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Atrial cardiomyopathy refers to structural and electrical remodelling of the atria, which can lead to impaired mechanical function. While historical studies have implicated atrial fibrillation as the leading cause of cardioembolic stroke, atrial cardiomyopathy may be an important, underestimated contributor. To date, the relationship between atrial cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, and cardioembolic stroke remains obscure. This review summarizes the pathogenesis of atrial cardiomyopathy, with a special focus on neurohormonal and inflammatory mechanisms, as well as the role of adipose tissue, especially epicardial fat in atrial remodelling. It reviews the current evidence implicating atrial cardiomyopathy as a cause of embolic stroke, with atrial fibrillation as a lagging marker of an increased thrombogenic atrial substrate. Finally, it discusses the potential of antithrombotic therapy in embolic stroke with undetermined source and appraises the available diagnostic techniques for atrial cardiomyopathy, including imaging techniques such as echocardiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging as well as electroanatomic mapping, electrocardiogram, biomarkers, and genetic testing. More prospective studies are needed to define the relationship between atrial cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, and embolic stroke and to establish a prompt diagnosis and specific treatment strategies in these patients with atrial cardiomyopathy for the secondary and even primary prevention of embolic stroke.

We fabricated an ultrasound activated ‘nanobomb’ as a noninvasive and targeted physical therapeutic strategy for sonodynamic therapy and priming cancer immunotherapy. This ‘nanobomb’ was rationally designed via the encapsulation of indocyanine green (ICG) and perfluoropentane (PFP) into cRGD peptide-functionalized nano-liposome. The resulting Lip-ICG-PFP-cRGD nanoparticle linked with cRGD peptide could actively targeted ID8 and TC-1 cells and elicits ROS-mediated apoptosis after triggered by low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU). Moreover, the phase change of PFP (from droplets to microbubbles) under LIFU irradiation can produce a large number of microbubbles, which act as intra-tumoral bomber and can detonate explode tumor cells by acoustic cavitation effect. Instant necrosis of tumor cells further induces the release of biologically active damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) to facilitate antitumor immunity. More important, the ‘nanobomb’ in combination with anti-PD-1checkpoint blockade therapy can significantly improve the antitumor efficacy in a subcutaneous model. In addition, the liposomes may also be used as an imaging probe for ultrasound (US) imaging after being irradiated with LIFU. In summary, the US imaging-guided, LIFU activated ROS production and explosion ‘nanobomb’ might significantly improve the antitumor efficacy and overcome drug resistance through combination of SDT and immunotherapy, we believe that this is a promising approach for targeted therapy of solid tumor including ovarian cancer. This ‘nanobomb’ was rationally designed via the encapsulation of ICG and PFP into cRGD peptide-functionalized nano-liposome. The US imaging-guided, LIFU activated ROS production and explosion ‘nanobomb’ can significantly improve anti-cancer efficacy and overcome drug resistance through combination of SDT and immunotherapy.

