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Background: The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is at the center of a powerful descending antinociceptive neuronal network, and is a key node in the descending pain regulatory system of pain. However, less is known about the altered perfusion of PAG in chronic migraine (CM). Aim: To measure the perfusion of PAG matter, an important structure in pain modulation, in CM with magnetic resonance (MR) perfusion without contrast administration. Methods: Three‐dimensional pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (3D‐PCASL) and brain structure imaging were performed in 13 patients with CM and 15 normal subjects. The inverse deformation field generated by brain structure image segmentation was applied to the midbrain PAG template to generate individualized PAG. Then the perfusion value of the PAG area of the midbrain was extracted based on the individual PAG mask. Results: Cerebral blood flow (CBF) value of PAG in CM patients (47.98 ± 8.38 mL/100 mg min) was significantly lower than that of the control group (59.87 ± 14.24 mL/100 mg min). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the area under the curve was 0.77 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.60, 0.94), and the cutoff value for the diagnosis of CM was 54.83 mL/100 mg min with a sensitivity 84.60% and a specificity 60%. Conclusion: Imaging evidence of the impaired pain conduction pathway in CM may be related with the decreased perfusion in the PAG, which could be considered as an imaging biomarker for the diagnosis and therapy evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrite has been widely used in meat products for its abilities including color formation, antimicrobial properties, flavor formation and preventing lipid oxidation. However, the possible generation of N-nitrosamines through reaction of nitrite with secondary amines arises many concerns in the usage of nitrite. For a long time, nitrite substitution is unsettled issue in the meat industry. Many attempts have been tried, however, the alternative solutions are often ephemeral and palliative. In recent years, bacterial nitric oxide synthase (bNOS) has received attention for its critical roles, especially in reddening meat products. This comprehensive background study summarizes the application of bNOS in colorizing meat products, its functions in bacteria, and methods of regulating the bNOS pathway. Based on this information, some strategies for promoting the nitric oxide yield for effectively substituting nitrite are presented, such as changing the environmental conditions for bacterial survival and adding substrate. Thus, bNOS is a promising nitrite substitute for color formation, and further research on its other roles in meat needs to be carried out to obtain the complete picture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rise and development of autonomy and intelligence technologies, UAVs will have increasingly significant applications in the future. It is very important to solve the problem of low-altitude penetration of UAVs to protect national territorial security. Based on an S-57 electronic chart file, the land, island, and threat information for an actual combat environment is parsed, extracted, and rasterized to construct a marine combat environment for UAV flight simulation. To address the problem of path planning for low-altitude penetration in complex environments, a photosensitivity-enhanced plant growth algorithm (PEPG) is proposed. Based on the plant growth path planning algorithm (PGPP), the proposed algorithm improves upon the light intensity preprocessing and light intensity calculation methods. Moreover, the kinematic constraints of the UAV, such as the turning angle, are also considered. The planned path that meets the safety flight requirements of the UAV is smoother than that of the original algorithm, and the length is reduced by at least 8.2%. Finally, simulation tests are carried out with three common path planning algorithms, namely, A*, RRT, and GA. The results show that the PEPG algorithm is superior to the other three algorithms in terms of the path length and path quality, and the feasibility and safety of the path are verified via the autonomous tracking flight of a UAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

InP‐based quantum dots (QDs) are one of the most promising heavy‐metal‐free materials for light‐emitting applications to substitute cadmium‐analogous QDs. With a bulk band gap of 1.35 eV, InP QDs can be made to emit light in the deep red and even near‐infrared region by adjusting the size. Deep‐red light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) are of great interest for promoting the growth of plants and accurate red LED displays. However, the synthesis and the fabrication of InP‐based quantum‐dot LEDs (QLEDs) emitting in the deep red region are still under development. Here, the study reports deep‐red InP/ZnSe/ZnSeS/ZnS core‐shell QDs with a photoluminescence (PL) emission peak at 680 nm and a PL quantum yield up to 95%, which is the highest among reported deep‐red QDs. Multi‐shell with a transition layer of ZnSeS is realized to decrease the lattice mismatch in the shell and increase the shell thickness, which efficiently confines charge carriers and reduces non‐radiative recombinations. In addition, the core‐shell InP QLED achieves a high luminescence of 2263 cd m−2 and an external quantum efficiency up to 6.5%. This report provides a new strategy for promoting the development of deep‐red QLEDs for next‐generation lighting and display devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of great significance to find new effective drugs for an adjuvant therapy targeting lung cancer to improve the survival rate and prognosis of patients with the disease. Previous studies have confirmed that certain Chinese herbal extracts have clear anti-tumor effects, and in our preliminary study, betulinaldehyde was screened for its potential anti-tumor effects. The current study thus aimed to confirm the anti-tumor effect of betulinaldehyde, using in vitro experiments to explore its underlying molecular mechanism. It was found that betulinaldehyde treatment significantly inhibited the viability, proliferation, and migration of A549 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, betulinaldehyde inhibited the activation of Akt, MAPK, and STAT3 signaling pathways in A549 cells in a time-dependent manner. More importantly, betulinaldehyde also decreased the expression level of SQSTM1 protein, increased the expression level of LC3 II, and increased the autophagy flux in A549 cells. The pretreatment of A549 cells with the autophagy inhibitor, 3-methyladenine, could partially negate the anti-tumor effects of betulinaldehyde. These findings suggest that betulinaldehyde could significantly inhibit the oncological activity of A549 cells by regulating the intracellular autophagy level, making it a potentially effective option for the adjuvant therapy used to treat lung cancer in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of information technology, Smart Campus Card System (SCCS) has become an important part of digital campus construction. Although the characteristics of students' abnormal activities can be reflected in smart campus card records, studies now focus more on analyzing the relationship between normal student activities and smart campus card data. Therefore, we analyzed some features of students' amounts of consumption on campus and their statistical characteristics, and established a dataset based on smart campus card records for the purpose of detecting students' abnormal activities. However, extant anomaly detection methods are prone to the two issues listed below. First, the vast majority of existing unsupervised anomaly detection algorithms are trained by fitting a central piece of the training data while disregarding the anomalous data. Those approaches do not completely eliminate the impact of anomaly data. Secondly, those algorithms have poor time performance on large-scale datasets. This paper proposed a growing model-based one-class support vector machine (GMB-OCSVM) to solve the above problems. Our model outperforms other frontier models in terms of detection accuracy and execution efficiency after extensive testing. In particular, our method processes 61,000 more units of data per second than the OCSVM method in terms of execution efficiency and improves detection accuracy to 92.39%. It demonstrates that our method can effectively handle the challenges of abnormal data interference in the training process and inefficient execution, and can detect abnormal student behavior in the campus daily consumption dataset in an efficient and accurate manner, indicating that our method has some practical utility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose MamlFormer for effective multimodal fusion of LSCC high and low magnification image models. • The manifold block eliminates the redundancy of feature information caused by the background semantics. Eventually, it improves the consistency of LSCC high and low magnification image modalities in the multimodal model. • The adversarial block achieves adaptive learning of a latent metric for the modal distribution of LSCC high- and low-magnification images. Hereby, it enhances the complementarity of the LSCC high- and low-magnification image modalities. Pathologic grading of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) plays a crucial role in diagnosis, prognosis, and migration. However, the grading performance and interpretability of the intelligent grading model based on LSCC low magnification images are poor. This is because it lacks the delicate nuclear information and information more relevant to grading contained in the high magnification images labeled by pathologists. Yet, low magnification images have information such as tissue texture and contours. Thus, we proposed an end-to-end transformer network with manifold adversarial multi-modal learning (MamlFormer). It effectively fuses and learns LSCC high and low magnification pathology image modalities. Firstly, we demonstrate the feasibility and sufficient conditions for modal fusion of LSCC high and low magnification images from Hoeffding's inequality and multimodal co-regularization. Secondly, we design a new manifold block. It constructs the manifold subspace by some principles. Those principles are divisibility, recoverability, and local distance closest of the feature matrix before and after the mapping of the LSCC each magnification image modalities. Meanwhile it can well solve the problems of redundant feature matrix information and weak modal semantic consistency after multimodal learning. Thirdly, we utilize the encoder and the adversarial loss function to implement adversarial block. It can adaptively learn the latent metrics of the modal distributions of LSCC high and low magnification images. Therefore, it also enhances the complementarity of LSCC high and low magnification image modalities. Then, numerous experiments show that MamlFormer outperforms other SOTA models in both grading performance and interpretability. Finally, we also performed generalization experiments on highly prevalent cervix squamous cell carcinoma. The MamlFormer over is superior to other SOTA models in terms of grading performance and interpretability. This indicates its excellent generalization performance and clinical practicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hematite is a promising photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting but its practical performance has been severely hindered by its poor conductivity and sluggish water oxidation kinetics. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), considered as efficient oxygen evolution catalysts (OECs), have been widely applied for PEC water splitting in recent years. Here, we modified an ultrathin (about 2 nm) Co-based ZIF-67 layer on the surface of Sn/Ti co-doped α-Fe2O3 by a simple one-step solvothermal method. The resulting photoanode achieved a photocurrent density of 2 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE, which was four-fold that of pristine Fe2O3. Detailed investigations manifest that Sn and Ti co-doping improves the conductivity of hematite, while ZIF-67 coating not only expands the optical-response range, but also accelerates the charge transfer at the semiconductor–electrolyte (S–E) interface to facilitate water oxidation kinetics. This work provides a method to design and study MOF overlayer decorating hematite photoanodes towards improving the PEC performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CCFM 1266 possesses crucial genes for fermenting dairy and utilizing fructooligosaccharides and mannan oligosaccharides. • CCFM 1266 maintains high viable cell counts during fermentation and storage. • Fermented milk by CCFM 1266 improves flavor compounds and metabolic nutrients. • CCFM 1266 significantly elevates niacin levels in yogurt. • The authors declare no conflict of interest. Previous studies have demonstrated that Ligilactobacillus salivarius CCFM 1266 exhibits anti-inflammatory properties and the capability to synthesize niacin. This study aimed to investigate the fermentative abilities of L. salivarius CCFM 1266 in fermented milk. Metabonomic analysis revealed that fermentation by L. salivarius CCFM 1266 altered volatile flavor compounds and metabolite profiles, including heptanal, nonanal, and increased niacin production. Genomic investigations confirmed that L. salivarius CCFM 1266 possess essential genes for the metabolism of fructose and mannose, affirming its proficiency in utilizing fructooligosaccharides and mannan oligosaccharides. The addition of fructooligosaccharides and mannan oligosaccharides during the fermentation process significantly facilitated the proliferation of L. salivarius CCFM 1266 in fermented milk, with growth exceeding 107 colony-forming units (CFU)/mL. This intervention not only augmented the microbial density but also modified the metabolite composition of fermented milk, resulting in an elevated presence of advantageous flavor compounds such as nonanal, 2,3-pentanedione, and 3-methyl-2-butanone. However, its influence on improving the texture of fermented milk was observed to be minimal. Co-fermentation of L. salivarius CCFM 1266 with commercial fermentation starters indicated that L. salivarius CCFM 1266 was compatible, similarly altering metabolite composition and increasing niacin content in fermented milk. In summary, the findings suggest that L. salivarius CCFM 1266 holds substantial promise as an adjunctive fermentation starter, capable of enhancing the nutritional diversity of fermented milk products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting the state of charge (SOC) is crucial to improving Li-ion battery performance. However, available model-based estimation approaches still face challenges in handling model uncertainty and measurement noise effects on parameter identification. Besides, the widely used unscented Kalman filter (UKF) algorithm has limitations in electric vehicles as it requires the error covariance matrix to maintain positive definiteness, limiting its applicability under certain conditions. This study introduces the bias-compensated forgetting factor recursive least squares (BCFFRLS) method for parameter estimation within the second-order RC equivalent circuit model specific to the INR18650-20R battery. Furthermore, we propose a novel algorithm named the optimization multi-interest adaptive unscented Kalman filter (O-MIAUKF). This algorithm is designed to address stability and robustness issues with traditional UKF encounters in dynamic environments. Experimental validation demonstrates that the O-MIAUKF algorithm excels in maintaining strong stability and robustness in various working conditions, accurately estimating SOC even with a non-positive covariance matrix. The SOC estimation error remains stable at 0.8 %, which is lower than that of the current Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), UKF, and Dual Extended Kalman Filter (DEKF). • For any battery-powered device, correct SOC estimation is critical. • A battery state-space model was developed for state of charge (SOC) estimation. • Model parameter identification using bias-compensated FFRLS approach. • Optimization of traditional UKF to improve the stability of the algorithm. • The algorithm was validated using battery data from various discharge conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, micro/nanoplastics have garnered widespread attention due to their ecological risks. In this study, we investigated the effects of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) of different sizes on the growth and biofilm formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. The results demonstrated that exposure to certain concentrations of PS-NPs significantly promoted bacterial biofilm formation. Meanwhile, we comprehensively revealed its mechanism whereby PS-NPs induced oxidative stress and altered bacterial membrane permeability by contacting or penetrating bacterial membranes. To counteract the stimulation by PS-NPs and reduce their toxicity, bacteria enhanced biofilm formation by upregulating the expression of biofilm-related genes, increasing EPS and virulence factors secretion, and enhancing bacterial motility through the participation of the quorum sensing (QS) system. Additionally, we also found that exposure to PS-NPs enhanced bacterial antibiotic resistance, posing a challenge to antimicrobial therapy. Our study reveals the toxic effects of nanoplastics and the defense mechanisms