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Background: The log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) was considered a superior staging system to N stage in colon cancer, yet its value in determining the optimal duration of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer patients has not been evaluated. This study aims to assess the prognostic value of a model that combines LODDS with clinicopathological information for stage III colon cancer patients and aims to stratify these patients using the model, identifying individuals who could benefit from varying durations of adjuvant chemotherapy. Method: A total of 663 consecutive patients diagnosed with stage III colon cancer, who underwent colon tumor resection between November 2007 and June 2020 at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center and Longyan First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, were enrolled in this study. Survival outcomes were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier, Cox regression. Nomograms were developed to forecast patient DFS, with the Area Under the Curve (AUC) values of time-dependent Receiver Operating Characteristic (timeROC) and calibration plots utilized to assess the accuracy and reliability of the nomograms. Results: Multivariate analysis revealed that perineural invasion (HR = 1.776, 95% CI: 1.052–3.003, P = 0.032), poor tumor differentiation (HR = 1.638, 95% CI: 1.084–2.475, P = 0.019), and LODDS groupings of 2 and 1 (HR = 1.920, 95% CI: 1.297–2.842, P = 0.001) were independent predictors of disease-free survival (DFS) in the training cohort. Nomograms constructed from LODDS, perineural invasion, and poor tumor differentiation demonstrated robust predictive performance for 3-year and 5-year DFS in both training (3-year AUC = 0.706, 5-year AUC = 0.678) and validation cohorts (3-year AUC = 0.744, 5-year AUC = 0.762). Stratification according to this model showed that patients in the high-risk group derived significant benefit from completing 8 cycles of chemotherapy (training cohort, 82.97% vs 67.17%, P = 0.013; validation cohort, 89.49% vs 63.97%, P = 0.030). Conclusion: The prognostic model, integrating LODDS, pathological differentiation, and neural invasion, demonstrates strong predictive accuracy for stage III colon cancer prognosis. Moreover, stratification via this model offers valuable insights into optimal durations of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandalwood essential oil, known for its rich content of phenolic and flavonoid compounds, holds great promise for applications in perfumery and medicine. However, traditional production methods have raised concerns regarding their environmental impact and sustainability. This study explored subcritical ethanol extraction as a green technique to address these concerns. Under optimized conditions (6.04 MPa, 109 °C, and 2.01 mL/min), maximum oil yield reached 4.04% with substantial total phenolic compounds (TPCs) of 4.11 mg GAE/100 g and total flavonoid compounds (TFCs) of 8.85 mg QE/100 g in the extracted sandalwood oil. Furthermore, the oil displayed notable antioxidant activity AA of 71.68%. The temperature was identified as a significant factor affecting oil yield, TPCs, TFCs, and AA. The fine-tuning of the extraction temperature enhanced the desired characteristics, improving bioactive compound yields and heightening antioxidant potential. This study uses a green extraction technique to contribute to sustainable sandalwood essential oil production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) is a common tumor of the urological system for which surgery is the preferred treatment, but there is a lack of therapeutic options after surgery. This study aims to explore the biological role of GNG7 on CCRCC from a genetic perspective. Differences in mRNA expression and patient survival of GNG7 in patients with CCRCC and healthy patients were analyzed using the TCGA database. It was observed that GNG7 gene expression was downregulated in CCRCC tissue compared with healthy tissue, and high GNG7 predicted better prognosis for patients, and GNG7 also showed strong variability in clinical and TMN staging. The immune relevance of GNG7 and related genes was explored using renal cancer data from CCLE and TISIDB database. It was verified that the risk score constructed by 7 GNG7-related regulators might be used as an independent prognostic risk factor for CCRCC. A CCRCC prognostic model that involved 7 immune genes was further established to predict the survival probabilities of patients. At last, the GEO database and immunochemical tissue staining were used to validate GNG7 expression in CCRCC. Our study proposed a novel panel of genes to predict CCRCC OS based on GNG7-related immune genes, which may help to accurately predict the prognosis of CCRCC patients and make better clinical decisions for individual treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Regulation of microglia polarisation may be a new way to treat ischaemic stroke based on its effects on brain injury. Isoliquiritigenin (ILG) is a flavonoid with neuroprotective function. The study investigated whether ILG regulated microglial polarisation and affects brain injury. Methods: Here, a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) model in vivo and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV2 cells in vitro were established. Brain damage was assessed using a 2,3,5-triphenyl-tetrazolium-chloride staining assay. Microglial polarisation was analysed using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and immunofluorescence assay. The levels of p38/MAPK pathway-related factors were measured by western blot. Key findings: ILG suppressed infarct volume and neurological function of tMCAO rats. Moreover, ILG facilitated M2 microglia polarisation and suppressed M1 polarisation in the tMCAO model and LPS-induced BV2 cells. Moreover, ILG reduced the phosphorylation of p38, MAPK activated protein kinase 2, and heat shock protein 27 induced by LPS. Rescue study showed that activating the p38/MAPK pathway reversed the microglia polarisation induced by ILG and inactivating the p38/MAPK pathway enchanced the microglia polarisation. Conclusion: ILG promoted microglia M2 polarisation by inactivating the p38/MAPK pathway, suggesting that ILG has the potential for the treatment of ischaemic stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octadecane/expanded graphite and paraffin/expanded graphite shape-set phase change material precursors were prepared by vacuum adsorption. The medium and low-temperature dual-stage phase change polyu-rethane rigid foam was prepared by a one-step foa ming method. Cell structure, mechanical properties, phase change properties, thermal stability and temperature regulation capability of polyurethane rigid foams were investigated by SEM, DSC, TGA, universal testing machine and other test methods. The results showed that when the dual-stage phase change material was 95 wt%, the melting enthalpy and crystallization enthalpy of the medium-low temperature dual-stage phase-change polyurethane rigid foam reached 58.29 J/g and 53.69 J/g, respectively. Tow constant temperature platforms appeared at 26 °C and 60 °C, respectively in the process of uniform heating and cooling, showing excellent temperature regulation and control ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative perception, as a critical technology of intelligent connected vehicles, aims to use wireless communication technology to interact and fuse environmental information obtained by edge nodes with local perception information, which can improve vehicle perception accuracy, reduce latency, and eliminate