In highland pastures, grazing is a common method for managing sheep due to the abundance of grassland resources. However, it is easy for sheep to encounter situations such as stray, deviation and attacks from natural enemies; therefore, the remote monitoring of sheep in the highland pastures is an urgent problem to be solved. This paper proposes a mid-infrared sheep segmentation method based on the multi-level region fusion maximum between-class variance algorithm, i.e., OTSU algorithm, for sheep surveillance. First, a mean adjustment OTSU algorithm is designed to better distinguish the interference areas in the background. Second, the Butterworth high-pass filter is combined with the mean adjustment OTSU segmentation algorithm to remove the high-brightness interference areas in the background with slow gray intensity changes. Finally, after filtering out the large area background and small stray point, the two processed results above are fused with the AND logical operation to obtain a final segmentation result. Our algorithm is evaluated using three objective evaluation indicators: the root mean square error (RMSE), structural similarity index metric (SSIM), and peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR). The RMSE, SSIM, PSNR of highland wetland image are 0.43187, 0.99526, and 29.16353. The RMSE, SSIM, PSNR of sandy land image are 0.87472, 0.98388, and 23.87430. The RMSE, SSIM, PSNR of grassland image are 0.65307, 0.99437, and 30.33159. The results show that our algorithm can meet the requirements for the mid-infrared sheep segmentation in highland pastures.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a major cause of multiple major skin diseases including skin cancer. It is crucial to discover new agents that can produce profound protective effects on UV-produced skin damage. Using a mouse model, in this study we determined the effects of NAD(+) on UVC-induced skin damage and investigated the mechanisms underlying the effects, obtaining the following discoveries: First, UVC-induced skin’s green autofluorescence (AF) was highly correlated with the extent of UVC-indued skin’s damage; second, NAD(+) administration profoundly decreased UVC-induced skin damage; third, NAD(+) administration significantly attenuated UVC-induced decreases in the levels of mitochondrial superoxide dismutase and catalase; fourth, NAD(+) administration significantly attenuated UVC-induced increase in the level of cyclooxygenase (COX) 2 - a marker of inflammation; fifth, NAD(+) administration profoundly attenuated UVC-induced increase in double-strand DNA (dsDNA) damage; and sixth, NAD(+) administration profoundly attenuated UVC-induced decreases in the ratios of Bcl-2/Bax - an index of apoptosis. Collectively, our study has found that NAD(+) administration can profoundly decrease UVC-induced skin damage by attenuating oxidative stress, inflammation, DNA damage, and apoptosis, suggesting great potential of NAD(+) as a protective agent for UVC-induced skin damage. Moreover, our study has further indicated that the skin’s green AF is a biomarker for predicting UVC-induced skin damage.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of chloroprocaine combined with morphine on the analgesic effects, adverse reactions and inflammation factors in patients receiving transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP).Methods: A total of 80 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) in the Fourth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100048, China, were divided into morphine group and combination-therapy group (morphine combined with chloroprocaine). Pain index, changes in inflammatory factors and incidence of adverse reactions in the two groups of patients were assessed.Results: The morphine group and combination-therapy group showed basic profile prior to the treatments. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores before operation and 6 h after operation in the morphine group were similar to those in the combination-therapy group, but the scores at 12, 24 and 48 h after operation in the combination-therapy group were significantly lower than those in the morphine group. Similarly, the combination-therapy group showed lower levels of substance P (SP) and bradykinin (BK) at 12, 24 and 48 h after operation than the morphine group (p < 0.05). Both groups exhibited similar levels of serum inflammatory factors before the operation, but the levels decreased in the combination-therapy group when compared with those in the morphine group after operation (p < 0.05). The combination-therapy group also showed a lower incidence of adverse reactions than the morphine group.Conclusion: Chloroprocaine combined with morphine effectively ameliorates postoperative pain, lowers secretion of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10), and decreases the incidence of postoperative adverse reactions, thus affording a high level of safety after operation.

Due to the importance for a range of sustainability challenges, it is important to understand the spatial dynamics of human settlements. The rapid expansion of built-up land is among the most extensive global land changes, even though built-up land occupies only a small fraction of the terrestrial biosphere. Moreover, the different ways in which human settlements are manifested are crucially important for their environmental and socioeconomic impacts. Yet, current analysis of human settlements heavily relies on land cover datasets, which typically have only one class to represent human settlements. Consequently, the analysis of human settlements does often not account for the heterogeneity within urban environment or their subtle changes. This simplistic representation severely limits our understanding of change processes in human settlements, as well as our capacity to assess socioeconomic and environmental impacts. This thesis aims to advance large-scale analysis of human settlements and their dynamics through the lens of land systems, with a specific focus on the role of land-use intensity. Chapter 2 explores the use of human settlement systems as an approach to understanding their variation in space and changes over time. Results show that settlement systems exist along a density gradient, and their change trajectories are typically gradual and incremental. In addition, results indicate that the total increase in built-up land in village landscapes outweighs that of dense urban regions. This chapter suggests that we should characterize human settlements more comprehensively to advance the analysis of human settlements, going beyond the emergence of new built-up land in a few mega-cities only. In Chapter 3, urban land-use intensity is operationalized by the horizontal and vertical spatial patterns of buildings. Particularly, I trained three random forest models to estimate building footprint, height, and volume, respectively, at a 1-km resolution for Europe, the US, and China. The models yield R2 values of 0.90, 0.81, and 0.88 for building footprint, height, and volume, respectively. The correlation between building footprint and building height at a pixel level was 0.66, illustrating the relevance of mapping these properties independently. Chapter 4 builds on the methodological approach presented in chapter 3. Specifically, it presents an improved approach to mapping 3D built-up patterns (i.e., 3D building structure), and applies this to map building footprint, height, and volume at a global scale. The methodological improvement includes an optimized model structure, additional explanatory variables, and updated input data. I find distance decay functions from the centre of the city to its outskirts for all three properties for major cities in all continents. Yet, again, the height, footprint (density), and volume differ drastically across these cities. Chapter 5 uses built-up land per person as an operationalization for urban land-use intensity, in order to investigate its temporal dynamics at a global scale. Results suggest that the decrease of urban land-use intensity relates to 38.3%, 49.6%, and 37.5% of the built-up land expansion in the three periods during 1975-2015, but with large local variations. In the Global South, densification often happens in regions where human settlements are already used intensively, suggesting potential trade-offs with other living standards. These chapters represent the recent advancements in large-scale analysis of human settlements by revealing a large variation in urban fabric. Urban densification is widely acknowledged as one of the tangible solutions to satisfy the increased land demand for human settlement while conserving other land, suggesting the relevance of these findings to inform sustainable development. Nevertheless, local settlement trajectories towards intensive forms should also be guided in a large-scale context with broad considerations, including the quality of life for inhabitants, because these trade-offs and synergies remain largely unexplored in this analysis.

