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Quercetin is widely distributed in plants as a flavonol compound with multiple biological activities. It has been found that quercetin can regulate bone homeostasis through multiple pathways and targets. This study investigated the role and specific molecular mechanisms of quercetin in regulating osteoblast viability, proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation. A mouse model of traumatic fracture was established and then 100 mg/kg quercetin corn oil suspension was gavaged at the same time every day for 28 days. miR-6089 and E2F transcription factor 2 (E2F2) expression levels in mice were measured. Fracture healing in mice was observed. MC3T3-E1 cells were transfected with plasmids targeting miR-6089 and E2F2, and cell viability, proliferation, migration, apoptosis, and osteogenic differentiation were determined. The targeting relationship between miR-6089 and E2F2 was verified. In vivo experiments showed that quercetin significantly increased osteocalcin (OCN) expression (P<0.05) and promoted fracture healing in traumatic fracture (TF) mice. miR-6089 expression was down-regulated (P<0.05) and E2F2 expression was up-regulated (P<0.05) in TF mice. Quercetin promoted miR-6089 expression and inhibited E2F2 expression (both P<0.05). In vitro results showed that quercetin promoted miR-6089 expression and inhibited E2F2 expression in a dose-dependent manner (both P<0.05). Quercetin dose-dependently promoted MC3T3-E1 cell viability, proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation, and inhibited MC3T3-E1 cell apoptosis (all P<0.05). Up-regulating miR-6089 further promoted MC3T3-E1 cell viability, proliferation, migration and osteogenic differentiation, and inhibited MC3T3-E1 cell apoptosis (all P<0.05). miR-6089 targeted and regulated E2F2 expression. Up-regulating E2F2 attenuated the promoting effect of up-regulated miR-6089 on MC3T3-E1 cell viability, proliferation, migration, osteogenic differentiation, and inhibition of apoptosis (all P<0.05). We conclude that quercetin enhances osteoblast viability, proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation by modulating the miR-6089/E2F2 axis, thereby promoting fracture healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comparative study on the corrosion behavior of CoCrNi medium-entropy alloy (MEA) with CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) in SO2-polluted marine environment was investigated by a series of tests. Results indicate that CoCrNi MEA possesses smaller passive current density, larger polarization resistance and lower corrosion rate compared with those of CoCrFeMnNi HEA, which demonstrates that the MEA possesses better anti-corrosion performance than the HEA. This could be ascribed to the detail difference in the microstructure and passive film of the two alloys. Compared with the MEA, the smaller grain size and the larger number of oxides reduce the anti-corrosion performance of the HEA. Moreover, the oxide and matrix constitute the micro-galvanic corrosion cell, which promotes the generation of pits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, using laser cladding technology, three different coatings with varying contents of spherical tungsten boride (WB) were completed on the EH40 steel substrate. These coatings included the Co coating, Co+15%WB coating, and Co+45%WB coating. The electrochemical corrosion performance of these three coatings was investigated in a low-temperature environment. The findings indicated that the phases present in the WB-reinforced Co-based coatings are mostly Cr23C6 and Cr7C3, WB, and WO3, as well as γ-Co. The study showed that as the amount of tungsten boride in the coatings rose, their corrosion resistance increased and gradually dropped. Among them, the Co+15%WB coating exhibited the best corrosion resistance in a neutral solution. In the low-temperature (–20°C) immersion test, the main corrosion products for the Co+45%WB coating in simulated seawater solution were Co(OH)2 and Co3O4, along with the presence of WO2 and WO3 oxides. Overall, the spherical tungsten boride coatings significantly enhanced the corrosion resistance of the EH40 steel substrate, providing an effective approach to improving the steel's performance in low-temperature environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion behavior of CoCrFeMnNi high entropy alloy in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution with and without 0.05 M NaHSO3 was studied by electrochemical measurement, immersion test, and atomic force microscope. The results show that with the addition of HSO3−, the state of activation indicated by the anodic reaction evolves to the passivation state. Corrosion resistance is related to the state of the film on the HEA surface. The addition of HSO3− may produce a protective composition that transforms the corrosion product film into passive film. With the presence of HSO3−, the dense and highly protective passive film is formed, which improves the corrosion resistance of the HEA. Without HSO3−, the loose, incompact and incomplete corrosion product film produced on the surface of the HEA exhibits a low protective effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Side Lobe Level (SLL) suppression is a challenging but essential part of frequency selective surface (FSS) structural design. The SLL of the