Search

Social mating systems (e.g. monogamy, polygamy, or polyandry) are relatively stable behavioral strategies developed by environmental in animals, but the genetic imprint of a particular mating system is often incongruent with the social mating system due to extrapair matings. However, the genetics of mating systems remain little understood in rodents. In this study, we investigated the genetic signature of the mating system of 141 (63 females, 78 males) field-captured midday gerbils (Meriones meridianus)—a rodent species commonly found in the Minqin Desert in China—through microsatellite site analyses of genetic structure and relatedness. Seven pairs of highly polymorphic microsatellite loci were selected and were highly polymorphic, with the combined exclusion probability greater than 0.99. The parent pair paternity test by Cervus 3.0 software show that 11 mother–offspring and nine father–offspring relationships were identified in 2018, involving 26 individuals from 10 families. Similarly, 19 mother–offspring and 19 father–offspring relationships were identified in 2019, involving 48 individuals from 18 families. All three types of genetic mating structure were identified—monogamy (19 families), polyandry (4 families), and polygyny (5 families), providing evidence that the genetics underlying mating systems in this species are variable, can be incongruent with behavioral evidence for social mating systems, and could vary based on environmental cues, including degree of perceived or actual predation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let X = {Xp}]p∈P be a product system over a lattice ordered group (G, P) with coefficients in a C*-algebra A . In this paper, we study the reduced crossed product of the gauge coaction δ of G on the Cuntz—Pimsner algebra N O X r . When X is a product system of Morita equivalence bimodules, we show that the reduced crossed product of the gauge coaction is Morita equivalent to the C*-algebra A . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to explore the effects of image mosaic algorithm- (IMA-) based low-dose X-rays on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage of peripheral blood lymphocytes in cardiovascular patients. 84 patients with interventional cardiovascular surgeries were selected as the research objects and divided into coronary intervention surgery (A) group, coronary angiography (B) group, radiofrequency ablation (C) group, and permanent cardiac pacemaker implantation (D) group. They were treated with IMA-based low-dose X-rays, DNA damage indicators of lymphocytes were detected, and the relationship was analyzed between those indicators and radiation dose. Results showed that the cumulative dose (CD) and dose area product (DAP) of group A were the lowest, and those of group D were obviously higher than those of the other three groups (P < 0.01). Besides, the results also showed that the values of CD and DAP of patients from group A and group D were 0.38 ± 0.08 (Gy) and 0.38 ± 0.08 (Gy/cm2) and 1.37 ± 0.21 (Gy) and 1.37 ± 0.21(Gy/cm2), respectively. The comet tail DNA content (TDNA) and tail moment (TM) of each group after surgery increased dramatically compared with before surgery (P < 0.01), and the TDNA and TM of group D were greatly higher than those of the other three groups (P < 0.01). Therefore, TDNA and TM were markedly positively correlated with DAP and CD (P < 0.01). IMA-based X-ray radiotherapy caused reliable DNA damage to peripheral blood lymphocytes of cardiovascular patients, and the greater the radiation dose, the more serious the DNA damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlight • A pressure relief method for circular tunnel under anisotropic stresses was promoted. • An analytical solution for the method was obtained using the complex variable theory. • A relation between maximum stress ratio and lateral pressure coefficient was found. • The plastic zone around the opening under anisotropic stresses was estimated. Abstract It is likely that a great number of excavation-induced failures, including rock burst, are activated in a highly anisotropic in situ stress field. Pressure-relief technologies are employed popularly as effective approaches of treating the induced failures, but there is a lack of study on their mechanisms in terms of the relief effect and distribution of the plastic zone. This paper proposes a pressure-relief method of grooving relief slots in the roof and floor of a circular opening considering the non-uniform stress distribution around a circular opening under anisotropic far-field stress. A conformal mapping method and complex variable theory are adopted to obtain a closed-form solution for released openings, stress ratios of the unreleased to released openings are used to describe the release effect, and effects of the lateral pressure coefficient and slot depth are discussed. Additionally, a negative exponential relation between the maximum stress ratio and the rock depth is found. On the basis of the elastic solution, this paper presents an approach of finding the distribution of the plastic zone around a non-circular opening for an anisotropic in situ stress state using the Mohr–Coulomb criterion, and investigates the release effect on the plastic zone for different lateral pressure coefficients and slot depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever-increasing severity of ongoing water crisis, it is critical to develop cost-efficient and eco-friendly water treatment technologies. As an emerging oxidant in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), peracetic acid (PAA) has garnered worldwide attention owing to superior stability, susceptible activation capability, and high efficiency for decontamination. A diversity of carbon-based catalysts have been employed to activate PAA and trigger different oxidation pathways, including organic radicals (CH 3 COOO•, CH 3 COO•, •CH 3), hydroxyl radical (•OH) oxidation, singlet oxygen (1O 2) oxidation, high-valent metal oxidation, and electron-transfer processes (ETP). This review is dedicated to summarizing the progress of up-to-date research on carbon-based PAA activation, with a focus on clarifying the arguments of the structure-selectivity mechanisms of generating different reactive species via carbocatalytic PAA activation. The outcomes will provide valuable guidance for oriented catalyst design to coordinate on-demand PAA oxidation pathways toward high-efficiency water remediation. [Display omitted] • Reactive species and catalytic active sites in carbon-based PAA-AOPs are summarized. • Intrinsic structure-performance relations in PAA activation are clarified. • Key considerations for identifying reactive species are highlighted. • Challenges and prospects of carbon-based PAA-AOPs are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we establish a zero-sum, hybrid state stochastic game model for designing defense policies for cyber-physical systems against different types of attacks. With the increasingly integrated properties of cyber-physical systems (CPS) today, security is a challenge for critical infrastructures. Though resilient control and detecting techniques for a specific model of attack have been proposed, to analyze and design detection and defense mechanisms against multiple types of attacks for CPSs requires new system frameworks. Besides security, other requirements such as optimal control cost also need to be considered. The hybrid game model we propose contains physical states that are described by the system dynamics, and a cyber state that represents the detection mode of the system composed by a set of subsystems. A strategy means selecting a subsystem by combining one controller, one estimator and one detector among a finite set of candidate components at each state. Based on the game model, we propose a suboptimal value iteration algorithm for a finite horizon game, and prove that the algorithm results an upper bound for the value of the finite horizon game. A moving-horizon approach is also developed in order to provide a scalable and real-time computation of the switching strategies. Both algorithms aim at obtaining a saddle-point equilibrium policy for balancing the system’s security