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Understanding the acoustic characteristics of hydrates in various sediments is crucial for hydrate resource detection and safe and efficient exploitation, as hydrate occurrence patterns vary greatly in different sediments. In this work, sediments with different bentonite contents, water saturations, and types were prepared to investigate the characteristics of P-wave velocity (reflecting the magnitude of hydrate saturation in the sediment) and amplitude (reflecting the degree of hydrate-sediment cementation) during hydrate formation and depressurization. During hydrate formation, the P-wave velocity and amplitude have similar trends. As clay content increases, the P-wave velocity increase rates quickened. On the other hand, the increased rate of P-wave velocity slows down with the increase of water saturation in the clay-bearing sediments. Comparing various types of sediment shows that the water absorption and swelling of bentonite reduce the pore space, speeding up the cementation of the hydrate with the sediment and increasing P-wave velocity at a faster rate. Correspondence between P-wave velocity and hydrate saturation is strongly related to sediment type, clay content, and water saturation. The rapidly decreasing amplitude in the early stage of hydrate depressurization indicates that hydrate in clay-bearing sediments is weakly cemented to the sediments, which is prone to stratigraphic instability. The findings of this study offer guidance for hydrate resource assessments in clay-bearing sediments as well as geologic risk estimations during hydrate mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is essential for long-term potentiation (LTP) of excitatory synapses that is linked to learning and memory. In this study, we focused on understanding how interactions between CaMKIIα and the actin-crosslinking protein α-actinin-2 underlie long-lasting changes in dendritic spine architecture. We found that association of the two proteins was unexpectedly elevated within 2 minutes of NMDA receptor stimulation that triggers structural LTP in primary hippocampal neurons. Furthermore, disruption of interactions between the two proteins prevented the accumulation of enlarged mushroom-type dendritic spines following NMDA receptor activation. α-Actinin-2 binds to the regulatory segment of CaMKII. Calorimetry experiments, and a crystal structure of α-actinin-2 EF hands 3 and 4 in complex with the CaMKII regulatory segment, indicate that the regulatory segment of autoinhibited CaMKII is not fully accessible to α-actinin-2. Pull-down experiments show that occupation of the CaMKII substrate-binding groove by GluN2B markedly increases α-actinin-2 access to the CaMKII regulatory segment. Furthermore, in situ labelling experiments are consistent with the notion that recruitment of CaMKII to NMDA receptors contributes to elevated interactions between the kinase and α-actinin-2 during structural LTP. Overall, our study provides new mechanistic insight into the molecular basis of structural LTP and reveals an added layer of sophistication to the function of CaMKII. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new compounds (1–4) were isolated from the whole plants of two species of Delphinium, including two C20-diterpenoid alkaloids, umbrodines A and B (1 and 2), and a dibenzoxazepinone, umbrolide A (3) from Delphinium umbrosum Hand.-Mazz. and a C20-diterpenoid alkaloid, kingiadine (4) from Delphinium kingianum Bruhl. ex Huth. Ten known diterpenoid alkaloids were also isolated. Their structures were elucidated via HR-ESIMS, IR, and NMR data. Lycoctonine (11) and delectinine (12) exhibited appreciable cardiac activity. Furthermore, 11 and 12 showed cardioprotective effects against doxorubicin-induced toxicity in H9c2 cells, with the maximum protection rates of 61.63% and 51.18%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synchronization of multi-layer networks have important theoretical and practical significance for the study of the interaction between multi-layer networks. Based on the multi-layer star-ring networks, this paper firstly defines a class of multi-layer wheel networks through graph theory. Secondly, using the master stability function model (MSF), the factors (such as coupling strength, number of layers, and number of nodes) that affect the synchronization ability of the multi-layer wheel networks are obtained under two different conditions of bounded and unbounded synchronized regions. Thirdly, simulation experiments are used to analyze how the above factors affect the synchronization ability. Finally, The structural parameter values of the multi-layer wheel networks to achieve the optimal synchronization ability are given, which provides a basis for controlling the synchronization ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

β-Amylase (BAM)-mediated starch degradation is a main source of soluble sugars that help plants adapt to environmental stresses. Here, we demonstrate that dehydration-induced expression of PtrBAM3 in trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) functions positively in drought tolerance via modulation of starch catabolism. Two transcription factors, PtrABF4 (P. trifoliata abscisic acid-responsive element-binding factor 4) and PtrABR1 (P. trifoliata ABA repressor 1), were identified as upstream transcriptional activators of PtrBAM3 through yeast one-hybrid library screening and protein-DNA interaction assays. Both PtrABF4 and PtrABR1 played a positive role in plant drought tolerance by modulating soluble sugar accumulation derived from BAM3-mediated starch decomposition. In addition, PtrABF4 could directly regulate PtrABR1 expression by binding to its promoter, leading to a regulatory cascade to reinforce the activation of PtrBAM3. Moreover, PtrABF4 physically interacted with PtrABR1 to form a protein complex that further promoted the transcriptional regulation of PtrBAM3. Taken together, our finding reveals that a transcriptional cascade composed of ABF4 and ABR1 works synergistically to upregulate BAM3 expression and starch catabolism in response to drought condition. The results shed light on the understanding of the regulatory molecular mechanisms underlying BAM-mediated soluble sugar accumulation for rendering drought tolerance in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer is a common gynecological cancer among women worldwide. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of 6 MV and 10 MV volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) photon beams on the target volume (TV) planning and critical organs in cases of cervical cancer. METHODS: Fifty patients with carcinoma of the cervix who underwent radiotherapy were selected. The transverse diameter (T) of the cross section of the upper edge of the sacroiliac joint on computerized tomography (CT) images of the patients was measured, and the mean value was calculated as 34 cm. All patients were divided into two groups: Group A (T < 34 cm) and Group B (T > 34 cm). The VMAT plans were generated using 6 MV and 10 MV plans separately. The prescription dose was 47.5 Gy, and the daily dose was 1.9 Gy. RESULTS: In Group A, the planning target volume (PTV) dose assessment parameters of 6 MV and 10 MV plans and their homogeneity and conformity indices were not statistically significantly different. A significant difference was observed between the 6 MV and 10 MV plans for the PTV dose assessment parameters and the homogeneity index of the plans for Group B. The monitor units (MUs) of the 10 MV plans were lower than in the 6 MV plans in both Groups A and B, and the difference was statistically significant. The assessment parameter V40 Gy of both the rectum and bladder in the 6 MV plans was smaller than the corresponding parameter in the 10 MV plans in Group A; in Group B, the assessment parameter V50 Gy of the rectum in the 10 MV plans was smaller than in the 6 MV plans. CONCLUSION: When T < 34 cm, 6 MV energy is more suitable for the external irradiation of cervical cancer. When T > 34 cm, 10 MV energy is more suitable for cervical cancer radiotherapy. Therefore, 10 MV should be considered for patients with a large abdominal size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ethanol extract of the whole plant of Delphinium trichophorum Franch was subjected to a phytochemical study, leading to the isolation of ten unprecedented diterpenoid alkaloids, including nine delnudine-type C 20 -diterpenoid alkaloids named trichophodines A–I and one kusnezoline-type C 20 -diterpenoid alkaloid named trichophozine A. Additionally, seven known compounds were also identified. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis, including HSQC, HMBC, 1H–1H COSY, NOESY and X-ray crystallographic analysis. Most isolated compounds were screened for inhibitory activities against LPS-induced NO production in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory effects. Guan-fu base V exhibited potent inhibitory activity against acetylcholinesterase, demonstrating an inhibitory rate of 53.81% at a concentration of 40 μM. [Display omitted] • Ten unprecedented diterpenoid alkaloids were isolated from D. trichophorum. • Trichophodines A–I were delnudine-type C 20 -diterpenoid alkaloids. • Trichophozine A was one kusnezoline-type C 20 -diterpenoid alkaloid. • Guan fu base V showed potent inhibitory activity against AChE, with a inhibitory rate of 53.81 % at 40 μM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of dynamics and rheology of well-entangled branched polymers remains a challenge for computer simulations due to the exponentially growing terminal relaxation times of these polymers with increasing molecular weights. We present an efficient simulation algorithm for studying the arm retraction dynamics of entangled star polymers by combining the coarse-grained slip-spring (SS) model with the forward flux sampling (FFS) method. This algorithm is first applied to simulate symmetric star polymers in the absence of constraint release (CR). The reaction coordinate for the FFS method is determined by finding good agreement of the simulation results on the terminal relaxation times of mildly entangled stars with those obtained from direct shooting SS model simulations with the relative difference between them less than 5%. The FFS simulations are then carried out for strongly entangled stars with arm lengths up to 16 entanglements that are far beyond the accessibility of brute force simulations in the non-CR condition. Apart from the terminal relaxation times, the same method can also be applied to generate the relaxation spectra of all entanglements along the arms which are desired for the development of quantitative theories of entangled branched polymers. Furthermore, we propose a numerical route to construct the experimentally measurable relaxation correlation functions by effectively linking the data stored at each interface during the FFS runs. The obtained star arm end-to-end vector relaxation functions Φ(t) and the stress relaxation function G(t) are found to be in reasonably good agreement with standard SS simulation results in the terminal regime. Finally, we demonstrate that this simulation method can be conveniently extended to study the arm-retraction problem in entangled star polymer melts with CR by modifying the definition of the reaction coordinate, while the computational efficiency will depend on the particular slip-spring or slip-link model employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The N -atom side chain of lycoctonine was modified for the first time. • Compound 27 , containing N -isobutyl, was found to significantly enhance cardiac activity. • Compound 27 blocked Ca V 1.2 channels and is a calcium channel blocker. • Compound 27 alleviated CoCl 2 -induced myocardial hypoxic injury in vitro. • Compound 27 exerts cardioprotective effects by alleviating calcium overload. In our previous study, a screening of a variety of lycotonine-type diterpenoid alkaloids were screened for cardiotonic activity revealed that lycoctonine had moderate cardiac effect. In this study, a series of structurally diverse of lycoctonine were synthesized by modifying on B-ring, D -ring, E-ring, F-ring, N -atom or salt formation on lycoctonine skeleton. We evaluated the cardiotonic activity of the derivatives by isolated frog heart, aiming to identify some compounds with significantly enhanced cardiac effects, among which compound 27 with a N -isobutyl group emerged as the most promising cardiotonic candidate. Furthermore, the cardiotonic mechanism of compound 27 was preliminarily investigated. The result suggested that the cardiotonic effect of compound 27 is related to calcium channels. Patch clamp technique confirmed that the compound 27 had inhibitory effects on Ca V 1.2 and Ca V 3.2, with inhibition rates of 78.52 % ± 2.26 % and 79.05 % ± 1.59 % at the concentration of 50 μM, respectively. Subsequently, the protective effect of 27 on H9c2 cells injury induced by cobalt chloride was tested. In addition, compound 27 can alleviate CoCl 2 -induced myocardial injury by alleviating calcium overload. These findings suggest that compound 27 was a new structural derived from lycoctonine, which may serve as a new lead compound for the treatment of heart failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was performed to evaluate the effects of dietary distinct protein to starch ratios on the growth, feed utilization, blood biochemistry, hepatic glucose metabolism and hepatocyte apoptosis of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. Three iso-lipidic (ca 6.56%) diets were formulated with elevated corn starch levels at the cost of protein provision, being designated as diets P40S5 (40.4% protein and 4.62% starch), P30S25 (30.4% protein and 24.2% starch) and P20S50 (19.9% protein and 48.6% starch). Tilapia juveniles (initial mean body weight, 32.0 g/fish) were assigned to 12 rectangular tanks (250 L each) with 20 fish per tank and fed the experimental diets to apparent satiation for 8 weeks. The results showed that either excess (40%) or insufficient (20%) amount of dietary protein impaired the growth of tilapia. Excess dietary protein led to unsatisfactory protein catabolism (lower protein efficiency ratio and protein productive value, and higher mRNA levels of hepatic glutamic-pyruvic transaminase 1 and glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase paralogs), while insufficient amount of protein resulted in lower whole-body protein percentage. An increase in dietary starch from 5% or 25% to 50% was associated with enhanced lipid and glycogen storages in the liver of tilapia. Consistently, dietary starch reception up to 50% upregulated the expression of hepatic representative genes involved with glycolysis (glucokinase and phosphofructokinase muscle type a) and lipogenesis (acetyl-CoA carboxylase α and fatty acid synthase) while downregulated the expression of the gluconeogenic glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit paralogs. TUNEL staining suggested that stronger apoptosis signal was recorded at the bile duct epithelium of the P20S50 fish. Concomitantly, plasma bile acid level nearly doubled, and an incidence (50%) of 'green liver' was observed in this treatment as compared with the P40S5 and P30S25 fish, indicating that bile acid metabolism disorder might be induced. Though plasma glucose (4.66-5.11 mmol/L) was not responsive to different treatments, advanced glycation end-products accumulated in the blood of the P20S50 fish, suggesting that 50% starch reception was probably associated with the progression of diabetes-associated pathologies. The overall results in this study suggested that tilapia might possess capability to tolerate dietary corn starch level up to 50% in a short-term exposure, whereas a long-term exposure might induce detrimental effects on liver functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morphology modification of nanostructures is of great interest, because it can be used to fabricate nanostructures which are hard to be done using other methods. Different from traditional lithographic technique which is slow and expensive, morphology modification is easy, cheap, and reproducible. In this paper, modification of the optical and morphological properties of a hollow gold nanoshell (HGNS) is achieved by using H2O2 as an oxidizer. The reshaping of these nanostructures has been demonstrated as a consequence of an oxidation process in which HGNSs are dissolved by H2O2 under the acidic conditions provided by HCl. We investigate the oxidation process by a transmission electron microscope and propose a reshaping model involving four different shapes (HGNS, HGNS with hole, gold nanoring, and C-shaped gold nanoparticle) which are corresponding to the oxidation products of HGNSs at different pH values. Besides, the surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) activity of each oxidation product has been evaluated by using rhodamine 6G as the Raman active probe. It has been observed that the C-shaped gold nanoparticles which are corresponding to the oxidation products at the minimum pH value have the highest SERS activity and this result can also be interpreted by discrete-dipole approximation simulations. We demonstrate that the morphology modification of HGNSs becomes possible in a controlled manner using wet chemistry and can be used in preparation of gold nanoparticles such