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Observations have demonstrated an unstable interannual relationship between El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the East Asian winter monsoon in recent decades due to internal variability. However, it remains unclear whether the interannual ENSO‐East Asian winter monsoon relationship (EER) may change with long‐term external forcings, especially when they vary substantially. The results of a set of transient simulations during the last 21,000 years demonstrate the EER is enhanced during the Last Glacial Maximum relative to the Holocene, characterized by a poleward migration of ENSO's signal over the northwest Pacific. The strengthened EER results from the weakened interannual ENSO‐Aleutian Low teleconnection and the northeastward displacement of the climatological Aleutian Low, ultimately forced by the massive North American ice sheets at that time. Our study suggests a changing EER with various external forcings and implies potential uncertainty in applying the present‐day ENSO teleconnections during glacials. Plain Language Summary: The East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) exerts significant impacts on the climate over Asia and affects billions of people; thus, a precise EAWM prediction is urgently required. Since the El Niño/South Oscillation (ENSO) provides the majority of skillful predictability, the effect of ENSO on EAWM has received considerable attention. Although recent studies noticed that the ENSO‐EAWM relationship (EER) was unstable during recent decades due to the oceanic oscillations, such as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, it remains unclear whether the EER could change with substantially varied external forcings in the future, such as solar insolation, greenhouse gases, meltwater flux, and ice sheets. Using a set of transient simulations during the last 21,000 years, we found that the EER is significantly strengthened during the Last Glacial Maximum and early deglaciation relative to the Holocene, attributed to the vast North American ice sheets at that time. Therefore, this study will not only have great significance for the paleoclimate research, which usually applied the present‐day ENSO teleconnection to explain past changes in regional climate directly, but also help to project the future EER variation for a better EAWM prediction. Key Points: The ENSO‐East Asian winter monsoon relationship (EER) is significantly strengthened during the Last Glacial Maximum and early deglaciationThe strengthened EER is characterized by the poleward shift of ENSO's influence over the northwest PacificLarge North American ice sheets are the ultimate driver of the strengthened EER at that time [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin (IL)-35, which has an anti-inflammatory role in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)/acute lung injury (ALI), is relatively promising as a drug target. Studies have shown that curcumin may play a therapeutic role in ALI and enhance the suppressive function of regulatory T cells (Tregs). To illustrate the effect of curcumin on the regulation of Treg cell differentiation and expression of IL-35, we built a cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)–induced acute lung injury mouse mode with curcumin pretreatment. The expression of IL-35 in serum, severity of lung injury, IL-17A in lung tissue, survival rate, Treg-related cytokines levels in serum, nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)'s nuclear translocation in lung tissue, and splenic CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Tregs were assessed. Furthermore, the proportion of Tregs, STAT5, and IL-35 expression during naïve CD4+ T cell differentiation in vitro was measured. Compared with the CLP group, the increased IL-35 expression in CLP with the curcumin pretreatment (CLP + Cur) group was consistent with the decreased severity of lung injury, IL-17A protein levels in lung tissue, and Treg-related cytokines levels. Pretreatment with curcumin, the survival rate climbed to 50%, while the mortality rate was 100% in the CLP group. In addition, splenic CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Treg cells increased in the CLP + Cur group. In vitro, CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Treg cells from naïve CD4+ T cells, STAT5 proportion, and IL-35 expression increased after curcumin treatment. These findings showed that curcumin might regulate IL-35 by activating the differentiation of Treg cells to control the inflammation in acute lung injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of novel quinolinyl imidazolidin-2-imine nickel complexes with different substituents on the imidazolidin-2-imine ligand were synthesized and characterized. The complexes in the presence of methylaluminoxane (MAO) as a cocatalyst catalyzed the copolymerization of norbornene (N) and styrene (S) or para-chlorostyrene (CS) with high activity (up to 1070 kg·mol−1·h−1). The installation of sterically bulky substituents on the imidazolidine-2-imine ligand was effective for the increase of the molecular weight and the comonomer content, affording high molecular weight copolymers with tunable CS content (0.57 mol%–11.7 mol%), in which the existence of Cl group can provide reaction site for the further functionalization of copolymers as well as the synthesis of graft or cross-linked polymers. The linear relationship between the comonomer content and the glass transition temperature of the copolymers and the monomer reactivity ratios in the copolymerization indicated the formation of the expected functionalized cyclic olefin copolymers (COC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Our study aimed to investigate the Hub genes and their prognostic value in colorectal cancer (CRC) via bioinformatics analysis. METHODS: The data set of colorectal cancer was downloaded from the GEO database (GSE21510, GSE110224 and GSE74602) for differential expression analysis using the GEO2R tool. Hub genes were screened by protein-protein interaction (PPI) comprehensive analysis. GEPIA was used to verify the expression of Hub genes and evaluate its prognostic value. The protein expression of Hub gene in CRC was analyzed using the Human Protein Atlas database. The cBioPortal was used to analyze the type and frequency of Hub gene mutations, and the effects of mutation on the patients' prognosis. The TIMER database was used to study the correlation between Hub genes and immune infiltration in CRC. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to explore the biological function and signal pathway of the Hub genes and corresponding co-expressed genes. RESULTS: We identified 346 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 117 upregulated and 229 downregulated. Four Hub genes (AURKA, CCNB1, EXO1 and CCNA2) were selected by survival analysis and differential expression validation. The protein and mRNA expression levels of AURKA, CCNB1, EXO1 and CCNA2 were higher in CRC tissues than in adjacent tissues. There were varying degrees of immune cell infiltration and gene mutation of Hub genes, especially B cells and CD8 + T cells. The results of GSEA showed that Hub genes and their co-expressed genes mainly participated in chromosome segregation, DNA replication, translational elongation and cell cycle. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of AURKA, CCNB1, CCNA2 and EXO1 had a better prognosis for CRC and this effect was correlation with gene mutation and infiltration of immune cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The safety and efficacy of cold snare polypectomy (CSP) compared to those of cold endoscopic mucosal resection (CEMR) have been reported. This meta-analysis compared the efficacy and safety of CEMR and CSP. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched to identify randomized controlled trials comparing the efficacy and safety of CEMR and CSP in removing 3–10 mm polyps. The outcomes assessed included complete resection rate, intraoperative bleeding rate, delayed bleeding rate, perforation, and polyp removal time. The results are reported as risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) derived from a Mantel-Haenszel random-effects model. Results: Seven studies comprising 1,911 polyps were included in the analysis. The complete resection rate of CEMR was comparable to that of CSP (RR: 1.01, 95% CI: 0.99–1.04, p = 0.32). Comparable results were also demonstrated for intraoperative bleeding rate (polyp-based analysis: RR: 1.22, 95% CI: 0.33–4.43, p = 0.77), delayed bleeding rate (polyp-based analysis: RR: 1.34, 95% CI: 0.44–4.15, p = 0.61), and polyp removal time (mean difference: 28.31 s, 95% CI: −21.40–78.02, p = 0.26). No studies reported cases of perforation. Conclusion: CEMR has comparable efficacy and safety to CSP in removing 3–10 mm polyps. Further randomized controlled trials with long-term follow-up are warranted to compare and validate efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fast development of the sensors in the wireless sensor networks (WSN) brings a big challenge of low energy consumption requirements, and Peer-to-peer (P2P) communication becomes the important way to break this bottleneck. However, the interference caused by different sensors sharing the spectrum and the power limitations seriously constrains the improvement of WSN. Therefore, in this paper, we proposed a deep reinforcement learning-based energy consumption optimization for P2P communication in WSN. Specifically, P2P sensors (PUs) are considered agents to share the spectrum of authorized sensors (AUs). An authorized sensor has permission to access specific data or systems, while a P2P sensor directly communicates with other sensors without needing a central server. One involves permission, the other is direct communication between sensors. Each agent can control the power and select the resources to avoid interference. Moreover, we use a double deep Q network (DDQN) algorithm to help the agent learn more detailed features of the interference. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can obtain a higher performance than the deep Q network scheme and the traditional algorithm, which can effectively lower the energy consumption for P2P communication in WSN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Through this prospective study, we aimed to explore the change of molecular modification after the transient scrotal hyperthermia on human sperm. Methods: Ten healthy subjects selected with strict screening criteria underwent testicular warming in a 43 °C water bath for 30 min a day for 10 consecutive days. Semen samples were collected 2 weeks before the first heat treatment and 6 weeks after the first heat treatment. Proteins from the samples were labeled with isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation and analyzed by two-dimensional liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Results: In contrast to the control, of the 3446 proteins identified, 61 proteins were deregulated: 28 were up-regulated and 33 were down-regulated. Approximately 95% of the differentially expressed proteins were found to participate in spermatogenesis, fertilization, or other aspects of reproduction. In particular, the expression of sperm motility and energy metabolism-related proteins AKAP4, SPESP1, ODF1, ODF2, GAPDHS, and ACTRT2, validated by western blotting of the proteins obtained from human and mouse samples, tended to be reduced under scrotal hyperthermia. Conclusions: The results indicated that the proteins AKAP4, ODF1, ODF2, GAPDHS, SPESP1, and ACTRT2, play an important role in the heat-induced reversible reduction in sperm concentration and motility and have the potential to be the biomarkers and clinical targets for scrotal heat treatment induced male infertility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically study the Josephson effect in a quantum anomalous Hall insulator (QAHI) nanoribbon with a domain wall structure and covered by the superconductor. The anomalous Josephson current, the nonzero supercurrent at the zero superconducting phase difference, appears with the nonzero magnetization and the suitable azimuth angle of the domain wall. Dependent on the configuration of the domain wall, the anomalous current peaks in the Bloch type but disappears in the Néel type because the y-component of magnetization is necessary to break symmetry to arouse the anomalous current. The phase shift of the anomalous current is tunable by the magnetization, the azimuth angle, or the thickness of the domain wall. By introducing a bare QAHI region in the middle of the junction which is not covered by the superconductor, the anomalous Josephson effect is enhanced such that the phase shift can exceed π. Thus, a continuous change between 0 and π junctions is realized via regulating the configuration of the domain wall or the magnetization strength. As long as an s-wave superconductor is placed on the top of the QAHI with a domain wall structure, this proposal can be experimentally fabricated and useful for the phase battery or superconducting quantum bit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) is one of the most common complications of mechanical ventilation (MV), which strongly impacts the outcome of ventilated patients. Current evidences indicated that inflammation is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of VILI. Our results showed that MV induced excessive proinflammatory cytokine productions together with decreased CXCL14 and increased PKM2 expressions in injured lungs. In addition, CXCL14 overexpression downregulated PKM2 expression and attenuated VILI with reduced inflammation. Moreover, the overexpression of PKM2 markedly diminished the protective effects of CXCL14 against VILI as reflected by worsened morphology and increased cytokine production, whereas PKM2 knockdown decreased cytokine production and attenuated VILI. Collectively, these results suggested that CXCL14 overexpression attenuates VILI through the downregulation of PKM2-mediated proinflammatory cytokine production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an analysis of local molecular clouds (km s−1, i.e., <1.5 kpc) in the first Galactic quadrant (and), a pilot region of the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting (MWISP) CO survey. Using the Spectral Clustering for Interstellar Molecular Emission Segmentation algorithm to divide large molecular clouds into moderate-size ones, we determined distances to 28 molecular clouds with the background-eliminated extinction-parallax method using the Gaia DR2 parallax measurements aided by AG and AV; the distance ranges from 250 to about 1.5 kpc. These incomplete distance samples indicate a linear relationship between the distance and the radial velocity (VLSR) with a scatter of 0.16 kpc, and kinematic distances may be systematically larger for local molecular clouds. In order to investigate fundamental properties of molecular clouds, such as the total sample number, the line width, the brightness temperature, the physical area, and the mass, we decompose the spectral cube using the density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) algorithm. Post-selection criteria are imposed on DBSCAN clusters to remove the noise contamination, and we found that the separation of molecular cloud individuals is reliable based on a definition of independent consecutive structures in l–b–V space. The completeness of the local molecular cloud flux collected by the MWISP CO survey is about 80%. The physical area, A, shows a power-law distribution, dN/d , while the molecular cloud mass also follows a power-law distribution but is slightly flatter, dN/dM ∝ M−1.96 ± 0.11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathogenic bacteria frequently acquire virulence traits via horizontal gene transfer, yet additional evolutionary innovations may be necessary to integrate newly acquired genes into existing regulatory pathways. The plant bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae relies on a horizontally acquired type III secretion system (T3SS) to cause disease. T3SS-encoding genes are induced by plant-derived metabolites, yet how this regulation occurs, and how it evolved, is poorly understood. Here we report that the two-component system AauS-AauR and substrate-binding protein AatJ, proteins encoded by an acidic amino acid-transport (aat) and -utilization (aau) locus in P. syringae, directly regulate T3SS-encoding genes in response to host aspartate and glutamate signals. Mutants of P. syringae strain DC3000 lacking aauS, aauR or aatJ expressed lower levels of T3SS genes in response to aspartate and glutamate, and had decreased T3SS deployment and virulence during infection of Arabidopsis. We identified an AauR-binding motif (Rbm) upstream of genes encoding T3SS regulators HrpR and HrpS, and demonstrated that this Rbm is required for maximal T3SS deployment and virulence of DC3000. The Rbm upstream of hrpRS is conserved in all P. syringae strains with a canonical T3SS, suggesting AauR regulation of hrpRS is ancient. Consistent with a model of conserved function, an aauR deletion mutant of P. syringae strain B728a, a bean pathogen, had decreased T3SS expression and growth in host plants. Together, our data suggest that, upon acquisition of T3SS-encoding genes, a strain ancestral to P. syringae co-opted an existing AatJ-AauS-AauR pathway to regulate T3SS deployment in response to specific host metabolite signals. Author summary: Compared to well-established models of plant immunity, little is known about how plant pathogenic microorganisms detect their hosts to deploy virulence factors. Here we identify a two-component system AauS-AauR