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Esophageal cancer is a common cancer among people in the world. The molecular mechanism of complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 in esophageal cancer is still unclear. This article aimed to clarify the role of complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 in esophageal cancer. The expression of complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 in esophageal cancer tissues was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Furthermore, short hairpin ribonucleic acid was used to knockdown the expression of complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 in esophageal cancer cell lines. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide, wound healing assays and transwell assays were used to determine the role of complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 in esophageal cancer cells. In our research, we found that the expression of complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 was up-regulated in esophageal cancer tissues. The increased expression of complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 was significantly correlated with tumor stage and lymph node metastasis. The proliferation and migration of esophageal cancer cells were inhibited after complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6-short hairpin ribonucleic acid transfection in vitro. These results suggested that complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 serves as an oncogene and promotes cell proliferation and migration in esophageal cancer. In addition, complement C1q tumor necrosis factor related protein 6 may be a potential therapeutic target for esophageal cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To investigate the value of sound touch elastography (STE) in the evaluation of short-term therapeutic effect of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) by measuring liver stiffness (LS), and in addition, to analyse the relationships between liver function, pressure gradient of the hepatic veins, and LS.Materials and Methods: A case series study was conducted at Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from August 2020 to December 2020. Patients diagnosed with BCS were recruited prospectively and grouped according to Child-Pugh grade before endovascular therapy. LS was measured using STE before and after therapy. Comparisons between the LS and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) changes of patients were tested with paired sample t-tests.Results: A total of 46 patients (23 males and 23 females) were included in this study. According to the Child-Pugh scoring criteria, 24 patients were classified as grade A, 16 as grade B, and 6 as grade C. LS was significantly different between the three groups (F = 127.01, p<0.001). Post-treatment LS was significantly lower than pre-treatment (p<0.001). The mean HVPG before treatment was 13.02 ± 3.82 mmHg and decreased after intervention (p<0.001).Conclusion: The STE is a potential tool for evaluating short-term therapeutic effect of BCS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a Bayesian design method for a clinical program where an investigational product is to be studied concurrently in a set of clinical trials involving related diseases with the goal of demonstrating superiority to a control in each. The approach borrows information on treatment effectiveness using correlated mixture priors using an analysis procedure that is closely related Bayesian model averaging. Mixture priors are constructed by eliciting conjugate priors based on pessimistic and enthusiastic predictions for the data to be observed for each disease and then by eliciting mixture weights for all possible configurations of the pessimistic and enthusiastic priors across the diseases to be studied. The proposed approach provides a robust framework for information borrowing in settings where the diseases may have endpoints based on different data types. We show via simulation that operating characteristics based on the proposed design framework are favorable compared to those based on information borrowing designs using the Bayesian hierarchical model which is poorly suited for information borrowing when there are different data types underpinning the endpoints across which information is to be borrowed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cross section of thermoplastic composite pipes (TCPs) consists of three layers: an inner liner, reinforcement laminates, and an outer jacket; the three layers are fully bonded together to form a solid-walled structure. In this study, the mechanical behaviors of TCPs under internal pressures were investigated using analytical and finite element analysis (FEA) methods. The analytical method that is based on the three-dimensional (3D) anisotropy elastic theory takes into account the nonuniform distribution of stresses and strains through the wall thickness of the pipe. FEA models were setup using the software abaqus to predict the stress distribution of a TCP. The 3D Tsai-Wu failure criterion was used to predict the maximum burst pressure of TCPs. Effects of winding angles and the number of reinforcement plies on the burst pressure of TCPs were studied. Results derived from the analytical method and the FEA method verified each other, which show that the burst pressure of a TCP increases asymptotically as the number of reinforcement plies increases. The optimal winding angle associated with the maximum burst pressure is not a constant value, instead, it varies as the thickness of the laminate layer increases. This study provides useful tools and guidance for the design and analysis of TCPs, while further validation experiments are still needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of arrangement of micro-pillars on wetting and self-motion of droplets is numerically studied via a three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann model for multiphase flow. Substrates textured with identical pillar array density but different arrangements are considered. The results show that the prediction of Cassie-Baxter model can be improved with the modified roughness factors. In addition, transportation of droplets on the stepwise gradient structured substrates is investigated. A simple model, taking account of pillar arrangement, is developed to estimate droplet velocity. The results show that it is critical to restrain droplet spreading in the lateral direction to achieve higher velocity and longer transportation distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance ultraviolet (UV) detectors with both high responses and fast speeds are hard to make on homogeneous crystal semiconductor materials. Here, the