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Constructing photocatalysts to promote hydrogen evolution and carbon dioxide photoreduction into solar fuels is of vital importance. The design and establishment of an S-scheme heterojunction system is one of the most feasible approaches to facilitate the separation and transfer of photogenerated charge carriers and obtain powerful photoredox capabilities for boosting photocatalytic performance. Herein, a zero-dimensional/one-dimensional S-scheme heterojunction composed of CdSe quantum dots and polymeric carbon nitride nanorods (CdSe/CN) is created and constructed via a linker-assisted hybridization approach. The CdSe/CN composites exhibit superior photocatalytic activity in water splitting and promoted carbon dioxide conversion performance compared with CN nanorods and CdSe quantum dots. The best efficiency in photocatalytic water splitting (10.2% apparent quantum yield at 420 nm irradiation, 20.1 mmol g−1 h−1 hydrogen evolution rate) and CO2 reduction (0.77 mmol g−1 h−1 CO production rate) was achieved by 5%CdSe/CN composites. The significantly improved photocatalytic reactivity of CdSe/CN composites primarily originates from the emergence of an internal electric field in the zero-dimensional/one-dimensional S-scheme heterojunction, which could greatly improve the photoinduced charge-carrier separation. This work underlines the possibility of employing polymeric carbon nitride nanostructures as appropriate platforms to establish highly active S-scheme heterojunction photocatalysts for solar fuel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tissue engineered scaffolds need to possess various functionalities, including biocompatibility, mechanical support, bioactivity, and vascularization. The design and fabrication of bioscaffolds to attain mutual coordination among these functionalities with minimal processing complexity are a highly challenging but rewarding task. In this study, a simple, effective one-step electrospinning method was developed to fabricate hierarchical spiderweb-like bioscaffolds that achieve both superior biological and mechanical functionalities. By incorporating ionic drugs of deferoxamine mesylate and lithium chloride, the spiderweb-inspired structures with adjustable coverages (up to 100 %) were successfully created, imparting the fibrous bioscaffolds with remarkable tensile strengths (∼88.28 MPa). The strengthening mechanisms endowed by the spiderweb structure in optimizing stress distribution to delay damage and enhance load-bearing ability were elucidated through finite element simulations. Furthermore, this hierarchical spiderweb-like bioscaffold demonstrated favorable biological characteristics, including biocompatibility, osteogenesis, angiogenesis, and hemostasis. The presence of the nano-spiderweb structures significantly improved cell adhesion and differentiation on the scaffold and increased the spreading area of cells by 2–3 times. The dual-drug loaded bioscaffolds with full coverages of the spiderweb structure exhibited the least amount of bleeding (45.33 ± 27.47 mg) and the fastest hemostasis speed (82 ± 8.19 s) in the hemostasis test, compared to the control group. Overall, the outstanding performance makes the developed bioscaffolds a promising alternative for tissue repair and regeneration in the field of tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Horizontal and vertical viewing perspectives exert varying influences on the environmental perceptions and emotional states of college students. Despite this, scant research addresses the impact on this demographic. We selected typical campus open spaces for comprehensive physical parameter assessments, encompassing meteorological and spatial characteristics. A cohort of 36 healthy college students participated in a questionnaire survey designed to ascertain shifts in visual comfort, thermal comfort, and emotional responses when viewing landscapes in look-forward and look-up orientations. Key findings following both viewing modalities included: 1) a notable rise in mean visual comfort vote (MVCV), by 1.22 for look-forward and 1.01 for look-up, with a pronouncedly higher sunlight sensation vote (SSV) for the latter orientation; 2) a significant increase in thermal comfort vote (TCV), although the difference in increments between the two viewing angles was minimal; 3) Positive affect (PA) exhibited considerable improvement in both viewing conditions, while negative affect (NA) was markedly reduced in the look-up condition relative to look-forward viewing; 4) The SSV was predominantly influenced by the trunk ratio and canopy-to-trunk ratio, with substantial weights of 31.47% and 32.15%, respectively. Landscape element diversity emerged as the most critical factor affecting visual comfort vote (VCV) and aesthetic assessment score (AAS), with overwhelming weights of 70.67% and 63.15%, respectively. Moreover, the leaf ratio was identified as the chief determinant of emotional responses. Our results provide insights into the design of campus spaces for enhanced student well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lycorma delicatula has expanded its distribution from China to Japan, Korea, and the USA, causing significant economic damage to vineyards in the latter two countries. However, in Japan, L. delicatula has long been limited to the Hokuriku region, central Japan, and no significant damage to crops has been reported since it was first reported there in 2009. Manipulation experiments and field observations in the Hokuriku region, where winter precipitation is extremely high, revealed that egg numbers and hatchability were significantly reduced in exposed places, especially when wax was excluded from the egg mass. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the population in Japan could be divided into at least two groups. Most L. delicatula samples from Hokuriku formed a clade with those from northwestern China. Samples from Okayama, where the distribution of L. delicatula was recently confirmed, had the same haplotype as those from central China, Korea, and the USA. These results suggest that environmental factors and genetic characteristics of L. delicatula are involved in the relatively slow expansion of its distribution in Hokuriku. Conversely, in Okayama, where precipitation is relatively low, the rapidly increasing haplotype in Korea and the USA was detected, leading to concerns that its distribution will expand further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the pricing of the ratchet equity-indexed annuity with the incorporation of mortality risk by an efficient and accurate method under the general time-changed Lévy processes. The pricing of the contract is a two-dimensional problem: we apply the complex Fourier series method to the log return dimension of the asset and high-order quadrature approximation to the other dimensions. Depending on the subordinating dynamic of the volatility, we use the time-changed Lévy process to model stochastic volatility via the random time change in the Lévy process, which compensates for limitations in the common Lévy process. By combining the recursive algorithm and complex Fourier series method, we obtain the approximate price of the contract. Error analysis proves that the total error can achieve an exponential convergence rate, and numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the complex Fourier series expansion method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) has been reported in more than 40% of patients with cirrhosis in clinical practice. HE changes mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy are important for maintaining and removing damaged mitochondria. We used molecular biology and morphology methods to evaluate changes in mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy of the substantia nigra (SN) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) in HE. In this study, we observed that HE increased mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy in the SN, which was not seen in the PFC. HE stimulated dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1) transformation from the cytosolic to the mitochondria within SN cells, which increased mitochondrial fission and the number of mitochondria. The fusion protein L-OPA1 (long isoforms of OPA1) was increased in the SN of HE mice. HE also increased the levels of autophagy proteins PINK1/PARKIN and P62/LC3-B in the SN, which can selectively remove damaged mitochondria and cell, respectively. Additionally, we used electron microscopy to directly observe changes in mitochondrial morphology in the SN of HE mice and found the number of mitochondria was increased. However, there were no significant changes in the fission, fusion or autophagy proteins in PFC-purified mitochondrial proteins in HE mice. The number of