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Background: Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection among female is the cause of cervical cancer and genital warts. In China, the HPV vaccination rate and the target population screening rate among females are low, and the aims of this study on the genotype distribution and prevalence of HPV infection were to provide more targeted strategies for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer and HPV-related diseases. Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-reverse dot blot (PCR-RDB) was adopted for HPV genotyping test, the prevalence and 23 genotypes distribution of HPV infections among 181,705 women in Chengdu from 2013 to 2020 were analysed. Results: The overall prevalence rate of HPV infection among 181,705 cases was 23.28%, the prevalence of HR-HPV at the age group < 20 years, 60–69 years and ≥ 70 years were higher than the overall prevalence.The prevalence of HPV showed a bimodal U-shaped curve with age; the first and second peak common occurred among females < 20 years old (42.97%) and 60–69 years old (37.56%), respectively.The top five genotypes of HPV infection among females in Chengdu were HPV52/16/58/81/53. Single infection (73.26%) was the main HPV infection pattern, followed by double infection (19.17%) and multiple infection (7.57%), the infection rate of HPV showed a gradual declined as the patterns of HPV coinfections increased, low-risk and high-risk coinfection was higher in low-risk HPV infection (43.68%) and lower in high-risk HPV infection (13.59%). The prevalence of genotypes − 6 and − 81 infection was the second highest at the age group of 20 and 40–59, respectively, while the prevalence of HPV16 was the highest at the age group of ≥ 70 among 23 genotypes among the 181,705 women. Conclusions: The prevalence of HPV infections among women in Chengdu is higher than domestic certain developed citys, among the five vaccines available, nonavalent vaccine is more suitable for Chengdu females. For young females prioritizing vaccination is essential in the current context.Double screening for HPV DNA is important in middle-aged women (30–49 years), and screening should not be lacking in older women (> 65 years). Additionally,for patients with genital warts, it is necessary to screen for high-risk HPV infection and provide appropriate management and treatment. Given the limitations of this study, future HPV research should aim to achieve full coverage of the target population, and our studies should also include cellular or pathological data of HPV-positive cases, vaccination rates, and various lifestyle details. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) play a key role in regulating the host immune response and shaping tumor microenvironment. It has been previously shown that T cell infiltration in penile tumors was associated with clinical outcomes. However, few studies have reported the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire in patients with penile cancer. In the present study, we evaluated the TCR repertoires in tumor and adjacent normal tissues from 22 patients with penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC). Analysis of the T cell receptor beta-variable (TRBV) and joining (TRBJ) genes usage and analysis of complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3) length distribution did not show significant differences between tumor and matched normal tissues. Moreover, analysis of the median Jaccard index indicated a limited overlap of TCR repertoire between these groups. Compared with normal tissues, a significantly lower diversity and higher clonality of TCR repertoire was observed in tumor samples, which was associated with clinical characteristics. Further analysis of transcriptional profiles demonstrated that tumor samples with high clonality showed increased expression of genes associated with CD8 + T cells. In addition, we analyzed the TCR repertoire of CD4 + T cells and CD8 + T cells isolated from tumor tissues. We identified that expanded clonotypes were predominantly in the CD8 + T cell compartment, which presented with an exhausted phenotype. Overall, we comprehensively compared TCR repertoire between penile tumor and normal tissues and demonstrated the presence of distinct T cell immune microenvironments in patients with PSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study on human papilloma virus (HPV) 6/11/16/18 infection among females in Chengdu were to provide more targeted strategies for the prevention and treatment of cervical cancer and genital warts. In this study, the infection status of 20 genotypes was analysed by gene chip technology. The prevalence rates of HPV-6, -11, -16, and -18 infection among 180,276 cases were 0.94%, 0.57%, 3.22%, and 1.28%, respectively. The prevalence of HPV 6/11/16/18 showed a bimodal U-shaped curve with age; the first and second peak occurred among females < 20 and ≥ 60 years old, respectively. As the multiplicity of infections involving HPV6/11/16/18 increases, the infection rate decreases. The ratios of HPV16 single infection showed a yearly increase. The top five genotypes with HPV-16, -18, -6, and -11 in coinfection were HPV52/58/53/51/33, HPV 52/16/53/58/51, HPV52/16/58/51/53 and HPV16/52/58/59/18, respectively, HPV16/18/6/11 were mainly coinfected with HR-HPV. In sum, among the five vaccines available, nonavalent vaccine is more suitable for Chengdu females. For young females prioritizing vaccination is essential in the current context, while HPV screening remains an effective approach for older females. Additionally, in patients with genital warts, it is necessary to assess the presence of high-risk HPV infection and manage it appropriately in patients with genital warts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant cuticular wax is the covering of the outer layer of the plant. It forms a protective barrier on the epidermis of plants and plays a vital role like a safeguard from abiotic and biotic stresses. In the present study, Brassica napus L. materials with and without wax powder were observed. Genetic analysis showed that the separation ratio of waxy plants to waxless plants was 15:1 in the F2 population, which indicated that the wax powder formation was controlled by two pairs of genes. In order to identify the candidate genes associated with the wax powder trait of B. napus L., bulked segregant analysis (BSA) was performed. The homozygous waxy plants, the homozygous waxless plants, and plants from three parents were selected for establishing five DNA pools for genome-wide resequencing. The results of the resequencing showed that the site associated with wax powder trait was located in the region of 590,663–1,657,546 bp on chromosome A08. And 48 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were found between the DNA sequences of waxy plants and waxless plants in this region. These SNPs were distributed across 16 gene loci. qRT-PCR analysis was conducted for the 16 candidate genes and three genes (BnaA08g01070D, BnaA08g02130D, and BnaA08g00890D) showed significantly differential expression between waxy and waxless parents. BnaA08g01070D and BnaA08g02130D were significantly down-regulated in the waxless parent, while BnaA08g00890D was significantly up-regulated in the waxless parent. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses revealed that the BnaA08g02130D gene was enriched in lipid biosynthetic or metabolic processes. All the results in our study would provide valuable clues for exploring the genes involved in wax powder development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detecting the association between two variables is necessary and meaningful in the era of big data. There are many measures to detect the association between them, some detect linear association, e.g., simple and fast Pearson correlation coefficient, and others detect nonlinear association, e.g., computationally expensive and imprecise maximal information coefficient (MIC). In our study, we proposed a novel maximal association coefficient (MAC) based on the idea that any nonlinear association can be considered to be composed of some piecewise-linear ones, which detects linear or nonlinear association between two variables through Pearson coefficient. We conduct experiments on some simulation data, with the results show that the MAC has both generality and equitability. In addition, we also apply MAC method to two real datasets, the major-league baseball dataset from Baseball Prospectus and dataset of credit card clients' default, to detect the association strength of pairs of variables in these two datasets respectively. The experimental results show that the MAC can be used to detect the association between two variables, and it is computationally inexpensive and precise than MIC, which may be potentially important for follow-up data analysis and the conclusion of data analysis in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microneedles (MNs) are micron-sized protrusions attached to a range of devices that are used in therapeutic delivery and diagnosis. Because MNs can be self-applied, are painless, and can carry multiple therapeutic agents, they have received extensive attention, and have been widely investigated, for local and systemic therapy. Many researchers are currently working to extend the use of MNs to clinical applications. In this review, we provide an update and analysis on MN-based clinical trials since their inception in 2007. The MNs in clinical trials are classified into five types based on their appearance and properties, including: hollow MNs, MN patches, radiofrequency MNs, MN rollers, and other MNs. The various aspects of MN trials are summarized, such as MN types, clinical trial time, and trial regions. This review aims to present an overview of MN development and provide insights for future research in this field. To our knowledge, this is the first review focused on MN clinical trials which showcases the latest applications of this advanced technology in medicine. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CoH SB x sb PO SB y sb nanoparticles exhibit a better hydrogen evolution reaction improvement effect on the CdIn SB 2 sb S SB 4 sb photocatalyst than Pt nanoparticles. These eleven papers were devoted to achieving high-efficiency photocatalysts by broadening the light absorption range, inhibiting the photo-induced electrons and holes recombination, and promoting the extraction of photo-induced charges for chemical reactions. The CoH SB x sb PO SB y sb accelerates the hole transfer and inhibits the electron and hole recombination, thus promoting the photocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction activity under visible light. [Extracted from the article]

The study of gene function in largemouth bass requires accurate normalization by use of suitable internal reference genes. The expression levels of four candidate internal reference genes including β‐actin, EF1‐α, cytb and 12SrRNA in different tissues, two different developmental stages, and different experimental conditions of largemouth bass were evaluated by quantitative real‐time PCR (qPCR) method. The expression stabilities of four candidate internal reference genes were analysed by geNorm, NormFinder and BestKeeper software calculation. The results showed that cytb is the best internal reference gene in different tissues and two different developmental stages of largemouth bass. The cytb and EF1‐α was the best choice for internal reference gene in gill of largemouth bass 10 g and 55 g weighing under different salt concentrations respectively. After being challenged by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), Aeromonas hydrophila and Edwardsiella tarda in largemouth bass weighing 55 g, EF1‐α was recommended as the most suitable internal reference gene in spleen, but cytb was ranked as the best internal reference gene in head kidney. The expression levels of CaM normalized by EF1‐α and cytb in spleen and head kidney of largemouth bass weighing 55 g, and which showed the significant upregulation in LPS group than those in the control group. Therefore, these results indicated that cytb and EF1‐α are the suitable internal reference genes in different tissues, two different developmental stages and different experimental conditions respectively. This study will provide convincing information for the selection of suitable internal reference genes in different tissues, different developmental stages and different experimental conditions of largemouth bass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromorphic devices have gained considerable attention in mimicking the perception and memory of brains. As a type of neuromorphic device, broadband responsive optical synapses are urgently needed. In this work, an artificial optical synapse based on topological insulator Bi 2 Te 3 nanosheets is constructed by a simple solvothermal method, which can be sensitively modulated by wide spectral light from visible to near-infrared. The Bi 2 Te 3 nanosheets were fabricated as a photodetector through a spin-coating route, which exhibits a remarkable photoresponse with a maximum responsivity of 27.4 mA W−1 and a maximum detectivity of 4.21×1010 Jones. The Bi 2 Te 3 photodetector showed a unique memory effect for light sources with different wavelengths, confirming its potential as an artificial optical synapse. Its photoresponse to infrared light showed no significant difference compared to visible light with higher energy, which lights up the future of developing broadband-responsive optical synaptic devices. • Different sizes of Bi 2 Te 3 nanosheets were prepared by solvothermal method. • The photodetectors were assembled by a simple drop-plating method. • The devices have high responsivity and detectivity to dim light. • Memory effect makes the detector a broadband-responsive artificial synapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute kidney injury (AKI) stands as a prevalent and economically burdensome condition worldwide, yet its complex molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. To address this gap, our study employs a multifaceted approach, combining mass spectrometry and RNA sequencing technologies, to elucidate the intricate molecular landscape underlying nephrotoxin-induced AKI in mice by cisplatin- and LPS-induced. By examining the protein and RNA expression profiles, we aimed to uncover novel insights into the pathogenesis of AKI and identify potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Our results demonstrate significant down-regulation of Slc34a1 and Slc34a3, shedding light on their crucial roles in AKI pathology and highlighting their promise as actionable targets for diagnosis and treatment. This comprehensive analysis not only enhances our understanding of AKI pathophysiology but also offers valuable avenues for the development of targeted interventions to mitigate its clinical impact. Nephrotoxicity acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common clinical condition whose pathogenesis is the process by which some drugs, chemicals or other factors cause damage to the kidneys, resulting in impaired kidney function. Although it has been proved that different nephrotoxic substances can affect the kidney through different pathways, whether they have a commonality has not been registered. Here, we combined transcriptomics and proteomics to study the molecular mechanism of LPS and cisplatin-induced nephrotoxic acute kidney injury finding that the down-regulation of Slc34a1 and Slc34a3 may be a critical link in nephrotoxic acute kidney injury, which can be used as a marker for its early diagnosis. [Display omitted] • Protein and mRNA profiles of LPS and cisplatin-induced nephrotoxic acute kidney injury are presented. • Slc34a1 and Slc34a3 are downregulated in nephrotoxic acute kidney injury that can serve as a potential diagnostic target. • LPS and cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury model mice were used for this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) was synthesized as a hyaluronic acid (HA) fluorescence sensor. • The detector exhibits a sensitive and quick response to HA with a detection limit as low as 6.9 ng/mL. • The sensor was successfully used as detection of HA in living cells. An aggregation-induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) that is positively charged, compound 1 , is synthesized by attaching a pyridyl cation to a pyrene core by use of a cyanoethylene bond. By employing compound 1 , it is possible to identify hyaluronic acid (HA) by combining it with the negatively charged HA through electrostatic interactions. When combined with HA, compound 1 exhibits a 9-fold fluorescence enhancement within 7 s, and shows a sensitive and quick response to HA with a detection