UV response characteristics of mixed-phase MgZnO thin films with different internal structure distributions are studied. The mixed-phase MgZnO-based detector with the given crystal composition has a high response at both deep UV light (96 A W−1 at 240 nm) and near UV light (80 A W−1 at 335 nm). Meanwhile, because of the quasi-tunneling breakdown mechanism within the device, the high-response UV detector also shows a fast response speed (tr = 0.11 μs) and recovery speed (td1 = 26 μs) at deep UV light, which is much faster than both low-response mixed-phase MgZnO-based UV detectors with other structure constitutions and reported high-response UV devices on homogenous crystal materials. The Idark of the device is just 4.27 pA under a 5 V bias voltage, so the signal-to-noise ratio of the device reached 23852 at 5.5 uW cm−2 235 nm UV light. The new quasi-tunneling breakdown mechanism is observed in some mixed-phase MgZnO thin films that contain both c-MgZnO and h-MgZnO parts, which introduce a high response, signal-to-noise ratio, and fast speed into mixed-phase MgZnO-based UV detectors at weak deep UV light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quadratic magneto-optical (MO) effects can be utilized to investigate the spin order in antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials; however, the previously reported studies were all limited in antiferromagnets with collinear AFM order. Here, we develop a phenomenological theory to investigate the quadratic MO effects in hexagonal non-collinear AFM crystals with triangular spin structures. Based on the permittivity tensor up to the second-order in magnetization, we derive the formula to describe the quadratic MO responses and perform numerical calculations to obtain the MO rotation angle for different AFM spin configurations and sample orientations. For the sample with its spin plane lying perpendicular to the surface plane, we have revealed the emergence of quadratic MO response, which exhibits a strong dependence on the light incident angle. The MO rotation angle shows an approximately sinusoidal variation with a periodicity of 180° when the sample is rotated around its surface normal. The size of the MO response and its deviation from the sinusoidal form are analyzed for different values of the second-order permittivity tensor elements. This study provides important insights into the non-collinear AFM spin-induced quadratic MO effect, which may be used as a guidance for optical detections of the non-collinear AFM order, and, in particular, the ultrafast spin dynamics using the optical pump–probe technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microfluidic flow is typically laminar due to the dominant viscous effects. At Reynolds numbers far below 1 (Re ≪ 1), the fluid inertia can be neglected. For the steady flow of incompressible Newtonian fluids, it approaches linear Stokes flow. At intermediate Re, there exists a weak-inertia flow regime where secondary flows such as Dean vortices are accessible for microfluidic manipulations. Apart from the fluid inertia, other nonlinear factors such as the non-Newtonian fluid properties, concurrent flow of dissimilar fluids, compliant fluidic structures and stimuli-responsive materials can also cause intriguing flow behaviours. Through proper designs, they can be applied for a variety of microfluidic components including mixers, valves, oscillators, stabilizers and auto-regulators etc., greatly enriching the microfluidic flow control and manipulation strategies. Due to its unique working characteristics and advantages, nonlinear microfluidics has increasingly attracted extensive attention. This review presents a systematic survey on this subject. The designs of typical nonlinear microfluidic devices, their working mechanisms, key applications, and the perspective of their future developments will be discussed. The nonlinear microfluidic techniques are believed to play an essential role in the next generation of highly-integrated, automated, and intelligent microfluidics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yb doped KLu(WO4)2 (Yb:KLuW) single crystal was grown by the method of top-seeded-solution growth slow-cooling method. Its lattice vibrational modes were calculated by using space group theory, and polarized Raman spectra were measured at room temperature with different scattering geometry projections. The powder transmission of Fourier-transform infrared spectra was also performed as a supplement for Raman spectra to study the lattice vibration of the laser crystal. The main Raman peaks and infrared transmission bands were attributed to the internal mode WO6 octahedrons in the crystals. Two kinds of link ways of WO6 octahedrons implying large distortion had led the Raman peaks to shift to different positions. Large distortions of the WO6 octahedrons in the crystal had led to the splitting of some Raman peaks and even the activation of ν6 mode, which is originally a silent mode by the selection rule. As a self-Raman crystal, the linewidth of the Raman peaks ν1 and ν2 reached 12.5 and 16.6 cm-1, with relaxation times of 849.4 and 639.6 fs, respectively, indicating that it is a promising stimulated Raman scattering crystal. Thermal diffusion measurement of Yb:KLuW showed large anisotropy which could be explained by the different link ways of the WO6 octahedrons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At room temperature, Raman-scattering investigations of near stoichiometric lithium niobate (S-LN) crystals theoretically and experimentally reveal an effect of the lattice vacant positions on the Raman spectra. At high temperature, Raman peaks of the mode ν5 vary sensitively and intensely with the increase of the temperature. A condensed soft optical-phonon mode originates from the triply degenerate symmetric in-plane O–Nb–O bending. The paraelectric-ferroelectric structural transition occurs at about 1170 °C. The composition homogeneity and optical uniformity of the S-LN crystals are demonstrated to be excellent compared with those of the congruent lithium niobate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray diffraction measurements on a 0.65 at. % Nd-doped GdCa[SUB4]O(BO[SUB3])[SUB3] (Nd:GdCOB) crystal revealed a noncentrosymmetric monoclinic space group Cm with lattice parameters a=8.091 ±0.001, b = 16.023±0.002, c = 3.559±0.006 Å, and β = 101.30±0.01°. The fitting primitive cell contained two Nd:GdCOB units. Raman data show that the characteristic spectra of Nd:GdCOB are mainly associated with BO[SUB3] triangles and partly by Ca(1)O[SUB6] octahedra, which implies that the structural rigidity of Nd:GdCOB is mainly associated with the B-O bond stretching and bending modes and partly by the Ca(1)-O bonds. The large distortions