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The emergence of various topological semimetal states presents a novel opportunity for enhancing the efficiency of thermoelectric transport. This study introduces a recipe to improve the thermoelectric (TE) performance in topological materials containing single‐pair Weyl points (SP WPs) fermions and phonons. The recipe focuses on two key factors contributing to the enhancement of TE performance: the increase in the density of states to achieve a high power factor, and the introduction of additional phonon scattering to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity. The proposed recipe is confirmed in a half‐metallic SP WPs material BaNiIO6 through first‐principles methods. An enhanced density of states arises near the energy of the SP WPs in BaNiIO6, leading to a peak power factor connected to the complex Fermi surface due to the degeneracy of Weyl pockets in energy. Furthermore, it is shown that the SP WPs phonons in BaNiIO6 possess a high scattering rate and can likely contribute to the low lattice thermal conductivity, especially when two crossing points in SP WPs do not degenerate in frequency. The new recipe can be used for discovering high‐performance thermoelectric materials in the future by utilizing the transport advantages of degenerate‐in‐energy SP WPs fermions and non‐degenerate‐in‐frequency SP WPs phonons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Utilization of faeces has long been a popular approach for genetic and ecological studies of wildlife. However, the success of molecular marker genotyping and genome resequencing is often unpredictable due to insufficient enrichment of endogenous DNA in the total faecal DNA that is dominated by bacterial DNA. Here, we report a simple and cheap method named PEERS to predominantly lyse animal cells over bacteria by using sodium dodecyl sulphate so as to discharge endogenous DNA into liquid phase before bacterial DNA. By brief centrifugation, total DNA with enriched endogenous fraction can be extracted from the supernatant using routine methods. Our assessments showed that the endogenous DNA extracted by PEERS was significantly enriched for various types of faeces from different species, preservation time and conditions. It significantly improves the genotyping correctness and efficiency of genome resequencing with the total additional cost of $ 0.1 and a short incubation step to treat a faecal sample. We also provide methods to assess the enrichment efficiency of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and models to predict the usability of faecal DNA for genotyping of short tandem repeat, single‐nucleotide polymorphism and whole‐genome resequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D second‐order topological insulators (SOTIs) have sparked significant interest, but currently, the proposed realistic 2D materials for SOTIs are limited to nonmagnetic systems. In this study, for the first time, a single layer of chalcogenide CrSiTe3—an experimentally realized transition metal trichalcogenide is proposed with a layer structure—as a 2D ferromagnetic (FM) SOTI. Based on first‐principles calculations, this study confirms that the CrSiTe3 monolayer exhibits a nontrivial gapped bulk state in the spin‐up channel and a trivial gapped bulk state in the spin‐down channel. Based on the higher‐order bulk–boundary correspondence, it demonstrates that the CrSiTe3 monolayer exhibits topologically protected corner states with a quantized fractional charge (e3$\frac{e}{3}$) in the spin‐up channel. Notably, unlike previous nonmagnetic examples, the topological corner states of the CrSiTe3 monolayer are spin‐polarized and pinned at the corners of the sample in real space. Furthermore, the CrSiTe3 monolayer retains SOTI features when the spin–orbit coupling (SOC) is considered, as evidenced by the corner charge and corner states distribution. Finally, by applying biaxial strain and hole doping, this study transforms the magnetic insulating bulk states into spin‐gapless semiconducting and half‐metallic bulk states, respectively. Importantly, the topological corner states persist in the spin‐up channel under these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, 2D second-order topological insulators (SOTIs) have garnered considerable interest because of their unique properties. However, only the FeSe monolayer with four corner states (two occupied and two unoccupied states) near the Fermi level has been reported to be a candidate for 2D intrinsic antiferromagnetic SOTIs in theory. The limited amount of antiferromagnetic SOTIs has hindered future research, and corner states should be at the Fermi level in order to manifest interesting physics. Herein, we propose NiRuCl6 as a candidate for 2D antiferromagnetic SOTIs with corner states strictly at the Fermi level. Without spin–orbit coupling (SOC), NiRuCl6 is an antiferromagnetic half-metal with a compensating magnetic moment and decoupled spin bands. In the spin-up channel, NiRuCl6 hosts a nontrivial gap of 1.11 eV, where zero-dimensional corner states appear. In the spin-down channels, NiRuCl6 hosts metallically behaved bands, where a spin-polarized quadratic Weyl point emerges. With SOC, two spin bands are coupled, and NiRuCl6 becomes an antiferromagnetic SOTI with three degenerate corner states at the Fermi level inside the SOC-induced gap with a value of 0.11 eV. Remarkably, the corner states in NiRuCl6 are resistant to changes in SOC strength and magnetization orientation. We also reveal that the phononic second-order topology and corner vibrational modes appear in the phonon dispersion curves of NiRuCl6. The presented results improve the general understanding of antiferromagnetic SOTIs and contribute to the prediction of materials with ideal corner states at the Fermi level, thereby advancing the field of topological antiferromagnetic spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The star fruit is a perennial woody fruit tree, which can blossom and bear fruit many times a year. The time and quantity of flowering are the key indicators of its economic value. However, the flowering molecular mechanism of star fruit is still unknown. This study provides a genome-wide analysis of the key flowering genes of star fruit. Based on a previous morphological study of flower bud differentiation, the reproductive buds, vegetative buds and mature leaves of star fruit were sampled for transcriptome analysis. The results showed that the expression of GI, COL4, COL5, FT, FCA, FVE, PIF4, LFY, SVP-like, AP1 and FUL was correlated with floral induction and transition. The expression of TFL1, SVP-like genes (Yangtao2015203 and Yangtao2021074) was correlated with the inhibition of floral transition. Thus, we proposed a putative network of flower blooming in star fruit. This study provides useful information for investigating the genetic mechanism of flowering in star fruit and other perennial woody fruit trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Onshore shale oil is difficult to develop due to its special pore structure and low permeability characteristics. Artificial fracturing causes a large amount of fracturing fluid to intrude into the reservoir, resulting in a complex reservoir seepage pattern. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the changes in the reservoir at the macro and micro levels due to the interaction between fracturing fluids and shale oil reservoirs. For this, four rock samples from shale oil reservoirs and two fracturing fluids commonly used in the mine were used. Then, core repulsion, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and CT scanning experiments were carried out successively. The following results were derived from our analyses. (1) Permeability of the rock samples was reduced by an average of 24.47% after replacement by fracturing fluid, while the experimental groups with larger fluid-grain sizes and well-developed fracture networks suffered more significant solid-phase damage and fluid-phase trapping. (2) Fracturing fluids have different effects on fractures at different scales; large fractures (>7.71 μm) were widened, while small fractures (<3.47 μm) were shrunk or even plugged. (3) Based on the water-sensitive effect, fracturing fluids can disperse and transport clay minerals, resulting in fluid-phase damage and an average decrease of 14.33% in clay content in the reservoir. (4) Analysis of the digital core model shows that fracturing fluid intrusion and retention can cause solid-phase damage to the reservoir matrix, with 38.14% and 60% damage to the pore and throat channels, respectively. This paper uses a combination of physical experiments and numerical analysis to investigate the interaction mechanism between fracturing fluids and shale oil reservoirs from both microscopic and macroscopic perspectives. Overall, the results of this study provide experimental support for future studies on the seepage characteristics of this type of reservoir and the design of fracturing construction schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most common form of dementia and a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, Alzheimer's disease (AD) affects over 10% world population with age 65 and older. The disease is neuropathologically associated with progressive loss of neurons and synapses in specific brain regions, deposition of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, neuroinflammation, blood–brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, mitochondrial dysfunction, and oxidative stress. Despite the intensive effort, there is still no cure for the disorder. Stem cell-derived exosomes hold great promise in treating various diseases, including AD, as they contain a variety of anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant components. Moreover, stem cell-derived exosomes also promote neurogenesis and angiogenesis and can repair damaged BBB. In this review, we will first outline the major neuropathological features associated with AD; subsequently, a discussion of stem cells, stem cell-secreted exosomes, and the major exosome isolation methods will follow. We will then summarize the recent data involving the use of mesenchymal stem cell- or neural stem cell-derived exosomes in treating AD. Finally, we will briefly discuss the challenges, perspectives, and clinical trials using stem cell-derived exosomes for AD therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objective: Acute lung injury (ALI)/ acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was increasingly recognized as one of the most severe acute hyperimmune response of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Clofazimine (CFZ) has attracted attention due to its anti-inflammatory property in immune diseases as well as infectious diseases. However, the role and potential molecular mechanism of CFZ in anti-inflammatory responses remain unclear. Methods: We analyze the protein expression profiles of CFZ and LPS from Raw264.7 macrophages using quantitative proteomics. Next, the protective effect of CFZ on LPS-induced inflammatory model is assessed, and its underlying mechanism is validated by molecular biology analysis. Results: LC–MS/MS-based shotgun proteomics analysis identified 4746 (LPS) and 4766 (CFZ) proteins with quantitative information. The key proteins and their critical signal transduction pathways including TLR4/NF-κB/HIF-1α signaling was highlighted, which was involved in multiple inflammatory processes. A further analysis of molecular biology revealed that CFZ could significantly inhibit the proliferation of Raw264.7 macrophages, decrease the levels of TNF-α and IL-1β, alleviate lung histological changes and pulmonary edema, improve the survival rate, and down-regulate TLR4/NF-κB/HIF-1α signaling in LPS model. Conclusion: This study can provide significant insight into the proteomics-guided pharmacological mechanism study of CFZ and suggest potential therapeutic strategies for infectious disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Immunotherapy represented by PD-1 blockades had become the standard of care for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) gradually. Unfortunately, several PD-1 inhibitor-related studies excluded elderly patients with NSCLC over 75 years of age, resulting in relatively limited evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of PD-1 in elderly patients with NSCLC clinically. Objective. This study aimed to identify the effectiveness and safety of PD-1 blockade monotherapy among elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. Methods. Elderly patients with advanced NSCLC (≥65 years) who received PD-1 blockade monotherapy from September 2018 to December 2021 were screened retrospectively, and a total of 68 elderly patients with NSCLC were eligible for inclusion ultimately. The PD-1 blockades in the study were the available PD-1 monoclonal antibodies that had been approved for marketing in China, including camrelizumab, sintilimab, pembrolizumab, and nivolumab. The effectiveness and safety of the patients was collected retrospectively. Additionally, the correlation between prognosis and baseline characteristic subgroups was analyzed to identify the potential risk factors for progression-free survival (PFS). Results. The median age of the 68 elderly patients with advanced NSCLC was 73 years (range: 65–82 years). Best overall