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The evolution of faults within the same stress field is frequently influenced by numerous factors, involving the reactivation of pre-existing structures, stress transmission through ductile detachment layers, and the growth, interaction, as well as linkage of new fault segments. This study analyses a complex multi-phase oblique extension fault system in the Nanpu Sag (NPS) of the Bohai Bay Basin (BBB), China. High-resolution three-dimensional (3D) seismic data and analogue modelling indicate that the oblique extensional reactivation of pre-existing structures governs the sequential arrangement of fault segments in the caprock, and they dip synthetically to the reactivated fault at depth. During the NW-SE extension in the Eocene, the predominant movement of the pre-existing fault is strike-slip. Subsequently, during the N-S extension since the Oligocene, inclined at 20° to the pre-existing fault, forming splay fault segments and ultimately creating large en-échelon arcuate faults linked by relay ramps. Using fault throw-distance (T-D) and laser scanning, we reconstructed the fault evolution model of oblique extension reactivation in the presence of a ductile detachment basement. Our study illustrates that the arcuate faults can be categorized into linear master fault segments controlled by pre-existing structures, bending splay faults in the termination zone, and normal fault segments responding to the regional stress field. The interaction between faults occurs among normal faults and strike-slip faults, and the kinematic unification of the two fault systems is accomplished in the intersection zone. As the faults continue to evolve, the new fault segments tend to relinquish the control of pre-existing structures and concentrate more on the development of planar and continuous major faults. The ductile detachment layer significantly contributes to the uniform distribution of strain, resulting in narrow shear zones and discontinuous normal faults in its absence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endometritis is a common bovine postpartum disease. Rapid endometrial repair is beneficial for forming natural defense barriers and lets cows enter the next breeding cycle as soon as possible. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element closely related to growth and development in animals. This study aims to observe the effect of Se on the proliferation of bovine endometrial epithelial cells (BEECs) induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and to elucidate the possible underlying mechanism. Results: In this study, we developed a BEECs damage model using LPS. Flow cytometry, cell scratch test and EdU proliferation assay were used to evaluate the cell cycle, migration and proliferation. The mRNA transcriptions of growth factors were detected by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (AKT) and Wnt/β-catenin pathways were detected by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The results showed that the cell viability and BCL-2/BAX protein ratio were significantly decreased, and the cell apoptosis rate was significantly increased in the LPS group. Compared with the LPS group, Se promoted cell cycle progression, increased cell migration and proliferation, and significantly increased the gene expressions of TGFB1, TGFB3 and VEGFA. Se decreased the BCL-2/BAX protein ratio, promoted β-catenin translocation from the cytoplasm to the nucleus and activated the Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways inhibited by LPS. Conclusions: In conclusion, Se can attenuate LPS-induced damage to BEECs and promote cell proliferation and migration in vitro by enhancing growth factors gene expression and activating the PI3K/AKT and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical switching has important applications in optical information processing, optical computing, and optical communications. The long-term pursuit of optical switch is to achieve short switching time and large modulation depth. Among various mechanisms, all-optical switching based on Kerr effect represents a promising solution. However, it is usually difficult to compromise both switching time and modulation depth of a Kerr-type optical switch. To circumvent this constraint, symmetry selective polarization switching via second-harmonic generation (SHG) in nonlinear crystals has been attracting scientists' attention. Here, we demonstrate SHG-based all-optical ultrafast polarization switching by using geometric phase controlled nonlinear plasmonic metasurfaces. A switching time of hundreds of femtoseconds and a modulation depth of 97% were experimentally demonstrated. The function of dual-channel all-optical switching was also demonstrated on a metasurface, which consists of spatially variant meta-atoms. The nonlinear metasurface proposed here represents an important platform for developing all-optical ultrafast switches and would benefit the area of optical information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The co‐occurrence of depression and diabetes mellitus has been linked to an increased risk of developing cancer. This study aimed to investigate whether depression further amplifies the risk of cancer among individuals with diabetes. Methods: This population‐based matched cohort study utilized Taiwan's National Health Insurance claims database. A total of 85,489 newly diagnosed diabetic patients with depressive disorders were selected, along with 427,445 comparison subjects. The matching process involved age, sex, and the calendar year of diabetes onset. The average follow‐up duration for the two cohorts was 6.4 and 6.5 years, respectively. The primary outcome of interest was the occurrence of overall cancer or cancer at specific anatomical sites. Results: The adjusted hazard ratios for overall cancer incidence were 1.08 (95% CI, 1.05–1.11). For site‐specific cancers, depression exhibited significant associations with oropharyngeal, esophageal, liver, gynecological, prostate, kidney, and hematologic malignancies among patients with diabetes. Notably, a severity‐response relationship was observed, indicating that patients with recurrent episodes of major depressive disorders exhibited a higher incidence of cancer compared to those diagnosed with dysthymia or depressive disorder not otherwise specified. Furthermore, the strength of the association between depression and cancer risk was more pronounced among younger patients with diabetes as opposed to older adults. However, no significant relationship was observed between adherence to antidepressant treatment and cancer risk. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate a significant association between depression and an elevated risk of cancer among individuals diagnosed with diabetes. Future investigations should replicate our findings, explore the effects of pharmacological and non‐pharmacological treatments on cancer risk, and identify the underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rhodium-catalyzed cascade 1,3-sulfinate migration, intermolecular [3+2] annulation of 1-sulfonyl-1,2,3-triazoles and indoles was achieved. The one-pot protocol provided a method to construct cyclopenta[b]indoles bearing four stereocenters in 45% to 99% yields with 1.6:1 to >20:1 diastereoselectivities. In addition, cyclopenta[b]indoles could be transformed into a variety of functionalized compounds, demonstrating the synthetic value of this migration-annulation strategy in ring system synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the effect and molecular mechanism of calycosin, the main active ingredient of Qinshi Simiao San, which can alleviate chronic prostatitis (CP), on CP remain unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the potential mechanism of action of calycosin in CP in a rat CP model. The prostate tissue morphology was evaluated based on hematoxylin–eosin staining. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to evaluate inflammatory cytokine and immune factor levels (secretory immunoglobulin A [SIgA]; immunoglobulin G [IgG]) in prostate tissues and serum. Additionally, representative biomarkers of oxidative stress, including malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were detected using detection kits, and reactive oxygen species release was evaluated using immunofluorescence staining. Furthermore, the p38 mitogenactivated protein kinase (p38MAPK)/NF-kappaB (NF-κB) signaling pathway was analyzed by western blotting. The results showed that calycosin substantially ameliorated the pathological damage to prostate tissues of the CP rats. Moreover, calycosin significantly downregulated interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IgG, and SIgA levels. Furthermore, we found that calycosin considerably suppressed oxidative stress and inhibited the activation of the p38MAPK/NF-κB signaling pathway in rats with CP. In summary, our findings revealed that calycosin protects against CP in rats by inhibiting the p38MAPK/NF-κB pathway [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lymph node transfer has been known as a physiologic approach for -curing " lymphedema . The transplantation of methylene blue and carbon nanoparticles stained lymph nodes aims to investigate their impact on the survival of transplanted lymph nodes. Methods: Four weeks after transplantation, the survival condition of transplanted lymph nodes was detected by the reconnection with lymphatics, reconnected lympliatic function, HE staining, and distribution of B-cells and Tcells. Also, the number of lymphatics (LYVE-1) and blood vessels (CD31) of transplanted lymph nodes was investigated. Results: Reconnected lymphatic function, the number of transplanted lymph nodes of achieving lymphatic reconstruction, and the surviving and potentially surviving ones were close. Besides, the control group (n = 11, 6031: mean = 9.527 =E 1.017, LYVE-1: mean = 21.45 :2 1.780), the methylene blue group (n = 12, CD31: mean = 9.73 £ 0.8998, LYVE-1: mean = 20.67 & 1.601) and the carbon nanoparticles group (n = 11, CD31:mean = 8.709 2 1.435, LYVE-1: mean = 19.60 2 2.268). After calculation, both CD31 and LYVE-1 showed no significant difference statistically among the three groups. Conclusions: Our findings justify the use of methylene blue and carbon nanoparticles in reverse lymphatic mapping, as they can increase the efficiency of collecting "target lymph nodes" and minimize the iatrogenic injury in the donor area while having no significant adverse effects on the survival condition of transplanted lymph nodes. And this approach is easy to operate and worthy of clinical application and popularization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a protective layer of a wound, the medical dressing plays an important role in the healing of the wound. The hydrogel dressing is appeared as a new type of medical dressings and has become a research hotspot. Silk fibroin is a natural polymer protein with excellent biocompatibility, mechanical properties, and various plasticity. In this paper, a drug-loaded silk fibroin hydrogel by the polyethylene glycol was coated on cotton fabrics. The obtained biomedical functional textile dressing had antibacterial properties and biocompatibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper hydrides are very useful in hydrogenation reactions. We report a stable Stryker-type copper hydride reagent protected by hemilabile phosphines: [Cu8H6(dppy)6](OTf)2 (Cu8-H, dppy = diphenylphosphino-2-pyridine). The metal core of this cluster has a bicapped octahedral configuration, and the copper-bound hydrides each triply bridges over a triangular face of the octahedron. This cluster is attractive due to its facile preparation and excellent stability under ambient conditions. The comparable activity and selectivity both in the stoichiometric and catalytic reactions make Cu8-H a promising alternative to Stryker's reagent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the approaches behind and assessment of deep free trade agreements (FTA) and the shallow 2020 U.S.-China Phase One agreement. Topics discussed include the differences between deep and shallow trade agreements particularly in terms of border measures, emphasis of the China's trade agreements on reciprocal exchanges of market access commitments, and potential of the latter agreement to lead to trade diversion discussion.

Lead telluride and its alloys are well known for their thermoelectric applications. Here, a systematic study of PbTe1-ySey alloys doped with indium has been done. The powder X-Ray diffraction combined with Rietveld analysis confirmed the polycrystalline single phase nature of the samples, while microstructural analysis with scanning electron microscope results showed densification of samples and presence of micrometer sized particles. The temperature dependent transport properties showed that in these alloys, indium neither pinned the Fermi level as it does in PbTe, nor acted as a resonant dopant as in SnTe. At high temperatures, bipolar effect was observed which restricted the zT to 0.66 at 800K for the sample with 30% Se content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) remains the deadliest pathogenic bacteria worldwide. The search for new antibiotics to treat drug-sensitive as well as drug-resistant tuberculosis has become a priority. The essential enzyme phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase (PheRS) is an antibacterial drug target because of the large differences between bacterial and human PheRS counterparts. In a high-throughput screening of 2148 bioactive compounds, PF-3845, which is a known inhibitor of human fatty acid amide hydrolase, was identified inhibiting Mtb PheRS at Ki ~ 0.73 ± 0.06 µM. The inhibition mechanism was studied with enzyme kinetics, protein structural modeling, and crystallography, in comparison to a PheRS inhibitor of the noted phenyl-thiazolylurea-sulfonamide class. The 2.3-Å crystal structure of Mtb PheRS in complex with PF-3845 revealed its novel binding mode, in which a trifluoromethyl-pyridinylphenyl group occupies the phenylalanine pocket, whereas a piperidine-piperazine urea group binds into the ATP