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Objective • To explore the risk factors and predictive effects of visceral pleural invasion in lung adenocarcinoma patients with mGGN type, in order to identify high-risk groups of visceral pleural invasion early, and to provide more references for targeted intervention and individualized treatment adjustment of high-risk groups based on the analysis of risk factors. Methods • The clinical data of 135 patients with mGGN-type lung adenocarcinoma who received surgical treatment in our hospital from January 2018 to December 2022 were selected from our hospital’s medical record database for retrospective analysis. The patient information was entered by a two-person summary and analyzed after verification.The patients were divided into invasion group (60 cases) and non-invasion group (75 cases) according to the invasion of pleural viscera, which was helpful to analyze the difference of clinical features between the two groups. The independent risk factors for visceral pleural invasion in patients with mGGN lung adenocarcinoma were evaluated using univariate and multivariate factor methods, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn to evaluate the clinical efficacy of these risk factors above alone and in combination in predicting of visceral pleural invasion risk. The larger the area under ROC curve, the higher the corresponding sensitivity and specificity, and the greater the predictive value for the risk of visceral pleural invasion in mGGN lung adenocarcinoma patients. Results • Univariate analysis showed that gender, family history of hypertension, location of focus, maximum diameter of solid component, proportion of solid component, pleural indentation, burr sign, bronchial and nodular route may be related to visceral pleural invasion in lung adenocarcinoma patients with mGGN type (P < .05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that pleural indentation (OR=2.49, 95%CI:1.17~4.58, P < .001) and abnormal broncho-nodular travel (OR=3.06, 95%CI: 1.35~7.02, P = .01) were the independent risk factors for visceral pleural invasion in lung adenocarcinoma patients with mGGN type (P < .05). ROC curve analysis results showed that pleural indentation (AUC=0.70, 95%CI: 0.65~0.79, P = .02), abnormal bronchial and nodular running relationship (AUC=0.74, 95%CI: 0.69~0.81, P = .01) could both be used to predict the visceral pleural invasion risk in lung adenocarcinoma patients with mGGN type, and combined prediction efficacy of both indexes (AUC=0.90, 95%CI: 0.85~0.97, P < .001) was better than single index. Conclusion • The occurrence of visceral pleural infiltration in patients with mGGN lung adenocarcinoma is related to the relationship between pleural indentation and bronchus and nodules. Combined with the above indicators, the risk of visceral pleural infiltration in patients can be effectively predicted, and early intervention and treatment can be performed on high-risk patients accordingly to effectively prevent and treat visceral pleural infiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the biggest challenges for Internet of Things (IoT) systems is traffic congestion in large networks. For this reason, the bandwidth should be increased in such systems. In addition, the issue of routing is raised in sending packets from the origin to the destination. Therefore, if there are many IoT devices in the network, it will increase the traffic, which makes faultless routing important in these networks. In this paper, a novel routing method based on Routing Protocol for Low-Power (RPL) is presented to minimize the energy consumption of the Internet of Things. Using the backward method based on the A* method to reduce energy consumption in a large graph, promising nodes are selected. A coordinate node is used to manage packets and transfer them. The selection of the coordinator node helps to receive packets with less energy and less delay from its neighbors, and the head node selects the best coordinator node with the shortest distance and the highest residual energy. The proposed method improves the energy consumption criteria, the delay between nodes, and the network overhead criterion by considering the estimated energy to the destination with the A* method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context • Gastric cancer (GC) remains one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide, and no effective cure exists for advanced GC. Clinicians believe that molecularly targeted therapy through PCGs may replace surgery, radiotherapy, and other treatments as a breakthrough in curing malignancies. Objective • The study intended to examine the impact of aberrant expression of the protein-coding genes (PCGs) associated with regulatory T cells on the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC). Design • The research team performed a genetic study through research of genetic data in online databases. Setting • The study took place at Zhongda Hospital. Outcome Measures • The research team selected a publicly available dataset, genetic suppressor element 109476 (GSE109476), from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database for differential gene analysis, gene ontology (GO) analysis, and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis to screen for PCGs associated with regulatory T cells as well as the Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) database with the Kaplan-Meier Plotter database to analyze the expression of the above PCGs in GC and the prognostic impact on GC. Results • The GEO2R analysis found 315 differentially expressed PCGs in GSE109476, among which nine PCGs were associated with regulatory T cells: (1) chemokine (C-C motif) ligand 19 (CCL19), (2) CCL21, (3) C-C chemokine receptor type 7 (CCR7), (4) cluster of differentiation 70 (CD70), (5) ephrin B3 (EFNB3), (6) early growth response 3 (EGR3), (7) interleukin-7 receptor (IL7R), (8) galectin-1 (LGALS1), and (9) tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily member 13C (TNFRSF13C). The GEPIA database indicated that no significant differences existed between the expression of CCL19, CCL21, CD70, EFNB3, EGR3, IL7R, and TNFRSF13C in stomach adenocarcinoma (STAD) tissues and that in normal tissues (P > .05), while expressions of CCR7 and LGALS1 were significantly elevated in STAD tissues compared to the normal tissues (P < .05). The Kaplan-Meier Plotter database analysis, on the other hand, showed a significant relationship between all of the above-mentioned PCGs, except CCL19, and the prognosis of GC. Conclusions • CCL19, CCL21, CCR7, CD70, EFNB3, EGR3, IL7R, LGALS1, and TNFRSF13C are PCGs are differentially expressed in GC and closely associated with regulatory T cells. They may affect the occurrence and development of GC through a variety of pathways, including regulation of immune infiltration and inflammation, and are of great potential research value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