Supplementary Material 1

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Due to the special structure of 4f electron layer, lanthanides have excellent spectral characteristics, such as sharp linear bands and relatively long excited state lifetime, which greatly improves their optical imaging performance and makes them a new type of imaging elements. However, their low electron transition probability, low light absorption efficiency, and low luminescence intensity have hindered the development of lanthanide luminescent materials as biological imaging probes. In recent years, numerous researchers have tried to resolve this problem through designing luminescence materials based on lanthanides elements. This article summarizes the recent advance in the luminant mechanism, material types, and biological applications of lanthanide coordination complexes and lanthanide nanoparticles as bioluminescence imaging agents.

Nitrate is an increasingly important component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Chinese cities. The production of nitrate is not only related to the abundance of its precursor, but it is also supported by the atmospheric photochemical oxidants, raising a new challenge for the current emission control actions in China. This paper uses comprehensive measurements and a regional meteorology–chemistry model with optimized mechanisms to establish the nonlinear responses between particulate nitrate and the emission controls of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the megalopolises of China. Nitrate is an essential component of PM2.5 in eastern China, accounting for 9.4 %–15.5 % and 11.5 %–32.1 % of the PM2.5 mass for the warm and cold seasons. The hypothetical NOx emission reduction scenarios (−10 % to −80 %) during summer–autumn result in almost linearly lower PM2.5 by −2.2 % in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) and −2.9 % in Yangtze River Delta (YRD) per 10 % reduction of NOx emissions, whereas they lead to a rather complicated response of PM components in winter. Wintertime nitrate is found to increase by +4.1 % in BTH and +5.1 % in YRD per 10 % reduction of NOx emissions, with nearly unchanged nitric acid (HNO3) and higher dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) intermediate products produced from the increased atmospheric oxidant levels. An inflexion point appears at 30 %–50 % NOx emission reduction, and a further reduction in NOx emissions is predicted to cause −10.5 % reduction of nitrate for BTH and −7.7 % for YRD per 10 % reduction of NOx emissions. In addition, the 2012–2016 NOx control strategy actually leads to no changes or even increases of nitrate in some areas (8.8 % in BTH and 14.4 % in YRD) during winter. Our results also emphasize that ammonia (NH3) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are effective in controlling nitrate pollution, whereas decreasing the sulfur dioxide (SO2) and NOx emissions may have counterintuitive effects on nitrate aerosols. This paper helps understand the nonlinear aerosol and photochemistry feedbacks and defines the effectiveness of proposed mitigations for the increasingly serious nitrate pollution in China.

Unpaid care work is disproportionately performed by women and girls, negatively impacting their ability to engage in educational, social, and economic opportunities. Despite calls to address these inequities, empirical evidence on interventions designed to shift gender attitudes is limited, especially within adolescent populations. To address this gap, we used longitudinal data to conduct difference-in-difference and logistic regression models to examine the impact of a norms-shifting intervention in Kinshasa on adolescent gender-equitable chore-sharing attitudes. As compared to controls, intervention participants were 2.3 times (p