perception blind spots. It has become a current research hotspot. Based on the analysis of the related literature on the Internet of vehicles (IoV), this paper summarizes the multi-sensor information fusion method, information sharing strategy, and communication technology of autonomous driving cooperative perception technology in the IoV environment. Firstly, cooperative perception information fusion methods, such as image fusion, point cloud fusion, and image–point cloud fusion, are summarized and compared according to the approaches of sensor information fusion. Secondly, recent research on communication technology and the sharing strategies of cooperative perception technology is summarized and analyzed in detail. Simultaneously, combined with the practical application of V2X, the influence of network communication performance on cooperative perception is analyzed, considering factors such as latency, packet loss rate, and channel congestion, and the existing research methods are discussed. Finally, based on the summary and analysis of the above studies, future research issues on cooperative perception are proposed, and the development trend of cooperative perception technology is forecast to help researchers in this field quickly understand the research status, hotspots, and prospects of cooperative perception technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Probing the shape memory mechanism of tetrahydrofuran as a solvent. • Shape memory polyurethanes are two-component elastomers. • The degree of phase separation of THF-added polyurethanes increased significantly. • Polyurethanes have higher onset pyrolysis temperatures and greater heat resistance. A series of shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) substrates were fabricated utilizing polyether polyol (PPG) with varying molecular weights, 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), and4,4′-methylene-bis-(2-chloroaniline) (MOCA) as primary raw materials. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) served as the solvent. The investigation focused on the effects of different soft segment molecular weights and additional THF content on the properties of SMPU. The study aimed to explore the impact of varying soft segment molecular weights and THF additions on the shape memory properties of polyurethane, as well as the mechanism behind THF's influence. The findings demonstrated that the introduction of THF significantly enhanced the phase separation degree and ordered hydrogen bonding of polyurethane, leading to the acquisition of shape memory properties. Compared to specimens without THF addition, when PPG had a molecular weight of 500, hydrogen bonding increased by 50 %. Furthermore, at THF addition of 9 mL, the specimen exhibited the highest shape recovery degree, with a phase separation temperature of 28.21 °C, a degree of carbonyl-ordered hydrogen bonding of 49.08 %, a bending strength of 43.81 MPa, and an impact toughness of 38.19 KJ/m2. The shape memory performance of the specimens was evaluated at various temperatures, revealing that the models both achieved 100 % shape fixation at different temperatures. Additionally, the degree and rate of retraction increase with the increase in temperature. The shape memory performance of the prepared specimens was shown to be good by the DMA shape memory cycling test. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New light sources with low spatial coherence and high brightness are crucial for high‐quality imaging. In this paper, such a light source is reported, which is formed by combining random lasing used as seed light with a multimode fiber (MMF) mediated master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) for power scaling and spatial decoherence. Experimental results show that the proposed multimode random fiber laser (MM‐RFL), with low noise, high spectral density, and high power efficiency, can achieve a maximum output power of 100.6 W and speckle contrast of as low as 0.037. Furthermore, MM‐RFL‐based speckle‐free imaging is demonstrated. The imaging quality can be improved by increasing the output power of the MM‐RFL as its spatial coherence decreases with an increasing number of effective modes excited in the MMF. Such a MM‐RFL provides a powerful light source for speckle‐free imaging applications where high power and low spatial coherence are essential for high‐quality imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control coupling and synchronization of lasers has been a promising topic, while complex lasers in disordered system make this more challenging and interesting for their potential applications in the internet of everything. Here, a way to realize the interaction and synchronization of random microcavity lasers, is proposed. The lasers are developed based on homemade amorphous microcavities, performing as nodes that can work in a single‐shot coherent random lasing regime. The nodes connect with each other by multimode fibers with variable coupling strength, and their multiple lasing modes can be well‐synchronized pulse‐by‐pulse through injection locking. A spectral coding method is demonstrated, providing an attractive way to generate and share information between disordered nodes. The synchronization is also extended to a one‐to‐many network, laying a solid foundation for the study of photonic interconnection and networking of complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In the past few years, Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Shi et al. Lancet 390:946-958, 2017) infection has been reported more in China. However, there are few studies on the clinical characteristics and prognosis of necrotizing pneumonia (NP) (Griffiths et al. Nature 583:615-619, 2020) caused by different pathogens.Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed, including 31 children with a clinical diagnosis of NP in the hospital from January 1, 2013 to January 31, 2020. A total of 11 children with MPNP were included in the observation group and the other 20 children with other pathogens were included in the control group. The clinical manifestations, laboratory data, imaging findings, treatments and outcomes were analyzed.Results: The proportion of dyspnea cases was significantly higher in the non-Mycoplasma pneumoniae necrotizing pneumonia (N-MPNP) group than that in the Mycoplasma pneumoniae necrotizing pneumonia (MPNP) group (P = 0.02).The LDH level of all patients in the MPNP group was higher than the normal value, with a median value of 805.0 U/L, which was significantly higher than those in the N-MPNP group (414.0 [299.9-540.6] U/L; Z =  - 2.518; P = 0.012). The white blood cells (WBCs) count of the N-MPNP group was 17.8 (11.1-21.7) × 109/L, which was significantly higher than that of the MPNP group (10.2 [6.3-14.1] × 109/L; P < 0.05). The mean time of pulmonary necrosis in the MPNP group was 20.9 ± 6.9 days, which was higher than that of the N-MPNP group (16.8 ± 6.1 days; t = 3.101; P = 0.004). The incidence of pleural effusion in the N-MPNP group (19 patients, 95%) was significantly higher than that in the MPNP group (six patients, 54.55%) (P = 0.013). Among them, two patients received bronchoscopy lavage at a maximum four times, and the cases of plastic bronchitis were seen only in the MPNP group (3 cases; P = 0.037).The length of stay was 18 (10-22) days in the MPNP group and 23.5 (13.5-47) days in the N-MPNP group and no significant difference was observed between the two groups (Z =  - 1.923, P =  - 0.055).Conclusions: 1. MP infection is the most common infection in children with NP in the Suzhou area. There is no gender and age difference between MPNP and N-MPNP, but the bacterial infection was mainly observed in the N-MPNP group. 