Mosquitoes are an interesting topic due to their medical importance, as they play an active role in the transmission of many pathogens and parasites, acting as vectors for various pathologies that are deadly to humans...Mosquitoes are an interesting topic due to their medical importance, as they play an active role in the transmission of many pathogens and parasites, acting as vectors for various pathologies that are deadly to humans, such as dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, West Nile virus, encephalitis and malaria, among many others that are less common. In terms of morbidity and mortality caused by vector-borne diseases, mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals for humanity and, although they also play a role in the ecosystem as a food source for other organisms, their importance for public health cannot be overlooked. As highly efficient vectors, they put more than three billion people at risk, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions as well as in Europe, since heat waves and flooding are becoming more frequent and severe, and summers are getting longer and warmer, accelerating mosquito development, biting rates, and the incubation of the pathogens within their bodies. Female mosquitoes bite to acquire proteins for the development of their ovaries and eggs and, in the process, acquire pathogens and/or parasites from one vertebrate host and transmit them to another, usually after a short period of replication. Three of their four life stages are lived in still freshwater, so it is crucial to understand their range of action when they reach adulthood and leave the water, in order to plan and implement local prevention measures. A set of georeferenced abundance data collected in mainland Portugal over seven years was linked to cartographed water bodies in a geographic information system to estimate the distances at which Culex pipiens s.l. had a significant presence, with criteria based on the size of the catches. The result allows for an estimate of the fly range of those mosquitoes, which can be used to focus countermeasures.展开更多
The plant-specific family of GRAS transcription factors has been wide implicated in the regulation of transcriptional reprogramming associated with a diversity of biological functions ranging from plant development pr...The plant-specific family of GRAS transcription factors has been wide implicated in the regulation of transcriptional reprogramming associated with a diversity of biological functions ranging from plant development processes to stress responses.Functional analyses of GRAS transcription factors supported by in silico structural and comparative analyses are emerging and clarifying the regulatory networks associated with their biological roles.In this review,a detailed analysis of GRAS proteins’structure and biochemical features as revealed by recent discoveries indicated how these characteristics may impact subcellular location,molecular mechanisms,and function.Nomenclature issues associated with GRAS classification into different subfamilies in diverse plant species even in the presence of robust genomic resources are discussed,in particular how it affects assumptions of biological function.Insights into the mechanisms driving evolution of this gene family and how genetic and epigenetic regulation of GRAS contributes to subfunctionalization are provided.Finally,this review debates challenges and future perspectives on the application of this complex but promising gene family for crop improvement to cope with challenges of environmental transition.展开更多
In recent decades, the intensity of training and equestrian competitions has significantly increased, thus the assessment of the well-being of the equine athlete has become essential in all equestrian modalities. The ...In recent decades, the intensity of training and equestrian competitions has significantly increased, thus the assessment of the well-being of the equine athlete has become essential in all equestrian modalities. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether equine athletes submitted to a vaquejada simulation test (VqST), comprised of three races, presented changes in blood biomarkers related to stress and health status. Fourteen healthy Quarter Horses, used as pull horses in this equestrian modality, were evaluated. Ten animals were submitted to the VqST and the remaining four were used as a control group. Blood samples were collected pre-test (during fast), immediately after, and at 1, 4 and 24 hours of recovery. The assessed blood biomarkers included cortisol, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, iron, urea, creatinine, and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) concentrations and results were analyzed using One Way ANOVA (time) with the SigmaStat 13.0 software. No differences between sample times were detected in both groups (p > 0.05) and no differences were found between groups (p > 0.05). The results suggest that all horses were well conditioned for the level of effort imposed by the three vaquejada races. The adaptation to physical exercise may enable the regulation of the acute response to stress in the tissues involved in the exercises, with no differences being observed in stress and health biomarkers, such as IL-6, IL-1β and cortisol. In conclusion, well-conditioned vaquejada horses exhibit a balanced regulation of biological processes, which contributes an increased athletic longevity and better quality of athletic life.展开更多
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a methodology focused on the centralization and sharing of the project information among all professionals involved, supported on the generation and manipulation of a three-dime...Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a methodology focused on the centralization and sharing of the project information among all professionals involved, supported on the generation and manipulation of a three-dimensional (3D) digital BIM model. This methodology allows a close collaboration between the architect and the structural engineer and an adequate manipulation of the structural BIM model database, on the definition of multitasks. The collaboration allowed between all disciplines, avoid the detection of conflicts and data omission after in the construction place. Two BIM structural design cases were developed, using Revit as the modelling system and Robot as the structural software. Concerning the structural project the interoperability capacity between the software is still a limitation that engineers must be warned of. In the present study, the benefits and limitations identified within the communication and integration of distinct disciplines and on the development of most frequent multitasks normally related with a structural project, were considered.展开更多
This work focuses on the problem of monitoring the coastline, which in Portugal’s case means monitoring 3007 kilometers, including 1793 maritime borders with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. The human burden...This work focuses on the problem of monitoring the coastline, which in Portugal’s case means monitoring 3007 kilometers, including 1793 maritime borders with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. The human burden on the coast becomes a problem, both because erosion makes the cliffs unstable and because pollution increases, making the fragile dune ecosystem difficult to preserve. It is becoming necessary to increase the control of access to beaches, even if it is not a popular measure for internal and external tourism. The methodology described can also be used to monitor maritime borders. The use of images acquired in the infrared range guarantees active surveillance both day and night, the main objective being to mimic the infrared cameras already installed in some critical areas along the coastline. Using a series of infrared photographs taken at low angles with a modified camera and appropriate filter, a recent deep learning algorithm with the right training can simultaneously detect and count whole people at close range and people almost completely submerged in the water, including partially visible targets, achieving a performance with F1 score of 0.945, with 97% of targets correctly identified. This implementation is possible with ordinary laptop computers and could contribute to more frequent and more extensive coverage in beach/border surveillance, using infrared cameras at regular intervals. It can be partially automated to send alerts to the authorities and/or the nearest lifeguards, thus increasing monitoring without relying on human resources.展开更多
The recovery of lithium from hard rock minerals has received increased attention given the high demand for this element. Therefore, this study optimized an innovative process, which does not require a high-temperature...The recovery of lithium from hard rock minerals has received increased attention given the high demand for this element. Therefore, this study optimized an innovative process, which does not require a high-temperature calcination step, for lithium extraction from lepidolite. Mechanical activation and acid digestion were suggested as crucial process parameters, and experimental design and response-surface methodology were applied to model and optimize the proposed lithium extraction process. The promoting effect of amorphization and the formation of lithium sulfate hydrate on lithium extraction yield were assessed. Several factor combinations led to extraction yields that exceeded 90%, indicating that the proposed process is an effective approach for lithium recovery.展开更多