limit as low as 6.9 ng/mL. Among the variety of available biological substances, even analogues to HA such as chondroitin 4-sulfate (CS) and heparin (Hep), compound 1 is shown to have the most significant fluorescence enhancement when connected to HA only, which demonstrates its excellent selectivity for HA. In particular, upon long-wavelength emission close to 600 nm and an extensive shift (∼160 nm), compound 1 allows for a minimization of the auto-fluorescence interference from complex biological substances and creates more accurate outcomes. Finally, the successful application of compound 1 for the purpose of selective and sensitive detection of HA in living cells is shown to be possible. Notably, good linear relationships arise for a serum assay when the concentration of the applied HA is within the range of 0–8.0 μg/mL (R 2 = 0.999), which suggests a possible clinical practice for quantifying HA since the clinical dosage level is covered by this range during both cardiovascular surgery and long-term care. Furthermore, our research offers a feasible and straightforward tool for detecting HA through electrostatic interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of miniaturization and miniaturization of portable electronic devices, the requirements of electronic devices are increasing for the performance of energy storage components within a certain volume. Considering the low power density and short cycle life of microbatteries, they cannot meet the requirements of rapid charge/discharge and long life of microelectronic devices. Meanwhile, microsupercapacitors (MSCs) have many advantages, such as high power density and long service life, and they meet the needs of use and development and have good prospects and progress advantages. In recent years, as new energy storage devices, MSCs have been widely studied in the design of device structure, but they are limited by many challenges such as low energy storage density, large internal resistance, improved cycle stability, and complex micropreparation technology. In this paper, the principle of MSCs and the research progress of structured electrodes were reviewed, thus providing a reference for the continuous optimization of the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Si@Cu composite anode material is prepared by magnetron sputtering method and applied for lithium-ion batteries. The Cu component with higher intrinsic conductivity can help to improve the conductivity of the Si particles effectively. The irregularly shaped micro-sized Si particles have reduced agglomeration effect compared with nano-sized particles. In order to further relieve the volume effect of the Si particles during charging and discharging processes, carbon layer is further introduced, which will further boost the conductivity and the cyclic performance. The Si@Cu@C composite electrode exhibits a remarkably improved electrochemical performance with reversible capacity of 1130 mAhg−1 after 100 cycles with coulombic efficiency of 99.3%. The methods used for the preparation of the Si@Cu and Si@Cu@C composite materials are both mass-productive, which is benefit for their practical applications. Moreover, magnetron sputtering method used for composite power preparation has broad application prospects in micro-sized composite material preparation. • Si@Cu composite material was prepared by magnetron sputtering method. • Cu component could enhance the conductivity of Si material effectively. • The Si@Cu@C composite electrode exhibits remarkably improved cyclic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most sensitive spin-exchange relaxation-free (SERF) magnetometer generally requires a working temperature greater than 100∘C. To date, octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) coating is one of the best candidates for this temperature range. However, the performance and consistency of the OTS coatings within the alkali-metal vapor cells are still poor. In this paper, the formation of OTS coatings on borosilicate glass (BG) substrates was investigated. The effects of ambient relative humidity (RH) on the formation of OTS coatings were examined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle measurement. The results showed that 75 % RH can improve the order of the OTS coatings and reduce the root mean square (RMS) roughness of the OTS coatings. Under three different ambient RHs, the soaking time of OTS molecules should be greater than 60 min to form complete OTS coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Anatomical and physiological niches had significant influence on the distribution of an organism's TCR repertoire. • T cell receptor repertoire diversity and clonal expansion varied by anatomical location. • Small intestinal CD4 + T cell repertoire harbored highly expanded public clonotypes. T cells mediate adaptive immunity in diverse anatomic compartments through recognition of specific antigens via unique T cell receptor (TCR) structures. However, little is known about the spatial distribution of an organism's TCR repertoire. Here, using high-throughput TCR sequencing (TCRseq), we investigated the TCR repertoires of sixteen tissues in healthy C57B/L6 mice. We found that TCR repertoires generally classified into three categories (lymph nodes, non-lymph node tissues and small intestine) based on sequence similarity. Clonal distribution and diversity analyses showed that small intestine compartment had a more skewed repertoire as compared to lymph nodes and non-lymph node tissues. However, analysis of TRBV and TRBJ gene usage across tissue compartments, as well as comparison of CDR3 length distributions, showed no significant tissue-dependent differences. Interestingly, analysis of clonotype sharing between mice showed that although non-redundant public clonotypes were found more easily in lymph nodes, small intestinal CD4 + T cells harbored more abundant public clonotypes. These findings under healthy physiological conditions offer an important reference dataset, which may contribute to our ability to better manipulate T cell responses against infection and vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fiber‐optic magnetic field sensor based on magnetic fluid (MF) infiltrated hollow core fiber (HCF) was proposed. The MF infiltrated HCF was used as a micro‐capillary ring resonator, in which, whispering‐gallery modes (WGMs) were exited through a closely placed tapered fiber. Through the intensity modulation introduced by external magnetic field on the resonance dip of the WGM excited in the MF infiltrated HCF, magnetic field measurement can be realized through a cost‐effective way. Experimental results demonstrated a magnetic field linear measurement range of 40–140 Oe, and a sensitivity of 0.04 dB/Oe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copolyimide (co‐PI) fibers with high strength and low dielectric constant are synthesized and prepared by introducing 2,2′‐bis(trifluoromethyl)‐4,4′‐diaminobiphenyl (TFMB) and 2‐(4‐aminophenyl)‐5‐aminobenzimidazole (BIA) diamines into the rigid backbones. The resultant fibers not only exhibited excellent mechanical properties with a tensile strength of 2.627 GPa and an initial modulus of 96.786 GPa, but also possessed a dielectric constant as low as 2.433 at 10 GHz. The existence of intermolecular hydrogen‐bonding interaction is confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which has been considered as the leading factor responsible for the significantly improved mechanical properties of the co‐PI fibers. 