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Most gastric cancers arise in the setting of chronic inflammation which alters gland organization, such that acid-pumping parietal cells are lost, and remaining cells undergo metaplastic change in differentiation patterns. From a basic science perspective, recent progress has been made in understanding how atrophy and initial pyloric metaplasia occur. However, pathologists and cancer biologists have long been focused on the development of intestinal metaplasia patterns in this setting. Arguably, much less progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms that lead to the intestinalization seen in chronic atrophic gastritis and pyloric metaplasia. One plausible explanation for this disparity lies in the notable absence of reliable and reproducible small animal models within the field, which would facilitate the investigation of the mechanisms underlying the development of gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM). This review offers an in-depth exploration of the current state of research in GIM, shedding light on its pivotal role in tumorigenesis. We delve into the histological subtypes of GIM and explore their respective associations with tumor formation. We present the current repertoire of biomarkers utilized to delineate the origins and progression of GIM and provide a comprehensive survey of the available, albeit limited, mouse lines employed for modeling GIM and engage in a discussion regarding potential cell lineages that serve as the origins of GIM. Finally, we expound upon the myriad signaling pathways recognized for their activity in GIM and posit on their potential overlap and interactions that contribute to the ultimate manifestation of the disease phenotype. Through our exhaustive review of the progression from gastric disease to GIM, we aim to establish the groundwork for future research endeavors dedicated to elucidating the etiology of GIM and developing strategies for its prevention and treatment, considering its potential precancerous nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive neuroendocrine cancer with a high risk of early mortality (i.e., survival time less than 1 month). This study aimed to identify relevant risk factors and predict early mortality in SCLC patients. Methods: A total of 27,163 SCLC cases registered between 2010 and 2019 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data. Significant independent risk factors were identified by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Nomograms for all-causes and cancer-specific early death were constructed and evaluated. Results: Age, sex, clinical stage, presence of metastasis (liver and lung), and absence of treatment (surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy) were identified for significant association with all-causes and cancer-specific early death. Nomograms based on these predictors exhibited high accuracy (area under ROC curve > 0.850) and potential clinical practicality in the prediction of early mortality. Conclusion: We identified a set of factors associated with early mortality from SCLC and developed a clinically useful nomogram to predict high-risk patients. This nomogram could aid oncologists in the administration of individualized treatment regimens, potentially improving clinical outcomes of SCLC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to investigate the molecular mechanism and transcriptomics of the response of graphene to the roots of Castanopsis hystrix Miq plant. Seedlings were cultivated with 4 groups of graphene solution concentrations of 0, 25, 33 and 50 mg/L, 0 refers to distilled water culture, the root development, gene expression, enrichment pathway and range of differentially expressed genes were analyzed. Compared with 0 group, 25 mg/L graphene solution had the best promoting effect on root development of Castanopsis hystrix seedlings(t=2.86 to 7.80, P<0.05). Transcriptomic data showed that the expression levels of 12 845 genes were changed after 25 mg/L graphene solution was applied to Castanopsis hystrix roots, among which 10 899 genes were up-regulated and 1 946 genes were inhibited. According to the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes(KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis, the up-regulated genes were mainly enriched in 126 KEGG pathways, and down-regulated genes were enriched in 99 KEGG pathways. In addition, 110 transcription factor genes were differentially expressed and could be classified into 33 different families. Among them, 7 transcription factor family genes, including ERF, WRKY, MYB, NAC, bHLH, TCP and Trihelix were related to root development of Castanopsis hystrix. Analyses of differentially expressed genes related to plant hormone signal transduction pathways showed changes in the expression levels of 7 hormone-related genes, including auxin, cytokinin, gibberellin, ethylene, salicylic acid, brassinosteroid and strigolactone, were closely related to the root growth of Castanopsis hystrix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feature extraction of a point cloud fragment model is the basis of fragment splicing, which provides the technical support for research on the segmentation, splicing, and restoration of fragment surfaces. High-quality feature extraction, however, is a complicated process due to the diversity of the surface information of a fragment model. For this subject, a high-efficient point cloud feature extraction method was proposed to address a new method for extracting feature lines. First, the projection distance feature of the point cloud model was calculated to identify the potential feature points. Furthermore, the local information of the possible feature points was used to construct the adaptive neighborhoods for identifying the feature points based on neighborhoods of the model. The clustering fusion of the feature points was proposed according to the discrimination threshold values of the feature points. Finally, the Laplace operator was utilized to refine and connect the feature points to form smooth feature lines. The experimental results showed that the proposed method was automatic, highly efficient, and with good adaptability that could effectively extract the detailed features and construct the complete feature lines. Moreover, results showed that the provided framework could extract the features of simple structure models and be feasible to a certain extent for fragment models with abundant features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate how service automation is associated with the volume of international trade in services and how the interactions of automation, industry, and national ICT development are associated with it. We use data from the U.N. Comtrade, O*NET Online, the U.N. Global ICT Development Index, and the World Bank Open Data to test our hypotheses. We find that the marginal year-by-year growth rates of international trade in highly automatable services decreased in 2007–2017, whereas those of international trade in less automatable services have increased. ICT development is positively associated with the volume and annual growth rate of a country's service exports, but it is negatively associated with the volume and annual growth rate of the country's service imports. The growth rate of international trade in highly automatable services is lower for importing countries with advanced ICT, but it is higher for exporting countries with advanced ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study developed bigels as substitutes for solid fats, utilizing beeswax/plant sterol esters oleogel and gelatin/whey protein isolates hydrogel. Analysis focused on the effects of varying hydrogel to oleogel ratios on their microstructure, textural properties, and stability. As the oleogel content surpassed 50 wt%, a shift from O/W to W/O type was observed. Bigels with 60 wt%-80 wt% oleogel content exhibit