In standard interval mapping (IM) of quantitative trait loci (QTL), the QTL effect is described by a normal mixture model. When this assumption of normality is violated, the most commonly adopted strategy is to use th...In standard interval mapping (IM) of quantitative trait loci (QTL), the QTL effect is described by a normal mixture model. When this assumption of normality is violated, the most commonly adopted strategy is to use the previous model after data transformation. However, an appropriate transformation may not exist or may be difficult to find. Also this approach can raise interpretation issues. An interesting alternative is to consider a skew-normal mixture model in standard IM, and the resulting method is here denoted as skew-normal IM. This flexible model that includes the usual symmetric normal distribution as a special case is important, allowing continuous variation from normality to non-normality. In this paper we briefly introduce the main peculiarities of the skew-normal distribution. The maximum likelihood estimates of parameters of the skew-normal distribution are obtained by the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The proposed model is illustrated with real data from an intercross experiment that shows a significant departure from the normality assumption. The performance of the skew-normal IM is assessed via stochastic simulation. The results indicate that the skew-normal IM has higher power for QTL detection and better precision of QTL location as compared to standard IM and nonparametric IM.展开更多
Nano brazing of Pt-Ag nanoparticles with nano Ag filler metal is reported in this letter, which presents an effective way to join nanoobjects by femtosecond laser irradiation. The nano brazed interface between Pt-Ag a...Nano brazing of Pt-Ag nanoparticles with nano Ag filler metal is reported in this letter, which presents an effective way to join nanoobjects by femtosecond laser irradiation. The nano brazed interface between Pt-Ag and Ag showed good lattice matching along(111)_(Ag) //(111)_(Ag-Pt). Lattice mismatch can hardly be observed at the interface between the filler metal and Pt-Ag nanoparticle, which is important for the joint strength and normally does not occur during joining. The very low mismatch also suggested that melting and solidification occurred during nano brazing by femtosecond laser. The role of Brownian motion on the nano joining process is also discussed in this paper.展开更多
The liver is the organ by which the majority of sub-stances are metabolized, including psychotropic drugs. There are several pharmacokinetic changes in end-stage liver disease that can interfere with the metabolizatio...The liver is the organ by which the majority of sub-stances are metabolized, including psychotropic drugs. There are several pharmacokinetic changes in end-stage liver disease that can interfere with the metabolization of psychotropic drugs. This fact is particularly true in drugs with extensive first--pass metabolism, highly protein bound drugs and drugs depending on phase I hepatic metabolic reactions. Psychopharmacological agents are also associated with a risk of hepatotoxicity. The evidence is insufficient for definite conclusions regarding the prevalence and severity of psychiatric drug-induced liver injury. High-risk psychotropics are not advised when there is pre-existing liver disease, and after starting a psychotropic agent in a patient with hepatic impairment, frequent liver function/lesion monitoring is advised. The authors carefully review the pharmacokinetic disturbances induced by end-stage liver disease and the potential of psychopharmacological agents for liver toxicity.展开更多
Two coordination polymers, namely [Pb(Hbtc)(phen)]n(1) and {[Cd3(btc)2(H2O)4]·2H2O}n(2, H3btc = biphenyl-2,5,3'-tricarboxylic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), were assembled. Single-crystal X-ray diffractio...Two coordination polymers, namely [Pb(Hbtc)(phen)]n(1) and {[Cd3(btc)2(H2O)4]·2H2O}n(2, H3btc = biphenyl-2,5,3'-tricarboxylic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), were assembled. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies show that compound 1 possesses a zigzag chain 1D coordination network, which is further extended into a 3D supramolecular architecture via O–H···O hydrogen bonds and π-π packing interactions. Compound 2 features a 3D open framework based on a tricadmium(II) subunit, generating a trinodal 4,4,6-connected net with the 4,4,6T24 topology defined by the point symbol of(44·62)3(46·69)2. Thermal stability and luminescent properties of both compounds were studied and discussed.展开更多