pocket through an interaction network enforced by a sulfate ion. It represents the first non-nucleoside bisubstrate competitive inhibitor of bacterial PheRS. PF-3845 inhibits the in vitro growth of Mtb H37Rv at ~24 µM, and the potency of PF-3845 increased against an engineered strain Mtb pheS-FDAS, suggesting on target activity in mycobacterial whole cells. PF-3845 does not inhibit human cytoplasmic or mitochondrial PheRS in biochemical assay, which can be explained from the crystal structures. Further medicinal chemistry efforts focused on the piperidine-piperazine urea moiety may result in the identification of a selective antibacterial lead compound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is prone to accumulate mutations and lacks conventional DNA repair mechanisms, deleterious mutations are exceedingly rare. How the transmission of detrimental mtDNA mutations is restricted through the maternal lineage is debated. Here, we demonstrate that mitochondrial fission, together with the lack of mtDNA replication, segregate mtDNA into individual organelles in the Drosophila early germarium. After mtDNA segregation, mtDNA transcription begins, which activates respiration. Mitochondria harboring wild-type genomes have functional electron transport chains and propagate more vigorously than mitochondria containing deleterious mutations in hetreoplasmic cells. Therefore, mtDNA expression acts as a stress test for the integrity of mitochondrial genomes and sets the stage for replication competition. Our observations support selective inheritance at the organelle level through a series of developmentally orchestrated mitochondrial processes. We also show that the Balbiani body has a minor role in mtDNA selective inheritance by supplying healthy mitochondria to the pole plasm. These two mechanisms may act synergistically to secure the transmission of functional mtDNA through Drosophila oogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice varieties with suitable flour-making qualities are required to promote the rice processed-food industry and to boost rice consumption. A rice mutation, Namil(SA)-flo1, produces grains with floury endosperm. Overall, grains with low grain hardness, low starch damage, and fine particle size are more suitable for use in flour processing grains with waxy, dull endosperm with normal grain hardness and a high amylose content. In this study, fine mapping found a C to T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in exon 2 of the gene encoding cytosolic pyruvate phosphate dikinase (cyOsPPDK). The SNP resulted in a change of serine to phenylalanine acid at amino acid position 101. The gene was named FLOURY ENDOSPERM 4-5 (FLO4-5). Co-segregation analysis with the developed cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers revealed co-segregation between the floury phenotype and the flo4-5. This CAPS marker could be applied directly for marker-assisted selection. Real-time RT-PCR experiments revealed that PPDK was expressed at considerably higher levels in the flo4-5 mutant than in the wild type during the grain filling stage. Plastid ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase small subunit (AGPS2a and AGPS2b) and soluble starch synthase (SSIIb and SSIIc) also exhibited enhanced expression in the flo4-5 mutant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to investigate the relationship between hepatitis B virus (HBV) RNA level and pregnancy outcomes among hepatitis B carriers. Methods: This study collected pregnant women who attended the Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University (Guizhou, China) from June 2020 to June 2023. The levels of HBV DNA, HBV RNA, and HBeAg status in HBV carriers were detected. Pregnancy outcomes including intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), gestational hypertension (GH), pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), preterm prelabour rupture of membranes (PPROM), mode of delivery, preterm birth, low birth weight (LBW) and macrosomia. Results: A total of 562 pregnant women were collected, 203 (36.12%) were infected with HBV. Compared with HBsAg negative, HBsAg positive pregnant women had a higher risk of ICP. There were no significant differences in the rates of GDM, GH, pre-eclampsia, PPROM, preterm birth, LBW, macrosomia, and mode of delivery among women in the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that maternal HBV RNA level (OR = 3.814, 95% CI: 2.036~7.142, P< 0.001) was an independent risk factor for ICP in HBsAg-positive pregnant women. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve revealed that the areas under the curve of HBV RNA for prediction of ICP was 0.8652(95% confidence interval 0.7636–0.9669, P< 0.001). Conclusions: The HBV RNA level has a significant negative impact on pregnancy outcomes. It may serve as an indicator to guide the prevention of ICP and improve maternal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroplating sludge (ES) is a globally prevalent hazardous waste that primarily contains Cr, Cu, Ni, and Fe. However, the residual Cr phases within the slag potentially poses an environmental risk in current vitrification. A novel method for effective recovering and solidifying Cr in ES is proposed in this work. ES was desulfurized and subsequently co-treated with ferrosilicon (Fe-Si) and spent carbon anode (SCA) for enhancing the recovery of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Fe to prepare crude stainless steel. Under optimal conditions, the recovery ratios of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Fe reached 96.96%, 99.45%, 99.92%, and 99.20%, respectively, signifying improvements of 21.4%, 0.2%, 1.5%, and 2.8%, respectively, compared with existing research. Meanwhile, the fluoride in SCA yielded CaF 2 , further progressing to the Si-Ca-F-Na-Al-O phase, with a solidification ratio of 97.87%. The Cr leaching content of the residual Cr-Cu-S phase in the slag remained below 5 mg/L across a pH range of 2–4, demonstrating enhanced stability compared to prior alloy, oxide, and chemically dissolved phases. An innovative approach for solidify Cr by forming matte holds implications for the treatment of Cr-containing solid wastes such as chromium slag, tannery sludge and stainless steel slag. [Display omitted] • A novel method for effective recovering and solidifying Cr in electroplating sludge is proposed. • Fe-Si and spent carbon anode collectively contributed to a 96.96% recovery of Cr. • The toxic leaching mechanism of hazardous elements (Cr, Ni, Cu and F) were determined. • A novel harmless treatment via Cr-matte can be widely used in Cr hazardous wastes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) over-the-air (OTA) testing is often executed in multi-probe anechoic chamber (MPAC), the size of which is generally large enough so that the waves radiated from the probes can be considered plane waves in test area. The physical dimension of test setups is a key cost factor. In order to save laboratory space and reduce the cost, a compensation technique for spherical waves synthesising plane waves