in the plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae that links perception of specific plant-exuded amino acids directly to regulation of genes encoding a virulence-promoting type III secretion system. AauS-AauR also functions in amino acid transport and is present in non-pathogenic pseudomonads, indicating that P. syringae has repurposed this pathway for virulence. Comparative genomics suggests that all pathogenic P. syringae rely on AauS-AauR signaling for T3SS deployment during infection. Therefore, future efforts to inhibit this pathway may be an effective strategy to curb diseases caused by P. syringae across its broad host range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. To identify and analyze factors that influence administration, recognition, and compliance of medicine among community residents in Jilin Province, China. Methods. A survey was carried out among 2417 community residents in Jilin Province, China, to study their administration (CRA), recognition (CRR), and compliance (CRC) of medicine. Multivariate logistic regression analyses and chi-squared tests were performed to assess factors influencing CRA, CRR, and CRC. Results. Logistic analyses showed that gender, educational level, and occupation were influencing factors on CRA; age, educational level, smoking status, and health condition were influencing factors on CRR; and gender, age, occupation, and health condition were influencing factors on CRC. Conclusions. CRA, CRR, and CRC are associated with specific lifestyles and social economic statuses of community residents. Attention should be paid to influencing factors in order to facilitate community pharmaceutical care, promote the rational use of drugs, and ensure the safe use of medications. This study explores the type and extent of professional services provided through community pharmacies in Jilin Province, China, and provides evidence for optimizing the quality of community pharmacy services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dear Sir, In early December 2019, a severe acute respiratory infection was firstly reported in Wuhan and then recognized as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In response to the WHO statements and international concerns regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, the Chinese Society of Nuclear Medicine (CSNM) promptly put forward a consensus on the management of nuclear medical care (NM care) during the COVID-19 epidemic [[7]]. Retrospective NM findings of COVID-19 In retrospective studies, Qin et al. [[13]] and Zou et al. [[14]] have reported the SP 18 sp F-FDG PET/CT findings in COVID-19 patients. [Extracted from the article]

It is very significant to improve the diameter accuracy of micro-shafts fabricated by micro-electrical discharge machining (micro-EDM) in micro-tools application. The diameter accuracy includes the uniformity of a single micro-shaft in axial direction and the repeatability of micro-shafts with the same diameter. A newly proposed method, named twin-mirroring-wire tangential feed electrical discharge grinding (TMTF-WEDG), can realize high uniformity and repeatability of micro-shafts via tangentially feeding and constraining of a narrow slit formed by a twin-mirroring-wire on the diameter of micro-shafts, respectively. Controlling the material removal thickness in single-step machining of micro-shafts is necessary to achieve high uniformity and repeatability. This paper focuses on the effects of the several important factors on the material removal thickness of micro-shafts to reveal the effects on the diameter uniformity and repeatability, including the open voltage, capacitance, feed rate in the Z-direction, feed step in the Y-direction, and tangential feed distance. The results indicate that the lower open voltage or the smaller capacitance or higher Z-direction feed rate, the smaller the thickness of the material removed, which is advantageous for controlling the consistency and repeatability of the micro-shafts. Decreasing of Y-direction feed step from 20 to 5 μm is accompanied by a reduction in material removal thickness, and the material removal thickness of less than 0.4 μm is achieved with a smaller feed step of in the Y-direction. As the tangential feed distance S2 decreases, the material removal thickness of the micro-shafts decreases gradually. In this study, the uniformity and repeatability of brass and tungsten micro-shafts are controlled within 1 μm and 2 μm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bulk Poly(vinyl alcohol)/ZIF-8 (PVA/ZIF-8) porous composite with aligned porous structure was prepared by ice-templating method. The microstructure of PVA/ZIF-8 porous composites was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the composites had regular pore structure and ZIF-8 nanoparticles were evenly distributed on the skeleton of PVA. X-ray diffraction (XRD) test results showed that the crystalline structure of ZIF-8 was well preserved in the composites. The specific surface area of the composite was characterized by nitrogen adsorption/desorption test. The specific surface area of the composite was up to 1160 m2·gt1. PVA/ZIF-8 porous composites could also support a certain weight with almost no volume shrinkage. The carbon dioxide adsorption quantity of the composite was up to 11.3 cm3·gt1, proving that PVA/ZIF-8 porous composite has a good application prospect in the field of carbon dioxide adsorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progranulin (PGRN), which plays an anti-inflammatory role in acute lung injury (ALI), is promising as a potential drug. Studies have shown that regulatory T cells (Tregs) and interleukin- (IL-) 10 can repress inflammation and alleviate tissue damage during ALI. In this study, we built a lipopolysaccharide- (LPS-) induced ALI mouse model to illustrate the effect of PGRN on regulation of Treg differentiation and modulation of IL-10 promoting macrophage polarization. We found that the proportion of Tregs in splenic mononuclear cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells was higher after treatment with PGRN. The increased proportion of Tregs after PGRN intratracheal instillation was consistent with the decreased severity of lung injury, the reduction of proinflammatory cytokines, and the increase of anti-inflammatory cytokines. In vitro, the percentages of CD4+CD25+FOXP3+ Tregs from splenic naïve CD4+ T cells increased after PGRN treatment. In further research, it was found that PGRN can regulate the anti-inflammatory factor IL-10 and affect the polarization of M1/M2 macrophages by upregulating IL-10. These findings show that PGRN likely plays a protective role in ALI by promoting Treg differentiation and activating IL-10 immunomodulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present vibration analysis of a metal foam core sandwich cylindrical thin shell via the Chebyshev collocation method. Three types of metal foam core are taken into account. The governing equations are derived using Hamilton's principle and the Kirchhoff‐Love shell theory. Then, the Chebyshev collocation method is developed to evaluate natural frequencies of the metal foam core sandwich cylindrical shell under various boundary conditions. Results show that the Chebyshev collocation method possesses high accuracy. Moreover, the Sym‐1 metal foam core leads to the largest stiffness of the shell while the Sym‐2 metal foam core leads to the smallest stiffness. The effects of porosity coefficient and core thickness are also highlighted on the vibration characteristics of the metal foam core sandwich cylindrical shell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), which may be related to mitophagy failure. Previous reports suggest that treadmill exercise protects against mitochondrial dysfunction in AD. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between mitophagy and mitochondrial adaptation caused by treadmill exercise in AD. The current study aimed to investigate whether exercise-ameliorated AD is associated with changes in mitophagy activity. Both Wild-type and APP/PS1 transgenic mice were divided into sedentary (WTC and ADC) and exercise (WTE and ADE) groups (n = 9 for each group). WTE and ADE mice were subjected to treadmill exercise for 12 weeks, followed by evaluating the effect of treadmill exercise on learning and memory ability, Aβ plaques, mitochondrial Aβ peptide level, synaptic activity and mitochondrial function. Meanwhile, mitophagy-related proteins PINK1, Parkin, LC3II and P62 were measured in the hippocampal mitochondrial fractions. The results indicated that exercise not only restored learning and memory ability, but also reduced Aβ plaque area, mitochondrial Aβ peptide level, and increased levels of synaptic markers SYN and GAP43, as well as reversed mitochondrial dysfunction (defective mitochondrial ultrastructure, decreased PGC-1α, TFAM and ATP levels) in APP/PS1 transgenic mice. Moreover, exercise increased mitophagy activity as evidenced by a significant decrease in levels of P62 and PINK1 as well as an increase in levels of LC3II and Parkin in ADE mice. These findings suggest that treadmill exercise can enhance mitophagy activity in the hippocampus, which is efficient in ameliorating pathological phenotypes of APP/PS1 transgenic mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mo 2 C@C catalyst was prepared by the calcination method under the argon gas flow of the activated walnut shell-ammonium heptamolybdate hybrid powder mixture, enhancing the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution process. • The waste walnut shell powder was chosen as the carbon source for HER catalysts. • The walnut shell powders derived carbon matrix can enhance the electron transfer. • The open pores can facilitate electrolyte permeation and hydrogen release. Herein, we choose the waste walnut shell as the carbon source, and ammonium heptamolybdate as the molybdenum source to prepare the β-Mo 2 C catalyst supported on carbon matrix (Mo 2 C@C) by the calcination method for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The open pores in the porous Mo 2 C nanoparticle clusters can facilitate electrolyte permeation and hydrogen molecules release as well as the carbon matrix can enhance the conductivity. As a result, the optimal Mo 2 C exhibits an efficient HER performance, with an overpotential of 140 mV at 10 mA cm−2 and a Tafel slope of 63 mV dec−1 as well as excellent electrochemical stability. The strategy changing waste walnut shell into the effective catalysts sets an example for the searching and designing rational energy materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new 3-position substituted imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine ligand, 4-(2-chloroimidazo[1,2-a] pyridine-3-carboxamido)phthalic acid (H2L), was conveniently synthesized and acts as a three-connecting T-shaped building block. Based on this ligand, two isostructural coordination polymers, [ML(H2O)]n (M = Zn (1) and Co (2)) with a rare one-dimensional (1D) ladder-like chain structure, were solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized. There exist hydrogen bond and lone-pair–π interactions between two adjacent ladder chains. Compared to the H2L ligand, coordination polymer 1 reveals a blue-shifted emission stemming from ligand-to-metal charge transfer, meanwhile, coordination polymer 2 presents a dominant antiferromagnetism. Interestingly, the carboxylate anion (COO−) in coordination polymers 1 and 2 could be protonated into carboxylic acid (–COOH), upon exposure to HCl vapor. As a result, coordination polymers 1 and 2 display reversible luminescent switching in the response to acid-base vapor stimuli, which mainly originates from the conversion between lone-pair–π and cation–π interactions mediated by the protonation-deprotonation processes. Such stimulus-responsive conversion between lone-pair–π and cation–π interactions is first reported in coordination polymers, and provides a promising approach to design and construct smart coordination polymer materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Short-term precipitation forecast in local areas based on radar reflectance images has become a hot spot issue in the meteorological field, which has an important impact on daily life. Recently, deep learning techniques have been applied to this field, and the effect is promoted remarkably compared with traditional methods. However, existing deep learning-based methods have not considered the problem that different areas and channels exert different influence on precipitation. In this paper, we propose to incorporate the multihead attention into a dual-channel neural network to highlight the key areas for precipitation forecast. Furthermore, to solve the problem of excessive loss of global information caused by the attention mechanism, the residual connection is introduced into the proposed model. Quantitative and qualitative results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves the state-of-the-art precipitation forecast accuracy on the radar echo dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, the vertical thin nickel–iron layered double hydroxide nanosheets grown on the hills-like nickel framework (NiFe LDH/Ni@NF) are employed for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), securing at the low overpotentials of 197 and 270 mV to obtain the current densities of 20 and 100 mA cm−2, respectively, with a Tafel slope of 73.34 mV dec−1. The electrodeposited nickel film induces the NiFe LDH nanosheets grow vertically and thinly. As well, the nickel abundant interfaces and inner space makes this catalyst effective for OER. It was further served as the OER electrode in a water splitting system coupled the Pt/C cathode, and a cell voltage was at 1.52 and 1.67 V to achieve the current density of 10 mA cm−2 and 50 mA cm−2. In addition, the water electrolyzer can suffer a long time of 24 h at 50 mA cm−2, showing the feasibility in a practical unbiased alkaline water splitting system. • The vertical thin Ni 4 Fe 1 LDH-16h was prepared on the hills-like nickel framework. • The crosslinked nanosheets can offer amounts of active sites for OER. • It achieves a low overpotential of 197 mV to drive 20 mA cm−2 for OER. • The assembled electrolyzer exhibits enhanced performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of the evolution of summer Asian westerly jet (AWJ) in Earth history may deepen our understanding of the behavior of AWJ in the present and future. Here, the variation of summer westerlies and the associated mechanisms over West and East Asia are examined using the last millennium simulations from the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project Phase III (PMIP3). The multimodel ensemble mean of 11 PMIP3 models reproduces the spatial distribution of modern zonal wind at 200 hPa and captures the location and intensity of the summer AWJ well. The results illustrate that the location of summer westerlies over West and East Asia shows no clear long-term trend over the last millennium, whereas there is an enhancing trend for the intensity, but with significant interannual and multidecadal variability. Summer westerlies over West Asia mainly oscillate within ~25-year band in terms of the location and intensity, while the principal periodicity over East Asia oscillate within ~25- and ~15-year band, respectively. Moreover, summer AWJ broadly moves poleward and weakens during the 'Medieval Climate Anomaly' (MCA, AD 1000–1200) relative to the 'Little Ice Age' (LIA, AD 1400–1600), which is attributed to the reduced meridional temperature gradient during the MCA. This poleward shift is consistent with the reconstructed moisture conditions over Central Asia, but the lack of direct proxy for westerlies restricts detailed model–data comparisons. Nevertheless, a possible scenario is presented on the spatiotemporal variation of summer AWJ over the last millennium, which may shed light on the response of the AWJ to natural forcings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By the use of the gauge/gravity duality, we calculate the imaginary part of heavy quarkonium potential and thermal width with the effect of gluon condensate which is absent in AdS 5 background. Our results show that the dropping gluon condensate reduces the absolute value of imaginary potential and therefore decreases the thermal width both in "exact" and "approximate" approach implying that the heavy quarkonium has a weaker bound with the increase of gluon condensate. In addition, the thermal width will disappear at a critical condensate value, which indicates the dissociation of quarkonium. We conclude that increasing gluon condensate will lead to easier dissociation of heavy quarkonium for fixed temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although robotic surgery is popular around the world, its safety and efficacy over classical open surgery is still controversial. The purpose of this article is to compare the safety and efficacy of robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy (RPD) and open pancreaticoduodenectomy (OPD).Methods: A literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library database up to July 29, 2018 was performed and the meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software with Fixed and random effects models applied. The IRB approval and written consent were not needed for this paper.Results: Twelve non-randomized retrospective studies and 1 non-randomized prospective study consisting of 2403 patients were included in this meta-analysis. There were 788 (33%) patients in the RPD group and 1615 (67%) patients in the OPD group. Although RPD was associated with a longer operative time (weighted mean difference [WMD]: 71.74 min; 95% CI 23.37-120.12; p = 0.004), patient might benefit from less blood loss (WMD: - 374.03 ml; 95% CI - 506.84 to - 241.21; p < 0.00001), shorter length of stay (WMD: - 5.19 day; 95% CI - 8.42 to - 1.97; p = 0.002), and lower wound infection rate (odds ratio: 0.17; 95% CI 0.04-0.80; p = 0.02). No statistically significant difference was observed in positive margin rate, lymph nodes harvested, postoperative complications, reoperation or readmission rate, and mortality rate.Conclusions: Robotic pancreaticoduodenectomy is a safe and feasible alternative to open pancreaticoduodenectomy with regard to short-term outcomes. Further studies on the long-term outcomes of these surgical techniques are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorinated ketones are widely prevalent in numerous biologically interesting molecules, and the development of novel transformations to access these structures is an important task in organic synthesis. Herein, we report the multicomponent radical acylfluoroalkylation of a variety of olefins in the presence of various commercially available aromatic aldehydes and fluoroalkyl reagents through N‐heterocyclic carbene organocatalysis. With this protocol, over 120 examples of functionalized ketones with diverse fluorine substituents have been synthesized in up to 99 % yield with complete regioselectivity. The generality of this catalytic strategy was further highlighted by its successful application in the late‐stage functionalization of pharmaceutical skeletons. Excellent diastereoselectivity could be achieved in the reactions forging multiple stereocenters. In addition, preliminary results have been achieved on the catalytic asymmetric variant of the olefin difunctionalization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorinated ketones are widely prevalent in numerous biologically interesting molecules, and the development of novel transformations to access these structures is an important task in organic synthesis. Herein, we report the multicomponent radical acylfluoroalkylation of a variety of olefins in the presence of various commercially available aromatic aldehydes and fluoroalkyl reagents through N‐heterocyclic carbene organocatalysis. With this protocol, over 120 examples of functionalized ketones with diverse fluorine substituents have been synthesized in up to 99 % yield with complete regioselectivity. The generality of this catalytic strategy was further highlighted by its successful application in the late‐stage functionalization of pharmaceutical skeletons. Excellent diastereoselectivity could be achieved in the reactions forging multiple stereocenters. In addition, preliminary results have been achieved on the catalytic asymmetric variant of the olefin difunctionalization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), the interpenetrated MOFs commonly affect the gas adsorption properties. Herein, a cyano-containing 2-connected ligand, 4-(6-(4-cyanophenyl)-[2,3′-bipyridin]-4-yl)benzoic acid (HL1), was used to construct two novel MOFs ([Co(L1)2] and [Zn(L1)2]), and as a result, two two-fold interpenetrated MOFs were expectantly obtained. Both interpenetrated MOFs possess quasi-hexagonal channels and reveal good CO2 gas adsorption capacities at 273 K, attributable to the nitrile groups in the frameworks of MOFs. In contrast to CO2, both interpenetrated MOFs only have very low N2 gas adsorption capacities at 77 K, suggesting potential application in gas separation. More interestingly, when simple modification of the ligand functional group (from the cyano group to the carboxyl group), a new non-interpenetrated MOF ([Co2(L2)2(H2O)]) with rugby-like channels is constructed by using 3-connected 4,4′-([2,3′-bipyridine]-4,6-diyl) dibenzoic acid (H2L2), which is ascribed to the change in ligand functionality (from the cyano group to the carboxyl group). Significantly, this non-interpenetrated MOF reveals much high N2 gas adsorption capacity at 77 K, and moderate CO2 gas adsorption capacity at 273 K owing to the absence of the nitrile groups in the MOF. Furthermore, the magnetic properties of two Co-based MOFs and photoluminescence of three MOFs have also been investigated. The present work provides a promising approach to design and construct interpenetrated/non-interpenetrated MOFs by changing ligand functionality and to tune gas adsorption properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new species of the genus Megophrys from Zhejiang Province, China is described. Molecular phylogenetic analyses supported the new taxon as an independent clade nested into the Megophrys clade and sister to M. lishuiensis. The new species could be distinguished from its congeners by a combination of the following morphological characteristics: (1) small size (SVL 31.0-36.3 mm in male and 41.6 mm in female); (2) vomerine ridge present and vomerine teeth absent; (3) tongue not notched behind; (4) a small horn-like tubercle at the edge of each upper eyelid; (5) tympanum distinctly visible, rounded; (6) two metacarpal tubercles in hand; (7) relative finger lengths: II < I < IV < III; (8) toes with rudimentary webbing at bases; (9) heels overlapping when thighs are positioned at right angles to the body; (10) tibiotarsal articulation reaching tympanum to eye when leg stretched forward; (11) an internal single subgular vocal sac in male; (12) in breeding male, the nuptial pads with black nuptial spines on the dorsal bases of the first and second fingers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, free vibration of a metal foam core sandwich (MFCS) beam embedded in Winkler–Pasternak elastic foundation is studied using the Chebyshev collocation method (CCM). This method can achieve high precision within the range allowed by the effective number of bits of computers. Three foam distribution types along the thickness direction are considered for the core. The Timoshenko beam theory is adopted and Hamilton's principle is utilized to derive the boundary conditions and governing equations of the model. The numerical results show that natural frequencies of the sandwich beam initially increase and then decrease with the rise in thickness of metal foam core. By arranging the foam distribution in the core, natural frequencies of the sandwich beam can be significantly changed. Moreover, natural frequencies of the uniform foam distribution beam are insensitive to the foam coefficient. For the beam with non-uniform foam distribution, however, the natural frequencies increase or decrease with the foam coefficient, depending closely on the foam type. In addition, the present method is validated by comparing with the published ones for special cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quinalizarin has been demonstrated to exhibit potent antitumor activities in lung cancer and gastric cancer cells, but currently, little is known regarding its anticancer mechanisms in human breast cancer cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate the apoptotic effects of quinalizarin in MCF-7 cells and to analyze its molecular mechanisms. The MTT assay was used to evaluate the viability of human breast cancer cells that had been treated with quinalizarin and 5-fluorouracil. Flow cytometric analyses and western blotting were used to investigate the effects of quinalizarin on apoptosis and cycle arrest in MCF-7 cells with focus on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. The results demonstrated that quinalizarin exhibited significant cytotoxic effects on human breast cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. Accompanying ROS, quinalizarin induced MCF-7 cell mitochondrial-associated apoptosis by regulating mitochondrial-associated apoptosis, and caused cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, quinalizarin can activate p38 kinase and JNK, and inhibit the extracellular signal-regulated kinase, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and NF-κB signaling pathways. These effects were blocked by mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitor and N-acetyl-L-cysteine. The results from the present study suggested that quinalizarin induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells through ROS-mediated MAPK, STAT3 and NF-κB signaling pathways. Thus, quinalizarin may be useful for human breast cancer treatment, as well as the treatment of other cancer types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we design a three-dimensional (3D) strongly-coupled polyaniline/crosslinked carbon nanosheets (PANI/CCNs) composite using a facile in-situ chemical polymerization method. The PANI is uniformly and conformally covered on the thin graphene-like biomass-derived CCNs. The interconnected CCNs with high surface area and electrical conductivity can expose more active sites of PANI and enhance the interfacial electron transfer, which contributes to the