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African swine fever (ASF) is an infectious disease caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) that is highly contagious and has an extremely high mortality rate (infected by virulent strains) among domestic and wild pigs, causing huge economic losses to the pig industry globally. In this study, SDS-PAGE gel bands hybridized with ASFV whole virus protein combined with ASFV-convalescent and ASFV-positive pig serum were identified by mass spectrometry. Six antigens were detected by positive serum reaction bands, and eight antigens were detected in ASFV-convalescent serum. In combination with previous literature reports and proteins corresponding to MHC-II presenting peptides screened from ASFV-positive pig urine conducted in our lab, seven candidate antigens, including KP177R (p22), K78R (p10), CP204L (p30), E183L (p54), B602L (B602L), EP402R-N (CD2V-N) and F317L (F317L), were selected. Subunit-Group 1 was prepared by mixing above-mentioned seven ASFV recombinant proteins with MONTANIDETM1313 VG N mucosal adjuvant and immunizing pigs intranasally and intramuscularly. Subunit-Group 2 was prepared by mixing four ASFV recombinant proteins (p22, p54, CD2V-N1, B602L) with Montanide ISA 51 VG adjuvant and immunizing pigs by intramuscular injection. Anticoagulated whole blood, serum, and oral fluid were collected during immunization for flow cytometry, serum IgG as well as secretory sIgA antibody secretion, and cytokine expression testing to conduct a comprehensive immunogenicity assessment. Both immunogen groups can effectively stimulate the host to produce ideal humoral, mucosal, and cellular immune responses, providing a theoretical basis for subsequent functional studies, such as immunogens challenge protection and elucidation of the pathogenic mechanism of ASFV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Aflatoxins (AFT) identified as a Group 1 human carcinogen naturally contaminate various types of food and could increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) through dietary intake. Chongqing municipality is located in Southwest China with subtropical monsoon climate which is conducive to AFT contamination in crops. However, the burden of HCC caused by the dietary exposure of the population in Chongqing to AFT has not been quantified. Methods: The burden of HCC was estimated in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Year (DALY) using FDA-iRISK software. Dietary exposure to AFT in three food categories including grain and its products, nuts and seeds, and spices was assessed. Results: The lifetime average daily dose (LADD) of AFT exposure for the population ranged from 2.40 to 8.25 ng/kg bw/day and 9.51 to 15.10 ng/kg bw/day at the mean and heavy (P95) AFT contamination levels, respectively. Among the three food categories, grain and its products contributed most to AFT exposure of the population. The estimated DALYs related to HCC induced by AFT were 162,000-556,000 and 641,000-1,020,000; the DALY rates were 6.47-22.20 and 25.59-40.72 per 100,000 persons per year; and the population attribution fractions (PAF) were 1.68-5.78% and 6.66-10.60%. Discussion: Although the burden of HCC caused by dietary AFT was estimated to be relatively low among the population, the overall health burden might be underestimated owing to the uncertainties of this dataset. Thus, the overall health burden associated with AFT intake should still be of concern in further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we proposed a novel approach for rapid and flexible fabrication of self-driven microfluidic surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) chips for quantitative analysis of Hg2+ by femtosecond laser direct writing. In contrast to traditional microfluidic chips, the microchannels of the device can drive a liquid sample flow without external driving force. The sample flow speed is tunable since the wettability and capillarity properties of the channels, which depend on the roughness and the inner diameter of the microchannels, can be controlled by optimizing the laser processing parameters. The SERS active detection sites, which exhibit high enhancement effects and fine reproducibility, were integrated through the femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS), followed by 30 nm Ag deposition. The SERS performance of the as-prepared microfluidic SERS detection chip was studied with R6G as probe molecules. The quantitative analysis of Hg2+ was realized by simply injecting the Hg2+ sample and the probe molecules R6G from the two inlets, separately, and collecting the SERS signal at the detection site. The lowest detection limit for Hg2+ is 10−9 M. It should be mentioned that this study is not only limited to Hg2+ quantitative analysis, but is also mainly aimed to develop a new technique for the design and fabrication of novel self-driven microfluidic devices depending on practical application requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (Mhp) is the main pathogen causing respiratory disease in the swine industry. Mhp infection rates differ across pig breeds, with Chinese native pig breeds that exhibit high fecundity (e.g., Jiangquhai, Meishan, Erhualian) more