mitochondria also did not show alterations in the PFC of HE mice compared with that in a sham group. These results illustrate that mitochondria can protect themselves by changing the dynamics and autophagy in the SN of HE mice. Changes in the mitochondrial dynamics and autophagy related to HE can help repair damaged mitochondria and provide a further understanding of the mechanisms of hepatic encephalopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ruminiclostridium josui Abf62A-Axe6A is a modular enzyme comprising (in order from the N-terminus): an N-terminal signal peptide, a glycoside hydrolase family 62 (GH62) catalytic module, a family 6 carbohydrate binding module (CBM6), a dockerin module and an additional carbohydrate esterase family 6 catalytic module (CE6). In this study, three Abf62A-Axe6A derivatives were constructed, overexpressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and biochemically characterized: RjAbf62A-Axe6A, containing all four modules but lacking the signal peptide; RjAbf62A-CBM6, containing the GH62 and CBM6 modules; and RjAxe6A, containing only CE6. RjAbf62A-Axe6A was highly active toward arabinoxylan and moderately active toward sugar beet arabinan, and released mainly arabinose. Analysis of the arabinoxylooligosaccharide hydrolysis products revealed that RjAbf62A-Axe6A released α-1,2- and α-1,3-linked arabinofuranose from both singly and doubly substituted xylosyl residues. Furthermore, RjAbf62A-Axe6A exhibited a weak activity toward linear 1,5-α- l arabinan and arabinooligosaccharides, indicating that it is capable of cleaving α-1,5-linkage. Surprisingly, RjAbf62A-Axe6A also demonstrated an endoxylanase activity toward birchwood and beechwood xylans and xylooligosaccharides. Although RjAbf62A-CBM6 exhibited a similar substrate specificity to RjAbf62A-Axe6A, RjAbf62A-CBM6 showed lower activities toward soluble arabinoxylans, birchwood and beechwood xylans and arabinoxylooligosaccharides but not toward insoluble arabinoxylan. RjAbf62A-Axe6A is the first reported GH62 enzyme with α- l -arabinofuranosidase and endoxylanase activities. Although both RjAbf62A-Axe6A and RjAxe6A had acetylxylan esterase activities, RjAbf62A-Axe6 exhibited a higher activity toward insoluble wheat arabinoxylan compared with RjAxe6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physalis method for the fully-resolved simulation of particulate flows is extended to include heat transfer between the particles and the fluid. The particles are treated in the lumped capacitance approximation. The simulation of several steady and time-dependent situations for which exact solutions or exact balance relations are available illustrates the accuracy and reliability of the method. Some examples including natural convection in the Boussinesq approximation are also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biosynthesis of starch is a complex process that depends on the regulatory mechanisms of different functional enzymes, and transcriptional regulation plays an important role in this process. Brittle 1, encoded by BT1, is a transporter of adenosine diphosphate-glucose, which plays an important role in the biosynthesis of starch in the endosperm of cereals. Here, we report that the promoter ( pZmBT1) of the maize BT1 homolog, Zm BT1, contains an MBSI site ( TAACTG), which is important for its activity. Moreover, high expression level of the gene for Zm MYB14 transcription factor was observed in the maize endosperm; its expression pattern was similar to those of the starch synthesis-related genes in maize seeds. Zm MYB14 is a typical 2R- MYB transcription factor localized in the nucleus and possessed transcriptional activation activity. Zm MYB14 could bind to the region of pZmBT1 from −280 to −151 bp and promote its activity through the TAACTG site. It was also observed to promote the activity of pZmSh2, pZmBt2, pZmGBSSI, pZmSSI, and pZmSBE1 in the maize endosperm in transient gene overexpression assays. Furthermore, Zm MYB14 was also shown to bind directly to the promoters of six starch-synthesizing genes, Zm GBSSI, Zm SSI, Zm SSIIa, Zm SBE1, Zm ISA1, and Zm ISA2 in yeast. These findings indicate that Zm MYB14 functions as a key regulator of Zm BT1 and is closely related to the biosynthesis of starch. Our results provide crucial information related to the regulation of starch biosynthesis in maize and would be helpful in devising strategies for modulating starch production in maize endosperm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the synthesis of hollow mesoporous silica (HMS) spheres using negative-charged polystyrene particles (ca. 200 nm in diameter) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as dual templates. The obtained HMS spheres were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption analysis. The shell thickness of HMS spheres could be adjusted in a range of 30-75 nm by changing the concentration of precursor. The HMS spheres (ca. 60-65 nm in shell thickness) presented a high surface area of 1496 m/g, and the total pore volume and average pore diameter were found to be 0.97 cm/g and 2.9 nm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salinity is a severe environmental stress that greatly impairs production of crops worldwide. Previous studies have shown that GMPase plays an important role in tolerance of plants to salt stress at vegetative stage. However, the function of GMPase in plant responses to salt stress at reproductive stage remains unclear. Studies have shown that heterologous expression of rice GMPase OsVTC1-1 enhanced salt tolerance of tobacco seedlings, but the native role of OsVTC1-1 in salt stress tolerance of rice is unknown. To illustrate the native function of GMPase in response of rice to salt stress, OsVTC1-1 expression was suppressed using RNAi-mediated gene silencing. Suppressing OsVTC1-1 expression obviously decreased salt tolerance of rice varieties at vegetative stage. Intriguingly, grain yield of OsVTC1-1 RNAi rice was also significantly reduced under salt stress, indicating that OsVTC1-1 plays an important role in salt tolerance of rice at both seedling and reproductive stages. OsVTC1-1 RNAi rice accumulated more ROS under salt stress, and supplying exogenous ascorbic acid restored salt tolerance of OsVTC1-1 RNAi lines, suggesting that OsVTC1-1 is involved in salt tolerance of rice through the biosynthesis regulation of ascorbic acid. Altogether, results of present study showed that rice GMPase gene OsVTC1-1 plays a critical role in salt tolerance of rice at both vegetative and reproductive stages through AsA scavenging of excess ROS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, to obtain efficiently damage-free surfaces, the structural design of abrasive provides a helpful solution. In this work, highly monodisperse polystyrene (PS) nanospheres [Circa (ca.) 70 nm] were synthesized via a modified soap-free emulsion polymerization. The CeO nanoparticles (ca. 5 nm) were uniformly coated on the surfaces of the PS cores via an in situ chemical precipitation process. The core-shell structured PS@CeO nanocomposites (ca. 90 nm) with a shell thickness of ca. 10 nm were achieved. The samples were further characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermo-gravimetric analysis. The CMP performance of the as-prepared PS@CeO nanocomposites and conventional CeO nanoabrasives for SiO film formed on Si wafer was investigated by an atomic force microscope and a 3D non-contact surface profiler. The results showed that the substrate polished with PS@CeO nanocomposites exhibited a lower root-mean-square surface roughness (0.15 ± 0.02 nm) and higher material removal rate (189 ± 19 nm/min) than those of conventional CeO nanoabrasives (0.25 ± 0.03 nm, 97 ± 16 nm/min). The improved polishing performance might be attributed to the optimization of the physical contact behavior between particles and wafers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of partial discharge of power transformer is important for the safe operation of a power system. The direction of arrival is an important part of ultrasonic array detection. Classic DOA estimation algorithms based on subspace analysis do not perform well under the conditions of low SNR and small snapshot numbers. The problem with using an improved algorithm is that it requires a huge amount of calculation. In this paper sparse signal decomposition is applied to spatial spectrum estimation. The authors derived the model of array signal direction finding by the use of matching pursuit algorithm, setting up overcomplete dictionaries for different types of sensor array and simulating different types of sensor array receiving signals. Simulations and experiments show that direction finding based on MP decomposition method performs better than using the MUSIC algorithm under the conditions of low SNR and small snapshot numbers, and that the influence of array types is less. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A process of depth reduction-magnetic separation technology research was introduced to pyrite cinder from Hebei. And the factors that influence the process of depth reduction and separation were systematic studied. The means of SEM, XRD were used to analyze the pyrite cinder, the roasted product of pyrite cinder and the iron ore concentrate. The results showed that the pyrite react with desulfurization agent to form metallic iron and calcium sulfide. Under optimal conditions of depth reduction, and only one stage of grinding-magnetic separation, the grade and the recovery rate of iron concentration arrived at 93.13% and 92.21%, respectively, with the sulfur content of 0.06% and it could be directly used in steelmaking after subsequent treatment, which reached the target of efficient use of solid waste, ie pyrite cinder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bavachin can inhibit TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β and NLRP3 expression level. • Bavachin can upregulate the expression of A20 in microglial cells. • Bavachin can promote the assemble of A20 ubiquitin-editing complex. • Upregulation of A20 was involved in the inhibitory effects of bavachin on microglia activation via inhibition of NF-κB pathway. Neuroinflammation is a major pathophysiological contributor to the progression of the central nervous system disorders. Bavachin is a natural product belonging to the flavonoid class. The anti-neuroinflammatory effect and the molecular mechanisms are not well understood. In this study, we found bavachin can exert anti-neuroinflammatory effect via inhibition of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling. We found that bavachin can obviously upregulate the expression of A20 (TNFAIP3) in microglial cells. Further studies suggested siRNA-A20 knockdown treatment can attenuate the inhibitory effects of bavachin on neuroinflammation. We further found bavachin can increase the interaction of ubiquitin-editing enzyme A20 complex including A20, Tax1-binding protein 1 (TAX1BP1) and Itch, the subsequently downregulated the K63-ubiquitination of TNF receptor associated factor 6 (TRAF6) and NF-κB signaling pathway. Altogether, our results indicated that bavachin exerted anti-neuroinflammatory effects through inhibition of NF-κB signaling mediated by regulation of ubiquitin-editing enzyme A20 complex. Our finding has important clinical significance for the potential application of bavachin in the treatment of neurological disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Maleimido-terminated self-assembled monolayers were prepared via a one-step reaction of a maleimido-functionalized trichlorosilane with an oxide-covered surface. Through conjugate addition, thiol-tagged DNA was immobilized on these maleimido-functionalized self-assembled monolayers, and these immobilized oligonucleotides were further hybridized with complementary strands. The surface concentrations of oligonucleotides were quantified with radioactivity measurements. The surface concentrations of immobilized oligonucleotides increase in a nonlinear manner with increasing molar fraction of maleimido moieties on the surface and achieve high values of 1.6 (±0.6)×1013 oligonucleotides/cm2 if monolayers having full coverage of maleimido groups are used. High hybridization efficiencies of complementary strands (∼75%) are obtained even if the surface concentration of immobilized strands exceeds a value of 5.0×1012 oligonucleotides/cm2. Furthermore, five cycles of denaturation and rehybridization result in only a 4% loss of the immobilized DNA after each run. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) account for a high proportion of the tumor tissue and significantly impede immunoefficacy. Furthermore, the signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) expressed in TAMs adversely correlates with macrophage activation and phagocytosis, resulting in immunosurveillance escape. To address these difficulties, a mannose-modified, pH-responsive nanoplatform with resiquimod (R848) and 2′, 3′-cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) co-encapsulation (named M-PNP@R@C) is designed to polarize TAMs and lower SIRPα expression. The co-delivery of R848 and cGAMP synergistically facilitates the polarization of TAMs from the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype into the pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype, thereby enhancing antitumor immunotherapy. Remarkably, activation of the cGAMP-mediated stimulator of interferon genes (STING) in TAMs significantly downregulates the expression of SIRPα, which synergizes with the cluster of differentiation 47 (CD47) antibody for the dual blockade of the CD47-SIRPα axis. Further analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing indicates that STING activation downregulates SIRPα by regulating intracellular fatty acid oxidation metabolism. In vivo studies indicate that M-PNP@R@C significantly inhibits tumor growth with a potent antitumor immune response in melanoma graft tumor models. After synergy with anti-CD47, the double blockade strategies of the SIRPα/CD47 axis result in a notable inhibition of lung metastasis. A prolonged survival rate is observed after combination treatment with CD47 and programmed death ligand-1 antibodies for the triple immune checkpoint blockade. In summary, our study provides original insights into the potential role of the STING pathway in macrophage-based immunotherapy, thus offering a potential combinatorial strategy for cancer therapy. [Display omitted] • M-PNP@R@C induces TAMs polarization due to the dual effects of R848 and cGAMP. • STING activation in TAMs downregulates SIRPα expression via FAO metabolism regulation. • M-PNP@R@C dispalys high antitumor activity due to TAMs polarization and SIRPα downregulation mediated phagocytosis. • The double blockades of SIRPα/CD47 axis after combination with aCD47 inhibit lung metastasis. • The triple immune checkpoint blockades after further combination with aPD-L1 prolong survival rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We consider the pricing problem for GMDB products under general regime - switching jump diffusion models. • The complex Fourier series expansion method is applied to approximate the pricing formulas. • A lot of numerical examples are provided to show effectiveness of our pricing method. In this paper, we consider the valuation problem of equity-linked annuity with guaranteed minimum death benefit (GMDB) by complex Fourier series method under regime-switching jump diffusion models. We show that the price formulas can be expressed by some discounted density functions associated with the residual lifetime random variable. Fourier transforms for discounted density functions are derived, and complex Fourier series expansion method is applied to recover the discounted density functions. Some explicit formulas for computing the GMDB price are given. Finally, we give some numerical results to show effectiveness of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is the most abundant lipid-soluble component in Salvia miltiorrhiza. Both Tan IIA and its derivatives including Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS) have been widely used in clinic due to their proved anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, and anti-fibrosis functions. Recently, combinations containing Tan IIA and active components have attracted intensive interest in fibrosis. Multiple studies have been conducted to attempt to decipher the mechanisms of this traditional Chinese medicine and found that Tan IIA can attenuate fibrosis through different pathways such as Smad2/3, NF-κB, Nrf2, E2F and snail/twist axis. However, some of the studies were contradictory and confusing. Therefore, it was important to develop an easy-to-access reference for clinic use. In this study, we reviewed the pharmacological mechanisms, pharmacokinetics, and toxicology of Tan IIA and its derivatives in the treatment of fibrosis and introduced the cutting-edge new formulation of Tan IIA compound. [Display omitted] • Bidirectional regulation of signaling pathways by tanshinone IIA and its derivatives in fibrotic diseases. • Regulation of tanshinone IIA and its derivatives on signaling pathways by non-coding RNAs. • Sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate has more pharmacokinetic advantages than tanshinone IIA nanoparticles. • Tanshinone IIA and its derivatives have potential for preventing fibrosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a nonreceptor serine/threonine protein kinase that is involved in diverse processes, including cell development, photomorphogenesis, biotic and abiotic stress responses, and hormone signaling. In contrast