2D wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (2D WAXD) is adopted to investigate the variation on the aggregation structure of PI fibers after the incorporation of fluorine group. The fibers with more TMFB content possessed a higher orientation degree together with a larger free volume fracture due to the combined effects of enhanced flexibility and the volume effect of trifluoromethyl groups. Meanwhile, the prepared PI fibers exhibit a 5% weight loss temperature ranging from 543 to 533 °C in the nitrogen atmosphere and a glass transition temperature ranging from 334 to 317 °C, revealing high thermal stability of co‐PI fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomically multilayered two-dimensional transition-metal carbides have abundant interfaces, and are very promising as outstanding electromagnetic absorbing materials at thin thickness. Here, a Ti3C2Tx MXene was prepared by hydrofluoric acid etching method, and has typical multilayered morphology with stacks of nanosheets. The microwave dielectric behaviours of the Ti3C2Tx with efficient microwave absorption were investigated. The Ti3C2Tx presents good impedance matching, achieved with effective absorption bandwidth covering from 12.4 GHz to 17.1 GHz, with thickness of only 1.5 mm, which nearly covers the whole Ku band. The microwave absorption performance was adjusted, and the Ti3C2Tx has a minimum reflection loss of −34.4 dB at 12 GHz at only 1.7 mm. This study demonstrates the real potential of Ti3C2Tx MXene materials as electromagnetic wave thin broadband absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reticulated copolymer host pillar[5]arene cross-linked with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was synthesized for the facile construction of a double network cross-linked elastomer upon noncovalently cross-linking with tetraphenyethylene (TPE)-based tetratopic guests through host–guest interactions. The obtained sample strips had better mechanical properties and luminescence capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tetrapyridine-decorated tetraphenylethene (TPE) ligand 1 was designed, which, upon interacting with silver ions, displayed "turn-on" fluorescence in a dilute solution. The fluorescence enhancement can be attributed to the cooperative effect of restriction of the intramolecular rotation by metal coordination and silver ion induced aggregation. Furthermore, the fluorescence turn-on performance of AIE molecules in a dilute solution leads to tunable fluorescence properties including white-light emission by simply mixing AIE and ACQ molecules together, which might bridge the gap between the AIE and ACQ phenomena for the construction of color-tunable fluorescence systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With advantages such as low cost, high stability, and ease of production, visible light photocatalytic C3N4 with a unique microscopic layered structure holds significant potential for development. However, its hydrogen production efficiency remains low due to the pronounced recombination of photo-generated charge carriers and limited surface reaction sites. Normally, the photocatalytic performance of C3N4 can be enhanced by loading noble metals with surface plasmon resonance. It is worth noting that the size of noble metal nanoparticles has a great influence on photocatalytic performance. In this study, accurate controlling of the size and distribution of Au nanoparticles was achieved on the surface of C3N4 by introducing amino groups to improve photocatalytic performance. Results show that uniformly distributed Au nanoparticles in the range of 2–6 nm can be obtained on C3N4 with a remarkable enhancement of hydrogen production efficiency, which is about 114 times the property of pure C3N4. The small-sized and uniformly distributed Au nanoparticles can provide more reaction sites and increase the separation of photo-generated charge carriers, in turn improving Au/NH3–C3N4 photocatalytic hydrogen release rate to 6.85 mmol g−1 h−1. This work offers a facile way to enhance photocatalytic performance by controlling the size of metal nanoparticles on C3N4 precisely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkylaluminium compounds with smaller alkyl group size showed higher copolymerization activity, higher reducing ability and then yielding more active center numbers ([C*]/[Ti]) in the order TEA > TiBA > DiBAH > DEAC. The copolymers obtained during the very initial period were the mixtures of cis -1,4 units and trans -1,4 units structures and then transformed to highly trans -1,4 structure, indicating a transformation of the active center nature during the early polymerization stage, which can be accelerated effectively through the addition of DEAC into the TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 -TEA catalyst system. [Display omitted] • Effect of alkylaluminum on trans -1,4 stereospecific mechanism of Ip and Bd copolymerization was first investigated. • Alkylaluminium with smaller alkyl group had higher activity. • Addition of DEAC accelerated transformation of active centers. Alkylaluminums as one of the most important components of the heterogeneous MgCl 2 -supported (TiCl 4 /MgCl 2) type Ziegler-Natta catalysts, play significant roles in yielding active species with varied regio- and stereoselectivity. Studying the contribution of alkylaluminums on the conjugated diene isoprene (Ip) and butadiene (Bd) copolymerizations with TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 - alkylaluminum catalysts system is little reported. In this work, effects of various alkylaluminums including triethylaluminium (TEA), triisobutylaluminium (TiBA), diisobutylaluminium hydride (DiBAH) and diethylaluminum chloride (DEAC) on the copolymerization behaviors of Ip and Bd using the TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 - alkylaluminum catalysts system, such as catalytic activity, active center numbers, butadiene incorporation, trans -1,4 stereoselectivity, molecular weight M w as well as molecular weight distribution M w / M n of copolymers were first investigated. TEA with smaller size ethyl groups showed higher copolymerization activity, higher reducing ability and then yielding more active center numbers ([C*]/[Ti]) when compared with TiBA, DiBAH and DEAC. Microstructure of copolymers gradually transformed from the cis -1,4/ trans -1,4 mixed structure in the initial polymerization period to the finally high trans -1,4 structure, indicating a transformation of the active center nature during the early polymerization stage, which can be accelerated effectively through the addition of DEAC into the TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 -TEA catalyst system. TEA with smaller size ethyl group showed higher transformation rate from the mixed structures of trans -1,4 and cis -1,4 to highly trans -1,4 structure. The active center numbers of the copolymerization systems increased gradually with increasing time until reaching a stable level. The M w / M n of copolymers showed interesting evolution with increasing polymerization time from broad distribution with low to medium molecular weight fractions in the initial polymerization stage to relatively narrow distribution with high molecular weight fractions. The contribution of alkylaluminium compounds on the structure of active species which determining the regio- and stereoselectivity of Ip and Bd copolymerization using heterogeneous TiCl 4 /MgCl 2 type catalysts were discussed in details [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Accumulating evidence has showed that anti-CASPR2 autoantibodies occur in a long list of neurological immune disorders including limbic encephalitis (LE). Belonging to the well-known neurexin superfamily, CASPR2 has been suggested to be a central node in the molecular networks controlling neurodevelopment. Distinct from other subfamilies in the neurexin superfamily, the CASPR subfamily features a unique discoidin (Disc) domain. As revealed by our and others' recent studies, CASPR2 Disc domain bears a major epitope for autoantibodies. However, structural information on CASPR2 recognition by autoantibodies has been lacking. Here, we report the crystal structure of human CASPR2 Disc domain at a high resolution of 1.31 Å, which is the first atomic-resolution structure of the CASPR subfamily members. The Disc domain adopts a total β structure and folds into a distorted jellyroll-like barrel with a conserved disulfide-bond interlocking its N- and C-termini. Defined by four loops and located in one end of the barrel, the "loop-tip surface" is totally polar and easily available for protein docking. Based on structure-guided epitope prediction, we generated nine mutants and evaluated their binding to autoantibodies of cerebrospinal fluid from twelve patients with limbic encephalitis. The quadruple mutant G69N/A71S/S77N/D78R impaired CASPR2 binding to autoantibodies from eleven LE patients, which indicates that the loop L1 in the Disc domain bears hot spots for autoantibody interaction. Structural mapping of autoepitopes within human CASPR2 Disc domain sheds light on how autoantibodies could sequester CASPR2 ectodomain and antagonize its functionalities in the pathogenic processes. Highlights • High resolution crystal structure of human CASPR2 Disc domain was