improvement of specific capacitance and rate performance. The sheets-like PANI can introduce pseudocapacitance through the surface redox reactions on the surface. As a result, the PANI/CCNs composite electrode can reach high specific capacitance of 444 and 340 F g−1 at current densities of 0.1 and 5 A g−1, respectively. The assembled PANI/CCNs//PANI/CCNs symmetric supercapacitor can reach a high specific capacitance of 72.0 F g−1 at a current density of 0.1 A g−1. Moreover, the PANI/CCNs//PANI/CCNs symmetric cell exhibits a high energy density of 28.9 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 85.1 W kg−1, which is competitive in the aqueous PANI-based symmetric supercapacitors. • The willow catkin was adopted as the low-cost carbon source for the preparation of crosslinked carbon nanosheets. • The π–π stacking of PANI chains on the CCNs and the proton transfer from PANI to CCNs introduce abundant active sites. • The assembled symmetric supercapacitor delivers a high energy density of 28.9 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 85.1 W kg-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vanadium oxychloride (VOCl) with layered structure may be a potential cathode material for rechargeable aluminum batteries (RABs) due to its large interlayer spacing and high theoretical capacity. Herein, the VOCl material is employed as the cathode material of RABs for the first time. The corresponding electrochemical performance and mechanisms of the VOCl cathode are investigated. The VOCl cathode after the first charge delivers a high reversible discharge capacity of 124.7 mAh g−1, which is ascribed to the AlCl 4 − deintercalation and the subsequent Al3+ intercalation. However, the discharge capacity fades to 41.5 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles, which is mainly caused by the irreversible AlCl 4 − intercalation/deintercalation during cycling. The electrochemical capacity of the VOCl cathode in the RAB is dominated by the Al3+ intercalation/deintercalation after the first cycle, as confirmed by the electrochemical tests, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, it is found that there is no evident lattice expansion when the AlCl 4 − or Al3+ is intercalated into the interlayers of VOCl. • VOCl was firstly employed as a new cathode material for RABs. • Both AlCl 4 − and Al3+ can be electrochemically intercalated into VOCl. • Reversible Al3+ intercalation/deintercalation in VOCl is preferred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Catalytic performance and NaBH 4 utilization are two crucial concerns in the electrooxidation of NaBH 4. To improve the inherent properties of regular performance and low fuel utilization of the transition metal Co and Ni, an efficient anode catalyst of ultra-thin CoNi nanosheets modified novel 3D self-supported reduced graphene oxide foam is prepared in this work. The alkaline condition borohydride oxidation reaction on the prepared catalyst is investigated in a typical three-electrode system. The prepared catalyst shows a high performance due to the large electrochemical active surface area, low activation energy (8.29 kJ·mol−1), and the small electrochemical impedance it embraced. Linear scan voltammetry recorded in a low concentration of NaBH 4 suggests that borohydride oxidation is a first-order reaction on the prepared catalyst. Based on the unique structure of the catalyst, which is useful to capture the hydrogen and perform further oxidation of hydrogen, higher utilization of NaBH 4 achieved on the catalyst. Besides, the prepared anode catalyst applied to a direct borohydride-hydrogen peroxide fuel cell (DBHPFC). The results of polarization curve and power density curves, as well as stability research, all indicate that the as-prepared catalyst is a highly efficient anode material for application in DBHPFC. Unlabelled Image • Novel 3D self-supported rGO foam skeleton was prepared by a simple template method. • The catalytic activity of CoNi-NS/rGO foam is higher than CoNi-NS/Ni foam electrode. • Self-supported rGO foam matrix improved the utilization efficiency of NaBH4. • CoNi-NS/rGO foam anode catalyst exhibited highest power density of 140 mW·cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian–African monsoonal precipitation (AAMP) has a significant impact on the water availability, biodiversity, and livelihoods of billions of people. A comprehensive understanding of the AAMP behavior over Earth's history will help to make better future projections. Using a set of transient climate simulations over the last 21 000 years (21 ka), the variation of the AAMP and its responses to various external forcings, including orbital insolation, greenhouse gases (GHGs), and ice sheets, are explored. The precipitation evolutions in the individual monsoon domains have the characteristic of hemispheric synchrony over the last 21 ka. Specifically, the AAMP increased from the Last Glacial Maximum to the early Holocene with several abrupt events and then decreased subsequently. The raised orbital insolation and GHGs lead to an overall AAMP increase, but the enhanced insolation tends to induce a systematic northward shift of the Asian–African monsoon domain. Decreased meltwater discharge could promote the African and Indian monsoonal precipitation through strengthening the Atlantic Ocean meridional overturning circulation. However, the lowering of ice sheets (i.e., orographic effect) results in an anomalous dipole precipitation pattern between North China and India. An analysis of the moisture budget suggests that, although different external forcings may lead to the same sign of precipitation change (e.g., both increased insolation and GHGs can cause the enhanced AAMP), the thermodynamic and dynamic contributions to precipitation could vary greatly by region and forcing. This study provides a reference for the long-term behavior of the AAMP with rising GHGs, higher insolation, and potential melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes automatic power control (APC)‐erbium‐doped fiber amplifier (EDFA)‐based scintillation‐suppressed photodetection in satellite optical communication (SOC). It is mainly based on the dynamic gain characteristic of APC‐EDFA. In order to improve the performance, high pass filter (HPF) and Manchester on‐off‐keying (M‐OOK) are introduced as supplemental methods. The proposed scheme is evaluated experimentally under various turbulence channel strengths. The experimental results show that the scintillation effect is suppressed using APC‐EDFA with pump power reduction compared to gain saturation, and an approximate 5.83 dB signal‐to‐noise ratio improvement is obtained compared to adaptive threshold decision with instantaneous turbulence channel state information under a scintillation index of 0.2990. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the dual-wavelength transmission technique for improving the performance of the gain-saturated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-based free-space optical (FSO) communication link. When the gain saturated SOA is used to suppress turbulence-induced scintillation, extinction ratio (ER) degradation effect occurs owing to the high-dynamic gain frequency characteristics for intensity modulation and direct detection (IM/DD) system. The proposed method uses small-spacing dual-wavelength (signal and supplemental wavelengths) transmission to compensate ER degradation by mitigating the gain difference between the bits '1' and '0'. Regarding the supplemental wavelength, continuous wave (CW) with various average powers and differential signal (DS) transmissions are experimentally investigated. The proposed technique is evaluated under various turbulence channel strengths. The experimental results show that the bit-error rate (BER) performance is significantly improved via effective ER degradation compensation and scintillation suppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermo-electro-mechanical nonlinear vibration of circular cylindrical nanoshells on the Winkler–Pasternak foundation is investigated. The nanoshell is made of functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM), which is simulated by the nonlocal elasticity theory and Donnell's nonlinear shell theory. The Hamilton's principle is employed to derive the nonlinear governing equations and corresponding boundary conditions. Then, the Galerkin's method is used to obtain the nonlinear Duffing equation, to which an approximate analytical solution is obtained by the multiple scales method. The results reveal that the system exhibits hardening-spring behavior. External applied voltage and temperature change have significant effect on the nonlinear vibration of the FGPM nanoshells. Moreover, the effect of power-law index on the nonlinear vibration of the FGPM nanoshells depends on parameters such as the external applied voltage, temperature