higher hardness, ranging from 298.53 ± 30.33g to 376.55 ± 30.43g. Those with 50 wt% oleogel content show a peak shear strength of 8067.18 ± 17.41 g.sec. The melting temperatures of the bigels ranged from 52.218 to 109.423 °C, higher than the single oleogel at 45.934 °C. X-ray diffraction revealed a polycrystalline structure with α, β, and β′ polymorphs in the W/O bigels, indicating a more organized structure with increased oleogel. During the sensory evaluation, bigels with 60 wt% oleogel content (8.22 ± 0.22) closely resembled butter (8.58 ± 0.14), achieving the highest overall acceptability. After 30 days at room temperature (25 °C), the bigels with 60 wt% oleogel content exhibited excellent water retention (83.78 ± 3.70%) and oil retention (80.05 ± 1.93%), promising for the design of sustainable, low-calorie fat alternatives. [Display omitted] • 1.Bigels with low-calorie, low-fat were synthesized for food industry. • 2.At 50% oleogel content, the type of bigels will transition from O/W to W/O. • 3.Ratio of oleogel can regulate the mechanical characteristics of the bigels. • 4.Bigels enhance oil resistance to oxidation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel Fourier operator-based DL model is built to model river flow hydrodynamics. • New model architecture is used to model unsteady, complex, realistic river flow. • FNOCL efficiently addresses uncertainties in inflow and cross-sectional profiles. • FNOCL drastically reduces the computational time by nearly two orders of magnitude. Effective river management relies heavily on the accurate simulation of river flow dynamics to develop scenario-based strategies and inform decision making. Deep learning (DL) models, as alternatives to conventional simulation techniques, offer a compelling blend of precision and efficiency. This study introduces FNOCL (Fourier Neural Operator with ConvLSTM units), a novel DL neural network for modelling unsteady natural river flows. The network is adept at handling the complexities of spatial and temporal variations. FNOCL builds upon the Fourier neural operator (FNO) by incorporating convolutional long short-term memory (ConvLSTM) layers, combining robust performance with high proficiency in terms of capturing spatiotemporal patterns. Notably, FNOCL accommodates complex river cross-section profiles, thus enabling the accurate modelling of flow dynamics within intricate river morphologies. Our study applies FNOCL to two distinct river networks with varying morphology complexity levels. With reference to the HEC-RAS model, FNOCL showcases its ability to attain high accuracy in model prediction tasks and superior generalization with regard to addressing the uncertainty associated with inflow variations and cross-sectional changes. In comparative analyses with benchmark models (i.e., FNO and ConvLSTM), FNOCL performs most efficiently during the training process and obtains the most accurate water level and river flow predictions in the spatiotemporal domain. Furthermore, FNOCL exhibits a substantial speedup over HEC-RAS, notably reaching up to 50 times in a complex river network. These results highlight FNOCL as an efficient surrogate for conventional simulators, facilitating precise analyses across various scenarios. It provides efficient computations for system responses within complex river flow networks, thereby enhancing applications in river management, such as flood risk assessment, flood control, and the planning and design of hydraulic control structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacillus subtilis CW14, isolated from fresh elk droppings in Beijing Zoo, is a Gram-positive, conferred Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) bacterium with the capacity of ochratoxin A (OTA) detoxification. The genome sequence of the CW14 strain showed a size of 4,287,522 bp with 44.06% GC content. It was predicted many putative enzymes involved in degrading mycotoxin by analyzing the signal peptides and the transmembrane regions. Nine extracellular enzymes were predicted relating to OTA detoxification, including four D-Ala-D-Ala carboxypeptidases, two hydrolases, two amidases, and one lactamase. Indeed, two of the carboxypeptidase genes dacA and dacB , expressed in Escherichia coli , were verified contributing to OTA detoxification. DacA and OTA were mixed incubated for 24 h, and the degradation rate reached 71.3%. After purification, the concentration of recombinant DacA protein was 0.5 mg/mL. Bacillus subtilis CW14 and its carboxypeptidases may be used as OTA detoxification agents in food and feed industry production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable isotope analysis is a universally recognized and efficient method of indicating trophic relationships that is widely applied in research. However, variation in stable isotope ratios may lead to inaccuracies due to the effects of complex environmental conditions. This research compared the carbon and nitrogen isotopic niches of fish communities between diverse biotopes around the Yellow River estuary and adjacent sea areas, with the aim of revealing distinctions in stable isotopic niche metrics, trophic positions, and feeding preferences. Our analysis of the food source contribution indicated that allochthonous sources were considered major energy sources in estuarine areas directly affected by Yellow River‐diluted water, while autochthonous benthic and pelagic producers dominated carbon input into the food web in Laizhou Bay and the open water. A significant variation in the fish δ15N characteristic was found within estuarine adjacent regions, so, together with the results from previous studies, we deemed the local high concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen as the original trigger of the abnormal δ15N characteristic in fishes via a transport process along food chains. These results provide a new perspective on the natural distinction of carbon and nitrogen isotopic niches. The detailed data reported here enhance our understanding of variations in fish communities in estuarine ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to create oleogels by combining beeswax (BW) and plant sterols with diacylglycerol corn oil (DGCO). The findings demonstrate that gel formation occurred with 6:4 (w/w) blends of BW with sitosterol (Sit) and β-sitosterol (PS) oils at a 20% (w/w) concentration, while BW-plant sterol ester (PE) gelled at a 15% (w/w). Texture analysis reveals that the maximum hardness of the BW-PE oleogel (582.62 N) was approximately five times higher than other oleogels and DGCO-based oleogel displayed greater hardness (52.39 N∼140.89 N) and lower viscosity (−57.06 N∼−25.94 N). The melting point of the DGCO-based oleogel increased from 48.35 °C to 57.64 °C as the BW content increased and microstructure from polarized light microscope displayed that he BW-PE oleogel presented itself as bundle-shaped crystals and with an augmentation in concentration, the dimensions of these crystals diminished while their abundance escalated. Notably, the BW-PE oleogel based on DGCO exhibited the most condensed structure. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed oleogel based on DGCO corresponding to characteristic peaks of β′and β-type crystals while the infrared spectroscopy demonstrated no new peaks formation whether for hydrogen bonds or covalent interactions in DGCO-based oleogel. These stable physical DGCO-based gel system provide a choice for the preparation of functional oleogels with lipid-lowering ingredients. • Lipid-lowering oleogels prepared form sterols and diacetylated glycerol corn oil. • Physicochemical properties and the stability of oleogels. • Crystallization behavior and microstructure characteristics of oleogels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of organogels from vegetable oils requires low‐molecular‐weight gelators. Herein, a novel small‐molecule sugar ester gelator is synthesized from erythritol and octanoic acid. The purified reaction product is identified as erythritol 1,6‐dioctanoate by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light‐scattering detection and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). This low‐molecular‐weight erythritol ester exhibits self‐assembly behavior in vegetable oils with a minimum gelation concentration of 4 wt%. Microscopy reveals needle‐like crystals that became slender as the gelator concentration increases. X‐Ray Diffraction (XRD) analyses indicate that the organogels are semicrystalline with both crystalline and amorphous domains. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy reveals that the gel structure is maintained by non‐hydrogen‐bonding interactions. Furthermore, rheological tests show that the mechanical strength of the gel is poor, but as the gelator concentration is increased, the mechanical strength and hardness of the gel also increases. Thus, this erythritol ester effectively promotes the gelation of edible vegetable oils and increases the variety of available organogelators. Practical Applications: The synthesized erythritol ester is successfully applied as a gelator to produce organogels from a variety of vegetable oils, and are expected to advance the development of effective organogelators for edible oils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Oleogels of β‐sitosterol (Sit) and beeswax (BW) were combined at varying ratios (w/w) and added to sunflower oil (SFO) at concentrations of 10 g per 100 g and 20 g per 100 g oil to prepare oleogels (Sit/BW/SFO). Structural and thermal properties were characterised and results showed that the hardness and enthalpy of oleogels were affected by the amount of β‐sitosterol and beeswax in the oleogelator combination (Sit/BW, w/w). Oleogels with beeswax as the only oleogelator (Sit0/BW10) had the highest hardness and maximum enthalpy change. Gel network form was influenced by the crystalline behaviour of the oleogelator, and Sit0/BW10‐oleogel was densely packed, spherical and white while Sit10/BW0‐oleogel displayed a needle shape. X‐ray diffraction patterns showed that the oleogel width of the crystals and D‐spacing increased with increasing amounts of β‐sitosterol and the FTIR spectra revealed that oleogels formed via non‐covalent bonding and may be stabilised with physical entanglements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, 3D (three dimensional) porous Co 9 S 8 /Ni 3 S 2 (CNS) nano-cubes with Ni-Co hydroxides nanoflakes cladding (CNS-NCOOH) was engineered through a convenient and easy-to-scale hydrothermal combined with chemical bath deposition strategy. The enriched voids between Ni-Co bimetallic hydroxide nanoflakes and exclusive micron-level 3D pores of nickel substrate were interconnected and collaboratively supply convenient ion diffusion pathways, as well as adequate free space to accommodate their volume variation during circulation. Meanwhile, the tailored core-shell architecture can stimulate the structural ruggedness of the CNS-NCOOH in alkaline electrolytes during cycling. Consequently, the CNS-NCOOH composites equipped with nickel-cobalt hydroxide nanoflakes exhibited superior performance in a three-electrode system compared to individual CNS-based cubes electrodes, which was primarily credited to the pore-rich, structurally stable, highly-exposed active sites on the surface, as well as the intimate contact between Ni-Co sulfides and Ni-Co hydroxides. In the case of alkaline zinc batteries, the assembled CNS-NCOOH//Zn cells displayed a discharge capacity of 384 μAh cm−2 at 4 mA cm−2 and a capacity retention of 105.8% after 4000 cycles at 12 mA cm−2, indicating a significantly improved electrochemical performance over CNS//Zn cells. These findings provided insights into the exploitation of innovative electrode materials for a high-performance alkaline zinc battery. [Display omitted] • CNS-NCOOH was synthesized using a hydrothermal and subsequent chemical bath deposition strategy. • CNS-NCOOH electrodes with CNS cubes as core and NCOOH nanoflakes as shell possess a three-dimensional porous framework. • Synergistic interaction between Ni-Co hydroxides and Ni-Co sulfides improves charge storage capacity. • The assembled CNS-NCOOH//Zn alkaline battery achieves excellent electrochemical performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of manufactured nisin-ZrO2/poly (vinyl alcohol)-wheat gluten (ZPWG) films were characterized. The formation of hydrogen bonds among the PVA, WG, and ZrO2 units were detected and caused a decrease in the film crystallinity. Also, the degradation rate was increased with WG content. As expected, the addition of WG and ZrO2 influenced the light transmission, tensile properties, gas permeability and water vapor permeability of the films. Nisin-loaded films presented a low initial burst release of the antimicrobial agent, followed by a gradual release. The initial diffusion of nisin (Mt/M∞<2/3) from the ZPWG film was formulated by the Fickian diffusion equation, showing a linear relationship (R2 > 0.998) between Mt/M∞ and t1/2, and the diffusion coefficient D increased with increasing WG content. Antimicrobial activity testing of nisin-ZPWG films with 40 wt% WG showed excellent inhibitory activity against Staphylococcus aureus, indicating its potential as a new active food packaging material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrolysis of water offers an efficient and eco-friendly route to separate hydrogen isotopes and cathode electrocatalysts featuring high separation factors coupled with high activity and stability are increasingly in demand. In this work, we propose MoS 2 rich in edge sites (MoS 2 -RS) as a promising hydrogen isotope separation electrocatalyst for the first time. MoS 2 -RS cathode exhibits high activity and hydrogen isotope selectivity with a low overpotential of 182.4 mV at 10 mA cm−2, a small Tafel slope of 61 mV dec−1 and a high hydrogen-deuterium separation factor (S H/D) of 10.22 in contrast to 6.33 for the commercial Pt/C catalyst. Density functional theory calculations ascribe the high selectivity of MoS 2 -RS to the H/D zero-point energy difference. Moreover, MoS 2 -RS demonstrates much higher values of S H/D compared with Pt/C catalyst under all test conditions and good long-term stability under acidic conditions. This work not only provides a promising catalytic material for efficient electrolytic separation of hydrogen isotopes but also indicates the direction of rational design of it. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Club cell protein (CC16) is expressed primarily by club cells possesses anti‑inflammatory properties and is located in the bronchiolar epithelium. Previous studies have demonstrated that CC16 deficiency is associated with the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In the present study, the therapeutic effects of recombinant rat CC16 protein in mice with COPD were examined and the underlying mechanisms investigated. A total of 30 adult male C57/BL6 mice were randomly divided into three groups (10 mice/group). A mouse COPD model was generated by exposing 20 mice to cigarette smoke (CS) for 24 weeks. A total of 10 mice were treated intranasally with rCC16 (2.5 μg/g body weight) and control mice were exposed to normal room air. Results indicated that rCC16 treatment ameliorated pathological damage in the lungs and reduced the production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‑α, interleukin (IL)‑6 and IL‑8, which were induced by CS exposure. After rCC16 administration, endogenous CC16 was upregulated and the body weight of COPD mice was increased, whereas the opposite was observed in CS‑exposed mice. Additionally, rCC16 treatment inhibited the DNA binding of NF‑κB/p65 in lung tissues and reduced nuclear translocation of NF‑κB/p65 in BALF and epithelial cells. Moreover, rCC16 treatment lead to a decrease in the total number of BALF cells, including macrophages, which was elevated