of bacteria, which has important implications for the risk assessment and management of environmental nanoplastics. [Display omitted] • PS-NP toxicity involved contact stimuli, oxidative stress and membrane permeability. • PS-NPs significantly enhanced bacterial biofilm formation. • Bacteria exposed to PS-NPs increased secretion of EPS and virulence factors. • Bacteria exposed to PS-NPs upregulated expression of biofilm-related genes. • PS-NPs enhanced antibiotic resistance and ARGs expression in bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the influence of air‐frying temperature on the physical properties of sturgeon steaks was explored. Meanwhile, the comparison of traditional deep fat frying (TF) and air fryer frying (AFF) methods on the quality, flavor, and digestibility of sturgeon steaks were investigated. The results indicated that along with the increase of temperature (130, 160, and 190℃) for 15 min, the moisture content of AFF sturgeon steak surface decreased dramatically while that of interior was well preserved. The applied texture property analysis exhibited that AFF sturgeon steak showed the enhanced elasticity, low hardness, and soft texture. The results indicated that AFF sturgeon steak contained higher essential amino acid content than TF sturgeon steak. More flavor compounds (aldehydes, alcohols, and esters) were produced after AFF than TF. Although the digestibility of fried sturgeon steaks decreased after frying, AFF sturgeon steaks were digested rapidly in the stomach and intestine. Conclusively, AFF sturgeon steaks exhibited a crispy texture, appealing flavor, and low oil content. This work provides a certain reference for the suitable frying methods in the processing industry of sturgeon products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quality of interferogram, which is limited by various phase noise, will greatly influence the subsequent processes of interferometric synthetic aperture sonar (InSAS), such as phase unwrapping and digital elevation model (DEM) estimation. Therefore, phase filtering is an essential step in signal processing for InSAS. In this paper, an adaptive filtering method combined with quality map is proposed to suppress the phase noise while preserving the fringe edges. The main advantage of the new approach is the size of filtering window can be adaptively selected according to the quality map. A function between window size and quality map is established, which controls the strength of filtering. In the area of high quality, the window size is large to remove noise, otherwise, in the low quality area, the window size is small to keep edge details. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated via some illustrative simulated experiment and the real InSAS data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydration and swelling of shale cause borehole instability and seriously threaten the drilling safety, especially for the use of water-based drilling fluids. In this paper, the potential application of a typical deep eutectic solvent CU-DES comprised of choline chloride and urea (molar ratio 1:2) as a novel shale inhibitor was investigated for the first time. The inhibitive properties of CU-DES were evaluated by experiments such as bentonite inhibition test, linear swelling test, and shale cuttings hot-rolling dispersion test. Compared with traditional inhibitors KCl and polyether diamine (PDA), CU-DES with a lower concentration exhibited the much higher inhibitive capacity. Furthermore, CU-DES maintained excellent performance even at high temperature (160°C), which made it possible to utilize in high-temperature well drilling. To explain the inhibition mechanism of CU-DES, a series of analytical methods, including particle size distribution measurement, Zeta potential measurement, SEM, FTIR, and XRD were conducted. The results demonstrated that the great inhibitive properties of CU-DES were mainly dependent on both the electrostatic attraction and the hydrogen bond between CU-DES and clay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Urinary incontinence is a syndrome common in older adults, but it is not clear whether urinary incontinence is associated with the risk for mortality in elderly nursing home residents. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis in PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), and Web of Science databases. The Newcastle‐Ottawa Scale (NOS) was used to assess the quality of the included studies. The meta‐analysis was summarized using a random‐effects or fixed‐effects model, and the heterogeneity among studies was examined using the I2 statistic. Findings: Six cohort studies with 1,656 participants were included in the final analysis. The NOS score for each study was greater than 6. Urinary incontinence was significantly associated with a higher risk for mortality in nursing homes, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.20 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12–1.28, I2 = 41.6%). The significant association of urinary incontinence with increased mortality risk was observed in subgroup analysis according to region, status of dementia, and follow‐up period, with a pooled HR of 2.02 (95% CI 1.32–3.11, I2 = 0%) for Asian countries, 1.18 (95% CI 1.11–1.26, I2 = 41.6%) for Western countries, 1.17 (95% CI 1.09–1.26, I2 = 0%) for patients with dementia, 1.35 (95% CI 1.13–1.60, I2 = 58.9%) for patients without dementia, 1.16 (95% CI 1.07–1.25, I2 = 43.2%) for studies with a follow‐up period of 1 year, and 1.30 (95% CI 1.15–1.48, I2 = 24.5%) for studies with a follow‐up period of more than 1 year. Conclusions: Urinary incontinence is associated with an increased risk for death among residents of care facilities. Therefore, it was necessary to screen the elderly dwelling in nursing homes who were experiencing or at risk for urinary incontinence with useful tools (e.g., overactive bladder symptom score, bladder control self‐assessment questionnaire, three incontinence questions). In addition, early interventions strategies, such as weight loss, stopping smoking, pelvic floor muscle training, and medical and surgical treatments would contribute to decreasing the risk for urinary incontinence and preventing adverse outcomes in nursing home residents. Clinical Relevance: In our study, we found that the elderly with urinary incontinence who resided in nursing homes had a higher risk for mortality than those without urinary incontinence. Therefore, urinary incontinence in the elderly residing in nursing homes is of particular concern. Early detection and intervention are important for the elderly with urinary incontinence, and caregivers should be made aware of this importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infrahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC) clamping is considered to be an effective method to reduce central venous pressure (CVP) and intraoperative bleeding in liver resection. However, its efficacy and safety during laparoscopic hepatectomy (LH) remain unclear. We perform this retrospective study to evaluate its efficacy and safety during LH.Methods: Consecutive patients scheduled for LH from September 2014 to August 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. The intraoperative parameters and postoperative outcomes were analyzed.Results: All patients in the infrahepatic IVC clamping group were able to tolerate partial clamping of IVC. The CVP was significantly decreased after infrahepatic IVC clamping without hemodynamic instability (8.7 ± 1.4 cmH2O vs. 2.1 ± 1.3 cmH2O, P = 0.000). Infrahepatic IVC clamping did not significantly reduce total blood loss (287.3 ± 112.5 mL vs. 301.4 ± 127.6 mL, P = 0.133) and blood loss during parenchymal transection (273.2 ± 107.9 mL vs. 296.5 ± 118.1 mL, P = 0.618) compared with the non-clamping group. In subgroup analysis, total blood loss and blood loss during parenchymal transection were significantly reduced in patients with moderate to severe cirrhosis in the clamping group (363.6 ± 71.2 mL vs. 473.4 ± 95.6 mL, P = 0.021), (358.7 ± 70.9 mL vs. 466.9 ± 94.5 mL, P = 0.016), respectively. The complications and hospital stay were comparable.Conclusions: In conclusion, these data suggest that infrahepatic IVC clamping may be safe and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• CAF infiltration degree showed a significant association with clinical characteristics and poor survival in GC. • Integrated analysis identified 1531 differentially expressed genes between NF and CAF, of which 147 genes encode secreted proteins, including FGF2. • CAF infiltration promotes gastric cancer cell proliferation by paracrine FGF2. • FGF2 promotes GC proliferation by enhancing ribosome biogenesis in a FGFR1-dependent manner. The cancer-associated fibroblast (CAF)-derived secretome plays critical roles in tumor progression by