World-wide constraints on the supply of fossil fuel resources exist in conjunction with stringent environmental constraints. Therefore, it is very important to develop advanced technologies to reduce fuel consumption. The transmission efficiency of an automatic vehicle is low because of the torque converter. Hence, in this study, a power reflux hydraulic transmission system (PRHTS) was proposed. It is important to avoid the phenomenon of resonance in a powertrain with a PRHTS, and thus it is necessary that the resonance point of a powertrain with a PRHTS does not exist in the resonance region of the engine. A dynamic and mathematical model of a powertrain with a PRHTS was developed to study the resonance characteristic of the powertrain. The amplitude-frequency characteristic curve of a powertrain for different speed ratios was obtained. The effect of torsional stiffness of the coupling and engine shock absorber on the amplitude-frequency characteristics of a powertrain with a PRHTS were examined. The simulation result indicated that it was necessary to exclude the resonance frequencies of the powertrain with a PRHTS from the operation range of the engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel multilayer substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) filtering crossover is proposed based on the orthogonal degenerate modes in SIW rectangular cavities (SIRCs). The degeneracy of dual-mode in multilayer SIRCs is used to realize the cross transmission and the orthogonality of the two modes is utilized to achieve the isolation relying on the four coupling slots located on metal layers. E-field distributions of the SIW cavities at TE102 and TE201 modes are studied for guiding the circuit realization. And then input/output and isolated ports can share the same resonator, which reduces the number of resonators by two. By adjusting the position of the coupling slots located between layers, the bandwidth can be controlled independently in a certain range without affecting the isolation effect. The detailed analysis and the design method based on coupling matrix have been first introduced to realize a third-order multilayer filtering crossover. Compared with other filtering crossovers, the proposed design exhibits good filtering responses, better isolation, lower loss, as well as compact size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inherent nonlinear nature caused by the hysteresis characteristics of the forcedisplacement and force-velocity relationships poses a challenge to the modelling and control of magnetorheological (MR) dampers. In this review, two types of modelling methods, parametric modelling and non-parametric modelling, are critically reviewed and discussed, with a focus on how to improve modelling accuracy. Although the force-displacement behaviour is well represented by most of the proposed dynamic models for MR dampers, no simple parametric models with high accuracy can be found for MR dampers. In addition, nonparametric modelling methods can improve the accuracy of the model, but the complexity of the model and the computational burden cause difficulties in designing the closed-loop controller. Finally, the control methods based on different modelling methods are discussed, and future research directions are also recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel 3dB wideband coupler with enhanced selectivity has been proposed and developed in multilayer HMSIW topology. Periodic ginkgo leaf slots (GLS) are etched on top layer of HMSIW to realize a pass-band combining with high-pass characteristics of HMSIW. The novel GLS cells have stop-band characteristics aiming to improve the frequency selectivity and extend the upper stop-band. Moreover, the roll-off at the upper side is very sharper. A continuous coupling slot is etched in the conductor layer at the broadwall of HMSIW. Coupling takes place through the long, offset slot, which features a flexible design providing a wide coupling dynamic range with wideband characteristics. Detailed design process is introduced to synthesize a wideband filtering HMSIW coupler with better stop-band rejection. The novel coupler is showing a 34.9% coupling bandwidth at 8.87 GHz with good isolation, reflection and out-of-band rejection performances. Its stop band is from 13.8 to 17.6GHz with the rejection more than 40dB. Good agreement is obtained between the simulated and measured results of the proposed structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The soluble (S), loosely bound (LB) and tightly bound (TB) extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were extracted from sludge flocs of a membrane bioreactor to evaluate their characteristics and adsorptive fouling. The degrees of adsorptive fouling by the EPS fractions were in the order S-EPS

Background: Overexpression of Cullin7 is associated with some types of malignancies. However, the part of Cullin7 in hepatocellular carcinoma remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Cullin7 in pathogenesis and the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods: In the present study, the expression of Cullin7 in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines and five surgical hepatocellular carcinoma specimens was detected with quantitative reverse transcription PCR and western blotting. In addition, the protein expression of Cullin7 was examined in 162 cases of archived hepatocellular carcinoma using immunohistochemistry.Results: We found elevated expression of both mRNA and protein levels of Cullin7 in hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines, and Cullin7 protein was significantly upregulated in hepatocellular carcinoma compared with paired normal hepatic tissues. The immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that overexpression of Cullin7 occurred in 69.1% of hepatocellular carcinoma samples, which was a significantly higher rate than that in adjacent normal hepatic tissue (P < 0.01). Statistical analysis found that overexpression of Cullin7 was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis, tumor thrombus of the portal vein and advanced clinical stage (P < 0.05). Furthermore, by overexpressing Cullin7 in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells, we revealed that Cullin7 could significantly enhance cell proliferation, growth, migration and invasion. Conversely, knocking down Cullin7 expression with short hairpin RNAi in hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 cells inhibited cell proliferation, growth, migration and invasion.Conclusion: Our studies provide evidence that overexpression of Cullin7 plays an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and may be a valuable marker for hepatocellular carcinoma management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is defined as the occurrence of pneumonia in patients receiving mechanical ventilation for more than 48 h after endotracheal intubation. The implementation of effective oral care with antiseptics may reduce the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, previous studies have been unclear about the best antiseptic for this purpose. Therefore, present protocol proposed to perform a network meta-analysis to evaluate the efficacy of different antiseptics to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia. Methods/design: We will search CNKI, WanFang database, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, SinoMed from their inception to March 2016. There are no restrictions on language, publication year, or publication type. Only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) with antiseptics to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia will be considered. Study selection and data collection will be independently performed by two reviewers. Risk of bias assessments will be completed using the Cochrane risk of bias scale. The primary outcome is VAP morbidity. A network meta-analysis will be conducted to compare the effect of four different antiseptics on patient-relevant efficacy. Subgroup analyses will be performed by the type of setting and length of mechanical ventilation, and sensitivity analyses will be conducted to assess the robustness of the findings. Discussion: Oral care to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia has been widely used. The efficacy of usual oral antiseptics have been assessed mainly using traditional meta-analysis. However, it was unclear which oral care solution is best used for oral care and there were no head-to-head RCT to compare the efficacy of four antiseptics. The proposed network meta-analysis will compare four antiseptics and rank the results using network meta-analysis to decide which was the best. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42016038088 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The K1 gene product of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is encoded by the first open reading frame (ORF) of the viral genome. To investigate the role of the K1 gene during the KSHV life cycle, we constructed a set of recombinant viruses that contained either wild-type (WT) K1, a deleted K1 ORF (KSHVΔK1), stop codons within the K1 ORF (KSHV-K15STOP), or a revertant K1 virus (KSHV-K1REV). We report that the recombinant viruses KSHVΔK1 and KSHV-K15STOP displayed significantly reduced lytic replication compared to WT KSHV and KSHV-K1REV upon reactivation from latency. Additionally, cells infected with the recombinant viruses KSHVΔK1 and KSHV-K15STOP also yielded smaller amounts of infectious progeny upon reactivation than did WT KSHV- and KSHV-K1REV-infected cells. Upon reactivation from latency, WT KSHV- and KSHVK1REV- infected cells displayed activated Akt kinase, as evidenced by its phosphorylation, while cells infected with viruses deleted for K1 showed reduced phosphorylation and activation of Akt kinase. Overall, our results suggest that K1 plays an important role during the KSHV life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Forkhead box P3(FOXP3) is known as the optimum maker for regulatory T cells(Tregs), which are conventionally thought to induce immune tolerance to disturb the antitumor immunity. However, the research on the prognostic significance of tumor-infiltrating FOXP3+ Tregs in breast cancer is still limited and the results are controversial.Methods: We searched for studies in PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science prior to January 2015. The correlation between FOXP3+ tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes(TILs) and breast cancer prognosis was analyzed. The meta-analysis was performed using STATA 11.0. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) were used to estimate the degree of the association between FOXP3+ TILs and prognosis of breast cancers, while relative ratios (RRs) were used to evaluate the relationship between FOXP3+ TILs and clinicopathological features of breast cancers.Result: A total of 15 studies comprising 8666 breast cancer patients met the inclusion criteria. Our results showed that higher FOXP3+ TILs level was significantly associated with poor prognosis in terms of overall survival (OS) (pooled HR:1.60, 95 % CI:1.06-2.42; P < 0.05). We found that breast cancer with higher FOXP3+ TILs level was positively correlated with c-erbB-2 positive status (pooled RR:1.52, 95 % CI:1.32-1.75; P < 0.05), lymph node positive status(pooled RR:1.17, 95 % CI:1.04-1.32; P < 0.05) while there was a negative association with ER positive status(pooled RR:0.65, 95 % CI:0.56-0.76; P < 0.05) and PR positive status(pooled RR:0.66, 95 % CI:0.51-0.87; P < 0.05).Conclusion: The present results of meta-analysis showed that higher FOXP3+ TILs level in patients with breast cancer led to poor overall survival (OS) and was significantly associated with c-erbB-2 status, lymph node status, ER status and PR status. FOXP3+ TILs level is a promising prognostic factor in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The friction transmission model of wet clutch is established to analyze the friction transmission mechanism of its engagement. The model is developed by applying both the average flow model and the elastic contact model between the friction disk and separator plate. The key components during wet clutch engagement are the separator plate, friction disk, and lubricant. The one-dimension transient models of heat transfer in radial direction for the three components are built on the basis of the heat transfer theory and the conservation law of energy. The friction transmission model and transient heat transfer models are coupled and solved by using the Runge-Kutta numerical method, and the radial temperature distribution and their detailed parametric study for the three components are conducted separately. The simulation results show that the radial temperature for the three components rises with the increase of radius in engagement. The changes in engagement pressure, lubricant viscosity, friction lining permeability, combined surface roughness RMS, equivalent elasticity modulus, difference between dynamic and static friction coefficients, and lubricant flow have important influence on the temperature rise characteristics. The proposed models can get better understanding of the dynamic temperature rise characteristics of wet clutch engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the ethyl acetate + methanol +1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethylphosphate ([EMIM][DEP]) and ethyl acetate + methanol +1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dibutylphosphate ([BMIM][DBP]) ternary systems were measured at 101.3 kPa with an improved all-glass single-cycle still. They were correlated with the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) model and were in good agreement with the correlated data. The results showed that the two ionic liquids (ILs) produced an obvious effect on the VLE behavior. With the addition of them into the azeotropic system, the relative volatility of ethyl acetate to methanol was enhanced. Moreover, the azeotropic point was eliminated as the mole fractions of [EMIM][DEP] and [BMIM][DBP] in the liquid phase were equal to 0.05 and 0.1, respectively. As for salting-out effect on ethyl acetate, [EMIM][DEP] outperforms [BMIM][DBP]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isobaric vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the ethyl acetate + methanol +1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethylphosphate ([EMIM][DEP]) and ethyl acetate + methanol +1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dibutylphosphate ([BMIM][DBP]) ternary systems were measured at 101.3 kPa with an improved all-glass single-cycle still. They were correlated with the nonrandom two-liquid (NRTL) model and were in good agreement with the correlated data. The results showed that the two ionic liquids (ILs) produced an obvious effect on the VLE behavior. With the addition of them into the azeotropic system, the relative volatility of ethyl acetate to methanol was enhanced. Moreover, the azeotropic point was eliminated as the mole fractions of [EMIM][DEP] and [BMIM][DBP] in the liquid phase were equal to 0.05 and 0.1, respectively. As for salting-out effect on ethyl acetate, [EMIM][DEP] outperforms [BMIM][DBP]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isobaricvapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) data for the tert-butyl alcohol (t-BuOH) + water + triethanolamine(TEA), t-BuOH + water + triethanolamine formic acid([TEA][Fc]), t-BuOH + water + triethanolamine aceticacid ([TEA][Ac]), and t-BuOH + water + triethanolaminelactic acid ([TEA][Lc]) ternary systems were measured at 101.3 kPa.The results indicated that all the three ILs produced a more obviouseffect on the VLE behavior of t-BuOH + water systemthan TEA, and eliminated the azeotropic point in the whole concentrationrange. [TEA][Lc] was the best solvent for the separation of the t-BuOH + water system by extractive distillation among thethree ILs investigated. The experimental VLE data for the ternarysystems were correlated with the NRTL model equation, and good correlationswere obtained with an average relative deviation of 2.4 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of posterior indirect reduction and pedicle screw fixation without laminectomy for the treatment of Denis type B thoracolumbar burst fractures with incomplete neurologic deficit. Methods: From March 2008 to May 2012, 36 consecutive patients of Denis type B thoracolumbar burst with incomplete neurologic deficit were enrolled. All of the patients accepted the treatments of posterior indirect reduction and pedicle screw fixation without laminectomy. Clinical and radiologic outcomes were assessed preoperatively and postoperatively. Results: Operations were performed in a relatively short time without massive hemorrhage. Their neurologic functions were improved by at least one Frankel grade. The average score of American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) motor increased from 25.4 ± 10.8 to 42.1 ± 10.5, and the recovery rate of the ASIA score was also