overhead and control cost. The paper illustrates these concepts using numerical examples, and we compare the results with previously system designs that only equipped with one type of controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new lipid droplets-targeted fluorescence probe (HTF) for SO 2 derivatives (HSO 3 − /SO 3 2− ) is developed based on FRET platform, in which a dansyl and 2-(3-cyano-4,5,5-trimethylfuran-2(5H)-ylidene) malononitrile (TCF) derivative were combined by piperazine moiety. Besides a large Stokes shift (155 nm), probe HTF possesses high selectivity toward SO 2 derivatives over other common anions or biothiols and excellent sensitivity with low detection limit (66 nM). The sensing mechanism was proposed to involve nucleophilic addition reaction of HSO 3 − to C C double bond, which was confirmed by 1 H NMR titration and HR-MS spectra. Furthermore, HTF showed a low cytotoxicity and excellent lipid droplets-targeting in living cells. Its ratiometric fluorescence imaging hinted a good latent application for the monitor of exogenous and endogenous bisulfite in living cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firstly, a numerical computation model of submarine radiation noise was established to obtain the radiation noise of the submarine, which was compared with the experimental results, thus verifying the validity of the model. As indicated by the computational result, the submarine fairwater played a significant impact on radiation noise at the front section, whose structure was therefore necessary to be studied. In the paper, there were several different type submarine fairwaters. Large eddy simulation (LES) and boundary element method (BEM) were applied to conduct the numerical computation for the vortex flow field and acoustic characteristics of the original fairwater, the fairwater with fillet and the streamline fairwater. Furthermore, the impact and suppression effect of the fairwater's type on wall pressure fluctuations and flow-induced noise were analyzed. As shown from the research, the vertical fairwater with fillet or the streamline fairwater can significantly improve the flow quality, thus considerably reducing the pressure fluctuations and flow-induced noise. The paper is conductive to the academic research of flow noise of submarine as well as the new submarine design in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional taxi systems in metropolitan areas often suffer from inefficiencies due to uncoordinated actions as system capacity and customer demand change. With the pervasive deployment of networked sensors in modern vehicles, large amounts of information regarding customer demand and system status can be collected in real time. This information provides opportunities to perform various types of control and coordination for large-scale intelligent transportation systems. In this paper, we present a receding horizon control (RHC) framework to dispatch taxis, which incorporates highly spatiotemporally correlated demand/supply models and real-time Global Positioning System (GPS) location and occupancy information. The objectives include matching spatiotemporal ratio between demand and supply for service quality with minimum current and anticipated future taxi idle driving distance. Extensive trace-driven analysis with a data set containing taxi operational records in San Francisco, CA, USA, shows that our solution reduces the average total idle distance by 52%, and reduces the supply demand ratio error across the city during one experimental time slot by 45%. Moreover, our RHC framework is compatible with a wide variety of predictive models and optimization problem formulations. This compatibility property allows us to solve robust optimization problems with corresponding demand uncertainty models that provide disruptive event information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Nanocarbon exhibited superior activity for PAA activation toward pollutant decay. • CNT−PAA* complex was the prime reactive species formed at the sp2-hybridized carbon. • Minor •OH surface was generated at the edge-located C−OH group. • CNT−PAA* complex was firstly detected via in situ Raman test. • Oxidation rate constant discerned from apparent counterpart was related well to φ 1/2. Peracetic-acid-based advanced oxidation processes (PAA-AOPs) on metal-free catalysts have emerged as charming strategies for water contaminant removal. However, the involved reactive species and their corresponding active sites are ambiguous. Herein, using carbon nanotube (CNT) as a model carbocatalyst, we demonstrated that, under neutral conditions, the CNT−PAA* complex was the dominant reactive species to oxidize phenolic compounds via electron-transfer process (ETP), whereas the surface-bound hydroxyl radicals (·OH surface) played a minor role on the basis of quenching and electrochemical tests as well as Raman spectroscopy. More importantly, the experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculation results collaboratively proved that the active site for ETP was the sp2-hybridized carbon on the CNT bulk, while that for radical generation was the edge-located hydroxyl group (C−OH), which lowered the energy barrier for cleaving the O−O bond in CNT−PAA* complex. We further discerned the oxidation kinetic constants (k oxid) of different pollutants from the apparent kinetic constants in CNT/PAA system. The significant negative linear correlation between ln k oxid and half-wave potential of phenolic compounds suggests that the pollutants with a lower one-electron oxidation potential (i.e., stronger electron-donating ability) are more easily oxidized. Overall, this study scrutinizes the hybrid radical and non-radical mechanism and the corresponding active sites of the CNT/PAA system, providing insights into the application of PAA-AOPs and the development of ETP in the remediation of emerging organic pollutants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The chemical mechanism for the microwave-assisted formation of Fe3O4 was clarified in present work. Microwave irradiation supplied sufficient energy for the formation of Fe3O4 because of its uneven distribution within the raw materials, as determined via the comparative heating experiment and numerical analysis (finite element method). Quantitative analysis and oil (dimethyl silicone fluid) bath comparative experiment revealed that H2O supplied an appropriate reaction environment. The Fe/Fe2O3 stoichiometric ratio in the synthetic reaction was 1:4, as determined via quantitative analysis and in accordance with the electronic conservation theory. Therefore, the mechanism for the microwave-assisted formation of Fe3O4 is Fe+4Fe2O3 →3Fe3O4. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The variants of apolipoprotein E (apoE) are closely related to hyperlipidemia III, Alzheimer's disease (AD), coronary artery disease (CAD) and many other human lipid metabolism-related problems. A rapid and accurate genotyping method specific for polymorphisms of the APOE gene is needed for population screening as well as diagnosis of apoE-related diseases in both the research and clinical setting. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method was designed to generate a 191-bp amplicon, which contains two common polymorphisms located in codons 112 and 158 of exon 4 of the APOE gene. The PCR amplicons for each sample were subjected to denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) analysis, which was performed under partially denaturing conditions as determined by profiling the mixture of a tested sample and a homozygous standard control amplicon at the given ratio. A total of 297 DNA samples from Chinese population were enrolled to evaluate the specificity of the assay. A blinded validation study was then performed on 130 samples randomly selected from each of the six genotype groups as determined by DHPLC profiling. The genotypes obtained with the DHPLC method were in full agreement with those obtained by direct sequencing (130/130). We have developed a PCR/DHPLC genotyping assay capable of simultaneously determining all six genotypes of APOE gene in unknown test samples at one time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating FeIV=O on single‐atom catalysts by Fenton‐like reaction has been established for water treatment; however, the FeIV=O generation pathway and oxidation behavior remain obscure. Employing an Fe−N−C catalyst with a typical Fe−N4 moiety to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS), we demonstrate that generating FeIV=O is mediated by an Fe−N−C−PMS* complex—a well‐recognized nonradical species for induction of electron‐transfer oxidation—and we determined that adjacent Fe sites with a specific Fe1−Fe1 distance are required. After the Fe atoms with an Fe1‐Fe1 distance <4 Å are PMS‐saturated, Fe−N−C−PMS* formed on Fe sites with an Fe1‐Fe1 distance of 4–5 Å can coordinate with the adjacent FeII−N4, forming an inter‐complex with enhanced charge transfer to produce FeIV=O. FeIV=O enables the Fenton‐like system to efficiently oxidize various pollutants in a substrate‐specific, pH‐tolerant, and sustainable manner, where its prominent contribution manifests for pollutants with higher one‐electron oxidation potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating FeIV=O on single‐atom catalysts by Fenton‐like reaction has been established for water treatment; however, the FeIV=O generation pathway and oxidation behavior remain obscure. Employing an Fe−N−C catalyst with a typical Fe−N4 moiety to activate peroxymonosulfate (PMS), we demonstrate that generating FeIV=O is mediated by an Fe−N−C−PMS* complex—a well‐recognized nonradical species for induction of electron‐transfer oxidation—and we determined that adjacent Fe sites with a specific Fe1−Fe1 distance are required. After the Fe atoms with an Fe1‐Fe1 distance <4 Å are PMS‐saturated, Fe−N−C−PMS* formed on Fe sites with an Fe1‐Fe1 distance of 4–5 Å can coordinate with the adjacent FeII−N4, forming an inter‐complex with enhanced charge transfer to produce FeIV=O. FeIV=O enables the Fenton‐like system to efficiently oxidize various pollutants in a substrate‐specific, pH‐tolerant, and sustainable manner, where its prominent contribution manifests for pollutants with higher one‐electron oxidation potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Fe-B catalyst was fabricated for electro-assisted heterogeneous activation of PMS. • Electric field could accelerate the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox cycle. • The direct anodic oxidation and surface-bound radicals were responsible for AO7 decay. • Effects of important operational conditions on the AO7 abatement were explored. Heterogeneous catalytic oxidation based on iron species for peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation is considered as one of the most attractive strategies for wastewater treatment. However, the rate-limiting regeneration of Fe(II) from Fe(III) heavily hampers the efficient activation of PMS. In this study, the introduction of electric field to the Fe-supported bentonite (Fe-B) activated PMS process was proposed to enhance the Fe(III)/Fe(II) redox cycle. The Fe-B catalyst performed well in the removal of Acid Orange 7 (AO7) through the synergistic effect of electrolysis and the continuous redox cycle of Fe(III)/Fe(II) for PMS activation. The use of 0.5 g L−1 Fe-B catalyst and 10 mM PMS yielded nearly complete removal of the AO7 (50 mg L−1) in 60 min at 2 mA cm−2 of current density. Based on the results of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, chemical quenching tests, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis, and electrochemical measurements, the decolorization of AO7 was dominantly attributed to surface-bound radicals (SO 4 •− ads and •OH ads) and also the direct electron transfer at DSA anode. Moreover, the electro/Fe-B/PMS system showed an effective pH range from 2.6 to 9.0 and the abatement of AO7 was slightly affected in the presence of natural background anions. This work provides a feasible strategy of PMS activation by cost-effective Fe-B catalyst coupling with electric field and gives an insight into the accelerated oxidation of recalcitrant pollutants. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A facile and green method, in which rusty iron (Fe and Fe2O3) and deionized water were irradiated with a household microwave oven as the microwave source to prepare Fe3O4 nanoparticles, without alkali, acid or high-temperature, was proposed in this paper. The as-prepared Fe3O4 nanoparticles attached to the iron surface after the rusty iron was irradiated with microwaves in deionized water for 30min, which were separated from the surface by ultrasonic wave and magnet. The results show that this method is feasible, and has several advantages, such as convenience, harmless preparation, non-polluting raw materials, and the ability to reclaim and recycle scrap iron. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• PVC was successfully degraded via electrocatalysis based on TiO 2 /graphite cathode. • High dechlorination efficiency (75 %) and weight loss (56 %) of PVC were realized. • PVC dechlorination was caused by direct cathodic reduction. • Both OH and hydrothermal condition played vital roles in the rupture of PVC chains. • Oxy-organic species with C O or O H bonds were formed during PVC degradation. Nowadays, microplastic pollution has been brought into focus for its hazards to aquatic life. However, researches on the electrocatalytic treatment for efficient degradation of microplastics are still insufficient. Herein, an electro-Fenton like (EF-like) technology based on TiO 2 /graphite (TiO 2 /C) cathode was put forward to degrade polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a typical microplastic in water. It exhibited a remarkable performance on PVC degradation via cathodic reduction dechlorination and hydroxyl radical (OH) oxidation simultaneously. Besides, the effects of reaction temperature and initial PVC concentration were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the dechlorination efficiency of PVC reached 75 % after potentiostatic electrolysis at -0.7 V vs. Ag/AgCl for 6 h. The intermediate products were explored during the degradation of PVC microplastics. The surface morphologies and molecular weight of PVC changed accordingly. Based on these results, a possible degradation process for PVC was proposed. This work demonstrated that such a heterogeneous EF-like technology using TiO 2 /C cathode was hopefully to provide an eco-friendly method for microplastic wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• H 2 O 2ad was reduced in situ to OH during ORR on the TiO 2 /C cathode. • OH was generated with a high yield (2.69 μg cm−2 min−1) and high current efficiency (92.8%). • The interaction between O 2 and TiO 2 was observed directly using in situ Raman spectroscopy. • A continuous three-electron oxygen reduction mechanism was proposed. The use of heterogeneous catalysts to improve the Electro-Fenton (EF) process has attracted significant attention. However, complex redox reactions and multiple mass transfer steps during the EF process result in limited current efficiency with only a low rate of generation of hydroxyl radicals (OH). Herein, we establish a three-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) process coupling adsorbed H 2 O 2 (H 2 O 2ad) generation with an in situ EF-like reaction on TiO 2 during cathodic electrolysis. Anatase TiO 2 was composited with graphite, enabling the electrochemical reduction of Ti4+ to Ti3+. H 2 O 2ad was formed during the ORR, electrocatalyzed by TiO 2 , then the H 2 O 2ad was reduced in situ to OH without desorption. The generation and decomposition of Ti-OH during the electrochemical reduction were directly observed by in situ Raman spectroscopy. This result was further confirmed by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Based on this three-electron ORR mechanism, the OH yield reached 2.69 μg cm−2 min−1 and the current efficiency approached 92.8% at a current density of −0.80 mA cm−2 within 2 h during ORR on the TiO 2 /graphite (TiO 2 /C) cathode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engine as the core component of mechanical equipment, its operating state directly affects whether the equipment can operate normally. Predicting the engine remaining useful life (RUL) can monitor