response during PD-1 blockade administration suggested that no patients were found with complete response, partial response was found in 14 patients, stable disease was noted in 29 patients, and 25 patients had progressive disease, yielding an objective response rate (ORR) of 20.6% (95%CI: 11.7%–32.1%) and a disease control rate (DCR) of 63.2% (95%CI: 50.7%–74.6%). Furthermore, prognostic analysis exhibited that the median progression-free survival (PFS) of the 68 patients with advanced NSCLC was 3.5 months (95%CI: 2.4–4.6) and the median overall survival (OS) was 10.5 months (95%CI: 6.3–14.7). Additionally, a total of 48 patients were observed with the treatment-related adverse reaction (70.6%) of the 68 elderly patients with NSCLC, and the incidence of grade 3 or above adverse reactions was 16.2%. Specifically, the most common adverse reactions were fatigue, diarrhea, rash, and abnormal liver function with the incidence of 25.0%, 22.1%, 16.2%, and 14.7%, respectively. Exploratory analysis between PFS and baseline characteristic subgroups suggested that ECOG performance status and number of metastatic lesions might be independent factors for PFS. Conclusion. PD-1 blockade monotherapy exhibited potential effectiveness and acceptable toxicity for elderly patients with NSCLC. ECOG performance status and number of metastatic lesions might be potential risk factors to predict the PFS of elderly patients with advanced NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiment was to study the effect of natural plant extracts on growth performance, serum biochemical indexes, antioxidant capacity and immune function of weaning pigs. A total of 810 weaned piglets with an average body weight of 7 kg were randomly divided into three groups, with five replicates in each group and 54 piglets in each replicate. The piglets in blank group were fed with a basic diet, the piglets in control group were fed with basic diet supplemented with 53.2 mg/kg gritamycin + 39.2 mg/kg Bacillus peptide Zn, the piglets in test group were fed with basic diet supplemented with 500 g/t natural plant (dandelion and licorice, the content was 70%). The experiment lasted for 35 d, including 3 d of pre-experiment and 32 d of formal experiment. The results showed that adding natural plant extracts had a tendency to increase the weight of weaned piglets, ADG, ADFI and F/G (P>0.05). The diarrhea rate of piglets in test group and control group was significantly lower than that of blank group (P<0.05). ALB and HDL in serum of piglets in test group were significantly higher than that of blank group (P<0.05), TC and BUN were significantly lower than that of blank group (P<0.05). T-AOC and the activities of T-SOD and GSH-Px in serum of piglets of test group were significantly higher than those of control group and blank group (P<0.05), and the content of MDA was significantly lower than control group and blank group (P<0.05). The serum levels of IL-4 in test group and control group were significantly higher than blank group (P<0.05). The experiment indicates that natural plant extracts of dandelion and licorice can effectively reduce the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets, enhance the piglet's immunity and antioxidant capacity, improve growth performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives·To investigate the personality traits of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), and compare the differences of personality traits among different subtypes of AN. Methods·A total of 164 patients with AN treated in the Clinical Psychosomatic Ward and Psychological Counseling Clinic of Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from July 2013 to July 2018 were selected and 124 healthy controls (HC) were recruited. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition), AN was divided into restricting type AN (AN-R), binge-purging type AN (AN-BP) and atypical AN. In AN group, 76 cases were AN-R, 81 cases were AN-BP, and 7 cases were atypical AN. The severity of pathological psychological symptoms of AN patients was evaluated by Eating Disorder Examination-questionnaire (EDE-Q 6.0), and the personality traits of perfectionism, impulsivity and self-esteem of AN patients were evaluated by Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Psychological Scale (FMPS), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11th Version (BIS-11) and Self-esteem Scale (SES). Independent sample t test and variance analysis were used to compare the differences between AN-R group and AN-BP group and differences between the AN group and HC group, and correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between personality traits and AN clinical symptom. Results·The total FMPS score of the AN group was significantly higher than that of the HC group (P=0.044), and the total score of SES was significantly lower than that of the HC group (P=0.000). The total score of FMPS, non-adaptive dimension score, BIS-11 total score, attentional impulse score, motor impulse score, and unplanned impulse score in the AN-BP group were significantly higher than those in the AN-R group (all P<0.05). Compared with the AN-R group, AN-BP group had significantly lower organization (adaptive dimension) score and SES total score (all P<0.05). The severity of clinical symptoms of AN (EDE-Q 6.0 total score and subscale scores) was positively correlated with perfectionism (FMPS total score) and impulsivity (BIS-11 total score), and negatively correlated with self-esteem (SES total score) (all P=0.000). Conclusion·Patients with AN have perfectionism and low self-esteem. The patients with AN-BP have more perfectionism, high impulsivity and low self-esteem, while the patients with AN-R show low impulsivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most common methods of predicting a gas/water two-phase relative permeability include experimental measurement, theoretical simulation, and numerical calculation. The experimental method is relatively accurate but time-consuming and laborious. The method of theoretical modeling involves a complicated solving process, and the range of application of the numerical calculation method is comparatively narrow. In this work, based on the least square support vector machine (LSSVM) combined with the gray optimization algorithm (GWO), the prediction model (GWO-LSSVM) of the gas/water phase permeability is established. The model was validated by the gas-water two-phase relative permeability data obtained by a non-steady-state method from a gas reservoir under high pressure/high temperature (133–152.5°C, 50.3–55 MPa) conditions. The irreducible water saturation (Swc), absolute permeability (K), porosity (j), and gas