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Moisture has been a crucial problem during the operation of cable systems. When we are faced with polypropylene (PP)-based insulation for the development of cable systems, there are few reports on the effects of water intrusion on the electrical performances of PP. In this study, the water absorption characteristics of isotactic PP (iPP) and atactic PP (aPP), as well as their effects on volume resistivity and relative permittivity, were investigated. The structure evolution during the water absorption process of the two PPs was also compared via infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction analyses. The results show that both of the two PPs show a saturation of water absorption at ~216 h, even though there are structural differences. And water intrusion into bulk could increase the interplanar spacing of iPP while decreasing the interplanar spacing of aPP. Moreover, with the increase in water absorption, the volume resistivity of the two PPs show a decreasing trend while the relative permittivity presents an increasing behavior, which shows an almost linear correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of 2-substituted 3-selanyl-chromenones are readily prepared through a cascade selanylation/cyclization of alkynyl aryl ketones with sulfonoselenoates. This transformation is performed under metal-free conditions and does not require an additional oxidant. It also has the advantage of broad functional group tolerance and scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we demonstrate that the first example of harmaline scaffolds serving as acceptor/acceptor-based N-C-C synthons triggered the ring opening and skeletal reconstruction of 3-vinyl benzofuranones for the construction of a library of skeletally diverse polycyclic harmaline scaffolds. These products were smoothly afforded in up to 77% yield, 420: 1 dr under catalyst-free conditions, and expanded the chemical space of biologically significant harmaline derivative species. All synthetic compounds showed cytotoxic activity against tumor cells, especially compound 3at, which exhibited selective cytotoxicity against A549 cells and lower cytotoxicity against normal cells MRC-5 and HK-2. In further mechanism research, 3at inhibited A549 cell proliferation through the G1 phase arrest, induced A549 cell apoptosis through internal and external apoptosis pathways, and suppressed the migration and invasion abilities of A549 cells. These data indicated that compound 3at is the most effective compound in the series and can serve as a promising precursor for drug development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robot manipulators as an indispensable part of automatic operation are becoming increasingly important in intelligent manufacturing systems, such as grinding and assembly. Although control methods of robot manipulators have been extensively studied, high-precision robots still face new challenges from uncertainties caused by changes in the environment and enhancement of interference. As a consequence, the neural network-based observer is utilized to reduce the influence of uncertainties and external disturbances. In this work, a new kind of nonlinear disturbance observer is designed which could well function with observed states. To improve the control efficiency and response characteristic, a kind of new integral sliding manifold is devised and the control input is generated via backstepping techniques. The stability is proved with Lyapunov theory, and the experimental results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of chiral ligands to fine-tune stereocontrol in asymmetric catalysis is of great demand. To diversify the Py-2NO ligand library recently developed by our group, herein, we synthesized six new Py-2NO ligands, determined the absolute configuration via X-ray crystallographic study of ligand L1g, and applied these ligands in the Ni(II)-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition reaction of indoles and β,γ-unsaturated α-keto esters. Excellent yields (up to 93%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) were obtained for a wide range of substrates under mild conditions. In addition, we discovered the presence of axial chirality in the C(aryl)–N(amide) bond in the tertiary amine-derived N-oxide product via X-ray crystallographic study. Owing to the intriguing characteristics of atropisomerism, we believe that this reaction will add an important member to the axial chiral family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Location-Routing Problem (LRP) becomes a more intricate subject when the limits of capacities of vehicles and warehouses are considered, which is an NP-hard problem. Moreover, as the number of vehicles increases, the solution to LRP is exacerbated because of the complexity of transportation and the combination of routes. To solve the problem, this paper proposed a Discrete Assembly Combination-Delivery (DACA) strategy based on, the Binary Equilibrium Optimizer (BiEO) algorithm, in addition, this paper also proposes a mixed-integer linear programming model for the problem of this paper. Our primary objective is to address both the route optimization problem and the assembly group sum problem concurrently. Our BiEO algorithm was designed as discrete in decision space to meet the requirements of the LRP represented by the DACA strategy catering to the multi-vehicle LRP scenario. The efficacy of the BiEO algorithm with the DACA strategy is demonstrated. through empirical analysis utilizing authentic data from Changchun City, China, Remarkably, the experiments reveal that the BiEO algorithm outperforms conventional methods, specifically GA, PSO, and DE algorithms, resulting in reduced costs. Notably, the results show the DACA strategy enables the simultaneous optimization of the LRP and the vehicle routing problem (VRP), ultimately leading to cost reduction. This innovative algorithm proficiently tackles both the assembly group sum and route optimization problems intrinsic to multi-level LRP instances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon carbide (SiC) is regarded as a promising semiconductor owing to its wide band gap and high thermal conductivity. Meanwhile, it possesses issues such as interface properties, which may affect the performance of SiC substrate power devices (e.g. MOSFET), especially when compared with similarly structured silicon appliances. Given that the development of SiC semiconductor devices has a number of commonalities with conventional silicon-based semiconductors, titanium dioxide (TiO2), a material that has a great track record in Si-based semiconductor devices, has been chosen for investigation in this work. Although TiO2 is not capable of being a gate dielectric alone on the SiC substrate because of its relatively narrow band gap, it can be adopted into composite or multilayer gate dielectrics to reach satisfying characteristics. As such, the interfacial state and heterostructure between TiO2 and SiC remain worthy being researched. In the present study, the properties of atomic layer deposited (ALD) TiO2 films on silicon substrates were compared with those on 4H-SiC substrates via x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and x-ray reflectometry. It is shown that the interface state between ALD TiO2 film and both types of substrates as-deposited have similar chemical conditions, whereby TiO2 layer barely react with substrates, containing great amount of oxygen vacancies. According to band alignment