remodelling tumor microenvironment. Tumorigenesis is accompanied by the transformation of normal fibroblasts (NF) into CAF, leading to significant changes in their secretome. This work aims to identify the differential components of secretome between NFs and CAFs and reveal their functions in gastric cancer (GC). Firstly, our molecular typing studies and immune infiltration analysis showed that CAF infiltration level was increased and showed a significant association with clinical characteristics and poor prognosis of GC patients. Secondly, RNA-seq analysis revealed that a total of 1531 genes showed significant expression changes between NF and CAF. According to the annotation of the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) database, 147 genes encode secreted proteins, including FGF2. Particularly, the cell co-culture and RNA sequencing studies confirmed that exogenous recombinant FGF2 protein treatment promoted GC cell proliferation by enhancing ribosome biogenesis. The rescue assay showed that CAF-secreted FGF2 protein promotes GC cell growth and proliferation in a FGFR1-dependent manner. Our finding provides evidence that targeting blockade of CAF-derived FGF2 protein might be a promising treatment for GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 3D flower-like Au@N-Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction was successfully designed. • The strong SPR effect of Au obviously enhanced the light response ability. • Au loading significantly boosted separation rate of photogenerated carriers. • 2 %Au@NBOC/CN presented highest photocatalytic activity for SIBX and p-cresol. In this work, 3D flower-like Au@N-Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction was successfully prepared by deposition method. The loading content of Au was regulated to enhance the light absorption performance and accelerate the separation of photogenerated carriers. The crystal structure and microstructure of the photocatalyst were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The activity of heterojunction photocatalysts was investigated by the degradation of sodium isobutyl xanthate (SIBX) and p-cresol under the simulated sunlight. The results show that the 2 %Au@N-Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /g-C 3 N 4 heterojunction exhibits the highest photocatalytic activity for the degradation of SIBX and p-cresol, which was 3.6 and 3.7 times of that of the pristine N-Bi 2 O 2 CO 3 /g-C 3 N 4 , respectively. This work provides useful guidance for the construction of heterojunctions with excellent photocatalytic properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complex design of the duo cold-mill, especially the pass. Aiming at this challenge, a parametric mathematical model of the pass is established in the present study. The cold rolling process of 50 pairs of tubes with reasonable actual rolling quality is simulated to obtain the change law of the rolling force. In the trial rolling test, it is found that there is a small part, which does not have ideal quality. In order to improve the quality of these rolling mills, tube rolling specifications for Φ43 mm × 6 mm~Φ25.4 mm × 1.2 mm are considered as an example, where the dimensional precision of the production tube is considered as the objective function and the change laws of rolling force are considered as the constraint condition. Furthermore, the orthogonal test is used to solve the constraint conditions for finding the best combination of seven design variables of the pass curve. Then the dimension of the pass curve is optimized by best combination. The optimization results show that the change laws of rolling force accord with the constraint conditions, and the average value of ΔD, γ, ΔS, and μ decreases by 63.00%, 62.89%, 58.10%, and 58.10%, respectively. It is concluded that the precision of the optimized pass is obviously better than that of the original pass. Finally, in order to verify the universality of the optimization method, the best design parameter combination for selected 20 groups of different specifications of tube rolling is investigated by the orthogonal test and the trial rolling test is carried out accordingly. The obtained results show that 90% of the rolling effect is ideal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim is to observe the effects of argatroban injection and butylphthalide injection on blood flow rheology, clinical efficacy, and safety in patients with acute cerebral infarction. Methods: 344 patients with acute cerebral infarction within 48 h after admission were divided into treatment group and control group, with 172 cases in each group. The control group received routine treatment. The treatment group received argatroban injection 60 mg on the basis of the control group, intravenously guttae (ivgtt) was used for 2 days and then changed to argatroban injection 10 mg, ivgtt bid for 5 days, and the total course of treatment was 7 days. The neurological changes, activities of daily living, and the rheology indicators (fibrinogen [Fib], platelet aggregation rate [Pag], whole blood high shear viscosity [Whsv], hematocrit [Hct]) were compared between the 2 groups, clinical efficacy and adverse drug reactions. Results: After treatment, the total effective rates of the treatment group and the control group were 90.70% (156 /172 cases) and 74.41% (128 and 172 cases), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). After treatment, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores of the treatment group and the control group were (7.05 ± 1.97) and (8.30 ± 1.79), respectively, and the Barthel index was (68.02 ± 11.07) and (62.32 ± 11.46), respectively. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). After treatment, the treatment group and the control group were (2.66 ± 0.22) g/L and (3.50 ± 0.22) g/L, respectively, and Pag were (0.68 ± 0.06)% and (0.81 ± 0.09)%, respectively, and Whsv was (6.44 ± 0.76) mPs/s and (6.87 ± 0.91) mPs/s, Hct were (8.19 ± 1.21)% and (10.44 ± 1.04)%, respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in the treatment group and the control group was 6.97 and 5.81%, respectively, and the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Argatroban injection is effective in the treatment of acute cerebral infarction, which can significantly improve the hemorheology of patients with good safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Carotid artery stenosis is closely related to cognitive dysfunction, in which decreased cerebral perfusion is one of the important factors. Both carotid artery stent implantation and carotid endarterectomy can relieve stenosis and increase cerebral perfusion. In this study, we aimed to compare the effects of carotid artery stent implantation and endarterectomy on cognitive function. Methods. A total of 98 patients with carotid artery stenosis hospitalized in our hospital from July 2015 to January 2017 were included. Among them, 50 cases underwent carotid artery stent implantation treatment as stent implantation group (CAS group), and 48 cases underwent carotid artery endarterectomy treatment as carotid endarterectomy group (CEA group). Using the Mini-Mental State Examination Scale (MMSE Scale) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale (MoCA Scale), the cognitive function scores of the two groups of patients before and after 3 and 6 months of operation were measured, and the patients were also measured before and after surgery, after the serum NSE, hs-CRP content. Results. The serum NSE, hs-CRP content, MMSE score, and MoCA score of the two groups before treatment were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The MMSE score and MoCA score of the two groups of patients before treatment were lower than the normal value, suggesting carotid artery stenosis combined with different degrees of cognitive dysfunction. Carotid artery stenosis is different, and patients' cognitive function is also different. The MMSE score and MoCA score of the two groups at 3 and 6 months after operation were higher than before treatment, and there was a statistically significant difference between 6 and 3 months after operation (P < 0.05), but at each time There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P > 0.05). The NSE content of the two groups of patients after operation decreased compared with that before treatment, and the decrease in 6 months after operation was more obvious than that in March (P < 0.05). However, the difference between the two groups at each time point was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). The content of hs-CRP in the two groups of patients was higher than that before the operation, and the CAS group was significantly higher than the CEA group; the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion. Carotid artery stent and carotid endarterectomy are effective in improving the cognitive function of patients with carotid stenosis, but there is no significant difference between the two. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and significance of miRNA-146a in peripheral blood of patients with carotid atherosclerosis (CAS). Patients with CAS were selected as the stenosis (CAS) group (n = 180). According to the degree of stenosis, they were divided into the mild stenosis group (MS group, n = 64), moderate stenosis group (M group, n = 62 cases), and severe stenosis group (SS group, n = 54). According to the plaque type, patients were divided into a stable plaque group (SP group, n = 96) and a vulnerable plaque group (VP group, n = 84). Patients without CAS represented the normal group (n = 90). The expression levels of miRNA-146a as well as IL-6 and TNF-α in peripheral blood were detected by RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. The expression levels of miRNA-146a, IL-6, and TNF-α in the CAS group were higher than those in the normal group and positively correlated with the degree of stenosis and plaque vulnerability. The expression levels of miRNA-146a, IL-6, and TNF-α in the stable plaque group were lower than those in the vulnerable plaque group. The area under the curve of miRNA-146a predicting the vulnerability of plaques was significant at 0.641. The expression level of miRNA-146a in the CAS group was positively correlated with IL-6 and TNF-α levels. Our results indicate that miRNA-146a may participate in the occurrence and development of CAS by regulating the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α, which may be potential biomarkers of CAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the expression and significance of miRNA-146a in peripheral blood of patients with carotid atherosclerosis (CAS). Patients with CAS were selected as the stenosis (CAS) group (n = 180). According to the degree of stenosis, they were divided into the mild stenosis group (MS group, n = 64), moderate stenosis group (M group, n = 62 cases), and severe stenosis group (SS group, n = 54). According to the plaque type, patients were divided into a stable plaque group (SP group, n = 96) and a vulnerable plaque group (VP group, n = 84). Patients without CAS represented the normal group (n = 90). The expression levels of miRNA-146a as well as IL-6 and TNF-α in peripheral blood were detected by RT-PCR and ELISA, respectively. The expression levels of miRNA-146a, IL-6, and TNF-α in the CAS group were higher than those in the normal group and positively correlated with the degree of stenosis and plaque vulnerability. The expression levels of miRNA-146a, IL-6, and TNF-α in the stable plaque group were lower than those in the vulnerable plaque group. The area under the curve of miRNA-146a predicting the vulnerability of plaques was significant at 0.641. The expression level of miRNA-146a in the CAS group was positively correlated with IL-6 and TNF-α levels. Our results indicate that miRNA-146a may participate in the occurrence and development of CAS by regulating the expression of IL-6 and TNF-α, which may be potential biomarkers of CAS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A typical anionic surface active ionic liquid (SAIL), 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium dioctylsulfosuccinate (BMOT), was introduced to chemical enhanced oil recovery. The ability of BMOT to reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) of water/crude oil was evaluated for its potential application in surfactant flooding. Compared with the traditional anionic surfactant AOT and another anionic SAIL 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dodecyl sulfate used in the control experiments, the effects of intramolecular electrostatic attraction and size match were employed to interpret the high interfacial activity of BMOT. The effects of salt and temperature on the water/crude oil IFT further verified the proposed mechanisms. Moreover, BMOT exhibited a satisfactory displacement performance to greatly improve the crude oil recovery (12.5% of the initial oil in place) in core flooding tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Machine learning models are established to find the relationship in hydrocracking. • The training data is obtained from a hydrocracking unit rather than simulation. • Principal component analysis (PCA) is used to optimize input variables matrix. • Shapley additive explanation (SHAP) is used in hydrocracking for the first time. • A control framework is proposed based on PCA, machine learning models and SHAP. In this study, the relationship between the operating conditions and the product yields and a control framework of the hydrocracking process was developed. The data were collected from a hydrocracking unit in a Chinese refinery. Principal component analysis was used to decrease the number of input variables. Then support vector machine, Gaussian process regression (GPR), and decision tree regression models were developed to establish the relationship above. The best model is GPR, whose Pearson correlation coefficient between the prediction value and the actual value is greater than 0.97 for all the product yields. Shapley additive explanations were performed to interpret the results of the GPR models. A control framework of the hydrocracking unit was then proposed based on the results above. The results show that the machine learning method is a valuable tool for predicting the yield of hydrocracking products, and the control framework proposed helps optimize hydrocracking product yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The hydroxyapatite nanowires with extremely high loading of Ag NPs are synthesized. • The flow-through reactor was prepared by Ag-loaded nanowires and chitosan. • Remarkable catalytic efficiency for organic dyes was achieved at ultra-high flux. • Excellent disinfection ability for diverse bacteria in river water was realized. The noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) immobilized flow-through reactors have attracted significant attention for the continuous and efficient purification of wastewater contaminated with organic dyes and microorganisms without the need of subsequent recycling processes. However, achieving both high loading of noble metal NPs and high permeation flux concurrently has been a challenge for most reported flow-through reactors. In this study, inspired by the mussel bio-adhesion strategy, we have employed the tannic acid coating method and successfully synthesized Ag NPs-loaded ultralong hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanowires that exhibited an ultra-high loading amount (21.8 wt%). These nanowires were utilized as building blocks alongside chitosan (CS) to fabricate robust and highly porous flow-through reactors (Ag@HAP/CS) for continuous catalytic reduction of organic dyes and water disinfection. The Ag@HAP/CS reactor demonstrates excellent catalytic reduction efficiency (99.3 %) towards MEB at a high flux (2000 L m−2 h−1) with an extremely low concentration of NaBH 4 (MEB:NaBH 4 = 1:1). This result is attributed to the high loading of Ag NPs, great structural stability in flowing water, and sufficient length along the flowing direction. The reactor also shows remarkable recyclability through water flushing. Ag@HAP/CS exhibits remarkable water disinfection performance against Escherichia coli and diverse bacteria in natural river water, achieving nearly 100 % disinfecting efficiency. This study provides new insights into the strategy of using nanomaterials as intermediate carriers of noble metal nanoparticles to fabricate 3D flow-through reactors, which enable fast and continuous purification of wastewater with ultra-high catalytic efficiency and antimicrobial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the mitochondrial genomes of three Stenogastrinae species, Eustenogaster scitula , Liostenogaster nitidipennis and Parishnogaster mellyi were sequenced and annotated, and a total of 16 vespid mtgenomes are comparatively analyzed. Our results indicate that codon usage bias is mainly dominated by mutational pressure, and affected only slightly by natural selection. Selective pressure analysis of protein-coding genes (PCGs) shows that the highest evolutionary rate is present in NADH complex I, and the lowest in cox1. Compared with the reported mtgenomes of other Vespidae, in Stenogastrinae, trnH is shifted to a new position. Phylogenetic analyses are performed using Bayesian method and Maximum Parsimony. Phylogenetic analysis further confirms that the Stenogastrinae is the sister group of all remaining Vespidae. Divergence time of Stenogastrinae from other Vespidae is estimated at ~ 166 Mya. Our results also support that eusociality evolved twice in the family Vespidae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust microporous