in COPD mice. In conclusion, the present results demonstrate that rCC16 has therapeutic effects on COPD by downregulating pro‑inflammatory factors via the NF‑κB pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two species of jellyfish, Cyanea nozakii Kishinouye and Nemopilema nomurai Kishinouye, have occurred offcoastal areas of the northeastern China Sea, Yellow Sea, and Bohai Sea in recent years. They influence marine ecosystem safety and fishery production, and also pose a risk to human health. The current study examined the hemolytic and cytotoxic activities of crude venoms extracted from the nematocysts of C. nozakii and N. nomurai. The results showed that there were more nematocysts on tentacles from C. nozakii than on tentacles of the same length from N. nomurai. The protein concentration per nematocyst extracted from N. nomurai was higher than that from C. nozakii. Both nematocyst venoms showed dose- and timedependent hemolytic activity on erythrocytes from chicken, pigeon, and sheep, with sheep erythrocytes being the most sensitive, with EC50 values of 69.69 and 63.62 μg/mL over a 30-min exposure with N. nomurai and C. nozakii nematocyst venoms, respectively. A cytotoxic assay of both jellyfish venoms on A431 human epidermal carcinoma cells resulted in IC50 values of 68.6 and 40.9 μg/mL after 24-h incubation, respectively, with venom from C. nozakii showing stronger cytotoxic activity than that from N. nomurai. The results of current study indicate that nematocyst venom from C. nozakii had stronger hemolytic and cytotoxic activities than that from N. nomurai and, thus, C. nozakii might be more harmful to the health of humans and other species than are N. nomurai when they appear in coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Trophodynamics features of As and Cd were investigated within continuous tropic level ranges indicated by nitrogen stable isotopes of marine fauna from YRE. • As and Cd bioaccumulation features in invertebrates were distinct from fish. • As and Cd were biomagnified in invertebrates from the YRE through trophic transfer. • High risk invertebrates may be underestimated by an overall trophodynamics evaluation. • Taxa composition may play important role in As and Cd biomagnification in invertebrates. Toxic arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) pollution threatens organisms and humans in coastal ecosystems, but their biomagnification in marine systems remains under debate. This study investigated the levels and trophodynamic features of As and Cd, and potential human health risks of marine fauna within continuous trophic levels (TLs) from the Yellow River Estuary, China, and adjacent sea (YRE), as indicated by nitrogen stable isotope analyses. Individual faunal samples were grouped into continuous TL ranges and analyzed separately in fish and invertebrates. As and Cd concentrations varied significantly between fish and invertebrates within different TL ranges. Trophic magnification factors (TMFs) also revealed different bioaccumulation features of As and Cd with increasing TL via trophic transfer in the food chain. Although As and Cd were biodiluted in marine organisms overall from the YRE, they were biomagnified in invertebrates through trophic transfer, with TMFs of 1.91 and 1.70, respectively. As and Cd biomagnification in invertebrates was hidden by overall evaluation of toxic element bioaccumulation in marine fauna. Crustacea accounted for 55% of the invertebrate taxa in the study, which could have an important role in the biomagnification of these two elements in invertebrates as a whole. Given that marine organisms occupying higher trophic positions at higher risk of As and Cd biomagnification might be underestimated in the analyses of mean values at the species level, the target hazard quotient through fish and invertebrate consumption was calculated separately based on individuals distributed within continuous TL ranges corresponding to element concentrations, and the health risks to adults and children were evaluated. Results indicated that, in the study area, the non-carcinogenic health risk associated with As and Cd from consuming invertebrates was higher than that from fish, especially for children. In addition, estimation of As carcinogenic risk (>10–4 in both invertebrates and fish) also indicated that ingestion of seafood from the YRE with suggested meal size would cause cancer risk with long-term consumption, especially of invertebrates. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor toxic metal concentrations in aquatic organisms to devise regulations around seafood consumption by humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs), as well as a profusion of toxic phytoplankton species, have significantly increased in coastal regions of China. Researchers attribute this to environmental changes such as rising atmospheric CO 2 levels. Such addition of carbon into the ocean ecosystem can lead to increased growth, enhanced metabolism, and altered toxicity of toxic phytoplankton communities resulting in serious human health concerns. In this study, the effects of elevated partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) on the growth and toxicity of a strain of Alexandrium tamarense (ATDH) widespread in the East and South China Seas were investigated. Results of these studies showed a higher specific growth rate (0.31 ± 0.05 day −1 ) when exposed to 1000 μatm CO 2 , (experimental), with a corresponding density of (2.02 ± 0.19) × 10 7 cells L −1 , that was significantly larger than cells under 395 μatm CO 2( control). These data also revealed that elevated pCO 2 primarily affected the photosynthetic properties of cells in the exponential growth phase. Interestingly, measurement of the total toxin content per cell was reduced by half under elevated CO 2 conditions. The following individual toxins were measured in this study: C1, C2, GTX1, GTX2, GTX3, GTX4, GTX5, STX, dcGTX2, dcGTX3, and dcSTX. Cells grown in 1000 μatm CO 2 showed an overall decrease in the cellular concentrations of C1, C2, GTX2, GTX3, GTX5, STX, dcGTX2, dcGTX3, and dcSTX, but an increase in GTX1 and GTX4. Total cellular toxicity per cell was measured revealing an increase of nearly 60% toxicity in the presence of elevated CO 2 compared to controls. This unusual result was attributed to a significant increase in the cellular concentrations of the more toxic derivatives, GTX1 and GTX4.Taken together; these findings indicate that the A. tamarense strain ATDH isolated from the East China Sea significantly increased in growth and cellular toxicity under elevated pCO 2 levels. These data may provide vital information regarding future HABs and the corresponding harmful effects as a result of increasing atmospheric CO 2 . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For anthropologists studying archaeological, fossil, and forensic remains in order to understand the biology of ancient human communities and follow the course of evolution, it is essential to identify an individual from their fragmentary remains, particularly teeth. Teeth are unique among the resistant anatomical parts of fossil skeletons having been exposed to various forces throughout the person's life. Dental anthropology is also applied to living people, using many of the same techniques employed for analysing ancient remains. One primary theme of this discipline is to study variation in size and shape of the teeth, as recorded in casts of dentition from living people or evaluated in the skulls of archaeological and fossil specimens using metric measurements and observations of non-metric traits. Metric and non-metric data were compiled from published reports on archaeological sites in Korea and elsewhere. These data indicate that in contrast to all other ethnic groups, Koreans exhibit several non-metric traits in relatively high frequency. Interestingly, they have lower frequencies of Carabelli's traits in comparison to Western