change and properties of the Winkler–Pasternak foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binary transition metal sulfides are considered to be promising electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors because of their ultrahigh electron conductivity and superior electrochemical activity compared to the unitary transition metal sulfides. In this work, copper cobalt sulfides nanowire arrays on nickel foam with different element ratios and porosities are prepared by using a two-step hydrothermal method, and their electrochemical performance is explored. Benefited from the high electrical conductivity, rich active sites and optimized microstructure, the optimized copper cobalt sulfides (CuCo 2 S 4) electrode can achieve a ultrahigh specific capacitance of 2446.6 F·g−1 at 1 A·g−1 and favorable rate performance. The asymmetric supercapacitor assembled with the CuCo 2 S 4 nanowire array and activated carbon (AC) electrodes displays a high energy density of 33.4 Wh·kg−1 at a power density of 751.5 W·kg−1 can be obtained. Additionally, the assembled asymmetric cell shows a favorable capacitance retention of 78% after charging and discharging for 10,000 cycles at a high current density of 4 A·g−1. • The CuCo 2 S 4 electrode achieves an ultrahigh specific capacitance of 2446 F·g−1 at 1 A·g−1. • The CuCo 2 S 4 electrode has unique microstructure and exhibits good rate performance. • The CuCo 2 S 4 /AC-ASC displays high energy density of 33.4 Wh·kg−1 at power density of 751.5 W·kg−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the significance of transperineal two-dimensional ultrasound in the diagnosis and classification of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI).Methods: A total of 87 preoperative SUI patients (group A) from the Department of Gynecology of Peking University People's Hospital were included into this study. These patients were further divided into two groups (groups A1 and A2) according to the severity of their disease. In addition, during the same period, 72 age-matched women without SUI were enrolled into this study and assigned as the control group (group B). Through transperineal two-dimensional ultrasound technique, detrusor wall thickness (DWT) was measured in the resting state, the bladder neck descent (BND) was measured under the maximal valsalva maneuver, the proximal urethral rotation angle (α angle) and posterior vesicourethral angle (β angle) were measured, and the formation of the funnel-shaped urethra was observed.Results: Under the resting state, differences in DWT between groups A and B, as well as between groups A1 and A2, were not statistically significant (P> 0.05). The BND, α and β angles were significantly larger in group A than in group B under the maximal Valsalva maneuver; and the differences were statistically significant (P< 0.05). The formation rate of the funnel-shaped urethra was significantly higher in group A (94%) than in group B (3%), and the difference was statistically significant; while the difference between groups A1 and A2 was not statistically significant (P> 0.05).Conclusion: Transperineal two-dimensional ultrasound can play an assistant role in the diagnosis of female SUI. However, its role in the assessment of the severity of SUI remains to be studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the role of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) during the Last Interglacial (LIG, ∼127 ka) may advance our knowledge on decadal climate variability in a warmer world. In this study, we investigate the PDO–precipitation relationship over eastern China during the LIG based on the NorESM2-LM, which shows the best performance in capturing the observed PDO pattern and the PDO–precipitation relationship among 12 models from the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project Phase 4. Composite analysis shows that summer precipitation during the LIG is generally increased over eastern China in the positive PDO phases relative to the negative phases, which is different from the "drier-wetter-drier" triple pattern in the present day. The discrepant precipitation patterns between the LIG and preindustrial are caused by different responses of composite atmospheric circulations. Moreover, moisture budget analysis indicates that variations of vertical velocity over eastern China largely explain the PDO-linked precipitation patterns during both LIG and preindustrial, although the main causes for vertical motion changes are different across regions and periods based on the quasi-geostrophic ω equation. Additionally, these discrepancies in composite atmospheric circulations are largely linked to differences in PDO patterns and mean climate states between the LIG and preindustrial. Our results suggest a varying relationship between the PDO and precipitation over eastern China in a warmer-than-present world induced by Earth's orbit, which have important implications for PDO reconstructions during the LIG via the PDO-precipitation relationship reported here and shed light on decadal variability of precipitation as well as the associated decadal predictions in a future warmer world. • Divergent response of eastern China precipitation to PDO during the LIG. • Discrepant composite atmospheric circulations cause varied precipitation patterns. • PDO pattern/mean climate state regulate varied precipitation during the LIG jointly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the deployment and penetration of renewable energy is considered to be the fundamental way to solve environmental problems, but whether higher penetration of renewable energy means higher energy efficiency remains to be empirically tested. To reveal the relationship between cleanliness and efficiency in the energy sector, this paper first uses the three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA)method to measure the total factor energy efficiency (TFEE) of 30 provinces in China, and then applies static and dynamic panel threshold regression (PTR)models to estimate the nonlinear effect of renewable energy share on TFEE. The results show that renewable energy is usually beneficial for improving TFEE, but there are prominent heterogeneity and nonlinear characteristics in net electricity exporting and net electricity importing provinces. Renewable energy in low rather than high regimes can significantly improve energy efficiency, indicating that provinces with lower levels of economic development and energy consumption receive higher marginal energy efficiency and are more likely to achieve sustainable development goals. More renewable energy quotas should be given to economically developed and high energy consuming provinces, and comprehensive energy efficiency guarantees and improvement measures must be provided to achieve optimal emission mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigation of summer extreme precipitation during past warm periods may deepen our understanding of its behavior in current and future warmer climates. In this study, we investigate the variation of summer (June-July-August) extreme precipitation and the associated dynamic mechanisms over the Asian and African land monsoon regions during the mid-Pliocene warm period (mPWP) and the Last Interglacial (LIG), using six extreme indices defined by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices. Model results indicate that summer extreme precipitation becomes more intense and frequent over the African land monsoon region during both the mPWP and LIG relative to the pre-industrial, together with longer wet spell and shorter dry spell, though the magnitudes are relatively larger during the LIG than the mPWP. Based on the moisture budget equation, the vertical thermodynamic term and the vertical dynamic term largely account for the increased summer precipitation over the African land monsoon region during the mPWP and LIG, respectively. Over the Asian land monsoon region, summer extreme precipitation is also generally intensified and occurs more frequently during the mPWP and LIG, but with large regional differences. The main contributing factors to precipitation change hence vary greatly with sub-regions and periods. Although the modeled variations of extreme precipitation remain hard to be constrained by geological evidence, our results highlight an intensification of extreme precipitation in a warmer world, though the dominating factors (i.e., thermodynamic vs. dynamic) for precipitation change may vary with the external forcing that induces the warmth. • We studied the variations of summer extreme precipitation during the mPWP and LIG. • We found a general intensification of summer extreme precipitation. • There were obvious regional differences across Asian-African land monsoon regions. • The dominating factors for precipitation change varied with regions and periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the