saturation (Sg) have been set as the input parameters. The water phase relative permeability (Krw) and the gas phase relative permeability (Krg) have been set as output variables. The training data of water phase and gas phase relative permeability were 147 and 141, respectively. The prediction data were 32 and 58, respectively. The results show that the absolute relative deviation (AARD) of Krw for the presented GWO-LSSVM model is 3.69%, while that of Krg is 2.92%, showing that the model can accurately predict the gas-water relative permeability at high temperature and high pressure. The method provides a new and effective instrument for estimating the gaswater two-phase relative permeability parameters in the development of gas reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Zc3h12d is a negative regulator which plays a crucial role in immune modulation. However, the role of zc3h12d in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. We aim to explore the prognostic of zc3h12d and investigate the relationship between zc3h12d expression and immune infiltration in LUAD. Methods: TIMER site was used to analyze the expression of zc3h12d in LUAD. The zc3h12d protein levels in patient tissue samples were detected by immunohistochemistry staining assays. Meanwhile, based on UALCAN database and samples' data from our cohort, we explored the relationship of clinicopathological features and zc3h12d expression to determine the clinical effect of zc3h12d in LUAD. Several databases including GEPIA, Kaplan–Meier plotter and our samples' data were used to explore the prognostic value of zc3h12d in LUAD. Cox regression analysis was established to further evaluate the prognostic value of zc3h12d in LUAD. In addition, zc3h12d promoter methylation was analyzed by UALCAN database. Genetic alteration analysis was observed in the cBioPortal web. GO and KEGG analyses were conducted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms. Finally, the correlation between zc3h12d and tumor-infiltrating immune cells in LUAD was investigated by TIMER database. The B cells level was investigated by flow cytometry analysis of peripheral blood from our LUAD cohort. Results: Zc3h12d expression was significantly higher in LUAD, compared with adjacent normal tissues. The clinical data from the UALCAN database demonstrated that zc3h12d expression was closely related with cancer stage and nodal metastasis. However, patient sample detection revealed that zc3h12d expression was closely related to pathological N (p = 0.0431) and grade (p = 0.004). Moreover, low zc3h12d expression was associated with poorer overall survival in LUAD. We analyzed the methylation level of zc3h12d in LUAD and found that the methylation levels of zc3h12d promoter in LUAD were significantly reduced. In addition, zc3h12d genetic alterations, including deep deletion, could be found in LUAD. GO and KEGG pathway analysis results indicated that zc3h12d has a certain value in immune infiltration. We investigated the expression of zc3h12d in tumor-immune interactions. It was found that zc3h12d might be associated with the immune infiltration and markers of infiltrating immune cells of LUAD. The results of patient sample detection confirmed that B cells level was significantly lower in the patients with low zc3h12d expression than those in the patients with high zc3h12d expression. Conclusion: zc3h12d might be considered as a potential biomarker for determining prognosis and immune-related therapeutic target in LUAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a spherical droplet moves parallel to the direction of motion of its surrounding gas medium, it will deform into an ellipsoidal droplet. In this paper, an exposition of a novel model for predicting the minimum flow rate for the continuous removal of liquids from gas wells based on two theories is presented. First, droplet breakup principle is utilized to microscopically obtain the maximum size parameters of ellipsoidal droplets, and second, droplet force equilibrium is adopted to macroscopically calculate the critical droplet entrainment rate. Moreover, effect of variations in the windward area (attributed to droplet deformation) on the drag coefficient is determined. Impacts of variations in pressure, temperature, and pipe diameter on the gas‐liquid two‐phase friction resistance and gas‐liquid surface tension are also considered. For model verification and comparison with other droplet entrainment models, field data from 3436 gas wells are utilized. The field data well validates the results with a 92% accuracy, indicating that the new model has a better comprehensive performance in determining whether or not a gas well is loaded. Besides, parameter sensitivity analyses including the effects of drag coefficient, surface tension, and friction coefficient on the minimum flow rate of gas are performed. Finally, the relationship curve of critical droplet entrainment rates corresponding to different pressures and pipe diameters is established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Detection of trace amounts of organic amines is significantly important for public security and environment protection. One luminescence functional Cu(I)-I coordination compound, Cu2I2(3-pc)4 (1) (3-pc = 3-picoline) was selected for detecting of organic amines by electron transfer between 1 and organic amine molecules. Detailed investigation of the luminescence properties of 1 revealed that it can sense a family of organic amines both in liquid and vapor phase at room temperature. The fluorescent experiments show that 1 can detect a family of organic amines solution by fluorescent quenching with different degree. Meanwhile, the visual colors of 1 changed when exposed to different amines vapors. The detection limits of all organic amines could reach about 10−5 mol L−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence has underscored long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) serving as potential biomarkers for cancer prognosis. However, systematic tracking of a lncRNA signature for prognosis prediction in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been accomplished yet. Here, comprehensive analysis with differential gene expression analysis, univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis based on The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was performed to identify the lncRNA signature for prediction of the overall survival of NSCLC patients. A risk-score model based on a 14-lncRNA signature was identified, which could classify patients into high-risk and low-risk groups and show poor and improved outcomes, respectively. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that the risk-score model has good performance with high AUC value. Multivariate Cox's regression model and stratified analysis indicated that the risk-score was independent of other clinicopathological prognostic factors. Furthermore, the risk-score model was competent for the prediction of metastasis-free survival in NSCLC patients. Moreover, the risk-score model was applicable for prediction of the overall survival in the other 30 caner types of TCGA. Our study highlighted the significant implications of lncRNAs as prognostic predictors in NSCLC. We hope the lncRNA signature could contribute to personalized therapy decisions in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing stress‐sensitivity evaluation on a high‐temperature and high‐pressure gas reservoir is essential for correctly understanding the characteristics of physical property changes and reasonably designing the development scheme of a reservoir under stratum conditions. By focusing on six core samples with different physical properties in a gas field in the Yingqiong Basin, stress‐sensitivity experiments have been conducted along with mercury intrusion porosimetry and X‐ray diffraction measurements to study the relationship among porosity, permeability, and effective stress at a temperature of 140°C and effective stress ranging from 2 MPa to 70 MPa. Our results showed that the stress‐sensitivity curve characterized by three‐stage segmentation is primarily affected by average pore radius and mineral composition but has no direct relation with porosity and permeability. Meanwhile, the stress sensitivity of permeability is mainly related to the average pore throat radius and mineral composition of core specimen. The smaller the pore throat radius and the higher the clay content, the stronger the stress sensitivity of permeability. Under high‐temperature and high‐pressure conditions, the stress sensitivities of permeability and porosity can be characterized by power functions although the stress sensitivity of permeability is about 2–11 times higher than that of porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate the current status of antibiotic use for very and extremely low birth weight (VLBW/ELBW) infants in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) of Hunan Province. Methods The use of antibiotics was investigated in multiple level 3 NICUs of Hunan Province for VLBW and ELBW infants born between January, 2017 and December, 2017. Results The clinical data of 1 442 VLBW/ELBW infants were collected from 24 NICUs in 2017. The median antibiotic use duration was 17 days (range: 0-86 days), accounting for 53.0% of the total length of hospital stay. The highest duration of antibiotic use was up to 91.4% of the total length of hospital stay, with the lowest at 14.6%. In 16 out of 24 NICUs, the antibiotic use duration was accounted for more than 50.0% of the hospitalization days. There were 113 cases with positive bacterial culture grown in blood or cerebrospinal fluid, making the positive rate of overall bacterial culture as 7.84%. The positive rate of bacterial culture in different NICUs was significantly different from 0% to 14.9% .The common isolated bacterial pathogens Klebsiella pneumoniae was 29 cases (25.7%); Escherichia coli 12 cases (10.6%); Staphylococcus aureus 3 cases (2.7%). The most commonly used antibiotics were third-generation of cephalosporins, accounting for 41.00% of the total antibiotics, followed by penicillins, accounting for 32.10%, and followed by carbapenems, accounting for 13.15%. The proportion of antibiotic use time was negatively correlated with birth weight Z-score and the change in weight Z-score between birth and hospital discharge (rs=-0.095, -0.151 respectively, P<0.01), positively correlated with death/withdrawal of care (rs=0.196, P<0.01). Conclusions Antibiotics used for VLBW/ELBW infants in NICUs of Hunan Province are obviously prolonged in many NICUs. The proportion of routine use of third-generation of cephalosporins and carbapenems antibiotics is high among the NICUs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The early predictive values of diagnostic markers for lymph node metastasis (LNM) in endometrial cancer (EC) are still unclear at present. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between serum calcium and LNM in EC. Methods: We identified all patients with EC who underwent surgery between January 2012 and December 2016. Patient characteristics and various preoperative clinicopathologic data were obtained from medical records and were reviewed retrospectively. These patients were divided into two groups according to the pathology of their lymph node. Logistic regression models analyzed the relationship between the ionized calcium and LNM of EC patients, while adjusting for the potential confounders. Results: A total of 448 patients were assessed. Univariate analysis showed that ionized calcium, CA125 level, tumor grade, peritoneal cytology, FIGO stage, histological type, LVSI, and myometrial invasion were positively correlated with LNM (all P< 0.05). The risk of LNM increased with the promotion of serum ionized calcium (P for trend < 0.01). Ionized calcium level was significant before and after the adjustment of cofounders (unadjusted: OR=11.9, 95% CI: 4.8– 29.6, P< 0.01; model I: OR=11.3, 95% CI: 4.5– 28.8, P< 0.01; model II: OR=5.2, 95% CI: 1.6– 17.2, P< 0.05). Additionally, the risk of ionized calcium was especially evident in patients whose age was older than 60, BMI< 28 kg/m2, grade 3, negative peritoneal cytology and endometrioid endometrial adenocarcinoma. Conclusion: Ionized calcium level was highly associated with LNM in EC and acted as a potential biomarker in predicting the risk of LNM in EC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assumption of constant reservoir permeability is not strictly applicable to reservoirs where rock properties undergo changes, such as stress-sensitive porous media. Most researches on the permeability stress sensitivity mainly concentrated on experimental approach, physical modeling or pressure transient analysis, whereas rate transient analysis does not attract much attention. Based on source/sink function method, this paper develops a seepage model of multi-fractured horizontal well incorporating stress-sensitive permeability. The model is semi-analytically solved by fracture discretization, Pedrosa's transformation, perturbation theory, and integration transformation method. Not only pressure transient analysis, but also rate transient analysis is separately performed with relevant parameters. The model presented here can provide some insights into well dynamic forecasting during exploiting such reservoirs, and contribute to establish the theoretical basic for transient analysis efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2DCOS) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were used to determine the polyphenol content in oat grain. A partial least squares (PLS) algorithm was used to perform the calibration. A total of 116 representative oat samples from four locations in China were prepared and the corresponding near-infrared spectra were measured. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy was employed to select wavelength bands for the PLS regression model for the polyphenol determination. The number of PLS components and intervals was optimized according to the coefficients of determination (R2) and root mean square error of cross validation (RMSECV) in the calibration set. The performance of the final model was evaluated using the correlation coefficient (R) and the root mean square error of validation (RMSEV) in the prediction set. The results showed the band corresponding to the optimal calibration model was between 1350 and 1848 nm and the optimal spectral preprocessing combination was second derivative with second smoothing. The optimal regression model was obtained with an R2 of 0.8954 and an RMSECV of 0.06651 in the calibration set and R of 0.9614 and RMSEV of 0.04573 in the prediction set. These measurements reveal the calibration model had qualified predictive accuracy. The results demonstrated that the 2DCOS with PLS was a simple and rapid method for the quantitative determination of polyphenols in oats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solubility data for ternary systems Na2SO4–Na2B4O7–H2O and Li2B4O7–Na2B4O7–H2O at 273 K were obtained experimentally by the isothermal solution equilibrium method, and the solid phases were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. On the base of the experimental results, the stable phase equilibrium diagrams for these two systems were constructed at 273 K. The stable phase equilibrium diagrams indicate that both phase diagrams show an invariant point, two univariant solubility curves and two solid phase crystalline regions. The two solid phases corresponding to the invariant point of ternary system Na2SO4–Na2B4O7–H2O are Na2B4O7 · 10H2O and Na2SO4 · 10H2O, and the two crystallization regions of the ternary system Li2B4O7–Na2B4O7–H2O are Na2B4O7 · 10H2O and Li2B4O7 · 3H2O, respectively. Thus, the two ternary systems belong to simple co-saturated type without complex salt or solid solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new stochastic nonlocal denoising method based on adaptive patch-size is presented. The quality of restored image is improved by choosing the optimal nonlocal similar patch-size for each site of image individually. The method contains two phase. The first phase is to search the similar patches base on adaptive patch-size. The second phase is to design the denoising algorithm by making use of similar image patches obtained in the first step. The multiple clusters of similar patches for each pixel point are searched by using Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampling many times. Following, we adjust the patch-size according to the consistency of multiple clusters. This processing is repeated until we obtain the optimal patch-size and corresponding optimal patch cluster. We get the estimation of noise-free patch cluster by employing modified two-directional non-local method. Furthermore, the denoised image is obtained by using the method of superposition approach. The theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the method is feasible and effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks on the standard biobanking of gut microbiota. It states that consensus recommendations depicted various fundamental procedures and methods in management of clinical information for microbiota samples including stool, gastrointestinal mucosal tissue and oral samples. An overview on the standard facility and equipment for storage of gut micorbiota, is also mentioned.

Solid-liquid equilibria in the quaternary systems KCl-MgCl2-SrCl2-H2O and NaCl-KCl-SrCl2-H2O at 348 K were measured by the isothermal solution saturation method. The composition of the equilibrium solid phase, solubilities of salts, and densities of saturated solution in the two systems were determined. Phase diagrams, water content diagrams and solution density diagrams of quaternary systems were plotted according to experimental data. The phase diagram of the quaternary system NaCl-KCl-SrCl2-H2O has one invariant point, three univariant curves as the boundary of NaCl, KCl and SrCl2 · 2H2O. This phase diagrams were simple co-saturation type without complex salt and solid solution. For the quaternary system KCl-MgCl2-SrCl2-H2O, one complex salt KCl · MgCl2 · 6H2O (Car) had been found in this system, consisted of five univariant curves, two invariant points and four crystallization regions of MgCl2 · 6H2O (Bis), KCl, SrCl2 · 2H2O and KCl · MgCl2 · 6H2O. And the densities transformation rules were simply discussed. Simultaneously, the solubilities and densities data in invariant point of the quaternary system NaCl-KCl-SrCl2-H2O had been compared with the experimental data of previous researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A convenient form of the generalized Trotter formula for path-integral simulations has been investigated for various systems and proves to be much better than the primitive. The hydrogen atom, which is pathological for the primitive algorithm, is solved by the new method but the results are not completely satisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method is devised to obtain an 1=0 pseudopotential for the electron–argon system using the local density functional approximation. The quality of the potential is checked against low-energy scattering data and is found to be good. The method should generalize quite simply to other inert gas–electron and to closed-shell ion–electron systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The point defect concentrations of L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr, Er) were systematically investigated using the first-principle calculations with thermodynamics approach. The results show that the constitutional point defects of off-stoichiometric L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr, Er) prefer to occur in X sublattice, that is X anti-site in X-rich alloy and X vacancy in Al-rich alloy, respectively. And Al anti-site also has a high density in Al-rich L12-Al3X(Sc, Er). It is found that the point defect concentrations of stoichiometric L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr) follow in the sequence as: Al vacancies (VAl) > X vacancies (VX) > X anti-sites (XAl) > Al anti-sites (AlX). The point defect concentration of stoichiometric Al3Er is similar to that of L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr). The result suggests that the Al vacancy (VAl) is a dominant point defect in L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr, Er). A simple parameter HVX-HVAl can be used for a rough estimation of the point defect concentrations in L12-Al3X structure. Some rules of point defect concentrations for L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr, Er) are also revealed.Graphical Abstract: The composition dependence of point defect concentrations is observed to show a similar trend for L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr, Er), which is obviously different from that of Al3Li. The constitutional point defects of off-stoichiometric L12-Al3X(Sc, Zr, Er) prefer to occur in X sublattice, that is X anti-site in X-rich alloy and X vacancy in Al-rich alloy, respectively. Al anti-site also has a high density in Al-rich L12-Al3X(Sc, Er). Some physical parameters are important factors in understanding the rules of point defect concentrations [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viral covert mortality disease (VCMD), caused by covert mortality nodavirus (CMNV), is a newly emerging disease affecting most cultured shrimp and other crustaceans, but not fish. However, we discovered for the first time that Mugilogobius abei, a common marine fish collecting from shrimp farming ponds and surrounding coastal waters in China, was tested to be CMNV positive based on reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) assay. Further investigation based on the quantitative RT-LAMP assay indicated that 39% individuals of sampled M. abei were CMNV positive. Sequencing and alignment of sequences revealed that the partial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene of CMNV isolated from M. abei shared 98% homology with that from the original CMNV isolates. Histopathological analysis showed that CMNV infection in M. abei could induce extensive skeletal muscle necrosis, nervous tissue vacuolation in retina of eye and cerebellum of brain. Positive signals were verified in skeletal muscle, eye, brain and intestine by in situ hybridization (ISH) with CMNV probes. Under transmission electron microscope (TEM), CMNV particles were further visualized in the cytoplasm of neurogliocytes, granulocytes and myocytes in the CMNV positive samples diagnosed by ISH. All findings suggested that CMNV, a typical alphanodavirus originated from shrimp, could switch their hosts to fish by cross-species transmission. Meanwhile, the results reminded us to pay close attention to the high risk of CMNV to use fish as intermediate or new host as well as potentially spread or cause epidemic among cultured marine fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an improved scattering-matrix method (ISMM) to deal with the propagation of electromagnetic (EM) wave in plasma. As a stratification-based method, the ISMM is based on the scattering-matrix method (SMM) and thus inherits the advantages of the SMM in accuracy and high efficiency. But different from the SMM, the ISMM improves the scattering matrices by adjusting the reference point for each layer interface, making the matrices more robust in calculation. This improvement enhances the robustness of the method in dealing with various media situations, especially for the case of a metal as the floor layer and that of extreme plasmas, which is a weakness for the SMM. After presenting the ISMM, we use it to analyze the EM wave reflected by a reentry plasma sheath, which is an important field but with few new results. With the study of various plasma parameters of the reentry plasma sheath, the ISMM is applied to reveal the characteristics of the sheath. In simulations, the validity of the ISMM is first demonstrated, and then the reflection, transmission, and absorption properties of the EM wave propagating in the plasma sheath are studied by the ISMM. The phenomena of “sunken regions” and “phase jumps” of the plasma sheath are revealed in simulations, which may cause energy loss and distortion of the EM wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional sparsity-based direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms suffer from performance degradation due to the off-grid problem. To address it, several research studies focused on 1-D off-grid problem have been conducted. However, due to the bias coupling between the azimuth and elevation directions, those works cannot be directly extended to the uniform rectangular array. In this paper, we propose an effective sparsity-based 2-D DOA estimation algorithm. The proposed algorithm provides the following benefits: 1) we introduce a more accurate observation model where the bias coupling problem is eliminated and each grid bias can be compensated individually and 2) besides the sparsity constraint, we engage additional energy constraint over the biases to improve the estimation performance. Due to the presence of multiple unknown parameters, an alternating descent method is adopted to solve the associated joint optimization problem. Finally, simulational results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm, compared with competitors, exhibits superior performance including high precision DOA estimation and low computational complexity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS) has been shown to be associated with survival rates in patients with advanced cancer. The present study aimed to compare the GPS with the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) in patients with gastric cancer with peritoneal seeding. For the investigation, a total of 384 gastric patients with peritoneal metastasis were retrospectively analyzed. Patients with elevated C-reactive protein (CRP; >10 mg/l) and hypoalbuminemia (<35 mg/l) were assigned a score of 2. Patients were assigned a score of 1 if presenting with only one of these abnormalities, and a score of 0 if neither of these abnormalities were present. The clinicopathologic characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with peritoneal seeding were analyzed. The results showed that the median overall survival (OS) of patients in the GPS 0 group was longer, compared with that in the GPS 1 and GPS 2 groups (15.50, vs. 10.07 and 7.97 months, respectively; P<0.001). No significant difference was found between the median OS of patients with a good performance status (ECOG <2) and those with a poor (ECOG ≥2) performance status (13.67, vs. 11.80 months; P=0.076). In the subgroup analysis, the median OS in the GPS 0 group was