Eurasians. Based on the distribution pattern of dental traits, Koreans possess lineages from a high proportion of northeast Asian populations as well as southern groups of north-eastern Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND In order to further develop and utilise Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Thunb.) Makino seeds, a detailed analysis of the characteristics of G. pentaphyllum seed oil ( GPSO), including its physico-chemical parameters, fatty acid composition and unsaponifiable matter constituents, has been investigated in this study. The antioxidant potential of GPSO was evaluated by radical-scavenging activity and ferric-reducing antioxidant power assay in vitro, and the antioxidant activity in vivo was examined by using an aged mice model. RESULTS The main components of the seeds are lipids (485.54 g kg−1) and proteins (203.26 g kg−1). The GPSO obtained by supercritical CO2 fluid extraction was rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (92.85%), especially conjugated linolenic acid (88.17%); and various useful compounds (squalene, tocopherol and phytosterols) were identified in the unsaponifiable matter. The overall antioxidant capacity of GPSO in vitro was shown to be comparable to that of Camellia seed oil as a positive control. GPSO could provide protection to the aged mice against oxidative stress and minimised the impact of ageing. CONCLUSION All the results suggest that GPSO has direct and potent antioxidant activities; it could be utilised as a functional food to supplement or replace some conventional oils. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible and portable energy storage gadgets have aroused mounting interest because of the remarkable achievement in the field of intelligent and wearable devices. In this paper, perpendicularly organized CoMoO 4 /MnO 2 (CMO/MO) heterostructures are produced in situ on the surface of Ni foam, and the porous 3D architectures and rough nanoplates outside could offer substantial active sites and decrease the ion diffusion distances. Such splendid architecture with massive electrochemically active sites exhibits greater areal capacity in contrast to CoMoO 4. Subsequently, an all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor (ASSC) based on the CMO/MO and PVA/KOH gel electrolyte is prepared. The ASSC could work under high voltages ranging from 0 to 1.4 V and deliver a maximum areal capacitance of 0.467 Fcm−2 (1 mAcm−2). It also exhibits a great energy density of 35.81 Wh kg−1 at a watt density of 198.22 W kg−1, and the capacity retention could keep 75% even after 8000 cycles. Collectively, this research offers enlightenment regarding the synthesis of electrode materials. [Display omitted] • The CoMoO 4 /MnO 2 composite was synthesized by the hydrothermal method and chelation-mediated aqueous processes. • The synergetic effects of Co, Mo, and Mn are essential for facilitating electrochemical reactivity. • The CoMoO 4 /MnO 2 -based all-solid-state supercapacitor exhibited splendid energy storage property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible and portable energy storage gadgets have aroused mounting interest because of the remarkable achievement in the field of intelligent and wearable devices. In this paper, perpendicularly organized CoMoO 4 /MnO 2 (CMO/MO) heterostructures are produced in situ on the surface of Ni foam, and the porous 3D architectures and rough nanoplates outside could offer substantial active sites and decrease the ion diffusion distances. Such splendid architecture with massive electrochemically active sites exhibits greater areal capacity in contrast to CoMoO 4. Subsequently, an all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor (ASSC) based on the CMO/MO and PVA/KOH gel electrolyte is prepared. The ASSC could work under high voltages ranging from 0 to 1.4 V and deliver a maximum areal capacitance of 0.467 Fcm−2 (1 mAcm−2). It also exhibits a great energy density of 35.81 Wh kg−1 at a watt density of 198.22 W kg−1, and the capacity retention could keep 75% even after 8000 cycles. Collectively, this research offers enlightenment regarding the synthesis of electrode materials. [Display omitted] • The CoMoO 4 /MnO 2 composite was synthesized by the hydrothermal method and chelation-mediated aqueous processes. • The synergetic effects of Co, Mo, and Mn are essential for facilitating electrochemical reactivity. • The CoMoO 4 /MnO 2 -based all-solid-state supercapacitor exhibited splendid energy storage property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishing is the most widespread human exploitation of marine resources, which has an annual cyclical influence on aquatic species in Chinese offshore waters. This study used carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios as tracers to reveal the changes in trophic level and dietary composition of offshore organisms during four cruises in March, June, August and November 2014. The results indicated that the trophic levels of fishes declined during two fishing periods, from March (average trophic level = 3.36) to June (3.01), and from August (2.99) to November (2.57), while most invertebrates did not show this trend. The self-restoring ability of this ecosystem was reflected in the trophic level changes after the closed fishing season (from June 1 to September 1). The trophic levels of fishes remained stable, and some species even recovered such as Enchelyopus elongates (trophic level increased from 2.84 in June to 2.86 in August), Cryptocentrus filifer (from 3.10 to 3.12), and Ernogrammus hexagrammus (from 2.91 to 2.96). According to the trophic results, we selected the invertebrates Octopus minor and Asterias amurensis from the top trophic levels for dietary composition analysis. The composition of their diets changed significantly after fishing periods, and the proportions of some smaller and “non-commercial” species increased, such as Notoacmea schrenckii and Chlorostoma rustica . After the closed fishing season, the larger and “commercial” species contributed a greater proportion to their diet composition. These results indicated that the closed fishing season should be prolonged to give the ecosystem enough time to restore itself and further halt the trend of this fishery towards environment deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We systematically studied the vibrational-resolved electronic spectra of group IV dichlorides using the Franck–Condon approximation combined with the Duschinsky and Herzberg–Teller effects in harmonic and anharmonic frameworks (only the simulation of absorption spectra includes the anharmonicity). Calculated results showed that the band shapes of simulated spectra are in accordance with those of the corresponding experimental or theoretical ones. We found that the symmetric bend mode in progression of absorption is the most active one, whereas the main contributor in photoelectron spectra is the symmetric stretching mode. Moreover, the Duschinsky and anharmonic effects exert weak influence on the absorption spectra, except for PbCl 2 molecule. The theoretical insights presented in this work are significant in understanding the photophysical properties of MCl 2 (M = C, Si, Ge, Sn, Pb) and studying the Herzberg–Teller and the anharmonic effects on the absorption spectra of new dichlorides of this main group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TGF-β1 induces epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and autophagy in a variety of cells. However, the role of autophagy in TGF-β1-induced EMT has not been clearly elucidated and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. In the present study, we found that TGF-β1 induced both autophagy and EMT in mouse tubular epithelial C1.1 cells. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine or siRNA knockdown of Beclin 1 reduced TGF-β1-induced increase of vimentin and decreased E-cadherin expression. In contrast, rapamycin-associated enhancement of TGF-β1-induced autophagy increased EMT of C1.1 cells. Serum rescue inhibited autophagy followed by reversal of EMT. Blocking of autophagosome-lysosomal but not proteosomal degradation reduced the decrease of E-cadherin, demonstrating a role for autophagy in degradation of E-cadherin during EMT. Autophagy promoted the activation of Src and Src-associated phosphorylation of β-catenin at Y-654 leading to pY654-β-catenin/p-Smad2 complex formation. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated binding by the pY654-β-catenin/p-Smad2 complex to ILK promoter thus increasing ILK expression. Taken together, our results demonstrate that TGF-β1-induced autophagy links β-catenin and Smad signaling to promote EMT in C1.1 cells through a novel pY654-β-catenin/p-Smad2/ILK pathway. The pathway delineated links disruption of E-cadherin/β-catenin-mediated cell–cell contact to induction of EMT via upregulation of ILK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geometrical optimizations of the ground and first excited states of benzimidazole and indene were performed using the density functional theory (DFT) and its time-dependent extension methods (TD-DFT), respectively. Their vibrationally resolved 1 L b ( 1 A′) ↔ S 0 ( 1 A′) absorption and fluorescence spectra were simulated within the Franck–Condon approximation including the Herzberg–Teller (HT) and Duschinsky effects. Calculated results revealed that, with the HT and Duschinsky effects getting involved, the simulated weak 1 L b ( 1 A′) ↔ S 0 ( 1 A′) electronic spectra of the two molecules excellently reproduce the experimental findings. Based on the experimental data and other theoretical results, we tentatively assigned most of the vibrational normal modes which emerged in the experimental spectra of the two molecules. The present theoretical insights are expected to help us understand the nature of electronic transitions in the vibrationally resolved absorption and fluorescence spectra of benzimidazole and its analogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spectral similarities and differences between indole and 3-methylindole were investigated with density functional theory (DFT) and its time-dependent extension (TD-DFT). The geometries, energies, dipole moments, oscillator strengths, and vibrational frequencies of the ground and two lowest excited states ( 1 L b and 1 L a ) were calculated and compared with experimental data and other theoretical values. The vibrationally resolved 1 L b ↔ S 0 electronic spectra were simulated within the Franck–Condon approximation and included the Herzberg–Teller (HT) and Duschinsky effects. The HT and Duschinsky effects played important roles in weak dipole-allowed electronic transitions, leading to full and rich spectral profiles. Furthermore, the anharmonic correction was also taken into account in the simulations. The simulated spectra of the 1 L b ↔ S 0 transitions of indole and 3-methylindole are in good agreement with the experimental findings, which indicated that the present theoretical method is a useful tool to simulate the optical spectra of indole-like organic molecules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the density functional theory and its time-dependent extension, the properties of the ground and the first excited states of phenanthrene were calculated. In harmonic and anharmonic approximations, the well-resolved absorption and emission spectra of phenanthrene were simulated using the Franck–Condon approximation combined with the Herzberg–Teller and Duschinsky effects, and the results reproduced the experimental spectra very well. The mirror symmetry breakdown between absorption and emission spectra is induced mainly from the Herzberg–Teller effect and Duschinsky mode mixing. Moreover, most of the vibrational modes were tentatively assigned and compared with the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated route to accomplish the incorporation of MoC x species into ordered mesoporous silica framework (OMSF) was presented. The Mo VI –melamine hybrids were used as the single-source precursors for molybdenum carbides and participated in the assembling process of the silica building blocks that gave rise to the OMSF preform. The pore diameter and the volume of the resulting MoC x @OMSF samples were characterized by gradually increasing with the amount of the added hybrids, which, among other things, maximized the space inside the silica tubes at the highest Mo loading. The thermal decomposition of the P123 micelles with the catalysis of the in situ formed Mo species generated the tube-like carbon framework within the silica tubes. The finely incorporation of the MoC x species to the carbon framework was supposed to account for the good stability of the carbide phase in the hydrogenation of naphthalene. Ultra-high selectivity of ∼98% to tetralin was achieved on the MoC x @OMSF samples thanks to the moderate hydrogenating ability of the carbide phase, indicating potential use of molybdenum carbide based composites as low-cost selective catalysts for industrially relevant partial hydrogenations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury (Hg), and its organic forms, are some of the most hazardous elements, with strong toxicity, persistence, and biological accumulation in marine organisms. Hg accumulation in continuous trophic levels (TL) in marine food chains remains unclear. In this study, individual invertebrate and fish samples collected from the Yellow River Estuary adjacent sea were grouped into continuous TL ranges, and the bioaccumulations of total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) were analyzed. The trophic magnification factor in invertebrates and fish was 1.40 and 1.72 for THg, and 2.56 and 2.17 for MeHg, indicating that both THg and MeHg were significantly biomagnified with increasing TL in both invertebrates and fish through trophic transfer. To evaluate the health risk of seafood consumption, the target hazard quotient (THQ) was calculated. Increasing THQ values indicated that the health risks of invertebrate and fish consumption in humans, especially children, were both elevated with increasing TL. THQ values > 1 indicated that consumption of invertebrates at a TL above 4.0 and fish above 4.5 may pose a relatively higher risk for children. Therefore, the consumption of both individual invertebrates and fish at high trophic positions may present greater health risk, especially in young children. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of groundwater exploitation schedules with constraints on pumping-induced land subsidence is a computationally intensive task. Physical process-based groundwater flow and land subsidence simulations are high-dimensional, nonlinear, dynamic and computationally demanding, as they require solving large systems of partial differential equations (PDEs). This work is the first application of a parallelized surrogate-based global optimization algorithm to mitigate land subsidence issues by controlling the pumping schedule of multiple groundwater wellfields over space and time. The application was demonstrated in a 6500 km2 region in China, involving a large-scale coupled groundwater flow-land subsidence model that is computationally expensive in terms of computational resources, including runtime and CPU memory for one single evaluation. In addition, the optimization problem contains 50 decision variables and up to 13 constraints, which adds to the computational effort, thus an efficient optimization is required. The results show that parallel DYSOC (dynamic search with surrogate-based constrained optimization) can achieve an approximately 100% parallel efficiency when upscaling computing resources. Compared with two other widely used optimization algorithms, DYSOC is 2–6 times faster, achieving computational cost savings of at least 50%. The findings demonstrate that the integration of surrogate