2. Children in the N-MPNP group have more severe clinical symptoms, were more prone to shortness of breath, had a longer hospital stay, and had earlier imaging manifestations of necrosis, whereas children in the MPNP group were more likely to have plastic bronchitis. The level of WBC and LDH and the nature of pleural effusion can be used to identify MPNP and N-MPNP to some extent. 3. The prognosis of MPNP was better than that of N-MPNP. There were no death cases. Pleural thickening, pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchiectasis were the most common sequelae. Compared with N-MPNP, the recovery time of lung imaging in MPNP was shorter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: For Chinese Han populations, cryptococcosis are more likely to occur in HIV‐uninfected patients instead of HIV‐infected patients compared with other countries and regions, implying that there may be genetic predisposing factors for cryptococcosis in the Chinese Han populations. However, the retail mechanism has not been clarified. Objectives: We aimed to conduct an association analysis between the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of pattern recognition receptors (PRR) genes and the susceptibility to cryptococcosis in HIV‐uninfected Chinese patients, which may provide new genetic predisposing factors for early‐risk prediction of disease, individualised treatment and prognosis monitoring. Patients/methods: Using the SNaPshot SNP typing technique, eight SNPs of PRR genes (Dectin‐2, Dectin‐1, PTX3, CXCL8, IL12B, IFIH1, TLR1 and CD209) were typed on 97 HIV‐uninfected cryptococcosis patients and 120 healthy controls who admitted to West China Hospital, Sichuan University, China, from 1 March 2018 to 30 December 2018. The results were analysed by the SHEsis software and SPSS 20.0 software. Results: It was found that that PTX3 rs2305619 polymorphism was associated with cryptococcosis in HIV‐uninfected patients. Compared with the GG genotype, AA genotype increased the risk of cryptococcosis in HIV‐uninfected patients (p =.015, OR, 2.579; 95% CI, 1.202–5.535). In the immunocompetent patients, the AA genotype had a higher risk (p =.002, OR, 4.399; 95% CI, 1.745–11.088). Further verification found that the plasma PTX3 level of the AA genotype was significantly higher than the GA or GG genotype (60.28 ± 16.12 vs 7.32 ± 0.79, p <.001). Conclusions: PTX3 rs2305619 polymorphism was associated with cryptococcosis in HIV‐uninfected Chinese patients. The AA genotype increased the risk of cryptococcosis, and its plasma PTX3 level was significantly higher than that of GA or GG genotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mode locking of a long‐cavity Raman fiber laser pumped by a low‐noise random fiber laser (RFL) is demonstrated experimentally, where tunable square‐wave noise‐like pulse (NLP) is generated through nonlinear polarization rotation technology. Pulse duration can be tuned from 26 to 134 ns by controlling the polarization state or pump power at a repetition rate of 93 kHz. A signal‐to‐noise ratio of 64 dB is obtained due to the low‐noise characteristic of RFL. In addition, up to 24th high‐order harmonic mode‐locked square‐wave NLP is observed, which has not been reported in mode‐locked Raman fiber lasers with large normal dispersion. This approach not only provides a good temporal stable pump source for mode locking of Raman fiber lasers, but also enriches the methods of laser pulse generation and regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decoherence of fiber laser sources is of great importance in imaging applications, and most current studies use ordinary multi-mode fibers (MMFs). Here, a newly designed single-trench fiber (STF) is investigated to reduce the spatial coherence of fiber light source and compared with MMFs. By bending two fibers with different turns, speckle contrast of a 0.8-m-long STF can be reduced from 0.13 to 0.08, while a 0.8-m-long MMF shows an inverse result. Through speckle contrast and decoupling-mode analysis, the reason of this inverse trend is revealed. Firstly, the STF supports more modes than the MMF due to its larger core diameter. Secondly, mode leak from the first core of the STF can couple to the second core when bending the STF. Thus, power distribution among high and low-order modes become more even, reducing the spatial coherence considerably. However, in the MMF, high-order modes become leaky modes and decrease slightly when bending the fiber. This work provides a new method to modulate coherence of light source and a new angle to study decoherence principle using special fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noble bimetallic nanomaterials have aroused great interest in the field of electrochemistry for their special properties. Herein Au@Ag nanoparticles loaded on a three-dimensional (3D) N-doped graphene aerogel (NGA) were designed, synthesized, and used as electrode modifiers. The structure and composition of Au@Ag/3DNGA nanocomposite was characterized and confirmed using different techniques such as SEM, TEM, Raman, XRD, XPS and UV-vis, revealing that the N-doped 3D architecture was well formed with uniform size and core-shell like Au@Ag bimetallic nanoparticles anchored homogeneously. The Au@Ag/3DNGA nanocomposite was further modified on the surface of a carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) to get a novel sensing platform. Electrochemical behaviors of baicalein were investigated using Au@Ag/3DNGA/CILE as the working electrode, showing obviously enhanced performance compared to that on CILE and 3DNGA/CILE. Electrochemical reaction process of baicalein was investigated and the electrochemical parameters were calculated. Under the optimized conditions, the sensitive differential pulse voltammetric oxidation response of baicalein was used for ultrasensitive detection of baicalein with a wider calibration range of 1.0 × 10−3 ∼ 10.0 μmol L−1 and a lower detection limit of 0.345 nmol L−1 (3S0/S). The proposed method could be successfully applied for baicalein analysis in dual yellow oral liquid with the recovery of 95.3–106.0%, showing reliable application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We propose a new method to calculate proptosis by using the simple Heron's formula and analyze its feasibility. Method: It was a none-inferiority trial. The registration number was ChiCTR1900026490. The absolute value of proptosis in 120 eyes, 60 patients without eye injury or diseases, was measured by computed tomography (CT) and simple Heron's formula. We did regression analysis and analyzed the differences between the two methods with Medcalc software version 19.0.4. The result was showed by Passing–Bablok regression analysis diagram and Bland and Altman plot. Results: The Passing-Bablok showed that the result of proptosis measured by CT and simple Heron's formula showed good positive correlation. A 95% limit of agreement in proptosis between CT and Heron's formula method was -0.46 to 0.54 mm in right eye and -0.45 to 0.46 mm in left eye. 1.66% (1/60) point was outside 95% LoA in both eyes. Moreover, a 95% limit of agreement between CT and Heron's formula method was -0.42 to 0.56 mm in difference of both eyes. 3.33% (2/60) points were outside 95% LoA. The points in all Bland and Altman plots were lower than 5%. It means that the results of comparison between the two methods had a good consistency in the measurement of proptosis. Conclusions: Heron's formula could be applied to calculate proptosis and has a good consistency compared with computed tomography (CT). This method is practical in proptosis assessment because of its accuracy, reliability and simplicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel electrolyte salt was synthesized through a simple and green procedure. • The capacitor using the new salt in propylene carbonate operates down to −40 °C. • The capacitor obtains a maximum operating voltage of 3.2 V at −40 °C. A novel electrolyte salt spiro-(1,1′)-bipyrrolidinium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide (SBP-FSI) is successfully synthesized via one-step method in aqueous solvent. We systematically investigate, for the first time, physic-chemical properties and electrochemical stability of the new electrolyte. Compared with commercial electrolyte, the new electrolyte system possesses higher conductivity and lower viscosity, especially at ultra-low temperature. Moreover, SBP-FSI incorporates with propylene carbonate (PC) for supercapacitors which exhibits excellent electrochemical capacitance, rate performance and cyclic stability under 2.7 V at −40 °C. Interestingly, commercial electrolytes appear 'electrolyte starvation' at high voltages due to a large amount of precipitation at −40 °C, while SBP-FSI/PC is not affected. Surprisingly, SBP-FSI/PC obtains a working voltage of 3.2 V to effectively compensate for the loss of ion mobility in low temperature, greatly improving the energy density and power density of supercapacitors. This work emphasizes that SBP-FSI is a promising high-voltage electrolyte for ultra-low temperature applications of supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The R-spondin (RSPO) family of secreted proteins consists of four members that have critical roles in embryonic development and organogenesis. However, the expression patterns and the exact roles of the individual RSPO family members in tumorigenesis and progression of lung cancer are unknown, particularly in non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for 85% of all lung cancer cases. In the present study, data from the ONCOMINE database was used to compare the RNA expression levels of RSPOs in multiple different types of cancer with normal controls. The expression profiles of RSPOs in various types of cancer cell lines were subsequently compared based on data from the Broad Institute Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia. Using the Kaplan-Meier plotter, the prognostic value of expression of the different RSPOs members was determined for different pathological subtypes of lung cancer. When compared with normal tissues, expression of RSPO1, RSPO2 and RSPO3 was significantly lower in patients with lung cancer. In the survival analysis, increased mRNA expression levels of RSPO1, RSPO2 and RSPO3 were associated with increased survival in patients with lung adenocarcinomas. These results suggest that RSPO1, RSPO2 and RSPO3 may serve as distinct biomarkers and prognostic factors in patients with lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online rumors are widespread and difficult to identify, which bring serious harm to society and individuals. To effectively detect and govern online rumors, it is necessary to conduct in-depth semantic analysis and understand the content features of rumors. This paper proposes a TFI domain ontology construction method, which aims to achieve semantic parsing and reasoning of the rumor text content. This paper starts from the term layer, the frame layer, and the instance layer, and based on the reuse of the top-level ontology, the extraction of core literature content features, and the discovery of new concepts in the real corpus, obtains the core classes (five parent classes and 88 subclasses) of the rumor domain ontology and defines their concept hierarchy. Object properties and data properties are designed to describe relationships between entities or their features, and the instance layer is created according to the real rumor datasets. OWL language is used to encode the ontology, Protégé is used to visualize it, and SWRL rules and pellet reasoner are used to mine and verify implicit knowledge of the ontology, and judge the category of rumor text. This paper constructs a rumor domain ontology with high consistency and reliability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• No single laboratory method could independently diagnose tuberculous meningitis. • Polymerase-chain-reaction is highly sensitive and specific for the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis. • Metagenomic next-generation sequencing does not offer much strength in diagnosing tuberculous meningitis. The aim of this study was to comprehensively evaluate metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), Acid-fast bacillus stain (AFB), MGIT960 culture, polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR), and Xpert MTB/RIF in the diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis (TBM). A cohort of 280 patients who presented with suspected TBM (ie, headache or altered mental status with clinical signs of meningism) were analyzed. The sensitivities of the 5 assays for the diagnosis of TBM ranged from 10.0% to 70.0%. The AFB had the lowest sensitivity of 10.0% (0.5-45.9), while mNGS and PCR had the highest sensitivity, both at 70.0% (35.4-91.9). mNGS demonstrated a distinct advantage in identifying a wider array of pathogens, including viruses, in CSF samples. PCR was a cost-effective option with excellent sensitivity and specificity. However, no single method was statistically significantly better than any other in the diagnosis of TBM. New diagnostic techniques are urgently needed for the independent, rapid and accurate detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to guide the diagnosis of TBM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Starches were isolated from five coarse grains. • The starches showed significantly different granule morphology and sizes. • The starches exhibited different structural properties and crystalline structure. • The starches exhibited different thermal and pasting properties. Abstract Starch, one of the most important components of coarse grains, has received widespread attention because of its prominent potential health benefits. In the present study, we isolated starches from the grains of sorghum, tartary buckwheat, common buckwheat, mungbean, and pea and studied their structural and physicochemical properties. These five starches all showed the distinctive "Maltese cross" effect (birefringence) but significantly differed in morphology, size, and complexity of granules. Sorghum starch exhibited the lowest amylose content and highest weight-average molar mass. Mungbean contained more short amylopectin [degree of polymerization (DP) 6–12 = 23.4%]. Pea starch exhibited the highest amylose content, highest amylopectin average chain length, and lowest weight-average molar mass. The starches of sorghum, tartary buckwheat, and common buckwheat showed A-type crystallinity, whereas those of mungbean and pea showed C-type crystallinity. Our results provide useful information for the application of coarse grain starches in diverse industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum (L.) Gaertn.) because this substance affects the yield and quality of Tartary buckwheat. The physicochemical characteristics of starch represent the important parameters of Tartary buckwheat quality. The effects of different levels of nitrogen application at different levels (0, 45, 135 and 225 kg/ha in 2015 and 0, 90, 180 and 270 kg/ha in 2017) on the physicochemical characteristics of Tartary buckwheat starch were studied. The amylose content, particle size and retrogradation of Tartary buckwheat starch with nitrogen were lower than those of without nitrogen. The structure complexity, pasting temperature, gelatinization enthalpy, relative