increased. The pain level was relieved for all the patients. The local kyphosis angle was reduced from 25.9° ± 3.4° to 6.9° ± 2.2° (P <0.05) and remained 7.9° ± 2.0° (P > 0.05) at the latest follow-up. After the operation, the mean vertebral canal diameter increased from 5.5 ± 1.3 to 11.1 ± 2.2 mm (P < 0.05) and the mean canal stenosis index increased from 32.9 ± 7.8 to 84.8 ± 7.3 % (P < 0.05). There were no serious complications and fixation failures during follow-up. Conclusion: Denis type B thoracolumbar burst fractures with incomplete neurologic deficit can be effectively treated by posterior indirect reduction and pedicle screw fixation without laminectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glacial landforms of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) provide a unique opportunity to research hemispheric and global environmental changes. In this study, we focus on the glacial history of the palaeo-Daocheng Ice Cap (p-DIC) in the southeastern QTP during the last glacial cycle. Based on field investigations, morphostratigraphy, and surface exposure dating of roche moutonnée, polished surface and moraine debris through the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN) 10Be and 26A1. We identify glacial deposits of the last deglaciation, with minimum ages of 14.9±1.3-18.7±1.7 ka, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) of 24.7±2.2 ka, and the early part of the last glacial period (marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 3) of 37.1±3.4-45.2±3.9 ka. Our results show that in this region, the extent of the glacial advance during MIS 3 was larger than that during the traditional LGM (MIS 2). These ages are consistent with prior chronologies, and the 10Be age is consistent with the 26Al age for the same sample. Thus, these data provide reliable constraints on climate change in the QTP, during the last glaciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence and molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Enterobacteriaceae isolated from swine meat and the breeding environment. A total of 102 MDR Enterobacteriaceae strains belonging to five genera were obtained from 210 samples collected from a large-scale swine farm from March 2012 to June 2013 in Xiamen, People's Republic of China. Among these MDR isolates, Escherichia coli strains were found most frequently in both meat and environmental samples, followed by Citrobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., and Shigella spp. The neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree indicated that 70.3 % of Escherichia and 50 % of Citrobacter isolates from meat samples shared 100 % homology with relevant isolates from environmental samples. Resistance was most frequently observed to sulfonamide, trimethoprim, aminoglycoside, chloramphenicol, β-lactam, and tetracycline. Close correlation was noted between antibiotic resistance phenotype and the genes responsible for resistance to sulfonamide (sulI), trimethoprim (dhfrI), aminoglycoside (aadA, aac(3)-I, aphA-1, and aac(3)-IV), chloramphenicol (catI and cmlA), β-lactam (blaSHV, blaOXA, and blaTEM), florfenicol (floR), and tetracycline (tet(A) and tet(B)), which were widely distributed with prevalences of 72.5, 6.9, 62.7, 14.7, 78.4, 11.8, 25.5, 42.2, 12.7, 14.7, 39.2, 87.2, 68.6, and 34.3 % , respectively. Class 1 integrons carrying aadA22, dfrA17-aadA5, or dfrA12-aadA2 cassette arrays were commonly found in isolates from all samples. The gene cassette aac(6')-Ib-cr-arr-3-dfrA27-aadA16 was first found in an Enterobacter amnigenus isolate. Conjugation experiments revealed the plasmid-mediated transfer of class 1 integrons. Our results indicate that swine meat and the farming environment can be sources of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which could be potentially transmitted to humans via the meat products industry chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pixelated micropolarizer array (PMA) is a novel concept for real-time visible imaging polarimetry. A 320 x 240 aluminum PMA fabricated by electron beam lithography is described in this paper. The period, duty ratio, and depth of the grating are 140 nm, 0.5, and 100 nm, respectively. The units are standard square structures and the metal nanowires of the grating are collimating and uniformly thick. The extinction ratio of 75 and the maximum polarization transmittance of 78.8% demonstrate that the PMA is suitable for polarization imaging. When the PMA is applied to real-time polarization imaging, the degree of linear polarization image and the angle of linear polarization image are calculated from a single frame image. The polarized target object is highlighted from the unpolarized background, and the surface contour of the target object can be reflected by the polarization angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Umbilical metastasis, also called Sister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN), is defined as the umbilical nodule associated with advanced metastatic intra-abdominal and pelvic malignancies. A patient with umbilical metastasis has been deemed to have a poor prognosis. Rectal cancer presenting with a SMJN is a rare phenomenon, especially in the early stage and in middle-low rectal cancer. Case presentation We report a case of a 70-year-old male presenting with umbilical metastasis derived from rectal cancer (10 cm from the anal verge, T2N0). Discussion and conclusion For rectal cancer with umbilical metastasis, the exact metastatic routes as well as the criterion of diagnosis and treatments are not very clear. Here we review the literature on rectal cancer and SMJN to deepen the understanding of this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The chemokine receptor CXCR4 plays a significant role in biological processes, as well as in tumorigenesis and the progression of cancer, especially breast cancer. However, the clinical application of CXCR4 for breast cancer prognosis is still very limited. A meta-analysis based on published studies was performed with the aim of obtaining an accurate evaluation of the relationship between CXCR4 expression and the prognosis of breast cancer. Methods A comprehensive search strategy was used to search relevant literature in PubMed, MEDLINE and the ISI Web of Science. The correlation between CXCR4 expression and clinicopathological features and breast cancer prognosis was analyzed. This meta-analysis was carried out using Review Manager 4.2. Result Thirteen eligible studies consisting of 3865 participants were included. We found that breast cancers with CXCR4 expression were associated with lymph node status (pooled RR =1.20, 95% CI: 1.01-1.43, P<0.001) and distant metastasis (pooled RR =1.52, 95% CI: 1.17-1.98, P = 0.125). CXCR4 overexpression was significantly associated with disease free survival (DFS) (RR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.70-0.86, P = 0.554) and overall survival (OS) (RR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.59-0.83, P = 0.329). However, there was no significant association between CXCR4 expression and some clinical parameters of breast cancer, such as tumor category, ER status, PR status, or c-erbB-2 status. Conclusion Our meta-analysis showed that CXCR4 is an efficient prognostic factor for breast cancer. Overexpression of CXCR4 was significantly associated with lymph node status and distant metastasis and indicated poor overall and disease free survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new phase shifting method: wave-plate phase shifting method. By different combinations of a quarter-wave-plate, a half-wave-plate, and an analyzer, phase delays are introduced in the interference light path in order to achieve the phase shifting digital holography. Theoretical analysis, numerical simulation, and experiments are conducted to verify the validity of this method. The numerical simulation shows that the result of the wave-plate phase shifting method is consistent with that of the traditional four-step phase shifting method. The