of the Gd/NdO[SUB6] and Ca(2)O[SUB6] octahedra intensify the polar forces and anisotropic lattice forces, which indicates excellent nonlinear properties for Nd:GdCOB. Simultaneously, the large distortions of the Gd/NdO[SUB6] octahedra also provide a suitable crystal field for the activated Nd[SUP3+] ions, with the site symmetry m lacking inversion symmetry. This condition increases the probability of the parity-forbidden f →f transitions. Also due to the greater number of anion groups in the primitive cell, this crystal would be expected to be excellent as a self-frequency doubled material. The absorption parameters calculated by Judd-Ofelt theory show that the transitions [SUP4]I[SUB9/2]→[SUP4]F[SUB5/2] and [SUP4]I[SUB9/2]→[SUP2]H[SUB9/2] have larger absorption cross sections and enable the laser-diode pumping band around 808 nm to be more than 30 nm in bandwidth. In the calculated luminescence parameters, the radiation [SUP4]F[SUB3/2]→[SUP4]I[SUB11/2] transition at wavelength of 1060 nm has the largest fluorescence branch-ratio and differential stimulated-emission cross section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the quantum electrodynamics and using Einstein’s coefficient and Planck’s energy density, the stimulated emission cross section was given. The measured absorption of 0.5 at. % Nd-doped Nd:GdVO[sub 4] crystal was compared to the Judd–Ofelt (JO) theory. When applied, the JO theory of parity-forbidden electric–dipole transitions of rare-earth ions on noncentrosymmetric site lacking inversion symmetry demonstrates good agreement. An absorption band around 808 nm is suitable to match laser diode pumping. The branching ratio of the fluorescence emission and stimulated emission cross section at the emissive wavelength of 1064 nm are of great advantage to produce a laser output. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines spectral parameters of neodymium-doped yttrium orthovanadate (NYV) crystals. Absorption spectrum of neodymium ions doped in NYV; Width of the absorption band; Line intensity of the absorption spectrum of NYV.

Presents information on a study on the Raman-scattering investigations and the optical and laser properties of Yb-doped YVO...crystal. Experimental method; Results; Discussion; Conclusions.

Vacuolar protein sorting 4 (Vps4) not only functions with its positive regulator vacuolar protein sorting 20‐associated 1 (Vta1) in the multivesicular body (MVB) pathway but also participates alone in MVB‐unrelated cellular processes. However, its physiological roles at the organism level remain rarely explored. We previously identified their respective homologues Bombyx mori Vps4 (BmVps4) and BmVta1 from the silkworm, a model organism for insect research. In this study, we performed fluorescence quantitative real‐time PCR and Western blot to globally characterize the transcription and protein expression profiles of BmVps4 and BmVta1 during silkworm development and in different silkworm tissues and organs. The results showed that they were significantly up‐regulated in metamorphosis, adulthood and embryogenesis relative to larval stages, and displayed a roughly similar tissue‐and‐organ specificity for transcriptions in silkworm larvae. Importantly, BmVps4 was down‐regulated during the early period of the fifth instar, reaching the lowest level of transcription on Day 6, then up‐regulated from Day 7 to the wandering, spinning and pupal stages, and down‐regulated again in adulthood. Moreover, knocking down BmVps4 by RNA interference significantly inhibited silk gland growth, shortened spinning time, prolonged pupation, reduced pupal size and weight, and increased moth wing defects. Together, our data demonstrate the critical and broad requirements for BmVps4 in silkworm metamorphosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oscillatory/pulsatile flow is an important approach for mixing enhancement at micro scales. Here we report a micromixer that consists of a microfluidic oscillator and divergent chambers. The oscillator autonomously produces an oscillatory flow, which further causes efficient stretching and folding of the fluids to improve the mixing. Testing results show that the design works well at relatively high flow rates and high viscosities. At around 40 ml/min, the mixing index can reach 0.97 at 8 mPa s, and 0.89 at 12 mPa s, respectively. Efficient mixing can also be achieved at viscosity ratios of up to 10 (20 mPa s:2 mPa s). Application of the micromixer for preparation of nano sized RDX (cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) is investigated. Using the anti-solvent crystallization method, nano-RDX particles with the size ranging from 150 to 900 nm are obtained. Its thermal decomposition characteristics are tested and compared with the raw RDX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow passing a heated square cylinder is investigated using a hybrid LES-RANS approach on unstructured grids at a moderate Reynolds number of 22, 050. The effects of inflow turbulence on the flow field as well as surface convective heat transfer are studied by adopting a grid-based random-number method (GRM). Validation of the GRM method is carried out by generating and simulating a decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulent flow. Analysis of the turbulent quantities and comparisons with the Synthetic Coherent Eddy Method (SCEM) suggest that the cheaper GRM is able to generate good quality inflow turbulence, despite a longer transition region is required. Studies of the heated square cylinder in crossflow show that the inflow turbulence results in an early breakup of the shear layer, which leads to further effects on the vortex shedding and surface heat transfer. The surface convective heat transfer is increased with inflow turbulence, especially on the front, top and bottom surfaces, while limited influence is found on the rear surface. It is shown by the spectra that the effects of the inflow turbulence mainly focus on the turbulent shear layers, as well as heat transfer of the corresponding surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An unstructured hybrid LES-RANS approach has been applied to predict the adiabatic cooling effectiveness of a multi-row effusion array with circular holes. • Detailed time-averaged velocity and temperature profiles are presented showing far richer contents of the resolved Reynolds stresses over the modelled counter-parts from RANS. • The coverage and formation of the coolant film are studied by examining various flow and thermal properties, which con firm the plate surface is better protected towards the downstream rows. • The analysis of turbulent flowstructures and multi-jets interaction is performed using energy spectra and spectral coherence, which