crystallinity, light transmittance and solubility of the former were higher than those of the latter. Nitrogen application did not change the 'A'-type crystalline pattern of Tartary buckwheat starch. This study indicated that nitrogen level and years and the interactions among nitrogen fertilizer levels and years significantly affected the physicochemical properties of Tartary buckwheat starch. These integrated results also provided information about the management of fertilization conditions to obtain starches with special properties for applications in food or nonfood industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer causes more than 150000 deaths annually in the United States alone, of which non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80%. Our studies demonstrated that NSCLC cells were sensitive to leflunomide and its metabolite teriflunomide, a FDA approved drug, which was a well-known immunomodulatory drug for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). In the present studies, we found first time that they displayed anti-tumor activity of NSCLC in vitro and in viv o. Potent anti-cancer effects in NSCLC in vitro , including inhibiting NSCLC cells viability, arresting cell cycle at the G0/G1 phase, inducing cell apoptosis, delaying and suppressing NSCLC cells colony-forming ability and cell motility, could be achieved with this agent. Meanwhile, we provided evidence that these effects were applicable in vivo by using H460 cells xenograft model in nude mice. In addition, to comprehensively clarify the mechanisms of teriflunomide in NSCLC, we explored a genome-wide transcriptomic analysis, and found that teriflunomide was involved in multiple signaling pathways and cellular processes, such as cell cycle, apoptosis, MAPK and p53 signaling pathway. Taken together, the results of our studies provided insights into a novel anti-cancer effect of leflunomide and teriflunomide on NSCLC and might open new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the accumulation characteristics of tungsten (W) by different indica rice cultivars from the soil and to assess the potential risks to human health via dietary intake of W in rice consumption. A total of 153 rice (ear) samples of 15 cultivars and the corresponding surface soil samples were collected from 7 cities in Fujian Province of southeastern China. The available soil W were extracted using H2C2O4·2H2O-(NH4)2C2O4·H2O at pH 3.3). Results showed that the total soil W ranged from 2.03 mg kg−1 to 15.34 mg kg−1 and available soil W ranged from 0.03 mg kg−1 to 1.61 mg kg−1. The W concentration in brown rice varied from 7 μg kg−1 to 283 μg kg−1 and was significantly correlated with the available soil W. The highest mean TFavail (transfer factor based on available soil W) was 0.91 for Te-you 627 (hybrid, indica rice), whereas the lowest was 0.08 for Yi-you 673 (hybrid, indica rice). The TFavail decreased with the increase in available soil W, clay content, and cation exchange capacity. The consumption of the brown rice produced from the investigated areas in some cultivars by the present study may cause risks to human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel resilience-based framework to optimise the scheduling of the post-disaster recovery actions for road-bridge transportation networks. The methodology systematically incorporates network topology, redundancy, traffic flow, damage level and available resources into the stochastic processes of network post-hazard recovery strategy optimisation. Two metrics are proposed for measuring rapidity and efficiency of the network recovery: total recovery time (TRT) and the skew of the recovery trajectory (SRT). The TRT is the time required for the network to be restored to its pre-hazard functionality level, while the SRT is a metric defined for the first time in this study to capture the characteristics of the recovery trajectory that relates to the efficiency of those restoration strategies considered. Based on this two-dimensional metric, a restoration scheduling method is proposed for optimal post-disaster recovery planning for bridge-road transportation networks. To illustrate the proposed methodology, a genetic algorithm is used to solve the restoration schedule optimisation problem for a hypothetical bridge network with 30 nodes and 37 bridges subjected to a scenario seismic event. A sensitivity study using this network illustrates the impact of the resourcefulness of a community and its time-dependent commitment of resources on the network recovery time and trajectory. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Given study evaluates the cardioprotective effect of crocetin in myocardial infracted (MI) rats. MI was produced by administering isoproterenol (90 mg/kg/day, i.p.) in rats for two consecutive days. all the animals were divided in to four groups such as control group receives only saline; MI group which receives only isoproterenol and crocetin treated group which receives crocetin (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for the duration of 15 days. At the end of dosing left ventricular functions was assessed to estimate its effect on cardiac functions. Catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), creatine kinase (CK-MB), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and inflammatory cytokines were determined in the cardiac tissue homogenate. Histopathology study was also carried out using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Immunohistochemistry was done for the estimation of Caspase-3, Bcl-2, Bax and Nrf-2 level in the myocardial tissues of MI rats. Result of the study suggested that GSH, CAT, CK-MB, and LDH were (p < 0.01) increased in the tissue homogenate of crocetin treated group than MI group. However crocetin significantly (p < 0.01) decreases the level of MDA and activity of SOD in the tissue homogenate than MI group. It was observed that treatment with crocetin attenuates the level of inflammatory cytokines in the myocardial tissues of MI rats. Moreover level of caspase-3, Bax and Nrf-2 significantly reduced and Bcl-2 enhanced in the myocardial tissues of MI rats than MI group. The altered cellular architecture of heart tissue sections in the myocardial infracted rats were reversed by administration of crocetin treatment. Taking all these data together, it may be suggested that the crocetin act as a possible protective agent in myocardial infarction by decreasing oxidative stress and inflammatory cytokines and thereby attenuates the apoptosis of myocardial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a decision model to assist bridge authorities in determining a preferred maintenance prioritization schedule for a degraded bridge network in a community that optimizes the performance of transportation systems within budgetary constraints at a regional scale. The study utilizes network analysis methods, structural reliability principles and meta-heuristic optimization algorithms to integrate individual descriptive parameters such as bridge capacity rating, condition rating, traffic demand, and location of the bridge, into global objective functions that define the overall network performance and maintenance cost. The performance of the network is measured in terms of travel time between all possible origin-destination (O-D) pairs. In addition to the global budgetary constraint, the optimization is also conditioned on local constraints imposed on traffic flow by insufficient load carrying capacity of deficient bridges. Uncertainties in traffic demands, vehicle weights and maintenance costs are also considered in the problem formulation. Two project priority indices are introduced – the static priority