collective motion of self-propelled particles affected by the spatial-dependent noise based on the Vicsek rules. In our model, we consider period boundary condition and only the particles inside a special region will be affected by noise. The consideration of the spatial-dependent noise is closer to reality because of the complexity of the environment. Interestingly, we find that the average deviation between the average motional direction of the system and the orientation of the noisy region is very close to zero when the amplitude of noise is large enough. Particular orientation of the noisy region makes the motional direction of the system parallel to the orientation of the noisy region. The adjustment of the motional direction of the system also depends on the shape, the proportion and the spatial distribution of the noisy region. Our findings may inspire the capture of the key features of collective motion underlying various phenomena. • Spatial-dependent noise is considered based on Vicsek model. • The systems move parallel to the orientation of large-amplitude-noise noisy region. • The systems tend to move parallel to the particular orientation of the noisy region. • Features of noisy region including shape etc also affect the collective motion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical study of the optical diffraction properties of holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC)-based thick volume grating was presented. It is found that the HPDLC grating can selectively diffract the s-polarized light only, p-polarized light only, or both s and p beams by selecting suitable grating parameters. When an electric field is applied, the s- and p-polarized lights exhibit different diffraction behaviors and, thus, the tunable dual-state or three-state polarization switching could be realized. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To explore the prognostic significance of preoperative prognostic nutritional index (PNI) in bladder cancer after radical cystectomy and compare the prognostic ability of inflammation-based indices.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data for 516 patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy in our institution between 2006 to 2012. Clinicopathologic characteristics and inflammation-based indices (PNI, neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio [NLR], platelet/lymphocyte ratio [PLR], lymphocyte/monocyte ratio [LMR]) were evaluated by pre-treatment measurements. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log-rank test. Multivariate analysis with a Cox proportional hazards model was used to confirm predictors identified on univariate analysis. The association between clinicopathological characteristics and PNI or NLR was tested.Results: Among the 516 patients, the median follow-up was 37 months (interquartile range 20 to 56). On multivariate analysis, PNI and NLR independently predicted OS (PNI: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.668, 95% CI: 1.147-2.425, P = 0.007; NLR: HR = 1.416, 95% CI:1.094-2.016, P = 0.0149) and PFS (PNI: HR = 1.680, 95% CI:1.092-2.005, P = 0.015; NLR: HR = 1.550, 95% CI:1.140-2.388, P = 0.008). Low PNI predicted worse OS for all pathological stages and PFS for T1 and T2 stages. Low PNI was associated with older age (>65 years), muscle-invasive bladder cancer, high American Society of Anesthesiologists grade and anemia.Conclusion: PNI and NLR were independent predictors of OS and PFS for patients with bladder cancer after radical cystectomy and PNI might be a novel reliable biomarker for bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The disruption and hyperpermeability of bronchial epithelial barrier are closely related to the pathogenesis of asthma. House dust mite (HDM), one of the most important allergens, could increase the airway epithelial permeability. Heat shock protein (Hsp) 90α is also implicated in the lung endothelial barrier dysfunction by disrupting RhoA signaling. However, the effect of extracellular Hsp90α (eHsp90α) on the bronchial epithelial barrier disruption induced by HDM has never been reported.Methods: To investigate the involvement of eHsp90α in the bronchial epithelial barrier disruption induced by HDM, normal human bronchial epithelial cell line 16HBE14o- (16HBE) cells were treated by HDM, human recombinant (hr) Hsp90α and hrHsp90β respectively and pretreated by1G6-D7, a specific anti-secreted Hsp90α monoclonal antibody (mAb). Hsp90α-silencing cells were also constructed. To further evaluate the role of RhoA signaling in this process, cells were pretreated by inhibitors of Rho kinase, GSK429286A and Y27632 2HCl. Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) and FITC-dextran flux (FITC-DX) were examined as the epithelial barrier function. Expression and localization of adherens junctional proteins E-cadherin and β-catenin were evaluated by western blotting and immunofluorescence respectively. The level of eHsp90α was investigated by concentration and purification of condition media. RhoA activity was determined by using a Rho G-LISA® RhoA activation assay kitTM biochem kit, and the phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC), the downstream signal molecule of RhoA, was assessed by western blotting.Results: The epithelial barrier disruption and the loss of adherens junctional proteins E-cadherin and β-catenin in cytomembrane were observed in HDM-treated 16HBE cells, paralleled with the increase of eHsp90α secretion. All of which were rescued in Hsp90α-silencing cells or by pretreating 16HBE cells with 1G6-D7. Also, 1G6-D7 suppressed RhoA activity and MLC phosphorylation induced by HDM. Furthermore, inhibitors of Rho kinase prevented and restored the airway barrier disruption. Consistently, it was hrHsp90α instead of hrHsp90β that promoted barrier dysfunction and activated RhoA/MLC signaling in 16HBE cells.Conclusions: The eHsp90α mediates HDM-induced human bronchial epithelial barrier dysfunction by activating RhoA/MLC signaling, suggesting that eHsp90α is a potential therapeutic target for treatment of asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we report the three-dimensional self-supported CoMoO 4 nanosheet clusters on the nickel foam (denoted as CoMoO 4 /NF) by a facile hydrothermal-calcination method for efficient hydrogen generation. As a result, the freestanding CoMoO 4 electrode exhibits an efficient electrochemical activity towards hydrogen evolution reaction, showing overpotentials as low as 68 and 178 mV at current densities of 10 and 100 mA cm−2 in the alkaline condition (1 M KOH), respectively, a Tafel slope value of 82 mV per decade. Moreover, the electrode exhibits remarkable electrochemical durability for 1000 cycles. Significantly, the water splitting electrolyzer assembled with CoMoO 4 /NF || NiFe LDH/NF (the nickel iron layered double hydroxide supported on the nickel foam) system achieved 20 mA cm−2 at 1.63 V, showing the CoMoO 4 /NF is promising for practical water splitting applications. • The low-cost and effective transition metal oxide of CoMoO 4 was adopted for hydrogen generation. • The open nanostructure can facilitate permeating electrolyte as well as releasing hydrogen molecules. • The crosslinked nanosheet clusters can offer amounts of active sites for hydrogen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycitein is an isoflavone that reportedly inhibits the proliferation of human breast cancer and prostate cancer cells. However, its anti‐cancer molecular mechanisms in human gastric cancer remain to be defined. This study evaluated the antitumor effects of glycitein on human gastric cancer cells and investigated the underlying mechanisms. We used MTT assay, flow cytometry and western blotting to investigate its molecular mechanisms with focus on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Our results showed that glycitein had significant cytotoxic effects on human gastric cancer cells. Glycitein markedly decreased mitochondrial transmembrane potential (ΔΨm) and increased AGS cells mitochondrial‐related apoptosis, and caused G0/G1 cell cycle arrest by regulating cycle‐related protein. Mechanistically, accompanying ROS, glycitein can activate mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) and inhibited the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and nuclear factor‐kappaB (NF‐κB) signaling pathways. Furthermore, the MAPK signaling pathway regulated the expression levels of STAT3 and NF‐κB upon treatment with MAPK inhibitor and N‐acetyl‐L‐cysteine (NAC). These findings suggested that glycitein induced AGS cell apoptosis and G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest via ROS‐related MAPK/STAT3/NF‐κB signaling pathways. Thus, glycitein has the potential to a novel targeted therapeutic agent for human gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]