is proposed, which can be applied in small anechoic chamber. The object is to investigate the performances of the proposed plane wave compensation technique on MIMO terminal OTA testing in small MPAC. In the simulation, this technique presents good performances on various metrics, e.g. field distribution, spatial correlation, power angular spectrum estimation. As demonstrated in simulation, the ring radius of anechoic chamber can be reduced and the conventional far field criteria can be relieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a practical method of determining embankment loads-induced vertical superimposed stress in subsoil by incorporating the effects of contact stress and soil elastoplastic behavior. The particulate-probabilistic theory is introduced to establish a new way of determining contact stress for overcoming the assumptions in the traditional trapezoidal stress distribution approach with instantaneous loading and perfectly flexible loaded area along the base. Then, the Flamant solution is introduced to propose a practical method of determining the vertical superimposed stress in subsoil. A reduction coefficient of 0.85 is suggested for considering the effect of elastoplastic of subsoil. The measured values of contact stress and field settlements are compiled from literature available to validate the proposed equations. It is found that the suggested methods in this study can improve significantly the degree of accuracy of the Osterberg method (Osterberg 1957) in calculating embankment loads induced settlement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat transfer performance of two roll-to-roll microchannel heat exchangers with square cross section and side length ranging from 0.2 mm to 0.5 mm were investigated via numerical studies. In order to assess the heat transfer enhancement, equivalent straight channel heat exchangers were also researched numerically as comparisons. For the roll-to-roll devices, numerical studies demonstrated that there were two reasons for heat transfer enhancement. First, when the average Dean number of the fluid was greater than approximately 10, Dean vortices started to form within the roll-to-roll microchannels, enhancing the convective heat transfer between channels. Second, the compact roll-to-roll structure of the heat exchangers increased the area of heat transfer compared with straight microchannel equivalents, and thus promoted the conductive heat transfer. Numerical simulations noted both higher Nusselt numbers and higher thermal performance factors (TPF) for roll-to-roll microchannel heat exchangers compared with equivalent straight channels and were employed to optimize both the microchannel cross section dimensions and the wall thickness between channels. In addition, the swirling strength and the heat transfer area were also calculated to characterize the convective and conductive heat transfer, respectively, allowing for a comparison between two roll-to-roll microchannel heat exchanger designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apical-basal polarity is a hallmark of epithelia and needs to be remodeled when epithelial cells undergo morphogenetic cell movements. Here, we analyze border cells in the Drosophila ovary to address how apical-basal polarity is remodeled and turned into front-back and inside-outside as well as apical-basal polarities, during collective migration. We find that the Crumbs (Crb) complex is required for the generation of the three distinct but interconnected cell polarities of border cells. Specifically, the Crb complex, together with the Par complex and the endocytic recycling machinery, ensures the strict distribution of two distinct populations of aPKC at the inside apical junction and near the outside lateral membrane. Interestingly, aPKC distributed near the outside lateral membrane interacts with Sif and promotes Rac-induced protrusions, whereas alteration of the aPKC distribution pattern changes the pattern of protrusion formation, leading to disruption of all three polarities. Therefore, we demonstrate that aPKC, spatially controlled by the Crb complex, is a key polarity molecule coordinating the generation of three distinct but interconnected cell polarities during collective migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper endeavours to conceptualize and provide an analytical framework for China's response to U.S. trade policy. It analyses the following questions: what is the new U.S. trade approach? How might China respond to the United States' trade approach? What are the trend and implications of China's response to the U.S. trade approach? It argues, first, that the U.S. trade approach has not changed regarding most of the U.S.-style regulatory disciplines. However, it has changed in terms of the shift toward managed trade, unilateralism and trade enforcement. Second, China will likely adopt a three-track approach: consisting of retaliatory, inclusive and regulatory responses. Third, these responses exist on a political-legal spectrum that spans from a more political retaliatory response through to an inclusive one, or a more legalized approach (regulatory response). The inclusive response is likely to be given primacy by China over the other two responses, and China's responses carry profound implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overall bauplan of the tetrapod brain is highly conserved, yet significant variations exist among species in terms of brain size, structural composition and cellular diversity. Understanding processes underlying neural and behavioral development in a wide range of species is important both from an evolutionary developmental perspective as well as for the identification of cell sources with postdevelopmental neurogenic potential. Here, we characterize germinal processes in the brain of Notophthalmus viridescens and Pleurodeles waltl during both development and adulthood. Using a combination of cell tracking tools, including clonal analyses in new transgenic salamander lines, we examine the origin of neural stem and progenitor cells found in the adult brain, determine regional variability in cell cycle length of progenitor cells, and show spatiotemporally orchestrated neurogenesis. We analyze how maturation of different brain regions and neuronal subpopulations are linked to the acquisition of complex behaviors, and how these behaviors are altered upon chemical ablation of dopamine neurons. Our data analyzed from an evolutionary perspective reveal both common and species-specific processes in tetrapod brain formation and function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This report summarizes the reservoir characterization [Wang et al., J. Hydrol., 2022] and multiphase flow property [Kou et al., J. Hydrol., 2021] in a target deep saline aquifer, upper Minnelusa sandstone in Wyoming. Multiscale petrophysical characterization and flow unit classification were carried out to identify two different facies groups: cross-bedded and massive sandstone. Based on the rock typing results, two representative core samples were selected accordingly