the health of the engine in real time and formulate a timely and reasonable maintenance plan. Aiming at the engine monitoring data with various and long time span, we propose a direct prediction method of engine RUL based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) optimized multi-layer Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) in this paper. Firstly, the monitoring data that can well reflect the engine degradation trend is screened out, and the samples are constructed through a sliding time window. Then, a multi-layer LSTM model is constructed to mine the deep-seated features of the samples for predicting the engine RUL. Finally, the hyperparameters of the multi-layer LSTM model are optimized automatically by the PSO algorithm to optimize the performance of the model. The effectiveness of this method is verified by NASA data set. RMSE, MAE and the scoring function are used as evaluation indexes. RMSE and score of the prediction results are 12.35 and 284.1, respectively. It has higher prediction accuracy compared with traditional deep learning and machine learning methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the publication of this article [1], there is an error in the Methods section at paragraph Cell culture and reagents and the Additional file2: Fig. S1 was erroneous linked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: 40–50% of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients develop metastatic disease; the presence of metastasis hinders the effective treatment of cancer through surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which makes 5-year survival rate extremely low; therefore, studying CRC metastasis is crucial for disease therapy. In the present study, we investigated the role of rhomboid domain containing 1 (RHBDD1) in tumor metastasis of CRC. Methods: The expression of RHBDD1 was analyzed in 539 colorectal tumor tissues for its correlation with lymphatic metastasis and distal metastasis. Transwell assay in vitro and pleural metastasis analysis in vivo were performed to determine the functions of RHBDD1 during CRC cells metastasis. RNA-seq analysis, TOP/FOP flash reporter assay, western blot and transwell assay were performed to investigate the underlying mechanism for the function of RHBDD1 on Wnt signaling pathway. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to investigate epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and stemness in HCT-116 cells. Tissue microarray analysis, Q-PCR and western blot were performed to determine the correlation of RHBDD1 and Zinc Finger E-Box Binding Homeobox 1 (ZEB1). Results: In this study, we found that RHBDD1 expression was positively correlated with lymphatic metastasis and distal metastasis in 539 colorectal tumor tissues. RHBDD1 expression can promote CRC cells metastasis in vitro and in vivo. RNA-Seq analysis showed that the Wnt signaling pathway played a key role in this metastatic regulation. RHBDD1 mainly regulated ser552 and ser675 phosphorylation of β-catenin to activate the Wnt signaling pathway. Rescuing ser552 and ser675 phosphorylation of β-catenin resulted in the recovery of signaling pathway activity, migration, and invasion in CRC cells. RHBDD1 promoted EMT and a stem-like phenotype of CRC cells. RHBDD1 regulated the Wnt/β-catenin target gene ZEB1, a potent EMT activator, at the RNA and protein levels. Clinically, RHBDD1 expression was positively correlated with ZEB1 at the protein level in 71 colon tumor tissues. Conclusions: Our findings therefore indicated that RHBDD1 can promote CRC metastasis through the Wnt signaling pathway and ZEB1. RHBDD1 may become a new therapeutic target or clinical biomarker for metastatic CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze quantum key distribution (QKD) protocols through a game-theoretic framework. In particular, we assume parties and adversaries are “rational.” Unlike other game theoretic models, we show how important key-rate and noise tolerance computations may be performed through our system allowing for interesting comparisons to the “standard adversarial model” of QKD. We show that, depending on the relative cost of operating devices, increased noise tolerance and improved secure communication rates are possible if one assumes adversaries are rational as opposed to being malicious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current methods for early fault diagnosis of rolling bearing have some flaws, such as poor fault feature information and insufficient fault feature extraction capability, which makes it challenging to guarantee fault diagnosis accuracy. In order to increase the accuracy of fault diagnosis, it proposes a new fault diagnosis method based on enhanced Symplectic geometry mode decomposition with cosine difference factor and calculus operator (ESGMD-CC) and bat algorithm (BA) optimized extreme learning machine (ELM). The vibration signal is first decomposed into a number of Symplectic geometry components (SGCs) by SGMD. The number of iterations is reduced by the cosine difference factor, which also successfully separates the noise components from the effective components. The calculus operator is adopted to strengthen the weak fault features, making it simple to extract. The fault feature vectors are calculated by the power spectrum entropy-weighted singular values. Finally, the ELM model optimized by BA iteratively is performed as the final classifier for fault classification. The simulation and experiments demonstrate that the proposed method has a better degree of fault diagnostic accuracy and is effective at extracting the rich fault information from vibration signals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the particularity of the patient's lesion sites, there might be warts under the separated toenail plate, we used electric shaving (Gerlach Technik electric nail shaving instrument, 25 000 round/min) to remove the separated toenail plate and expose warts under the toenail (Figure 1C). We used electric shaving to open the toenail plate and exposed warts completely, which was not only helpful for the clinical diagnosis, but also convenient for treatment of lesions under the toenail. [Extracted from the article]

Increased short-term blood pressure variability (BPV) is strongly correlated with target organ damage. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying abnormal BPV-induced organ damage and effective therapeutic targets are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of losartan on vasomotor function and canonical transient receptor potential (TRPC) channels in the aortas of rats with arterial pressure lability induced by sinoaortic denervation (SAD). SAD was performed in male Sprague-Dawley rats at the age of 10 weeks. The experiment included sham-operated (Sham), SAD, and losartan-treated SAD (SAD+Los) groups. After 8 weeks of treatment, hemodynamic parameters were measured via catheterization, thoracic aortic vasomotor functions were evaluated using a physiological vascular ring tension recording system, and TRPC1 and 6 mRNA and protein expression levels in the endothelial cells (ECs) and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of the thoracic aorta were determined via reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western-blotting, respectively. Compared with Sham rats, SAD rats exhibited significantly increased BPV, enhanced norepinephrine-induced aortic contraction, and attenuated acetylcholine-induced aortic relaxation. Both the mRNA and the protein expression levels of TRPC1 and 6 were significantly downregulated in the ECs and upregulated in the SMCs of the thoracic aortas of SAD rats. Losartan treatment prevented these SAD-induced changes. In conclusion, losartan efficiently prevented vasomotor function impairment in SAD rats by reducing BPV and regulating TRPC1 and 6 expression levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A new FRET-based ratiometric fluorescent probe (DSPT) for the detection of bisulfite was developed by the dansyl-piperazine-benzothiazolium conjugate platform, in which C C conjugated with benzothiazolium was recognition unit and benzothiazolium moiety was mitochondria-targeted unit. The C C double bond