• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.135-150
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• 2015

Large concrete structures are prone to cracks and damages over time from human usage, weathers, and other environmental attacks such as flood, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The health of the concrete structures should be monitored regularly to ensure safety. A reliable method of real time communications can facilitate more frequent structural health monitoring (SHM) updates from hard to reach positions, enabling crack detections of embedded concrete structures as they occur to avoid catastrophic failures. By implementing an unconventional mode of communication that utilizes guided stress waves traveling along the concrete structure itself, we may be able to free structural health monitoring from costly (re-)installation of communication wires. In stress-wave communications, piezoelectric transducers can act as actuators and sensors to send and receive modulated signals carrying concrete status information. The new generation of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) based smart aggregates cause multipath propagation in the homogeneous concrete channel, which presents both an opportunity and a challenge for multiple sensors communication. We propose a time reversal based pulse position modulation (TR-PPM) communication for stress wave communication within the concrete structure to combat multipath channel dispersion. Experimental results demonstrate successful transmission and recovery of TR-PPM using stress waves. Compared with PPM, we can achieve higher data rate and longer link distance via TR-PPM. Furthermore, TR-PPM remains effective under low signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio. This work also lays the foundation for implementing multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) stress wave communication networks in concrete channels.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.6 no.5_6
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• pp.731-748
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• 2010

Impact detection and health monitoring are very important tasks for civil infrastructures, such as bridges. Piezoceramic based transducers are widely researched for these tasks due to the piezoceramic material's inherent advantages of dual sensing and actuation ability, which enables the active sensing method for structural health monitoring with a network of piezoceramic transducers. Wireless sensor networks, which are easy for deployment, have great potential in health monitoring systems for large civil infrastructures to identify early-age damages. However, most commercial wireless sensor networks are general purpose and may not be optimized for a network of piezoceramic based transducers. Wireless networks of piezoceramic transducers for active sensing have special requirements, such as relatively high sampling rate (at a few-thousand Hz), incorporation of an amplifier for the piezoceramic element for actuation, and low energy consumption for actuation. In this paper, a wireless network is specially designed for piezoceramic transducers to implement impact detection and active sensing for structural health monitoring. A power efficient embedded system is designed to form the wireless sensor network that is capable of high sampling rate. A 32 bit RISC wireless microcontroller is chosen as the main processor. Detailed design of the hardware system and software system of the wireless sensor network is presented in this paper. To verify the functionality of the wireless sensor network, it is deployed on a two-story concrete frame with embedded piezoceramic transducers, and the active sensing property of piezoceramic material is used to detect the damage in the structure. Experimental results show that the wireless sensor network can effectively implement active sensing and impact detection with high sampling rate while maintaining low power consumption by performing offline data processing and minimizing wireless communication.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.173-194
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• 2014

Laboratory and field data showed that deep mixed (DM) columns accelerated the rate of consolidation of the soft foundations. Most analyses of consolidation of DM column-improved foundations so far have been based on the elastic theory. In reality, the DM columns may yield due to the stress concentration from the soft soil and its limited strength. The influence of column yielding on the degree of consolidation of the soft foundation improved by DM columns has not been well investigated. A three-dimensional mechanically and hydraulically-coupled numerical method was adopted in this study to investigate the degree of consolidation of the DM column foundation considering column yielding. A unit cell model was used, in which the soil was modeled as a linearly elastic material. For a comparison purpose, the DM column was modeled as an elastic or elastic-plastic material. This study examined the aspects of stress transfer, settlement, and degree of consolidation of the foundations without or with the consideration of the yielding of the DM column. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the influence of the column yielding on the stress concentration ratio, settlement, and average degree of consolidation of the DM column foundation. The stress concentration ratio increased and then decreased to reach a constant value with the increase of the column modulus and time. A simplified method was proposed to calculate the maximum stress concentration ratios under undrained and drained conditions considering the column yielding. The simplified method based on a composite foundation concept could conservatively estimate the consolidation settlement. An increase of the column modulus, area replacement ratio, and/or column permeability increased the rate of consolidation.

