Gear pumps are widely used in the aviation field due to their advantages of simple structure, small size, and strong pollution resistance. With the improvement of aircraft performance and the limitation of internal space, the development of small and lightweight aviation gear pumps has become an inevitable trend. However, downsizing and lightweight design of gear pumps can lead to problems such as reduced strength of key components and increased wear, resulting in shortened lifespan and premature failure during service. Among all parts, the journal bearing is the most severely worn part of the gear pump. Therefore, the lifespan of the journal bearing determines the overall lifespan of the gear pump. This article designs the journal bearing based on the radial force of the gear pump and creates herringbone groove on the journal bearing. Through analysis and calculation, it is found that the bearing with herringbone groove has a larger oil film carrying capacity and lower temperature rise, which can provide a new method for the design of high-speed and small-sized gear pump bearings.
Purpose . The aim of this study was to compare the effects of high-intensity interval training (INTERVAL) and moderate-intensity continuous training (CONTINUOUS) on aerobic capacity in cardiac patients. Methods . A meta-analysis identified by searching the PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases from inception through December 2016 compared the effects of INTERVAL and CONTINUOUS among cardiac patients. Results . Twenty-one studies involving 736 participants with cardiac diseases were included. Compared with CONTINUOUS, INTERVAL was associated with greater improvement in peak VO 2 (mean difference 1.76 mL/kg/min, 95% confidence interval 1.06 to 2.46 mL/kg/min,p<0.001) and VO 2 at AT (mean difference 0.90 mL/kg/min, 95% confidence interval 0.0 to 1.72 mL/kg/min,p=0.03). No significant difference between the INTERVAL and CONTINUOUS groups was observed in terms of peak heart rate, peak minute ventilation, VE/VCO 2 slope and respiratory exchange ratio, body mass, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride or low- or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, flow-mediated dilation, or left ventricular ejection fraction. Conclusions . This study showed that INTERVAL improves aerobic capacity more effectively than does CONTINUOUS in cardiac patients. Further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm our observations.
OBJECTIVE: Coronary atherosclerosis is an age-related disease that originates from osteogenic differentiation of coronary arterial endothelial cells (CAECs) induced by intimal injury. CAECs express excess levels of osteogenic factors in response to oxidative stress. This study aims to investigate the effect of IL-37 on high cellular level of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) -induced CAECs and its potential mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cultured CAECs were randomly divided into two groups: control group and IL-37 pretreatment group. Cells were cultured with ox-LDL (0, 40, or 80μg/ml) for 0h,1h,2h,3h, respectively. Western blot analysis and real-time PCR were performed to assess the associated gene and protein expression, respectively.ATF-4 and Phosphorylated eIF2α were identified by immunofluorescence staining. RESULTS: Treatment of HCAECs with recombinant human IL-37 inhibits BMP-2 and ALP protein expression and down-regulates phosphorylated-NF-κB p65 expression(p<0.05). In vitro, HCAECs pretreated with recombinant human IL-37 exhibit significantly low level of phosphorylated PERK and eIF2α and diminished AFT-4 expression compared to control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that IL-37 suppresses pro-osteogenic responses induced by ox-LDL that result in down-regulation of NF-κB and PERK-eIF2α-ATF4 pathways in HCAECs. Since these pro-osteogenic factors are involved in smooth muscle cell calcification. Our study indicates IL-37 could have therapeutic potential for the treatment of progressive coronary artery calcification (CAC).
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Background: Unlike axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), no classification criteria are currently available for axial psoriatic arthritis (axPsA). This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the proposed cut-offs from the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) data-driven definitions for active and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lesions typical of axSpA in distinguishing axial involvement in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: Seventy-two consecutive PsA patients (67% male, aged 45± 14 years) meeting the CASPAR classification criteria, regardless of the presence of back pain, were included. All patients underwent radiography of the pelvis and spine, as well as sacroiliac joint (SIJ) MRI, while 52 (72%) of 72 patients also underwent whole-spine MRI. The final diagnosis of axPsA was ascertained by two experienced rheumatologists. One rheumatologist with expertise in imaging and one trained reader evaluated the radiography and MRI images. Results: AxPsA was diagnosed in 27/72 (38%) patients. The proposed cut-offs for active sacroiliitis demonstrated high specificity (95.6%) but relatively low sensitivity (51.9%) in distinguishing patients with and without axPsA. When structural lesions of the SIJ were included in addition to active lesions, the sensitivity significantly improved (96.3% vs. 51.9%) with a modest decrease in specificity (86.7% vs. 95.6%). Incorporating MRI spine lesions (using the proposed cut-offs for positive spine MRI from the SPACE cohort) alongside SIJ lesions did not further change sensitivity or specificity compared with assessing SIJ alone. Conclusion: The ASAS-proposed cut-offs for identifying active and structural lesions of SIJ demonstrated satisfactory performance in discriminating axial involvement in PsA patients.
