Performance updating of concrete bridges using proactive health monitoring methods

Uncertainties associated with modelling of deteriorating bridges strongly affect management decisions, such as inspection, maintenance and repair actions. These uncertainties can be reduced by the effective use of health monitoring systems, through which information regarding in situ performance can be incorporated in the management of bridges.The objectives of this paper are twofold; first, an improved chloride induced deterioration model for concrete bridges is proposed that can quantify degradation in performance soon after chlorides are deposited on the bridge, rather than when initiation of corrosion at the reinforcement level takes place. As a result, the implications of introducing proactive health monitoring can be assessed using probabilistic durability criteria. Thus, the second objective of the paper is to present a methodology for performance updating of deteriorating concrete bridges fitted with a proactive health monitoring system.This methodology is illustrated via a simple example of a typical bridge element, such as a beam or a part of a slab. The results highlight the benefits from introducing ‘smart’ technology in managing bridges subject to deterioration, and quantify the reduction in uncertainties and their subsequent effect on predictions of future bridge performance.     

Peripheral mRNA Expression and Prognostic Significance of Emotional Stress Biomarkers in Metastatic Breast Cancer Patients

Emotional stress is believed to be associated with increased tumor progression. Stress-induced epigenetic modifications can contribute to the severity of disease and poor prognosis in cancer patients. The current study aimed to investigate the expression profiles along with the prognostic significance of psychological stress-related genes in metastatic breast cancer patients, to rationalize the molecular link between emotional stress and cancer progression. We profiled the expression of selected stress-associated genes (5-HTT, NR3C1, OXTR, and FKBP5) in breast cancer including the stress evaluation of all participants using the Questionnaire on Distress in Cancer Patients–short form (QSC-R10). A survival database, the Kaplan–Meier Plotter, was used to explore the prognostic significance of these genes in breast cancer. Our results showed relatively low expressions of 5-HTT (p = 0.02) and OXTR (p = 0.0387) in metastatic breast cancer patients as compared to the non-metastatic group of patients. The expression of NR3C1 was low in tumor grade III as compared to grade II (p = 0.04). Additionally, the expression of NR3C1 was significantly higher in patients with positive estrogen receptor status. However, no significant difference was found regarding FKBP5 expression in breast cancer. The results suggest a potential implication of these genes in breast cancer pathology and prognosis.     

Therapeutic Effects of Saponins for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer by Ameliorating Inflammation and Angiogenesis and Inducing Antioxidant and Apoptotic Effects in Human Cells

Saponins are natural compounds found in plants and have a diverse range of applications. However, the therapeutic potential of saponins in regulating cytotoxicity, angiogenesis, and inflammation in mammalian cells is yet to be explored. Here, we investigated the therapeutic effects of saponins from green tea by exploring the cytotoxic effects of saponins by inducing apoptosis in the human cancer cell lines hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG2) and colorectal adenocarcinoma (HT29). The anti-angiogenesis effect of saponins was also investigated in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). We explored the ability of saponins to attenuate inflammation in a dose-dependent manner in normal human cells. It was found that saponins exhibit cytotoxic effects in cancer cells and not in normal cells at the same concentration. Cytotoxicity was measured by inducing apoptosis by enhancing caspase-3 (cas-3) activation and B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2)-associated X protein (BAX) gene expression and suppressing the antiapoptotic protein, Bcl-2. The inhibition of HUVEC proliferation was due to the suppression of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (AKT), vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 (VEGFR-2), and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB). We also observed the antioxidant potential of green tea-derived saponins against free radicals in reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced cells. Here we observed that the saponins exhibited free radical scavenging activities and activated nuclear factorerythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF-2) leading to the upregulation of antioxidant-related genes in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK293) cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the anti-inflammatory effects were due to the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in HEK293 cells. The significance of the work is we are the first to report on the anti-cancer effects of saponins based on the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-angiogenesis, and apoptosis induction properties. In conclusion, green tea-derived saponins could be effective therapeutics for the treatment of cancer.     

Effect of kappa distribution on the damping rate of the obliquely propagating magnetosonic mode

Data from spacecrafts suggest that space plasma has an abundance of suprathermal particles which are controlled by the spectral index κ when modeled on kappa particle velocity distribution. In this paper, considering homogeneous plasma, the effect of integer values of κ on the damping rate of an obliquely propagating magnetosonic(MS) wave is studied. The frequency of the MS wave is assumed to be less than ion cyclotron frequency, i.e.,iw(28)w. Under this assumption, the dispersion relation is investigated both numerically and analytically, and it is found that the real frequency of the wave is not a sensitive function of κ, but the imaginary part of the frequency is. It is also shown that for those values of κ where a large number of resonant particles participate in wave–particle interaction, the wave is heavily damped, as expected. The possible application of the results to the solar wind is discussed.     