as HGNS with hole, gold nanoring, and C-shaped gold nanoparticle with large SERS activity. These nanostructures must have potential use in many plasmonic areas, including sensing, catalysis, and biomedicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to investigate several analytical methods of solving first passage (FP) problem for the Rouse model, a simplest model of a polymer chain. We show that this problem has to be treated as a multi-dimensional Kramers' problem, which presents rich and unexpected behavior. We first perform direct and forward-flux sampling (FFS) simulations and measure the mean first-passage time t(z) for the free end to reach a certain distance z away from the origin. The results show that the mean FP time is getting faster if the Rouse chain is represented by more beads. Two scaling regimes of t(z) are observed, with transition between them varying as a function of chain length. We use these simulation results to test two theoretical approaches. One is a well known asymptotic theory valid in the limit of zero temperature. We show that this limit corresponds to fully extended chain when each chain segment is stretched, which is not particularly realistic. A new theory based on the well known Freidlin-Wentzell theory is proposed, where dynamics is projected onto the minimal action path. The new theory predicts both scaling regimes correctly, but fails to get the correct numerical prefactor in the first regime. Combining our theory with the FFS simulations leads us to a simple analytical expression valid for all extensions and chain lengths. One of the applications of polymer FP problem occurs in the context of branched polymer rheology. In this paper, we consider the arm-retraction mechanism in the tube model, which maps exactly on the model we have solved. The results are compared to the Milner-McLeish theory without constraint release, which is found to overestimate FP time by a factor of 10 or more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] To reduce suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior through initial screening of patients with suicidal tendencies and implementing suicide prevention interventions during their hospitalization. [Methods] The Taihe Emotion-distress Index (THEI) was used to conduct pre-admission and post-discharge tests to explore the effects of suicide prevention measures during hospitalization on the alleviation of the disease and the reduction of suicidal behaviors. The study selected patients who were diagnosed with depression in the psychological outpatient department of Taihe Hospital from April 2019 to September 2019 and had to be hospitalized, including patients with moderate depressive episodes, severe depressive episodes with or without psychotic symptoms, and patients with suicidal thoughts and self-harming behaviors. [Results] The pre-admission and post-discharge test data of hospitalized patients were analyzed, and the non-parametric paired sample T test was carried out, and the result was P <0.05, showing that there are significant differences between the pre-admission and post-discharge test data. [ Conclusions] The measures of suicide prevention intervention are effective to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical properties of the edge-to-edge gold triangular nanoplate dimers have been studied in theory by discrete dipole approximation method. Two clearly separated plasmon modes (low-energy and high-energy modes) are observed. Each of the double plasmon modes could be selectively turned on or off by modulating the misalign value of the dimer. When the misalign is <60 nm, the low-energy mode plays the dominant role in the spectra. In this case, the electric field intensities at the tips along the polarization direction fade down, whereas the intense electric field in the gap gets more concentrative, as the misalign increases. However, as the misalign is increased to 100 nm, the high-energy mode dominates the spectrum. And the intense electric fields concentrated around the outer tips become stronger as the misalign increases. The "switch" process is also accompanied by the inversion of the field vectors in the gap. In addition, the wavelength separation and positions of the double plasmon modes could be tuned flexibly by adjusting the gap value and the thickness of the dimer, respectively. These findings are promising for the nanophotonic switch, nanomotor, molecular ruler, surface enhanced fluorescence, surface enhanced Raman scattering, dual channel biosensor, and molecular imaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A broadband ultra-large area acoustic cloak based on fluid medium was designed and numerically implemented with homogeneous metamaterials according to the transformation acoustics. In the present work, fluid medium as the body of the inclusion could be tuned by changing the fluid to satisfy the variant acoustic parameters instead of redesign the whole cloak. The effective density and bulk modulus of the composite materials were designed to agree with the parameters calculated from the coordinate transformation methodology by using the effective medium theory. Numerical simulation results showed that the sound propagation and scattering signature could be controlled in the broadband ultra-large area acoustic invisibility cloak, and good cloaking performance has been achieved and physically realized with homogeneous materials. The broadband ultra-large area acoustic cloaking properties have demonstrated great potentials in the promotion of the practical applications of acoustic cloak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper theoretically analyzes a dielectric elastomer tube actuator (DETA). Subject to a voltage difference between the inner and outer surfaces, the actuator reduces in thickness and expands in length, so that the same voltage will induce an even higher electric field. This positive feedback may cause the actuator to thin down drastically, resulting in electrical breakdown. We obtain an analytical solution of the actuator undergoing finite deformation when the elastomer obeys the neo-Hookean model. The critical strain of actuation is calculated in terms of various parameters of design. We also discuss the effect of the strain-stiffening on electromechanical behavior of DETAs by using the model of freely joined links. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several companions of quasi Grüss type inequalities for the Riemann-Stieltjes integral of continuous complex valued integrands defined on the complex unit circle C(0; 1) are given. Our results in special cases recapture some known results, and moreover, give a smaller estimator than that of these known results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qidong (Jiangsu, China) has been of interest to cancer epidemiologists and biologists because, until recently, it was an endemic area for liver cancer, having amongst the highest incidence rates in the world. The establishment of the Qidong Cancer Registry together with the Qidong Liver Cancer Institute in 1972 has charted the patterns of liver cancer incidence and mortality in a stable population throughout a period of enormous economic, social, and environmental changes as well as of improvements in health care delivery. Updated incidence trends in Qidong are described. Notably, the China age-standardized incidence rate for liver cancer has dropped by over 50% in the past several decades. Molecular epidemiologic and genomic deep sequencing studies have affirmed that infection with hepatitis B virus as well as dietary exposure to aflatoxins through contamination of dietary staples such as corn, and to microcystins - blue-green algal toxins found in ditch and pond water - were likely important etiologic factors that account for the high incidence of liver cancer in this region. Public health initiatives to facilitate universal vaccination of newborns against HBV and to improve drinking water sources in this rural area, as well as economic and social mandates serendipitously facilitating dietary diversity, have led to precipitous declines in exposures to these etiologic factors, concomitantly driving substantive declines in the liver cancer incidence seen now in Qidong. In this regard, Qidong serves as a template for the global impact that a package of intervention strategies may exert on cancer burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several companions of quasi Grüss type inequalities for the Riemann-Stieltjes integral of continuous complex valued integrands defined on the complex unit circle C(0, 1) are given. Our results in special cases recapture some known results, and moreover, give a smaller estimator than that of