reveals the importance of resolving the off-wall flow mixing in order to predict the cooling effectiveness. A multi-row effusion cooling configuration with scaled gas turbine combustor conditions is studied numerically, using a novel wall-proximity-based hybrid LES-RANS approach. The distribution of the coolant film is examined by surface adiabatic cooling effectiveness (ACE). Simulation results have shown that the accuracy of cooling effectiveness prediction is closely related to the resolution of turbulent flow structures involved in hot-cold flow mixing, especially those close to the plate surface. The formation of the coolant film in the streamwise direction is investigated. It is shown that the plate surface directly downstream the coolant holes are covered well by the coolant jets, while surface regions in between the two columns of the coolant holes could not be protected until the coolant film is developed sufficiently in the spanwise direction in the downstream region. More detailed study has also been carried out to study the time-averaged and time-dependent flow fields. The relation between the turbulent flow structures and coolant film distribution are also examined. The Kelvin–Helmholtz instability in the upper and lower coolant jet shear layer, is found to have the same frequency of around 8000 Hz , and is independent of the coolant hole position. Additionally, it is suggested by the spectral coherence analysis that those unsteady flow structures from the lower shear layer are closely related to the near wall flow temperature, and such effect is also independent of the coolant hole position. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of pulsating continuous-phase flow on droplet generation at a T-junction are investigated. The pulsating perturbation produced by a microfluidic oscillator is found to govern the droplet formation. In this way, the droplet size, the generation frequency, and the fluid properties become uncorrelated. Within a wide viscosity (1–60 cP) and flow rate range [ Q d , max / Q d , min is on the order of O (10 2) ] of the discrete fluid, the droplet volume increases linearly with Q d and hence can be easily tuned. Using a single perturbation source, microdroplets of largely different viscosities and volumes can be synchronously generated, facilitating subsequent precise control and manipulations such as one-to-one coalescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental investigation of particle pair separation is conducted in two types of laboratory two-dimensional turbulence under a broad range of experimental conditions. In the range of scales corresponding to the inverse energy cascade inertial interval, the particle pair separation exhibits diffusive behaviour. The analysis of the pair velocity correlations suggests the existence of coherent bundles or clusters of non-diverging fluid particles. Such bundles are also detected using a recently developed topological tool based on the concept of braids. The bundles are observed as meandering streams whose width is determined by the turbulence forcing scale. In such locally anisotropic turbulence, the particle pair dispersion depends on the initial particle separation and on the width of the bundles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents information on a study that examined the interface structure of a silicon heterolayer on sulphur-passivated GaAs. Experimental procedure; Results and discussion on the study; Conclusions.

Abstract: Сhitinases expressed by some beneficial fungi are crucial for the biocontrol of phytopathogens. The activity of chitinolytic strains of Trichoderma sp. may be enhanced by increasing the expression of chitinases. We describe the Trichoderma strain Mchit42 which expresses a transgenic chitinase chit42 from Metarhizium anisopliae. Inhibitory effects against plant pathogens were tested. Comparison of WT (T30) and OE (Mchit42) indicated that overexpression of M. anisopliaechit42 did not alter Trichoderma growth, while enhancing the expression of endogenous chitinase, β-1,3-glucanases, and polygalacturonase and increasing the antagonistic activity of Trichoderma against Botrytis cinerea. This work confirmed that the expression of the entomopathogenic fungi-sourced chit42 genes in Trichodermaharzianum enhances the efficiency of Trichoderma biocontrol against targeted pathogens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives CAD/CAM ceramic occlusal veneers are increasingly used as therapeutic options. However, little is known about their mechanical behavior under stress, as the response of the prepared tooth that supports it. The aim of this article is to use for the first time 3D color holography to evaluate the behavior of a molar occlusal veneer under stress and the response of the prepared tooth. Methods The occlusal surface of a lower molar is prepared to receive a specific monolithic ceramic reconstruction manufactured with a chairside CAD/CAM system. Longitudinally cut samples are used to get a planar object observation and to “look inside” the tooth. A digital holographic set-up permits to obtain the contact-less and one-shot measurement of the three-dimensional displacement field at the surface of the tooth sample; stain fields are evaluated with low noise-sensitive computation. Results Figures show the strain fields with micro-strain units and highlight the behavior of the ROI (region of interest) in the three directions of space. The ROI are: the ceramic, the glue junction, the dentin enamel junction, dentin and enamel. The results show an excellent behavior of the restored tooth without areas of excessive stress concentrations, but also a significant involvement of the dentin enamel junction. Significance The ceramic occlusal veneer seems to behave in accordance with the biomechanical concepts ensuring the longevity of the reconstituted tooth. 