reductase gene (DHCR24) gene in porcine follicular granular cells (pGCs), and to provide empirical data for the development of methods to improve the reproductive capacity of pigs. Methods: The pGCs were transfected with miR-26a mimic, miR-26a inhibitor and DHCR24-siRNA in vitro. The cell apoptosis rate of pGCs was detected by the flow cytometry. The secretion levels of estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P) in pGCs were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Double luciferase validation system was used to detect the binding sites between miR-26a and DHCR24 3'-UTR region. Qualitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to verify the DHCR24 mRNA and protein expression in pGCs, respectively, after transfecting with miR-26a mimic and miR-26a inhibitor. Results: Results showed that enhancement of miR-26a promoted apoptosis, and inhibited E2 and P secretion in pGCs. Meanwhile, inhibition of DHCR24 also upregulated the Caspase-3 expression, reduced the BCL-2 expression, promoted pGCs apoptosis, and inhibited E2 and P secretion in pGCs. There were the binding sites of miR-26a located within DHCR24 3'-UTR. Up-regulation of miR-26a inhibited DHCR24 mRNA and protein expression in pGCs. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that miR-26a can promote cell apoptosis and inhibit E2 and P secretion by inhibiting the expression of DHCR24 in pGCs.

Experimental study on the combined effects of obstacles and local water mist on gas explosion for maritime safety

Zhang Bin,Li Zhuoran,Xia Yuanchen,Shi Jihao,Zhang Jinnan,Wang Boqiao,Yu Jiahang,Qu Yanxu,Chen Li,Lin Yejin,Wu Wanqing 대한조선학회 2022 International Journal of Naval Architecture and Oc Vol.14 No.1

A variety of experimental configurations including different water mist obstacles, are used to investigate the combined effects of obstacles and water mist upon the gas explosion. The results demonstrate the 8 mm water mist can significantly inhibit the deflagration, while both 45 mm and 80 mm water mists exhibit the opposite effect under all the locally distributed positions of water spray nozzle without obstacles inside the vessel. When considering the obstacles, the 45 mm water mist starts to mitigate the deflagration and its mitigation effect is more significant than that induced by the 8 mm water mist. What's more, the 80 mm water mist can slow down the flame propagation speed while it would still lead to the gas explosion. Additionally, there remains unchanged about the effect of locally spraying 8 mm water mist upon deflagration at the initial stage of flame development as varying the position of obstacles, while the effects of mitigating deflagration by 45 mm and 80 mm water mist are decreased. The results will make contributions to design the arrangement of equipment and water mist configuration on the offshore platform or NG-fueled ship's engine room so as to mitigate the gas explosion accident.

Relationship among porcine lncRNA TCONS_00010987, miR-323, and leptin receptor based on dual luciferase reporter gene assays and expression patterns

Ding, Yueyun,Qian, Li,Wang, Li,Wu, Chaodong,Li, DengTao,Zhang, Xiaodong,Yin, Zongjun,Wang, Yuanlang,Zhang, Wei,Wu, Xudong,Ding, Jian,Yang, Min,Zhang, Liang,Shang, Jinnan,Wang, Chonglong,Gao, Yafei Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2020 Animal Bioscience Vol.33 No.2

Objective: Considering the physiological and clinical importance of leptin receptor (LEPR) in regulating obesity and the fact that porcine LEPR expression is not known to be controlled by lncRNAs and miRNAs, we aim to characterize this gene as a potential target of SSC-miR-323 and the lncRNA TCONS_00010987. Methods: Bioinformatics analyses revealed that lncRNA TCONS_00010987 and LEPR have SSC-miR-323-binding sites and that LEPR might be a target of lncRNA TCONS_00010987 based on cis prediction. Wild-type and mutant TCONS_00010987-target sequence fragments and wild-type and mutant LEPR 3'-UTR fragments were generated and cloned into pmiRRB-REPORT^TM-Control vectors to construct respective recombinant plasmids. HEK293T cells were co-transfected with the SSC-miR-323 mimics or a negative control with constructs harboring the corresponding binding sites and relative luciferase activities were determined. Tissue expression patterns of lncRNA TCONS_00010987, SSC-miR-323, and LEPR in Anqing six-end-white (AQ, the obese breed) and Large White (LW, the lean breed) pigs were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction; backfat expression of LEPR protein was detected by western blotting. Results: Target gene fragments were successfully cloned, and the four recombinant vectors were constructed. Compared to the negative control, SSC-miR-323 mimics significantly inhibited luciferase activity from the wild-type TCONS_00010987-target sequence and wild-type LEPR-3'-UTR (p<0.01 for both) but not from the mutant TCONS_00010987-target sequence and mutant LEPR-3'-UTR (p>0.05 for both). Backfat expression levels of TCONS_00010987 and LEPR in AQ pigs were significantly higher than those in LW pigs (p<0.01), whereas levels of SSC-miR-323 in AQ pigs were significantly lower than those in LW pigs (p<0.05). LEPR protein levels in the backfat tissues of AQ pigs were markedly higher than those in LW pigs (p<0.01). Conclusion: LEPR is a potential target of SSC-miR-323, and TCONS_00010987 might act as a sponge for SSC-miR-323 to regulate LEPR expression.

Improved Delay-dependent Stability Criteria for Networked Control System with Two Additive Input Delays

Daixi Liao,Shouming Zhong,Jinnan Luo,Xiaojun Zhang,Yongbin Yu,Qishui Zhong 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2019 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.17 No.9

This paper is concerned with stability criteria of networked control system with two additive time-varying delay components. Firstly, by separating the whole delay interval into subintervals and using a new inequality in combination with convex polyhedron method, a less conservative criterion is proposed and an approach of stabilization controller design is given based on the obtained criterion. Secondly, a congruent condition and an extended condition with the same allowable delay upper bound are respectively deduced by using two different inequalities. Finally, some numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained method.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Periplaneta brunnea (Blattodea: Blattidae) and phylogenetic analyses within Blattodea

Rongyan Gong,Xin Guo,Jinnan Ma,Xuhao Song,Yongmei Shen,Funeng Geng,Megan Price,Xiuyue Zhang,Bisong Yue 한국응용곤충학회 2018 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.21 No.3

The complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Periplaneta brunnea was sequenced in this study and used to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationship of Blattodea. The circular mitogenome was 15,604 bp long and exhibited typical gene organization and order, consistent with other sequenced Periplaneta mitogenomes. The initiation codon of the P. brunnea COX1 gene was unusual in that no typical ATN or TTG start codon was found. The two longest intergenic spacer sequences found in the P. brunnea mitogenome were 21 and 17 bp long. Twenty-one base spacer had a 4 bp motif (TATT) between tRNA-Glu and tRNA-Met that conservatively displayed in 9 sequenced blattarian mitogenomes. The second spacer was between tRNA-Ser (UCN) and NAD1 containing a 7 bp motif (WACTTAA) that was highly conserved in 14 blattarian mitogenomes. The control region showed a relatively fixed motif present in 6 Blattidae mitogenomes, with a big stem-loop structure. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using site-homogeneous models based on 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) and two RNA genes. The trees derived from Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood analyses and recovered a relatively stable relationship among major lineages except for the position of Polyphagidae and inter-family relationships of Blaberidae. Analyses supported the monophyly of Blattidae, Blaberidae, Blattellidae, Polyphagidae, Dictyoptera, and the paraphyly of Blattaria. We also found Mantodea was the sister clade to (Blattaria+Isoptera), being the basal position of Dictyoptera in all topologies. Meanwhile, our results also consistently supported that Isoptera should be clustered with Blattaria of Blattodea.