radiation pattern is a key parameter demonstrating the directional anti-interference ability and mainly depends on the geometry of the FSS. However, the correlation between SLL and FSS structural parameters is extremely complicated. A minor FSS structure change may result in a drastic diversion in the sidelobe's direction or level, making the SLL the most difficult parameter to optimize. In this paper, an efficient optimization method specifically for SLL suppression is proposed. We discretized the edges of split square ring FSS structures by binary representation and generated new patterns based on the genetic algorithm. Optimization results showed that in the most optimal structure, the SLL was −23.41 dB, exhibiting a 5.17 dB reduction. Meanwhile, the center frequency variation was less than 2%. Moreover, the computation time cost was reduced by over 90% compared with that of the fully discretized pattern optimization method, showing that this novel method was truly effective in getting SLL suppressed FSS structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using detailed nevus anatomical site data from the Brisbane Twin Nevus Study (BTNS) we aimed to identify a proxy anatomical site that best captures total nevus count (TNC) and explore its correlation with melanoma risk. The medial arm is defined as the skin visible to the nurse when the participant stands facing forward with arms rotated so the palms also face forward. [Extracted from the article]

The corrosion behavior and mechanism of CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) in different concentrations of NH4Cl solution were studied by a series of tests. The results reveal that as NH4Cl concentration increases, the protection capability of surface passive film weakens, and the corrosion resistance of the HEA decreases. The corrosion form caused by the selective dissolution of Fe, Co and Ni element is evolved from pit to intergranular corrosion with increasing NH4Cl concentration. Additionally, under high-passive potential and high NH4Cl concentration, metastable pitting is more difficult to re-passive, which easily develops into stable pitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article researches the influence of alternating current (AC) density on the corrosion behavior of CoCrNi medium-entropy alloy (MEA) in 3.5% NaCl solution by using electrochemical measurements, atomic force microscopy, and immersion test. The results show that the damaging effect of AC on the stability and protection of passive film may be due to the increasing adsorption effect of harmful ions (H+, Cl−). With the increase in iAC, the corrosion morphology evolves from pitting corrosion to general corrosion. Moreover, the applied AC facilitates the initiation and propagation of metastable pitting corrosion. The existence of cathodic oxide inclusion facilitates the occurrence of pits due to micro-galvanic corrosion. Metal elements are selectively dissolved in the matrix and oxide inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of primary austenite grain size and processing parameters on the critical strain of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) during finishing has been investigated and modeled in the present paper. The stress-strain curves were achieved based on the hot compression experiments in the condition of different temperatures and strain rates with different primary austenite grain size. The deformation temperature and strain rate were normalized as Zener–Hollomon (Z) parameter. The experimental results illustrated that the critical strain for DRX was significantly influenced by the primary austenite grain size but peak strain was not, which has been interpreted based on the nucleation and growth of DRX grains. The modeling parameters have been established based on Sellars' model, with which the effect of grain size and processing parameters on the critical strain for austenite DRX could be quantitatively calculated, which is helpful to design rolling schedule for promote DRX in order to refine grain size. A seven-passes rolling schedule was designed in the case of only 1.5 reduction ratio. The experimental results confirmed that the grain size was significantly refined by promoting austenite DRX, which are good agreement with modeling calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effect of primary austenite grain size and processing parameters on the critical strain of dynamic recrystallization (DRX) during finishing has been investigated and modeled in the present paper. The stress-strain curves were achieved based on the hot compression experiments in the condition of different temperatures and strain rates with different primary austenite grain size. The deformation temperature and strain rate were normalized as Zener–Hollomon (Z) parameter. The experimental results illustrated that the critical strain for DRX was significantly influenced by the primary austenite grain size but peak strain was not, which has been interpreted based on the nucleation and growth of DRX grains. The modeling parameters have been established based on Sellars' model, with which the effect of grain size and processing parameters on the critical strain for austenite DRX could be quantitatively calculated, which is helpful to design rolling schedule for promote DRX in order to refine grain size. A seven-passes rolling schedule was designed