• Current Optics and Photonics
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.195-202
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• 2018

A Scanning Rayleigh Doppler lidar for wind profiling based on a non-polarized beam splitter cube optically contacted FPI is developed for wind measurement from high troposphere to low stratosphere in 5-35 km. Non-polarized beam splitter cube optically contacted to the FPI are used for a stable optical receiver. Zero Doppler shift correction is used to correct for laser or FPI frequency jitter and drift and the timing sequence is designed. Stability of the receiver for Doppler shift discrimination is validated by measuring the transmissions of FPI in different days and analyzed the response functions. The maximal relative wind deviation due to the stability of the optical receiver is about 4.1% and the standard deviation of wind velocity is 1.6% due to the stability. Wind measurement comparison experiments were carried out in Jiuquan ($39.741^{\circ}N$, $98.495^{\circ}E$), Gansu province of China in 2015, showing good agreement with radiosonde result data. Continuous wind field observation was performed from October 16th to November 12th and semi-continuous wind field of 19 nights are presented.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.27-32
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• 2013

Based on the dispersive feature of the dielectric function of noble metals and the wave vector conservation in physics, both the plasma effect and the complex refractive index, which are profoundly correlated to the complex dielectric function and permeability, have been studied and analyzed. The condition to induce a bulk or a surface plasma in the visible region will not be satisfied, and there will be one solution for the real and the imaginary parts of the refractive index, restricting it only to region I of the complex plane. The results given in this work will aid in understanding the properties of light transmission at the metal/dielectric interface as characterized by the law of refraction in nature.

• BMB Reports
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• v.52 no.11
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• pp.641-646
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• 2019

The Ron proto-oncogene is a human receptor for macrophage-stimulating protein (MSP). The exclusion of exon 11 in alternative splicing generates ${\Delta}RON$ protein that is constitutively activated. Heterogenous ribonucleaoprotein (hnRNP) $C_1/C_2$ is one of the most abundant proteins in cells. In this manuscript, we showed that both hnRNP $C_1$ and $C_2$ promoted exon 11 inclusion of Ron pre-mRNA and that hnRNP $C_1$ and hnRNP $C_2$ functioned independently but not cooperatively. Moreover, hnRNP $C_1$ stimulated exon 11 splicing through intron 10 activation but not through intron 11 splicing. Furthermore, we showed that, whereas the RRM domain was required for hnRNP $C_1$ function, the Asp/Glu domain was not. In conclusion, hnRNP $C_1/C_2$ promoted exon 11 splicing independently by stimulating intron 10 splicing through RRM but not through the Asp/Glu domain.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.15 no.8
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• pp.2900-2922
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• 2021

In this paper, the power spectral density(PSD) for Multilevel Minimum Shift Keyed signal with modulation index h = 1/2 (M-ary MSK) are derived using the mathematical method of the Markov Chain model. At first, according to an essential requirement of the phase continuity characteristics of MSK signals, a complete model of the whole process of signal generation is built. Then, the derivations for autocorrelation functions are carried out precisely. After that, we verified the correctness and accuracy of the theoretical derivation by comparing the derived results with numerical simulations using MATLAB. We also divided the spectrum into four components according to the derivation. By analyzing these figures in the graphic, each component determines the characteristics of the spectrum. It is vital for enhanced spectral characteristics. To more visually represent the energy concentration of the main flap and the roll-down speed of the side flap, the specific out-of-band power of M-ary MSK is given. OMLCD(Optimum Maximum Likelihood Coherent Detection) of M-ary MSK is adopted to compare the signal received with prepared in advance in a code element T to go for the best. And M-ary MSK BER(Bit Error Rate) is compared with the same ary PSK (Phase Shift Keying) with M=2,4,6,8. The results show the detection method could improve performance by increasing the length of L(memory inherent) in the phase continuity.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.1540-1555
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• 2021