experimental results successfully reconstruct the object light intensity in the image plane. Based on the wave-plate phase shifting method, a pixelated waveplate array structure is designed to achieve real-time phase shifting digital holography. The wave-plate array phase shifting method not only can reconstruct object image of high quality, but also can be used in dynamic phase measurement. Therefore, pixelated wave-plate array structure and wave-plate array phase shifting method could be widely used in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Elucidating gut microbiota among gallstone patients as well as the complex bacterial colonization of cholesterol gallstones may help in both the prediction and subsequent lowered risk of cholelithiasis. To this end, we studied the composition of bacterial communities of gut, bile, and gallstones from 29 gallstone patients as well as the gut of 38 normal individuals, examining and analyzing some 299, 217 bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences from 120 samples. Results: First, as compared with normal individuals, in gallstone patients there were significant (P < 0.001) increases of gut bacterial phylum Proteobacteria and decreases of three gut bacterial genera, Faecalibacterium, Lachnospira, and Roseburia. Second, about 70% of gut bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) from gallstone patients were detectable in the biliary tract and bacteria diversity of biliary tract was significantly (P < 0.001) higher than that of gut. Third, analysis of the biliary tract core microbiome (represented by 106 bacteria OTUs) among gallstone patients showed that 33.96% (36/106) of constituents can be matched to known bacterial species (15 of which have publicly available genomes). A genome-wide search of MDR, BSH, bG, and phL genes purpotedly associated with the formation of cholesterol gallstones showed that all 15 species with known genomes (e.g., Propionibacterium acnes, Bacteroides vulgates, and Pseudomonas putida) contained at least contained one of the four genes. This finding could potentially provide underlying information needed to explain the association between biliary tract microbiota and the formation of cholesterol gallstones. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to discover gut microbiota dysbiosis among gallstone patients, the presence of which may be a key contributor to the complex bacteria community assembly linked with the presence of cholesterol gallstones. Likewise, this study also provides the first large-scale glimpse of biliary tract microbiota potentially associated with cholesterol gallstones. Such a characterization of the biliary tract core microbiome has potentially important biological and medical implications regarding the role of bacteria in the formation cholesterol gallstones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new high birefringence terahertz photonic crystal fiber is proposed. The properties of birefringence, confinement loss, and chromatic dispersion are studied by using full-vector finite-element methods with an anisotropic perfectly matched layers absorption boundary condition. The cladding contains several periodically arranged diamond-shaped units, which consists of four elliptical air holes with uniform parameters. The fiber core is formed by employing a solid unit without elliptical air holes in the center of the cross-section. Through adjusting the structural parameters of the photonic crystal fiber, we can achieve birefringence up to 10-3 from 180 to 400 μm. The confinement loss can decrease to 10-9 dB/m at 100 μm. The chromatic dispersion coefficient Dw is near to 0 ± 1.0 ps/(nmkm) from 100 to 400 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hypoxia-inducible factor and vascular endothelial growth factor (HIF-VEGF) pathway in hypoxic conditions of the middle ear due to dysfunction of the eustachian tube is still unknown, but it is considered as one pathogenetic mechanism in otitis media. This study was designed to investigate the possible involvement of the HIF-VEFG pathway in otitis media with effusion induced by dysfunction of the eustachian tube. We adopted a soft palate approach to obstruct the orifice of the eustachian tube to establish otitis media in a rat model. Auditory evoked brainstem response and tympanometry were used as hearing function tests, hypoxia-related factors were examined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of hypoxia-related proteins was detected by Western blot and immunostaining. The model of otitis media with effusion was successfully induced by cauterizing the orifice of the eustachian tube. RT-PCR showed up-regulation of hypoxia-related factors in cauterized ears. Western blot and immuno staining showed that the expression of hypoxia-related proteins in cauterized ears was increased. Hypoxia-induced vascular proliferation and an increase in permeability may be one pathogenetic mechanism of otitis media due to dysfunction of the eustachian tube. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ketosis is a common metabolic disorder frequently observed in dairy cows during the early lactation period. It is characterized by increased levels of ketone bodies in the blood, urine, and milk. Subclinical ketosis (SCK) in dairy cattle is an excess level of circulating ketone bodies in the absence of clinical signs of ketosis. Usually, detection of SCK is carried out by testing the ketone concentrations in blood, urine, and milk. Here, This review overview the detection methods for SCK in dairy cows, including cowside and laboratory tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is associated with 3 different human malignancies: Kaposi sarcoma (KS), primary effusion lymphoma, and multicentric Castleman disease. The KS lesion is driven by KSHV-infected endothelial cells and is highly dependent on autocrine and paracrine factors for survival and growth. We report that latent KSHV infection increases the vascular permeability of endothelial cells. Endothelial cells with latent KSHV infection display increased Rac1 activation and activation of its downstream modulator, p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1). The KSHV-infected cells also exhibit increases in tyrosine phosphorylation of vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin and β-catenin, whereas total levels of these proteins remained unchanged, suggesting that latent infection disrupted endothelial cell junctions. Consistent with these findings, we found that KSHV-infected endothelial cells displayed increased permeability compared with uninfected endothelial cells. Knockdown of Rac1 and inhibition of reactive oxygen species (ROS) resulted in decreased permeability in the KSHV-infected endothelial cells. We further demonstrate that the KSHV K1 protein can activate Rac1. Rac1 was also highly activated in KSHV-infected endothelial cells and KS tumors. In conclusion, KSHV latent infection increases Rac1 and PAK1 activity in endothelial cells, resulting in the phosphorylation of VE-cadherin and β-catenin and leading to the disassembly of cell junctions and to increased vascular permeability of the infected endothelial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous media with a wide distribution of pore sizes are quite common. We show that variable-step-size random walk simulations can be used to model the time-dependent diffusion coefficient D(t) in such porous media. The issue to be overcome is that, in variable-step-size walks, each walker carries its own "clock," and its position is known only at a random set of times. Thus, a direct ensemble-average calculation of ( Δr²(t) ) (the mean-square distance traveled at time t) is problematic. We introduce a sequence of approximations that overcome this apparent difficulty. Calculations are carried out on periodic systems that contain pores of quite different sizes. Where possible, our results are compared to those obtained using fixed-step-size random walks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interval-censored