index (SPI), defined as a function of the difference in network travel time between block running (with reduced load carrying capacity before repair) and smooth running (design-level load carrying capacity after repair) of a bridge, and the dynamic priority index (DPI) defined as the likelihood of a bridge being selected for repair when the budget is fixed and the uncertainties governing the performance of the transportation network are considered. Finally, this decision model is illustrated with a hypothetical network with 160 bridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intensive construction of domain-specific knowledge bases (DSKB) has posed an urgent demand for researches about domain-specific entity detection and linking (DSEDL). Joint models are usually adopted in DSEDL tasks, but data imbalance and high computational complexity exist in these models. Besides, traditional feature representation methods are insufficient for domain-specific tasks, due to problems such as lack of labeled data, link sparseness in DSKBs, and so on. In this paper, a two-stage joint (TSJ) model is proposed to solve the data imbalance problem by discriminatively processing entity mentions with different degrees of ambiguity. In addition, three novel methods are put forward to generate effective features by incorporating an unlabeled corpus. One crucial feature involving entity detection is the mention type, extracted by a long short-term memory (LSTM) model trained on automatically annotated data. The other two types of features mainly involve entity linking, including the inner-document topical coherence, which is measured based on entity co-occurring relationships in the corpus, and the cross-document entity coherence evaluated using similar documents. An overall 74.26% F1 value is obtained on a dataset of real-world movie comments, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach and indicating its potentiality to be used in real-world domain-specific applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transportation infrastructure has been identified by the US Department of Homeland Security as one of sixteen critical infrastructure systems essential to the well-being of modern societies. In this study, we propose a resilience-based framework for mitigating risk to surface road transportation networks. We utilize recent developments in modern network theory to introduce a novel metric based on system reliability and network connectivity to measure resilience-based performance of a road transportation network. The formulation of this resilience-based performance metric (referred in the paper as WIPW), systematically integrates the network topology, redundancy level, traffic patterns, structural reliability of network components (i.e. roads and bridge) and functionality of the network during community’s post-disaster recovery, and permits risk mitigation alternatives for improving transportation network resilience to be compared on a common basis. Using the WIPW as a network performance metric, we propose a project ranking mechanism for identifying and prioritizing transportation network retrofit projects that are critical for effective pre-disaster risk mitigation and resilience planning. We further present a decision methodology to select optimal solutions among possible alternatives of new construction, which offer opportunities to improve the resilience of the network by altering its existing topology. Finally, we conclude with an illustration that uses the WIPW as the performance metric to support risk-based mitigation decisions using a hypothetical bridge network susceptible to seismic hazards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A broadband metamaterial absorber (MA) based on the titanium nitride (TiN) nano-disk array is studied using finite difference time domain simulations. The semiconducting indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film is introduced as the space layer in this sandwiched structure. Utilizing the symmetrical geometry of the MA structure, polarization insensitivity of the broadband absorption was gained. The absorber with TiN nano-disk array shows a peak absorbance of 99 % and larger than 98 % from 560 to 675 nm by numerical simulation. This compact design may have potential applications in the plasmonic sensing and photovoltaic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of artificial intelligence has led to an increase in road extraction projects from satellite images through deep learning. However, multi-spectral images (MSI) have been largely overlooked in road extraction algorithms due to their lower resolution compared to panchromatic or fused images. Additionally, deep learning faces the challenge of image content reasoning from distant contexts in data rule mining. To address these issues, we propose a new method for road extraction called the MSI-guided Segmentation Network, which utilizes all the data from the GF2 satellite to achieve optimal results. This study highlights the advantages of using MSI with low-resolution for obtaining deeper semantic information in a faster manner, while high-resolution fused images are better suited for extracting precise characteristics. The proposed method includes two sections: (1) a local symmetry feature fusion to enhance the network's local context-awareness for shallow details, and (2) a global asymmetric semantic fusion to improve the network's capability to comprehend the whole scene for deep semantic information. Moreover, to evaluate the robustness and generalization of this method, we have provided a GF2 Full-band China Road Dataset. The codes and datasets will be made public on https://github.com/Dudujia160918/MSNet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has revolutionized microbial identification. However, there is a lack of data on its performance in identifying filamentous fungi. The objective of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of the Autof ms1000 mass spectrometry for identifying filamentous fungi in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Results: Among 106 samples tested using the Autof ms1000 system, 101 (95.28%) were identified at the genus or species level, and 81 (76.41%) were accurately identified at the species level. Additionally, we developed a new rapid formic acid extraction method with simple pretreatment for filamentous fungi that saved time and provided accurate results. Conclusions: The Autof ms1000 mass spectrometer proved to be a valuable tool for identifying filamentous fungi. However, upgrading the database is recommended for correctly identifying rare strains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukemia is a group of highly heterogeneous and life‐threatening blood cancers that originate from abnormal hematopoietic stem cells. Multiple treatments are approved for leukemia, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy. Unfortunately, therapeutic resistance occurs in a substantial proportion of patients and greatly compromises the treatment efficacy of leukemia, resulting in relapse and mortality. The abnormal activity of receptor tyrosine kinases, cell membrane transporters, intracellular signal transducers, transcription factors, and anti‐apoptotic proteins have been shown to contribute to the emergence of therapeutic resistance. Despite these findings, the exact mechanisms of treatment resistance are still not fully understood, which limits the development of effective measures to overcome it. Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNA) are a class of regulatory molecules that are gaining increasing attention, and lncRNA‐mediated regulation of therapeutic resistance against multiple drugs for leukemia is being revealed. These dysregulated lncRNAs not only serve as potential targets to reduce resistance but also might improve treatment response prediction and individualized treatment decision. Here, we summarize the recent findings on lncRNA‐mediated regulation of therapeutic resistance in leukemia and discuss future perspectives on how to make use of the dysregulated lncRNAs in leukemia to improve treatment outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of protionamide with alizarin red S (ARS) and its analytical application were carefully investigated in this contribution. The interaction conditions were carefully studied and optimized by cyclic voltammetry. Under the optimum conditions, the cyclic voltammetry curve of ARS showed an oxidation peak with the peak potential of 0.57 V. After the addition of protionamide to the ARS solution, the peak potential was negatively moved, and meanwhile the oxidation peak current decreased apparently to the concentration of protionamide and then a new method for the protionamide determination was established. The linear equation between the decreasing current (Δip) and protionamide concentration was got as Δip (μA) = 0.01514C (mg/L) −0.01553  (n=9; r=0.991) with the linear range of 10.0~50.0 mg/L, and the detection limit (3σ) was got as 8.25 μg/mL. The effects of coexisting substances on the determination were carefully investigated and the protionamide artificial and tablet samples were detected with satisfactory results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Slope failure often occurs during the spring thawing period in seasonally frozen areas, and it was concluded that the bolts did not perform as well as designed. Such failure disasters introduce an urgent need for the effective prediction of bolt performance for bolt design. Although many experiments exist to investigate the performance of bolts after exposure to freeze–thaw cycles, predictions of bolt performance under such environments are lacking. In this paper, the analytical relations for predicting the axial forces and shear stresses distributed along full-length bonded rock bolts when subjected to freeze–thaw processes were reported. The reported relations take advantage of Mindlin's displacement solution and consider the influence of crack development in rock on the elastic modulus during freeze–thaw processes. A freeze–thaw cycling factor , with proper consideration of the impact of freeze–thaw processes, is introduced and incorporated into Mindlin's displacement solution. A comparison between the predictions and experimental observations demonstrates the ability of the reported relations to accurately predict the performance (i.e., force and stress distributions) of full-length bonded rock bolts. The reported relations provide a simple, practical tool for accurately estimating the bolt performance under freeze–thaw processes. The weaknesses of the reported relations are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] MOF expression is reduced in failing and hypertrophic hearts. [•] Cardiac-specific hMOF overexpression represses TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy. [•] MOF overexpression inhibits ROS accumulation and c-Raf-MEK-ERK activation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper, we report realization of a spectrum-adjustable random fiber laser (RFL) though central pumping in a single mode fiber (SMF), wherein a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is mounted in the middle to control the laser output. By adjusting the feedback of the FBG bi-directionally, random lasing with adjustable spectra is realized. A unique hybrid dual-peak lasing spectrum with one peak regulated by the FBG and the other peak determined by distributed Rayleigh scattering (RS) feedback is achieved. It is also revealed that the FBG defining lasing peak is sensitive to temperature variation while the other peak is insensitive to temperature variation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper firstly elaborated current situation of agicultural resources ad ecological environment protection of China, and pointed out that circular agrculture is an inevitable choice for sustainable development of agriculture and effective approach for low-carbon economic development. Then, it aalyzed mode and benefit of typical circular agrculture, such as ecological orchard in southeast hills, sightseeing ecological aricultural garden, and crop straw use. Finally, it came up with countermeasures for further developing circular agrculture, including integrating building system ad establishing suitable mode, formulating production standard and ensuring food safety, strengthening technological innovation, and supporting sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Influence of oxygen pressure and temperature on AlF3 films was characterized. [•] Alumina was detected and the formation mechanism was analyzed. [•] Samples prepared with oxygen contain more alumina, and the mechanical stress was reduced. [•] By introducing oxygen, extinctive coefficient was reduced and the refractive index was increased. [•] Samples prepared with certain oxygen pressure tend to be more laser resistant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the pursuit for 355nm high laser resistant dielectric coatings, layer-pair number of 10 and 15 LaF3/AlF3 high reflectors with and without SiO2 undercoat were prepared on BK7 substrates. The results indicate considerable increase in 355nm laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) for samples with undercoat. The samples were analyzed in Normalized Electric Field Intensity distribution, total stress, damage depth and damage morphology, revealing that SiO2 undercoat benefits fluoride coatings by shielding substrate defects and reducing coating defects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is a polyhormone secretory protein that plays fundamental roles in the development and function of various tissues. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β is an important tumor suppressor that induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. Increased PTHrP expression has been implicated in TGF-β-induced growth inhibition in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. However, whether PTHrP is involved in TGF-β-induced apoptosis remains unknown. Using Hep3B and HuH-7, two human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, the current study examined the hypothesis that TGF-β-induced apoptosis is mediated by the induction of PTHrP expression. We found that (1) TGF-β induces PTHrP mRNA expression, protein expression and secretion in a time-dependent fashion; (2) knockdown of PTHrP gene expression or neutralization of secreted PTHrP isoforms blocks TGF-β-induced apoptosis; and (3) TGF-β-induced PTHrP expression is Smad3-dependent. Thus, we have identified PTHrP as a novel mediator for TGF-β-induced apoptosis in Hep3B cells. Our findings provide further insights into the mechanisms through which TGF-β conveys tumor suppression activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background--Transgenic mice with cardiac-restricted overexpression of tumor necrosis factor (MHCsTNF mice) develop progressive myocardial fibrosis, diastolic dysfunction, and adverse cardiac remodeling. Insofar as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) does not directly stimulate fibroblast collagen synthesis, we asked whether TNF-induced fibrosis was mediated indirectly through interactions between mast cells and cardiac fibroblasts. Methods and Results--Cardiac mast cell number increased 2 to 3 fold (P<0.001) in MHCsTNF mice compared with littermate controls. Outcrossing