in the case of only 1.5 reduction ratio. The experimental results confirmed that the grain size was significantly refined by promoting austenite DRX, which are good agreement with modeling calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Melanoma is one of the most common malignancies during pregnancy. There is debate regarding the impact of pregnancy on the prognosis of melanoma. Recent large population‐based studies from the United States are lacking. Objectives: To determine the characteristics and survival of women with pregnancy‐associated melanoma. Methods: This population‐based, retrospective cohort study used California Cancer Registry data linked with state‐wide hospitalization and ambulatory surgery data to identify 15–44‐year‐old female patients diagnosed with melanoma in 1994–2015, including pregnant patients. Multivariable logistic regression compared demographic and clinical characteristics between pregnant and non‐pregnant women with melanoma. Multivariable cox proportional hazards regression models assessed melanoma‐specific and overall survival. Results: We identified 13 108 patients, of which 1406 were pregnant. Pregnancy‐associated melanoma was more frequent in Hispanic compared to non‐Hispanic White women. Melanoma occurring post‐partum was associated with greater tumour thickness (2.01–4.00 vs. 0.01–1.00 mm, odds ratio 1.75, 95% confidence interval: 1.03–2.98). There were otherwise no significant differences between pregnant and non‐pregnant women. Worse survival was associated with Asian, Black and Native American race/ethnicity (vs. non‐Hispanic White), lower neighbourhood socio‐economic status, public insurance, tumour site, greater tumour thickness and lymph node involvement, but not pregnancy. Conclusions: Melanoma occurring post‐partum was associated with greater tumour thickness, but pregnancy status did not affect survival after melanoma. Race/ethnicity, socio‐economic status and health insurance impacted survival, emphasizing the importance of reducing health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal and spatial factors controlling the composition and diversity of bacterial communities in the urban Jinghu Lake of Wuhu City, near the Yangtze River in Anhui Province, Central of China were investigated. Samples collected in different places and at different times of the year were analyzed using 16s rRNA sequencing. At the same time, the physico-chemical parameters of samples from different places and collected in different seasons were measured and analyzed together. According to the diversity index, the summer-autumn diversity was higher than the autumn-winter one. According to the relative abundance of Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the most numerous bacterial communities in the Jinghu Lake. According to the RDA analysis, in addition to temperature, the greatest correlation of the bacterial community was O2, ammonia and total nitrogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of collisional planar plasma shocks is investigated by using a hybrid fluid-particle-in-cell code, which enables the analysis of the impact of ion kinetic effects. The structure and propagation of shocks in multi-component plasmas with moderate density ( 10 22 ∼ 10 24 cm − 3 ) are found to be strongly dependent on the electron thermal conduction and ion kinetic effects. In high electron heat flux cases, the electron thermal conduction creates a preheat layer ahead of the shock front, allowing the energetic ions to stream through the upstream plasma. It is found that the shock velocity drops by about 4.67% and the heatwave velocity increases about 47% when the electron flux limiter increases from f e = 0.05 to 0.15. Furthermore, the inhibiting effect of high electron heat flux on the species separation induced by the shock in multi-component plasmas is observed. These results provide a new dataset valuable for benchmarking and improving radiation hydrodynamic models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the environmental problems derived from the use of common surfactants as modifiers for clay mineral adsorbents to mitigate mycotoxin contamination of animal feeds, finding non-toxic modifiers to prepare safe and efficient adsorbents is necessary. The objective of the present study was, therefore, to modify acidified palygorskite with polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB) to obtain antibacterial polyhexamethylene biguanide/palygorskite (PHMB/Plg) composites for the removal of zearalenone, a common mycotoxin. The PHMB/Plg composites were characterized and analyzed by X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and isothermal nitrogen adsorption analysis. The adsorption properties of the composites with respect to zearalenone and their antibacterial activity with respect to Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were studied. The results indicated that the hydrophobicity of palygorskite was enhanced after modification with PHMB, which could effectively improve the adsorption property of palygorskite toward the nonpolar zearalenone molecules. The adsorption capacity of PHMB/Plg increased with increasing amounts of polyhexamethylene biguanide and increasing pH. The adsorption data were described well by pseudo-second order kinetics and by the Langmuir adsorption model. The maximum adsorption capacity was 2777 μg/g. When the amount of PHMB added increased to 15 wt.