Social media in conflicts and crises

ABSTRACT

The growing importance of social media in conflicts and crises is accompanied by an ever-increasing research interest in the crisis informatics field in order to identify potential benefits and develop measures against the technology’s abuse. This special issue sets out to give an overview of current research on the use of social media in conflicts and crises. In doing so, it focuses on both good and malicious aspects of social media and includes a variety of papers of conceptual, theoretical and empirical nature. In six sections, the special issue presents an overview of the field, analytical methods, technical challenges, current advancements and the accepted papers before concluding. Specific topics range from cyber deception over information trustworthiness to mining and near-real-time processing of social media data.     

M2 macrophage-targeted iron oxide nanoparticles for magnetic resonance image-guided magnetic hyperthermia therapy

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) play an important role in tumor development and progression.In particular,M2 TAMs can promote tumor growth by facilitating tumor progression and malignant behav-iors.Selectively targeted elimination of M2 TAMs to inhibit tumor progression is of great significance for cancer treatment.Iron oxide nanoparticles based magnetic hyperthermia therapy (MHT) is a classical approach to destroy tumor tissue with deep penetration depth.In this study,we developed a typical M2 macrophage-targeted peptide (M2pep) functionalized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle(SPIO) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided MHT in an orthotopic breast cancer mouse model,The obtained multifunctional SPIO-M2pep with a hydrodynamic diameter of 20 nm showed efficient targeting capability,high transverse relaxivity (149 mM-1 s-1) and satisfactory magnetic hyperthermia performance in vitro.In vivo studies demonstrated that the SPIO-M2pep based MRI can monitor the distri-bution of nanoparticles in tumor and indicate the suitable timing for MHT.The M2 macrophage-targeted MHT significantly reduced the tumor volume and the population of pro-tumoral M2 TAMs in tumor.In addition,the SPIO-M2pep based MHT can remodel the tumor immune microenvironment (TIME).The multifunctional SPIO-M2pep with M2 macrophage-targeting ability,high magnetic hyperthermia effi-ciency,MR imaging capability and effective role in remodeling the TIME hold great potential to improve clinical cancer therapy outcomes.     

Design and testing of varying magnetic field effect in a pulsatility blood flow of viscoelastic material: Flexibility analysis in a curved channel

This paper attempts to investigate the peristaltic mechanism of Williamson fluid in a pipe flow under the influence of variable radial magnetic field along with slip effects and compliant walls. Viscous dissipation and thermophoresis effects are also considered. The solutions of coupled nonlinear ordinary differential equations are obtained using the perturbation technique and results are graphically represented. The effects on heat, mass, velocity, and heat transfer coefficient are studied under various pertinent parameters. The outcomes of the present model can be applied in various fields of biomedical engineering where smart peristaltic pumps can be engineered to transport the biological fluids without any contamination. The scope of the present article is valuable in explaining the blood transport dynamics in small vessels while considering the important wall features with chemical reaction characteristics.     

Degradation of methotrexate by UV/peroxymonosulfate: Kinetics,effect of operational parameters and mechanism

Methotrexate (MTX) is one of the most consumed anti-cancer drugs in the pharmaceutical market around the world. The widespread occurrence of MTX in aquatic environment through hospital effluent has attracted increasing concern due to its potential to induce water pollution. In the present study, the degradation of MTX in aqueous medium was investigated by UV-activated peroxymonosulfate (PMS). A significant improvement in degradation rate by increasing UV intensity and PMS concentration while the decrease in degradation efficiency with the increase of solution pH and initial concentration of MTX was observed. The proposed UV/PMS process could achieve more than 90% MTX degradation in 30 min with a good mineralization degree (65%). A pseudofirst order kinetic model was employed and successfully predicted the degradation of MTX. The effect of other operational parameters such as the initial concentration of the targeted compound, dosage of oxidant (PMS), solution pH and UV intensity on the degradation rate were investigated. At the last, the main transform intermediates were identified using LC-MS and possible degradation pathways were proposed. The results show that UV/ PMS can be used as an efficient technology to treat pharmaceuticals such as methotrexate containing water and wastewater.     

CuxNi1-xO nanostructures and their nanocomposites with reduced graphene oxide: Synthesis,characterization, and photocatalytic applications

NiO nanostructure was synthesized using a simple co-precipitation method and was embedded on reduced graphene oxide surface via ultrasonication. Structural investigations were made through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and functional groups were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). XRD analysis revealed the grain size reduction with doping. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the presence of metal-oxygen bond in pristine and doped NiO nanostructure as well as the presence of carbon containing groups. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the particle size decreased when NiO nanostructure was doped with copper. BET surface area was found to increase almost up to 43 m²/g for Cu doped NiO nanostructure/rGO composite. Current-voltage measurements were performed using two probe method. UV–Visible spectroscopic profiles showed the blue and red shift for Cu doped NiO nanostructure and Cu doped NiO Nanostructure/rGO composite respectively. Rate constant for Cu doped NiO nanostructure/rGO composite found to increase 4.4 times than pristine NiO nanostructure.