material (FJI-H19), which is constructed from distorted cuboctahedral cages and distorted octahedral cages, has been successfully synthesized. FJI-H19 possesses good thermal and water stability as well as highly selective adsorption of C3 and C4 hydrocarbons over CH4 under ambient conditions. More importantly, the high selectivities for the separation of CH4/C3 or C4 mixtures (85/15) have not only been estimated by ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) but also definitely confirmed by breakthrough experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a multifactorial disease and the second leading cause of cancer death worldwide. The pathogenesis of colorectal cancer includes genetics, age, chronic inflammation, and lifestyle. Increasing attention has recently been paid to dietary factors. Evidence from epidemiological studies and clinical research suggests that high-fibre diets can significantly reduce the incidence of CRC, whilst the consumption of high-fat diets, high-protein diets, red meat, and processed meat is high-risk factors for tumorigenesis. Fibre is a regulator of intestinal microflora and metabolism and is thus a key dietary component for maintaining intestinal health. Intestinal microbes are closely linked to CRC, with the growth of certain microbiota (such as Fusobacterium nucleatum, Escherichia coli, or Bacteroides fragilis) favouring carcinogenesis, whilst the dominant microbiota population of the intestine, such as Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria, have multiple mechanisms of antitumour activity. Various dietary components have direct effects on the types of intestinal microflora: in the Western diet mode (high-fat, high-protein, and red meat), the proportion of conditional pathogens in the intestinal flora increases, the proportion of commensal bacteria decreases, and the occurrence of colorectal cancer is promoted. Conversely, a high-fibre diet can increase the abundance of Firmicutes and reduce the abundance of Bacteroides and consequently increase the concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in the intestine, inhibiting the development of CRC. This article reviews the study of the relationship between diet, intestinal microbes, and the promotion or inhibition of CRC and analyses the relevant molecular mechanisms to provide ideas for the prevention and treatment of CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel one-step Et 2 Zn mediated silylation of 1-alkynes and chlorosilanes. • High yields and selectivity as well as well substrate tolerance for this method. • Three possible Zn alkynilide intermediates are proposed. • Complementing the existing zinc-mediated synthesis of alkynylsilanes. • Potentially valuable for organic synthesis. A first example of an Et 2 Zn mediated silylation of 1-aklynes is reported. A series of functional groups are tolerated in this reaction. Mechanistic studies support Zn alkynilides as intermediates in the reaction. This reaction protocol provides a practical method for the preparation of alkynylsilanes and expands the application of organometallic zinc in organic synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deposition of amyloid beta (Aβ) is the main hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and there is no effective drug to cure the progressive cognitive loss or memory deficits caused by the aggregative toxicity of Aβ protein. Oxidative stress has been hypothesized to play a role in progressive neurodegenerative diseases like AD. Panax notoginseng saponin (PNS) from the rhizome of "pseudo-ginseng" exhibits potent antioxidant effects on aging process in neuron cells and animals. By using C. elegans as an ideal model organism, the present study shows that PNS (0.5–4 mg/mL) can significantly inhibit AD-like symptoms of worm paralysis and enhance resistance to oxidative stress induced by paraquat and aging conditions. Additionally, PNS extends lifespan and maintains healthspan of C. elegans by improving the swimming prowess and fertility at old age. It markedly activates the expression of SKN-1 mRNA, which further supports SKN-1 signaling pathway which is involved in the therapeutic effect of PNS on AD C. elegans. Our results provide direct evidence on PNS for treating AD on gene level and theoretical foundation for reshaping medicinal products of PNS in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Three deep eutectic solvents CM-DES, CP-DES and CIM-DES were evaluated for their great inhibitive capacity as potential shale inhibitors and all DESs exhibited superior inhibition performance than traditional inhibitor KCl and polyether diamine. Highlights • Three deep eutectic solvents CM-DES, CP-DES, CIM-DES were used as shale inhibitors. • Three DESs exhibited superior inhibitive properties than KCl and polyether diamine. • Both electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonds to clay contributed to the inhibition. • CP-DES with the benzene ring presented the best inhibition performance. Abstract Three different deep eutectic solvents CM-DES, CP-DES and CIM-DES were synthesized and investigated for their novel use as shale inhibitors. Their inhibitive properties were evaluated and compared with traditional inhibitor KCl and currently popular inhibitor polyether diamine (PDA) through the inhibition tests such as bentonite inhibition test, linear swelling test, shale cuttings hot-rolling dispersion test, etc. All three DESs presented remarkable inhibition performance with lower concentrations and performed quite well even at high temperature (160 °C). Based on the results of scanning electron microscopy, Zeta potential measurement, surface tension measurement, thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis, we proposed that the great inhibitive properties of DESs were probably attributed to the electrostatic attraction and hydrogen bond between DESs and clay, and the different structures of DESs resulted in different inhibitive capacity. With the excellent inhibitive properties, the synthesized DESs demonstrated potential application as effective shale inhibitors in water-based drilling fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, an anionic indium–organic framework, FJI-H21, was successfully prepared using an azobenzene-derivated tetra-carboxylate ligand, which had well-shaped honeycomb-like hexagonal channels along the crystallographic b-axis and trapezoidal window-like one-dimensional channels along the crystallographic c-axis. Due to its intrinsic microporosity, FJI-H21 demonstrated highly selective storage of C2–C3 hydrocarbons over CH4 under ambient conditions; furthermore, the selectivities for equimolar light hydrocarbons/CH4, estimated by the ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST), indicated that FJI-H21 could efficiently separate C2–C3 hydrocarbons from CH4. However, FJI-H21 could also selectively adsorb cationic dyes, such as methylene blue (MB), ethyl violet (EV) and cation red (GTL) from anionic or neutral dyes with high uptake, rapid adsorption rate, and good recyclability; especially, using microcrystalline materials developed by fast synthesis, the adsorption rate for cationic dyes was significantly improved by 100-fold as compared to that of block crystals. The abovementioned results indicate that the sizes of the samples have an important influence on their adsorption performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is an urgent issue to enhance oil recovery for unconventional reservoirs with high salinity. Focused on this topic, salt addition is a powerful tool to motivate the surfactant assembly at the water/oil interface and improve the interfacial activity. We used a cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) and an anionic salt dicarboxylic acid sodium (CnDNa) to construct gemini‐like surfactants at the interface and evaluated their ability to reduce the interfacial tension (IFT) between model oil (toluene and n‐decane, v:v = 1:1) and water. Interestingly, the fabrication of a (CTAB)2/C4DNa gemini‐like surfactant was hardly achieved at the fresh water/model oil interface, but accomplished at the brine/model oil interface. At a high NaCl concentration (100,000 mg L−1), the IFT value is reduced to 10−3 mN m−1 order of magnitude, which is generally desired in practical applications. The control experiments displacing the surfactant type and the spacer length further confirmed the NaCl effects on the interfacial assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • MgO (1 0 0) is affordable substrate for hetero-epitaxial growth of high-quality β -Ga 2 O 3 (1 0 0) films. • Optimal O 2 pressure is 7 Pa, resulting in films with great atomic ordering and roughness of 0.216 nm. • The films initialize with a γ -Ga 2 O 3 transition layer and consist of 8–12 nm-wide columnar nanodomains. • AC-TEM reveals occurrence