Interleukin-37 (IL-37) is unique in the IL-1 family since it broadly suppresses innate immunity and elevates in humans with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. IL-37 shows definite groups and transcripts for human IL37 gene, but it is still not completely understood the effect and mechanisms of inflammatory response in endothelial cells. It is well accepted that endothelial dysfunction caused by inflammation is a key initiating event in atherosclerotic plaque formation, which leads to the occurrence and development of the cardiovascular adverse events in clinical since the inflammatory responses of endothelial cells could induce and enhance the deposition of extensive lipid and the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in the intima. Thus, it is essential to investigate the role and potential mechanisms in endothelial inflammatory response to prevent the formation and development of many cardiovascular diseases including atherosclerosis. So far, the recent studies have revealed that IL-37 is able to inhibit inflammatory response by suppressing the TLR2-NF- κ B-ICAM-1 pathway intracellularly in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs). Further, the role of IL-37 may be related to the IL-18 pathway extracellularly and involved in the adhesion and transmigration of neutrophils in HCAECs.
Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a heterogeneous, chronic, inflammatory musculoskeletal disease that can lead to peripheral and axial damage and loss of function. A clear difference between PsA and other forms of inflammatory arthritis is the different forms of bone remodeling seen in PSA which incorporates not only increased bone resorption with bone erosions, osteolysis, and loss of bone mineral density but also increased bone formation with periostitis, syndesmophytes, enthesiophytes, and ankylosis. PsA, if diagnosed late, will lead to significant structural damage, the most severe form of which is known as arthritis mutilans, and loss of physical function. Imaging plays a crucial role in diagnosing and monitoring both peripheral and axial conditions associated with PsA. Radiography is currently the main modality used to monitor structural damage in PsA though commonly used scoring systems do not include bony proliferation as a criterion. Besides, radiography is limited in determining the presence and cause of periarticular soft tissue thickening, which may arise from tendinosis, tenosynovitis, synovial proliferation, bursitis, or enthesitis. Recently, much more attention has been paid to determining the imaging characteristics of PsA, which enables more precise identification of disease and severity assessment. Newer imaging technologies also enable variations in normal bone microstructure to be distinguished from disease-related abnormality. This review discusses the current state of innovative imaging modalities in PsA, specifically concentrating on their roles in PsA diagnosis and treatment, improving the early detection of PsA, and identifying patients with skin psoriasis at risk of developing psoriatic arthritis.
Background: Sacroiliac joints (SIJ) radiography has lower sensitivity and specificity compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and low-dose CT (ldCT) of the SIJ for detecting axial spondyloarthritis. Whether this is also true for axial psoriatic arthritis (axPsA) remains uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of ldCT, MRI, and conventional radiography of SIJ and spine in distinguishing axial involvement in PsA patients. Methods: Fifty-one consecutive PsA patients (70.6% male, age 41 ± 13 years) meeting the CASPAR classification criteria, regardless of back pain, were included. All patients underwent SIJ and whole-spine radiography, SIJ MRI as well as SIJ ldCT, while 25 (49%) of 51 patients also underwent whole-spine MRI and ldCT. One rheumatologist with expertise in imaging and one trained reader evaluated images. The final diagnosis of axPsA was ascertained by two experienced rheumatologists. The sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of the three modalities for discriminating axPsA were compared. Results: AxPsA was diagnosed in 33.3% (17) of 51 patients. In discerning axial involvement in PsA patients, MRI exhibited superior sensitivity (92.9%) compared with ldCT (83.3%) and radiography (67.9%), while ldCT demonstrated higher specificity (97.1%) than MRI (86.4%) and radiography (72.7%). LdCT achieved the highest diagnostic accuracy (92%) among the three modalities, surpassing radiography (71%) and being comparable to MRI (89%). In the subgroup of patients with whole spine imaging, the combination of MRI and ldCT SIJ had the best diagnostic accuracy, reaching 93%. Including SIJ ldCT in addition to SIJ MRI further improved specificity (86.7% vs. 73.3%) with unchanged sensitivity (100%), while incorporating SIJ MRI alongside SIJ ldCT further improved sensitivity from 83% to 100%, with a modest decrease in specificity (86.7% vs. 93.3%). However, incorporating spine MRI/ldCT alongside SIJ MRI/ldCT did not further improve sensitivity or specificity in discriminating axial involvement in PsA patients. Conclusion: LdCT demonstrated superior diagnostic performance in distinguishing axial involvement in PsA patients compared to MRI or radiography, although MRI was more sensitive for detecting active sacroiliitis. The highest diagnostic performance was achieved with both MRI and ldCT of the SIJ. Additional spine imaging did not further increase diagnostic performance.
The angular displacement sensor is used widely in robotics and other application fields. This article proposes a new type of multifunctional angular displacement sensor. This angular displacement sensor design integrates two microcontroller units (MCUs) on a small printed circuit board (PCB). The first unit, which is designated MCU-A, transmits the absolute angle to the second unit, which is designated MCU-B, through serial peripheral interface (SPI) communication. In MCU-B, the absolute angle output is converted into incremental ABZ and UVW output using a table lookup angle conversion algorithm. The proposed encoder has various output types and a simple structure, is small in size, and can be manufactured at low cost. The device can be applied in a variety of industrial production scenarios.
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