3D holography is a highly recommended method for studying dental biomechanics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure evolution and associated changes of mechanical properties in an Fe-30Mn-4Si-2Al TRIP/TWIP steel subjected to rolling over a wide temperature range of 298–1073 K were studied. The extensive ε-martensite subdivides the initial coarse grains into nanoscale lamella structure after rolling at 298 K, with a high dislocation density. The elevating of rolling temperature changed the deformation microstructure from ε-martensite to deformation twins, as well as a decrease in dislocation density. The main emphasis is on the contribution of different plastic deformation mechanisms involved in the strengthening. Both ε-martensite and deformation twins have an impact on the strengthening by bringing about a Hall & Petch effect. However, dislocation gives more contribution during rolling at all the investigated temperatures. An interesting consequence of this observation is that the asynchronous synergy of deformation twins induced by warm rolling at 673 K and ε-martensitic transformation occurred at room temperature tensile deformation renders this material distinctly stronger with an improved work hardening rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid mixing in miniaturized fluidic devices is a challenging task. In this work, the mixing enhancement through oscillatory transverse perturbations coupling with divergent circular chambers is studied. To simplify the design, an autonomous microfluidic oscillator is used to produce the oscillatory flow. It is then applied to four side-channels that intersect with a central channel of constant flow. The mixing performance is tested at high fluid viscosities of up to 16 cP. Results show that the oscillatory flow can cause strong transverse perturbations which effectively enhance the mixing. The influence of a fluidic capacitor in the central channel is also examined, which at low viscosities can intensify the perturbations and further improve the mixing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a reviewof experiments performed in three-dimensional flows that showbehaviour associated with two-dimensional turbulence. Experiments reveal the presence of the inverse energy cascade in two different systems, namely, flows in thick fluid layers driven electromagnetically and the Faraday wave driven flows. In thick fluid layers, large-scale coherent structures can shear off the vertical eddies and reinforce the planarity of the flow. Such structures are either self-generated or externally imposed. In the Faraday wave driven flows, a seemingly three-dimensional flow is shown to be actually two-dimensional when it is averaged over several Faraday wave periods. In this system, a coupling between the wave motion and 2D hydrodynamic turbulence is uncovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flow passing a heated square cylinder is investigated using a hybrid LES-RANS approach on unstructured grids at a moderate Reynolds number of 22,050. The implicit sub-grid scale model is apply to LES, and two turbulence models, the Spalart-Allmaras model and the SST k - ω model, are employed for near-wall RANS. Combined with LES, both models present good predictions of the time- and phase-averaged velocity profiles on a 4-million-cell grid. Results of the LES-SST approach agree better with the experimental data especially at locations close to the cylinder surface and this leads to improved surface convective heat transfer compared to LES-SA. Grid convergence study shows that grid resolution in the near-wall region and on the cylinder surfaces is important in resolving the unsteady convective heat transfer. Results of velocity field and surface heat transfer from the fine grid with 8 million cells compare favourably with the experimental data and show significant improvement over that of the medium and coarse grids. Analysis of turbulent statistics is performed by means of energy spectra and anisotropy invariants of the Reynolds stress tensor. Proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) is used to identify the vortex shedding phases. It is shown that the POD based phase-averaging produces more accurate velocity profiles than the conventional pressure-signal based method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wafer-level hermetic packaging is attractive for microbolometer-based uncooled infrared cameras as it enables low manufacturing cost and high-volume production of the sensors. A large package is designed to accommodate highly sensitive microbolometers with a high pixel count. This paper focuses on the study of failure mechanisms related to fabricating such large hermetic packages at wafer-level. We bonded wafers containing ~12 mm × 12 mm dies using Cu Sn solid-liquid interdiffusion (SLID) bonding and subsequently analysed the possible causes for failures. A time-dependent cap deflection study was carried out on the successfully bonded dies to evaluate the vacuum condition inside the package. The main causes for failures determined by this study include insufficient bonding pressure, non-uniform electroplating, voids in the sealing frame, and local cracks on the cap wafer with cavity. These factors contribute to a low dicing yield and loss of vacuum. A high dicing yield were obtained by Cu electroplating with 5 mA/cm2 current density, ≥4 MPa bonding pressure, and ≥200 μm cap thickness. In the cap deflection study, 7 out of 19 dies in a wafer maintained high vacuum after 178 days as indicated by limited decline in the cap deflection (~1–6 %), which shows the potential of this wafer-level packaging for obtaining long-term reliability. • Failure analysis in wafer-level hermetic Cu–Sn solid-liquid interdiffusion bonding. • Low bonding pressure, poor electroplating uniformity, and voids lead to vacuum loss. • A cap thickness larger than 200 μm can reduce the risk of cap wafer cracking. • The cap deflection indicated stable vacuum for several dies over a six-month period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element–binding protein (CREB) is a member of the CREB/activation transcription factor 1 family that binds to an octanucleotide cAMP response element consensus sequence in promoters of target genes. Methods CREB has been shown to regulate a variety of cellular functions, including cell proliferation, survival, apoptosis, differentiation, metabolism, hematopoiesis, immune response, and neuronal activity. CREB was also identified as a proto-oncogene involving in transformation by promoting abnormal proliferation and survival of myeloid cells. To understand the mechanism of CREB functions in leukemogenesis, the transcriptional profiles from a K562 cell line in which CREB was knocked down were analyzed with the use of bioinformatics methods. Results DAVID Bioinformatics Resources and Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) were performed to identify the targets that are regulated by CREB. A total of 692 genes were up-regulated and 364 genes down-regulated. The up-regulated genes were significantly enriched in pathways of cancer and chronic myeloid leukemia. GSEA analysis showed expression of Notch1 pathway to be decreased and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway to be activated. Conclusions Our results identified candidate gene sets that could be used to guide research on discovering the mechanism of CREB during leukemogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the possible dietary application of live and heat-inactivated probiotic Bacillus pumilus SE5 in grouper Epinephelus coioides, juveniles (14.6 ± 0.2 g) were fed either a basal control diet (without probiotic) or the basal diet supplemented with 1.0 × 108 CFU g−1 live (T1) and heat-inactivated B. pumilus SE5 (T2). The heat-inactivated probiotic significantly improved the final weight, weight gain ( WG) and specific growth rate ( SGR) at day 60 and significantly decreased the feed conversion ratio ( FCR) at day 30 and 60, while the viable probiotic significantly decreased the FCR at day 60 ( P < 0.05). Phagocytic activity, serum complement C3 and IgM levels as well as SOD activity elevated significantly in fish fed the heat-inactivated probiotic for 60 days ( P < 0.05). Furthermore, the heat-inactivated probiotic remarkably up-regulated expression of TLR2 and pro-inflammatory cytokines ( IL-8 and IL-1β) in head kidney ( P < 0.05), but the viable probiotic failed to do so. These results indicated that heat-inactivated B. pumilus SE5 can effectively improve the growth performance and immune responses of E. coioides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bombyx mori bidensovirus (BmBDV) and Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) are serious pathogens of Bombyx mori. In this study, we reported the changes of transcription level of several immune genes, including bmi, argo, dicer, cap1, cap3 and car, in Bombyx mori midgut after exposure to BmBDV or BmNPV. Silkworm strains 798 (anti-BmBDV) and 306 (susceptible to BmBDV) were subjected to BmBDV infection, and NB (anti-BmNPV) and HUABA (35) (susceptible to BmNPV) were subjected to BmNPV infection. The results showed that the transcription levels differ largely among different silkworm strains, and that the extent to which the gene transcriptions were affected by the viruses was different. However, both BmNPV and BmBDV viruses can reverse the transcription patterns of these genes when the silkworms were administered with the viruses compared with those control groups. The transcript levels of bmi and dicer were decreased in 798 and 306 strains that were inoculated with BmBDV compared with their respective controls, but were increased in NB and HUABA (35) inoculated with BmNPV. The transcript levels of argo and cap3 were risen in 798, 306 and NB strains when inoculated with their respective viruses, but were decreased in HUABA (35) strain. The transcript levels of cap1 were risen in all silkworm strains, while the levels of car were decreased in 798, 306 and HUABA (35) strains, and increased in NB strain when inoculated with their respective viruses. These findings may contribute to more in-depth understanding on functions of these genes in virus infection and proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments were conducted, under typical commercial swine production conditions, to determine effects of dietary arginine supplementation during early gestation on the performance of gilts and sows. In Exp. 1, between d 1 and 30 of gestation, 62 Landrace gilts and 113 sows consumed a corn- and soybean meal-based diet supplemented with 1.3% l-arginine HCl or 2.2% l-alanine. Total numbers of piglets born (P < 0.05) and born alive (P < 0.01) per litter and litter birth weights of piglets born (P < 0.05) and born alive (P < 0.05) were increased in the arginine group compared with the control. In Exp. 2, 155 multiparous Landrace sows received 1.3% l-arginine HCl supplementation between d 1 and 14 (T2; n = 41), d 15 and 30 (T3; n = 40), or d 1 and 30 (T4; n = 37), whereas the control group received 2.2% l-alanine supplementation between d 1 and 30 (T1; n = 37). Blood samples were randomly obtained from 6 sows per group on d 1, 14, and 28 of gestation to determine plasma concentrations of AA and related metabolites. Total numbers of piglets born (P = 0.084) and born alive (P = 0.080) per litter tended to be higher for sows supplemented with arginine between d 1 and 14 of gestation (T2) than for control sows (T1). Concentrations of arginine and nitric oxide metabolites were greater (P < 0.05) in T4 compared with T1 and T3 on d 14 of gestation and were also greater in T4 compared with T1 and T2 on d 28 of gestation. Plasma concentrations of spermidine (P < 0.001) were increased in T3 and T4 compared with T1 and T2 on d 28. These results indicate that dietary arginine supplementation during early gestation improves the reproductive performance of gilts and sows, possibly via nitric oxide and polyamine-dependent mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intrigued by the high demand of fast design and development of nanoscale electronic devices, electronic transport across atomic dimensions becomes an important theoretical and computational problem. In this paper we present a tight-binding based model specially tailed for calculating realistic tunneling structures with scattering region dimensions of several nanometers. The proposed model allows for a proper treatment of the electron–phonon coupling effects in a tractable manner. By greatly reducing the complexity of the phonon-involved problem down to a quadratic level, transmission calculation for large-scale systems, including both planar structures and quantum wire structures, becomes practically feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Film cooling effectiveness is highly dependant on upstream turbulence conditions. • Upstream turbulent boundary layer fluctuations are a key factor in promoting lateral coolant spread. • Upstream turbulent boundary layer fluctuations suppress laminar shear layer stabilities in the coolant-hot gas mixing layer. • Coolant hole flow dominates smaller scale turbulence in the near-wall region close to the coolant hole trailing edge. • High FST intensity flow shows increased integral length scales in the coolant jet compared to near-wall and no inflow turbulence cases. The paper investigates the impact of industrially appropriate inflow turbulence on the turbulent state, mixing capability and surface coolant distribution of film cooling flow using LES. Near-wall and freestream turbulence, corresponding to turbulent boundary layers and stochastic turbulent fluctuations away from the wall, have been investigated. In our study, we set up three main test scenarios: no inflow turbulence, near-wall boundary layer turbulence and freestream turbulence. Our work shows that surface adiabatic cooling effectiveness differs significantly with and without inflow turbulence. It is also evident that freestream turbulence enhances the mixing ability of a cooling flow, providing an initial enhancement of surface cooling close to the hole but with reduced cooling effectiveness downstream. Turbulent length scales, turbulent heat flux and turbulent anisotropy are compared and illustrate the changes in cooling effectiveness as a result of the upstream turbulent behaviour. As