and preferred location of oxygen-vacancies at domain walls. • Derivative SBUVPDs exhibit superior performance of I dark = 0.6 pA, R = 191 A/W , and D = 3.08 × 1015 Jones. Heteroepitaxial growth of high-quality β -Ga 2 O 3 thin films on foreign substrates is of crucial importance for achieving high-performance power-electronic and optoelectronic devices with affordable prices. Herein, we demonstrate realization of heteroepitaxial growth of high-quality β -Ga 2 O 3 films on MgO(1 0 0) via pulsed laser deposition, and achievement of related highly-sensitive solar-blind ultraviolet photodetectors (SBUVPDs). Under optimized oxygen pressure (7 Pa), single-phase, (1 0 0)-oriented, and atomically-smooth β -Ga 2 O 3 films were grown epitaxially on MgO(1 0 0), consisting of unique 8–12 nm-wide columnar nanodomains. Atomically-resolvable aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy unveiled initial growth of a cubic γ -phase transition layer of ∼ 8 nm thickness, and directly visualized occurrence and preferable location of oxygen vacancies at domain walls in the further grown β -Ga 2 O 3 film. Density-functional-theory simulations rationalized the formation of columnar nanodomains in terms of energetics, and presumably identified the nanodomains interface orientations as (11 2 ¯)/(1 1 ¯ 2 ¯). The heteroepitaxial β -Ga 2 O 3 (1 0 0)/MgO(1 0 0) film-based photodetector demonstrates excellent performance, featured with exceedingly-low dark current, remarkably-high light-to-dark current ratio, and ultrahigh responsivity and detectivity (I dark = 0.6 pA, I light / I dark = 1.47 × 107, R = 191 A/W, D* =3.08 × 1015 Jones) as well as fast response speed towards 255 nm-UV detection. This work highlights MgO(1 0 0) as a suited yet affordable foreign substrate for heteroepitaxial growth of high-quality β -Ga 2 O 3 films towards further development of high-performance devices such as SBUVPDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The typical organic salt benzyltrimethylammonium bromide (BMAB) was used to greatly enhance the interfacial activity of the traditional anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS). The additional BMAB caused the obvious reduction of the interfacial tension (IFT) between the SDBS aqueous solution with a low concentration and model oil (V toluene :V n-decane  = 1:1). Based on the special SDBS/BMAB intermolecular interaction, we proposed that the synergistic effect between the electrostatic attraction and π-π stacking interaction largely increased the SDBS interfacial concentration, leading to the dramatic IFT reduction. Three organic salts and two surfactants with similar structures, as well as the typical inorganic salt NaCl, were used in control experiments to confirm our speculation. The interaction energies between SDBS molecules and different organic salts were calculated using molecular mechanics to further interpret the mechanism. The salt and temperature tolerances of the SDBS/BMAB system were systematically investigated. Moreover, the availability of the SDBS/BMAB mixture in brine water/crude oil system was evaluated by the core flooding tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a modified hexagonal tellurite photonic crystal fiber (PCF) with broadband ultra-flattened dispersion near 2 μm regime. By optimizing various structural parameters, the dispersion of the proposed PCF can be kept within 60.47 ps nm −1  km −1 to 61.33 ps nm −1  km −1 from 2.15 μm to 2.85 μm wavelength. More importantly, the corresponding nonlinear coefficients can be as high as 378.1 W −1  km −1 . Leveraging on these advantages, this fiber is suitable for supercontinuum generation toward mid-infrared (MIR) wavelength range. By injecting the hyperbolic secant pulse with peak power of 5 kW and full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 176 fs into the fiber, supercontinuum spectrum covering 2000–4900 nm together with the dispersive wave locating near 933 nm can be produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We aimed to provide a more precise estimate of the relationship between telomere length and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by systematically reviewing evidence.Method: We conducted a systematic electronic search in the databases of the PUBMED, PsycINFO, OVID (Medline), EMBASE and other resources (such as Google Scholar). The methodological quality of the articles was assessed according to the Newcastle Ottawa Scale. Heterogeneity was assessed using the chi-square test for Cochrane's Q statistic and I-squared. When heterogeneity was found to be reasonably high between studies, the random-effects model with the mean difference (95% confidence interval [CI]) was conducted using RevMan 5 software by using the inverse variance method (P < 0.05; chi-square test). By contrast, the fixed-effects model was carried out.Results: Eight eligible studies involving 2639 participants were included in our meta-analysis. Shortened telomere length was significantly associated with OSA with mean difference of -0.03 (95% CI: -0.06, -0.00; P = 0.003 with I-square of 85%）. The results of subgroup analysis preformed by age and sample number suggested that shorter telomere length was significantly associated with OSA, with mean difference of -0.07 (95% CI: -0.07, -0.01; P = 0.005) for adult group and -0.04 (95% CI: -0.02, -0.06; P = 0.005) for large-sample studies.Conclusion: Compared to healthy people, individuals with OSA have shorter telomere lengths which implicates early intervention and timely treatment for preventing future adverse outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal behavior is a highly motivated and well-organized social behavior. Previous studies have reported that anticonvulsants are frequently used in postpartum bipolar disorder. However, the maternal disruptive effect of the anticonvulsants has not been explored. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of anticonvulsants lamotrigine and riluzole on maternal behavior in postpartum female rats. On postpartum Day 3, Sprague-Dawley mother rats were given a single intraperitoneal injection of vehicle, lamotrigine (15, 25, 35 mg/kg), or riluzole (2, 4, 8 mg/kg). Maternal behavior was tested 30 min before and after injection. Animals treated with lamotrigine or riluzole had a longer pup retrieval latency, retrieved fewer pups into the nest, spent less time on nursing pups, as well as on building the disturbed nest, and animals treated with riluzole spent less time on pup licking. Whereas, the drugs in the tested doses did not shorten the total duration of behavior unrelated to maternal behavior. Overall, these data indicate that lamotrigine and riluzole disrupt major components of maternal behavior in postpartum female rats, but do not inhibit the behaviors unrelated to maternal behavior, which indicates that the maternal disruptive effect is not due to nonspecific sedative effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperhomocysteinemia is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is associated with primary causes of mortality and morbidity throughout the world. Several studies have been carried out to evaluate the effects of a diet inducing cystathionine-β-synthase, methyltetrafolate, folic acid, and vitamin B supplemented with methionine on the homocysteine metabolism and in lowering the plasma total homocysteine levels. A large number of molecular and biomedical studies in numerous animals, such as mice, rabbits, and pigs, have sought to elevate the plasma total homocysteine levels and to identify a disease model for human hyperhomocysteinemia. However, a specific animal model is not suitable for hyperhomocysteinemia in terms of all aspects of cardiovascular disease. In this review article, the experimental progress of animal models with plasma total homocysteine levels is examined to identify a feasible animal model of hyperhomocysteinemia for different aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lignin is a renewable source of phenolic compounds for the possible replacement of fossil fuels. However, severe char formation induced by the repolymerization is a crucial challenge for current lignin utilization. Herein, an efficient base-catalyzed depolymerization and in situ hydrogenolysis process of organosolv lignin depolymerization and char elimination was implemented using the synergic catalyst of NaOH and different hydrogenation catalysts. NMR (2D-HSQC and 31 P NMR), TG and GPC techniques were elaborately used to characterize the partly degraded lignin (DL) after catalytic hydrocracking. Meanwhile, the monomeric compounds were characterized and quantified by GC–MS technique. Under an optimal condition with the synergic catalyst of 0.025 mol NaOH coordinated with 5% Ru/C at 260 °C, a low yield of char (6.4%) and high yield of water-soluble fraction (95.4%), including 