%, the composites obtained exhibited good antibacterial performance, and the minimum inhibitory concentrations for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were both at 2.5 mg/mL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ion cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH), one of the main auxiliary methods, for high-power and long-pulse plasma heating had been developed in Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). An impedance matching system, one important part of ICRH, had been developed for high-power injection and transmitter protection by reducing the reflected power from the antenna. The input impedance in the outlet of the stub tuner can be measured by voltage–current probes installed on the coaxial transmission line between the antenna and triple liquid stub tuners, and the optimum liquid levels in the stub tuners can be calculated based on the input impedance. The calculation and adjustment process of the optimum liquid levels are described comprehensively in this article. Finally, impedance matching had been achieved between two shots during EAST experiments. In the near future, a real-time impedance matching system will be developed to prevent large variations of the ICRH antenna impedance and achieve steady-state and long-pulse operation with the ICRH system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With developing the shipbuilding industry, aluminium alloys are using widely in hull parts because of their excellent strength, corrosion resistance, and weldability. Marine engineering equipment needs regular maintenance. In this paper, we selected a green and pollution-free laser cleaning technology to clean the aluminium alloy surface. The corrosion resistance and friction and wear performance of the 5A12 aluminium alloy surface after laser cleaning were studied. The research found the laser has the best removal effect on the surface of the aluminium alloy when the laser power is 80 W. When the laser power is 120 W, the MgO and MgAl2O4 oxides on the aluminium alloy surface was removed, and a new Al2O3 oxide film formed, which makes the corrosion performance improves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new technology of austenite grain refinement, fine austenite enhanced ferrite transformation, is proposed for heavy‐duty hot‐rolled H‐beam steels in this work. Titanium microalloying is very important and necessary for the new technology. The effect of titanium on the prior austenite grain size of steels during simulated rough rolling was investigated. The results show that the prior austenite grain sizes of specimens with titanium and niobium elements are much finer than those of specimens with niobium but without titanium deformed at the same parameters. For the alloying composition of studied steels, titanium nitride particle maybe precipitated in specimens with titanium at above 1,200 °C, however, niobium carbide particles can't form in specimens without titanium at above 1,150 °C. The thermodynamically stable titanium nitride particles can impede the grain growth at high temperature for example furnace heating before rough rolling and bring the epitaxial growth of niobium carbide on pre‐existing themselves which induces a large number of titanium nitride‐niobium carbide composite precipitates. These fine precipitates can pin austenite grain boundaries effectively and ensure austenite grain refinement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural fragmentation of steel cylinders with different charge sizes is investigated, and the correlation of different cylinders is proposed. The Mott fragment distribution has some obvious shortcomings, including the difficulty of accurately determining the number of fragments. Besides, there is no unified and convenient method to describe the fragmentation behavior of shells with different structures. The results show that the fragmentation behavior of the cylinder is self-similar statistically and can be characterized by a new integrated linear formula . Due to the existence of the end face and the charge clearance, the fragmentation performance of the cylinder is reduced to a constant value, and the effect of the wall thickness is small. The influence of the end face and charge clearance on fragmentation is investigated by 3D simulations, and the numerical results ensure good validation of the experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Epidemiological and clinical features of patients with COVID-19 have been reported, but none of them focused on medical staff, and few predictors of the duration of viral shedding have been reported. It is urgent to help healthcare workers prevent and recover quickly from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).Methods: We enrolled 140 medical workers with COVID-19 in Wuhan. Epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, radiological treatment and clinical outcome data were collected, and predictors of the duration of viral shedding were explored through multivariable linear regression analysis.Results: The medical staff with COVID-19 presented mild clinical symptoms and showed a low frequency of abnormal laboratory indicators. All the medical staff were cured and discharged, of whom 96 (68.6%) were female, 39 (27.9%) had underlying diseases, the median age was 36.0 years, and 104 (74.3%) were