these known results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The aim of the study was to investigate whether microvessel density (MVD) could be associated with skeletal extramedullary disease relapse (skeletal-EMDR) in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who have skeletal-EMD at diagnosis. Seventy-nine newly diagnosed MM patients who have skeletal-EMD were retrospectively enrolled in this study. The 4-year cumulative incidence of skeletal-EMDR was 35.0%±8.3%. The 4-year probability of overall survival (OS) was 54.0%±7.6%. Multivariate analysis showed that skeletal-EMDR (HR = 4.144; 95% CI: 1.608–10.685; P = 0.003) was independently associated with inferior OS for the MM patients who have skeletal-EMD at diagnosis. The factors associated with skeletal-EMDR were MVD (HR = 3.990, 95%CI:1.136-14.018; P = 0.031), white blood cell (WBC) (HR = 0.262, 95% CI:0.090-0.769; P = 0.015), and the EMD sites involved at onset (HR = 0.263, 95% CI: 0.074-0.937; P = 0.039). The MVD in patients with thoracic and lumbar vertebrae as the involved sites at diagnosis was significantly lower than those with other sites involved (41.59 ± 14.39 vs. 60.82 ± 35.14, P= 0.001). Our data suggest that increased MVD could be used to predict skeletal-EMDR, which is associated with inferior survival in patients with MM who have skeletal-EMD at diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although previous behavioral studies have demonstrated that restudying already-learned items is mnemonically ineffective, the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain largely unknown. Here, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to assess neural changes during a multi-trial associative learning task where participants repeatedly studied and were tested on unrelated English word pairs. The results revealed that the brain network involved in the initial encoding of the word pairs was less activated when participants restudied previously learned ones, supporting a pattern that we refer to as test-depressed encoding (TDE). More distinctively, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) showed greater activation when restudying learned vs. unlearned word pairs, suggesting dACC-mediated cognitive control of TDE. Functional connectivity analysis further consistently showed that the memory encoding network had a weakened neural coupling within itself, but an enhanced coupling with dACC under TDE. Together, the present work is the first to demonstrate that these dynamic modulations in regional activity and connectivity may reflect the neural foundation for TDE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: PHD-finger domain protein 5A (PHF5A) is a highly conserved small transcriptional regulator also involved in pre-mRNA splicing; however, its biological functions and molecular mechanisms in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have not yet been investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the functional relevance and therapeutic potential of PHF5A in lung adenocarcinoma (LAC). Methods: The expression of PHF5A in LAC tissues and adjacent non-tumor (ANT) tissues was investigated using immunohistochemistry of a tissue microarray, qRT-PCR, western blot and bioinformatics. The function of PHF5A was determined using several in vitro assays and also in vivo assay by lentiviral vector-mediated PHF5A depletion in LAC cell lines. Results: PHF5A was highly upregulated in LAC tissues compared with the ANT counterparts and closely associated with tumor progression and poor patient prognosis. These results were further confirmed by findings of the TCGA database. Moreover, functional studies demonstrated that PHF5A knockdown not only resulted in reduced cell proliferation, increased cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, but also suppressed migration and invasion in LAC cells. PHF5A silencing was also found to inhibit LAC tumor growth in nude mice. Microarray and bioinformatics analyses revealed that PHF5A depletion led to dysregulation of multiple tumor signaling pathways; selected factors in key signaling pathways were verified in vitro. Conclusions: The data suggest for the first time that PHF5A is an oncoprotein that contributes to LAC progression by regulating multiple signaling pathways and may constitute a prognostic factor and potential new therapeutic target in NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rectangular cavity structure was applied to edges of the rear view mirror, numerical computation was conducted for aerodynamic noises of the rear view mirror, and the results of optimized structure were compared with those of the original structure to verify optimized effects. Wind tunnel test was then conducted on the rear view mirror to verify correctness of the computational model. Sound pressure levels of each observation point between experimental test and numerical simulation were basically consistent, where only parts of the peak frequency points were different. The computational accuracy was very high. Two large-size vortexes were in this region behind the common rear view mirror. Vortexes above the rear part of the rear view mirror rotated anticlockwise, while vortexes under it rotated clockwise. There were two vortexes in the region behind the optimized rear view mirror, but the energy intensity of this vortex near the side window panel was very weak. Pressures on the front part of the optimized rear view mirror were also smaller than those of the original structure. In addition, it could be found that radiation noise distribution of the rear view mirror on the lateral window presented symmetry. When lateral window effects were considered, the aerodynamic noise was more than results without considering the lateral window effects. Total noises of each observation point without considering the lateral window effects were 56.7 dB, 59.2 dB, 58.6 dB, 58.9 dB, 62.3 dB and 63.1 dB, respectively. Total noises at each observation point with consideration of the lateral window effects were 65.3 dB, 66.5 dB, 68.7 dB, 69.2 dB, 70.1 dB and 70.8 dB, respectively. Therefore, when aerodynamic noises of the rear view mirror were computed, impacts of lateral window effects must be considered, otherwise the computation would be seriously deviated from actual situations. The frequency corresponding to maximum peaks of the aerodynamic noise after optimization approached the self-oscillation frequency of the rectangular cavity. The result indicates that aerodynamic noises in the rectangular cavity were fluid self-oscillation caused by the cavity structure. In addition, within the analyzed frequency band, the aerodynamic noises of the optimized rear view mirror were smaller than those of the original structure. The maximum decrease rate of total noises of the optimized rear view mirror was 15.62%, and minimum decrease rate was 8.90%. Optimized effects were very significant, especially in the low frequency bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) offers an important curative therapy for hematological malignancies and other diseases. A number of studies have demonstrated the association of immune compositions in allografts with outcomes after allo-SCT, which promote graft engineering to improve transplant prognosis. This review summarizes the advances in investigating the correlation of the graft immune compositions with transplant outcomes in different transplant modalities, focusing on the immune subsets likely to have the greatest impact on clinical outcomes. The progress made in graft engineering in order to design novel transplant protocols, to decrease graft-versus-host disease and relapse and to improve immune recovery is also discussed. It is our belief that an adoptive immune subset transfer to improve clinical outcomes might represent a future direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pressurized dielectric elastomer (DE) diaphragm under electrical actuation can experience snapthrough large deformation due to electromechanical instability, which was shown to be a promising mechanism for large volume fluid pumping. However, snap-through actuation in a DE fluid pump will not occur when the inlet pressure to the pump is small and cannot be robustly utilized for different applications. To solve this problem, in this study, we proposed a dual-membrane DE pump design featuring an active DE membrane interacting with a passive elastic membrane. This design enabled snap-through of the DE membrane over a wide range of inlet pressures, making it feasible for large volume fluid pumping even at low pressures. Merits of this dual-membrane DE actuator design were experimentally verified; for example, the pumping volume of the dual-membrane