24.3% degraded lignin, 44.6% water-soluble product and 26.5% oil-soluble product, could be obtained. Additionally, the content of acetic acid was significantly high in the monomeric fraction among all degraded compounds of lignin. Furthermore, the DL exhibits excellent thermal stability, which can be suitable for developing lignin-based flame resistant material. In short, this proposed process extends the depolymerization methodology of lignin in aqueous NaOH system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical injury carried by dried process was an inevitable and hostile problem which could seriously affect the quality and viability of microbial agents. In this study, heat preadaptation was successfully applied as a pretreatment to fight against the physical stresses encountered during freeze-dried and spray-dried process and develop a high activity Tetragenococcus halophilus powder. The results indicated T. halophilus cells maintained a higher viability in dried powder when cells were treated with heat preadaptation before dried process. Flow cytometry analysis illustrated that heat preadaptation contributed to maintain a high membrane integrity during dried process. Besides, glass transition temperatures of dried powder increased when cells were preheated, which further verified that higher stability was obtained in group preadaptation during shelf life. Additionally, dried powder prepared by heat shock presented a better fermentation performance, suggesting heat preadaptation may be a promising strategy to prepare bacterial powder by freeze drying or spray drying. • Heat preadaptation contributes to improve dried powder properties of T. halophilus. • Higher intact of cell membrane were maintained through heat preadaptation. • Shelf life and fermentation performance of dried powder were improved by heat shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a novel circuit structure for second-harmonic multi-phase voltage controlled oscillator (MVCO) is presented. The proposed MVCO is composed of ( being an integer number and 2) identical inductor-capacitor () tank VCOs. In theory, this MVCO can provide 2 different phase sinusoidal signals. A six-phase VCO based on the proposed structure is designed in a TSMC 0.18um CMOS process. Simulation results show that at the supply voltage of 0.8V, the total power consumption of the six-phase VCO circuit is about 1mW, the oscillation frequency is tunable from 2.3GHz to 2.5GHz when the control voltage varies from 0V to 0.8V, and the phase noise is lower than 128dBc/Hz at 1MHz offset frequency. The proposed MVCO has lower phase noise, lower power consumption and more outputs than other related works in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a biologically plausible association between low vitamin D, specifically serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] level, and frailty. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to describe the association between low 25(OH)D level and frailty. We searched literature in OVID (Medline), EMBASE, Web of Knowledge and Cochrane CENTRAL Library Issue in May 2016, for cohort studies evaluating association of low 25(OH)D level with the risk of frailty. Studies were reviewed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA) guidelines. A total of seven studies(17,815 participants)were eligible in our study. The prevalence of frailty ranged from 3.9% to 31.9%. The pooled OR of frailty for the lowest versus the highest level of vitamin D was 1.27 (95% CI=1.17-1.38, I2=59%), suggesting that low level of vitamin D was significantly associated with the risk of frailty. In addition, results of subgroups analysis indicated that low level of vitamin D was significantly associated with the risk of frailty in female (pooled OR=1.27, 95% CI=1.15-1.40). Similar result was also found when frailty was defined by the Fried criteria or the modified Fried criteria (pooled OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.14-1.37), and FRAIL scale (pooled OR=1.55, 95% CI=1.07-2.25). Compared to the highest level of 25(OH)D, the association between frailty and the lowest level of 25(OH)D was significant in our study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic density functional theory calculations have been performed to investigate the adsorption structures and dissociative reaction pathways for H 2 S molecule on Ni(111), Pd(111) and Ni/Pd(111) monolayer bimetallic surfaces with surface monolayer and subsurface monolayer structures. Our results indicate that, for the molecular adsorption mode, the introducing Pd atoms on Ni(111) can enhance the binding strength between H 2 S and the surface, while an opposite effect is achieved when the Ni monolayer is formed on Pd(111) surface. The decompositions of H 2 S molecule on all Ni/Pd(111) surfaces are exothermic, especially for the surfaces that the top layer is composed of Ni atoms. According to the predicted minimum energy paths that connect the molecular and dissociative states, two elementary steps are found for all Ni/Pd(111) metal surfaces, and the breaking of the first H S bond is the rate-determining step for the H 2 S dissociation. Our results reveal that in most cases, the decomposition of H 2 S molecule on the monometallic and Ni/Pd(111) monolayer bimetallic surfaces is easy to happen. However, on the monolayer Ni-Pd(111) surface, there is a competition between the trapping-desorption channel and activated dissociation channel, which implies that depositing one monolayer Ni on a Pd(111) surface may help reducing sulfur poisoning by hindering the dissociation of H 2 S molecule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to suppress the crack formation, water or air cooling after solution treatment is employed to introduce γ phase in a Fe 43.61 Mn 34.74 Al 13.38 Ni 8.27 alloy. In addition to the γ phase, nano-sized B2 and β -Mn phases with an average diameter of 7.8 nm are precipitated in α phase for water cooled samples, while nano-sized β -Mn phase of 11.5 nm is mainly found in the α phase for air cooled samples. This nano-sized coherent B2 phase is beneficial to improving the martensitic reversibility, while the nano-sized incoherent β -Mn phase has no positive effect on achieving the good martensitic reversibility. Furthermore, the nano-sized coherent B2 phase is more effective to avoid the formation of hairpin-shaped dislocations at γ′/α interface than the nano-sized incoherent β -Mn phase. The above two reasons are the main causes of that the reversibility of stress-induced γ′ martensite in the water cooled samples is better than that in the air cooled samples. As a result, the water cooled samples exhibit strong shape memory effect while the air cooled samples have weak one. For the purpose of obtaining the good shape memory effect in FeMnAlNi alloys, the nano-sized coherent B2 phase is expected to be precipitated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2 has been widely used as a key catalyst in photocatalytic reactions; it also shows good catalytic activity for esterification reactions. Different sulfated M-TiO2 nanoparticles (M = Ag, Au, Rh, and Pt) were prepared by photodeposition and ultrasonic methods. The results show that the noble metal nanoparticles, which were loaded onto a TiO2 surface, slightly affected the crystal phase and particle size of TiO2. Among all the catalysts, SO42-/Au-TiO2 exhibited the best catalytic activity in the esterification reaction for the synthesis of citric acid n-butyl acetate and in the decomposition of methyl orange, as confirmed by a high conversion rate of up to 98.2% and 100% degradation rate, respectively. This can be attributed to an increase in the Lewis acidity of the catalyst and increased separation efficiency of electron-hole pairs. This superior catalyst has great potential applications in esterification reactions and wastewater treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical shutter is an important component for atom-interferometry-based precision measurements. To decrease its vibration noise and improve its performance, we present a compact design with a direct current motor and a photodetector inserted in a compact aluminum structure. The photodetector in the blade is driven by the motor to move either in or out of the way of the laser beam. This design can suppress laser intensity fluctuation down to 0.26% over 6 h in the method of sample and hold proportional-integral-derivative feedback. It is also quiet via an electrical braking process which not only reduces its vibration noise by an order of magnitude but also quickens and stabilizes its switching performance. The shutter has a switching time of 0.8 ms and an activation delay of 8 ms with low jitters. Besides, the shutter can work for over ten million cycles normally and reliably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]