to conduct coreflooding experiments. Results illustrate that the sub-core scale heterogeneity significantly affects CO2-brine multiphase flow properties. As a result, the sub-core scale heterogeneity should be considered during CO2 injection to reduce the uncertainties in storage and fluid flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of mononuclear pseudomacrocyclic cobalt complexes have been investigated as catalysts for O2 reduction. Each of these complexes, with CoIII/II reduction potentials that span nearly 400 mV, mediate highly selective two-electron reduction of O2 to H2O2 (93-99%) using decamethylferrocene (Fc*) as the reductant and acetic acid as the proton source. Kinetic studies reveal that the rate exhibits a first-order dependence on [Co] and [AcOH], but no dependence on [O2] or [Fc*]. A linear correlation is observed between log(TOF) vs E1/2(Co[sup III/II]) for the different cobalt complexes (TOF = turnover frequency). The thermodynamic potential for O2 reduction to H2O2 was estimated by measuring the H+/H2 open-circuit potential under the reaction conditions. This value provides the basis for direct assessment of the thermodynamic efficiency of the different catalysts and shows that H2O2 is formed with overpotentials as low as 90 mV. These results are compared with a recently reported series of Fe-porphyrin complexes, which catalyze four-electron reduction of O2 to H2O. The data show that the TOFs of the Co complexes exhibit a shallower dependence on E1/2(MIII/II) than the Fe complexes. This behavior, which underlies the low overpotential, is rationalized on the basis of the catalytic rate law. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Precise and robust localization in a large-scale outdoor environment is essential for an autonomous vehicle. In order to improve the performance of the fusion of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System)/IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)/DMI (Distance-Measuring Instruments), a multi-constraint fault detection approach is proposed to smooth the vehicle locations in spite of GNSS jumps. Furthermore, the lateral localization error is compensated by the point cloud-based lateral localization method proposed in this paper. Experiment results have verified the algorithms proposed in this paper, which shows that the algorithms proposed in this paper are capable of providing precise and robust vehicle localization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we obtained a batch of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) from the transcriptome data of Asian moon scallop Amusium pleuronectes and analyzed the distribution and frequency of these SSRs. A total of 7,315 SSRs were obtained from 159,521 unigenes. Bioinformatics tools were employed to design appropriate primers. A total of 4,038 SSR loci had flanking sequences suitable for polymerase chain reaction primer design. One hundred SSR primers were validated and the rate of successful amplification was 78.0%. Fourteen randomly chosen primer pairs were amplified in Beibu Bay population (BP) and Hainan Baimajing population (HP). The number of alleles at each locus ranged from 2 to 3 in two populations, with mean values of 2.214 and 2.143, respectively. The observed heterozygosity, expected heterozygosity and polymorphism information content of BP were 0.463, 0.646 and 0.281, respectively, while those of HP were 0.309, 0.320 and 0.259, respectively. The developed SSR markers will be helpful for further studies on population genetics, genetic linkage construction and chromosome linkage mapping in the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial aging simulation is one of the most challenging issues in automatic machine based face analysis, where the most essential requirements are (i) human identity should remain stable in texture synthesis and (ii) the texture synthesised is expected to accord with human cognitive perception in aging. In this study, the authors propose a tensor completion based method to transform the simulation task to a standard matrix completion one. To protect human dependent characteristics during texture synthesis, the proposed method processes the two major components, i.e. identity and age, in different channels. Furthermore, they incorporate prior information in such a process, assuming that the textures of different subjects in the same age group are similar and similar looking people tend to age in similar ways, and the metric learning technique is adopted to measure the similarity between identities so that the faces that have the highest similarities with the one in the test image are assigned bigger weights in texture generation. In addition, shape deformation is also considered to make the synthesised images more natural. Experimental results achieved on the FG-NET database demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of 3D video inspired the demand for 3D audio technology and products, but the products on the market currently are difficult to produce a real 3D audio effect synchronized with 3D videos. This article derive generating principles and formulas for movable virtual sound source base on VBAP and Clustering in the 3D sound field, design and implement the method to generate 3D Audio Content, the produced virtual sound source could customize different trajectories and speed in the 3D sound field. As to different 3D audio systems, after modify the corresponding parameters according to the allocation model, could generate suitable 3D audio and make audiences feel ubiquitous audio-visual enjoyment. After field tests in the 3D sound field, the movement of the movable virtual sound source generated by this method is obvious and stable, vastly improves the efficiency and accuracy compared with manual method, provide a high efficiency generating method for related film creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of staged bilateral single-port thoracoscopic lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema (COPE). Eleven male patients with a mean age of 60.27±12.11 years with bilateral COPE and bullae were admitted to the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Xuzhou Central Hospital from January 2013 to June 2014. The patients underwent staged bilateral single-port thoracoscopic LVRS. The hyperinflated bullae were resected using endoscopic staplers (Endo-GIA), followed by continuous suture and biological glue for reinforcement of the margin. In addition, pulmonary function, blood gas assay, 6-min walk distance (6MWD) and life quality evaluated by a short form 36-item health survey questionnaire (SF-36) were recorded before and after LVRS, respectively. All the patients survived after surgery. The chest tube drainage time was 9.09±1.31 days and postoperative hospital stay was 15.73±2.75 days, with 5 cases of persistent air leakage and 7 cases of pulmonary infection which were finally cured. The patients were followed up for 3 to 12 months, and the pulmonary function, partial pressure of oxygen (pO2), 6MWD and life quality after unilateral or bilateral LVRS were