determined. • Based on structure-guided epitope prediction, nine Disc mutants were made. • 11 out of 12 limbic encephalitis patients' cerebrospinal fluids had weakened binding. • The loop L1 bears hot spots for autoantibody interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are the largest class of small noncoding RNAs in animal cells; they cooperate with PIWI proteins to safeguard the genome. Although several studies have established that piRNAs can be biomarkers of cancer, it is still difficult to elucidate the exact function of piRNAs. In addition, researchers need to further investigate the interplay between piRNAs and piRNA groups in tumorigenesis. To identify cancer-associated piRNA-modules, we performed a weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) on piRNA expression data from 11 types of cancer. Thereafter, genes associated with hub piRNAs in modules were predicted, and functional analysis of these genes was used to interpret the relation between piRNA and cancer. The results indicated that these piRNA modules have significant associations with cancer. A module with a high correlation coefficient (cor: −0.83, p value: 1.86E−128) was found; it was especially relevant to head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Moreover, we found that hub piRNAs in modules may contribute to metastasis. This finding advances the understanding of piRNA function and its association with human cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential evolution (DE) is an efficient intelligent optimization algorithm which has been widely applied to real-world problems, however poor in solution quality and convergence performance for complex multimodal optimization problems. To tackle this problem, a new improving strategy for DE algorithm is presented, in which crossover operator, mutation operator and a new local variables adjustment strategy are integrated together to make the DE more efficient and effective. An improved dynamic crossover rate is adopted to manage the three operators, so to decrease the computational cost of DE. To investigate the performance of the proposed DE algorithm, some frequently referred mutation operators, i.e., DE/rand/1, DE/Best/1, DE/current-to-best/1, DE/Best/2, DE/rand/2, are employed, respectively, in proposed method for comparing with standard DE algorithm which also uses the same mutation operators as our method. Three state-of-the-art evolutionary algorithms (SaDE, CoDE and CMAES) and seven large-scale optimization algorithms on seven high-dimensional optimization problems of CEC2008 are compared with the proposed algorithm. We employ Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test to further test the difference significance of performance between our algorithm and other compared algorithms. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is more effective in solution quality but with less CPU time (e.g., when dimensionality equals 1000, its mean optimal fitness is less than 1e-9 and the CPU time reduces by about 19.3% for function Schwefel 2.26), even with a very small population size, no matter which mutation operator is adopted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human periostin plays a multifaceted role in remodeling the extracellular matrix milieu by interacting with other proteins and itself in both a heterophilic and homophilic manner. However, the structural mechanism for its extensive interactions has remained elusive. Here, we report the crystal structures of human periostin (EMI‐Fas1I–IV) and its Cys60Ala mutant. In combination with multi‐angle light‐scattering analysis and biochemical assays, the crystal structures reveal that periostin mainly exists as a dimer in solution and its homophilic interaction is mainly mediated by the EMI domain. Furthermore, Cys60 undergoes cysteinylation as confirmed by mass spectroscopy, and this site hardly affects the homophilic interaction. Also, the structures yield insights into how periostin forms heterophilic interactions with other proteins under physiological or pathological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Compare mercury removal performance of biochar pretreated by hydrothermal technique and wet impregnation. • Mercury removal performance for biochar pretreated by hydrothermal technique reached 90%. • Hydrothermal pretreatment enhanced thermolysis reaction intensity of biomass and extended the specific surface area. • Hydrothermal pretreatment could promote the construction of oxygen-containing active sites. To further widen the specific surface area and enrich functional groups of biochar for improving the mercury removal performance, this paper compared the difference between wet impregnation and hydrothermal pretreatment to preload ferric chloride on active sites construction of biochar surface. Through systematically evaluating the physicochemical properties of biochar modified by various methods, the mechanism of mercury removal was analyzed. The results indicated that the hydrothermal pretreatment at 180 °C could widen the specific surface area of the precursor benefiting for modifiers adsorption and render the apparent activation energy reduced to 34.11 kJ/mol, causing more intense thermolysis reaction during carbonization. In this way, the specific surface of biochar reached to 282.4 m2/g and a more abundant porous structure was constructed. Additionally, after hydrothermal pretreatment, the proportion of chemisorbed oxygen and C O bonds on the surface of biochar was significantly promoted, facilitating the formation of HgO. The improvement of both physical structure and chemical properties of biochar together increases the mercury removal efficiency to over 90 % under the N 2 atmosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Tetraphenylethylene based macrocycles were successfully synthesized, their luminescence behavior showed the chain length effect. • The compounds were used to monitor the kinetics of silicon-oxygen bond hydrolysis in real-time by the AIE method with the RIR mechanism. • The half-life and reaction kinetic data of Si-O bond-breaking with different pH were obtained to provide a reference in industrial production. The preparation of silicone material is generally carried out by hydrolytic condensation, and various methods have been tried so far to study the kinetics of silicon-oxygen bond hydrolysis. However, the process and kinetics of silicon-oxygen bond hydrolysis cannot be efficiently monitored in real-time due to the limitations of traditional testing methods. In the present study, we have successfully designed and synthesized a series of circular tetraphenylethylene (TPE) derivatives connected with different lengths of the siloxanes chain. As the chain length gets longer, the restriction on phenyl rotation in TPE derivatives becomes weaker, which induced fluorescence quenching gradually at the molecular level. Hence, it provides the most direct and convincing evidence for the effect of chain lengths in the popular restricted intramolecular rotation (RIR) mechanism with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) phenomenon. The strong fluorescent molecule was used to monitor the kinetics of silicon-oxygen bond hydrolysis in real-time successfully by the AIE method with the RIR mechanism. The high sensitivity and efficiency of fluorescence provide an unparalleled "visualization" window for real-time monitoring of the kinetic control of Si-O bond hydrolysis. Furthermore, the half-life and reaction kinetic data of Si-O bond-breaking reaction by different pH are obtained to provide a reference for scientists and engineers not only in fundamental research but also in industrial production. Finally, the aggregation-induced color-tunable emission was obtained with the different aggregation forms of molecules, exhibiting a promising potential for intelligent luminescent materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bimetallic metal−organic framework (MOF)‐derived multidimensional composites have garnered tremendous attention in electromagnetic wave absorption owing to their remarkable attenuation capacity. And the diversified application scenarios require microwaves absorption materials (MAMs) with robust environmentally adaptive, but efficiently integrating multifunctionality within single MAMs is extremely challenging. Herein, a multifunctional CoC@FeNiG‐F nanocomposite is fabricated by synergistic strategy