Adaptive-Neuro-Fuzzy-Based Information Fusion for the Attitude Prediction of TBMs.

In a tunneling boring machine (TBM), to obtain the attitude in real time is very important for a driver. However, the current laser targeting system has a large delay before obtaining the attitude. So, an adaptive-neuro-fuzzy-based information fusion method is proposed to predict the attitude of a laser targeting system in real time. In the proposed method, a dual-rate information fusion is used to fuse the information of a laser targeting system and a two-axis inclinometer, and then obtain roll and pitch angles with a higher rate and provide a smoother attitude prediction. Considering that a measurement error exists, the adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is proposed to model the measurement error, and then the ANFIS-based model is combined with the dual-rate information fusion to achieve high performance. Experimental results show the ANFIS-based information fusion can provide higher real-time performance and accuracy of the attitude prediction. Experimental results also verify that the ANFIS-based information fusion can solve the problem of the laser targeting system losing signals.

PD-1 blockade inhibits lymphocyte apoptosis and restores proliferation and anti-viral immune functions of lymphocyte after CP and NCP BVDV infection in vitro.

Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is an important virus that can cause extensive economic losses in both dairy and beef industry worldwide. Acute infection with BVDV results in peripheral blood lymphopenia, apoptosis and immunosuppression. Up-regulated programmed death-1 (PD-1) expression induces functional exhaustion of lymphocytes, inhibition of proliferation and apoptosis of lymphocytes during acute and chronic viral infections, such as HIV and HCV. However, there are no reports showing the role of PD-1 in peripheral blood lymphopenia, apoptosis and immunosuppression after acute BVDV infection. Accordingly, we measured the mRNA and protein expression of PD-1 and programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) infected with BVDV, and analyzed the effects of PD-1 blockade on immune-associated function and activity in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). The results showed that both cytopathic (CP) BVDV (strain NADL) and non-cytopathic (NCP) BVDV (strain KD) infection stimulated the mRNA and protein expression of PD-1 and PD-L1 significantly. The upregulation of PD-1/PD-L1 was accompanied by the decreased PBLs proliferation and increased apoptosis. Additionally, PD-1 blockade restored proliferation, inhibited apoptosis, increased IFN-γ production and decreased BVDV load. Remarkably, the PD-1/PD-L1 interaction has a more substantial effect on the immunoregulation of inhibiting proliferation induced by CP BVDV infection. Our findings confirm that PD-1 plays a vital role in peripheral blood lymphopenia and apoptosis caused by acute BVDV infection, and provide new insights into exploring the immunopathological mechanisms of BVDV or other members of the Flaviviridae family, and a potential therapeutic strategy to control BVDV infection.