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In this study, an ordered SiO2 nanosphere array coated with vanadium dioxide (VO2) has been fabricated to enhance transmittance with the potential application as an energy-efficient coating in the field of smart windows. SiO2 arrays were formed using the methods of self-assembly, and VO2 thin films were prepared by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of sputtered vanadium films. VO2@SiO2 arrays were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, a four- point probe, and UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometry. Compared with the planar films, the films deposited on 300 nm diameter SiO2 nanospheres can offer approximately 18% enhancement of luminous transmission (Tlum) because the diameter is smaller than the given wavelength and the protuberance of the surface array behaves as a gradation of refractive index producing antireflection. The solar regulation efficiency was not much deteriorated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an ordered SiO2 nanosphere array coated with vanadium dioxide (VO2) has been fabricated to enhance transmittance with the potential application as an energy-efficient coating in the field of smart windows. SiO2 arrays were formed using the methods of self-assembly, and VO2 thin films were prepared by rapid thermal annealing (RTA) of sputtered vanadium films. VO2@SiO2 arrays were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, a fourpoint probe, and UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometry. Compared with the planar films, the films deposited on 300 nm diameter SiO2 nanospheres can offer approximately 18% enhancement of luminous transmission (Tlum) because the diameter is smaller than the given wavelength and the protuberance of the surface array behaves as a gradation of refractive index producing antireflection. The solar regulation efficiency was not much deteriorated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The space charge on the surface of solid dielectric has great influence on the surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD). In this paper, the surface space charge of SDBD is effectively regulated by the effect of electrically pre-stressing of high DC electric field to improve the dynamic performance of ion wind thruster. The conduction current, surface charges, thrust and thrust-to-power ratio are measured respectively for the ion wind thruster with and without the effect of electrically pre-stressing. The experimental results show that compared with the ion wind thruster without the effect of electrically pre-stressing, the instantaneous polarization current of the SDBD ion wind thruster with the effect of electrically pre-stressing is reduced by 42.7%, and the attenuation constant of the relaxation polarization current is reduced by about 28.8%, which effectively reduces the relaxation polarization loss of the thruster under the alternating electric field. In addition, the discharge time of anode and cathode increases respectively by about 20.0% and 43.3%, and the variation of surface space charge increases by about 50.6% in one voltage cycle. The saturation thrust of the thruster is increased from 1070 μN/m to 1660 μN/m by about 55.1%. The maximum thrust-to-power ratio of the thruster is increased from 993 μN/kW to 2125 μN/kW by about 114.0%. • Initial instantaneous value of the response current of the PVDF under the pre-electric stress is reduced by about 42.7%, and the attenuation constant of the relaxation polarization current is reduced by about 28.8%, compared with the PVDF without the pre-electric stress. • Comparing with the SDBD thruster without the pre-electric stress, the anode discharge time increases by about 20.0%, the cathode discharge time increases by 43.3%, and the surface space charge variation increases by about 50.6% during the discharge process. • The saturation voltage of the SDBD ion-wind thruster increased from 4.8 kV to about 5.6 kV, and the saturation thrust increased from 1070 μN/m to about 1660 μN/m, with the increased amplitude of 16.7% and 55.1%, respectively. • Due to the regulation effect of negative space charge on charged particles, the current passing through the SDBD thruster is relatively small. The thrust-power ratio increased by about 114.0%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear time domain response signals of surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) are the basis for studying the energy loss of SDBD thruster. This paper is based on the construction of a double layer lumped parameter circuit model in solid dielectric and discharge plasma regions; based on virtual instrument technology, a test device for AC dielectric characteristics of a nonlinear SDBD thruster was built to obtain the time domain signals of AC voltage and response current. According to the characteristic spectral curve of the voltage and the response current signal in the time domain, the response current is decomposed into resistive current (conduction current) and capacitive current (relaxation current) by an appropriate algorithm. The experimental results show that the response current in the discharge plasma region is mainly the capacitive current, and the peak capacitive current is about 2.9 times of the peak resistance current; Relaxation planned loss is the main form of energy loss in the discharge plasma region. Due to space charge