group would undergo Michael addition reaction with bisulfite, triggering significant fluorescence ratio increasing which was linear to the concentrations of bisulfite. The probe can be used in real sample including dry white wine and tap water. Besides, the test strips for bisulfite were prepared. Moreover, cell imaging results indicate that this probe is cell-membrane permeable and mitochondria-targetable, and can be applied to monitor both exogenous and endogenous bisulfite in ratiometric fluorescence imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA)-mediated photodynamic therapy (PDT) in treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cervical condylomata. A total of 56 patients with cervical and external condylomata lesions were recruited for this open-label study. HPV genotyping of exfoliated cells collected from the cervix and external lesions was performed. Cervical lesions were treated with PDT by applying ALA gel (10%) to the surface of the cervix for 4 h followed by irradiating with a 635 nm laser at 100 J cm−2. PDT was repeated at 2-week intervals if lesion and HPV infection remained. Patients were followed up for 6-24 months. Genotyping analysis revealed four HPV subtypes (HPV6, 11, 16 and 18). The overall complete remission rate of 1-4 sessions of treatments was 98.2% and the corresponding HPV clearance rate was 83.9%. Ten cases showed complete removal of cervical lesions and HPV infection after a single treatment. Recurrence rate was 3.6%. Adverse effects were minimal and no structural complications were reported. In conclusion, topical ALA PDT is safe and effective for eradicating cervical HPV infection and eliminating condylomata lesion. Its definitive role in treating cervical condylomata deserves further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents composed of multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were explored. They were functionalized with multilayer polyelectrolytes through layer-by-layer assembling and were shown to be hydrophilic, biocompatible, and have a high MRI contrast. A targeted ligand folic acid was chemically bonded to the functionalized nanotubes for specific targeting and imaging of cancer cells in MRI. The results demonstrate that the material can be used as ideal targeted imaging agents and is sufficient to obtain strong MRI contrast. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fortilin is a 172-amino acid multifunctional protein present in both intra- and extracellular spaces. Although fortilin binds and regulates various cellular proteins, the biological role of extracellular fortilin remains unknown. Here we report that fortilin specifically interacts with TGF-β1 and prevents it from activating the TGF-β1 signaling pathway. In a standard immunoprecipitation-western blot assay, fortilin co-immunoprecipitates TGF-β1 and its isoforms. The modified ELISA assay shows that TGF-β1 remains complexed with fortilin in human serum. Both bio-layer interferometry and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) reveal that fortilin directly bind TGF-β1. The SPR analysis also reveals that fortilin and the TGF-β receptor II (TGFβRII) compete for TGF-β1. Both luciferase and secreted alkaline phosphatase reporter assays show that fortilin prevents TGF-β1 from activating Smad3 binding to Smad-binding element. Fortilin inhibits the phosphorylation of Smad3 in both quantitative western blot assays and ELISA. Finally, fortilin inhibits TGFβ-1-induced differentiation of C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal progenitor cells to smooth muscle cells. A computer-assisted virtual docking reveals that fortilin occupies the pocket of TGF-β1 that is normally occupied by TGFβRII and that TGF-β1 can bind either fortilin or TGFβRII at any given time. These data support the role of extracellular fortilin as a negative regulator of the TGF-β1 signaling pathway. Fortilin prevents the activation of the TGF-β1 receptor by occupying the pocket of TGF-β1 and competing with TGF-βRII to bind with TGF-β1. This inhibits Smad3 phosphorylation and the differentiation of C3H10T1/2 mesenchymal progenitor cells to smooth muscle cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permeable reactive barriers (PRBs) are well-studied and widely-applied technologies in underground water remediation. However, the releasing of chemical substances cannot be avoided during the PRBs operation. In this study, a novel permeable electrochemical reactive barrier (PERB) was fabricated for underground water remediation using a TiO 2 /graphite composite (TiO 2 /C) as the heterogeneous electrocatalyst. TiO 2 /C performed an electro-Fenton-like reaction on cathode and an anodic oxidation on anode respectively, along with the variety of the TiO 2 lattice. The performance of this PERB system was evaluated using tetracycline hydrochloride (TTC) degradation. TTC could be degraded at a low applied potential and a wide range of pH. The degradation rate of about 60% was obtained at the optimized reaction condition: the interelectrode potential difference of 1.2 V, pH 3.0, the anode 10 cm above cathode. The relative position and spacing of the electrodes effected the mass transfer equilibrium of TTC. During the 25-day persistent degradation of TTC, the PERB system shown a perfect stability with rarely leaching of Ti. This work explored the potential for underground water remediation by the electrocatalysis with the goal of establishing a clean and eco-friendly PERB system. [Display omitted] • A permeable electrochemical reactive barrier was fabricated for underground water remediation. • The cathode and anode were fabricated using TiO 2 /C as the electrocatalyst. • •OH was generated from cathodic electro-Fenton-like reaction and anodic oxidation. • The heterogeneous electrocatalytic reaction is clean and controllable. • This work reveals potential application of electrocatalysis in underground water remediation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colon adenocarcinoma (COAD) is a common noncutaneous carcinoma worldwide with high morbidity and mortality. Effective prevention methods are far from being met. Both diagnostic and prognostic models that can precisely and accurately predict the status and survival time of COAD are urgently needed. In the field of COAD, there have been limited studies on molecular biomarkers that can predict disease status and prognosis. Hence, an important task is to identify these biomarkers. We aimed to identify important risk genes that have the ability not only to diagnose tumors but also to predict overall survival. A comprehensive analysis was performed in this study. Finally, carbonic anhydrase 1 (CA1) and CA4 were identified as potential biomarkers due to their predictive roles in diagnosis and prognosis, and the results were further confirmed by a series of analyses. Overall, these findings are of great importance and may facilitate individualized treatment in diagnosis and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: CSF1R-related leukoencephalopathy, also known as hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids (HDLS), is a rare white-matter encephalopathy characterized by motor and neuropsychiatric symptoms due to colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) gene mutation. Few of CSF1R mutations have been functionally testified and the pathogenesis remains unknown. Methods: In order to investigate clinical and pathological characteristics of patients with CSF1R-related leukoencephalopathy and explore the potential impact of CSF1R mutations, we analyzed clinical manifestations of 15 patients from 10 unrelated families and performed brain biopsy in 2 cases. Next generation sequencing was conducted for 10 probands to confirm the diagnosis. Sanger sequencing, segregation analysis and phenotypic reevaluation were utilized to substantiate findings. Functional examination of identified mutations was further explored. Results: Clinical and neuroimaging characteristics were summarized. The average age at onset was 35.9 ± 6.4 years (range 24–46 years old). Younger age of onset was observed in female than male (34.2 vs. 39.2 years). The most common initial symptoms were speech dysfunction, cognitive