infected whilst working in hospital. The median duration of viral shedding was 25.0 days (IQR:20.0-30.0). Multivariable linear regression analysis showed reducing viral shedding duration was associated with receiving recombinant human interferon alpha (rIFN-α) treatment, whilst the prolonged duration of viral shedding correlated with the use of glucocorticoid treatment, the durations from the first symptom to hospital admission and the improvement in chest computed tomography (CT) evidence. Moreover, infected healthcare workers with lymphocytes less than 1.1 × 109 /L on admission had prolonged viral shedding.Conclusion: Medical staff with timely medical interventions show milder clinical features. Glucocorticoid treatment and lymphocytes less than 1.1 × 109/L are associated with prolonged viral shedding. Early admission and rIFN-α treatment help shorten the duration of viral shedding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an integrated smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) model for complex interfacial flows with large density ratios is developed. The discrete continuity equation and acceleration equation are obtained by considering the time derivative of the volume of particle and Eckart's continuum Lagrangian equation. A continuum surface force model is used to meet the fact that surface force may not be distributed uniformly on each side of the interface. An improved boundary condition is imposed to model wall free‐slip and no‐slip condition for interfacial flows with large density ratios. Particle shifting algorithm (PSA) is added for interfacial flows by imposing the normal correction near the interface, called as Interface‐PSA. Then four representative numerical examples, including droplet deformation, Rayleigh‐Taylor instability, dam breaking, and bubble rising, are presented and compared well with reference data. It is demonstrated that inherent interfacial flow physics can be well captured, including surface tension and the dynamic evolution of the complex interfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing number of elderly patients, the risk of diseases such as colorectal cancer (CRC) has increased. The objective of this prospective study was to explore the effects of sarcopenia, hypoalbuminemia, and laparoscopic surgery on postoperative complications among elderly patients who recently underwent colorectal surgery. Patients aged over 65 years who underwent surgery for CRC at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University were considered for this study. The demographical and clinical characteristics of these patients, as well as postoperative complications, were prospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups depending on the diagnosis of sarcopenia, and the clinical variables corresponding to the two groups were compared. Further, the risk factors associated with postoperative complications were evaluated using univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis. A total of 360 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Incidences of postoperative complications in the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups were at 38.3% and 27.3%, respectively. In addition, sarcopenia (p=0.029) and hypoalbuminemia (p=0.010) were identified as independent risk factors, while laparoscopic surgery (p=0.023) was identified as a protective factor for postoperative complications. However, laparoscopic surgery was a protective factor for postoperative complications in the colon group only (p=0.001). Sarcopenia and hypoalbuminemia are independent risk factors that influence the probability of developing complications following CRC surgery. Laparoscopic surgery is a protective factor for postoperative complications of CRC patients, particularly colon cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, it is shown that a sortable ideal I is Freiman if and only if its sorted graph is chordal. This characterization is used to give a complete classification of Freiman principal Borel ideals and of Freiman Veronese-type ideals with constant bound. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote Sensing scene classification aims to identify semantic objects with similar characteristics from high resolution images. Even though existing methods have achieved satisfactory performance, the features used for classification modeling are still limited to some kinds of vector representation within a Euclidean space. As a result, their models are not robust to reflect the essential scene characteristics, hardly to promote classification accuracy higher. In this study, we propose a novel scene classification method based on the intrinsic mean on a Lie Group manifold. By introducing Lie Group machine learning into scene classification, the new method uses the geodesic distance on the Lie Group manifold, instead of Euclidean distance, solving the problem that non-euclidean space samples could not be calculated by Euclidean distance directly. The experiments show that our method produces satisfactory performance on two public and challenging remote sensing scene datasets, UC Merced and SIRI-WHU, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study on the stability of a mine entry of an innovative approach to non-pillar coal mining—gob-side entry retaining using cantilever beam theory (GERMC). This method is on the rise in China