The Influence Mechanism of In Situ Stress State on the Stability of Deep-Buried-Curved Tunnel in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Its Adjacent Region

In China, rockburst disaster occurs mostly in construction of underground engineering in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent region. Previous research on deep-buried tunnels has indicated that tunnels stability is related to in situ stress state. To quantify these relationships, three-dimensional finite element modeling was done to analyze the influences that the angle φ between the maximum horizontal principal stress orientation and tunnel axis, and the lateral pressure coefficient KH, had on the tangential stress σ θ in a deep-buried-curved tunnel. Based on the in situ stress condition in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent region, 50 different simulation conditions were used to analyze the relationship that φ and KH had on σ θ for the rock mass surrounding the tunnel. With the simulation data produced, predictive equations were generated for σ θ as a function of φ and KH using multivariate regression analysis. These equations help estimate σ θ at various key positons along the tunnel boundary at Qinghai-Tibet plateau and its adjacent region. The equations were then proved by a set of typical tunnels to ensure validity. The results concluded that the change in φ has a significant impact on σ θ , and thus, the stability of the tunnel, when 30° < φ < 60°, with the most obvious influence being when φ is about 45°. With the equations, the rockburst potential at a certain location within a curved tunnel can be quickly estimated by calculating φ and KH on σ θ , without need of geo-stress background knowledge and heavy simulation, allowing for the practical value in engineering at design phase for the projects in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent region.

Genome Copy Number Quantification Revealed That the Ethanologenic Alpha-Proteobacterium Zymomonas mobilis Is Polyploid

The alpha-proteobacterium Zymomonas mobilis is a promising biofuel producer, based on its native metabolism that efficiently converts sugars to ethanol. Therefore, it has a high potential for industrial-scale biofuel production. Two previous studies suggested that Z. mobilis strain Zm4 might not be monoploid. However, a systematic analysis of the genome copy number is still missing, in spite of the high potential importance of Z. mobilis. To get a deep insight into the ploidy level of Z. mobilis and its regulation, the genome copy numbers of three strains were quantified. The analyses revealed that, during anaerobic growth, the lab strain Zm6, the Zm6 type strain obtained from DSMZ (German Collection of Microorganisms), and the lab strain Zm4, have copy numbers of 18.9, 22.3 and 16.2, respectively, of an origin-adjacent region. The copy numbers of a terminus-adjacent region were somewhat lower with 9.3, 15.8, and 12.9, respectively. The values were similar throughout the growth curves, and they were only slightly downregulated in late stationary phase. During aerobic growth, the copy numbers of the lab strain Zm6 were much higher with around 40 origin-adjacent copies and 17 terminus-adjacent copies. However, the cells were larger during aerobic growth, and the copy numbers per μm3 cell volume were rather similar. Taken together, this first systematic analysis revealed that Z. mobilis is polyploid under regular laboratory growth conditions. The copy number is constant during growth, in contrast to many other polyploid bacteria. This knowledge should be considered in further engineering of the strain for industrial applications.

Correlation of Myocardial Strain and Late Gadolinium Enhancement by Cardiac Magnetic Resonance After a First Anterior ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Objectives: To investigate the correlation of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) feature-tracking with conventional CMR parameters in patients with a first anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).Methods: This sub-analysis of OCTAMI (Optical Coherence Tomography Examination in Acute Myocardial Infarction) registry included 129 patients who finished a CMR examination 1 month after a first anterior STEMI. Cine images were applied to calculate both global and segmental left ventricular peak strain parameters. The patients were divided into two groups by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and compared with 42 healthy controls. Segmental late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) was graded according to LGE transmurality as follows: (1) &gt;0 to ≤ 25%; (2) &gt;25 to ≤ 50%; (3) &gt;50 to ≤ 75%; (4) &gt;75%. Left ventricle was divided into infarcted, adjacent, and remote regions to assess regional function.Results: Compared with controls, global radial (28.39 ± 5.08% vs. 38.54 ± 9.27%, p &lt; 0.05), circumferential (−16.91 ± 2.11% vs. −20.77 ± 2.78%, p &lt; 0.05), and longitudinal (−13.06 ± 2.15 vs. −15.52 ± 2.69, p &lt; 0.05) strains were impaired in STEMI patients with normal LVEF (≥55%). Strain parameters were strongly associated with LGE (radial: r = 0.65; circumferential: r = 0.69; longitudinal: r = 0.61; all p &lt; 0.05). A significant and stepwise impairment of global strains was observed in groups divided by LGE tertiles. Furthermore, segmental strain was different in various degrees of LGE transmurality especially for radial and circumferential strain. Strains of adjacent region were better than infarcted region in radial and circumferential directions and worse than remote region in all three directions.Conclusion: Global and regional strain could stratify different extent and transmurality of LGE, respectively. Although without LGE, adjacent region had impaired strains comparing with remote region.