decline and parkinsonian symptoms. One patient also had marked peripheral neuropathy. Brain biopsy of two cases showed typical pathological changes, including myelin loss, axonal spheroids, phosphorylated neurofilament and activated macrophages. Electron microscopy disclosed increased mitochondrial vacuolation and disorganized neurofilaments in ballooned axons. A total of 7 pathogenic variants (4 novel, 3 documented) were identified with autophosphorylation deficiency, among which c.2342C > T remained partial function of autophosphorylation. Western blotting disclosed the significantly lower level of c.2026C > T (p.R676*) than wild type. The level of microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3-II (LC3-II), a classical marker of autophagy, was significantly lower in mutants expressed cells than wild type group by western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. Conclusions: Our findings support the loss-of-function and haploinsufficiency hypothesis in pathogenesis. Autophagy abnormality may play a role in the disease. Repairing or promoting the phosphorylation level of mutant CSF1R may shed light on therapeutic targets in the future. However, whether peripheral polyneuropathy potentially belongs to CSF1R-related spectrum deserves further study with longer follow-up and more patients enrolled. Trial registration: ChiCTR, ChiCTR1800015295. Registered 21 March 2018. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: It is challenging for neurosurgeons to perform surgeries on patients without detectable structural lesions. Therefore, this retrospective study aimed to explore the outcome of stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) in suspicious areas guided by magnetoencephalography (MEG)-magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reconstruction in MRI-negative epilepsy patients. Methods: This study included 47 patients with negative-MRI epilepsy. Seizure outcome at 24 months was assessed using a modified Engel's classification. Accordingly, class I and II were considered favorable outcomes, whereas classes III and IV were unfavorable. Furthermore, patients were classified into a consistent group if the results of MEG and SEEG indicated the same area of the brain. The relationship between surgical outcome and the concordance of MEG and SEEG was analyzed. Results: A complete seizure-free condition was achieved in 22 (47%) patients. Sex, handedness, age and duration of illness were not significantly associated with seizure-free outcome (p =.187 [Pearson chi-squared test]). The number of patients with favorable outcome (Engle I and II) was as high as 68% at the time of follow-up. Furthermore, more seizure-free patients were found in the SEEG and MEG consistent group. Conclusions: SEEG is a valuable tool in the pre-evaluation for resective epilepsy surgery, particularly in negative-MRI epilepsy patients; MEG greatly facilitates localization for SEEG electrode implantation. However, none of these tools are absolutely sensitive and reliable; therefore, collecting as much information as possible is necessary to achieve satisfactory results in epilepsy surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aberrant expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) has drawn increasing attention in the field of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) biology. In the present study, we obtained the expression profiles of lncRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in 371 HCC tissues and 50 normal tissues from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and identified hepatocarcinogenesis‐specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs, log fold change ≥ 2, FDR < 0.01), including 753 lncRNAs, 97 miRNAs, and 1,535 mRNAs. Because the specific functions of lncRNAs are closely related to their intracellular localizations and because the cytoplasm is the main location for competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) action, we analyzed not only the interactions among these DEGs but also the distributions of lncRNAs (cytoplasmic, nuclear or both). Then, an HCC‐associated deregulated ceRNA network consisting of 37 lncRNAs, 10 miRNAs, and 26 mRNAs was constructed after excluding those lncRNAs located only in the nucleus. Survival analysis of this network demonstrated that 15 lncRNAs, 3 miRNAs, and 16 mRNAs were significantly correlated with the overall survival of HCC patients (p < 0.01). Through multivariate Cox regression and lasso analysis, a risk score system based on 13 lncRNAs was constructed, which showed good discrimination and predictive ability for HCC patient survival time. This ceRNA network‐construction approach, based on lncRNA distribution, not only narrowed the scope of target lncRNAs but also provided specific candidate molecular biomarkers for evaluating the prognosis of HCC, which will help expand our understanding of the ceRNA mechanisms involved in the early development of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Lipid droplets were found to be involved in many organism activities. Here, a lipid droplets-targeted near-infrared fluorescence probe (named XHZ) for ratiometric detection of endogenous hypochlorous acid/hypochlorite (HClO/ClO-) in living cells was developed, which was constructed by a coumarin moiety and a malononitrile derivative. XHZ could detect HClO/ClO- with high selectivity and sensitivity in a ratiometric manner based on FRET (Förster Resonance Energy Transfer) mechanism. The two well-resolved emission (470/672 nm) bands could ensure accurate detection of HClO/ClO- in vitro as well as in vivo. XHZ was successfully used for ratiometric fluorescence imaging of exogenous and endogenous HClO/ClO- in RAW264.7 cells. A good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity ratios of the two emissions and HClO/ClO- concentrations from 0 to 40 μM was obtained. Importantly, XHZ could localize mainly in lipid droplets of RAW264.7 cells. To the best of our knowledge, XHZ is the first lipid droplets-targeted ratiometric fluorescence probe for HClO/ClO-. Graphical abstract FRET-based hypochlorite NIR specific bioprobe (XHZ) for lipid droplets was reported here. fx1 Highlights • A lipid droplets-targeted fluorescence NIR probe (XHZ). • Ratiometric detection of endogenous hypochlorite in the living cells. • Well-resolved emission (from 672 nm to 470 nm). • Ratiometric tracking of endogenous HClO/ClO- in RAW264.7 cells with high selectivity and sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The harmless treatment and resource utilization of As-enriched plant were realized. • The effectiveness of As in the original biochar was reduced. • Biochar prepared by co-precipitation loading iron can efficiently remove As(III). • The oxidation of As(III) existed during the As adsorption by Fe-BC300 and Fe-BC500. There were limited researches on the scientific disposal of As-enriched plants, and how to reduce the available As content in the processed products and improve the utilization value were the key. In this study, the effect and mechanism of biochar produced by the As-enriched Pteris vittate before and after modification on the removal of As(III) in water were studied. The results indicated that the available As contents of Fe-BC300 and Fe-BC500 were reduced by 78.7 % and 91.9 % compared to original biochars, respectively. Modified biochars not only had a large adsorption capacity for As(III) (50.3 and 39.7 mg/g), but also can efficiently oxidize As(III) to As(V). The removal rate of As(III) by modified biochar was still higher than 50% after 3 cycles. The increase of the point of zero charge and the introduction of Fe were the main reasons for its efficient adsorption and oxidation of As(III). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of a newly developed dual wavelength diode laser combining 980 nm with 1470 nm has rarely been reported for the treatment of venous lakes.5 We recently encountered a patient with venous lakes of the lower lip for 6 months and was successfully cured with the dual diode laser. During the treatment, the patient experienced no pain, discomfort, or bleeding. One week after treatment, the patient had mild erosion and slight pain in the treatment area, which did not obstruct eating and subsided after 1 week. [Extracted from the article]