and it has shown to increase the coal seam rate of recycling and mining productivity. The method utilizes the caved-in material resulting from the mining activities to fill the gob area and ensure the stability of the roof of the already mined area. The caved-in material will form the gob-side wall of the retained entry. This characteristic is unique to this method. Thus, there are not many studies that analyze the stability of the filling material and of the gob-side entry wall under these circumstances, which is a vital element for the safety of the mining operations. This paper studies the stability of the gob-side retained entry of the Hongjingta underground coal mine in China. The authors perform the analysis using a discrete fracture network (DFN) model developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), GEOFRAC, in combination with the discrete-element method (DEM) software UDEC. GEOFRAC estimates the rock blocks (fracture networks) in the filling body, from fracture traces measured along the gob-side wall of the entry. Statistical methods are used to estimate the fracture intensity and the mean fracture areas, which are inputs to the DFN. The generated fracture networks are then inputted into the DEM code, UDEC, to evaluate the stability of the mine-retained entry. For this study, we developed two types of models in UDEC, one considering the fractures generated by the DFN model and another considering the gob-filling material as a continuum. This methodology—combined DFN–DEM—is unique and provides a more realistic representation of the gob-filling material by considering the fractures in the filling body and by estimating those fractures (interfaces between rock blocks) using field data. In addition to this, we also considered the effects of uncertainties that are associated with estimating three-dimensional (3-D) fractures' networks/rock blocks from two-dimensional (2-D) field data. Finally, the results of the simulations were compared with the measurements from the mine and are in good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the (In0.5Nb0.5)xTi1−xO2 (with x = 0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.05, and 0.1) ceramics were prepared by solid-state reaction. To investigate the humidity sensitive properties, capacitance was measured as a function of relative humidity (RH). Our results reveal that the capacitance increases with the increase in RH and doping level. The best humidity sensitivity of 229.22 pF/%RH was achieved in the sample with x = 10. The humidity sensing mechanism was ascribed to the defects of oxygen vacancies and Nb Ti · ions. Besides, the humidity shows remarkable influence on the dielectric properties of the co-doped samples via the surface-layer effect, which leads to a Maxwell–Wagner relaxation near room temperature. This work underscores that the (In + Nb) co-doped samples are sensitive to the environment moisture. The processing conditions should be optimized for superior dielectric behavior in (In + Nb) co-doped TiO2 ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physico-chemical instability is commonly associated with the amorphous state, and the understanding of instability mechanisms (e.g. the glass transition) involved is essential in designing pharmaceutical products. The glass transition of bulk water might occur at 210 K [Oguni et al., J. Phys. Chem. B115 (2011) 14023] but it was recently proposed the glass transition of water could happen around 121 K [C. R. Hill et al., Phys. Rev. Lett.116 (2016) 215501]. Note that molecular self-inclusions in a glassy water show relaxation features that are characteristically different from those observed in thermodynamically stable, crystalline solids with inclusions. Here we point out some doubtful results and calculations in Hill et al.'s work [C. R. Hill et al., Phys. Rev. Lett.116 (2016) 215501] which was based on the small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) measurements. We also made some remarks about the possible mistakes in their previous works [C. Mitterdorfer, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.16 (2014) 16013] considering the calculation of the specific surface area. The latter is crucial to the doubtful fixing of the glass transition temperature in Hill et al.'s work [C. R. Hill et al., Phys. Rev. Lett.116 (2016) 215501]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have synthesized and studied a series of composite silver-polymer photonic metamaterials with composition-tunable electric response. The dielectric constants of metamaterials, derived from the transmittance and reflectance spectra, were compared against several effective medium models. The demonstrated value of the real part of the dielectric constant [variant_greek_epsilon]′=12.8 at λ=2.4 μm is one of the highest in the near-to-midinfrared spectral range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZnO nanotubes were fabricated by vapor-phase transport using the mixture of ZnO and graphite powders in air. A self-catalyzed growth mechanism was proposed based on microstructure analysis by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Raman scattering, integrated photoluminescence, and time-resolved photoluminescence were employed to explore the optical properties and the dynamic process. Combing with crystal structure and the spectral characteristics of the ZnO nanotubes, the charge carrier transport process was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES: Polymorphisms for toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 gene (Arg677Trp, Arg753Gln) and TLR4 gene (Asp299Gly, Thr399Ile) that are associated with impaired lipopolysaccharide (LPS) signal transduction have recently been described. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between TLRs 2 and 4 gene polymorphisms and periodontitis in a Chinese population. METHOD AND MATERIALS: Forty patients with generalized aggressive periodontitis, 50 patients with chronic periodontitis, and 100 periodontally healthy controls were recruited. All these subjects were of Han Chinese ethnicity. Genomic DNA was extracted from whole-blood samples. TLRs 2 and 4 genes were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) with respective restriction endonucleases. The alleles were detected by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and visualized with ethidium bromide. RESULTS: Heterozygosity for the TLR2 Arg677Trp polymorphism was found in all subjects. The TLR2 Arg753Gln mutant allele was not found in periodontitis patients, while a heterozygous frequency of 6% (6 of 100) was detected in the controls. The TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile mutant alleles were not found in any of the subjects. CONCLUSION: TLR2 Arg753Gln polymorphism may not be associated with aggressive or chronic periodontitis in the Chinese population. The prevalence of TLR2 Arp677Trp polymorphism seemed to be rather high, while that of TLR4 Asp299Gly and Thr399Ile polymorphisms seemed to be rather low in the Chinese population, which did not permit any conclusion regarding its effects on periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have observed Stokes and anti-Stokes emission of Au nanoparticles suspended in methanol and rhodamine 6G dye solution. Photoluminescence of Au nanoparticles is a three-step process involving single-photon or three-photon excitation of electron-hole pairs, relaxation of excited electrons and holes, and emission from electron-hole recombination, possibly enhanced by surface plasmons. In the presence of dye, the excitation of anti-Stokes emission of gold involves two-photon absorption in rhodamine 6G molecules followed by the energy transfer to Au nanoparticles with simultaneous absorption of one pumping photon by Au. This mechanism significantly enhances anti-Stokes emission of gold nanoparticles in the presence of dye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel prognostic signature was constructed to facilitate the risk stratification of MM patients with distinct outcomes, which is associated with the immune microenvironment of MM patients as well. Thirteen core exo-miRNA target genes were applied to create a novel prognostic signature to facilitate the risk stratification of MM patients, and two groups of MM patients with diverse outcomes were recognized (Figure 1A). B Introduction: b Multiple Myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematological malignancy. [Extracted from the article]

Oil discharge characteristics have been studied extensively, yet there have been few studies regarding the effect of oil discharges on pressboard. It is not yet known whether a single discharge of large magnitude or the accumulation of many small-magnitude discharges damage oil-impregnated pressboard, nor has any researcher to date identified the precise mechanism of pressboard failure. The present study was conducted to determine the oil discharge magnitude at which damage to pressboard occurs and the mechanism of the subsequent pressboard failure. The harmful oil discharge level was quantified by the comparison of the DC breakdown voltages between new and discharge-treated pressboards. Exposure to a 7.8 nC oil discharge repeated 100 times was found to cause a decrease in the DC breakdown voltage of the pressboard. Oil discharges of 13.1 nC repeated 50 times and of 26.8 nC repeated 10 times also degraded the pressboard. A single discharge of large magnitude will degrade the pressboard at a smaller integrated charge value than will several discharges of small magnitude. A "dual-parameter grid diagram" was proposed to numerically quantify the harmful oil discharge level. Further observation of the discharge-treated pressboard indicated that the oil discharge created a "whitish area" and "wormhole-like" traces on the surface of the pressboard, due to the vaporization/decomposition of the transformer oil and the carbonization of the cellulose, respectively. Subsequent discharges will propagate along the gaseous wormhole into the pressboard, and finally, break down the pressboard in bulk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitochondrial antiviral signaling protein (MAVS), a crucial adaptor protein localized on mitochondria, plays vital roles in various biological processes. Autophagy and apoptosis are two independent and closely linked cell death pathways. But whether MAVS could induce apoptosis and autophagy in rhabdomyosarcoma cells (RD cells) and what is the relationship between autophagy and apoptosis still remains elusive. Here, we reveal that overexpression of MAVS could trigger both apoptosis and autophagy in RD cells. Interestingly, MAVS-induced apoptosis was dependent on the activation of the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling pathway