improved compared to these parameters before surgery. However, there was no significant difference between unilateral and bilateral LVRS in terms of life quality. In conclusion, staged bilateral single-port thoracoscopic LVRS may improve the short-term life quality of patients with COPE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygenated fluorocarbons are routinely found in sampling of environmental soils and waters as a result of the widespread use of fluoro and chlorofluoro carbons as heat transfer fluids, inert materials, polymers, fire retardants and solvents; the influence of these chemicals on the environment is a growing concern. The thermochemical properties of these species are needed for understanding their stability and reactions in the environment and in thermal process. Structures and thermochemical properties on the mono- to trifluoromethanol, CH3-xFxOH, and fluoromethyl hydroperoxide, CH3-xFxOOH (1 ≤ x ≤ 3), are determined by CBS-QB3, CBS-APNO, and G4 calculations. Entropy, S°298, and heat capacities, Cp(T)'s (300 ≤ T/K ≤ 1500) from vibration, translation, and external rotation contributions are calculated on the basis of the vibration frequencies and structures obtained from the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) density functional method. Potential barriers for the internal rotations are also calculated from this method and used to calculate hindered rotor contributions to S°298 and Cp(T)'s using direct integration over energy levels of the internal rotational potentials. Standard enthalpies of formation, ΔfH°298 (units in kcal mol-1) are CH2FOOH (−83.7), CHF2OOH (−138.1), CF3OOH (−193.6), CH2FOO• (−44.9), CHF2OO• (−99.6), CF3OO• (−153.8), CH2FOH (−101.9), CHF2OH (−161.6), CF3OH (−218.1), CH2FO• (−49.1), CHF2O• (−97.8), CF3O• (−150.5), CH2F• (−7.6), CHF2• (−58.8), and CF3• (−112.6). Bond dissociation energies for the R-OOH, RO-OH, ROO-H, R-OO•, RO-O•, R-OH, RO-H, R-O•, and R-H bonds are determined and compared with methyl hydroperoxide to observe the trends from added fluoro substitutions. Enthalpy of formation for the fluoro-hydrocarbon oxygen groups C/F/H2/O, C/F2/H/O, C/F3/O, are derived from the above fluorinated methanol and fluorinated hydroperoxide species for use in Benson's Group Additivity. It was determined that fluorinated peroxides require interaction terms O/CH2F/O, O/CHF2/O, and O/CF3/O, as opposed to the common (O/C/O) group in hydrocarbons, resulting from interactions of the peroxide oxygen with the fluorines. Hydrogen bond dissociation increment (HBI) groups are also developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce efficiently on-grid energy consumption, the access control strategy in the hybrid energy powered cellular network (HybENet) with base stations (BSs) powered by on-grid energy and renewable energy is studied. Renewable energy has the limitation of unstable availability and capacity, and thus, how to adaptively control the user equipment (UE) access according to the renewable energy state to improve renewable energy utilization and to reduce the on-grid energy consumption is still a great challenge. In this paper, solar energy flow behaviour of the BS is firstly considered modelled as a stochastic queue model, and energy behaviour characteristics are mathematically analyzed by us using the diffusion approximation method. Then, to reduce the on-grid energy consumption, an adaptive access control strategy based on the solar energy state of each BS in HybENet is proposed. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed access control strategy performs excellently in improving both the renewable energy utilization and on-grid energy consumption of the HybENet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel gold-catalyzed intermolecular ynamide amination-initiated aza-Nazarov cyclization has been developed, allowing the facile and efficient synthesis of various 2-aminopyrroles in moderate to good yields. Furthermore, a mechanistic rationale for this tandem sequence, especially for the observed high regioselectivity, is also well supported by DFT (density functional theory) computations. The high flexibility, broad substrate scope, and mild nature of this reaction render it a viable alternative for the construction of 2-aminopyrroles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a modified regularized Newton method (M-RNM) for minimizing a convex function whose Hessian matrices may be singular. At every iteration, not only a RNM step is computed but also two correction steps are computed. We show that if the objective function is LC2, then the method posses local quadratic convergence under a local error bound condition. A globally convergent M-RNM algorithm is also given by using trust region technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electromagnetic railgun temperature field characteristics are important basis for rail design and thermal management. This paper carries out numerical modeling of electromagnetic railgun rail temperature field and studies the temperature field characteristics during and after launch of armature. Firstly, the thermodynamics environment of rails during and after armature launch is analyzed; Then, on the basis of rail conducting contact heat model and rail 3D finite element model we have built, the rail temperature field is simulated by finite element software ANSYS. The temperature field of rail at each moment is obtained. The research results show that: The maximal temperature rise of rail is near the armature initial position; the rail temperature rise gradually decreases from the armature initial position to the muzzle; under the condition of parameters setting in this paper, the temperature rise of each shot near the armature initial position is approximately 8.945°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structure and thermochemical properties of the normal hydroperoxides, CnH2n+1OOH (1 ≤ n ≤ 4), and corresponding peroxy radicals, CnH2n+1OO·(1 ≤ n ≤ 4), are determined by density functional M06-2X, multilevel G4, composite CBS-QB3, and CBS-APNO level calculations. Unique to this study is that the ΔfH°298 values are determined using several isodesmic reactions which utilize experimental standard enthalpy data for CH3OOCH3 and CH3CH2OOCH2CH3 as reference species, where previous studies used atomization or work reactions with alcohols or other nonperoxide species. The S°298 and Cp(T) (300 ≤ T/K ≤ 1500) from vibration, translation, and external rotation contributions are calculated based on the vibration frequencies and structures obtained from the density functional study. Potential barriers for the internal rotations are calculated at B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level, the hindered internal rotation contributions to S°298 and Cp(T) are calculated using direct integration over energy levels of the internal rotational potentials. The results show the following ΔfH°298 values (units in kcal mol-1): CH3OOH (-31.0), CH3CH2OOH (-39.0), CH3CH2CH2OOH (-44.0), CH3CH2CH2CH2OOH (-48.9),CH3OO· (2.4), CH3CH2OO· (-6.2), CH3CH2CH2OO· (-11.4), and