calculations, heterostructure of both samples are type-II heterojunctions with negatively shifted conduction band. Although the large bandwidth of 4H-SiC hinders the use of TiO2 as a gate dielectric in power devices, this structure has the potential for other semiconductor products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Yi-Qi Cong-Ming (YQCM) decoction has been widely used to prevent age-related hearing loss (ARHL), the most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. Objective: To explore the mechanism of YQCM decoction in the treatment of ARHL. Materials and methods: The chemical constituents of YQCM were screened from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database. Potential targets of YQCM against ARHL were predicted by DrugBank, GeneCards, and OMIM database. Protein-protein network and enrichment analysis were used for exploring possible molecular mechanisms. Molecular docking and an in vitro model of ARHL by exposing auditory cells with 100 μM H2O2 for 3 h were applied. Cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨM) were detected by CCK-8 and high-content analysis. γH2AX and cleaved caspase-3 were detected by Western blot. Results: The main compounds have good affinities with hub targets, especially AKT1, PTGS2, and CASP3. GO and KEGG analysis showed that the main biological process and key targets were related to negative regulation of the apoptotic process. H2O2 treatment could reduce the cell viability by 68% and impaired ΔΨM, while 90 μg/mL YQCM pre-treatment could restore the cell viability by 97.45% and increase ΔΨM (2-fold higher). YQCM pre-treatment also reduced γH2AX and cleaved caspase-3 protein levels. Conclusions: Our study suggested that YQCM prevents ARHL by modulating the apoptosis process in auditory hair cells. Moreover, this study proved that bioinformatics analysis combined with molecular docking and cell model is a promising method to explore other possible pharmacological interventions of ARHL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological valley photonics has emerged as a new frontier in photonics with many promising applications. Previous valley boundary transport relies on kink states at internal boundaries between two topologically distinct domains. However, recent studies have revealed a novel class of topological chiral edge states (CESs) at external boundaries of valley materials, which have remained elusive in photonics. Here, topological CESs are proposed and experimentally demonstrated in valley photonic metamaterials (VPMMs) by accurately tuning on‐site edge potentials. Moreover, the VPMMs work at deep‐subwavelength scales. Thus, the supported CESs are highly confined and self‐guiding without relying on a cladding layer to prevent leakage radiation. Via direct near‐field measurements, the bulk bandgap, the edge dispersions, and the robust edge transport passing through sharp corners, which are hallmark signatures of the CESs, are observed. This work paves a way to explore novel topological edge states in valley photonics and sheds light on robust and miniaturized photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Neovascularization of injured tendons prolongs the proliferative phase of healing, but prolonged neovascularization may cause improper healing and pain. Currently, ultrasound Doppler imaging is used for measuring the neovascularization of injured tendons (e.g., Achilles tendon). However, the resolution of state-of-the-art clinical ultrasound machines is insufficient for visualizing the neovascularization in finger tendons. In this study, a high-frequency micro-Doppler imaging (HFμDI) based on 40-MHz ultrafast ultrasound imaging was proposed for visualizing the neovascularization in injured finger tendons during multiple rehabilitation phases. Method: The vessel visibility was enhanced through a block-wise singular value decomposition filter and several curvilinear structure enhancement strategies, including the bowler-hat transform and Hessian-based vessel enhancement filtering. HFμDI was verified through small animal kidney and spleen imaging because the related vessel structure patterns of mice are well studied. Five patients with finger tendon injuries underwent HFμDI examination at various rehabilitation phases after surgery (weeks 11–56), and finger function evaluations were performed for comparisons. Results: The results of small animal experiments revealed that the proposed HFμDI provides excellent microvasculature imaging performance; the contrast-to-noise ratio of HFμDI was approximately 15 dB higher than that of the conventional singular value decomposition filter, and the minimum detectable vessel size for mouse kidney was 35 μm without the use of contrast agent. In the human study, neovascularization was clearly observed in injured finger tendons during the early phase of healing (weeks 11–21), but it regressed from week 52 to 56. Finger rehabilitation appears to help reduce neovascularization; neovascular density decreased by approximately 1.8%–8.0% in participants after 4 weeks of rehabilitation. Conclusion: The experimental results verified the performance of HFμDI for microvasculature imaging and its potential for injured finger tendon evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides the unique shape memory effect and superelasticity, NiTi alloys also show excellent damping properties. However, the high damping effect is highly temperature-dependent, and only exists during cooling or heating over the temperature range where martensitic transformation occurs. As a result, expanding the temperature range of martensite transformation is an effective approach to widen the working temperature window with high damping performance. In this work, layer-structured functionally graded NiTi alloys were produced by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) alternating two or three sets of process parameters. The transformation behavior shows that austenite transforms gradually into martensite over a wide temperature range during cooling, and multiple transformation peaks are observed. A microstructure composed of alternating layers of B2/B19′ phases is obtained at room temperature. The functionally graded sample shows high damping performance over a wide temperature range of up to 70 K, which originates from the gradual formation of the martensite phase during cooling. This work proves the potential of L-PBF to create NiTi alloys with high damping properties over a wide temperature range for damping applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks (DNNs) are widely used in designing a metasurface; however, data acquisition from simulations is expensive in terms of time and effort. Inspired by image cropping, a data cropping algorithm is proposed that can significantly reduce the simulation time required in the DNN pre‐training process. The algorithm crops the simulated data and adds random data to augment the amount of the dataset. By applying the proposed target‐driven DNN, an absorptive frequency‐selective transmission (AFST) metasurface structure with a low profile and a broad transmission band is designed. A transmission band from 7.5 to 14 GHz and an absorption rate as large as 0.75 beyond the transmission band are observed. The proposed method provides an efficient strategy to design metasurfaces and a fast solution to the electromagnetic inverse design problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose. DCM (diabetic cardiomyopathy), which may lead to significant complications including cardiovascular