and inhibition of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway. Also, it was found that inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) enhanced MAVS-induced apoptosis resulting in increased cleavage of caspase-3 and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). Meanwhile, autophagy induction by rapamycin resulted in decreased MAVS-induced apoptosis. In addition, we found that MAVS expression was inhibited upon Coxsackievirus A16 (CA16) infection and overexpression of MAVS could inhibit CA16 replication. Collectively, our study provides novel insights into the link between apoptosis and autophagy induced by MAVS overexpression in RD cells and gains a greater understanding of MAVS-induced antiviral functions, which provide new targets for CA16 treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Worsening voice and speech quality was frequently reported in head-and-neck patients after radiotherapy to the neck; omitting the lower neck and sparing the glottic larynx in node-negative nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients might be safe and feasible, and improve voice and speech outcomes. Methods: From January 2009 to January 2013, 71 patients were analyzed. All patients received bilateral neck irradiation. Upper group (UG) patients spared the glottic larynx while lower group (LG) patients did not. Voice and speech quality were evaluated at two time-points (T1 and T2) using the Communication Domain of the Head and Neck Quality of Life (HNQOL) instrument and the Speech question of the University of Washington Quality of Life instrument. Results: At a median follow-up time of 32 months (T1),71.6% of patients reported worsened voice and speech quality. UG patients resulted in significant decreases in glottic larynx dose. With a median follow-up time of 71 months (T2), no patients experienced out-of-field nodal recurrence;there was no difference in the 5-year overall survival and nodal recurrence-free survival between two groups (P = 0.235 and 0.750, respectively). At T1, in patients who without concurrent chemotherapy (CCT), UG patients showed significantly better patient-reported voice quality, (P = 0.022). UG patients without CCT also showed higher scores in the HNQOL communication domain and pain domain (P = 0.012 and P = 0.019). Conclusions: For node-negative NPC patients, omitting the lower neck and sparing the glottic larynx was safe and feasible, and better voice outcomes were achieved in patients without CCT. Further prospective longitudinal studies to investigate whether this approach would be beneficial to node-negative patients are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tin doped indium oxide (ITO) thin films with (400) preferred orientation were fabricated by sol–gel spin coating method with metal indium and SnCl4·5H2O as indium and tin precursors, oxalic acid was used for synthesis of ITO sol as a stabilizer and methylcellulose as a binder. This study creatively combines thermal treatment at different temperatures with post-annealing treatment at 500 °C to prepare ITO thin films with enhanced conductivity and highly transmittance. It was found that the (400) preferred orientation growth strongly depends on thermal treatment temperature. Growth preferred orientation of the ITO thin films changed from (222) plane to (400) plane with the increase of thermal treatment temperature. The ITO thin film was thermal treated at 250 °C shows highly (400) preferred orientation, which exhibited an excellent conductivity (a low sheet resistance of 230 Ω Sq−1 and a low resistivity of 4.14 × 10−3 Ω cm) combining with a highly average transmittance of 85.12% and obtained the best figure of merit (8.68 × 10−4 Ω−1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic behaviour is significantly important in the design of large rotor systems supported on water-lubricated rubber bearings. In this study, the mathematical model of elastohydrodynamic lubrication of the bearing is established based on the theory of hydrodynamic lubrication after considering the elastic deformation of rubber, and the dynamic characteristics of water-lubricated rubber bearings are analysed under small perturbation conditions according to the load increment method and the finite difference method. Next, the differential equation of rotor systems coupled with the water-lubricated rubber bearing is deduced using Lagrange’s approach, and its critical speeds, stability, and unbalanced responses are analysed in detail. The numerical results show that several parameters, such as the eccentricity, length–diameter ratio, and clearance of bearing and the rotating speed of the rotor, have a great impact on the dynamic performance of water-lubricated rubber bearings, and this influence cannot be ignored, especially in the case of large eccentricity ratios. The dynamic characteristics of rotor systems guided by water-lubricated rubber bearings reveal that the critical speeds are much lower than the ones under the rigid supports because of the elastic deformation, and they also indicate that the rotor system supported on water-lubricated rubber bearings has a weaker stability. In addition, the steady-state responses of the rotor system are analysed when the mass unbalance of the propeller exists, and the effect of the thickness of the rubber liner is also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]