DE pump could be as large as 3944% of the pumping volume of the conventional single-membrane DE pump. We further proposed an analytical framework to describe the mechanism of the dual-membrane DE fluid pump, involving the superimposition of the pressure-volume curves of the active and passive membranes. The theoretically predicted equilibrium states agreed well with experimental observations. Findings in this study will broaden the applications of the DE actuator in scenarios where a large pumping volume is needed over a wide range of pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cocatalysts or dual cocatalysts of photocatalysts are indispensable for high efficiency in artificial photosynthesis for solar fuel production. However, the reaction activity increased by cocatalysts cannot be directly ascribed to the accelerated catalytic kinetics, since photogenerated charges are involved in the elementary steps of photocatalytic reactions. To date, diverging views about cocatalysts show that their exact role for photocatalysis is not well understood yet. Herein, we image directly the local separation of photogenerated charge carriers across single crystals of the BiVO4 photocatalyst which loaded locally with nanoparticles of a MnOx single cocatalyst or with nanoparticles of a spatially separated MnOx and Pt dual cocatalyst. The deposition of the single cocatalyst resulted not only in a strong increase of the interfacial charge transfer but also, surprisingly, in a change of the direction of built-in electric fields beneath the uncovered surface of the photocatalyst. The additive electric fields caused a strong increase of local surface photovoltage signals (up to 80 times) and correlated with the increase of the photocatalytic performance. The local electric fields were further increased (up to 2.5 kV·cm-1) by a synergetic effect of the spatially separated dual cocatalysts. The results reveal that cocatalyst has a conclusive effect on charge separation in photocatalyst particle by aligning the vectors of built-in electric fields in the photocatalyst particle. This effect is beyond its catalytic function in thermal catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnaporthe oryzae is a devastating plant pathogen, which has a detrimental impact on rice production worldwide. Despite its agronomical importance, some newly-emerging pathotypes often overcome race-specific disease resistance rapidly. It is thus desirable to develop a novel strategy for the long-lasting resistance of rice plants to ever-changing fungal pathogens. Brome mosaic virus (BMV)-induced RNA interference (RNAi) has emerged as a useful tool to study host-resistance genes for rice blast protection. Planta-generated silencing of targeted genes inside biotrophic pathogens can be achieved by expression of M. oryzae-derived gene fragments in the BMV-mediated gene silencing system, a technique termed host-induced gene silencing (HIGS). In this study, the effectiveness of BMV-mediated HIGS in M. oryzae was examined by targeting three predicted pathogenicity genes, MoABC1, MoMAC1 and MoPMK1. Systemic generation of fungal gene-specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules induced by inoculation of BMV viral vectors inhibited disease development and reduced the transcription of targeted fungal genes after subsequent M. oryzae inoculation. Combined introduction of fungal gene sequences in sense and antisense orientation mediated by the BMV silencing vectors significantly enhanced the efficiency of this host-generated trans-specific RNAi, implying that these fungal genes played crucial roles in pathogenicity. Collectively, our results indicated that BMV-HIGS system was a great strategy for protecting host plants against the invasion of pathogenic fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The slit wall aspect ratio effect on the flow instability and heat transfer characteristics of Taylor-Couette flow was studied by numerical simulation method. The accuracy of the numerical simulation result was confirmed by PIV experiment. Four different models with aspect ratios of 0.5, 0.75, 1 and 1.25, respectively were investigated. It is found that the axial size of Taylor vortex does not vary with the slit aspect ratio at isothermal condition, but increased with slit wall aspect ratio at non-isothermal condition. The slit aspect ratio also has significant influence on the distribution of radial velocity in the annular gap. The maximum radial velocity in the model with aspect ratio of 0.75 is larger than other models. Comparing with the temperature distribution in different models, the temperature gradient of the fluid near the inner cylinder to the wall has the maximum value in the model with aspect ratio of 0.75. The average Nusselt number also has the largest value in the same model. As the aspect ratio increases from 0.5 to 0.75, the heat transfer ability of the fluid is enhanced obviously. As the aspect ratio increases further, the heat transfer ability of the fluid is weaken slightly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study was to investigate the correlation between voltage-gated potassium 1.3 (Kv1.3) channel of peripheral blood T-lymphocytes and the NLR family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome pathway in hypertensive patients. Peripheral blood samples from the hypertensive Kazakh patients (n=30) and healthy Kazakh subjects (n=30) were collected. The T lymphocytes and serum were separated, and the state of Kv1.3 channels was detected using the patch-clamp technique. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analyses were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of key molecules [NLRP3, caspase-1 and interleuking (IL)-β] in the lymphocyte NLRP3 inflammasome pathway, while serum IL-1β content was measured by ELISA assay. The results demonstrated no statistical difference in the subject baseline data between the two groups. While more significantly activated Kv1.3 channels were identified in the peripheral blood T-lymphocytes of the hypertension group compared to the normotension group, the mRNA and protein expression levels of NLRP3, caspase-1 and IL-1β were elevated and their peripheral serum interleukin-1β levels were significantly increased. After inhibiting the Kv1.3 channels using the classic potassium channel blocker, these indicators were all decreased significantly. The results indicate that the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway of peripheral blood T-lymphocytes in hypertensive Kazakh patients is activated, which may be correlated with the opening of the Kv1.3 channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is still a challenging task to facilely grow microscale arrays on arbitrary substrates at low temperature conditions in solutions. Here, we have successfully formed ZnO microrod arrays on various substrates, including glass, gold coated glass, silicon wafer, and Teflon, by a single-step wet-chemical synthesis approach. We employ ammonia as the multifunctional reactant to modify the surface properties of the substrates and to regulate the pH of the reaction environment. Compared to other methods, no preloaded additives or seeds are required. The surface wettability of the ZnO microrod coated substrates can be tuned, achieving both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties in air. We have studied both static wettability and dynamic behaviors of droplet impact or rebound on the modified substrates. We demonstrate that it is possible to achieve micromass transfer by using the hydrophobic substrate to repel water microdroplet while using the hydrophilic substrate to capture the water microdroplets utilizing their different dynamic wettability-induced responses to water droplets. We believe that the ZnO microrod array coated substrates with different static/dynamic wettability may find many potential applications, such as antiwetting, self-cleaning, inject printing, micromass transfer and capture, biomedical diagnosis, microanalysis, and so forth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The review aimed to assess the current research status of polymer brushes and artificial cilia, based on the analysis of polymer brush properties and the structure and function of natural cilia. The application of polymer brushes to develop artificial cilia has attracted increasing research interest, with rheological analysis often employed as an entry point for polymer mechanics. The present review assessed whether combing polymer brushes with artificial cilia, along with appropriate designing of high‑polymer materials and use of suitable equipment, may to the development of a polymer net‑structured material to imitate the morphology