a result, despite inflow turbulence being a complex subject and problem-dependent, the importance of introducing realistic turbulent inflow in LES of cooling flows is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wave motion in disordered Faraday waves is analysed in terms of oscillons or quasi-particles. The motion of these oscillons is measured using particle tracking tools and it is compared with the motion of fluid particles on the water surface. Both the real floating particles and the oscillons, representing the collective fluid motion, show Brownian-type dispersion exhibiting ballistic and diffusive mean squared displacement at short and long times, respectively. While the floating particles motion has been previously explained in the context of two-dimensional turbulence driven by Faraday waves, no theoretical description exists for the random walk type motion of oscillons. It is found that the r.m.s velocity $$\left\langle {\tilde u_{osc} } \right\rangle _{rms}$$ of oscillons is directly related to the turbulent r.m.s. velocity $$\left\langle {\tilde u_{rms} } \right\rangle$$ of the fluid particles in a broad range of vertical accelerations. The measured $$\left\langle {\tilde u_{osc} } \right\rangle _{rms}$$ accurately explains the broadening of the frequency spectra of the surface elevation observed in disordered Faraday waves. These results suggest that 2D turbulence is the driving force behind both the randomization of the oscillons motion and the resulting broadening of the wave frequency spectra. The coupling between wave motion and hydrodynamic turbulence demonstrated here offers new perspectives for predicting complex fluid transport from the knowledge of wave field spectra and vice versa. Graphical abstract: [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The isolation and development of 15 polymorphic dinucleotide microsatellite loci were described for Ophicephalus argus from the Huaihe River. All loci were polymorphic in the 30 individuals tested. The number of alleles per variable locus ranged from nine to seventeen, with a mean of 12.00. These novel microsatellite loci showed high level of polymorphism. Observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.793 to 0.929 and from 0.841 to 0.952, respectively. Two loci were found deviated from HWE in the sampled population after Bonferroni correction. These microsatellite loci will be useful for revealing population structure, genetic diversity, and phylogeography of Ophicephalus argus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behaviors of coal pyrolysis under microwave are not only affected by the microwave generator but also by the properties of the raw coal itself. In this article, two high volatile sub-bituminous coals, Yima coal and Indonesia coal, were pyrolyzed under microwave with a frequency of 2,450 GHz. The effect of coal sample characteristics, such as grain size, moisture content, and mineral matter, on the behaviors of coal microwave pyrolysis were studied in detail. The results show that these coal characteristics considerably affect the temperature rising and product composition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Metal sulfides have recently emerged as a new class of anode materials for lithium ion batteries. In this work, a facile method based on anion exchange reaction is reported to prepare nanowire interwoven NiCo2S4 nanowall arrays through topotactical transformation from the Ni-Co carbonate hydroxide precursor. The nanowire interwoven NiCo2S4 nanowall arrays are investigated as binder free anodes for lithium ion batteries. The electrochemical measurements reveal that the NiCo2S4 nanowall arrays possess large reversible capacity, good cycling stability and good rate capacity, making them promising anodes for advanced lithium ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new complex of [Ni(CHN)(N)]ClO · HO was obtained by the reaction of macrocyclic precursor complex [Ni(CHN)]ClO with sodium azide in water solution, and characterized by EA, IR, PXRD and single-crystal X-ray diffraction (CIF file CCDC no. 930570). Single X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the central nickel(II) ion displays six-coordinate octahedral coordination geometry by coordination with four nitrogen atoms of N macrocyclic ligand and two nitrogen atoms of ligand. In this complex, each μ-N binds two nickel(II) ions, resulting a 1D chain. Magnetic measurements have been performed on the complex, showing strong antiferromagnetic coupling interaction within the metal center. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the modulation of interlayer exchange coupling (IEC) between the ferromagnet (FM) Fe and insulating antiferromagnet (AFM) CoO and its impact on the Gilbert damping by a time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect technique. By inserting a wedge spin conductor Ag layer at the interface of Fe/CoO, it is revealed that both uniform spin precession frequency and Gilbert damping constant of Fe film decrease with increasing Ag thickness up to ∼2 nm, and above that with eliminated IEC, these two parameters reach the intrinsic values of the Fe film. The precession frequency and damping also show similar variation tendency with temperature for attenuated IEC. These results prove that the exchange coupling at the FM–AFM interface plays an essential role for the spin angular momentum transfer to the insulating AFM layer, and the spin pumping is insignificant even for the very thin spin conductor layer. Our findings may have general insights into the role of the FM/AFM interface in the magnetization dynamics and spin angular momentum transfer for future spintronic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rates of charge carrier relaxation by phonon emission are of substantial importance in the field of hot carrier solar cell, primarily in investigation of mechanisms to slow down hot carrier cooling. In this work, energy and momentum resolved deformation potentials relevant to electron-phonon scattering are computed for wurtzite InN and GaN as well as an InN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) superlattice using ab-initio methods. These deformation potentials reveal important features such as discontinuities across the electronic bandgap of the materials and variations over tens of eV. The energy dependence of the deformation potential is found to be very similar for wurtzite nitrides despite differences between the In and Ga pseudopotentials and their corresponding electronic band structures. Charge carrier relaxation by this mechanism is expected to be minimal for electrons within a few eV of the conduction band edge. However, hole scattering at energies more accessible to excitation by solar radiation is possible between heavy and light hole states. Moderate reductions in overall scattering rates are observed in MQW relative to the bulk nitride materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A dynamic model is established for train–bridge system subjected to collision-load. [•] Collision greatly enlarges displacement and acceleration responses of bridge. [•] Running safety of high-speed train is affected by collision-excited bridge vibration. [•] Evaluation method for running safety of high-speed train on bridge to collision. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report new measurements of single particle dispersion in turbulent two-dimensional (2D) flows. Laboratory experiments in electromagnetically driven and Faraday wave driven turbulence reveal a transition from weakly dispersing superdiffusive regime to strongly dispersing Brownian diffusion as the flow energy is increased in a broad range. The transition to fully developed 2D turbulence is characterized by the topological changes in the fluid particle trajectories and the development of self-similar diffusion. The degree of 2D turbulence development can be quantified by a parameter describing the deviation of single particle dispersion from the Taylor dispersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new one-dimensional coordination polymers: {[Cu(L)(HTTHA)] · HO} ( I), {[Cu(L)(HTTHA)] · 10HO} ( II) (L = 1,3,10,12,15,18-hexaazatetracyclodocosane; L = 3,10-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-1,3,5,8,10,12-hexaazacyclotetradecane), based on a flexible hexapodal ligand HTTHA (1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine hexaacetic acid), have been synthesized and structure characterized. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses indicated that the central metal atom displays distorted six-coordinate octahedral coordination geometry by coordination with four nitrogen atoms of L or L, and two oxygen atoms of HTTHA liagand. Both of the compounds show one-dimensional chain structures, which are constructed of [Cu(L)] and [HTTHA] anion with 1 : 1 ratio. Interestingly, the nature of the macrocycle influences the structure of the coordination polymer produced with HTTHA for each of the two compounds. TG, IR, PXRD, and photoluminescent of the compounds are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze the transition of a hydroelastic microfluidic oscillator from steady laminar flow to oscillatory flow. Results show that the transition pressure is influenced by both the fluid viscosity and the device geometry, which can be explained through the negative differential resistance effects. Due to the deflection of the elastic diaphragm, the flow resistance increases with the driving pressure (P0), and this increase is more significant at higher viscosities. At the critical transition point, further increase of P0 will cause a reduction in the flow rate and trigger the oscillation. This provides an alternative point of view to the occurrence of flow induced vibrations. We also demonstrate that through optimization of the design, the current device is capable of working in high-viscosity environments of up to 89 cP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety assessment is essential throughout medical product development. There has been increased awareness of the importance of safety trials recently, in part due to recent US Food and Drug Administration guidance related to thorough assessment of cardiovascular risk in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Bayesian methods provide great promise for improving the conduct of safety trials. In this paper, the safety subteam of the Drug Information Association Bayesian Scientific Working Group evaluates challenges associated with current methods for designing and analyzing safety trials and provides an overview of several suggested Bayesian opportunities that may increase efficiency of safety trials along with relevant case examples. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reaction of a macrocyclic copper(II) complex [Cu(L)](ClO 4) 2 · 3H 2O ( I) (L = 1,3,10,12,16,19-hexaazatetracyclotetracosane) with a hexapod carboxylate ligand H 6TTHA (H 6TTHA = 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triamine hexaacetic acid) and a tripod carboxylate ligand H 3TATB (H 3TATB = 4,4′,4″- S-triazine-2,4,6-triyl-tribenzoic acid) yielded two mononuclear copper(II) complexes [Cu(L)][H 4TTHA] · 4H 2O ( II) and [Cu(L)][HTATB] · 4H 2O ( III). The complexes I–III have been structurally characterized. The crystal structures of complexes II and III show the copper(II) ion has a distorted pentacoordinate square-pyramidal geometry with two secondary and two tertiary amines from the macrocyclic complex [Cu(L)] 2+ and one oxygen atom from the carboxylate ligand group at the axial position. The UV-Vis spectra are utilized to discuss the hydrolysis of the complex II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two European laboratories independently detected atypical bovine pestiviral nucleic acids in three commercial batches of foetal bovine serum (FBS) that was claimed by the producers to be of Australian origin. Additional batches of FBS were obtained directly from Australia to exclude possible contamination of the Australian FBS with that of South American origin during manufacturing/packaging in European countries. RT-PCR amplification of partial 5′untranslated region and the complete Npro gene yielded a specific band with expected size, which was confirmed by DNA sequencing. Bayesian analysis of sequence data demonstrated a closer phylogenetic relation of the newly detected atypical bovine pestiviruses to those of South American origin, which were related to the recognized bovine pestivirus species, bovine viral diarrhoea virus. Taken together, the results indicated the presence of atypical bovine pestiviruses in the Australian FBS, and most likely in Australian Continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the generation of large coherent vortices via inverse energy cascade in Faraday wave driven turbulence. The motion of floaters in the Faraday waves is three dimensional, but its horizontal velocity fluctuations show unexpected similarity with two-dimensional turbulence. The inverse cascade is detected by measuring frequency spectra of the Lagrangian velocity, and it is confirmed by computing the third moment of the horizontal velocity fluctuations. This is observed in deep water in a broad range of wavelengths and vertical accelerations. The results broaden the scope of recent findings on Faraday waves in thin layers [A. von Kameke et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107 (074502) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]