of in situ growth, C–F···π interaction and microwave irradiation. The MAMs exhibit a strong reflection loss of −75.18 dB with 3.95 GHz effective absorption bandwidth benefited from magnetic–dielectric attenuation, impedance matching, and multiple‐reflection loss. Remarkably, it is first time to obtain the efficient MAMs accompanied with excellent mechanical (80.3 MPa), superamphiphobicity (153° and 151°), anticorrosion (45 d), and flame retardancy (V‐0 rating), which illustrate that the combination of CoC@FeNiG 3D‐skeleton and long‐chain perfluorinated epoxy remarkably improve robust multifunctionality and environmentally adaptive. In particular, the MAMs are assembled into liquid–solid triboelectric nanogenerator, and the output performance (19.7 V, 1.68 μA) and durability (10 000s) are obviously improved benefiting from the trap effect of carbonized MOF. Therefore, this work provides an efficient guideline for designing advanced MAMs with robust environmentally adaptive and sustainable energy harvesting performance in extreme environment application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fly ash fine particles emitted from coal-fired power plants are the primary atmospheric pollutant in China. The pressure, temperature, and velocity distribution of the flow field in a chamber was simulated to evaluate chemical agglomeration. The effect on the removal efficiency of composition, concentration, pH, K + content, and zeta potential of the chemical agglomeration solutions as well as surfactant and flue gas temperature were evaluated. The results suggested that suitable solutions could significantly improve the removal efficiency of fine particles. Among these, kappa-carrageenan performed best and achieved a removal efficiency of 47.1%. Synergism was detected as two different chemical agglomeration solutions were mixed together: a mixture of kappa-carrageenan and konjac glucomannan attained a removal efficiency of 59.3%, higher than their individual values. The efficiency improved initially and then decreased as the solution K + concentration increased. Also surfactants affected agglomeration: cationic and non-ionic surfactants enlarged the removal efficiency by 9.0% and 3.7%, respectively, whereas anionic surfactants lessened average removal efficiency by 5.6%. Zeta potential influenced the removal efficiency as well: it peaked as the zeta potential was around 0 mV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stratification of cancer into subtypes that are significantly associated with clinical outcomes is beneficial for targeted prognosis and treatment. In this study, we integrated somatic mutation and gene expression data to identify clusters of patients. In contrast to previous studies, we constructed cancer-type-specific significant co-expression networks (SCNs) rather than using a fixed gene network across all cancers, such as the network-based stratification (NBS) method, which ignores cancer heterogeneity. For each type of cancer, the gene expression data were used to construct the SCN network, while the gene somatic mutation data were mapped onto the network, propagated, and used for further clustering. For the clustering, we adopted an improved network-regularized non-negative matrix factorization (netNMF) (netNMF_HC) for a more precise classification. We applied our method to various datasets, including ovarian cancer (OV), lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) and uterine corpus endometrial carcinoma (UCEC) cohorts derived from the TCGA (The Cancer Genome Atlas) project. Based on the results, we evaluated the performance of our method to identify survival-relevant subtypes and further compared it to the NBS method, which adopts priori networks and netNMF algorithm. The proposed algorithm outperformed the NBS method in identifying informative cancer subtypes that were significantly associated with clinical outcomes in most cancer types we studied. In particular, our method identified survival-associated UCEC subtypes that were not identified by the NBS method. Our analysis indicated valid subtyping of patient could be applied by mutation data with cancer-type-specific SCNs and netNMF_HC for individual cancers because of specific cancer co-expression patterns and more precise clustering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perovskite-type La 2 Ti 2 O 7 (LTO), having a layered structure and the separated H 2 and O 2 evolution sites, is attractive as an efficient photocatalyst. However, the photocatalytic activity is often limited by the poor electron mobility. This problem can be conquered by hybridization with materials having efficient properties for the visible light absorption and charge carrier transport. Here, we report a two-dimensional (2D) layered composite hybridized by approximately 2 nm thick graphitic C 3 N 4 nanosheets (g-C 3 N 4 ) and 7 nm thick nitrogen doped LTO nanosheets (NLTO) (g-C 3 N 4 /NLTO), in which g-C 3 N 4 and NLTO act as hole receptor and electron conductor, respectively. g-C 3 N 4 /NLTO exhibited high photocatalytic activities for H 2 production via water splitting and dye degradation under the UV and visible light irradiation, due to the interfacial charge transfer between g-C 3 N 4 and NLTO. The electrochemical measurement showed the type II band alignment with favorable charge transfer from g-C 3 N 4 to NLTO. The 2D architecture with a maximized interfacial area allows efficient charge separation with a short interfacial distance. This efficient interfacial charge transfer is further elucidated from monitoring of charge separation and trapping processes using the femtosecond time-resolved diffused reflectance (TDR) measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Next-generation sequencing data has been widely used for DNA variant discovery and tumor study through computational tools. Effective simulation of such data with many realistic features is very necessary for testing existing tools and guiding the development of new tools. Methods: We present an integrated simulation system, IntSIM, to simulate common DNA variants and to generate sequencing reads for mixture genomes. IntSIM has three novel features in comparison with other simulation programs: 1) it is able to simulate both germline and somatic variants in the same sequence, 2) it deals with tumor purity so as to generate reads corresponding to heterogeneous genomes and also produce tumor-normal matched samples, and 3) it simulates correlations among SNPs, among CNVs/CNAs based on HMM models trained from real sequencing genomes, and can simulates broad and focal CNV/CNA events. Results: The simulation data of IntSIM can reflect characteristics observed from real data and are consistent with input parameters. The IntSIM software package is freely available at http://intsim.sourceforge.net/. Conclusion: Based on a great number of experiments, IntSIM performs better than other program for some scenarios, such as simulation of heterozygous SNPs, CNVs/CNAs, and can achieve some functions that other programs cannot achieve. Significance: Simulation with IntSIM can be expected to evaluate performance of methods in detecting various types of variants, analyzing tumor samples, and especially providing a realistic assessment of effect of tumor purity on identification of somatic mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-performance SiO x was scalable synthesized by means of simple high-energy ball-milling method, and used as anode materials for lithium ion batteries. The electrochemical performance of SiO x electrode after high-energy ball-milling is improved effectively compared to raw SiO x . That is benefit for the reduced size of SiO x powder. By changing the species of conductive agents, improved cyclic performance and excellent rate capability were achieved. Under galvanostatic mode with current density of 0.3 A/g, SiO x electrode after high-energy ball-milling with optimized conductive agents delivers a reversible capacity of 1416.8 mAh/g with coulombic efficiency as high as 99.8% and capacity retention of 83.6% (1184.8 mAh/g) even after 100 cycles. The approach is simple and can be adopted for large scale production of high performance SiO x anode materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure-sensitive nanocomposite foams based on thermoplastic poly(1-butene) (PB) and carbon black (CB) were prepared through melt blending, followed by a foaming