sensitive than Duroc, Landrace, and other imported pig breeds. However, the genetic basis of the immune response to Mhp infection in different pig breeds is largely unknown. Aims. The aims of this study were to determine the relative Mhp susceptibility of the Chinese native Jiangquhai breed compared to the Duroc breed, and identify molecular mechanisms of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) using an RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) approach. Methods. Jiangquhai and Duroc pigs were artificially infected with the same Mhp dose. The entire experiment lasted 28 days. Daily weight gain, Mhp-specific antibody levels, and lung lesion scores were measured to evaluate the Mhp infection susceptibility of different breeds. Experimental pigs were slaughtered on the 28th day. Lung tissues were collected for total RNA extraction. RNA-seq was performed to identify DEGs, which were enriched by gene ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia annotation of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) databases. DEGs were validated with real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results. Infection with the same Mhp dose produced a more serious condition in Jiangquhai pigs than in Duroc pigs. Jiangquhai pigs showed poorer growth, higher Mhp antibody levels, and more serious lung lesions compared with Duroc pigs. RNA-seq identified 2,250 and 3,526 DEGs in lung tissue from Jiangquhai and Duroc pigs, respectively. The two breeds shared 1,669 DEGs, which were involved in immune-relevant pathways including cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and chemokine signaling pathway. Compared to Jiangquhai pigs, more chemokines, interferon response factors, and interleukins were specifically activated in Duroc pigs; CXCL10, CCL4, IL6 and IFNG genes were significantly up-regulated, which may help Duroc pigs enhance immune response and reduce Mhp susceptibility. Conclusion. This study demonstrated differential immune-related DEGs in lung tissue from the two breeds, and revealed an important role of genetics in the immune response to Mhp infection. The biological functions of these important DEGs should be further confirmed and maybe applied as molecular markers that improve pig health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of G-protein signaling modulator 2 in the carcinogenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma. We previously showed that G-protein signaling modulator 2 was upregulated in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma tissues through a hierarchical clustering analysis. With this study, we first assessed the expression pattern of G-protein signaling modulator 2 in hepatocellular carcinoma specimens and adjacent noncancerous tissues; clinical data were analyzed, along survival times, utilizing the Kaplan--Meier method. Moreover, the functions of G-protein signaling modulator 2 were examined using small-interfering RNAs in vitro. The results showed that G-protein signaling modulator 2 was clearly overexpressed in hepatocellular carcinoma tissues and cell lines and that the G-protein signaling modulator 2 expression level was related to tumor size and hepatitis B virus infection. Furthermore, G-protein signaling modulator 2 knockdown studies suggested that G-protein signaling modulator 2 accelerates cell growth, cell cycle, migration, and invasion and inhibits apoptosis, acting as an oncogene in hepatocellular carcinoma. Western blotting indicated that silencing of G-protein signaling modulator 2 in HepG2 and SMMC-7721 cells increased the expression levels of Bax, caspase-3, and E-cadherin, while notably suppressing the cyclin-dependent kinase 4, cyclin-dependent kinase 6, CyclinD1, Snail1, Vimentin, and matrix metallopeptidase 9 expression levels, compared with that in the control groups. In addition, we found that G-protein signaling modulator 2 can affect the expression of key proteins involved in protein kinase B activation. In conclusion, high expression of G-protein signaling modulator 2 was involved in the pathological processes of hepatocellular carcinoma through activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B signaling pathway, which may provide an attractive potential diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much attention has been paid by chemists to the construction of supramolecular coordination compounds based on the multifunctional ligand 5-sulfosalicylic acid (H3SSA) due to the structural and biological interest of these compounds. However, no coordination compounds have been reported for the multifunctional amino-substituted sulfobenzoate ligand 2-amino-5-sulfobenzoic acid (H2asba). We expected that H2asba could be a suitable building block for the assembly of supramolecular networks due to its interesting structural characteristics. The reaction of cadmium(II) nitrate with H2asba in the presence of the auxiliary flexible dipyridylamide ligand N, N′-bis[(pyridin-4-yl)methyl]oxamide (4bpme) under ambient conditions formed a new mixed-ligand coordination compound, namely bis(3-amino-4-carboxybenzenesulfonato-κ O1)diaquabis{ N, N′-bis[(pyridin-4-yl)methyl]oxamide-κ N}cadmium(II)- N, N′-bis[(pyridin-4-yl)methyl]oxamide-water (1/1/4), [Cd(C7H6NO5S)2(C14H14N4O2)2(H2O)2]·C14H14N4O2·4H2O, (1), which was characterized by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analysis (PXRD), FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TG), and UV-Vis and photoluminescence spectroscopic analyses in the solid state. The central CdII atom in (1) occupies a special position on a centre of inversion and exhibits a slightly distorted octahedral geometry, being coordinated by two N atoms from two monodentate 4bpme ligands, four O atoms from two monodentate 4-amino-3-carboxybenzenesulfonate (Hasba−) ligands and two coordinated water molecules. Interestingly, complex (1) further extends into a threefold polycatenated 0D→2D (0D is zero-dimensional and 2D is two-dimensional) interpenetrated supramolecular two-dimensional (4,4) layer through intermolecular hydrogen bonding. The interlayer hydrogen bonding further links adjacent threefold polycatenated two-dimensional layers into a three-dimensional network. The optical properties of complex (1) indicate that it may be used as a potential indirect band gap semiconductor material. Complex (1) exhibits an irreversible dehydration-rehydration behaviour. The fluorescence properties have also been investigated in the solid state at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental time travel refers to the ability to recall past events and to imagine possible future events. Schizophrenia (SCZ) patients have problems in remembering specific personal experiences in the past and imagining what will happen in the future. This study aimed to examine episodic past and future thinking in SCZ spectrum disorders including SCZ patients and individuals with schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) proneness who are at risk for developing SCZ. Thirty-two SCZ patients, 30 SPD proneness individuals, and 33 healthy controls participated in the study. The Sentence Completion for Events from the Past Test (SCEPT) and the Sentence Completion for Events in the Future Test were used to measure past and future thinking abilities. Results showed that SCZ patients showed significantly reduced specificity in recalling past and imagining future events, they generated less proportion of specific and extended events compared to healthy controls. SPD proneness individuals only generated less extended events compared to healthy controls. The reduced specificity was mainly manifested in imagining future events. Both SCZ patients and SPD proneness individuals generated less positive events than controls. These results suggest that mental time travel impairments in SCZ spectrum disorders and have implications for understanding their cognitive and emotional deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to explore a breeding method for mycoplasmal pneumonia-negative swine population, the purifying effects of combination therapy, SEW and three-point breeding and management system on Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae were investigated in this study. After the processes of screening pregnant sows, programmed therapy for sows, SEW, three-point breeding and management in the barrier isolation system and programmed therapy for piglets, the newly-bred piglets were monitored as long as four months by serum antibody detection of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and fluorescent quantitative PCR of nose swabs. The results showed that when the newly-bred five batches of piglets were older than 35 d, they were all negative by serum antibody detection and nose swab antigen detection. Therefore, the combination therapy, SEW and three-point production and management system can effectively purify Mycoplasma hyopneumon-ae, providing theoretical basis and clinical experience for the control and purification of domestic mycoplasmal pneumonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have studied the time-dependence degradation of ON current of amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (a-Si:H TFTs), which is a function of stress duration, stress temperature, and stress bias. A simple method with stretched-exponential equation and current-voltage function is used to characterize and predict the TFT performance. Bias-temperature stress at different stress voltages has been performed on a-Si:H TFTs. A new method using ON current degradation to analyze TFT device performance is presented, which is different from the conventional threshold-voltage shift method. We have also observed that the beta value in the ON current degradation method compared to the threshold-voltage shift method, with a stretched-exponential stress time, is related to beta~beta0-TST/T0. Finally, we have also used the new equation to evaluate the performance of the gate-driver-on-array circuit in our products. If the limitation of the current for the pull-down device is 1times10-6 A, then the operation time of the pull-down device can be estimated to about 1219 h when key pulled-down TFT is operating at 60degC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The digital signal-obtaining for gyroscope is given. The single optic-fiber sensor via modulating intensity of light is used as measuring component. The influence on static transmission properties resulting from the