Out of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) and rapid radiation across Eurasia for Allium section Daghestanica (Amaryllidaceae)

The disjunctive distribution (Europe-Caucasus-Asia) and species diversification across Eurasia for the genus Allium sect. Daghestanica has fascinating attractions for researchers aiming to understanding the development and history of the modern Eurasia flora. However, no any studies have been carried out to address the evolutionary history of this section. Based on the nrITS and cpDNA fragments (trnL-trnF and rpl32-trnL), the evolutionary history of the third evolutionary line (EL3) of the genus Allium was reconstructed and we further elucidate the evolutionary line of sect. Daghestanica under this background. Our molecular phylogeny recovered two highly supported clades in sect. Daghestanica: the Clade I includes Caucasian-European species and Asian A. maowenense, A. xinlongense and A. carolinianum collected in Qinghai; the Clade II comprises Asian yellowish tepal species, A. chrysanthum, A. chrysocephalum, A. herderianum, A. rude and A. xichuanense. The divergence time estimation and biogeography inference indicated that Asian ancestor located in the QTP and the adjacent region could have migrated to Caucasus and Europe distributions around the Late Miocene and resulted in further divergence and speciation; Asian ancestor underwent the rapid radiation in the QTP and the adjacent region most likely due to the heterogeneous ecology of the QTP resulted from the orogeneses around 4–3 Mya. Our study provides a picture to understand the origin and species diversification across Eurasia for sect. Daghestanica.

The Zn-finger of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Rad18 and its adjacent region mediate interaction with Rad5

DNA damages that hinder the movement of the replication complex can ultimately lead to cell death. To avoid that, cells possess several DNA damage bypass mechanisms. The Rad18 ubiquitin ligase controls error-free and mutagenic pathways that help the replication complex to bypass DNA lesions by monoubiquitylating PCNA at stalled replication forks. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, two of the Rad18 governed pathways are activated by monoubiquitylated PCNA and they involve translesion synthesis polymerases, whereas a third pathway needs subsequent polyubiquitylation of the same PCNA residue by another ubiquitin ligase the Rad5 protein, and it employs template switching. The goal of this study was to dissect the regulatory role of the multidomain Rad18 in DNA damage bypass using a structure-function based approach. Investigating deletion and point mutant RAD18 variants in yeast genetic and yeast two-hybrid assays we show that the Zn-finger of Rad18 mediates its interaction with Rad5, and the N-terminal adjacent region is also necessary for Rad5 binding. Moreover, results of the yeast two-hybrid and in vivo ubiquitylation experiments raise the possibility that direct interaction between Rad18 and Rad5 might not be necessary for the function of the Rad5 dependent pathway. The presented data also reveal that yeast Rad18 uses different domains to mediate its association with itself and with Rad5. Our results contribute to better understanding of the complex machinery of DNA damage bypass pathways.

Traffic Speed Forecast in Adjacent Region between Highway and Urban Expressway: Based on MFD and GRU Model

Traffic congestion in the adjacent region between the highway and urban expressway is becoming more and more serious. This paper proposes a traffic speed forecast method based on the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) model to provide the necessary traffic guidance information for travelers in this region. Firstly, considering that the road traffic speed is affected by the macroscopic traffic state, the adjacent region between the highway and expressway is divided into subareas based on the MFD. Secondly, the spatial-temporal correlation coefficient is proposed to measure the correlation between subareas. Then, the matrix of regional traffic speed data is constructed. Thirdly, the matrix is input into the GRU prediction model to get the predicted traffic speed. The proposed algorithm’s prediction performance is verified based on the GPS data collected from the adjacent region between Beijing Highways and Expressway.