limiting current effect and space charge saturation effect, the static and dynamic resistance of discharge plasma region have platform area and negative resistance characteristics respectively; Both static and dynamic capacitance have negative capacitor characteristics. • This paper is based on the construction of a double layer lumped parameter circuit model in solid dielectric and discharge plasma regions; based on virtual instrument technology, a test device for AC dielectric characteristics of a nonlinear SDBD actuator was built to obtain the time domain signals of AC voltage and response current. • The response current is decomposed into resistive current (conduction current) and capacitive current (relaxation current) by an appropriate algorithm. • By analyzing the response current waveform, static and dynamic time domain characteristic curves of resistance and capacitance in the plasma region of the SDBD actuator were obtained. The discharge characteristics of the plasma region of the SDBD actuator are characterized more comprehensively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic wind actuators are widely used in temperature control, food drying, aircraft propulsion, combustion, air purification, and many other fields. The energy conversion efficiency of ion-wind actuator has been low for a long time. In this paper, a lumped parameter circuit model is established for the surface dielectric barrier discharge structure, and the energy conversion path in the discharge process is proposed for the first time. According to the circuit topology, part of the energy loss is calculated. Based on the mathematical calculations of the circuit model, we discovered the possibility of "negative capacitance effect" in the plasma area, and the experimental verified the correctness of the theoretical deduction and prediction. Meanwhile, the results show that the equivalent capacitance of the solid dielectric is equal to the bottom slope of Lissajous graph, and the negative capacitance effect can effectively reduce the proportion of solid dielectric loss and relaxed polarization loss. The negative capacitance effect improves the energy conversion efficiency of the ionic wind exciter, and the maximum increase ratio is about 47.8%. With the increase of voltage, the deviation between the calculated value of theoretical model and the measured value increases gradually, and finally stabilizes at about 41%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 2012-2017, we collected throat swabs from dogs in China to characterize canine influenza virus (CIV) A(H3N2) isolates. A new antigenically and genetically distinct CIV H3N2 clade possessing mutations associated with mammalian adaptation emerged in 2016 and replaced previously circulating strains. This clade probably poses a risk for zoonotic infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First, a novel nonlinear Muskingum flood routing model with a variable exponent parameter and simultaneously considering the lateral flow along the river reach (named VEP-NLMM-L) was developed in this research. Then, an improved real-coded adaptive genetic algorithm (RAGA) with elite strategy was applied for precise parameter estimation of the proposed model. The problem was formulated as a mathematical optimization procedure to minimize the sum of the squared deviations (SSQ) between the observed and the estimated outflows. Finally, the VEP-NLMM-L was validated on three watersheds with different characteristics (Case 1 to 3). Comparisons of the optimal results for the three case studies by traditional Muskingum models and the VEP-NLMM-L show that the modified Muskingum model can produce the most accurate fit to outflow data. Application results in Case 3 also indicate that the VEP-NLMM-L may be suitable for solving river flood routing problems in both model calibration and prediction stages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influenza A viruses in animal reservoirs repeatedly cross species barriers to infect humans. Dogs are the closest companion animals to humans, but the role of dogs in the ecology of influenza viruses is unclear. H3N2 avian influenza viruses were transmitted to dogs around 2006 and have formed stable lineages. The long-term epidemic of avian-origin H3N2 virus in canines offers the best models to investigate the effect of dogs on the evolution of influenza viruses. Here, we carried out a systematic and comparative identification of the biological characteristics of H3N2 canine influenza viruses (CIVs) isolated worldwide over 10 years. We found that, during adaptation in dogs, H3N2 CIVs became able to recognize the human-like SAα2,6-Gal receptor, showed gradually increased hemagglutination (HA) acid stability and replication ability in human airway epithelial cells, and acquired a 100% transmission rate via respiratory droplets in a ferret model. We also found that human populations lack immunity to H3N2 CIVs, and even preexisting immunity derived from the present human seasonal influenza viruses cannot provide protection against H3N2 CIVs. Our results showed that canines may serve as intermediates for the adaptation of avian influenza viruses to humans. Continuous surveillance coordinated with risk assessment for CIVs is necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although traditional fault diagnosis methods can qualitatively identify the failure modes for power equipment, it is difficult