failure time data occur in many medical investigations as well as other studies such as demographical and sociological studies. They include the usual right-censored failure time data as a special case but provide much more complex structure and less relevant information than the right-censored data. This article reviews some basic concepts, issues and the corresponding statistical approaches related to the analysis of interval-censored data as well as recent advances. In particular, we discuss estimation of a survival function, comparison of several treatments and regression analysis as well as competing risks analysis and truncation in the presence of interval censoring. A well-known example of interval-censored data is described and analysed to illustrate some of the statistical procedures discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a systematic study of the local distortions produced upon doping metal ions to lithium niobate (LiNbO3, LN) single crystals. The impurity bond length can be predicted by a radial force constant model, when the dopant ions substitute for Li+ or Nb5+ ions in the LN crystallographic frame. From the viewpoint of constituent chemical bonds, the lattice energy can be described as the function of bond valence on the basis of Born–Haber cycle for the formation of an ionic oxide MmOn. The dopant occupancy in the LN matrix can be determined by comparing the deviation of its lattice energy in different locations at both Li+ and Nb5+ sites, on the basis of the bond length relaxation of impurity ions, which can agree well with the experiment results. The effect of impurity ions on the property modification of LN crystals is also discussed according to our calculated results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In statistical analysis, when the value of a random variable is only known to be between two bounds, we say that this random variable is interval censored. This complicated censoring pattern is a common problem in research fields such as clinical trials or actuarial studies and raises challenges for statistical analysis. In this paper, we focus on regression analysis of case 2 interval-censored data. We first briefly review existing regression methods and an estimation approach under the class of linear transformation models developed by Zhang et al. We then propose a method for survival probability prediction via generalized estimating equations.We also consider a graphical model checking technique and a model selection tool. Some theoretical properties are established and the performance of our procedures is evaluated and illustrated by numerical studies including a real-life data analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infection of host cells with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) induces cell cycle dysregulation. Two HCMV immediate-early (IE) proteins, IE1-72 and IE2-86, are promiscuous transactivators that have been implicated in the dysregulatory events. Cellular p53 protein is accumulated to high levels in HCMV-infected cells, but the indicative marker of p53 transcriptional activity, p21, is markedly decreased. Both IE1-72 and IE2-86 were able to transactivate the p53 promoter and interact with p53 protein in DNA-transfected or HCMV-infected cells. HCMV UL84, a multiregulatory protein expressed in early periods of HCMV infection, also interacted with p53. HCMV IE1-72 prevented or disrupted p53 binding to p53-specific DNA sequences, while IE2-86 and/or UL84 enhanced p53 binding and induced supershift of this DNA-protein complex. Both HCMV IE1-72 and IE2-86 were able to inhibit p53-dependent transcriptional activation in plasmid-transfected cells. IE1-72, rather than IE2-86, was found to be responsible for p21 downregulation in HCMV-infected HEL cells. DNA transfection analysis using IE1-72 mutants revealed that exon 2/3 and the zinc finger region of IE1-72 are essential for IE1-72's effect on the repression of p53-dependent transcriptional activation. These data suggest that HCMV IE1-72 and/or IE2-86 transactivates the p53 promoter and induces p53 accumulation, but HCMV IE1-72 represses the p53 transactivation activity by a unique binding hindrance mechanism different from that of IE2-86. Thus, various modes of viral IE proteins and p53 interactions might result in multiple outcomes, such as stimulation of cellular DNA synthesis, cell cycle progression and cell cycle arrest, and prevention of program cell death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mean residual life function is an attractive alternative to the survival function or the hazard function of a survival time in practice. It provides the remaining life expectancy of a subject surviving up to time t. In this study, we propose a class of transformed mean residual life models for fitting survival data under right censoring. To estimate the model parameters, we make use of the inverse probability of censoring weighting approach and develop a system of estimating equations. Efficiency and robustness of the estimators are also studied. Both asymptotic and finite sample properties of the proposed estimators are established and the approach is applied to two real-life datasets collected from clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic tomography has been one of the primary tools to image the interior of the earth and other elastic structures. To date the inversions of compressional ( P) and shear ( S) wave speeds have been carried out separately under the assumption that P traveltimes are affected only by the P wave speed of the elastic media and S traveltimes by the S wave speed. Using numerical and analytical solutions, we show that for finite-frequency seismic waves, S wave speed perturbations may have significant effects on P waveforms. This suggests that when waveform-derived traveltime and amplitude anomalies are used in tomographic inversions, the P-wave measurements should be related to not only P wave speed perturbations but also S wave speed perturbations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the effects of input noise on a magnetometer with quantum feedback. Previous research has shown that feedback makes the measurement robust to an unknown parameter, the number of atoms involved, with the assumption that the feedback is noise free. To evaluate the effects of the feedback noise, we extend the original model by an input noise term. We then analyze the steady state performance of the Kalman filter for both the closed-loop and open-loop cases and retrieve the second moment of the estimation error. The results are compared and criteria for evaluating the effects of input noise are obtained. Robust and optimal designs are also discussed. Computations and simulations show how quantitatively the input noise increases the estimation error and changes the region where the closed-loop case behaves better than the open-loop case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is a model microbe for studying biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology of photobiological processes. Importance of this bacterium in basic and applied research calls for a systematic, genome-wide description of its transcriptional regulatory capacity. Characteristic transcriptional responses to changes in the growth environment are expected to provide a scaffold for describing the Synechocystis transcriptional regulatory network as well as efficient means for functional annotation of genes in the genome. Results: We designed, validated and used Synechocystis genome-wide oligonucleotide (70-mer) microarray (representing 96.7% of all chromosomal ORFs annotated at the time of the beginning of this project) to study transcriptional activity of the cyanobacterial genome in response to sulfur (S) starvation. The microarray data were verified by quantitative RTPCR. We made five main observations: 1) Transcriptional changes upon sulfate starvation were relatively moderate, but significant and consistent with growth kinetics; 2) S acquisition