lesions, arrhythmia, and even heart failure, has a beginning element now known to be myocardial energy rebuilding. There are limited research on Celastrol's ability to guard against this in the United States and elsewhere. Since it has not been known, whether Celastrol could reverse the early energy remodeling process, thus, it was hypothesized that triptolide Celastrol is suitable for the reversal of early myocardial energy remodeling in DCM. And our aim is to predict the targets and underlying mechanism of Celastrol in reversing the early energy remodeling for DCM. Methods. Data from TCMSP and GEO databases were utilized to identify targets for Celastrol on DCM. The relationship between the major targets and conventional glycolipid metabolism was obtained with Spearman correlation analysis. Experiments on animals were conducted utilizing healthy control (HC), low-dose Celastrol interventions (CL), and no intervention groups (NC), all of which had 8 SD rats in each group. To study alterations in signaling molecules, RT-PCR was performed. Results. There were 76 common targets and 5 major targets for Celastrol-DCM. Celastrol have been found to regulate AGE-RAGE, TNF, MAPK, TOLL-like receptors, insulin resistance, and other signaling pathways, and they are closely linked to adipocytokines, fatty acid metabolism, glycolipid biosynthesis, and glycosylphosphati-dylinositol biosynthesis on DCM. These five major targets have been found to regulate these pathways. Experiments on rats indicated that P38 MAPK was considerably elevated in the cardiac tissue from rats in the CL and NC groups compared to the HC group, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Significant differences were seen between the CL and NC groups in P38 MAPK levels, with a statistical significance level of less than 0.05. Conclusion. Celastrol may play a role in reversing energy remodeling, anti-inflammation, and oxidative stress via modulating p38 protein expression in the MAPK pathway, which have been shown in the treatment of DCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• La-loaded Polyacrylonitrile fiber for phosphate removal achieved a maximum adsorption capacity of 83.33 mg P g−1. • Rapid adsorption equilibrium was reached within just 20 min. • The adsorption performance remained robust over a broad pH range of 3–6. • High adsorption capacity retention of 82.51 % after five regeneration cycles. Lanthanum (La) emerged as a promising candidate for phosphate removal due to its inherent high affinity towards phosphates. However, addressing issues related to lanthanum aggregation often required loading lanthanum onto suitable carriers. While composite La with nanomaterials showed effective enhancement in adsorption performance, their practical environmental applicability remained limited. In this study, lanthanum was immobilized onto polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers modified with triethylenetetramine. The resulting lanthanum-loaded polyacrylonitrile (La@PAN) fibers exhibited a remarkable maximum phosphate adsorption capacity of 83.33 mg P g−1, significantly higher than most previously reported fiber-based adsorbents. Moreover, these fibers achieved adsorption equilibrium within 20 min and demonstrated excellent adsorption capabilities within a broad pH range of 3–6. Even after five regeneration cycles using NaCl solution, the adsorption capacity retained 82.51 % of its initial value, indicating excellent environmental applicability. Importantly, these fiber adsorbents possessed unique flexibility and weavability, allowing them to be tailored into different shapes according to dynamic application demands, thus offering customized solutions for specific environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The relationship model between acoustic signal and milling depth was obtained. • Dividing milling angle into three intervals and acquiring 30 sets of signals. • Extracting 13-dimensional features of acoustic signals to construct a dataset. • CNN-GRU with attention mechanism is constructed to recognize milling angle. • Proposing new mechanism to improve the robotic surgical effect. The use of robots for bone milling is thought to improve surgical efficiency and reduce surgeon fatigue. Surgeons can use their hearing to perceive the milling state and adjust the position of surgical tools. Inspired by this, this paper proposes an automatic tool position control method based on acoustic signal feedback. Firstly, the mapping model between milling depth and sound energy was calibrated through experiments, and the influence of different angles on depth estimation accuracy was tested. Then, a network of CNN-GRU with an attention mechanism is designed to realize milling angle recognition using acoustic features as inputs. Finally, a milling depth automatic control framework with angle optimization was designed and validated through relevant experiments. The results of the experiment showed that the depth estimation error was larger when the milling angle of ball end milling tools (BMT) was within 70-90°. After adding the angle adjustment function, the milling depth accuracy in angle interval 1 (80-90°) and angle interval 2 (70°-80°) increased by about 30% and 10%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effect of age and application type on the color design of user interfaces for children's applications. We collected 223 popular children's applications from the Apple App Store, focusing on children of three age groups (3‐5, 6‐8, and 9‐11 years old). There were two types of applications: educational applications and game applications. To explore further and compare the differences between children and adults, we also collected color data on 58 adult applications (29 educational applications and 29 game applications). Due to the characteristics of the specific model, this article selects the HSB (Hue, Saturate, Bright) color model—which is composed of hue, saturation, and brightness, with a high degree of matching with the color vision of the human eye—to analyze the color of the application interfaces. According to the statistics, in terms of hue, different types of application interfaces use different frequencies of colors. Multicolor educational application interfaces use cool colors, such as blue; multicolor game application interfaces use warm colors, such as red and orange; and so on. In terms of saturation, the frequency of high saturation in children's user interfaces is higher than that in adult user interfaces. In terms of brightness, children's application interfaces often use brighter colors. We also compared the statistical results with traditional color cognitive conclusions and discussed the possible reasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manchurian walnut (Juglans mandshurica Maxim.) is a synonym of J. cathayensis, a diploid, vulnerable, temperate deciduous tree valued for its wood and nut. It is also valued as a rootstock for Juglans regia because of its reported tolerance of lesion nematode. Reference genomes are available for several Juglans species, our goal was to produce a de novo, chromosome‐level assembly of the J. mandshurica genome. Here, we reported an improved assembly of J. mandshurica with a contig N50 size of 6.49 Mb and a scaffold N50 size of 36.1 Mb. The total genome size was 548 Mb encoding 29,032 protein coding genes which were annotated. The collinearity analysis showed that J. mandshurica and J. regia originated from a common ancestor, with both species undergoing two WGD events. A genomic comparison showed that J. mandshurica was missing 1657 genes found in J. regia, and J. mandshurica includes 2827 genes not found in of the J. regia genome. The J. mandshurica contained 1440 unique paralogues that were highly enriched for flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and plant‐pathogen interaction. Four gene families related to disease resistance notable contraction (rapidly evolving; LEA, WAK, PPR, and PR) in J. mandshurica compared to eight species. JmaPR10 and JmaPR8 contained three orthologous gene pairs with J. regia that were highly expressed in root bark. JmaPR10 is a strong candidate gene for lesion nematodes resistance in J. mandshurica. The J. mandshurica genome should be a useful resource for study of the evolution, breeding, and genetic variation in walnuts (Juglans). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: The privileged C2‐symmetric rigid phenol‐type ligand is more attractive but challenging in asymmetric catalysis. Herein, we designed and synthesized a class of rigid‐featured chiral tridentate Phenol‐2NO ligands, that incorporate the advantages of both the phenol skeleton and pyrroloimidazolone‐based N‐oxide moiety, from readily available L‐prolinamides in operationally simple two steps and up to 44% overall yield. More importantly, using an achiral quinoline derivative as an additive, the newly developed Phenol‐2NO ligand could serve as the anioic ligand upon deprotonative activation to coordinate to Zn(II) to form a highly enantioselective catalyst for the asymmetric Michael‐type Friedel‐Crafts alkylation reaction of indoles with 2,3‐dioxopyrrolidines. Excellent yields (up to 90%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) are obtained for a wide range of substrates under mild conditions. Experiments and DFT calculations revealed the reaction mechanism and the origins of the enantioselectivity. This also represented the first activation of phenol‐type ligand/metal complex by an achiral organic base as the additive in asymmetric catalysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Choquet capacity and integral is an efficient tool to flexibly show the decision maker's correlative preference information on multiple decision criteria as well as decision alternatives. In this paper, we enrich the capacity and Choquet integral based decision making scheme from two aspects. The first aspect is to introduce the multiple goals linear programming to aid the decision maker to find out and adjust the inconsistency among the correlative preference information, which needs little prior knowledge of field but can identify the inconsistent constraints efficiently and give the adjust suggestions flexibly. The second aspect is to propose a random simulation based comprehensive decision aid algorithm to show the dominance relationships between all decision alternatives and then unify them into the most creditable ranking order of alternatives, which is quite different to the thought of unique representative ranking order accomplished by the optimization model of some existing methods. An illustrative example is given to show that the enriched decision making scheme is robust to deal with the inconsistent correlative preference information and also practicable to obtain the comprehensive dominance relationship of multiple decision alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass adsorbents have received extensive attention for the removal of heavy metals, but most of them had very limited adsorption capacity or needed to be modified with environmentally unfriendly chemicals to achieve acceptable performance. In this study, a green biomass adsorbent was fabricated using an abundant natural cellulosic Juncus effusus (JE) fiber and natural melanin polydopamine (PDA) through a simple mussel-inspired polymerization strategy. JE's unique hollow three-dimensional network structure provided an ideal scaffold substrate with abundant sites for dopamine polymerization deposition. This enabled the modified PDA@JE fibers to be rich in amino, hydroxyl, and other active adsorption sites, thereby endowing the PDA@JE fiber adsorbent with a promising Cr (VI) adsorption capacity of up to 145.8 mg / g. This capacity was significantly higher than that of most previously reported biomass-based adsorbents. Furthermore, 10–20 times the concentration of common interfering ions such as Ca2+, Cd2+, Cu2+, NO 3 -, Cl-, SO 4 2- and PO 4 3- had little effect on the adsorption efficiency. This study provided a green and general mussel-inspired strategy for preparing effective biomass adsorbent, offering a promising approach for utilizing natural cellulosic fibers in eco-friendly applications. [Display omitted] • JE's unique 3D structure serves as an ideal scaffold for dopamine polymerization. • PDA@JE fiber for eco-friendly Cr (VI) removal, max adsorption 145.8 mg/g. • Interfering ions at high levels have minimal impact on adsorption efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to well understand the physicochemical characteristics and biological activities of polysaccharides (OPPs) from different cultivars of okra collected in China, the chemical characteristics, rheological properties, antioxidant activities, in vitro binding properties, and in vitro inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase of polysaccharides from five representative okra cultivars, including 'Lvjian', 'Kalong8', 'Shuiguo', 'Taiwanwufu', and 'Kalong3', were investigated and compared. Results showed that the constituent monosaccharides of OPPs were similar, which composed of rhamnose, galacturonic acid, galactose, and arabinose. However, their weight-average molecular weights varied from 2.76 × 103 to 4.20 × 103 kDa, and from 0.11 × 103 to 0.90 × 103 kDa, respectively. The uronic acids and degrees of esterification of OPPs ranged from 39.32% to 61.68%, and from 21.66% to 30.02%, respectively. OPPs exhibited typical shear-thinning behavior and viscoelastic properties. Furthermore, OPPs exhibited remarkable antioxidant activities, in vitro binding capacities, and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase, which might be attributed to their relatively high content of uronic acids, high degrees of esterification, and high molecular weights. Results are helpful for better understanding of the physicochemical structures and bioactivities of OPPs, and OPPs had good application prospects as functional food ingredients for industrial applications. • Structural and rheological properties of OPPs were influenced by different okra cultivars. • OPPs exhibited remarkable antioxidant activities. • OPPs also exhibited remarkable binding capacities and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase. • OPPs have potential to be explored as functional food ingredients for industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The rPANI/rGO was doped by fluorinated acid for tailoring its surface polarity. • The PFOA-rPANI/rGO exhibited superior compatibility with PVDF matrix. • The nanocomposites showed high dielectric constant with low dielectric loss. Abstract In this report, we provided a method to fabricate perfluorooctanoic acid doped reduced polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide/poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PFOA-rPANI/rGO/PVDF) nanocomposite with enhanced dielectric properties. The PFOA-rPANI modification not only prevented the agglomeration of rGO nanosheets, but also improved the affinity of rGO nanosheets to PVDF matrix. The as-fabricated PFOA-rPANI/rGO/PVDF nanocomposites exhibited high dielectric constant while they maintained low dielectric loss. The highest dielectric constant of nanocomposites could reach 1754 at a low filler volume fraction of 0.