CH3CH2CH2CH2OO· (-16.6). Bond dissociation energies for the R-OOH, RO-OH, ROO-H, R-OOj, and RO-Oj bonds are reported. The enthalpy values from the use of experimental data as a reference show very good agreement and support the data obtained from calculation methods. They should be used for reference values. Entropy and heat capacity values show good agreement with the calculation literature. The standard entropies for butyl hydroperoxide, propyl peroxy, and butyl peroxy are corrected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to ensure the safety and effectiveness of magnetic induction hyperthermia in clinical applications, numerical simulations on the temperature distributions and extent of thermal damage to the targeted regions must be conducted in the preoperative treatment planning system. In this paper, three models, including a thermoseed thermogenesis model, tissue heat transfer model, and tissue thermal damage model, were established based on the four-dimensional energy field, temperature field, and thermal damage field distributions exhibited during hyperthermia. In addition, a numerical simulation study was conducted using the Finite Volume Method (FVM), and the accuracy and reliability of the magnetic induction hyperthermia model and its numerical calculations were verified using computer simulations and experimental results. Thus, this study promoted the application of computing methods to magnetic induction therapy and conformal hyperthermia, and improved the accuracy of the temperature field and tissue thermal damage distribution predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a modified regularized Newton method (M-RNM) for minimizing a convex function whose Hessian matrices may be singular. At every iteration, not only a RNM step is computed but also two correction steps are computed. We show that if the objective function is LC², then the method posses local quadratic convergence under a local error bound condition. A globally convergent M-RNM algorithm is also given by using trust region technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Both adolescent substance use and adolescent depression are major public health problems, and have the tendency to co-occur. Thousands of articles on adolescent substance use or depression have been published. It is labor intensive and time consuming to extract huge amounts of information from the cumulated collections. Topic modeling offers a computational tool to find relevant topics by capturing meaningful structure among collections of documents.Methods: In this study, a total of 17,723 abstracts from PubMed published from 2000 to 2014 on adolescent substance use and depression were downloaded as objects, and Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) was applied to perform text mining on the dataset. Word clouds were used to visually display the content of topics and demonstrate the distribution of vocabularies over each topic.Results: The LDA topics recaptured the search keywords in PubMed, and further discovered relevant issues, such as intervention program, association links between adolescent substance use and adolescent depression, such as sexual experience and violence, and risk factors of adolescent substance use, such as family factors and peer networks. Using trend analysis to explore the dynamics of proportion of topics, we found that brain research was assessed as a hot issue by the coefficient of the trend test.Conclusions: Topic modeling has the ability to segregate a large collection of articles into distinct themes, and it could be used as a tool to understand the literature, not only by recapturing known facts but also by discovering other relevant topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrical method is proposed for the microwave characterization of dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulators based on heterodyne mixing. The proposed method utilizes the heterodyne products between the two-tone modulated optical sidebands and frequency-shifted optical carrier, and achieves calibration-free and bias-drift-free microwave measurement of dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulators with high resolution electrical-domain techniques. Our method avoids the extra calibration for the photodetector and reduces half the bandwidth requirement for the photodetector and the electrical spectrum analyzer through carefully choosing a half frequency relationship of the two-tone modulation. Moreover, our measurement avoids the bias drifting problem due to the insensitivity to the bias phase of the modulator under test. The frequency-dependent modulation depths and half-wave voltages are measured for a commercial dual-drive Mach-Zehnder modulator with our method, which agree well with the results obtained by the conventional optical spectrum analysis method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metallo-supramolecular architectures that are constructed by coordination-driven self-assembly have received tremendous attention on account of their diverse yet molecular-level precise structures and broad applications. Of particular, metal cations and counter anions are fundamentally important in terms of self-assembly, characterization and property; however, their effects on the structural stabilities of metallo-supramolecular architectures have seldom been investigated. To address this issue, herein, a series of octahedral metallo-cages that are capable of tolerating with five metal cations (Pd2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Co2+ and Zn2+), and five counter anions (ClO4-, OTf-, BF4-, NTf2- and NO3-) are constructed by the coordination-driven self-assembly of a well-designed tritopic isoquinoline-based ligand with corresponding metal salts. Structural stability studies show that metal cations and counter anions play a critical role in the stability of the resulting cages depending on their coordination abilities and stacking manners. This work provides deep insights in the ever-diversifying field of metallo-supramolecular chemistry, and will enable us to design more sophisticated assembled structure with desired function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional sound effects require a considerable number of sound channels, causing audio-visual spatial orientation sense distortion under circumstances in which the code rate is restricted by the limitation of transmission channel bandwidth and storage capacity. As a result, existing 3D audio systems are incompatible with real-time broadcasting and home theatre applications, severely limiting the application and development of 3D audio systems. By investigating the mechanism of orientation parameters perceptual redundancy, this paper studied 3D spatial orientation cue perceptual characteristics, established an orientation cue perceptual model, developed a heterogeneous quantification table accordingly, and controlled the differences between each quantified value below the quantitative value perception threshold. Using this method, only the information perceptible to the human ear was quantified and perceptual