The load and corrosion caused by the harsh marine environment lead to the severe degradation of offshore equipment and to their compromised security and reliability. In the quantitative risk analysis, the failure mode...The load and corrosion caused by the harsh marine environment lead to the severe degradation of offshore equipment and to their compromised security and reliability. In the quantitative risk analysis, the failure models are difficult to establish through traditional statistical methods. Hence, the calculation of the occurrence probability of small sample events is often met with great uncertainty. In this study, the Bayesian statistical method is implemented to analyze the oil and gas leakages of FPSO internal turret, which is a typical small sample risk but could lead to severe losses.According to the corresponding failure mechanism, two Bayesian statistical models using the Weibull distribution and logarithmic normal distribution as the population distribution are established, and the posterior distribution of the corresponding parameters is calculated. The optimal Bayesian statistical model is determined according to the Bayesian information criterion and Akaike criterion. On the basis of the determined optimal model, the corresponding reliability index is solved to provide basic data for the subsequent risk assessments of FPSO systems.展开更多
The lack of knowledge of plant tolerance and differential response to aluminum(Al)encouraged many researchers,in the last decade,to elucidate Al toxicity and tolerance mechanisms.The current study reported the impact ...The lack of knowledge of plant tolerance and differential response to aluminum(Al)encouraged many researchers,in the last decade,to elucidate Al toxicity and tolerance mechanisms.The current study reported the impact of Al,a toxic element with negative effects on plant growth and development,in halophytic plant Tamarix gallica.Plants were subjected to different Al concentrations(0,200,500 and 800μM)with or without NaCl(200 mM)supplementation.Growth,photosynthesis and mineral content were assessed.Al stress had a significant decrease on shoots’biomass production between 19 to 41%,and a little variation on chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency(Fo,Fm,Fv fluorescence’s and Fv/Fm).Furthermore,the Al-treatments did not affect significantly the content of potassium,calcium,and magnesium in different plant parts,whereas NaCl addition to the medium induced a decrease in these elements’concentrations.Our results have shown that T.gallica is able to accumulate the high levels of Al in shoots and roots,6288μg.g^(-1) DW and 7834μg.g^(-1) DW respectively.It is considered as a hyperaccumulator plant of Al.In addition,Na+contents in shoots and roots exceed 23000μg.g^(-1) DW.Therefore,T.gallica presents a high tolerance at the same time to Al and NaCl phytotoxicity,so it is interesting to use in phytoremediation programs.展开更多
The stability and productivity concerning a modification on the traditional room and pillar for a new selective technique at the Portuguese Panasqueira Mine have been described.The traditional room-and-pillar stoping ...The stability and productivity concerning a modification on the traditional room and pillar for a new selective technique at the Portuguese Panasqueira Mine have been described.The traditional room-and-pillar stoping uses 5.0-m wide rooms with 3.0 m×3.0 m pillars,while the selective room-and-pillar mining technique consists in stoping with rooms of 4.0 m wide and pillars of 4 m×4 m with a subsequent selective cutting of the quartz veins at the mid pillar of approximately 0.5 m high,to obtain a pillar section with an area of 3.0 m×3.0 m.The stability and productivity analyses indicate that the selective technique obtains smaller average pillar safety factor,more rock mass displacement,more extraction and selectivity ratios,and ore grade improvement,compared with the traditional technique.These results show that the selective technique is also more convenient.This proposed selective room-and-pillar mining technique is applicable to any sub-horizontal narrow quartz veins with wolfram,gold,etc.such as the famous La Rinconada gold mine in the Peruvian Andes.展开更多
几何上类似的可伸缩由制造了的 A 到照原尺寸的使硬的面板然后他们的倒塌行为的小规模的标本被调查。这被考虑使硬的面板压缩最终的力量测试根据几何可伸缩的法律被设计以便测试的输出能受到垂直弯曲的油轮壳的压缩地区的使硬的面板被...几何上类似的可伸缩由制造了的 A 到照原尺寸的使硬的面板然后他们的倒塌行为的小规模的标本被调查。这被考虑使硬的面板压缩最终的力量测试根据几何可伸缩的法律被设计以便测试的输出能受到垂直弯曲的油轮壳的压缩地区的使硬的面板被用作代表性时刻。油轮壳的最终的力量被 FE 分析用被横梁紧张测试和使硬的面板的压缩测试获得的试验性地发达的主人压力紧张曲线分析，并且当时与进步倒塌方法完成的结果相比。展开更多