genes encoding for a high-affinity sulfate transporter were significantly induced, while decreased transcription of genes for phycobilisome, photosystems I and II, cytochrome b6/f, and ATP synthase indicated reduced light-harvesting and photosynthetic activity; 3) S starvation elicited transcriptional responses associated with general growth arrest and stress; 4) A large number of genes regulated by S availability encode hypothetical proteins or proteins of unknown function; 5) Hydrogenase structural and maturation accessory genes were not identified as differentially expressed, even though increased hydrogen evolution was observed. Conclusion: The expression profiles recorded by using this oligonucleotide-based microarray platform revealed that during transition from the condition of plentiful S to S starvation, Synechocystis undergoes coordinated transcriptional changes, including changes in gene expression whose products are involved in sensing nutrient limitations and tuning bacterial metabolism. The transcriptional profile of the nutrient starvation was dominated by a decrease in abundances of many transcripts. However, these changes were unlikely due to the across-the-board, non-specific shut down of transcription in a condition of growth arrest. Down-regulation of transcripts encoding proteins whose function depends on a cellular S status indicated that the observed repression has a specific regulatory component. The repression of certain S-related genes was paralleled by activation of genes involved in internal and external S scavenging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head waves are extremely important in determining the structure of the predominantly layered Earth. While several recent studies have shown the diffractive nature and the 3-D Fréchet kernels of finite-frequency turning waves, analogues of head waves in a continuous velocity structure, the finite-frequency effects and sensitivity kernels of head waves are yet to be carefully examined. We present the results of a numerical study focusing on the finite-frequency effects of head waves. Our model has a low-velocity layer over a high-velocity half-space and a cylindrical-shaped velocity perturbation placed beneath the interface at different locations. A 3-D finite-difference method is used to calculate synthetic waveforms. Traveltime and amplitude anomalies are measured by the cross-correlation of synthetic seismograms from models with and without the velocity perturbation and are compared to the 3-D sensitivity kernels constructed from full waveform simulations. The results show that the head wave arrival-time and amplitude are influenced by the velocity structure surrounding the ray path in a pattern that is consistent with the Fresnel zones. Unlike the ‘banana–doughnut’ traveltime sensitivity kernels of turning waves, the traveltime sensitivity of the head wave along the ray path below the interface is weak, but non-zero. Below the ray path, the traveltime sensitivity reaches the maximum (absolute value) at a depth that depends on the wavelength and propagation distance. The sensitivity kernels vary with the vertical velocity gradient in the lower layer, but the variation is relatively small at short propagation distances when the vertical velocity gradient is within the range of the commonly accepted values. Finally, the depression or shoaling of the interface results in increased or decreased sensitivities, respectively, beneath the interface topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel chiral N‐propargylsulfamide monomer (1a) and its enantiomer (1b) were synthesized and polymerized with (nbd)Rh+B−(C6H5)4 as a catalyst providing poly(1) (poly(1a) and poly(1b)) in high yields (≥99%). Poly(1) could take stable helices in less polar solvents (chloroform and THF), demonstrated by strong circular dichroism signals and UV–vis absorption peaks at about 415 nm and the large specific rotations; but in more polar solvents including DMF and DMSO, poly(1) failed to form helix. Quantitative evaluation with anisotropy factor showed that the helical screw sense had a relatively high thermal stability. These results together with the IR spectra measured in solvents showed that hydrogen bonding between the neighboring sulfamide groups is one of the main driving forces for poly(1) to adopt stable helices. In addition, copolymerization of monomer 1a and monomer 2 was conducted, the solubility of poly(1) was improved drastically. However, the copolymerization had adverse effects on the formation of stable helices in the copolymers. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 500–508, 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) is used to etch the ferroelectric layer for the ferroelectric random access memories (FeRAMs) research, and the effect of RIE on the ferroelectric properties has been studied. The top platinum layer is etched by Ion Beam Etching (IBE) method, little polarization change has been observed after top electrode etching. The ferroelectric layer is etched by RIE, positive ions bombing the sample during etching and result in the positive ions left in the films. A significant polarization suppression has been found for the capacitors because of large amount ions existed in the films. The polarization can be recovered well after RTP annealing. However, the polarization decreases rapidly during fatigue test, which indicats that the introduced ions have not been removed completely after RTP annealing. On the contrary, the capacitor exhibits better fatigue behaviour because of few ions remained in the film after furnace annealing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imprint properties of SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (SBT) have been studied with various situations. The hysteresis of SBT capacitor exhibited shift as holding the remnant polarization state and this shift increases with waiting time. Hysteresis curves have a negative shift tendency at the initial stage, which comes from the different electrode interface layers. As applied a bias voltage on the capacitor with the same direction of retained polarization, the shift became more serious because of more space charges accumulated at the interfaces. However, as applied the different direction for the retained remnant polarization and bias voltages, a competition on the imprint formed in the films. The retained polarization played an important role on the imprint as the applied bias is small, and the effect of bias became stronger with increasing the applied bias voltages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bismuth titanium tantalum—Bi 3 TiTaO 9 (BTT) thin films with different thickness from 100 nm to 400 nm were successfully fabricated on Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si(100) substrates using modified metalorganic decomposition (MOD) technique at different annealing temperatures. The microstructure of BTT thin films was affected by the film thickness and process temperature. Definite c-axis orientation growth of BTT thin films was found for Pt/Ti/SiO 2 /Si(100) substrate. The c-orientation ratio and grain size increased with the increase of post annealing temperature. The grain size in BTT thin films annealed at 750°C and 800°C was about 90&nvsim; 100 nm and 150&nvsim; 180 nm, respectively. The higher the process temperature, the higher the c-axis orientation of BTT thin film was. The growth of BTT thin film was affected by the microstructure of the lower layer and the effect of substrate. BTT thin films annealed at 800°C was found to have much improved remanent polarization (P r ) than that at 650°C and 750°C. The P r and E c values were measured to be 2 μ C/cm 2 and 100 kV/cm, respectively. The critical grain size existed in BTT thin films, and BTT films showed well-defined ferroelectric properties with grain size larger than 100 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pt/SrBi 2 Ta 2 O 9 (SBT)/Pt ferroelectric capacitors with the film thickness of 300 nm were successfully