to evaluate the failure probability quantitatively. In this paper, a failure probability calculation method for power equipment based on multi-characteristic parameters is proposed. After collecting the historical data of different fault characteristic parameters, the distribution functions and the cumulative distribution functions of each parameter, which are applied to dispersing the parameters and calculating the differential warning values, are calculated by using the two-parameter Weibull model. To calculate the membership functions of parameters for each failure mode, the Apriori algorithm is chosen to mine the association rules between parameters and failure modes. After that, the failure probability of each failure mode is obtained by integrating the membership functions of different parameters by a weighted method, and the important weight of each parameter is calculated by the differential warning values. According to the failure probability calculation result, the series model is established to estimate the failure probability of the equipment. Finally, an application example for two 220 kV transformers is presented to show the detailed process of the method. Compared with traditional fault diagnosis methods, the calculation results not only identify the failure modes correctly, but also reflect the failure probability changing trend of the equipment accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation process of medical image will inevitably introduce certain noises. These noises will degrade the image quality and affect the final clinical diagnosis. Therefore, denoising plays an important role in the pre-processing of medical image before the formal diagnosis and treatment. In this paper, the classical NLM algorithm is improved to denoise medical images by involving a novel noise weighting function and parallelizing. In our experiment, plenty of medical images have been tested and experiment results show that our algorithm can achieve better results and higher efficiency compared with the original NLM method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Melphalan resistance has been considered one of the major obstacles to improve outcomes in multiple myeloma (MM) therapy; unfortunately, the mechanistic details of this resistance remain unclear. Melphalan is a highly effective alkylating agent which causes many types of DNA lesions, including DNA base alkylation damage that is repaired by base excision repair (BER). We postulated that human apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), an essential BER enzyme, plays a vital role in acquired melphalan resistance. However, because APE1 is a multifunctional protein with redox activity and acetylation modification in addition to its major repair activity, the particular APE1 function that may play a more important role in melphalan resistance is unknown. Methods Two MM cell lines, RPMI-8226 and U266 were used to measure the difference in APE1 levels in melphalan-resistant and sensitive derivatives. APE1 functional mutants for DNA repair, redox and acetylation were employed to investigate the roles of individual APE1 activities in acquired melphalan resistance. Results Our results indicate that APE1 is overexpressed in both MM melphalan-resistant cells. Knocking down APE1 sensitizes the melphalan resistant MM cells to melphalan treatment. The exogenous expression of DNA repair mutant H309N and acetylation mutant K6R/K7R of APE1 failed to restore the melphalan resistance of the APE1 knockdown RPMI-8226 cells. The AP endonuclease activity and multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) regulatory activity may play roles in the melphalan resistance of MM cells. Conclusions The present study has identified that the DNA repair functions and the acetylation modification of APE1 are involved in melphalan resistance of MM cells and has also shed light on future therapeutic strategies targeting specific APE1 functions by small molecule inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several viruses within the Coronaviridae family have been categorized as either emerging or re-emerging human pathogens, with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) being the most well known. The NIAID-sponsored Virus Pathogen Database and Analysis Resource (ViPR, www.viprbrc.org) supports bioinformatics workflows for a broad range of human virus pathogens and other related viruses, including the entire Coronaviridae family. ViPR provides access to sequence records, gene and protein annotations, immune epitopes, 3D structures, host factor data, and other data types through an intuitive web-based search interface. Records returned from these queries can then be subjected to web-based analyses including: multiple sequence alignment, phylogenetic inference, sequence variation determination, BLAST comparison, and metadata-driven comparative genomics statistical analysis. Additional tools exist to display multiple sequence alignments, view phylogenetic trees, visualize 3D protein structures, transfer existing reference genome annotations to new genomes, and store or share results from any search or analysis within personal private 'Workbench' spaces for future access. All of the data and integrated analysis and visualization tools in ViPR are made available without charge as a service to the Coronaviridae research community to facilitate the research and development of diagnostics, prophylactics, vaccines