Although pre-Northridge earthquake steel moment resisting frame buildings have been shown to be susceptible to brittle connection failures,they still represent a large fraction of the existing steel buildings in the U...Although pre-Northridge earthquake steel moment resisting frame buildings have been shown to be susceptible to brittle connection failures,they still represent a large fraction of the existing steel buildings in the United States of America.In this study,the performance of the 3-and 9-story Los Angeles pre-Northridge SAC buildings are analyzed considering ductile and brittle beam-column connection failures,and their uncertainty.This paper contributes to understanding the influence of uncertainty associated with connections brittle fracture on building interstory deformation capacity and its impact on bias and variability of fragility functions and loss assessment.The results show that considering brittle connections leads to significantly l arger d rift demands a nd t o h igher r epair costs,particularly under intense ground shaking.New fragility curve parameters are derived that account for the effect of the uncertainty of the strength and deformation capacity of brittle connections.展开更多
文摘Mosquitoes are an interesting topic due to their medical importance, as they play an active role in the transmission of many pathogens and parasites, acting as vectors for various pathologies that are deadly to humans, such as dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, West Nile virus, encephalitis and malaria, among many others that are less common. In terms of morbidity and mortality caused by vector-borne diseases, mosquitoes are the most dangerous animals for humanity and, although they also play a role in the ecosystem as a food source for other organisms, their importance for public health cannot be overlooked. As highly efficient vectors, they put more than three billion people at risk, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions as well as in Europe, since heat waves and flooding are becoming more frequent and severe, and summers are getting longer and warmer, accelerating mosquito development, biting rates, and the incubation of the pathogens within their bodies. Female mosquitoes bite to acquire proteins for the development of their ovaries and eggs and, in the process, acquire pathogens and/or parasites from one vertebrate host and transmit them to another, usually after a short period of replication. Three of their four life stages are lived in still freshwater, so it is crucial to understand their range of action when they reach adulthood and leave the water, in order to plan and implement local prevention measures. A set of georeferenced abundance data collected in mainland Portugal over seven years was linked to cartographed water bodies in a geographic information system to estimate the distances at which Culex pipiens s.l. had a significant presence, with criteria based on the size of the catches. The result allows for an estimate of the fly range of those mosquitoes, which can be used to focus countermeasures.
基金Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia(FCT)supported the research through Vinisense project(PTDC/BAA-DIG/4735/2020)Research Unit grant UID/MULTI/04046/2021,awarded to BioISI.R.A.is a recipient of fellowship from BioSys PhD programme PD65-2012(UI/BD/153054/2022).We deeply thank Dr.Pedro Humberto Castro(CIBIO)for critically revising the manuscript.
文摘The plant-specific family of GRAS transcription factors has been wide implicated in the regulation of transcriptional reprogramming associated with a diversity of biological functions ranging from plant development processes to stress responses.Functional analyses of GRAS transcription factors supported by in silico structural and comparative analyses are emerging and clarifying the regulatory networks associated with their biological roles.In this review,a detailed analysis of GRAS proteins’structure and biochemical features as revealed by recent discoveries indicated how these characteristics may impact subcellular location,molecular mechanisms,and function.Nomenclature issues associated with GRAS classification into different subfamilies in diverse plant species even in the presence of robust genomic resources are discussed,in particular how it affects assumptions of biological function.Insights into the mechanisms driving evolution of this gene family and how genetic and epigenetic regulation of GRAS contributes to subfunctionalization are provided.Finally,this review debates challenges and future perspectives on the application of this complex but promising gene family for crop improvement to cope with challenges of environmental transition.