fabricated using metalorganic decomposition (MOD) technique. The fatigue and imprint behaviors were studied. It is found that the switchable polarization of SBT capacitors had the increasing trend in the first stage, and after 2× 10 9 switching cycles, the switchable polarization began to decrease. The domains in SBT thin films were weakly pinned by defect charges and they were easily depinned when applying an external field, which resulted in the increase of switchable polarization. Furthermore, the depinned defect charges moved to the electrode interfaces and aggregated there, then resulted in the polarization suppression at last. During the switching process, both the behavior of fatigue and imprint existed simultaneously. A competition relationship existed between the depinning behavior of domains and the aggregation of defect charges at the electrode interfaces. It was the competition that decided the fatigue characterization for SBT capacitors. The higher the external voltage, the more suppressed polarization could be recovered, which suggested that more domains in SBT thin films were easily depinned under a higher external field, and the pinning depth by defect charges was different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to study binary gas adsorption on the activated carbon in the fixed-bed reactor. Coal-based granular activated carbons can selectively adsorb SO2 and NO. Physically adsorbed NO is replaced and desorbed by SO2. Chemically adsorbed NO can promote the absorption of SO2. The presence of SO2 and NO can enhance the chemical adsorption of NO and SO2, respectively. When the diameter of granular activated carbon decreases and the specific surface area increases, both the penetration time of the activated carbon bed and SO2 removal efficiency increase. The whole removal efficiency of SO2 is more than 99% in the penetration time, but the whole removal efficiency of NO is only 55% in the coexistence of SO2 and NO. SO2 adsorption capacity of HNO3 dipped granular activated carbon is higher than that of non-treated one. The two experimental results are agree with each other. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Impedance analysis was used to characterize the properties of Piezoelectric Shear Mode Inkjet Actuators. Ceramic actuators poled parallel to the channel walls exhibit good performance. Applying high voltage the actuators can be depolarized at high temperature or even re-poled perpendicular to the channel walls. This limits the drive pulse and the bias voltage below the coercive voltage. The leakage current also has been studied with various conditions. For the ferroelectric ceramic materials, the Schottky barrier also can be measured at definite voltage and temperature ranges, the corresponding Barrier for the Al/PZT contact is 0.98 eV. A pronounced low-temperature dielectric relaxation process was observed between 100–150 K; the relaxation rate fellows the Arrhenius law, the fitted activation energy is 0.194 eV. The resonance frequency increases as decreasing the temperature because of increasing for the stiffness coefficient at low temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has demonstrated that the human cytomegalovirus IE1-72 protein is able to bind to the N terminus of p107, and IE1-72 alone is sufficient for alleviation of p107-mediated cell growth suppression. However, the mechanism of this alleviation is unclear. Here, we show that IE1-72 can alleviate p107 inhibition of cyclin E/cdk2 kinase activity. We cotransfected various IE1-72 and p107 constructs into C33A cells and demonstrated that IE1-72 could activate the kinase activity of cyclin E/cdk2. Conversely, IE2-86 did not activate this activity, suggesting that the interaction between p107 and IE1-72 and the subsequent kinase activation are specific. By the use of a series of deletion and point mutants of IE1-72 and p107, we observed that a mutation of the loop region of helix-loop-helix-turn-helix in exon 3 of IE1-72 as well as a mutation of the leucine zipper-2 region in exon 4 of IE1-72 abolished binding to p107. In addition, these two IE1-72 mutants did not alleviate p107 inhibition of cyclin E/cdk2 kinase activity and also failed to alleviate p107 inhibition of the E2F-responsive promoter. Meanwhile, deletion of the N-terminal aa 1 to 175 of p107 abolished both p107 binding with IE1-72 and p107 inhibition of cyclin E/cdk2 kinase activity. This result confirms that the N-terminus aa 1 to 175 region of p107 is a common region where both IE1-72 protein and cyclin E/cdk2 bind. We propose a mechanism in which binding of IE1-72 to p107 displaces cyclin E/cdk2 from p107. Once released from p107, cyclin E/cdk2 is able to function as an active kinase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the research on the optimized potential for carbon dioxide based on molecular dynamics and histogram using the grand canonical Monte Carlo (HRGCMC) simulations. The methodology of the study and the programs used to come up with the findings are presented. The data and the findings are also given through the use of tables and graphs.

In order to study the electromechanical coupling dynamics characteristics of the drive motor and gear transmission system in the electric vehicle electric drive system, firstly, an electromechanical coupling dynamics model of the electric vehicle electric drive system is established; the electromechanical coupling vibration characteristics of the electric drive system under current harmonic excitation is compared and analyzed. The influence law of permanent magnet synchronous motor current harmonics on the meshing vibration of gear transmission system is revealed. The simulation results show that there is an obvious electromechanical coupling effect in the electric drive system; the harmonics of the drive motor can aggravate seriously the vibration state of the mechanical drive system; the research results provide a theoretical reference for further research on the vibration source positioning and active vibration reduction control strategy for the electric drive system of electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

c-di-GAMP was first identified in bacteria to promote colonization, while mammalian 2'3'-cGAMP is synthesized by cGAS to activate STING for innate immune stimulation. However, 2'3'-cGAMP function beyond innate immunity remains elusive. Here, we report that 2'3'-cGAMP promotes cell migration independent of innate immunity. 2'3'-cGAMP interactome analysis identifies the small GTPase Rab18 as a 2'3'-cGAMP binding partner and effector in cell migration control. Mechanistically, 2'3'-cGAMP binds Rab18 to facilitate GTP loading and subsequent Rab18 activation, which further promotes FosB transcription in facilitating cell migration. Induced synthesis of endogenous 2'3'-cGAMP by intrabreast tumor bacterium S. aureus infection or low-dose doxorubicin treatment facilitates cell migration depending on the cGAS/cGAMP/Rab18/FosB signaling. We find that lovastatin induces Rab18 deprenylation that abolishes 2'3'-cGAMP recognition therefore suppressing cell migration. Together, our study reveals a previously unidentified 2'3'-cGAMP function in cell migration control via the 2'3'-cGAMP/Rab18/FosB signaling that provides additional insights into clinical applications of 2'3'-cGAMP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonvolatile memory transistor devices with embedded ruthenium (Ru) nanocrystals (NCs) are fabricated in a compatible way with conventional complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology. The rapid thermal annealing for the whole gate stacks is used to form Ru NCs in pre-existed SiO2 matrix. Monocrystal Ru NCs with high density (3×1012 cm-2), small size (2–3 nm), and good uniformity both in spatial distribution and morphology are elaborated. A substantial memory window of 3.5 V is obtained and explained by the charging and effects of Ru NCs. The mechanisms of work function engineering are also discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]