constraints and dynamic search process can aid in the exploration and exploitation of the search space and accelerate the search for optimal solutions to complicated problems. •A new optimization algorithm (DYSOC) is proposed for computationally demanding constraint functions. •DYSOC is the first surrogate-based constrained optimization algorithm for tackling the land subsidence problem. •Parallel DYSOC can achieve the theoretically ideal linear speedup when using multicore processing. •DYSOC reduces the computational cost by over 50% compared with other widely used algorithms in a field application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To properly manage nuclear wastes is critical to sustainable utilization of nuclear power and environment health. Here, we show an innovative carbiding strategy for sustainable management of radioactive graphite through digestion of carbon in H 2 O 2. The combined action of intermolecular oxidation of graphite by MoO 3 and molybdenum carbiding demonstrates success in gasifying graphite and sequestrating uranium for a simulated uranium-contaminated graphite waste. The carbiding process plays a triple role: (1) converting graphite into atomic carbon digestible in H 2 O 2 , (2) generating oxalic ligands in the presence of H 2 O 2 to favor U-precipitation, and (3) delivering oxalic ligands to coordinate to MoVI-oxo anionic species to improve sample batching capacity. We demonstrate > 99% of uranium to be sequestrated for the simulated waste with graphite matrix completely gasifying while no detectable U-migration occurred during operation. This method has further been extended to removal of surface carbon layers for graphite monolith and thus can be used to decontaminate monolithic graphite waste with emission of a minimal amount of secondary waste. We believe this work not only provides a sustainable approach to tackle the managing issue of heavily metal contaminated graphite waste, but also indicates a promising methodology toward surface decontamination for irradiated graphite in general. [Display omitted] • Graphite is converted into atomic carbon digestible in H 2 O 2 via reaction with MoO 3. • In situ generated oxalic ligands in H 2 O 2 favors uranium precipitation. • Carbide layers generate on graphite monolith (GM) via surface inward Mo carbiding. • Carbide layers are etched off through oxidative digestion in H 2 O 2. • Injected B and Ce within surface region of GM are released in H 2 O 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monodisperse rare-earth-doped NaxScF3+x nanocrystals have been synthesized via the co-thermolysis of trifluoroacetates. They can be easily tuned from monoclinic-phase (Na3ScF6) to hexagonal-phase (NaScF4) just through changing the ratio of Na(CF3COO) to Sc(CF3COO)3. The obtained samples show bright upconversion photoluminescence. Furthermore, luminescence with a wide spectrum of colors, including white, has been achieved by the appropriate blend of NaScF4:Yb3+/Er3+ and NaScF4:Yb3+/Tm3+ nanocrystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The selective hydrogenation of naphthalene to tetralin has been conducted on Mo2C/AC prepared by microwave irradiation, and achieved a lasting high conversion with 100% selectivity up to 60 hours. The choice of activated carbon as a support is critical in gaining an ideal balance between high activity and good stability of the catalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of drug discovery based on single targets, the number of newly developed drugs has steadily declined, and the reliablility of the current drug-discovery paradigm has been unceasingly questioned. As an alternative, an emerging approach pursuing multi-targeting drugs has arisen to reflect multifactorial diseases caused by the complex networks of various mechanisms. The purpose of this paper is to review multi-target drugs and introduce our progress in establishing a practical methodology for identifying antinociceptive multi-target drugs. We have adopted a system of ex vivo efficacy screening using long-term potentiation in rat spinal cord as a surrogate biomarker for neuropathic pain. A bait-target approach is also adopted to lure an unknown target combination that induces synergistic mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hydrophilic Ce, Tb doped BaYF5nanocrystals with uniform size were synthesized by a microwave-assisted route. The synthesized nanocrystals can be well dispersed in hydrophilic solutions (DMSO, DMF, EG, H2O). This synthesis procedure represents a less time consuming method, with high product yield and without using any assistant or/and template reagents, which may be expected to be a general method for rapid synthesis of other hydrophilic RE doped fluoride fluorescent nanocrystals. The Ce3+, Tb3+codoped BaYF5nanocrystals show bright green fluorescence emission. The Ce3+acts as an effective energy transfer medium and the emission at the high 5D3energy level of Tb is enhanced in this host material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although cholinergic mechanisms have been widely implicated in learning and memory processes, few studies have investigated the specific contribution of hippocampal cholinergic transmission during trace fear conditioning, a form of associative learning involving a temporal gap between two stimuli. Microinfusions of scopolamine, a muscarinic receptor antagonist, into the dorsal hippocampus (DH) produced dose-dependent impairment in the acquisition and expression of a conditioned response (CR) following trace fear conditioning with a tone conditioned stimulus (CS) and a footshock unconditioned stimulus (US) in rats. The same infusions, however, had no effect on delay conditioning, general activity, pain sensitivity or attentional modulation. Moreover, scopolamine infusions attenuated phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in the amygdala, indicating that cholinergic signals in the DH are important for trace fear conditioning. Taken together, the current study provides evidence that cholinergic neurotransmission in the DH is essential for the cellular processing of CS–US association in the amygdala when the two stimuli are temporally disconnected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: α-crystallin is a molecular chaperone that maintains the optical properties of the lens and delays the onset scattering caused by aging-related protein aggregation. In this research, we found that the missense mutation R116H resulted in an altered size distribution, impaired packing of the secondary structures and modified quaternary structure with great hydrophobic exposure. The mutant exhibited a substrate-dependent chaperone (aggregation–inhibition) or anti-chaperone (aggregation–promotion) effect. Equilibrium unfolding experiments indicated that the mutation stabilized an aggregation-prone intermediate which was not populated during the unfolding of the wild-type protein. The accumulation of this intermediate greatly promoted the formation of non-native large oligomers or aggregates during unfolding. These results suggested that both the aggregation of the mutant upon stress and co-deposition with the target proteins were likely to be responsible for the onset of cataract. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Automatic calibration is widely used to estimate parameters in hydrological models. The main idea is to use optimization algorithms to minimize the discrepancy between field data and simulation prediction. This process involves iterative exchanges of a parameter set chosen by the optimization and simulation. However, for computationally expensive models, such as groundwater flow and transport models, the calibration process may be extremely computationally demanding. In this study, we introduce and demonstrate a new asynchronous parallel surrogate-assisted optimization algorithm with an early truncation feature and different knowledge extraction strategies (SO-AET-k). Results show that our asynchronous algorithm performs significantly better than the synchronous analogue (SO-SP), requiring only 40%–70% of the computation time to achieve the same averaged results. In addition, various knowledge extraction strategies of the asynchronous SO-AET-k are tested. In comparisons with two other algorithms, SCE-UA and APPSPACK, asynchronous SO-AET-k shows significantly better performance in terms of both efficiency and robustness. • Asynchronous parallel with dynamic early truncation strategies are proposed to solve calibration problems. • Knowledge extraction rules used in optimization are investigated to exploit and explore the search of optimal solution. • The reduction of computational time in finding optimal solution is demonstrated by early stopping expensive objective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We tested whether N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the dorsal hippocampus (DH) are critical for the acquisition of trace fear conditioning using conditioned hypoalgesia (CHA), decrease in pain reactivity, as the conditioned response (CR) instead of commonly used freezing. Infusions of the NMDA receptor antagonist, dl-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (APV) into DH prior to conditioning resulted in impaired CHA, measured with the radiant heat tail flick test, only in the trace-conditioning group when they were tested during the trace interval. The same infusion had no effect on CHA in the delay-conditioned animals. The results support that NMDA receptors in DH are critically involved in associating the CS with the US across a temporal gap. In addition, temporal specificity of the CR was revealed as CHA was induced only in the temporal vicinity of the US used for the training. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Due to the large measurement error in the practical non-cooperative scene, the passive localization algorithms based on traditional numerical calculation using time difference of arrival (TDOA) and frequency difference of arrival (FDOA) often have no solution, i.e., the estimated result cannot meet the localization background knowledge. In this context, this paper intends to introduce interval analysis theory into joint FDOA/TDOA-based localization algorithm. The proposed algorithm uses the dichotomy algorithm to fuse the interval measurement of TDOA and FDOA for estimating the velocity and position of a moving target. The estimation results are given in the form of an interval. The estimated interval must contain the true values of the position and velocity of the radiation target, and the size of the interval reflects the confidence of the estimation. The point estimation of the position and the velocity of the target is given by the midpoint of the estimation interval. Simulation analysis shows the efficacy of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to help Energy Internet (EI) enterprises develop sustainably, promote the transformation and upgrading of energy systems and achieve the goal of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, a study on the influencing factors of green technology innovation (GTI) in EI enterprises was conducted using the Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory-Adversarial Interpretive Structure Modeling Method (DEMATEL-AISM). Through a literature review and field research, the DEMATEL-AISM-based model of the GTI influencing factors of EI enterprises was constructed on the basis of summarizing the system of GTI influencing factors of EI enterprises, visualizing the interrelationship and hierarchical structure among GTI influencing factors of EI enterprises and finally proposing relevant countermeasures and suggestions. This study shows that the proximity-level factors such as R&D investment and external cooperation directly affect the GTI of EI enterprises; the essential-level factors such as environmental regulation and development strategy are the root causes of the GTI of EI enterprises. The transition-level factors such as market competition and business model are the key nodes of the GTI of EI enterprises, and the above factors should be focused on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (HSDs) play an important role in the metabolism of steroids and xenobiotics. However, the function of HSDs in invertebrates is unclear. In this study, we cloned the hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-like 2 (HSDL2) gene in Perinereis aibuhitensis, which is 1652 bp in length, encoding 400 amino acids. This sequence contains conserved short-chain dehydrogenase and sterol carrier protein-2 domain, and the alignment analysis showed its close relationship with other invertebrate HSDL2. Further, the tissue distribution analysis of the HSDL2 gene showed it is expressed strongly in the intestine. The expression level of HSDL2 after inducement with bisphenol A (BPA) was also detected both at transcriptional and translational levels. The results inferred that BPA exposure can induce HSDL2 expression, and the inductive effect was obvious in the high-concentration BPA group (100 μg/L). In summary, our results showed the detoxification function of HSDL2 in polychaetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The van der Waals (vdW) heterostructures employing graphene and hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) have emerged as a typical system for building emergent two-dimensional devices, such as atomically thin transistors or capacitors. Herein, we study the nonlinear thermal transport in such vdW heterostructure by non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. The results show that an obvious negative differential thermal resistance (NDTR) phenomenon can be observed under small temperature bias when the interlayer coupling becomes stronger. The vibrational spectra analysis manifests that the phonon filtering mechanism induced by interlayer coupling greatly hinders the interfacial thermal transport. To obtain the optimum conditions, the dependence of NDTR on the system length, lateral width, external temperature, and defect density is taken into account. Our findings extend the phonon filtering mechanism to thermal information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1H spin-lattice relaxometry (T1, longitudinal) of cement pastes with 0 to 0.18 wt % polycarboxylate superplasticizers (PCEs) at intervals of 0.06 wt % from 10 min to 1210 min was investigated. Results showed that the main peak in T1 relaxometry of cement pastes was shorter and lower along with the hydration times. PCEs delayed and lowered this main peak in T1 relaxometry of cement pastes at 10 min, 605 min and 1210 min, which was highly correlated to its dosages. In contrast, PCEs increased the total signal intensity of T1 of cement pastes at these three times, which still correlated to its dosages. Both changes of the main peak in T1 relaxometry and the total signal intensity of T1 revealed interferences on evaporable water during cement hydration by dispersion mechanisms of PCEs. The time-dependent evolution of weighted average T1 of cement pastes with different PCEs between 10 min and 1210 min was found regular to the four-stage hydration mechanism of tricalcium silicate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Application of pomegranate husk extract in the treatment of oilfield produced water was carried out based on the abundant fruits resource of Shaanxi province. Pomegranate husk was extracted with ethanol, and the extract was screened as corrosion and bacteria inhibitors. The results show that the extract is effective for corrosion inhibiting. The polarization curve showed that extract was a mixing type inhibitor. The extract is active against sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) , but inefficient against iron bacteria (FB) and total general bacteria (TGB). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]