文摘In recent decades, the intensity of training and equestrian competitions has significantly increased, thus the assessment of the well-being of the equine athlete has become essential in all equestrian modalities. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether equine athletes submitted to a vaquejada simulation test (VqST), comprised of three races, presented changes in blood biomarkers related to stress and health status. Fourteen healthy Quarter Horses, used as pull horses in this equestrian modality, were evaluated. Ten animals were submitted to the VqST and the remaining four were used as a control group. Blood samples were collected pre-test (during fast), immediately after, and at 1, 4 and 24 hours of recovery. The assessed blood biomarkers included cortisol, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, iron, urea, creatinine, and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) concentrations and results were analyzed using One Way ANOVA (time) with the SigmaStat 13.0 software. No differences between sample times were detected in both groups (p > 0.05) and no differences were found between groups (p > 0.05). The results suggest that all horses were well conditioned for the level of effort imposed by the three vaquejada races. The adaptation to physical exercise may enable the regulation of the acute response to stress in the tissues involved in the exercises, with no differences being observed in stress and health biomarkers, such as IL-6, IL-1β and cortisol. In conclusion, well-conditioned vaquejada horses exhibit a balanced regulation of biological processes, which contributes an increased athletic longevity and better quality of athletic life.
文摘Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a methodology focused on the centralization and sharing of the project information among all professionals involved, supported on the generation and manipulation of a three-dimensional (3D) digital BIM model. This methodology allows a close collaboration between the architect and the structural engineer and an adequate manipulation of the structural BIM model database, on the definition of multitasks. The collaboration allowed between all disciplines, avoid the detection of conflicts and data omission after in the construction place. Two BIM structural design cases were developed, using Revit as the modelling system and Robot as the structural software. Concerning the structural project the interoperability capacity between the software is still a limitation that engineers must be warned of. In the present study, the benefits and limitations identified within the communication and integration of distinct disciplines and on the development of most frequent multitasks normally related with a structural project, were considered.
文摘This work focuses on the problem of monitoring the coastline, which in Portugal’s case means monitoring 3007 kilometers, including 1793 maritime borders with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west. The human burden on the coast becomes a problem, both because erosion makes the cliffs unstable and because pollution increases, making the fragile dune ecosystem difficult to preserve. It is becoming necessary to increase the control of access to beaches, even if it is not a popular measure for internal and external tourism. The methodology described can also be used to monitor maritime borders. The use of images acquired in the infrared range guarantees active surveillance both day and night, the main objective being to mimic the infrared cameras already installed in some critical areas along the coastline. Using a series of infrared photographs taken at low angles with a modified camera and appropriate filter, a recent deep learning algorithm with the right training can simultaneously detect and count whole people at close range and people almost completely submerged in the water, including partially visible targets, achieving a performance with F1 score of 0.945, with 97% of targets correctly identified. This implementation is possible with ordinary laptop computers and could contribute to more frequent and more extensive coverage in beach/border surveillance, using infrared cameras at regular intervals. It can be partially automated to send alerts to the authorities and/or the nearest lifeguards, thus increasing monitoring without relying on human resources.
基金the doctorate grant ref.9244/13-1 supplied by CAPES Foundation,Ministry of Education of Brazil
文摘The recovery of lithium from hard rock minerals has received increased attention given the high demand for this element. Therefore, this study optimized an innovative process, which does not require a high-temperature calcination step, for lithium extraction from lepidolite. Mechanical activation and acid digestion were suggested as crucial process parameters, and experimental design and response-surface methodology were applied to model and optimize the proposed lithium extraction process. The promoting effect of amorphization and the formation of lithium sulfate hydrate on lithium extraction yield were assessed. Several factor combinations led to extraction yields that exceeded 90%, indicating that the proposed process is an effective approach for lithium recovery.
基金Project supported in part by Foundation for Science and Technology(FCT) (No.SFRD/BD/5987/2001)the Operational ProgramScience,Technology,and Innovation of the FCT,co-financed by theEuropean Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
文摘In standard interval mapping (IM) of quantitative trait loci (QTL), the QTL effect is described by a normal mixture model. When this assumption of normality is violated, the most commonly adopted strategy is to use the previous model after data transformation. However, an appropriate transformation may not exist or may be difficult to find. Also this approach can raise interpretation issues. An interesting alternative is to consider a skew-normal mixture model in standard IM, and the resulting method is here denoted as skew-normal IM. This flexible model that includes the usual symmetric normal distribution as a special case is important, allowing continuous variation from normality to non-normality. In this paper we briefly introduce the main peculiarities of the skew-normal distribution. The maximum likelihood estimates of parameters of the skew-normal distribution are obtained by the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The proposed model is illustrated with real data from an intercross experiment that shows a significant departure from the normality assumption. The performance of the skew-normal IM is assessed via stochastic simulation. The results indicate that the skew-normal IM has higher power for QTL detection and better precision of QTL location as compared to standard IM and nonparametric IM.