A new ratiometric fluorescent probe (XWJ) was developed on the basis of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET). The probe constructed by dansyl and 2-(3,5,5-trimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-ylidene) malononitrile, exhibited a higher efficiency of energy transfer (up to 93.59%). The probe emerged excellent sensitivity and selectivity toward hypochlorous acid (HOCl). In particular, upon addition of HOCl, the probe can reveal a clear response in 25 s and manifest an obvious change in fluorescence colour from red to bright yellow, which could be recognized by naked eyes. Furthermore, the calibration curve is linear in the concentration range of 0–55 μM with the detection limit of 0.19 μM, which means that the probe can detect HOCl in low concentration. Besides, the fluorescence emission of the acceptor arises near-infrared region (NIR) and the probe possesses a large pseudo Stokes shift (300 nm) and well-separated dual emission (550/670 nm). The probe showed outstanding sensitivity and selectivity toward HOCl in cell imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Neuroimaging studies revealed the functional reorganization or the structural changes during stroke recovery. However, previous studies did not combine the functional and structural information and the results might be affected by heterogeneous lesion. This study aimed to investigate functional activation-informed structural changes during stroke recovery. Methods. MRI data of twelve stroke patients were collected at four consecutive time points during the first 3 months after stroke onset. Functional activation during finger-tapping task was used to inform the analysis of structural changes of activated brain regions. Correlation between structural changes in motor-related activated brain regions and motor function recovery was estimated. Results. The averaged gray matter volume (aGMV) of contralesional activated brain regions and laterality index of gray matter volume (LIGMV) increased during stroke recovery, and LIGMV was positively correlated with Fugl-Meyer Index (FMI) at initial stage after stroke. The aGMV of bilateral activated brain regions was negatively correlated with FMI during the stroke recovery. Conclusion. This study demonstrated that combining the stroke-induced functional reorganization and structural change provided new insights into the underlying innate plasticity process during stroke recovery. Significance. This study proposed a new approach to integrate functional and structural information for investigating the innate plasticity after stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shock sensitivity is one of the key parameters for newly developed, 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN)-based, melt-cast explosives. For this paper, a series of shock initiation experiments were conducted using a one-dimensional Lagrangian system with a manganin piezoresistive pressure gauge technique to evaluate the shock sensitivity of an aluminized DNAN/cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) melt-cast explosive. This study fully investigated the effects of particle size distributions in both RDX and aluminum, as well as the RDX’s crystal quality on the shock sensitivity of the aluminized DNAN/RDX melt-cast explosive. Ultimately, the shock sensitivity of the aluminized DNAN/RDX melt-cast explosives increases when the particle size decreases in both RDX and aluminum. Additionally, shock sensitivity increases when the RDX’s crystal quality decreases. In order to simulate these effects, an Ignition and Growth (I&G) reactive flow model was calibrated. This calibrated I&G model was able to predict the shock initiation characteristics of the aluminized DNAN/RDX melt-cast explosive. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A mitochondria-targeted fluorescence probe (CPBT) for ratiometric detection of endogenous hypochlorite in the living cells was developed. CPBT could detect hypochlorite with high selectivity and sensitivity in a ratiometric manner based on FRET mechanism. In absence of hypochlorite, when CPBT was excited with absorption maximum wavelength of the donor moiety, it showed the emission of acceptor moiety because of FRET process. However, in the presence of hypochlorite, the reaction of C C double bond with hypochlorite interrupted the conjugation system resulting in the inhibition of FRET process and the emission of the donor moiety. The two well-resolved emission bands can ensure accurate detection of hypochlorite. A good linear relationship between the fluorescence intensity ratios of the two emissions and the ClO − concentrations in the range from 41.8 nM (detection limit) to 12.5 μM was established. Importantly, CPBT could localize mainly in the mitochondria of RAW264.7 cells. CPBT was successfully used to fluorescence ratiometric imaging of endogenous hypochlorite in RAW264.7 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor has been designed for determination of tumor marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) by utilizing multifunctionalized Flower-like Au@BSA nanoparticles as biosensing interface. In this work, Au@BSA nanoparticles with large surface area, good electroconductivity and excellent biocompatibility were not only employed as an electrochemiluminescence interface but also as ideal carriers to immobilize numerous luminol molecules and CEA capture antibodies (Anti-CEA) acted as signal probe and molecule recognition probe, respectively. In addition, AuNPs were electrodeposited onto the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface to construct an outstanding base for this immunosensor. The fast constructed sensing platform could specifically capture antigen CEA, hindering the electron transfer of the ECL reaction between luminol and H 2 O 2 owing to the barrier of the attached immunoprotein layer and thereby resulted in the decrease of ECL intensity. Under the optimal conditions, ECL intensity of the immunosensor decreased linearly with the logarithm of CEA concentration ranging from 0.001 to 200 ng/mL with a low detection limit of 0.0003 ng/mL (S/N = 3). The as-prepared sensing technique exhibited favorable performance and could be applied to detect CEA in real serum samples with satisfactory results, indicating that the proposed strategy provides an alternative scheme for other clinically important biomarkers assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study explores the effects of helix B surface peptide (HBSP) on myocardial infarct size (IS), cardiac function, cardiomyocyte apoptosis and oxidative stress damage in mouse hearts subjected to myocardial ischemia-reperfu-sion injury (MIRI) and also the mechanisms underlying the effects. Method: Male adult mice were subjected to 45 min of ischemia followed by 2 h of reperfusion; 5 min before the reperfusion, they were treated with HBSP or vehicle. MIRI-induced IS, cardiomyocyte apoptosis and cardiac functional impairment were determined and compared. Western blot analysis was then conducted to elucidate the mechanism of HBSP after treatment. Results: HBSP administration before reperfusion significantly reduced the myocardial IS, decreased cardiomyocyte apoptosis, reduced the activities of superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde and partially preserved heart function. As demonstrated by the Western blot analysis, HBSP after treatment upregulatedAkt/GSK-3β/ERK and STAT-3 phosphorylation; these inhibitors, in turn, weakened the beneficial effects of HBSP. Conclusion: HBSP plays a protective role in MIRI in mice by inhibiting cardiomyocyte apoptosis, reducing the MIRI-induced IS, oxidative stress and improving the heart function after MIRI. The mechanism underlying these effects of HBSP is related to the activation of the RISK (reperfusion injury salvage kinase, Akt/GSK-3β/ERK) and SAFE (STAT-3) pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel functionalized layered double hydroxide (SPDP-LDH) has been prepared through hydrothermal method by co-precipitation method based on spirocyclic pentaerythritol bisphosphorate