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate segmentation of the potato buds is the premise of seed potatoes automatic cutting. In order to improve the accuracy of buds segmentation, the fast segmentation on potato buds with chaos optimization-based K -means algorithm was realized in this paper. K-means algorithm has the merits of effectiveness and easy to implement, while the problem of easily trapping into the local optima hinders its accuracy of clustering. Chaotic systems can carry out overall searches by chaotic variables at high speed with ergodicity and non-repetition. The main idea of the proposed algorithm was searching with chaotic variables by mapping them into the range of the variables in K-means algorithm and eventually achieved global optimization. Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed algorithm outperformed the state-of-the-art K-means and FCM (fuzzy C-means) algorithm, whether in segmentation accuracy or running time. The average running time for K-means and FCM algorithm to segment the buds in one image was 2.895 5 and 3.556 4 s, respectively, however, it only took 1.109 s with the proposed algorithm. And running time was less effected by clustering number when it was more than 3, namely, the proposed algorithm could provide a less running time when applied to other crops, which were suitable to be segmented into 3 or more clusters. Moreover, results also verified that the better selection of the clustering number for the samples in this paper was no more than 3. Finally, for the potatoes in buds segmentation precision experiment, the proposed algorithm could achieve a total segmentation precision of 98.87% and without any buds omission. Thereinto, the segmentation precision for normal potatoes was 100%, and that for special ones was 91.67%. Consequently, the fast segmentation of potato buds with the proposed algorithm could lay a solid foundation for future automatic cutting of seed potatoes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Certain organs are capable of containing the replication of various types of viruses. In the liver, infection of Hepatitis B virus (HBV), the etiological factor of Hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), often remains asymptomatic and leads to a chronic carrier state. Here we investigated how hepatocytes contain HBV replication and promote their own survival by orchestrating a translational defense mechanism via the stress-sensitive SUMO-2/3-specific peptidase SENP3. We found that SENP3 expression level decreased in HBV-infected hepatocytes in various models including HepG2-NTCP cell lines and a humanized mouse model. Downregulation of SENP3 reduced HBV replication and boosted host protein translation. We also discovered that IQGAP2, a Ras GTPase-activating-like protein, is a key substrate for SENP3-mediated de-SUMOylation. Downregulation of SENP3 in HBV infected cells facilitated IQGAP2 SUMOylation and degradation, which leads to suppression of HBV gene expression and restoration of global translation of host genes via modulation of AKT phosphorylation. Thus, The SENP3-IQGAP2 de-SUMOylation axis is a host defense mechanism of hepatocytes that restores host protein translation and suppresses HBV gene expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As phenanthroline (phen) possesses great coordination ability with various ions, the development of new chiral phen ligands is in great demand in asymmetric catalysis. Herein, we rationally designed and developed an entirely new class of C2-symmetric rigid-featured chiral phen ligands that provide the N,N,O,O-tetradentate coordination of the phen moiety and two additional N,N-dioxides. The chiral ligands, termed Phen-2NO ligands, incorporate the advantages of both the phen skeleton and the pyrroloimidazolone-based N-oxide moiety, and their electronic and steric properties can be readily tuned through the incorporation of substituents in the aromatic rings of the amide group. These ligands presented a superior performance in the Ni(II)-catalyzed asymmetric Michael-type Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction of indoles with β,γ-unsaturated α-ketoesters. Excellent yields (up to 93%) and high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) are obtained for a wide range of substrates under mild conditions. These results demonstrated the promising potential of the Phen-2NO ligand as an efficient chiral phen ligand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four chiral phosphapalladacycle complexes functionalized with the malonate moiety at the chiral carbon have been synthesized via a consecutive asymmetric hydrophosphination and cyclometallation protocol. High conversions were achieved in the P–H addition reaction, which was itself catalyzed by a phosphapalladacycle. Moderate to good enantioselectivities, were obtained for this step depending on the nature of the functional groups present on the naphthalene backbone. In contrast, the outcome of the subsequent cyclometallation reaction relies highly on the character of the functional groups. The catalytic potential of the synthesized phosphapalladacycle complexes was evaluated in the hydrophosphination reaction of chalcone with moderate results. Four new chiral phosphapalladacycles with designed stereo‐ and electronic properties were prepared by catalysis and by optical resolution and comprehensively characterised. The impact of incorporation of malonate moiety at the chiral carbon and modification of the naphthalene system was studied for the asymmetric hydrophosphination of chalcone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the spinel ferrite with different cations match, there is a different charge characteristics. The chemical coprecipitation method was used to prepare nickel-manganese fertite precursor by adding MnCl2 ⋅ 4H2 O, FeCl3 ⋅ 6H2 O and Ni(NO3)2 ⋅ 6H2O solution into NaOH solution and calcining at 600 °C for 3 h to obtain nickel--manganese ferrite. The morphology, size and structure of Ni-Mn ferrites were characterized by SEM, XRD and FTIR. The results show that the nickel-manganese ferrite is a spinel soft magnetic material with a forbidden band width of about 1.14 eV, a saturation magnetization (Ms) of 10 A ⋅ m²/kg and a coercive force (Hc) of 9 950 A/m. Synthetic nickel-manganese ferrite can be used as an effective photocatalyst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here we developed a critical gasotransmitter (H2S) mediated reduction to induce supramolecular self-assembly in multiple living cell lines. Specifically, the reduction converted an azido group to an amine which allowed the formation of intramolecular hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen bonds planarized the assembling molecules and promoted the supramolecular self-assembly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three inorganic-organic diverse Cu I motifs of [Cu I (bnip)] 2 (Mo 6 O 19 ) ( 1 ), Cu I 4 (bnib) 3 ( β -Mo 8 O 26 )(H 2 O) ( 2 ) and [Cu I (bnih)] 2 (Mo 6 O 19 )·H 2 O ( 3 ) [bnip = 1,3-bis(4-nitro-1 H -imidazol-1-yl)propane, bnib = 1,4-bis(4-nitro-1 H -imidazol-1-yl)butane, and bnih = 1,6-bis(4-nitro-1 H -imidazol-1-yl)hexane] based on three diverse flexible ligands and isopolyoxomolybdate clusters have been successfully synthesized under solvothermal conditions at different pH values and ratio of the solvents. Their