with the deeply researched GSK family in Arabidopsis and rice, maize GSKs' common bioinformatic features and protein functions are poorly understood. In this study, we identified 11 GSK genes in the maize (Zea mays L.) genome via homologous alignment, which we named Zeama;GSKs (ZmGSKs). The results of ZmGSK protein sequences, conserved motifs, and gene structures showed high similarities with each other. The phylogenetic analyses showed that a total of 11 genes from maize were divided into four clades. Furthermore, semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis of the GSKs genes showed that ZmGSK1, ZmGSK2, ZmGSK4, ZmGSK5, ZmGSK8, ZmGSK9, ZmGSK10, and ZmGSK11 were expressed in all tissues; ZmGSK3, ZmGSK6, and ZmGSK7 were expressed in a specific organization. In addition, GSK expression profiles under hormone treatments demonstrated that the ZmGSK genes were induced under BR conditions, except for ZmGSK2 and ZmGSK5. ZmGSK genes were regulated under ABA conditions, except for ZmGSK1 and ZmGSK8. Finally, using the yeast two-hybrid and BiFC assay, we determined that clads II (ZmGSK1, ZmGSK4, ZmGSK7, ZmGSK8, and ZmGSK11) could interact with ZmBZR1. The results suggest that clade II of ZmGSKs is important for BR signaling and that ZmGSK1 may play a dominant role in BR signaling as the counterpart to BIN2. This study provides a foundation for the further study of GSK3 functions and could be helpful in devising strategies for improving maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solubilities of 1-fluoro-4-(methylsulfonyl)benzenein fivepure organic solvents (ethanol, ethyl acetate, acetone, toluene, andchloroform) at temperatures ranging from (288.40 to 331.50) K underatmospheric pressure were measured experimentally by the dynamic methodwith a laser monitoring apparatus. It was found that the solubilitiesin different solvents decreased in the order chloroform > acetone> ethyl acetate > toluene > ethanol. The experimental datawere well-correlatedusing the modified Apelblat equation, with average relative deviationsof less than 2.92 % and root-mean-square deviations of no more than0.30 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Cell wall polysaccharide biosynthesis enzymes play important roles in plant growth, development and stress responses. The functions of cell wall polysaccharide synthesis enzymes in plant growth and development have been well studied. In contrast, their roles in plant responses to environmental stress are poorly understood. Previous studies have demonstrated that the rice cell wall cellulose synthase‐like D4 protein (OsCSLD4) is involved in cell wall polysaccharide synthesis and is important for rice growth and development. This study demonstrated that the OsCSLD4 function‐disrupted mutant nd1 was sensitive to salt stress, but insensitive to abscisic acid (ABA). The expression of some ABA synthesis and response genes was repressed in nd1 under both normal and salt stress conditions. Exogenous ABA can restore nd1‐impaired salt stress tolerance. Moreover, overexpression of OsCSLD4 can enhance rice ABA synthesis gene expression, increase ABA content and improve rice salt tolerance, thus implying that OsCSLD4‐regulated rice salt stress tolerance is mediated by ABA synthesis. Additionally, nd1 decreased rice tolerance to osmotic stress, but not ion toxic tolerance. The results from the transcriptome analysis showed that more osmotic stress‐responsive genes were impaired in nd1 than salt stress‐responsive genes, thus indicating that OsCSLD4 is involved in rice salt stress response through an ABA‐induced osmotic response pathway. Intriguingly, the disruption of OsCSLD4 function decreased grain width and weight, while overexpression of OsCSLD4 increased grain width and weight. Taken together, this study demonstrates a novel plant salt stress adaptation mechanism by which crops can coordinate salt stress tolerance and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The root plays an important role in the responses of plants to stresses, but the detailed mechanisms of roots in stress responses are still obscure. The GDP-mannose pyrophosphate synthetase (GMPase) OsVTC1-3 is a key factor of ascorbic acid (AsA) synthesis in rice roots. The present study showed that the transcript of OsVTC1-3 was induced by salt stress in roots, but not in leaves. Inhibiting the expression of OsVTC1-3 by RNA interfering (RI) technology significantly impaired the tolerance of rice to salt stress. The roots of OsVTC1-3 RI plants rapidly produced more O2−, and later accumulated amounts of H2O2 under salt stress, indicating the impaired tolerance of OsVTC1-3 RI plants to salt stress due to the decreasing ability of scavenging reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, exogenous AsA restored the salt tolerance of OsVTC1-3 RI plants, indicating that the AsA synthesis in rice roots is an important factor for the response of rice to salt stress. Further studies showed that the salt-induced AsA synthesis was limited in the roots of OsVTC1-3 RI plants. The above results showed that specifically regulating AsA synthesis to scavenge ROS in rice roots was one of important factors in enhancing the tolerance of rice to salt stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy and safety of insulin Icodec in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in order to provide evidence-based guidance for the rational clinical use of drug. Methods The databases of PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Sinomed, CNKI, Wanfang and VIP were searched by computer to identify randomized controlled trials (RCT) comparing the efficacy and safety of insulin Icodec (trial group) versus placebo or other hypoglycemic agents (control group) in the treatment of T2DM were collected from the date of database inception to August 2023. The efficacy indexes included: glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level, HbA1c compliance rate (HbA1c<7%), fasting plasma glucose (FPG) level, body weight level, time in range (TIR) percentage. Safety indicators included: incidence of hypoglycemia events, incidence of injection site reactions, incidence of drug allergic reactions, and incidence of serious adverse events. Two evaluators independently screened the literature, extracted data from the literature and assessed the risk of bias of the studies included, and performed a meta-analysis of the data using RevMan 5.4 software. Results Seven studies with a total of 3 286 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that compared with the control group, insulin Icodec reduced HbA1c (WMD=-0.16%, 95%CI -0.26%-0.07%, P<0.01), increased the rate of HbA1c compliance (OR=1.50, 95%CI 1.29-1.74, and decreased HbA1c compliance (WMD=-0.16%, 95%CI -0.26%-0.07%, P<0.01). However, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in reducing FPG levels (WMD=-0.05 mmol/L, 95%CI -0.29-0.20 mmol/L, P=0.71), and it increased the body weight of patients (WMD=0.52 kg, 95%CI 0.22-0.82 kg, P<0.01), but increased the percentage of TIR in patients (WMD=5.86%, 95%CI 2.02%-9.70%, P=0.003). In terms of safety, although the incidence of hypoglycemic events (OR=1.37, 95%CI 1.17-1.61, P<0.01) was higher in the insulin Icodec group than in the control group, the incidence of anaphylaxis was higher in insulin Icodec group than in the control group (OR=0.91, 95%CI 0.64-1.31, P=0.62), injection site reaction (OR=1.03, 95%CI 0.63-1.66, P=0.92) and incidence of serious adverse events (OR=0.97, 95%CI 0.75-1.24, P=0.79), there was no significant difference between insulin Icodec and control groups. Conclusions Insulin Icodec can lower HbA1c levels in patients and increase the rate of HbA1c compliance without increasing the incidence of injection site reactions, allergic events and serious adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic segmentation suffers from boundary shift and shape deformation problems due to the neglect of overall guidance information. Motivated by that the object boundaries have a stronger representation for overall information of target objects, we propose a simple yet effective network, boundary-guidance network (BG-Net), for object consistency maintaining in semantic segmentation. In our work, we explore the pixels both near and far from the boundary, characterizing each pixel by utilizing pixel-boundary association. The boundary feature is integrated into the segmentation feature to mitigate boundary shift and shape deformation problem. We explicitly supervise the angle and distance information of pixels pointing to the nearest object boundary. Then the association can be learned by geometric modelling. Meanwhile, the low-level feature emphasized up-sampling (LFEU) module is designed to supplement the detail representation in high-level feature without direct interference. Finally, we evaluate our method on Cityscapes and CamVid datasets. The experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our BG-Net. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cell cycle is precisely controlled by numerous regulators. Although extensive studies have identified the cell cycle regulators in rice and Arabidopsis and classified into different gene families, relatively few cell cycle regulators were identified in maize. In this study, 110 putative core cell cycle–related genes in the maize genome were identified through sequence alignment analysis. Among them, 54 members of cyclin family were divided into the A-, B-, C-, D-, F-, L-, T-, and SDS-type subfamilies; 16 members of CDK family were partitioned into the A-, B-, C-, E-, F-, and G-type subfamilies; 19 members of E2F-DP family were separated into the E2F, PAP, DPB, CK, and DEL subfamilies; the remaining genes were nine ICK/KRPs, three EL2/SIMs, three CKSs, five Rbs, and one Wee1 kinase. Maize cell cycle–related genes unequally distributed on all chromosomes, and thirty-six pairs of them were identified as paralogs. The prediction of protein interaction found that 91 proteins were able to interact with each other forming 939 pairs of interactions with a probability more than 0.7. The expression analyses revealed that most of the cell cycle–related genes were expressed in all tissues. The transcription level of some genes in young tissues was higher than that in mature tissues of maize. Meanwhile, some genes from different families shared the similar expression pattern. Overall, the sequence characteristics and expression patterns of maize cell cycle–related genes vary with different gene families. Our results provide basic information for elucidating the functions of these genes in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The functional roles of the Wall Associated Kinase (WAK) and Wall Associated Kinase Like (WAKL) families in cellular expansion and developmental processes have been well-established. However, the molecular regulation of these kinases in maize development is limited due to the absence of comprehensive genome-wide studies. Results: Through an in-depth analysis, we identified 58 maize WAKL genes, and classified them into three distinct phylogenetic clusters. Moreover, structural prediction analysis showed functional conservation among WAKLs across maize. Promoter analysis uncovered the existence of cis-acting elements associated with the transcriptional regulation of ZmWAKL genes by Gibberellic acid (GA). To further elucidate the role of WAKL genes in maize kernels, we focused on three highly expressed genes, viz ZmWAKL38, ZmWAKL42 and ZmWAKL52. Co-expression analyses revealed that their expression patterns exhibited a remarkable correlation with GA-responsive transcription factors (TF) TF5, TF6, and TF8, which displayed preferential expression in kernels. RT-qPCR analysis validated the upregulation of ZmWAKL38, ZmWAKL42, ZmWAKL52, TF5, TF6, and TF8 following GA treatment. Additionally, ZmWAKL52 showed significant increase of transcription in the present of TF8, with ZmWAKL52 localizing in both the plasma membrane and cell wall. TF5 positively regulated ZmWAKL38, while TF6 positively regulated ZmWAKL42. Conclusions: Collectively, these findings provide novel insights into the characterization and regulatory mechanisms of specific ZmWAKL genes involved in maize kernel development, offering prospects for their utilization in maize breeding programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present pre-processing of the As-and-Sb-bearing refractory gold ore has some flaws in the tediously flow, low treatment, and metal extraction efficiency. Based on these considerations, a whole wet gold extraction way combined Mn-oxide hydrochloric acid oxidation with acidic chlorination leaching for the As-and-Sb-bearing refractory gold ore was proposed in this study. The dissolution efficiencies of As, Sb, and Au leaching ratios, mineral phase transformation, and electrochemical behavior during the process were measured. It can be illustrated that the pre-oxidation of the gold ore by Mn-oxide oxidation controlled Au-extraction efficiency, and with the dissolution of 93.3 % As and 92.5 % Sb from the gold ore in the usage of Mn-oxide-assisted hydrochloric acid oxidation process, it obtains Au extraction ratio of 97.2 % by chlorination leaching. The pretreatment efficiency of the unmanageable gold ore is positively related to temperature and acidity increased due to the redox of Mn-oxides and As-Sb-Fe-sulphides. The wet process performs as an efficient non-cyanide method for gold extraction from the As-and Sb-bearing sulphide refractory gold ore. [Display omitted] • A new wet approach for Au-extraction from high As-Sb-bearing refractory gold ore. • Mn-oxide hydrochloric oxidation intensifies Au-chlorination extraction efficiency. • Harmful As-and Sb-sulphides synchronous preprocessing was proposed for Au-ore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aluminium phosphide (ALP) and aluminium zinc phosphide (ZnP), the two main ingredients of fumigation drugs, are commonly used to kill insects or rodents in grain. When exposed to water, highly toxic phosphine gas is released and absorbed through the respiratory or digestive tract. Phosphine gas could non-selectively block cytochrome oxidase, inhibit electron transfer and suppress oxidative phosphorylation, leading to cellular hypoxia and organ dysfunction. The characteristic clinical manifestations are refractory shock and metabolic acidosis with high mortality. However, patients with ALP poisoning have a chance to be cured. Here, we report a case of oral ALP poisoning that was successfully treated by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) combined with continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) during frequent ventricular fibrillation and cardiac dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To retrospectively investigate the clinical characteristics, prognosis, treatment, and therapy outcome of Chinese patients with primary testicular lymphoma (PTL). we collected data of 49 PTL patients from four hospitals over 13 years. The median age was 63 years old. We described the clinical characteristics of the patients including the laterality, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), pathology classification, stage, International prognostic index (IPI) scores and more. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 34 patients and partial remission (PR) in 3 patients; Progressive disease (PD) was detected in 11 patients, and 10 patients died. The average progression-free survival (PFS) of all patients was 43.92 months, and the average overall survival (OS) was 47.55 months. The Ann Arbor stage, IPI score, and LDH were associated with OS, while Ann Arbor stage, IPI score, LDH, and histotype were significantly associated with PFS. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy following orchiectomy was associated with a significantly longer PFS. Most patients can achieve CR after induced therapy or orchiectomy. However, there are many associated prognostic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many heavy metal ions have been discharged into the environment, which is threatening human health. Herein, the β-cyclodextrin-modified molybdenum disulfide composite (β-CD/MoS2) was prepared to adsorb Cr(VI) from water. The results demonstrated that the retention of Cr(VI) onto β-CD/MoS2 was dependent on pH and independent of coexisting ions. The removal capacity of β-CD/MoS2 for Cr(VI) reached 156.8 mg/g, and the removal process was endothermic. According to the characterization analysis, the uptake of Cr(VI) onto β-CD/MoS2 was governed by electrostatic attraction. Besides, the oxygen-containing groups were also responsible for the capture of Cr(VI). This work can offer new sight into the uptake of Cr(VI) from the ecological system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxide porous microspheres as novel abrasives have potential application in efficient and non-damage chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) due to their uniform mechanical and/or absorption properties. In this work, solid silica ( s SiO 2 ) cores were coated with mesoporous silica ( m SiO 2 ) shells via a modified Stöber method using vinyltrimethoxysilane as silica source and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as structure directing agent. The obtained allotropic silica ( s SiO 2 / m SiO 2 ) samples were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analyzer, transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electronic microscopy and N 2 adsorption–desorption. The effects of the thickness of m SiO 2 shell on the CMP behavior for silicon dioxide films were evaluated by atomic force microscopy. The CMP results indicated that the as-prepared s SiO 2 / m SiO 2 abrasives presented a much higher material removal rate, lower surface roughness as well as lower topographical variations than those of traditional solid silica abrasives. Furthermore, the material removal rate and surface roughness increased with the increase of the thickness of m SiO 2 shell. The enhanced polishing performance might be contributed to the improvement of the physical and/or chemical environments in the local contacting region between abrasives and wafers. According to the indentation-based mechanism, these oxide-CMP results were rationalized from both chemical corrosion and mechanical abrasion actions. This work constructed a relationship between polishing behavior and microstructure of novel allotropic silica abrasives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triptycene incorporated carbon nitride (T -CN) with donor–acceptor structure and remarkable visible-light photoreactivity toward H 2 evolution from water and CO 2 -to-CO conversion. [Display omitted] Polymeric carbon nitride (CN) has evoked considerable attention in photocatalysis, however, its π-deficiency conjugated frameworks engendering weak visible-light absorption and rapid charge recombination hinder the practical utilizations. Herein, a novel donor–acceptor (D-A) conjugated polymer based on triptycene incorporated carbon nitride (T -CN) has been facilely prepared by thermal copolymerization of melamine and 2,6,14-triaminotriptycene. Combined with the density functional theory (DFT) calculations, it is found that the formation of intramolecular charge transfer and the extended π-conjugative effect in the D-A structure contribute to a broadened light-harvesting spectral range, a higher charge separation/transfer efficiency and more active sites of T -CN for photoredox reactions. The T -CN catalyst accomplished superior visible-light photocatalytic performance in both hydrogen evolving and carbon dioxide reduction. The optimal T -CN catalyst exhibited the highest hydrogen evolution rate of 80.9 ± 1.3 μmol·h−1 and carbon monoxide production rate of 8.1 ± 0.2 μmol·h−1, which are ca. 8-fold and 20-fold of bulk CN, respectively. The convenient strategy of constructing D-A conjugated structure opens up a new intriguing avenue toward the rational creation of efficient polymeric nanomaterials for versatile applications of solar fuel production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A new method for multi-damage extraction and classification of gear system is proposed. [•] Using PCA and KPCA to extracte the signal feature of gear system. [•] Five kinds of fault signal are analyzed under 300rpm, 900rpm, 1200rpm and 1500rpm. [•] Proposed method can be used to identify various faults (multi-fault) and damage level. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Our previous studies showed chronic exposure to manganese chloride (Mn) causes locomotor impairment and lesion of dopaminergic neurons in substantia nigra (SN). But effects of acute Mn exposure on locomotor ability, SN dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons were not clear. In the current study, Mn was injected into the striatum of GAD67-GFP mice. Twenty-four hours after injection, locomotor ability was quantitatively evaluated with behavioral tests (rotarod test and open field test). Meanwhile, the numbers of dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons were counted through immunofluorescent staining for TH and GFP respectively, and activations of dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons were evaluated by double immunofluorescent labeling for TH/Fos and GFP/Fos, respectively. Behavioral tests showed a significant locomotor impairment 24h after Mn injection. The numbers of SN dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons were not altered significantly 24h after Mn injection; however, some of SN GABAergic neurons were activated and dopaminergic neurons were left inactivated. In addition, there were still a large number of Mn-activated neurons that fell into neither dopaminergic nor GABAergic criteria. Our data suggested that activation of SN GABAergic neurons but not lesion of dopaminergic neurons, which was found to play an important role in the Mn-induced chronic neurotoxicity in our previous studies, contributed partially to Mn-induced acute locomotor impairment. Therefore we come to the conclusion that Mn exposure can induce acute or chronic neurotoxicity via different neuronal elements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Recent studies have shown that lipocalin-2 (LCN2) has multiple functions involved in various biological and pathological processes including energy homeostasis, cancer, inflammation, and apoptosis. We aimed to investigate the effect of LCN2 on apoptosis that influences the pathogenetic process of metabolic diseases and cancer. Methods: We performed a proteomics analysis of livers taken from LCN2-knockout mice and wild type mice by using label-free LC-MS/MS quantitative proteomics. Results: Proteomic analysis revealed that there were 132 significantly differentially expressed proteins (49 upregulated and 83 downregulated) among 2140 proteins in the liver of LCN2-knockout mice compared with wild type mice. Of these, seven apoptosis-associated proteins were significantly upregulated and seven apoptosis-associated proteins downregulated. Conclusion: Proteomics demonstrated that there were seven upregulated and seven downregulated apoptosis-associated proteins in liver of LCN2-knockout mice. It is important to clarify the effect of LCN2 on apoptosis that might contribute to the pathogenesis of insulin resistance, cancer, and various nervous system diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial diseases are a group of heterogeneous genetic metabolic diseases caused by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or nuclear DNA (nDNA) gene mutations. Mining the gene-disease association of mitochondrial diseases is helpful for understanding the pathogenesis of mitochondrial diseases, for carrying out early clinical diagnosis for related diseases, and for formulating better treatment strategies for mitochondrial diseases. This project researched the relationship between genes and mitochondrial diseases, combined the Malacards, Genecards, and MITOMAP disease databases to mine the knowledge on mitochondrial diseases and genes, used database integration and the sequencing method of the phenolyzer tool to integrate disease-related genes from different databases, and sorted the disease-related candidate genes. Finally, we screened 531 mitochondrial related diseases, extracted 26,723 genes directly or indirectly related to mitochondria, collected 24,602 variant sites on 1474 genes, and established a mitochondrial disease knowledge base (MitDisease) with a core of genes, diseases, and variants. This knowledge base is helpful for clinicians who want to combine the results of gene testing for diagnosis, to understand the occurrence and development of mitochondrial diseases, and to develop corresponding treatment methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is involved in the regulation of a wide range of biological processes. In Arabidopsis, it has been well-known that SnRK2s are the central components of the ABA signaling pathway that control the balance between plant growth and stress response, but the functions of ZmSnRK2 in maize are rarely reported. Therefore, the study of ZmSnRK2 is of great importance to understand the ABA signaling pathways in maize. Results: In this study, 14 ZmSnRK2 genes were identified in the latest version of maize genome database. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that ZmSnRK2s are divided into three subclasses based on their diversity of C-terminal domains. The exon-intron structures, phylogenetic, synteny and collinearity analysis indicated that SnRK2s, especially the subclass III of SnRK2, are evolutionally conserved in maize, rice and Arabidopsis. Subcellular localization showed that ZmSnRK2 proteins are localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm. The RNA-Seq datasets and qRT-PCR analysis showed that ZmSnRK2 genes exhibit spatial and temporal expression patterns during the growth and development of different maize tissues, and the transcript levels of some ZmSnRK2 genes in kernel are significantly induced by ABA and sucrose treatment. In addition, we found that ZmSnRK2.10, which belongs to subclass III, is highly expressed in kernel and activated by ABA. Overexpression of ZmSnRK2.10 partially rescued the ABA-insensitive phenotype of snrk2.2/2.3 double and snrk2.2/2.3/2.6 triple mutants and led to delaying plant flowering in Arabidopsis. Conclusion: The SnRK2 gene family exhibits a high evolutionary conservation and has expanded with whole-genome duplication events in plants. The ZmSnRK2s expanded in maize with whole-genome and segmental duplication, not tandem duplication. The expression pattern analysis of ZmSnRK2s in maize offers important information to study their functions. Study of the functions of ZmSnRK.10 in Arabidopsis suggests that the ABA-dependent members of SnRK2s are evolutionarily conserved in plants. Our study elucidated the structure and evolution of SnRK2 genes in plants and provided a basis for the functional study of ZmSnRK2s protein in maize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of our study was to compare microcystic and macrocystic congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation (CCAMs) through prenatal characteristics, perinatal outcome, postnatal management and development after consultation in our prenatal diagnosis centre. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 227 cases prenatally diagnosed as CCAM in our hospital within three years. One hundred and eighty-one cases continued their pregnancy and 46 pregnancies were terminated. One hundred and fifteen of 227 cases were microcystic and 112 were macrocystic. The prenatal ultrasound characteristics of two types showed no statistically significant differences, despite that CVR of macrocystic CCAMs was mildly greater than microcystic. None of recorded cases received surgical intervention in utero. Compared with healthy foetuses, CCAMs presented with higher percentage of polyhydramnios and male foetuses, larger amount of postpartum blood loss and longer duration of NICU hospitalisation. Compared with 46 legal abortions, continued pregnancy cases had a smaller CVR, less polyhydramnios, cardiac shift and hydrops. One hundred and seventy-nine cases were followed up after birth and 174 babies were asymptomatic. Thirty one cases received successful surgical resection. In conclusion, the prenatally diagnosed CCAMs have a good short-term prognosis and conservative management is a reasonable option in asymptomatic fetuses. Microcystic and macrocystic CCAMs both presented similar prenatal courses and perinatal prognoses. Conservative management, prenatally and postnatally, could be accepted in selected cases. What is already known on this subject? Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation is a well-known developmental abnormality of the lung. The prognosis for most CCAMs is good, but the prenatal and postnatal management remains controversial. What do the results of this study add? This study is one of the largest case cohorts to conclude that microcystic and macrocystic CCAMs both presented similar prenatal courses and perinatal prognoses. Conservative management is a reasonable option in asymptomatic babies. What are the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or further research? A comprehensive assessment by an experienced multidisciplinary team is necessary to forbid blinding abortions of CCAMs. Conservative management prenatally and postnatally could be accepted in most asymptomatic cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The real world contains many kinds of complex network. Using influence nodes in complex networks can promote or inhibit the spread of information. Identifying influential nodes has become a hot topic around the world. Most of the existing algorithms used for influential node identification are based on the structure of the network such as the degree of the nodes. However, the attribute information of nodes also affects the ranking of nodes' influence. In this paper, we consider both the attribute information between nodes and the structure of networks. Therefore, the similarity ratio, based on attribute information, and the degree ratio, based on structure derived from trust-value, are proposed. The trust–PageRank (TPR) algorithm is proposed to identify influential nodes in complex networks. Finally, several real networks from different fields are selected for experiments. Compared with some existing algorithms, the results suggest that TPR more rationally and effectively identifies the influential nodes in networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To illustrate the method of emergency cerclage with the balloon tamponade and demonstrate the efficacy of this surgery method. Methods: Procedures of the balloon tamponade assisted emergency cerclage were reviewed in detail and outcomes of 39 patients treated with this way were evaluated. Results: From 2017 to 2019, emergency cerclage was successfully performed in 39 patients with a dilated cervix and bulging fetal membranes, assisted by the balloon tamponade. The diameter of the bulging prolapsed membranes ranged from 0.0–10.0 cm, with a median of 2.0 cm. Prolongation of the pregnancy period was from 8 to 138 days, with a median of 29 days. No maternal complications including infections, cervical laceration and cervical bleeding were observed perioperative period. Conclusion: Emergency cerclage is an effective way to prolong gestational period in patients with advanced cervical dilatation and bulging membranes. The balloon tamponade assisted emergency cerclage makes the replacement of fetal membranes back into the uterine cavity easier and effectively, then a successful and convenient emergency cerclage can be performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract For chemical and mechanical polishing/planarization (CMP) applications, the finished surface roughness, polishing efficiency, and defectivity critically depend on the type of abrasive particles and their physical and surface chemical characteristics. Both of core/shell structured inorganic/organic hybrids and porous particles exhibit important potentials in achieving high-efficiency and damage-free CMP. In this work, the polystyrene (PS)-core/mesoporous silica (mSiO 2)-shell hybrid particles with a comparable shell thickness and tunable core size were synthesized via a modified Stöber process using cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as the template and tetraethyl orthosilicate as the silica precursor. The as-obtained PS/mSiO 2 hybrid particles were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, FESEM, HRTEM, STEM-EDX, HAADF-STEM, DLS, and N 2 sorption-desorption measurements. The mechanical properties (elastic moduli) of PS/mSiO 2 hybrids were investigated via atomic force microscopy (AFM) nano-indentation using Hertz contact model. The effect of the abrasive particle size of PS/mSiO 2 hybrids on CMP performances for oxidized silicon wafers was investigated in terms of root-mean-square (RMS) roughness and material removal rate (MRR). The PS/mSiO 2 hybrid abrasives presented a reduced roughness and an enhanced MRR with respect to non-porous solid silica abrasives with a comparable particle size. The improved CMP performance might be attributed to the reduction of overall hardness and/or elastic modulus and the improvement of interfacial tribo-chemical wear, resulting from the abundant meso-channels in the silica shells. Furthermore, the RMS roughness and MRR decreased as the PS core size decreased for PS/mSiO 2 hybrids with a comparable mSiO 2 shell thickness. The presented work describes our effort to engineer hybrid abrasives by regulating their polymer core size in order to optimize the CMP performance. Highlights • Polystyrene supported meso-silica hybrid particles with tunable sizes were obtained. • The mechanical properties (elastic moduli) of hybrids were explored in terms of AFM. • Meso-silica shells contributed to enhanced elastic responses of hybrid particles. • The dependency of particle size and CMP performance of hybrid abrasives was tracked. • Reduced E and H and enhanced tribo-chemical wear resulted in superior CMP behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impaired motor function, due to the dysfunction of the basal ganglia, is the most common syndrome of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), and its etiology remains poorly understood. Neural oxidative stress is shown to be the major cellular defects contributing to HE pathogenesis. Mitochondrial uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) has been implicated in neuroprotection in several neurological disorders. We explored the neuroprotective role of UCP2 within the substantia nigra pars reticulate (SNr), the output structure of the basal ganglia, in HE. The toxin thioacetamide (TAA) induced HE mice showed hypolocomotion, which was associated with decreased ATP levels and loss of antioxidant substances SOD and GSH within the SNr. Stable overexpression of UCP2 via AAV-UCP2 under the control of the UCP2 promoter in bilateral SNr preserved local ATP level, increased antioxidant substances, and ameliorated locomotion defects after severe liver failure. Contrary to UCP2 overexpression, targeted knockdown of UCP2 within bilateral SNr via AAV-UCP2 shRNA exacerbated the impaired mitochondrial dysfunction and hypokinesia in