disphosphoryl chlorine and Mg–Al-LDH (N-LDH). LDHs were homogenously mixed with unsaturated polyester resin (UP) to manufacture the final nanocomposites (LDH/UP). Various measurement methods have been employed to characterize the structure, morphology, thermal stability and combustible properties of intercalated LDH and its hybrid composites. These data revealed that the majority of N-LDH was intercalated by SPDP, and nano-sized particles of SPDP-LDH were achieved. SPDP-LDH had a better dispersion in UP compared with N-LDH. The TG data showed that the initial decomposition temperatures were delayed about 40 °C and 50 °C for 5wt % and 10wt %SPDP-LDH/UP nanocomposites respectively. The CC data presented that higher fire retardancy can also be obtained for SPDP-LDH/UP system based on the decreasing value of HRR and THR. Compared with N-LDH/UP system, the SPDP-LDH/UP nanocomposites presented an improvement in mechanical properties. In particular, a progressive increase 23.51% in flexural strength can be observed at 5 wt% loading of SPDP-LDH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the value of dual-energy MDCT in spectral imaging in the differential diagnosis of chronic mass-forming chronic pancreatitis (CMFP) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) during the arterial phase (AP) and the pancreatic parenchymal phase (PP).Materials and Methods: Thirty five consecutive patients with CMFP (n=15) or PDAC (n=20) underwent dual-energy MDCT in spectral imaging during AP and PP. Iodine concentrations were derived from iodine-based material-decomposition CT images and normalized to the iodine concentration in the aorta. The difference in iodine concentration between the AP and PP, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and the slope K of the spectrum curve were calculated.Results: Normalized iodine concentrations (NICs) in patients with CMFP differed significantly from those in patients with PDAC during two double phases (mean NIC, 0.26±0.04 mg/mL vs. 0.53±0.02 mg/mL, p=0.0001; 0.07±0.02 mg/mL vs. 0.28±0.04 mg/mL, p=0.0002, respectively). There were significant differences in the value of the slope K of the spectrum curve in two groups during AP and PP (K(CMFP)=3.27±0.70 vs. K(PDAC)=1.35±0.41, P=0.001, and K(CMFP)=3.70±0.17 vs. K(PDAC)=2.16±0.70, p=0.003, respectively). CNRs at low energy levels (40-70 keV) were higher than those at high energy levels (80-40 keV).Conclusion: Individual patient CNR-optimized energy level images and the NIC can be used to improve the sensitivity and the specificity for differentiating CMFP from PDAC by use of dual-energy MDCT in spectral imaging with fast tube voltage switching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs can function as key tumor suppressors or oncogenes and act as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis or prognosis. Although high-throughput assays have revealed many miRNA biomarkers for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), only a few have been validated in independent populations or investigated for functional significance in PDAC pathogenesis. In this study, we correlated the expression of 36 potentially prognostic miRNAs within PDAC tissue with clinico-pathological features and survival in 151 Chinese patients. We then analyzed the functional roles and target genes of two miRNAs in PDAC development. We found that high expression of miR-186 and miR-326 predict poor and improved survival, respectively. miR-186 was over-expressed in PDAC patients compared with controls, especially in patients with large tumors (>2 cm), lymph node metastasis, or short-term survival (< 24 months). In contrast, miR-326 was down-regulated in patients compared with controls and displayed relatively increased expression in the patients with long-term survival or without venous invasion. Functional experiments revealed that PDAC cell proliferation and migration was decreased following inhibition and enhanced following over-expression of miR-186. In contrast, it was enhanced following inhibition and decreased after over-expression of miR-326. A luciferase assay indicated that miR-186 can bind directly to the 3′-UTR of NR5A2 to repress gene expression. These findings suggest that miR-186 over-expression contributes to the invasive potential of PDAC, likely via suppression of NR5A2, thereby leading to a poor prognosis; high miR-326 expression prolongs survival likely via the decreasing invasive potential of PDAC cells. These two miRNAs can be used as markers for clinical diagnosis and prognosis, and they represent therapeutic targets for PDAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although anomalies in the topological architecture of whole-brain connectivity have been found to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), our understanding about the progression of AD in a functional connectivity (FC) perspective is still rudimentary and few study has explored the function-structure relations in brain networks of AD patients. By using resting-state functional MRI (fMRI), this study firstly investigated organizational alternations in FC networks in 12 AD patients, 15 amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients, and 14 age-matched healthy aging subjects and found that all three groups exhibit economical small-world network properties. Nonetheless, we found a decline of the optimal architecture in the progression of AD, represented by a more localized modular organization with less efficient local information transfer. Our results also show that aMCI forms a boundary between normal aging and AD and represents a functional continuum between healthy aging and the earliest signs of dementia. Moreover, we revealed a dissociated relationship between the overall FC and structural connectivity (SC) in AD patients. In this study, diffusion tensor imaging tractography was used to map the structural network of the same individuals. The decreased FC-SC coupling may be indicative of more stringent and less dynamic brain function in AD patients. Our findings provided insightful implications for understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of brain dysfunctions in aMCI and AD patients and demonstrated that functional disorders can be characterized by multimodal neuroimaging-based metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate mucosal healing after 24-month low-dose azathioprine (AZA) treatment in Chinese patients with moderate small bowel Crohn's disease ( CD). Methods Patients with lesions mainly located at the ileum were screened by baseline multislice computed tomography enterography and anal-route double-balloon enteroscopy ( DBE). They were naive to any immunomodulators and biological agents before the enrollment. Lesions from 150 cm of the terminal ileum proximal to ileocecal valve were assessed by DBE with the simple endoscopic score for CD ( SES-CD) after 12 and 24 months of low-dose AZA treatment, respectively. Results The average maximal tolerance dose of AZA was 61.8 ± 17.2 mg/day. The total rates of complete, near-complete, partial and no mucosal healing in 36 patients were 19.4%, 5.6%, 27.8% and 47.2% at month 12 and 30.6%, 25.0%, 33.3% and 11.1% at month 24, respectively. The baseline SES-CD (odds ratio [OR] 2.71, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-6.63, P = 0.029) and duration of disease ( OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.10-1.47, P = 0.001) were two relevant factors associated with the mucosal healing of patients with small bowel CD. Conclusion A 24-month low-dose AZA regimen as maintenance treatment in moderate small bowel CD could achieve a higher mucosal healing rate than that of 12-month treatment in Chinese patients, especially in those with duration of disease less than 12 months and a baseline SES-CD of 5 or 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] RHBDD1 could induce the specific activation of AP-1 in a dose-dependent manner. [•] RHBDD1 overexpression increased c-Jun activity, and the activity was visibly inhibited when RHBDD1 was knocked down. [•] RHBDD1 functioned as an antiapoptotic protein by regulating Bcl-3, which is the downstream target of AP-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]