NK group 2, member D (NKG2D) is one of the most critical activating receptors expressed by natural killer (NK) cells. There is growing evidence that acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells may evade NK cell-mediated cell lysis by expressing low or no ligands for NKG2D (NKG2D-Ls). We hypothesized that CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα), one of the most studied lineage-specific transcription factors in hematopoiesis, might influence the expression of NKG2D-Ls. To test this hypothesis, we first examined the endogenous expression of wild-type C/EBPα (C/EBPα-p42) in human AML cell lines and demonstrated that its expression level was highly relevant to the sensitivity of AML cells to NK cell cytotoxicity. Induction of C/EBPα-p42 in the low endogenous CEBPA-expressing AML cell line increased the sensitivity to NK-induced lysis. Moreover, decreased expression of C/EBPα-p42 by RNA interference in AML cells abrogated NK-mediated cytotoxicity. We further showed that the increase in NK susceptibility caused by C/EBPα-p42 occurred through up-regulation of the NKG2D-Ls ULBP2/5/6 in AML cells. More importantly, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) coupled with high-throughput sequencing captured C/EBPα motif signatures at the enhancer regions of the ULBP 2/5/6 genes. Whilst, the AML-associated C/EBPα C-terminal mutant and N-terminal truncated mutant (C/EBPα-p30) diminished ULBP2/5/6 transcription. Finally, we identified that histone demethylase lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) inhibition can restore the expression of ULBPs via induction of CEBPA expression in AML cells, which may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for CEBPA-mutated AML. Abbreviations: C/EBPα: CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α; TF: Transcription factor; AML: Acute myeloid leukemia; TAD: Transactivation domain; FS: Frameshift; NK: Natural killer; NKG2D: NK group 2, member D; NKG2D-Ls: Ligands for NKG2D; MHC: Major histocompatibility complex; MICA: MHC class I-related chain A; ULBP: UL16-binding protein; STAT3: Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3; LSD1: Lysine-specific demethylase 1; Ab: Antibody; PBMC: Peripheral blood mononuclear cell; PBS: Phosphate-buffered saline; CFSE: Carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester; PI: Propidium iodide; shRNA: Short hairpin RNA; ChIP: Chromatin immunoprecipitation; BM: Binding motif; HCNE: Highly conserved noncoding element; TSS: Transcription start site; HMA: Hypomethylating agent; AZA: Azacitidine/5-azacytidine; DAC: Decitabine/5-aza-29-deoxycytidine; 2-PCPA: Tranylcypromine; RBP: RNA-binding protein; MSI2: MUSASHI-2; HDACi: Inhibitor of histone deacetylases; VPA: Valproate; DNMTi: DNA methyl transferase inhibitor; SCLC: Small cell lung cancer

It is acknowledged that the inactivation of ultraviolet has been widely used in various fields. In this article, the dose differences of various pathogenic bacteria were compared and the influence of bacterial survival state on the sterilization effect were sorting out. The effective sterilization methods and the UV sterilization mechanism of the DNA structure were explored. In the experiment, the ultraviolet (UV-C) lamp device with multi irradiance and regular irradiation was designed and assembled to carry out the irradiation experiment of bacteria. A variety of pathogenic bacteria were used in the unified culture environment and irradiation conditions, and the sterilization rate was calculated through the proliferation of bacteria after UV irradiation. The irradiation dose and dose curve of each strain to achieve the bactericidal rate were obtained. The penetration of UV to bacteria was evaluated through the killing effect of UV on colonies. The difference between bacteria and UV energy was discussed, and the influence of irradiance on inactivation effect was demonstrated. Irradiance and irradiation dose play a decisive role in the efficacy of UV sterilization. The UV dose was positively correlated with the bactericidal rate, and the bactericidal rate increased with the increase of the dose. High dose UV irradiation can kill multilayer bacteria. In the detection of bacterial damage, the UV energy in the experiment did not break the DNA fragment into small molecular bands. The ultra microstructure diagram showed that UV irradiation made the linear DNA condense, and the abnormal DNA structure could not replicate and inherit. The application of ultraviolet sterilization has a suitable energy range.

The measurement of bending direction and bending angles is essential in the multiaxial servo-controlled system, especially for collaborative robots. However, most flexible sensors developed for bending measurements cannot distinguish bending directions due to their sensitivity to both positive and negative bending. Also, these sensors usually exhibit simultaneous response to normal pressure, which results in additional calibration. Here, a unidirectional-sensitive flexible capacitive sensor is proposed. A simple asymmetric pyramidal microstructure was designed to create uneven responses to positive and negative bending and minimum response to normal pressure based on the fringe effect. The fabricated sensor shows a relative capacitance change of nearly 0.9 in the sensitive direction and only 0.05 in the other direction as the sensor bends from flat to the curvature radius of 10 mm. Also, the sensor shows negligible sensitivity even under a normal pressure force as high as 16 N, either in planar or bending condition.

Nanostructured materials often exhibit unique physical properties, such as fast carrier transport, subwavelength optical waveguiding, and a high surface-area-to-volume ratio. When the size of a material is reduced to nanoscale dimensions, its physical and chemical properties can change dramatically. In addition, nanostructures offer exciting new opportunities for environmental applications. In this review, we aim to provide an up-to-date summary of recent research related to multifunctional TiO2-based inorganic and organic semiconductor nanomaterials, covering both their synthesis and applications. After a brief introduction of the definition and classification of TiO2-based inorganic and organic semiconductor nanomaterial structures, we discuss various application strategies, such as sewage treatment, heavy metal removal, and the oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes. In our previous work, we fabricated a variety of TiO2-based hollow spheres using a diverse range of materials from inorganic semiconductors to organic semiconductors and applied these structures as photocatalysts. Further, the development of these nanostructures may enable numerous applications in the field of environmental technology.

