Liu Wei Di Huang Wan (LWDHW) is a well-known Chinese herbal compound, which has been prescribed for the treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). We sought to clarify the potential therapeutic effects of LWDHW against GDM. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in GDM were firstly identified from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed to reveal the biological functions of the DEGs. Subsequently, the LWDHW-compound–target network was constructed based on public databases to identify the relationship between the active components in LWDHW and the corresponding targets. Furthermore, gene functional analysis and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network construction were applied to investigate the function of potential targets and to evaluate hub genes. Finally, molecular docking was used to verify the binding activities between active ingredients and hub targets. Thirteen active components and 39 corresponding therapeutic target genes were obtained via network pharmacology analysis. The enrichment analysis demonstrated that the anti-GDM effect of LWDHW included oxidoreductase activity, involvement in renal system process, and regulation of blood pressure, which may be achieved through regulation of serotonergic synapses, vascular smooth muscle contraction, and neuroactive ligand–receptor interaction pathways. Additionally, molecular docking revealed that the main active component, Mu Dan Pi, exhibited the best affinity for proteins encoded by hub genes. This study applied network pharmacology analysis and molecular docking to display the multicomponent and multitarget characteristics of LWDHW in the treatment of GDM. Our findings provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of GDM and the therapeutic mechanisms of LWDHW against GDM.
Identification of cracks in beam-type components is significant to ensure the safety of structures. Among the approaches relying on mode shapes, the concept of transverse pseudo-force (TPF) has been well proved for single and multiple crack identification in beams made of isotropic materials; however, there is a noticeable gap between the concept of TPF and its applications in composite laminated beams. To fill this gap, an enhanced TPF approach that relies on perturbation to dynamic equilibrium is proposed for the identification of multiple cracks in composite laminated beams. Starting from the transverse equation of motion, this study formulates the TPF in a composite laminated beam for the identification of multiple cracks. The capability of the approach is numerically verified using the FE method. The applicability of the approach is experimentally validated on a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer laminated beam with three cracks, the mode shapes of which are acquired through non-contact vibration measurement using a scanning laser vibrometer. In particular, a statistic manner is utilized to enable the approach to be feasible to real scenarios in the absence of material and structural information; besides, an integrating scheme is utilized to enable the approach to be capable of identifying cracks even in the vicinity of nodes of mode shapes.
Fatigue cracks can occur in structural components under long-term cyclic loads. Such fatigue cracks can open and close like "breathing" under harmonic excitations. Fatigue cracks can develop and jeopardize safety of structures. Therefore, there is a great need to assess fatigue cracks especially in their early stages. Higher harmonics have been widely used as crack indicators, however, slight opening-closing motion can lead to weak higher harmonics with much less amplitudes compared to the first harmonics. In these situations, higher harmonics can be barely identified for crack detection. Addressing this problem, this study develops the damage assessment approach based on singular spectrum analysis to distinguish crack-induced nonlinearities in steady-state vibration responses, whereby nonlinear assessment of the crack can be achieved. The capability of the approach is experimentally validated on a steel beam with a “breathing” fatigue crack, steady-state velocity responses of which are acquired through non- contact laser measurement using a Doppler laser vibrometer.
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