distortions were minimized. The experimental results revealed that, compared to the SLQP method, the quantified bit of the proposed method was reduced by 8.66% in low resolution and 65.23% in high resolution. In addition, the accuracy of this method was higher than that of the SLQP method, enabling better alignment with human perceptual characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically analyze a system where two electrons are trapped separately in two quantum dots on a suspended carbon nanotube (CNT), subject to external ac electric driving. An indirect mechanically induced coupling of two distant single electron spins is induced by the interaction between the spins and the mechanical motion of the CNT. We show that a two-qubit iswap gate and arbitrary single-qubit gates can be obtained from the intrinsic spin-orbit coupling. Combining the iswap gate and single-qubit gates, maximally entangled states of two spins can be generated in a single step by varying the frequency and the strength of the external electric driving field. The spin-phonon coupling can be turned off by electrostatically shifting the electron wave function on the nanotube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation of a-imino gold carbenes via gold-catalyzed intermolecular reaction of azides and ynamides is disclosed. This new methodology allows for highly regioselective access to valuable 2-aminoindoles and 3-amino-β-carbolines in generally good to excellent yields. A mechanistic rationale for this tandem reaction, especially for the observed high regioselectivity, is supported by DFT calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selectfluor-mediated simultaneous cleavage of C-O and C-C bonds in α,β-epoxy ketones has been successfully achieved under transition-metal-free conditions. The reaction gives 1,2-diketone compounds in moderate to good yields involving a ring-opening/benzoyl rearrangement/C-C bond cleavage sequence under oxidative conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel and facile method for the mild construction of fluorinated fluorenones from nonaromatic precursors (1,6-enynes) mediated by a Cu(0)/Selectfluor system has been successfully achieved. Preliminary mechanistic investigations indicate that the reaction may proceed via an unprecedented annulation/C-C single bond cleavage/fluorination sequence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Staphylococcus aureus causes subclinical mastitis as well as persistent and chronic infections in cattle. Bovine mastitis induced by S. aureus is often refractory to antibiotic treatment. Local innate immune defenses play an important role in eliminating the invading bacteria. TLR2 and NOD2 are important pathogen recognition receptors, but their functions have not been investigated in the context of early stages of mastitis. The present study examined TLR2, NOD2, and related cytokines in mammary glands infection induced by S. aureus at early stages in a rat mastitis model. Findings: All inoculated mammary glands developed mastitis. Acute changes were induced in mammary tissues infected with S. aureus at early stages and then chronic infections persisted until the end of the experiment. TLR2 and NOD2 mRNA expression increased significantly after inoculation with S. aureus. The expression levels of cytokine mRNAs, including TNF-α, IL-1(3, IL-6, IL-10, and CXCL1, also increased. TGF-β1 expression was suppressed at early phase and IFN-γ mRNA expression increased significantly at a later stage. Conclusions: Mammary innate immune responses were activated after S. aureus inoculation. TLR2, NOD2, and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, CXCL1, IL-10, TGF-β1, and IFN-γ) are involved in the response to mastitis induced by S. aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolutionarily conserved Dock proteins function as unconventional guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs). Upon binding to engulfment and cell motility (ELMO) proteins, Dock-ELMO complexes activate the Rho family of small GTPases to mediate a diverse array of biological processes, including cell motility, apoptotic cell clearance, and axon guidance. Overlapping expression patterns and functional redundancy among the 11 vertebrate Dock family members, which are subdivided into four families (Dock A, B, C, and D), complicate genetic analysis. In both vertebrate and invertebrate systems, the actin dynamics regulator, Rac, is the target GTPase of the Dock-A subfamily. However, it remains unclear whether Rac or Rap1 are the in vivo downstream GTPases of the Dock-B subfamily. Drosophila melanogaster is an excellent genetic model organism for understanding Dock protein function as its genome encodes one ortholog per subfamily: Myoblast city (Mbc; Dock A) and Sponge (Spg; Dock B). Here we show that the roles of Spg and Mbc are not redundant in the Drosophila somatic muscle or the dorsal vessel.Moreover, we confirm the in vivo role of Mbc upstream of Rac and provide evidence that Spg functions in concert with Rap1, possibly to regulate aspects of cell adhesion. Together these data show that Mbc and Spg can have different downstream GTPase targets. Our findings predict that the ability to regulate downstream GTPases is dependent on cellular context and allows for the fine-tuning of actin cytoskeletal or cell adhesion events in biological processes that undergo cell morphogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: This study evaluated the risk of non-fatal ischaemic stroke associated with increased long-term cumulative duration of atrial tachycardia (AT). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 260 patients with cardiovascular implantable electronic devices capable of monitoring AT. Patients were separated into zero, low and high AT burden groups. The cut-off point between low and high AT burden was defined by the median value of AT burden in the non-zero AT burden groups (5% in 1 year, about 18 days annually). The primary outcome was non-fatal ischaemic stroke. RESULTS: The mean patient age was 63.3 ½ 13.7 years, the average follow-up was 7.0 years and 10 patients had strokes. Multivariate analysis showed only hypertension and a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) were associated with stroke. The risk of stroke in patients with hypertension was 12.57-fold higher than in those without hypertension, and was 20.81-fold higher in patients with paroxysmal AF and 162.59-fold higher in patients with chronic AF than in those without AF. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that stroke-free survival was significantly different in the three AT burden groups (P = 0.002, long-rank test); the rate was greatest in the zero AT burden group, followed by the low AT burden group and was lowest in the high AT burden group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who accumulated an AT duration exceeding 5% (18 days) of the total time in any of the 1-year periods are more likely to have an ischaemic stroke than those who have a low or zero AT burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]