process in supercritical carbon dioxide (CO). The morphology and microstructure of nanocomposite foams were investigated with scanning electronic micrography, and the results indicated that the cellular structure and density of nanocomposite foams were strongly dependent on the CB content. The nanocomposite foams achieved a uniform cellular structure with a minimum cell size of 57.98 μm and a maximum cell density of 2.99 × 10 cells/cm at a CB content of 6 wt%. The nanocomposite foams also presented a percolation threshold at this CB content and obtained good electrical conduction when the CB content is higher than 6 wt%. The conductive sensitivity to mechanical stimulus for nanocomposite foams induced by uniaxial compression was investigated. The nanocomposite foams were found to exhibit a high stability of electrical resistance response during the multicyclic compressive loading-unloading process. The nanocomposite foams developed by this work show potential applications for strain sensors under compression deformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single crystal of KNd(WO 4 ) 2 has been grown by the flux method. The KNd(WO 4 ) 2 structure was analyzed using the single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment. KNd(WO 4 ) 2 crystallizes in the scheelite-type structure with space C2/m, lattice parameters: a=10.1633 Å, b=10.779 Å, c=7.493 Å, α=90.0°, β=125.988(2)°, γ=90.0°, V=664.19 Å 3 , Z=4. The absorption spectrum and fluorescence spectrum are measured at room temperature. The spectrum properties of Nd 3+ in KNd(WO 4 ) 2 crystal were investigated based on J-O theory, and the effective J-O parameters have been determined as: Ω 2 =1.18×10 −20 cm 2 , Ω 4 =7.38×10 −20 cm 2 , Ω 6 =3.05×10 −20 cm 2 . The absorption band at 588 and 806 nm has a full width at half of 24 and 22 nm, respectively. The strongest fluorescence spectrum-emission peak locates at 1059 nm, which can be attribute to the 4 F 3/2 – 4 I 11/2 of emission band of Nd 3+ . The radiation lifetime is 93.4 μs, and the emission cross-section calculated by F-L formula is 1.62×10 −19 cm 2 at the wavelength of 1059 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A novel conjugated pyrene - based system was designed and synthesized as a chlorine fluorescence sensor. • The detector exhibits excellent properties such as ratio detection performance, large Stokes and emission shifts. • The sensor 1-B was successfully used as ink to encrypt patterns and anti-counterfeiting information through inkjet printing technology. Hypochlorite (ClO-) as a well-known highly reactive oxygen species (ROS), is widely used as preservative and household disinfectant in daily life. Although many fluorescence imaging sensors for ClO- have been reported, the development of ClO- ratio fluorescence sensors with large Stokes shift is still quite limited. This sensor shows obvious benefits including minimizing environmental intervention and improving signal-to-noise ratio. In the present project, we report an innovative conjugated pyrene - based system, 1-B, as a chlorine fluorescence sensor. The detector exhibits ratio detection performance, large Stokes and emission shifts. Furthermore, the system has desired sensitivity as well as selectivity for ClO-. Based on these excellent properties, the sensor 1-B was successfully used as ink to encrypt patterns and anti-counterfeiting information through inkjet printing technology. Compared with the existing probes, the probe shows some superior characteristics, which provides a promising tool for exploring the role of ClO- response sensor in the field of anti-counterfeiting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric micelles loaded with chlorin e6 and Tanshinone I (TAS) were prepared and employed for photodegrading amyloid β (Aβ) aggregates and inhibiting Aβ fibrillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a high-performance lithium-ion battery with nano-porous Si anode etched from polycrystalline Si particles. Nano-pores formed in micro-sized particles help relieve volume expansion/shrinkage effectively. Meanwhile, the formation of nano-porous skeleton in micro-sized particles greatly reduces the agglomeration of Si particles in nano-sized units and helps improve the cyclic performance of batteries. Pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile mixed in anode acts as conductive agent and binder, and the network structure enhances the conductivity. The battery with 1 μm porous Si and PPAN composite electrode exhibits a remarkably improved electrochemical performance with a coulombic efficiency ≥99.5% even after 220 cycles. Excellent electrochemical performance is observed under galvanostatic mode with a current density of 0.3 A/g. High initial discharge (lithiation) capacity of 3652 mAh/g and charge (delithiation) capacity of 3067 mAh/g are observed with an initial coulombic efficiency of 84%, which increases to 97.2% at the second cycle. The charge capacity remains as high as 2043 mAh/g with a coulombic efficiency of ≥99.5% even after 100 cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Past research on pathogenesis of a complex disease suggests that differentially expressed message RNAs (mRNAs) can be noted as biomarkers of a disease. However, significant miRNA-mediated regulation change might also be more deep underlying cause of a disease. In this study, a miRNA-mediated regulation module is defined based on GO terms (Gene Ontology terms) from which dysfunctional modules are identified as the suspected cause of a disease. A miRNA-mediated regulation module contains mRNAs annotated to a GO term and MicroRNAs (miRNAs) which regulate the mRNAs. Based on the miRNA-mediated regulation coefficients estimated from the expression profiles of the mRNA and the miRNAs, a SW (single regulation-weight) value is then designed to evaluate the miRNA-mediated regulation change of an mRNA, and the modules with significantly differential SW values are thus identified as dysfunctional modules. The approach is applied to Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma and it identifies 70 dysfunctional miRNA-mediated regulation modules from initial 4381 modules. The identified dysfunctional modules are detected to be comprehensive reflection of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. The proposed approach suggests that accumulated alteration in miRNA-mediated regulation might cause functional alterations, which further cause a disease. Moreover, this approach can also be used to identify diffentially miRNA-mediated regulated mRNAs showing more comprehensive underlying association with a disease than differentially expressed mRNAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyloid-beta (Aβ) oligomers are highly toxic species in the process of Aβ aggregation and are regarded as potent therapeutic targets and diagnostic markers for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, a label-free molecular beacon (MB) system integrated with enzyme-free amplification strategy was developed for simple and highly selective assay of Aβ oligomers. The MB system was constructed with abasic site (AP site)-containing stem-loop DNA and a fluorescent ligand 2-amino-5,6,7-trimethyl-1,8-naphyridine (ATMND), of which the fluorescence was quenched upon binding to the AP site in DNA stem. Enzyme-free amplification was realized by target-triggered continuous opening of two delicately designed MBs (MB1 and MB2). Target DNA hybridization with MB1 and then MB2 resulted in the release of two ATMND molecules in one binding event. Subsequent target recycling could greatly amplify the detection sensitivity due to the greatly enhanced turn-on emission of ATMND fluorescence. Combining with Aβ oligomers aptamers, the strategy was applied to analyze Aβ oligomers and the results showed that it could quantify Aβ oligomers with high selectivity and monitor the Aβ aggregation process. This novel method may be conducive to improve the diagnosis and pathogenic study of Alzheimer's disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivation: Two-locus model is a typical significant disease model to be identified in genome-wide association study (GWAS). Due to intensive computational burden and diversity of disease models, existing methods have drawbacks on low detection power, high computation cost, and preference for some types of disease models. Method: In this study, two scoring functions (Bayesian