HE mice. The modulatory effects of UCP2 was due to mediation of K + -Cl − cotransporter-2 (KCC2) expression on GABAergic neurons of SNr. Taken together, our results demonstrate that UCP2 exerts a neural protective role at the subcortical level by increasing the resistance of neurons to oxidative stress, which may offer a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of motor dysfunction diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Migraine is a highly disabling primary headache associated with a high socioeconomic burden and a generally high prevalence. The clinical management of migraine remains a challenge. This study was undertaken to identify potential serum biomarkers of migraine. Using Liquid Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS), the metabolomic profile of migraine was compared with healthy individuals. Principal component analysis (PCA) and Orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (orthoPLS-DA) showed the metabolomic profile of migraine is distinguishable from controls. Volcano plot analysis identified 10 serum metabolites significantly decreased during migraine. One of these was serotonin, and the other 9 were amino acids. Pathway analysis and enrichment analysis showed tryptophan metabolism (serotonin metabolism), arginine and proline metabolism, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis are the three most prominently altered pathways in migraine. ROC curve analysis indicated Glycyl- l -proline, N -Methyl- dl -Alanine and l -Methionine are potential sensitive and specific biomarkers for migraine. Our results show Glycyl- l -proline, N -Methyl- dl -Alanine and l -Methionine may be as specific or more specific for migraine than serotonin which is the traditional biomarker of migraine. We propose that therapeutic manipulation of these metabolites or metabolic pathways may be helpful in the prevention and treatment of migraine. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Serotonin and 9 amino acids are significantly decreased during migraine. • Tryptophan metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis are the three most prominently pathways in migraine. • Glycyl- l -proline, N -Methyl- dl -Alanine and l -Methionine are potential sensitive and specific biomarkers for migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Visual-acoustic-thermal effects on overall comfort of the elderly were investigated. • Elderly adults perceived traffic sound as uncomfortable with LAeq higher than 66.1 dBA. • Acoustic and visual environments significantly affected TSV and TCV. • Acoustic and thermal comfort tended towards a one-vote veto relative to overall comfort. • A predictive model for overall comfort was established using binary logistic regression. We selected typical residential outdoor spaces and five common sounds (birdsong, dance music, traditional opera, conversation and traffic sound) with three A-weighted equivalent continuous sound pressure level (LAeq) (60, 70 and 80 dBA) as visual-acoustic-thermal conditions. 458 elderly adults completed a subjective questionnaire while environmental parameters (meteorological parameters, illumination intensity (LUX), visible green index (VGI) and LAeq) were simultaneously measured to determine effects of visual-acoustic-thermal perceptions on overall comfort. We found that: 1) When physiological equivalent temperature (PET) was above 43.80 °C, the elderly felt thermally uncomfortable. Older adults perceived traffic sound as acoustic uncomfortable when LAeq was higher than 66.1 dBA. A higher VGI decreased the sensitivity of respondents to LUX. 2) Thermal sensation vote (TSV) and thermal comfort vote (TCV) were susceptible to the acoustic and visual environments. The influence of the visual environment and PET on acoustic sensation vote (ASV) and acoustic comfort vote (ACV) were not significant. We found a significant correlation between PET and sunlight sensation vote (SSV). 3) Acoustic and thermal comfort had a one-vote veto tendency relative to overall comfort, but no absolute veto power. Thermal comfort was the most important factor affecting overall comfort in summer while acoustic comfort was the most important in spring. 4) A binary logistic regression to predict overall comfort of elderly adults had 84.7 % accuracy, indicating a good performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the methods of Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) based on the patient reports internationally and referring to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guide, some scholars developed this PRO of stroke which is consistent with China’s national conditions, and using it the feel of stroke patients was introduced into the clinical efficacy evaluation system of stoke. “Ischemic Stroke TCM Syndrome Factor Diagnostic Scale (ISTSFDS)” and “Ischemic Stroke TCM Syndrome Factor Evaluation Scale (ISTSFES)” were by “Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (973 Program) (number 2003CB517102).” ISTSFDS can help to classify and diagnose the CM syndrome reasonably and objectively with application of syndrome factors. Six syndrome factors, internal-wind syndrome, internal-fire syndrome, phlegm-dampness syndrome, blood-stasis syndrome, qi-deficiency syndrome, and yin-deficiency syndrome, were included in ISTSFDS and ISTSFES. TCM syndrome factor was considered to be present if the score was greater than or equal to 10 according to ISTSFDS. In our study, patients with phlegm-heat syndrome were recruited, who met the diagnosis of both “phlegm-dampness” and “internal-fire” according to ISTSFDS. ISTSFES was used to assess the syndrome severity; in our study it was used to assess the severity of phlegm-heat syndrome (phlegm-heat syndrome scores = phlegm-dampness syndrome scores + internal-fire syndrome scores). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sesamin reduced polymorphonuclear neutrophils infiltration and exudate volume. • Sesamin inhibited cytokines release, PMN markers level and the degree of lung inflammation. • Sesamin inhibited NF-κB pathway activation in lung tissues. • Sesamin upregulated the expression of A20 and TAX1BP1 in lung tissues. • Sesamin inhibited NF-κB pathway by upregulation of TAX1BP1 and A20 in lung tissues. Sesamin is a major component in lignans of sesame seeds, has been described to possess a lot of biological activity. The main objective of our study was to investigate the inhibitory effect and novel molecular mechanisms of sesamin on carrageenan-induced lung inflammation in rats. Here we showed that sesamin can obviously reduce polymorphonuclear neutrophils infiltration and exudate volume. Further studies exhibited sesamin can inhibit cytokines release, polymorphonuclear neutrophils markers production and the degree of lung tissues injury. Western blot analysis revealed that sesamin can inhibit the TRAF6 expression and NF-κB pathway activation in lung tissue. We found that sesamin can increase the expression of A20 and TAX1BP1 in lung tissues, and the interaction between the two molecules. In conclusion, all these results demonstrated that sesamin can attenuate carrageenan-induced lung inflammation, the mechanisms that may be related to upregulation of the novel target A20 and TAX1BP1 which can negative regulation for NF-κB pathway. Importantly, this is the first evidence showing that TAX1BP1 can be as a novel regulatory target to attenuate the lung inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the inhomogeneous distribution of electric fields in insulating equipment and components, five nonlinear-conductance composite materials based on epoxy resin (EP) (nano-SiC/EP, nano-ZnO/EP, micro-ZnO/EP, nano-SiC/ZnO/EP, and nano-micro-SiC/ZnO/EP), were prepared using nano-SiC, nano-ZnO, and micro-ZnO particles as fillers. The mass fractions of the inorganic fillers were 1, 3, and 5 wt%, respectively. The direct current (DC) voltage characteristics of the composites showed that the electrical conductivities and nonlinear coefficients of the composites utilizing single-filler types increased with increasing inorganic filler content. Under the same conditions, the conductivity and nonlinear coefficient of SiC/EP were both larger than those of the nano-ZnO/EP and micro-ZnO/EP. However, the nonlinear coefficient of the composites was significantly affected by the simultaneous addition of the two inorganic fillers, micro-ZnO and nano-SiC. When the content ratio of micro-ZnO to nano-SiC was 2:3, the nonlinear coefficient of the composite reached a maximum value of 3.506, significantly higher than those of the other samples. Compared with the nano-SiC/EP, micro-ZnO/EP and nano-ZnO/EP composites with 5 wt% inorganic filler, the nonlinear coefficient of the two-filler composite was greater by a factor of 0.82, 2.48, and 5.01, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]