MHCsTNF mice with mast cell-deficient (c-kit-/-) mice showed that the l l-fold increase (P<0.001) in collagen volume fraction in MHCsTNF/c-kit+/- mice was abrogated in MHCsTNF/c-kit-/- mice, and that the leftward shifted left ventricular pressure-volume curve in the MHCsTNF/c-kit+/- mice was normalized in the MHCsTNF/c-kit-/- hearts. Furthermore, the increase in transforming growth factor β1 and type l transforming growth factor βreceptor messenger RNA levels was significantly (P=0.03, P=0.01, respectively) attenuated in MHCsTNF/c-kit-/- when compared with MHCsTNF/c-kit +/-mice. Coculture of fibroblasts with mast cells resulted in enhanced α-smooth muscle actin expression, increased proliferation and collagen messenger RNA expression, and increased contraction of 3-dimensional collagen gels in MHCsTNF fibroblasts compared with littermate fibroblasts. The effects of mast cells were abrogated by type I transforming growth factor β receptor antagonist NP-40208. Conclusions--These results suggest that increased mast cell density with resultant mast cell-cardiac fibroblast cross-talk is required for the development of myocardial fibrosis in inflammatory cardiomyopathy. Cardiac fibroblasts exposed to sustained inflammatory signaling exhibit an increased repertoire of profibrotic phenotypic responses in response to mast cell mediators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and its receptor chemokine (C–C motif) receptor 2 (CCR2) are implicated in promoting atherosclerosis. Many studies have searched the association between variants of the MCP-1 gene or CCR2 gene and risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), but the results are inconsistent. Methods: We conducted a meta-analysis of 20 publications including 24 studies on 2 genetic variants [A-2518G in the MCP-1 and V64I in the CCR2] published before January 2011, including a total of 9844 patients with CAD and 11,821 controls. Publication bias and heterogeneity among studies were explored. Results: In a combined analysis, the pooled OR for CAD of the −2518G allele was 1.42 (95%CI: 1.06–1.92) compared to wild-type A allele under a recessive model in Caucasian group, but there is an indication of publication bias and heterogeneity among the 9 studies. When the analyses were restricted to 2 large studies (n ≥500 cases), the pooled OR was 1.08 (95%CI: 0.85–1.37). Our analyses detected a possibility of publication bias with an overestimate of the true association by smaller studies. A meta-analysis of studies on the CCR2 V64I variant showed no significant association with CAD, the pooled OR of 64I was 1.27 (95%CI: 0.81–1.99) in recessive model and 1.06 (95%CI: 0.95–1.19) in dominant model, respectively. Conclusions: The results indicate that MCP-1-2518G allele had probably increased risk of CAD in Caucasian but this is likely to be due to publication bias and insufficient sample size. The CCR2 V64I has not been found any association with CAD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The carbonaceous monoliths rich in surface sulfonic acid groups were synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal carbonization of the mixture of p-toluenesulfonic acid/glucose/resorcinol at 180°C. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy characterizations confirmed the presence of surface sulfonic groups on these monoliths. The catalytic performance of this kind of carbonaceous material as a solid-acid catalyst was studied in the reaction of acetalization of benzaldehyde and the results showed that it has high activity and reusability. Then, these monoliths were further carbonized and activated to form monolithic carbons with high surface area and large pore volume. The surface area and pore volume per mass increased with prolonging the activation time (0–6h) and the best results on 6-h activated samples were 2337m2/g and 2.12cm3/g. Due to the decrease in bulk density the volumetric surface area increased initially until maximum and then slightly dropped down during the activation. These carbonized and activated samples showed better oxidation resistance than one commercial activated carbon under air. Moreover, the adsorption capacity for dye molecules with different size on these activated samples was significant higher than that on commercial activated carbons and a synthetic ordered mesoporous carbon. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A random laser combined with multimode fiber provides a powerful platform to realize advanced fiber lasers with controllable spatial characteristics, which is of great significance for applications of imaging and sensing. High-Power Multimode Random Fiber Laser for Speckle-Free Imaging (Ann. B Random Fiber Lasers b A multimode-fiber-mediated random fiber laser with 100+ watt output power was demonstrated for speckle-free imaging, as presented by Shanshan Wang, Weili Zhang, Yunjiang Rao, and co-workers in article number 2100390. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: A new gene (GenBank Accession No. AF114264) was cloned from umbilical vein wall tissue by using RT-PCR. The gene shares high similarity to the gene encoding F-actin binding protein nexilin, so named as NELIN. A clone of 2737bp contains open reading frame of 1344bp extending from 412 to 1755. NELIN was expressed primarily in the heart and skeletal muscle among eight tested normal tissues. Immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation demonstrated that NELIN product was associated with F-actin. Stable transfection of NELIN into HeLa cells increased the cell migration by 2.17-fold and the adhesion by 1.67-fold, respectively, compared to cells with the empty vector (P<0.05). The results support that NELIN product is an F-actin associated protein and mediates cell motility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The electrical conductivity of nitride carbon (DLC: N) films has been studied. It is found that the electrical conductivity of the deposited films increases slowly with increasing nitrogen content, however, it decreases after the nitrogen content in the film reaches a certain value of 12.8 at%. Thermal treatment results show that the electrical conductivity of the lowly nitrogen doped DLC film increases rapidly, while that of the heavily doped film decreases after annealing at 300 °C for 30 min. Raman and XPS spectra results show that when the nitrogen content in the films reaches a certain value, there appears nonconductive phases. Therefore the electrical conductivity of the heavily doped films decreases. FTIR spectra analysis results show that the nitrogen atom as an impurity center undergoes an ‘activation’ process during the thermal treatment, which leads to the increase of the electrical conductivity. Therefore, the nitrogen in these two kinds of films has different effects on the electrical conductivity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A micro-Raman spectrometer has been used to study nitrogen doped amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C/H(N)) films, which are annealed by a focused argon ion (514.5 nm) laser operating at the power density of 300, 750 and 1500 W/mm2, respectively. The analysis shows that nitrogen atoms in the films mainly take the form of C–N bonds, which limits the forming of C–H bonds because the formation energy of C–N bond is higher than that of C–H bond. So the C–H bond in a-C/H film is easily decomposed, which increases the graphitization of film by laser annealing. On the other hand, C–N bonds are hardly decomposed in the course of laser annealing, then we consider that thermal stability of a-C/H(N) film increases with the increment of nitrogen content. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]