network based K2-score and Gini-score) are used for characterizing two SNP locus as a candidate model, the two criteria are adopted simultaneously for improving identification power and tackling the preference problem to disease models. Harmony search algorithm (HSA) is improved for quickly finding the most likely candidate models among all two-locus models, in which a local search algorithm with two-dimensional tabu table is presented to avoid repeatedly evaluating some disease models that have strong marginal effect. Finally G-test statistic is used to further test the candidate models. Results: We investigate our method named FHSA-SED on 82 simulated datasets and a real AMD dataset, and compare it with two typical methods (MACOED and CSE) which have been developed recently based on swarm intelligent search algorithm. The results of simulation experiments indicate that our method outperforms the two compared algorithms in terms of detection power, computation time, evaluation times, sensitivity (TPR), specificity (SPC), positive predictive value (PPV) and accuracy (ACC). Our method has identified two SNPs (rs3775652 and rs10511467) that may be also associated with disease in AMD dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The varying-coefficient model is an important nonparametric statistical model since it allows appreciable flexibility on the structure of fitted model. For ultra-high dimensional heterogeneous data it is very necessary to examine how the effects of covariates vary with exposure variables at different quantile level of interest. In this paper, we extended the marginal screening methods to examine and select variables by ranking a measure of nonparametric marginal contributions of each covariate given the exposure variable. Spline approximations are employed to model marginal effects and select the set of active variables in quantile-adaptive framework. This ensures the sure screening property in quantile-adaptive varying-coefficient model. Numerical studies demonstrate that the proposed procedure works well for heteroscedastic data. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

White light phosphors have many potential applications such as solid-state lighting, full color displays, light source for plant growth, and crop improvement. However, most of these phosphors are rare-earth-based materials which are costly and would be facing the challenge of resource issue due to the extremely low abundance of these elements on earth. A new white color composite consisted of a graphitic-phase nitrogen carbon (g-C3N4) treated with nitric acid and copper-cysteamine Cu3Cl(SR)2 is reported herein. Under a single wavelength excitation at 365 nm, these two materials show a strong blue and red luminescence, respectively. It is interesting to find that the white light emission with a quantum yield of 20% can be obtained by mixing these two self-activated luminescent materials at the weight ratio of 1:1.67. Using a 365 nm near-ultraviolet chip for excitation, the composite produces a white light-emitting diode that exhibits an excellent color rendering index of 94.3. These white-emitting materials are environment friendly, easy to synthesize, and cost-effective. More importantly, this will potentially eliminate the challenge of rare earth resources. Furthermore, a single chip is used for excitation instead of a multichip, which can greatly reduce the cost of the devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on melamine binding-triggered triplex formation and subsequent activation of Mg2+-dependent DNAzymes, a novel strategy for DNAzyme regulation was proposed and developed for melamine recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the accurate cavity-length demodulation of fiber-optic Fabry–Perot (FP) sensors, a combined correlation method based on the fundamental cross-correlation and a higher-order one is proposed, simulated, and experimentally verified. By extending the reflection spectrum eightfold through continuous frequency-doubling three times, cross-correlation using both the original and eightfold spectra, and determination of the main peak of the fundamental cross-correlation coefficient function with the assistance of the eighth-order cross-correlation coefficient, the cavity-length demodulation resolution for fiber-optic FP sensors can be significantly improved even when the spectral bandwidth of the source is limited or the cavity length is relatively short. A cavity length resolution better than 1.8 nm is achieved for an FP sensor with a cavity length of ∼162 μm. The proposed demodulation method can effectively reduce the bandwidth requirement of the light source for the cavity-length extraction of fiber-optic FP sensors, particularly those with relatively short cavity lengths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • CI/CNT composite was obtained by epitaxial growth-pyrolysis scheme. • Embedding CNT between CI sheets, it exhibits great EMWA in a wide filling range. • By the meta-structure design, the composite achieved RL < −10 dB in 2–18 GHz. Magnetic carbon-based composites derived from metal organic frameworks (MOFs), with tunable morphology and highly dispersed magnetic particles, show great potential as electromagnetic wave absorbing (EMWA) materials. Here, a composite with carbon nanotube (CNT) embedded only between the gaps of carbonyl iron (CI) sheets were obtained, which was achieved by controlling the collapse state of the MOF skeleton during pyrolysis. The unique distribution can prevent the production of global conduction channels, resulting in the impedance matching between air and the composites in the broadened filling range. The composite thus can achieve a broadband absorption in the frequency range of 2–18 GHz by structure design. This work provides a new approach for EMWA materials to reduce the preparation difficulty of broadband absorbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arsenic chemistry, mineral association and distributions in coal were evaluated using density fraction and a low temperature ashing process. A high arsenic coal from Guizhou province in southwestern China was chosen in the study. The results show that light mineral (< 2.89 g/cm 3 ) fraction and heavy mineral (> 2.89 g/cm 3 ) fraction were successfully separated from Guizhou coal by means of the process. Phase-mineral composition in low temperature ash and light mineral fraction are almost the same, mostly quartz and kaolinite. In contrast, pyrite dominates in the heavy mineral fraction. Arsenic concentration in Guizhou coal is as high as 265 μg/g. An obvious enrichment of arsenic in heavy mineral fraction is observed, and the arsenic concentration is approaching to 650 μg/g. Modes of occurrence of arsenic exhibit as multiple forms. Both organic and inorganic associated arsenic in Guizhou coal have been identified. The organic associated arsenic accounts for 28.40% (wt.%) of the total arsenic. The inorganic associated arsenic mostly occurs in pyrite. Direct evidence by using the EDX analysis on 27 pyrite particles confirms that arsenic is occurring in pyrite. Each distinct pyrite particle contains a certain amount of arsenic with an average of 3.5% (wt.%), while the maximum is reaching to 6.7% (wt.%). Endemic arseniasis is highly suspected to be link to the frequent use of coal-burning stove for heating and/or food drying, inhalation of indoor air polluted by arsenic derived from coal combustion in houses, and the contaminated water in Guizhou province, southwestern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, Cu 2 O microcrystals are found to perform efficiently in hydrogen generation and formaldehyde degradation at room temperature, with MgO as a sacrificial agent, while other photocatalytic semiconductors such as TiO 2 , ZnO, Bi 2 O 3 , Fe 2 O 3 and CuO exhibit poor capability under the same condition. This peculiarity of Cu 2 O microcrystals is comprehensively analyzed, focusing on exploring the formation of [Cu + ]· paramagnetic during the reaction, which is first proposed as a principal factor for the hydrogen generation and formaldehyde degradation. Even more exciting, abundant hydroxyl radicals produced during this reaction process are detected via electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometry, which are particularly efficient in oxidizing formaldehyde and producing hydrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]