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Reduced radiation from air pollutants has become a major challenge to cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production. Field experiments were conducted using two cotton cultivars at three shading levels during boll development in Nanjing (32°02' N, 118°50' E), China, to determine the effect of shading on cotton yield and quality. Lint yield, distributions of yield within the plant and that of biomass within bolls, and the quality of fiber and seed were analyzed. Shading reduced lint yield (decreased by 17-22% and 35-38% under shading conditions S1 and S2, respectively) through reducing boll number and boll weight, but increased proportion of lint yield on the bottom five fruiting branches (FB1-5) by 2.1 to 2.4% and 3.4 to 4.3% under S1 and S2, respectively. The proportion of fiber biomass in the boll decreased significantly, whereas proportion of seed biomass increased with enhanced shading. Fiber was the most sensitive boll component to shading, the biomass of which under shading condition (S1, S2) decreased by 5.9 to 6.9% and 8.8 to 11.9%, respectively. Shading increased oil content but decreased protein content of the seed on FB3. Seed oil and protein contents on FB7 and FB12 responded opposite to those on FB3. Simultaneously, shading was advantageous to fiber length and micronaire but disadvantageous to fiber strength. The greater the shading enhanced, the more the abovementioned measurements were affected. Shading due to air pollutants alters biomass distribution within bolls and lint yield distribution within the plant. Bolls on the bottom fruiting branches are more tolerant of shading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we have studied the uniaxial tension behaviors of the silicone-carbon nanotube (CNT) laminated structure (SCLS) with the load capacity of the CNT film comparable to that of silicone rubber, based on which a theoretical model is proposed to explore the underlying mechanism. The uniaxial tension behaviors of SCLS can be clearly divided into three stages corresponding to the uniform deformation of silicone rubber and CNT film, continuous fracture of CNT film, and uniaxial tension of silicone rubber, respectively. A zigzag plateau stress is observed in stage II. Indeed, the CNT film can act as a pinning ligament to constrain the deformation of silicone rubber, while its continuous fracture can gradually release the deformability of silicone rubber which is beneficial to increase the toughness of SCLS. By considering the in-plane tension stress of the CNT film and interface shear stress transfer, a continuous fracture and pinning model is proposed which can describe the uniaxial tension behaviors of SCLS very well. The results presented herein may shed useful insights for the design and optimization of the film-substrate based stretchable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the surface wrinkle modulation mechanism of the three-dimensional (3D) film/substrate system caused by biaxial eigenstrains in the films is studied. A theoretical model based on the energy minimization of the 3D wrinkled film/substrate system is proposed which shows that the change of the surface wrinkle amplitude is determined by four dimensionless parameters, i.e., the eigenstrain in the film, plane strain modulus ratio between the film and substrate, film thickness to wrinkle wavelength ratio, and initial wrinkle amplitude to wavelength ratio. The surface wrinkle amplitude decreases (even almost flat) upon contraction eigenstrain in the film, while increases for that of expansion eigenstrain. Parallel finite element method (FEM) simulations are carried out which have good agreements with the theoretical predictions, and experimental verifications are also presented to verify the findings. Besides, different patterns of 3D surface wrinkles are studied and the similar surface wrinkle modulation is also observed. The findings presented herein may shed useful insights for the design of complex stretchable electronics, cosmetic products, soft devices and the fabrication of 3D complex structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the surface wrinkle modulation of the film/substrate system caused by eigenstrain in the film is studied. A theoretical model is proposed which shows the change of the wrinkle amplitude is completely determined by four dimensionless parameters, i.e., the eigenstrain in the film, the plane strain modulus ratio between the film and the substrate, the film thickness to wrinkle wavelength ratio, and the initial wrinkle amplitude to wavelength ratio. The surface wrinkle amplitude becomes smaller (even almost flat) for the contraction eigenstrain in the film, while for the expansion eigenstrain it becomes larger. If the expansion eigenstrain exceeds a critical value, secondary wrinkling on top of the existing one is observed for some cases. In general, the deformation diagram of the wrinkled film/substrate system can be divided into three regions, i.e., the change of surface wrinkle amplitude, the irregular wrinkling, and the secondary wrinkling, governed by the four parameters above. Parallel finite element method (FEM) simulations are carried out which have good agreement with the theoretical predictions. The findings may be useful to guide the design and performance of stretchable electronics, cosmetic products, biomedical engineering, soft materials, and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repetitive transcranial megnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been widely used in patients with psychiatric disorders. Previous studies revealed good efficacy of rTMS for patients with obsession-compulsive disorder (OCD) and Tic disorder (TD). OCD and TD are closely related and considered to etiologically overlap. Patients with the co-occurrence of OCD and TD are often identified. Therefore, we conducted a quick review of rTMS for the treatment of these two diseases to compare the similarities and differences of rTMS for OCD and TD, which might provide an indication for the treatment of the co-occurrence of OCD and TD. We searched articles published in PubMed, Wanfang, and Web of