significantly longer, compared with that in the GPS 1 and GPS 2 groups, for the patients receiving palliative chemotherapy and patients without palliative chemotherapy. Multivariate survival analysis demonstrated that CA19-9, palliative gastrectomy, first-line chemotherapy and GPS were the prognostic factors predicting OS. In conclusion, the GPS was superior to the subjective assessment of ECOG PS as a prognostic factor in predicting the outcome of gastric cancer with peritoneal seeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine how fracture-vuggy structure, pressure, and injection-production mode influence displacement efficiency in the water flooding process in fracture-vuggy reservoirs, two types of models were built based on the characteristic of such reservoir: two fracture models with different fracture apertures and two fracture-vuggy models with different sizes of vugs. A series of two-phase fluid flow experiments was conducted to study oil and water distribution as well as flow pattern in the water flooding process. Results show that displacement efficiency is significantly influenced by injection-production mode and injection pressure. By contrast, its relationship with the size of vugs is insignificant. Under the same injection-production mode, high-to-low recovery that corresponds to model type includes the small fracture, large fracture, small vug, and large vug models. Under the same pore volume multiple, high-to-low recovery that corresponds to model includes the small fracture, small vug, large fracture, and large vug models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In previous studies, it is found that the frame and pore in porous media both possess the fractal geometric character. So the permeability and porosity models of bi-fractal porous media are derived based on the assumption that a porous media consists of fractal solid clusters and capillary bundles. The expressions of presented models are constituted by the fractal parameters of solid cluster and those of capillary bundle. Good agreement between model predictions and experimental data is obtained. This verifies the validity of the permeability and porosity models for bi-fractal porous media. The sensitive parameters that influence the permeability and porosity are specified, and their effects on the relationship between permeability and porosity are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytic derivation for the time-domain transmission across layered mediums. The transmission coefficient and attenuation coefficient are obtained in the time-domain from general electromagnetic theory. The transmission electric field can be obtained within a few seconds by convolving the coefficients with incident EMP. The results are accordant with the FDTD method, and this approach can deal with the multilayer mediums problem. The limitations of this approach are discussed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Differentiated embryonic chondrocyte gene 1 ( DEC1) is involved in the neuronal differentiation and development. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of DEC1 in 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine ( MPP+)-induced PD model. Methods The location of DEC1 and tyrosine hydroxylase ( TH)-positive neurons were detected by immunofluorescence. 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine ( MPTP)-induced mouse subacute model of PD was established to evaluate the change of DEC1 expression in midbrain. Then, SH- SY5Y cells were used to investigate the role of DEC1 in MPP+-induced neurotoxicity. Results We showed that the co-expressed DEC1 and TH neurons took up more than 80% of the expressed TH neurons in the midbrain of mice. DEC1/ TH double-positive neurons decreased by 40.6% in SNpc and 28.8% in VTA of MPTP-injured mice. Consistently, DEC1, TH and dopamine transporter ( DAT) expression decreased in the midbrain of MPTP mice. In SY- SY5Y cells, MPP+ significantly suppressed DEC1 expression and increased the cleaved caspase 3/caspase 3 and Bax/Bcl-2. DEC1 overexpression relieved, whereas DEC1 knockdown aggravated MPP+-induced cytotoxicity. Likewise, DEC1 overexpression and knockdown inversely regulated the expression of β-catenin and PI3Kp110α ( PIK3 CA), an essential role in Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/Akt signaling pathways. Interestingly, LY294002, an inhibitor of PI3K/Akt signaling, aggravated, whereas LiCl, an activator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, abolished the reduction in DEC1 by MPP+. It is established that these two pathways are interconnected by the phosphorylation status of GSK3β. DEC1 overexpression increased but MPP+ and DEC1 knockdown decreased GSK3β phosphorylation. Conclusion Downregulation of DEC1 contributes to MPP+-induced neurotoxicity by suppressing PI3K/Akt/ GSK3β pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new biphenanthrene glucoside, named 2′,7-dihydroxy-4,4′-dimethoxy-1,1′-biphenanthrene-2,7′-di-O- β-D-glucoside, together with four known compounds were isolated from the tubers of Cremastra appendiculata (D. Don) Makino. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectral data. The cytotoxic activitiy of the new compound and four known compounds was tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction for ‘In situ controllable synthesis of graphene oxide-based ternary magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer hybrid for efficient enrichment and detection of eight microcystins’ by Sheng-Dong Pan et al., J. Mater. Chem. A, 2015, 3, 23042–23052. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel triethylenetetramine-functionalized magnetic graphene oxide composite was prepared and used as a magnetic solid-phase extraction adsorbent for the fast detection of ten trace-level phenolic environmental estrogens in environmental water. The synthesized material was carefully characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to confirm the structure and components. The adsorption and desorption conditions of the adsorbent toward phenolic environmental estrogens were optimized in detailed to obtain the best extraction recovery and elution efficiency. Under the optimum conditions, the limits of detection of the method for ten phenolic environmental estrogens were in range of 0.15-1.5 ng/L, which was lower than the reported methods for phenolic environmental estrogens detection in literatures. This could be contributed to the unique structure and property of the as-prepared material. The developed method was successfully applied for the determination of environmental water samples with recoveries ranging from 88.5 to 105.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]