and therapeutics against these human pathogens [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lampreys are one of the most primitive vertebrates still living today. They attach themselves to the body surface of the host fish through their sucker-like mouths and suck blood of the host for days. Recent fossil evidence has indicated that morphology of lampreys in the late Devonian period, over 360 million years ago, already possessed the present day major characteristics, suggesting the evolutionary stability of a highly specialized parasitic feeding habit. Obviously, nociceptive responses and hemostasis of the host are two major barriers to long-term feeding of the parasitic lamprey. It has been found, to counteract hemostasis of the host, that paired buccal glands of lampreys secrete antihemostatic compounds to prevent blood of the host from coagulation. However, it is not known how lampreys make the host lose nociceptive responses. Here, we prepared components of the crude extract from the buccal glands of the lampreys ( Lampetra japonica). Then, we show that crude extract and one of its purified components reduce the firing frequency of neuronal action potentials probably through inhibiting the voltage-dependent Na+ channels. As the voltage-gated Na+ channels are highly conserved throughout evolution, we argue that the secretion of the lampreys could exert the similar effect on the Na+ channels of their host fish as well. Therefore, together with its antihemostatic effect, the secretion due to its inhibitory effect on neuronal excitability might provide a mechanism for the parasitic lampreys to keep their evolutionary stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola, a gram-negative bacterial plant pathogen, is the causal agent of halo blight of bean. In this study, we report on the genome sequence of P. syringae pv. phaseolicola isolate 1448A, which encodes 5,353 open reading frames (ORFs) on one circular chromosome (5,928,787 bp) and two plasmids (131,950 bp and 51,711 bp). Comparative analyses with a phylogenetically divergent pathovar, P. syringae pv. tomato DC3000, revealed a strong degree of conservation at the gene and genome levels. In total, 4,133 ORFs were identified as putative orthologs in these two pathovars using a reciprocal best-hit method, with 3,941 ORFs present in conserved, syntenic blocks. Although these two pathovars are highly similar at the physiological level, they have distinct host ranges; 1448A causes disease in beans, and DC3000 is pathogenic on tomato and Arabidopsis. Examination of the complement of ORFs encoding virulence, fitness, and survival factors revealed a substantial, but not complete, overlap between these two pathovars. Another distinguishing feature between the two pathovars is their distinctive sets of transposable elements. With access to a fifth complete pseudomonad genome sequence, we were able to identify 3,567 ORFs that likely comprise the core Pseudomonas genome and 365 ORFs that are P. syringae specific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The completion of the 5373,180-bp genome sequence of the marine psychrophilic bacterium Colwellia psychrerythraea 34H, a model for the study of life in permanently cold environments, reveals capabilities important to carbon and nutrient cycling, bioremediation, production of secondary metabolites, and cold- adapted enzymes. From a genomic perspective, cold adaptation is suggested in several broad categories involving changes to the cell membrane fluidity, uptake and synthesis of compounds conferring cryotolerance, and strategies to overcome temperature-dependent barriers to carbon uptake. Modeling of three-dimensional protein homology from bacteria representing a range of optimal growth temperatures suggests changes to proteome composition that may enhance enzyme effectiveness at low temperatures. Comparative genome analyses suggest that the psychrophilic lifestyle is most likely conferred not by a unique set of genes but by a collection of synergistic changes in overall genome content and amino acid composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the complete genome sequence of the model bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pathovar tomato DC3000 (DC3000), which is pathogenic on tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana. The DC3000 genome (6.5 megabases) contains a circular chromosome and two plasmids, which collectively encode 5,763 ORFs. We identified 298 established and putative virulence genes, including several clusters of genes encoding 31 confirmed and 19 predicted type III secretion system effector proteins. Many of the virulence genes were members of paralogous families and also were proximal to mobile elements, which collectively comprise 7% of the DC3000 genome. The bacterium possesses a large repertoire of transporters for the acquisition of nutrients, particularly sugars, as well as genes implicated in attachment to plant surfaces. Over 12% of the genes are dedicated to regulation, which may reflect the need for rapid adaptation to the diverse environments encountered during epiphytic growth and pathogenesis. Comparative analyses confirmed a high degree of similarity with two sequenced pseudomonads, Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, yet revealed 1,159 genes unique to DC3000, of which 811 lack a known function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]