structures have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, infrared spectra (IR) and elemental analyses. For compound 1 , the Cu I ions are linked by bnip ligands to form a 2D 4 4 cationic layer, the 2D layers are packed in offset fashions through C-H···O hydrogen bonding interactions to generate a 3D supramolecular network with 1D channels, and the isolated [Mo 6 O 19 ] 2- polyanions are located in the channels. In compound 2 , three bnib ligands are brigded by four Cu I ions to form a unique unit of Cu 4 (binb) 3 (H 2 O) 2 , and the units are connected by Mo 8 O 26 4- anions to generate an infinite 1D branched chain, which are further bridged by hydrogen bonding interactions to form a 2D supramolecular structure. In compound 3 , two types of -Cu-bnih-Cu- chains are crossed each other to assemble a 3D supramolecular framework with 1D cationic channel by the hydrogen bonding interactions, and the channels are occupied by Mo 6 O 19 2- anions. Furthermore, the thermal stabilities, power X-ray diffraction, the photoluminescent properties of compounds 1–3 and the electrochemical properties of compounds 1 and 2 have been also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptides are considered as a new generation of drugs due to their high structural and functional diversity. However, the development of peptide drugs is always limited by their poor stability and short circulation time. Carriers are applied for peptide drug delivery, but there may be problems like poor loading efficiency and undesired xenobiotic toxicity. Peptide self-assembly is an effective approach to improve the stability and control the release of peptide drugs. In this study, two self-assembling anticancer peptides are designed by appending a pair of glutamic acid and asparagine to either the N-terminus or the C-terminus of a lytic peptide. This simple, yet rational sequence modification was made to change the amphiphilic pattern and secondary structural content of the parent peptide, thereby modulating its self-assembly process. It was found that the N-terminus modified peptide favors the formation of nanofibrils and the peptide with C-terminal modification formed micelles. Although both nanostructures showed prolonged action profiles and improved serum stability compared to the parent peptide, the morphology of the nanostructures is highly critical to manipulate the release profile of the free peptide from the assembly and regulate their bioactivity. We believe the self-assembly approach demonstrated in this study can be applied to a variety of therapeutic peptide drugs to improve their stability and therapeutic activity for the development of carrier-free drug delivery system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Actein is isolated from the rthizomes of Cimicifuga foetida , which is a triterpene glycoside, displaying suppressive effects on breast cancer cells proliferation. However, the effects of actein treatment on liver injury, tending to cancer, have little to be known. Thus, the study is conducted to explore the role of actein in early liver cancer. Diethylnitrosamine (DEN) was used to induce liver cancer in mice followed by actein treatment at different concentrations. DEN caused steatohepatitis supported by fibrosis and inflammation, which were ameliorated for actein administration. Liver histology of mice with DEN treatment displayed hepatobiliary cysts, reversed by actein. Cell proliferation markers of Cyclin Ds and p53, as well as cancer stem cell markers of CD133 were highly increased in liver tissue samples from DEN-induced mice, and actein showed inhibitory role in these signals expression. Actein-reduced up-regulation of Hif-1α and VEGFR1 in DEN-stimulated liver tissue of mice was seen. Taken together, DEN promoted liver cancer progression, which was ameliorated by actein, supplying a potential therapeutic strategy for liver cancer in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chiral phosphine auxiliary was generated with excellent ee via catalytic asymmetric hydrophosphination of 3-(naphthalen-1-ylmethylene)pentane-2,4-dione. The subsequent metal complexation of the monophosphine yielded two different coordination complexes depending on the reaction conditions. The ortho-palladation of both coordination complexes resulted in the formation of a single dimeric phosphapalladacycle complex that could be further converted to the monomeric bisacetonitrile derivative. Moreover, the palladium complex exhibits interesting oxophilicity as the stable bisaquo derivative could be isolated and characterized crystallographically. The catalytic potential of the phosphapalladacycle was also demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous researches of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) have shown their potential as fluorescent probes, but the regulation of their optical properties and recognition characteristics still remains a challenge, and most of reports required complicated post-decoration to improve the sensing performance. In this context, we propose a novel in-situ strategy to construct uracil-conjugated COFs and modulate their fluorescence properties for sensitive and selective mercury(II) detection. By using 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(4-formylphenyl)pyrene (TFPPy) and 1,3,6,8-tetrakis(4-aminophenyl)pyrene (TAPPy) as fundamental blocks and 5-aminouraci (5-AU) as the functional monomer, a series of COFs (Py-COFs and Py-U-COFs-1 to Py-U-COFs-5) with tunable fluorescence were solvothermally synthesized through an in-situ Schiff base reaction. The π-conjugated framework serves as a signal reporter, the evenly and densely distributed uracil acts as a mercury(II) receptor, and the regular pores (channels) make the rapid and sensitive detection of the mercury(II) possible. In this research, we manage to regulate the crystalline structure, the fluorescence properties, and the sensing performance of COFs by simply changing the molar ratio of precursors. We expect this research to open up a new strategy for effective and controllable construction of functionalized COFs for environmental analysis. An in-situ strategy is proposed to construct uracil-conjugated COFs and modulate their fluorescence properties for sensitive and selective mercury(II) detection. The π-conjugated framework serves as a signal reporter, the evenly and densely distributed uracil acts as a mercury(II) receptor, and the regular pores (channels) make the rapid and sensitive detection of the mercury(II) possible. [Display omitted] • A novel in-situ strategy was proposed to construct uracil-conjugated COFs. • The crystalline structure and the fluorescence property of COFs can be facilely modulated. • The functionalized COFs demonstrate tunable recognition characteristics toward mercury(II). • Mercury(II) can be sensitively and selectively detected based on the fluorescence quenching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To expand the chemical space of chiral N‐oxides and chiral furan‐containing ligands, herein we designed and synthesized a new class of rigid‐featured tertiary amine‐derived C2‐symmetric chiral furan‐N,N′‐dioxide (Fu‐2NO) ligands from optically pure l‐prolinamides/hydroxylprolinamides in operationally simple two steps and up to 57 % overall yield. The newly developed rigid‐featured chiral Fu‐2NO ligands possesses two pyrroloimidazolone‐based N‐oxides as non‐flat chiral walls, and afforded the opportunity for fine‐tuning the ligand electronic and conformational properties by judicious choice of the substituent in the nonligating nitrogen atom. More importantly, The Fu‐2NO ligands can tolerate air and moisture such that no special handling is needed for their storage, and can be applied in the Ni(II)‐catalyzed asymmetric Friedel‐Crafts alkylation reaction of indole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NiTiNb x (x=1,3,5) alloys were fabricated by laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) of powder mixtures containing pre-alloyed NiTi and elemental Nb powders. Upon Nb addition, the dependence of the martensite transformation temperatures (MTTs) on the L-PBF process parameters was significantly altered. In case of the NiTiNb 1 alloy, the MTTs increased as the laser energy density was increased, whereas it decreased in case of the NiTiNb 5 alloy. It is suggested that the net effect of Nb addition is to lower the MTTs, while Ni evaporation has the opposite effect. The latter contribution is predominant in alloys with low Nb addition (1 at.