基金supported by the Canadian Research Chairs (CRC) programNational Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)+2 种基金State Key Lab of Advanced Welding & joining, HIT (No. AWPT-Z12-04)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51075232)Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (Grant No. 2010THZ 02-1)
文摘Nano brazing of Pt-Ag nanoparticles with nano Ag filler metal is reported in this letter, which presents an effective way to join nanoobjects by femtosecond laser irradiation. The nano brazed interface between Pt-Ag and Ag showed good lattice matching along(111)_(Ag) //(111)_(Ag-Pt). Lattice mismatch can hardly be observed at the interface between the filler metal and Pt-Ag nanoparticle, which is important for the joint strength and normally does not occur during joining. The very low mismatch also suggested that melting and solidification occurred during nano brazing by femtosecond laser. The role of Brownian motion on the nano joining process is also discussed in this paper.
文摘The liver is the organ by which the majority of sub-stances are metabolized, including psychotropic drugs. There are several pharmacokinetic changes in end-stage liver disease that can interfere with the metabolization of psychotropic drugs. This fact is particularly true in drugs with extensive first--pass metabolism, highly protein bound drugs and drugs depending on phase I hepatic metabolic reactions. Psychopharmacological agents are also associated with a risk of hepatotoxicity. The evidence is insufficient for definite conclusions regarding the prevalence and severity of psychiatric drug-induced liver injury. High-risk psychotropics are not advised when there is pre-existing liver disease, and after starting a psychotropic agent in a patient with hepatic impairment, frequent liver function/lesion monitoring is advised. The authors carefully review the pharmacokinetic disturbances induced by end-stage liver disease and the potential of psychopharmacological agents for liver toxicity.
基金Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province(No.2013011011-6)the Subject Team of Taiyuan University of Science and Technology
文摘Two coordination polymers, namely [Pb(Hbtc)(phen)]n(1) and {[Cd3(btc)2(H2O)4]·2H2O}n(2, H3btc = biphenyl-2,5,3'-tricarboxylic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline), were assembled. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies show that compound 1 possesses a zigzag chain 1D coordination network, which is further extended into a 3D supramolecular architecture via O–H···O hydrogen bonds and π-π packing interactions. Compound 2 features a 3D open framework based on a tricadmium(II) subunit, generating a trinodal 4,4,6-connected net with the 4,4,6T24 topology defined by the point symbol of(44·62)3(46·69)2. Thermal stability and luminescent properties of both compounds were studied and discussed.
基金financially supported by the National International Science and Technology Cooperation Specific Projectthe Development of Risk Assessment Software for Floating Offshore Wind Turbine(Grant No.2013DFE73060)the Development of Failure Database and Risk Assessment System for FPSO(Grant No.G014614002)
文摘The load and corrosion caused by the harsh marine environment lead to the severe degradation of offshore equipment and to their compromised security and reliability. In the quantitative risk analysis, the failure models are difficult to establish through traditional statistical methods. Hence, the calculation of the occurrence probability of small sample events is often met with great uncertainty. In this study, the Bayesian statistical method is implemented to analyze the oil and gas leakages of FPSO internal turret, which is a typical small sample risk but could lead to severe losses.According to the corresponding failure mechanism, two Bayesian statistical models using the Weibull distribution and logarithmic normal distribution as the population distribution are established, and the posterior distribution of the corresponding parameters is calculated. The optimal Bayesian statistical model is determined according to the Bayesian information criterion and Akaike criterion. On the basis of the determined optimal model, the corresponding reliability index is solved to provide basic data for the subsequent risk assessments of FPSO systems.