The plate-type fuel assembly adopted in nuclear research reactor suffers from complicated effect induced by non-uniform irradiation, which might affect its stress conditions, mechanical behavior and thermal-hydraulic performance. A reliable numerical method is of great importance to reveal the complex evolution of mechanical deformation, flow redistribution and temperature field for the plate-type fuel assembly under non-uniform irradiation. This paper is the first part of a two-part study developing the numerical methodology for the thermal-fluid-structure coupling behaviors of plate-type fuel assembly under irradiation. In this paper, the thermal-fluid-structure coupling methodology has been developed for plate-type fuel assembly under non-uniform irradiation condition by exchanging thermal-hydraulic and mechanical deformation parameters between Finite Element Model (FEM) software and Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software with Mesh-based parallel Code Coupling Interface (MpCCI), which has been validated with experimental results. Based on the established methodology, the effects of non-uniform irradiation and fluid were discussed, which demonstrated that the maximum mechanical deformation with irradiation was dozens of times larger than that without irradiation and the hydraulic load on fuel plates due to differential pressure played a dominant role in the mechanical deformation.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.73.1-73.11
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• 2021

Background: Feline calicivirus (FCV) is a common pathogen of felids, and FCV vaccination is regularly practiced. The genetic variability and antigenic diversity of FCV hinder the effective control and prevention of infection by vaccination. Improved knowledge of the epidemiological characteristics of FCV should assist in the development of more effective vaccines. Objectives: This study aims to determine the prevalence of FCV in a population of cats with FCV-suspected clinical signs in Hangzhou and to demonstrate the antigenic and genetic relationships between vaccine status and representative isolated FCV strains. Methods: Cats (n = 516) from Hangzhou were investigated between 2018 and 2020. The association between risk factors and FCV infection was assessed. Phylogenetic analyses based on a capsid coding sequence were performed to identify the genetic relationships between strains. In vitro virus neutralization tests were used to assess antibody levels against isolated FCV strains in client-owned cats. Results: The FCV-positive rate of the examined cats was 43.0%. Risk factors significantly associated with FCV infection were vaccination status and oral symptoms. Phylogenetic analysis revealed a radial phylogeny with no evidence of temporal or countrywide clusters. There was a significant difference in the distribution of serum antibody titers between vaccinated and unvaccinated cats. Conclusions: This study revealed a high prevalence and genetic diversity of FCV in Hangzhou. The results indicate that the efficacy of FCV vaccination is unsatisfactory. More comprehensive and refined vaccination protocols are an urgent and unmet need.

• Journal of Breast Cancer
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.442-446
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• 2018

Purpose: The definition of nodal pathologic complete response (pCR) after a neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) just included the evaluation of axillary lymph node (ALN) without internal mammary lymph node. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of internal mammary-sentinel lymph node biopsy (IM-SLNB) in patients with breast cancer who underwent NAC. Methods: From November 2011 to 2017, 179 patients with primary breast cancer who underwent operation after NAC were included in this study. All patients received radiotracer injection with modified injection technology. IM-SLNB would be performed on patients with internal mammary sentinel lymph node (IMSLN) visualization. Results: Among the 158 patients with cN+ disease, the rate of nodal pCR was 36.1% (57/158). Among the 179 patients, the visualization rate of IMSLN was 31.8% (57/179) and was 12.3% (7/57) and 87.7% (50/57) among those with $cN_0$ and cN+ disease, respectively. Furthermore, the detection rate of IMSLN was 31.3% (56/179). The success rate of IM-SLNB was 98.2% (56/57). The IMSLN metastasis rate was 7.1% (4/56), and all of them were accompanied by ALN metastasis. The number of positive ALNs in patients with IMSLN metastasis was 3, 6, 8, and 9. The pathology nodal stage had been changed from $pN_1/pN_2$ to $pN_{3b}$. The pathology stage had been changed from IIA/IIIA to IIIC. Conclusion: Patients with visualization of IMSLN should perform IM-SLNB after NAC, especially for patients with cN+ disease, in order to complete lymph nodal staging. IM-SLNB could further improve the definition of nodal pCR and guide the internal mammary node irradiation.