%), while the Nb-related effects become the major influencing factor in the high-Nb alloys (5 at.%). In the case of the NiTiNb 3 alloys, the factors that promote and suppress MTTs are almost completely compensated, and the MTT is rather stable despite of the large variation of L-PBF process parameters. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Further discovery and design of new anticancer peptides are important for the development of anticancer therapeutics, and study on the detailed acting mechanism and structure-function relationship of peptides is critical for anticancer peptide design and application. In this study, a novel anticancer peptide ZXR-1 (FKIGGFIKKLWRSKLA) derived from a known anticancer peptide mauriporin was developed, and a mutant ZXR-2 (FKIGGFIKKLWRSLLA) with only one residue difference at the 14th position (Lys → Leu) was also engineered. Replacement of the lysine with leucine made ZXR-2 more potent than ZXR-1 in general. Even with only one residue mutation, the two peptides displayed distinct anticancer modes of action. ZXR-1 could translocate into cells, target on the mitochondria and induce cell apoptosis, while ZXR-2 directly targeted on the cell membranes and caused membrane lysis. The variance in their acting mechanisms might be due to the different amphipathicity and positive charge distribution. In addition, the two Ile-Leu pairs (3–10 and 7–14) in ZXR-2 might also play a role in improving its cytotoxicity. Further study on the structure-function relationship of the two peptides may be beneficial for the design of novel anticancer peptides and peptide based therapeutics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tin phosphite nanosheets were synthesized by a facile exfoliation method. SnHPO 3 nanosheets with a thickness of ∼2.6 nm readily form a stable colloidal suspension in ethanol using ultrasonic method. Structures and optical properties of the obtained nanosheets were investigated. The prepared SnHPO 3 nanosheets exhibit an obvious blue-shift in UV absorbance compared with bulk SnHPO 3 crystal materials. Moreover, the piezoelectric coefficients of SnHPO 3 monolayer were calculated based on density functional theory, which are larger than that of h-BN monolayer, indicating this material could be a good candidate for designing electro-optical nano-devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pincer catalysed asymmetric P-H addition of diphenylphosphine to 3-benzylidene-2,4-pentadione is herein reported. Albeit successful in catalysing a series of similar substrates, unexpected chelation of the dione substrate to a CP and CN palladacycle catalyst resulted in inactivation of the catalyst with adjacent coordination sites. Protected phosphine adducts were isolated and characterised, providing critical insights to the choice of catalyst for structurally distinct functional groups borne by the substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological Chiral Edge States in Deep-Subwavelength Valley Photonic Metamaterials (Laser Photonics Rev. 16(11)/2022) B Topological Valley Photonics b In article number 2200194, Rui Xi, Qiaolu Chen, Hongsheng Chen, Yihao Yang, and colleagues propose and experimentally realize topological chiral edge states in deep-subwavelength valley photonic metamaterials, which enable the miniaturization of topological photonics devices and extremely-confined self-guiding chiral edge states. The smooth transition through sharp corners demonstrate the robustness of the photonic chiral edge states. [Extracted from the article]

A novel multiple responsive polymer-peptide bioconjugate, which exhibits responses to calcium ion, pH, and temperature, was presented. In our study, a peptide with calcium ion response was conjugated with a thermo-responsive polymer at the N terminus to generate a polymer-peptide bioconjugate. Several experiments were conducted to characterize the environmental response of the bioconjugate. Results suggest that electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding are the driving forces for peptide self-assembly. Additionally, the incorporation of polymer endows new property to the peptide, though it may disrupt the inner-molecular interactions between peptides in some extent. This study will highlight the fundamental understanding of polymer-peptides that are of potential utility as stimuli-responsive biomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The palladacycle-catalyzed asymmetric PH addition of 4- oxo-enamides has been developed, which provides efficient access to phosphinocarboxamides and their analogues. Solvent-mediated reversal of stereoselectivity ( ee from +96 % to −92 %) was observed, and the underlying mechanism that allows facile access to both enantiomers of the product by judicious choice of solvents is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrasound is widely used in medical and engineering inspections due to its non-destructive and easy-to-use characteristics. However, the complex internal structure of plant stems presents challenges for ultrasound testing. The density and thickness differences in various types of stems can cause different attenuation of ultrasonic signal propagation and the formation of different echo locations. To detect structural changes in plant stems, it is crucial to acquire complete ultrasonic echo RF signals. However, there is currently no dedicated ultrasonic RF detection equipment for plant stems, and some ultrasonic acquisition equipment has limited memory capacity that cannot store a complete echo signal. To address this problem, this paper proposes a double-layer multiple-timing trigger method, which can store multiple trigger sampling memories to meet the sampling needs of different plant stems with different ultrasonic echo locations. The method was tested in experiments and found to be effective in acquiring complete ultrasonic RF echo signals for plant stems. This approach has practical significance for the ultrasonic detection of plant stems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present review, the literature data on the chemical constituents and biological investigations of the genus Pedicularis are summarized. Some species of Pedicularis have been widely applied in traditional Chinese medicine. A wide range of chemical components including iridoid glycosides, phenylpropanoid glycosides (PhGs), lignans glycosides, flavonoids, alkaloids and other compounds have been isolated and identified from the genus Pedicularis. In vitro and in vivo studies indicated some monomer compounds and extracts from the genus