文摘The lack of knowledge of plant tolerance and differential response to aluminum(Al)encouraged many researchers,in the last decade,to elucidate Al toxicity and tolerance mechanisms.The current study reported the impact of Al,a toxic element with negative effects on plant growth and development,in halophytic plant Tamarix gallica.Plants were subjected to different Al concentrations(0,200,500 and 800μM)with or without NaCl(200 mM)supplementation.Growth,photosynthesis and mineral content were assessed.Al stress had a significant decrease on shoots’biomass production between 19 to 41%,and a little variation on chlorophyll content and photosynthetic efficiency(Fo,Fm,Fv fluorescence’s and Fv/Fm).Furthermore,the Al-treatments did not affect significantly the content of potassium,calcium,and magnesium in different plant parts,whereas NaCl addition to the medium induced a decrease in these elements’concentrations.Our results have shown that T.gallica is able to accumulate the high levels of Al in shoots and roots,6288μg.g^(-1) DW and 7834μg.g^(-1) DW respectively.It is considered as a hyperaccumulator plant of Al.In addition,Na+contents in shoots and roots exceed 23000μg.g^(-1) DW.Therefore,T.gallica presents a high tolerance at the same time to Al and NaCl phytotoxicity,so it is interesting to use in phytoremediation programs.
基金supported by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation(FCT)
文摘The stability and productivity concerning a modification on the traditional room and pillar for a new selective technique at the Portuguese Panasqueira Mine have been described.The traditional room-and-pillar stoping uses 5.0-m wide rooms with 3.0 m×3.0 m pillars,while the selective room-and-pillar mining technique consists in stoping with rooms of 4.0 m wide and pillars of 4 m×4 m with a subsequent selective cutting of the quartz veins at the mid pillar of approximately 0.5 m high,to obtain a pillar section with an area of 3.0 m×3.0 m.The stability and productivity analyses indicate that the selective technique obtains smaller average pillar safety factor,more rock mass displacement,more extraction and selectivity ratios,and ore grade improvement,compared with the traditional technique.These results show that the selective technique is also more convenient.This proposed selective room-and-pillar mining technique is applicable to any sub-horizontal narrow quartz veins with wolfram,gold,etc.such as the famous La Rinconada gold mine in the Peruvian Andes.
基金financed by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundao para a Ciência e Tecnologia), under contract SFRH/BD/65120/2009
文摘几何上类似的可伸缩由制造了的 A 到照原尺寸的使硬的面板然后他们的倒塌行为的小规模的标本被调查。这被考虑使硬的面板压缩最终的力量测试根据几何可伸缩的法律被设计以便测试的输出能受到垂直弯曲的油轮壳的压缩地区的使硬的面板被用作代表性时刻。油轮壳的最终的力量被 FE 分析用被横梁紧张测试和使硬的面板的压缩测试获得的试验性地发达的主人压力紧张曲线分析，并且当时与进步倒塌方法完成的结果相比。
文摘Although pre-Northridge earthquake steel moment resisting frame buildings have been shown to be susceptible to brittle connection failures,they still represent a large fraction of the existing steel buildings in the United States of America.In this study,the performance of the 3-and 9-story Los Angeles pre-Northridge SAC buildings are analyzed considering ductile and brittle beam-column connection failures,and their uncertainty.This paper contributes to understanding the influence of uncertainty associated with connections brittle fracture on building interstory deformation capacity and its impact on bias and variability of fragility functions and loss assessment.The results show that considering brittle connections leads to significantly l arger d rift demands a nd t o h igher r epair costs,particularly under intense ground shaking.New fragility curve parameters are derived that account for the effect of the uncertainty of the strength and deformation capacity of brittle connections.