and functionality of a natural cilium system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After an initial study of a set of items, an intervening test of those items results in superior final memory compared with restudying those items prior to the final test. This phenomenon has been termed the testing effect. The primary purpose of the present study was to juxtapose restudy and testing in order to assess, from an attention perspective, whether the re-encoding process occurring during testing (that contributes to a superior subsequent memory, i.e., testing effect) is different from the re-encoding process during the restudy. To this end, we adopted a concurrent task to divide attention during restudy and testing. In Experiment 1, we confirmed the mnemonic impairment of divided attention during both restudy and testing on the final test. In Experiment 2, we ruled out the confounding possibility of allocation of attention between the concurrent and memory tasks by finding that allocation of attention did not affect the impairment of divided attention on final test performance. Together, our data suggest that the re-encoding component of testing is similar to the re-encoding during restudy in terms of attentional demands. The consistency of our findings with other existing theoretical accounts of testing effect and one potential methodological difference amongst the reported studies in the literature that found mixed results were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Several epidemiological studies investigating the association between dietary vitamin E intake and the risk of lung cancer have demonstrated inconsistent results. Hence, a meta-analysis was conducted to summarise evidence of the association of dietary vitamin E intake with the risk of lung cancer.Methods and Study Design: In this meta-analysis, a systematic literature search of PubMed and Web of Science was conducted to identify relevant studies published from 1955 to April 2015. If p<0.05 or I2 >50%, a random effect model was used to estimate overall relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Otherwise, a fixed effect model was applied. Publication bias was estimated using the funnel plot and Egger's test. The doseresponse relationship was assessed using the method of restricted cubic splines with 4 knots at percentiles 5, 35, 65, and 95 of the distribution.Results: The pooled RR of lung cancer for the highest versus lowest categories of dietary vitamin E intake was 0.84 (95% CI=0.76-0.93). With every 2 mg/d increase in dietary vitamin E intake, the risk of lung cancer statistically decreased by 5% (RR=0.95, 95% CI =0.91-0.99, plinearity=0.0237).Conclusions: Our analysis suggests that higher dietary vitamin E intake exerts a protective effect against lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population-based cancer survival is an improved index for evaluating the overall efficiency of cancer health services in a given region. The current study analysed the observed survival and relative survival of leading cancer sites from a population-based cancer registry between 1972 and 2011 in Qidong, China. A total of 92,780 incident cases with cancer were registered and followed-up for survival status. The main sites of the cancer types, based on the rank order of incidence, were the liver, stomach, lung, colon and rectum, oesophagus, breast, pancreas, leukaemia, brain and central nervous system (B and CNS), bladder, blood [non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL)] and cervix. For all malignancies combined, the 5-year observed survival was 13.18% and the relative survival was 15.80%. Females had higher observed survival and relative survival (19.32 and 22.71%, respectively) compared with males (9.63 and 11.68%, respectively). The cancer sites with the highest five-year relative survival rates were the female breast, bladder, cervix and colon and rectum; followed by NHL, stomach, B and CNS cancer and leukaemia. The poorest survival rates were cancers of oesophagus, lung, pancreas and liver. Higher survival rates were observed in younger patients compared with older patients. Cancers of the oesophagus, female breast and bladder were associated with higher survival in middle-aged groups. Improved survival rates in the most recent two 5-year calendar periods were identified for stomach, lung, colon and rectum, oesophagus, female breast and bladder cancer, as well as leukaemia and NHL. The observations of the current study provide the opportunity for evaluation of the survival outcomes of frequent cancer sites that reflects the changes and improvement in a rural area in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) signalling regulates the development of embryos and tissue homeostasis in adults. In conjunction with other oncogenic changes, long-term perturbation of TGF-β signalling is associated with cancer metastasis. Although TGF-β signalling can be complex, many of the signalling components are well defined, so it is possible to develop mathematical models of TGF-β signalling using reduction and scaling methods. The parameterization of our TGF-β signalling model is consistent with experimental data. Results: We developed our mathematical model for the TGF-β signalling pathway, i.e. the RF-model of TGF-β signalling, using the "rapid equilibrium assumption" to reduce the network of TGF-β signalling reactions based on the time scales of the individual reactions. By adding time-delayed positive feedback to the inherent time-delayed negative feedback for TGF-β signalling. We were able to simulate the sigmoidal, switch-like behaviour observed for the concentration dependence of long-term (> 3 hours) TGF-β stimulation. Computer simulations revealed the vital role of the coupling of the positive and negative feedback loops on the regulation of the TGF-β signalling system. The incorporation of time-delays for the negative feedback loop improved the accuracy, stability and robustness of the model. This model reproduces both the short-term and long-term switching responses for the intracellular signalling pathways at different TGF-β concentrations. We have tested the model against experimental data from MEF (mouse embryonic fibroblasts) WT, SV40-immortalized MEFs and Gp130F/F MEFs. The predictions from the RF-model are consistent with the experimental data. Conclusions: Signalling feedback loops are required to model TGF-β signal transduction and its effects on normal and cancer cells. We focus on the effects of time-delayed feedback loops and their coupling to ligand stimulation in this system. The model was simplified and reduced to its key components using standard methods and the rapid equilibrium assumption. We detected differences in short-term and long-term signal switching. The results from the RF-model compare well with experimental data and predict the dynamics of TGF-β signalling in cancer cells with different mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vernier double-stator permanent-magnet (DS-PM) motor incorporates the merits of high torque capability and high power factor. In order to evaluate this new topology, this paper compares two DS-PM motors, namely a conventional 42-slot concentrated winding one and a recently proposed 24-slot vernier one. For a fair comparison, both DS-PM motors are designed based on the same size. The slot-vector star graph is applied to analyze their different winding constructions. By analyzing harmonic spectrums of the flux density in the air-gap, their different operation principles are comparatively investigated. Their electromagnetic performances are predicted by using finite-element method. The results show that the vernier one can provide higher torque capability and flux-weakening capability, but suffers from higher loss even though it has lower pole and slot number than the conventional one. Hence, vernier DS-PM motors are more suitable for the applications such as high torque density, good cooling condition and wide speed range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate stress and strain calculations are important for plaque progression and vulnerability assessment. Models based on in vivo data often need to form geometries with zero-stress/strain conditions. The goal of this paper is to use IVUS-based near-idealized geometries and introduce a three-step model construction process to include residual stress, axial shrinkage, and circumferential shrinkage and investigate their impacts on stress and strain calculations. In Vivo intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) data of human coronary were acquired for model construction. In Vivo IVUS movie data were acquired and used to determine patient-specific material