Pedicularis have been found to possess antitumor, hepatoprotective, anti-oxidative, antihaemolysis, antibacterial activity, fatigue relief of skeletal muscle, nootropic effect and other activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) mutations account for 35% of the genetic alterations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The Src-homology region 2-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHP2), encoded by PTPN11 , is closely involved in RAS downstream pathways and development of many tumors by affecting cell proliferation, differentiation, and immunity. Targeting SHP2 with small molecules may be a promising avenue for the treatment of KRAS -mutant (mut) NSCLC. Herein, hexachlorophene (HCP) was identified as a SHP2 inhibitor with an IC 50 value of 5.63 ± 0.75 μM through screening of the FDA-approved drug library. HCP specifically inhibited SHP2 rather than other phosphatases. Molecular docking showed that HCP displayed an orientation favorable for nucleophilic attack in the catalytic domain of SHP2. HCP suppressed viability of multiple KRAS -mut and KRAS -wild type cells and induced senescence and apoptosis in KRAS -mut cells. Moreover, HCP reversed epithelial-mesenchymal transition to suppress metastasis in KRAS -mut cells, and inhibited the RAS/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways by suppression of SHP2 phosphorylation and formation SHP2/Grb2/Gab1/SOS1 complex. In summary, HCP can act as a specific SHP2 inhibitor to inhibit KRAS -mut NSCLC cell proliferation and metastasis and induce senescence through suppression of the RAF/MEK/ERK and PI3K/AKT pathways. HCP warrants further investigation as a new compound skeleton for the development of selective SHP2 inhibitors for the treatment of NSCLC. • HCP selectively inhibits the enzymatic activity of SHP2. • HCP inhibits growth and metastasis in KRAS -mut NSCLC cells. • HCP inhibits the RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling pathways in KRAS -mut NSCLC cells. • HCP disrupts the SHP2/Grb2/Gab1/SOS1 complex in KRAS -mut NSCLC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variations in the structure and conductivity of zigzag (6,0) single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) due to the addition of different numbers of potassium (K) atoms were investigated with the aid of density function theory (DFT) calculation. The calculated results for the modification of the K atom for (6,0) SWCNT suggest that the most favorable sites for K atom-adsorption is the face site for (6,0) SWCNT. A comparison of conductivities based on the densities of states (DOS) analysis between pure and K atom modified (6,0) SWCNTs indicates that the conductivity of latter is more significantly enhanced compared to that of the pure ones. The calculations were performed based on the PAW method standard basis sets using the VASP package of program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve large-scale electromagnetic scattering problems for bodies of revolution, a fast inhomogeneous plane wave algorithm (FIPWA) is developed. By using the Weyl identity and designing a proper integral path, the aggregation and disaggregation factors can be computed efficiently in FIPWA. Both the memory and CPU time requirements are significantly reduced for large scale BOR problems over the method of moments. Numerical results are given to demonstrate the validity and the efficiency of the FIPWA method to perfect conductors, but the method can be extended to dielectric BORs. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52: 1915–1922, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.25319 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oncogenic Kras induces a hyper-proliferative state that permits cells to progress to neoplasms in diverse epithelial tissues. Depending on the cell of origin, this also involves lineage transformation. Although a multitude of downstream factors have been implicated in these processes, the precise chronology of molecular events controlling them remains elusive. Using mouse models, primary human tissues, and cell lines, we show that, in Kras -mutant alveolar type II cells (AEC2), FOSL1-based AP-1 factor guides the mSWI/SNF complex to increase chromatin accessibility at genomic loci controlling the expression of genes necessary for neoplastic transformation. We identified two orthogonal processes in Kras -mutant distal airway club cells. The first promoted their transdifferentiation into an AEC2-like state through NKX2.1, and the second controlled oncogenic transformation through the AP-1 complex. Our results suggest that neoplasms retain an epigenetic memory of their cell of origin through cell-type-specific transcription factors. Our analysis showed that a cross-tissue-conserved AP-1-dependent chromatin remodeling program regulates carcinogenesis. [Display omitted] • AP-1 mediates an epigenome-wide increase in nucleosome occupancy in Kras- mutant cells • FOSL1-based AP-1 recruits mSWI/SNF to displace nucleosomes in Kras -mutant cells • Club or AEC2 cell of origin influences the neoplastic cell state • Identification of a mutant Kras epigenetic signature conserved across tissues Kadur Lakshminarasimha Murthy et al. study the epigenetic reprograming caused by mutant Kras in pulmonary AEC2 and club, as well as intestinal Lgr5 + stem cells. They identify an AP-1-driven transformation program conserved across tissues and that tumor cells retain an epigenetic memory of their cell of origin through cell-type-specific transcription factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To speed up the solution of scattering from multiple conducting objects with complex structures, a hybrid multi-level fast multi-pole algorithm with a generalized forward-and-backward method is developed. The region involving multiple conducting objects is divided into finite uniform sub-regions. The induced current in each sub-region is solved iteratively by a generalized forward-and-backward method. The interactions between sub-regions and the iterative current in each sub-region are computed by the multi-level fast multi-pole algorithm. The present method has only the memory requirement of O(NmaxlogNmax), where Nmax is the maximum number of unknowns located in these sub-regions. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of the present method for multi-object scattering problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Hydrothermal reactions of Gd(III) nitrate with N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylenephosphono-1,4-diaminobutane, (H2O3PCH2)2N–(CH2)4–N(CH2PO3H2)2 (H8L), afforded a novel Gd(III) phosphonate, namely, Gd[(O3PCH2)(HO3PCH2)N(H)(CH2)4N(H)(CH2PO3H)2]·2H2O, [Gd(H5L)]·2H2O. Its structure was established by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study. In this compound, the Gd(III) ion is coordinated by eight phoshonate oxygen atoms from five different phosphonate groups, which belong to five different phosphonic ligands. Each Gd atom is connected with its neighboring Gd atoms by two phosphonate oxygens, forming a gadolinium phosphonate slab along the a-axis. Such slabs are bridged by tetraphosphonate H5L anions, resulting in a 〈011〉 layer with the butane groups toward the interlayer space. These layers are further interlinked by strong hydrogen bonds formed by uncoordinated phosphonate oxygens into a 3D supermolecular structure. Luminescent studies indicate that this compound exhibits a broad blue fluorescent emission band at 441nm. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]