Science from January 2001 to January 2022. Both inclusion criteria and exclusion criteria were developed to identify the relevant included studies. Data on the frequency, target area, sample size, and number of males, especially the rTMS treatment procedure or parameters, were extracted in the included studies. We included 26 studies on OCD and 12 studies on TD in this quick review. A total of 996 participants were included. Based on the review of the included studies, lowfrequency rTMS might be used more than highfrequency rTMS, and the supplementary motor area (SMA) might show better efficacy than the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in OCD. For patients with TD, low-frequency rTMS located in the SMA might show good efficacy both in OCD and TD. Our quick review elaborated the treatment efficacy of rTMS for both patients with OCD and those with TD. It seems that the SMA is an important target choice for both OCD and TD patients. Low-frequency rTMS might be used more than high-frequency rTMS in both OCD and TD patients. In future studies, we should explore more about the efficacy of rTMS for patients with co-occurring OCD and TD, especially for the efficacy of targeted SMA with low frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by the continual presence of primary motor and vocal tics. Grey matter abnormalities have been identified in numerous studies of TS, but conflicting results have been reported. This study was an unbiased statistical meta-analysis of published neuroimaging studies of TS structures. Methods: A voxel quantitative meta-analysis technique called activation likelihood estimation (ALE) was used. The meta-analysis included six neuroimaging studies involving 247 TS patients and 236 healthy controls. A statistical threshold of p < 0.05 was established based on the false discovery rate and a cluster extent threshold of 50 voxels. Results: We found that grey matter volumes were significantly increased in the bilateral thalamus, right hypothalamus, right precentral gyrus, left postcentral gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, right lentiform nucleus, and left insula of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls. In contrast, grey matter volumes were significantly decreased in the bilateral postcentral gyrus, bilateral anterior cingulate, bilateral insula, left posterior cingulate and left postcentral gyrus of TS patients compared to those of healthy controls. Conclusions: Our present meta-analysis primarily revealed significant increases in grey matter volumes in the thalamus and lentiform nucleus, and decreased grey matter volumes in the anterior cingulate gyrus, of TS patients compared to those in healthy controls. Most of these identified regions are associated with cortico-striato-thalamocortical circuits. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to confirm these changes in grey matter volumes in TS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to its ability to form biofilms on medical devices, Staphylococcus epidermidis has emerged as a major pathogen of nosocomial infections. In this study, we investigated the role of the two-component signal transduction system ArlRS in regulating S. epidermidis biofilm formation. An ArlRS-deficient mutant, WW06, was constructed using S. epidermidis strain 1457 as a parental strain. Although the growth curve of WW06 was similar to that of SE1457, the mutant strain was unable to form biofilms in vitro. In a rabbit subcutaneous infection model, sterile disks made of polymeric materials were implanted subcutaneously followed with inoculation of WW06 or SE1457. The viable bacteria cells of WW06 recovered from biofilms on the embedded disks were much lower than that of SE1457. Complementation of arlRS genes expression from plasmid in WW06 restored biofilm-forming phenotype both in vivo and in vitro. WW06 maintained the ability to undergo initial attachment. Transcription levels of several genes involved in biofilm formation, including icaADBC, sigB, and sarA, were decreased in WW06, compared to SE1457; and icaR expression was increased in WW06, detected by real-time reversetranscription PCR. The biofilm-forming phenotype was restored by overexpressing icaADBC in WW06 but not by overexpressing sigB, indicating that ArlRS regulates biofilm formation through the regulation of icaADBC. Gel shift assay showed that ArlR can bind to the promoter region of the ica operon. In conclusion, ArlRS regulates S. epidermidis biofilm formation in an ica-dependent manner, distinct from its role in S. aureus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because there is no effective antibiotic to eradicate Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm infections that lead to the failure of medical device implantations, the development of anti-biofilmvaccines is necessary. Biofilmformation by S. epidermidis requires accumulation-associated protein (Aap) that contains sequence repeats known as G5 domains, which are responsible for the Zn2+-dependent dimerization of Aap to mediate intercellular adhesion. Antibodies against Aap have been reported to inhibit biofilm accumulation. In the present study, three monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against the Aap C-terminal single B-repeat construct followed by the 79-aa half repeat (AapBrpt1.5) were generated. MAb18B6 inhibited biofilm formation by S. epidermidis RP62A to 60% of the maximum, while MAb25C11 and MAb20B9 enhanced biofilm accumulation. All three MAbs aggregated the planktonic bacteria to form visible cell clusters. Epitope mapping revealed that the epitope of MAb18B6, which recognizes an identical area within AapBrpt constructs from S. epidermidis RP62A, was not shared by MAb25C11 and MAb20B9. Furthermore, all three MAbs were found to affect both Aap expression and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS, including extracellular DNA and PIA) biosynthesis in S. epidermidis and enhance the cell accumulation. These findings contribute to a better understanding of staphylococcal biofilm formation and will help to develop epitope-peptide vaccines against staphylococcal infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]