special working environment (e.g. cryogenic and vacuum), the measure error because of the reflector shape of rotor, the abnormity of facula from sensor caused by the existence of engraving error, and the fixing error of sensor and the error of machine tool’s initial lignment are investigated. The mathematic model in every condition is founded, the simulation and relative experiments are done and the outcome is analyzed. The mathematic model and method of compensating technology are studied and some relative experiments are made. The result of study is useful to improvement of the signal-obtaining system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a photoelectric signal obtained scheme via equator triangle pattern engraved on rotor is discussed and the mathematic model is deduced in the case which is deflexion between rotor axis and the coordinate frame of case. The deflexion error and coupling error under the situation are analyzed. Finally, three methods of engraving based on the spherical triangle pattern are presented. The error models of various methods are built up and the simulation curves are provided respectively. We have done the primary experiments on the surface of rotor using this method. It can be seen from the enlarged figures that the rim of the pattern is smooth and the demand of sensor resolution is satisfied by and large. The results of study supply reference for signal obtaining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this letter, the authors introduce a novel self-aligned etch-stopper sidewall-contact hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) thin-film transistor (ESSC-TFT), which reduces the photo leakage current by more than one order of magnitude and increases the ON-OFF ratio to seven orders of magnitude under back light illumination. Such a TFT will enable high-resolution and high-brightness liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) for next-generation TV, monitor, notebook, and mobile-phone applications. This ESSC-TFT design reduces the volume of a-Si film in which the active region can totally be shielded by the gate metal resulting in the prevention from direct back light illumination. With the sidewall contact, the hole current is reduced due to the smaller contact area between drain/source and a-Si layer. As well as the source, drain parasitic intrinsic resistance of a-Si can be also lessened by the ESSC-TFT structure. Although the defects between etched a-Si and n+ a-Si film may degrade the ON current, the ESSC-TFT still exhibits higher ON-OFF ratio and lower leakage than the one in traditional etch-stopper (ES)-TFT structure. The ESSC-TFT structure can be used not only for TFT-LCD application but also for the applications that demand high ON-OFF ratio and low-leakage device, such as X-ray image sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the layered transition metal dichalcogenide 1T′ MoTe2 has attracted considerable attention due to its non-saturating magnetoresistance, type-II Weyl semimetal properties, superconductivity, and potential candidate for two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator in the single- and few-layer limit. Here in this work, we perform systematic transport measurements on thin flakes of MoTe2 prepared by mechanical exfoliation. We find that MoTe2 flakes are superconducting and have an onset superconducting transition temperature Tc up to 5.3 K, which significantly exceeds that of its bulk counterpart. The in-plane upper critical field (Hc2||) is much higher than the Pauli paramagnetic limit, implying that the MoTe2 flakes have Zeeman-protected Ising superconductivity. Furthermore, the Tc and Hc2 can be tuned by up to 320 mK and 400 mT by applying a gate voltage. Our result indicates that MoTe2 flake is a good candidate for studying exotic superconductivity with nontrivial topological properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-layered zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe5) has been predicted to be a large-gap two-dimensional (2D) topological insulator, which has attracted particular attention in topological phase transitions and potential device applications. Herein, we investigated the transport properties in ZrTe5 films as a function of thickness, ranging from a few nm to several hundred nm. We determined that the temperature of the resistivity anomaly peak (Tp) tends to increase as the thickness decreases. Moreover, at a critical thickness of ∼40 nm, the dominating carriers in the films change from n-type to p-type. A comprehensive investigation of Shubnikov–de Hass (SdH) oscillations and Hall resistance at variable temperatures revealed a multi-carrier transport tendency in the thin films. We determined the carrier densities and mobilities of two majority carriers using the simplified two-carrier model. The electron carriers can be attributed to the Dirac band with a non-trivial Berry phase π, while the hole carriers may originate from surface chemical reaction or unintentional doping during the microfabrication process. It is necessary to encapsulate the ZrTe5 film in an inert or vacuum environment to potentially achieve a substantial improvement in device quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]