parameter values. A three-step modeling procedure was used to make our model: (a) wrap the zero-stress vessel sector to obtain the residual stress; (b) stretch the vessel axially to its length in vivo; and (c) pressurize the vessel to recover its in vivo geometry. Eight models were constructed for our investigation. Wrapping led to reduced lumen and cap stress and increased out boundary stress. The model with axial stretch, circumferential shrink, but no wrapping overestimated lumen and cap stress by 182% and 448%, respectively. The model with wrapping, circumferential shrink, but no axial stretch predicted average lumen stress and cap stress as 0.76kPa and -15kPa. The same model with 10% axial stretch had 42.53kPa lumen stress and 29.0kPa cap stress, respectively. Skipping circumferential shrinkage leads to overexpansion of the vessel and incorrect stress/strain calculations. Vessel stiffness increase (100%) leads to 75% lumen stress increase and 102% cap stress increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The multi-contrast assessment of the carotid artery wall has become an important diagnostic tool for the characterization of atherosclerotic plaque and vessel wall thickening. For providing the required T1-, T2-, and proton density weighted contrast, multi-slice turbo spin echo (TSE) techniques are normally applied. The straightforward extension of the TSE techniques to volumetric imaging of large sections of the carotid arteries is limited by the resulting long acquisition times. Where the acquisition of a T1-weighted contrast can be accelerated by applying a T1-weighted fast gradient echo technique, acceleration of the T2-weighted contrast is not as straightforward.Methods: In this work, the combination of a T2 preparation and a conventional fast gradient echo technique (T2P-3DGE) was evaluated for rapid acquisition of a T2-weighted image contrast. Acquisition parameters were optimized in an initial in vitro study in direct comparison to the conventional T2-weighted TSE (T2W-3DTSE) technique. Subsequently, the T2P-3DGE technique was evaluated in vivo.Results: In direct comparison, the T2P-3DGE sequence provided similar T2 contrast as the respective T2W-3DTSE sequence. After correction of an observed intensity offset, most likely caused by the additional T1-weighting of the T2P-3DGE sequence, no significant difference between the two T2-weighted sequences were observed in phantom data. The good correlation of the image contrast between the two sequences was confirmed in the initial in-vivo study, proving a potential reduction of the scan time for T2P-3DGE to 25% of the respective T2W-3DTSE technique.Conclusion: The in vitro as well as the in vivo results clearly indicate the potential of the T2P-3DGE technique for providing similar T2 image contrast as in the conventional techniques. Thereby, the acquisition times could be substantially reduced to about 25% of the respective 3D-TSE technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To assess the benefits of bladder wall sub-volume equivalent uniform dose (EUD) constraints in prostate cancer intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) planning. Methods: Two IMRT plans, with and without EUD constraints on the bladder wall, were generated using beams that deliver 80 Gy to the prostate and 46 Gy to the seminal vesicles and were compared in 53 prostate cancer patients. The bladder wall was defined as the volume between the external manually delineated wall and a contraction of 7 mm apart from it. The bladder wall was then separated into two parts: the internal-bladder wall (bla-in) represented by the portion of the bladder wall that intersected with the planning target volume (PTV) plus 5 mm extension; the external-bladder wall (bla-ex) represented by the remaining part of the bladder wall. In the IMRT plan with EUD constraints, the values of "a" parameter for the EUD models were 10.0 for bla-in and 2.3 for bla-ex. The plans with and without EUD constraints were compared in terms of dose-volume histograms, 5-year bladder and rectum normal tissue complication probability values, as well as tumor control probability (TCP) values. Results: The use of bladder sub-volume EUD constraints decreased both the doses to the bladder wall (V70: 22.76% vs 19.65%, Dmean: 39.82 Gy vs 35.45 Gy) and the 5-year bladder complication probabilities ($LENT/SOMA Grade 2: 20.35% vs 17.96%; bladder bleeding: 10.63% vs 8.64%). The doses to the rectum wall and the rectum complication probabilities were also slightly decreased by the EUD constraints compared to physical constraints only. The minimal dose and the V76Gy of PTVprostate were, however, slightly decreased by EUD optimization, nevertheless without significant difference in TCP values between the two plans, and the PTV parameters finally respected the Groupe d'Etude des Tumeurs Uro-Génitales recommendations. Conclusion: Separating the bladder wall into two parts with appropriate EUD optimization may reduce bladder toxicity in prostate IMRT. Combining biological constraints with physical constraints in the organs at risk at the inverse planning step of IMRT may improve the dose distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer causes the No.1 women cancer prevalence and the No.2 women cancer mortality worldwide. Nuclear receptor/transcriptional factor signaling is aberrant and plays important roles in breast cancer pathogenesis and evolution, such as estrogen receptor α (ERα/ESR1), tumor protein p53 (p53/TP53) and Nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB). About 60-70 % of breast tumors are ERα positive, while approximate 70 % of breast tumors are P53 wild type. Recent studies indicate that nuclear receptors/transcriptional factors could be tightly controlled through protein post-translational modification.The nuclear receptors/transcriptional factors could endure several types of modifications, including phosphorylation, acetylation and ubiquitination. Compared with the other two types of modifications, ubiquitination was mostly linked to protein degradation process, while few researches focused on the functional changes of the target proteins. Until recent years, ubiquitination process is no longer regarded as merely a protein degradation process, but aslo treated as one kind of modification signal.As an atypical E3 ubiquitin ligase, RNF31 was previously found to facilitate NFκB signaling transduction through linear ubiquitination on IKKγ(IκB kinase γ). Our previous studies showed important regulatory functions of RNF31 in controlling important oncogenic pathways in breast cancer, such as ERα and p53. This review highlights recent discoveries on RNF31 functions in nuclear factor modifications, breast cancer progression and possible therapeutic inhibitors targeting RNF31. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relatively little attention has been paid to the perception of the three-way contrast between unaspirated affricates, aspirated affricates and fricatives in Mandarin Chinese. This study reports two experiments that explore the acoustic cues relevant to the contrast between the Mandarin retroflex series /tʂ/, /tʂh/ and /ʂ/ in continuous speech. Twenty participants performed two three-alternative forced-choice tasks, in which acoustic cues including closure, frication duration (FD), aspiration, and vocalic contexts (VCs) were systematically manipulated and presented in a carrier phrase. A subsequent classification tree analysis shows that FD distinguishes /tʂ/ from /tʂh/ and /ʂ/, and that closure cues the affricate manner. Interactions between VC and individual cues are also found. The FD threshold for separating /ʂ/ and /tʂ/ is susceptible to the influence of the following vocalic segments, shifting to lower values if frication is followed by the low vowel /a/. On the other hand, while aspiration cues /tʂh/ before /a/ and /ͣ/, this acoustic cue is obscured by gesture continuation when /tʂh/ precedes its homorganic approximant /ɻ/ in natural speech, which might cause potential confusion between /tʂh/ and /ʂ/. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BRPF1 plays a scaffolding role in transcription. We report on fragment screening by high-throughput docking to the BRPF1 bromodomain which resulted in six chemotypes with very favorable ligand efficiency (0.45-0.50 kcal/mol per non-hydrogen atom). Twenty crystal structures of BRPF1/ligand complexes show structural conservation in the acetyllysine binding site, common binding motifs, and unusual interactions (e.g., the replacement of a conserved water molecule). The structural information is useful for the design of chemical probes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric nanomaterials emerge as key building blocks for engineering materials in a variety of applications. In particular, the high modulus polymeric nanofibers are suitable to prepare flexible yet strong membrane separators to prevent the growth and penetration of lithium dendrites for safe and reliable high energy lithium metal-based batteries. High ionic conductance, scalability, and low cost are other required attributes of the separator important for practical implementations. Available materials so far are difficult to comply with such stringent criteria. Here, we demonstrate a high-yield exfoliation of ultrastrong poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) nanofibers from the Zylon microfibers. A highly scalable blade casting process is used to assemble these nanofibers into nanoporous membranes. These membranes possess ultimate strengths of 525 MPa, Young's moduli of 20 GPa, thermal stability up to 600 °C, and impressively low ionic resistance, enabling their use as dendrite-suppressing membrane separators in electrochemical cells. With such high-performance separators, reliable lithium-metal based batteries operated at 150 °C are also demonstrated. Those polyoxyzole nanofibers would enrich the existing library of strong nanomaterials and serve as a promising material for large-scale and cost-effective safe energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to investigate the expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT)-inducing transcription factors, including Twist1 and ZEB1, in skeletal extramedullary disease (EMD) of multiple myeloma (MM) patients and to clarify the effects on clinical outcomes. The expression of Twist1 and ZEB1 in the bone marrow (BM) and the masses of skeletal EMD from 70 MM cases with skeletal EMD and 30 MM patients without skeletal EMD were determined by immunohistochemistry. The results demonstrated that the percentage of high nuclear staining for Twist1 was 24.3% (17/70) in skeletal EMD, which was significantly higher than in the BM of these patients as well as those without skeletal EMD ( P = 0.030 and P = 0.011). The microvessel density (MVD, P = 0.004) was significantly higher in patients with high nuclear expression of Twist1 (Twist1-high) than in those with low expression. Patients with Twist1-high experienced a lower rate of progression-free survival (PFS, 11.8% vs. 35.0%, P = 0.000) and overall survival (OS, 52.5% vs. 83.7%, P = 0.001) compared to those with low expression. Multivariate analysis showed that Twist1-high was independently associated with inferior PFS (HR = 2.161; 95%CI: 1.116–4.183; P = 0.022) and OS (HR = 3.111; 95%CI: 1.114–8.685; P = 0.030). We concluded that Twist1-high is associated with a poor prognosis and may be correlated with angiogenesis in the skeletal EMD of MM patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been widely accepted as a mediator of T cell tolerance. The immune modulatory effect of G-CSF on T cells is believed to be mediated exclusively through other effector cells, such as monocytes, tolerogenic dendritic cells (DC), and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Recent advances confirmed the direct effects of G-CSF in inducing immune tolerance of T cells through the G-CSF-G-CSF receptor pathway and related molecular mechanisms. This review aims to summarize the findings associated with the direct and indirect mechanisms for T cell tolerance induced with G-CSF. The role of G-CSF in preventing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and in treating autoimmune diseases (ADs) is also discussed. It is conceivable that G-CSF and immune cell compositions, such as tolerogenic DC and CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 + T cells, modulated by G-CSF could become an integral part of the immunomodulatory therapies against GVHD and ADs in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Complete mesocolic excision provides a correct anatomical plane for colon cancer surgery. However, manifestation of the surgical plane during laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision versus in computed tomography images remains to be examined. Methods: Patients who underwent laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision for right-sided colon cancer underwent an abdominal computed tomography scan. The spatial relationship of the intraoperative surgical planes were examined, and then computed tomography reconstruction methods were applied. The resulting images were analyzed. Results: In 44 right-sided colon cancer patients, the surgical plane for laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision was found to be composed of three surgical planes that were identified by computed tomography imaging with cross-sectional multiplanar reconstruction, maximum intensity projection, and volume reconstruction. For the operations performed, the mean bleeding volume was 73 ± 32.3 ml and the mean number of harvested lymph nodes was 22 ± 9.7. The follow-up period ranged from 6-40 months (mean 21.2), and only two patients had distant metastases. Conclusions: The laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision surgical plane for right-sided colon cancer is composed of three surgical planes. When these surgical planes were identified, laparoscopic complete mesocolic excision was a safe and effective procedure for the resection of colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on our fabrication and characterization of Al2O3/Si composite nanodome (CND) structures, which is composed of Si nanodome structures with a conformal cladding Al2O3 layer to evaluate its optical and electrical performance when it is applied to thin film solar cells. It has been observed that by application of Al2O3 thin film coating using atomic layer deposition (ALD) to the Si nanodome structures, both optical and electrical performances are greatly improved. The reflectivity of less than 3% over the wavelength range of from 200 nm to 2000 nm at an incident angle from 0° to 45° is achieved when the Al2O3 film is 90 nm thick. The ultimate efficiency of around 27% is obtained on the CND textured 2 μm-thick Si solar cells, which is compared to the efficiency of around 25.75% and 15% for the 2 μm-thick Si nanodome surface-decorated and planar samples respectively. Electrical characterization was made by using CND-decorated MOS devices to measure device's leakage current and capacitance dispersion. It is found the electrical performance is sensitive to the thickness of the Al2O3 film, and the performance is remarkably improved when the dielectric layer thickness is 90 nm thick. The leakage current, which is less than 4x10-9 A/cm2 over voltage range of from -3 V to 3 V, is reduced by several orders of magnitude. C-V measurements also shows as small as 0.3% of variation in the capacitance over the frequency range from 10 kHz to 500 kHz, which is a strong indication of surface states being fully passivated. TEM examination of CND-decorated samples also reveals the occurrence of SiOx layer formed between the interface of Si and the Al2O3 film, which is thin enough that ensures the presence of field-effect passivation, From our theoretical and experimental study, we believe Al2O3 coated CND structures is a truly viable approach to achieving higher device efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The 5 active components in notopterygium and its processed products were determined by MLC for the first time. • The isocratic chromatographic conditions were optimized through Box-Behnken design. • The established MLC method is simple, efficient, and low-cost. This work has developed an isocratic micellar liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of nodakenin, isoimperatorin, psoralen, ferulic acid, and chlorogenic acid in notopterygium and notopterygium processed products for the first time. Analytes were successfully separated within 15 min. The optimized chromatographic conditions were obtained by Box-Behnken design optimization, and the mobile phase consisted of 0.064 M sodium lauryl sulfate aqueous solution and 8.15% n-pentanol with a pH value of 3.04. The analytes were eluted isocratically through a C18 column at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The linear ranges, limit of detection, limit of quantitation, recovery, intra-day and inter-day precision of the proposed method were validated according to ICH guidelines. The proposed method was successfully applied to the quantitative the 5 active components in notopterygium and its processed products. It is a simple, efficient, and low-cost analytical method that provides an alternative method for the determination of the 5 active ingredients in notopterygium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]