Objectives: Acyclovir (ACV) is an antiviral drug, which requires frequent dosing regimen because of poor oral bioavailability and short half-life. In this study, ACV nanoparticles were formulated using ammonium methacrylates copolymers such as Eudragit RS 100 (Eud RS) and Eudragit RL 100 (Eud RL) to prolong release drug, and increase bioavailability. Methods: ACV loaded nanoparticles were prepared by the solvent replacement technique and then were characterized by particle size, distribution, entrapment efficiency, differential scanning calorimeter, transmission electron microscope, and in-vitro drug release. Results: It was found that as drug:polymer ratio changed from 1:2 to1:5, particle size and drug entrapment efficiency increased significantly. ACV– Eud RS loaded nanoparticles had a larger mean diameter of 363 nm in comparison to 200 nm of ACV- Eud RL nanoparticles. DSC results showed that in the prepared ACV-Eud RS nanoparticles, the drug was presented in the amorphous phase and may have been molecularly dispersed in the polymer matrix, but in the ACV-Eud RL nanoparticles, the drug was presented in the particles and homogeneously dispersed in the polymeric matrix. The entrapment efficiency of AVC-Eud RS nanoparticles was higher than that of ACV-Eud RL nanoparticles. In vitro drug release study showed that the ratios of released drug from ACV-Eud RS nanoparticles in the range from 58±3.8 to 62.9±4.6%, which was lower than those from ACV-Eud RL nanoparticles, in the range from 73.3±4.9 to 77.9±2.9%. The release was found to follow the Weibull model with a Fickian diffusion mechanism for both ACVEud RS and ACV- Eud RL nanoparticles. Conclusion: These results suggest that ACV nanoparticles based on Eud RS100 and Eud RL100 could prolong the release of the drug.

Additional file 4. Uncropped images of agarose gel electrophoresis in Fig. 3C.

Additional file 2. In vitro antigen capture validation. SDS-PAGE protein analysis of tumor cell lysate and nano-Al(OH)3 capture protein. Samples stained with Coomassie Blue.

Additional file 1: Table S1. CHEERS 2022 Checklist. Table S2. Parameters used to fit survival curves in the five parametric models. Table S3. The results of goodness-of-fit to the individual-level data from the SYSUCC-001 trial. Figure S1. The fitted survival curves by five parametric distributions for the capecitabine maintenance and observational groups. Table S4. Time-dependent transition probabilities matrix of two groups. Table S5. The cost-effectiveness of capecitabine maintenance therapy based on alternative survival functions.

Additional file 1. Additional Tables S1, S2 and Figures S1–S15.

Additional file 5. Peer review history.

Additional file 1: Fig. S1-S11. Supplementary figure legends and supplementary figures.

Nitrate is an increasingly important component of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Chinese cities. The production of nitrate is not only related to the abundance of its precursor, but also supported by atmospheric photochemical oxidants. The control of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions may thereby lead to nonlinear changes of nitrate concentrations, raising a new challenge to the current emission control actions in China. This paper uses comprehensive measurements and a regional meteorology-chemistry model with optimized mechanisms to establish the nonlinear responses between particulate nitrate and NOx emission controls in the megalopolises of China. Nitrate is an essential component of PM2.5 in eastern China, accounting for 9.4–15.5 % and 11.5–32.1 % of the PM2.5 mass for the warm and cold seasons. The hypothetical NOx emission reduction scenarios (−10 %~−80 %) during summer-autumn result in almost linearly lower PM2.5 by −2.65 % in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) and −2.79 % in Yangtze River Delta (YRD) per 10 % cut of NOx emissions, whereas they increase the oxidant levels and lead to a rather complicated response of PM components in winter. Wintertime nitrate is found to increase by 4.28 % in BTH and 4.60 % in YRD, with higher dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) intermediate products produced from increased ozone introduced by lower NOx emissions. An inflexion point appears at 40–50 % NOx emission reduction, and a further cut in NOx emission is predicted to cause −8.74 % reduction of nitrate for BTH and −10.59 % for YRD per 10 % cut of NOx emissions. In addition, the 2012–2016 NOx control strategy actually leads to no change or even increase of nitrate in some areas (8.82 % in BTH and 14.41 % in YRD) during winter. This paper helps understand the nonlinear aerosol and photochemistry feedbacks, and defines the effectiveness of proposed mitigations for the increasingly serious nitrate pollution in China.

IntroductionGlioblastoma is the most malignant astrocytoma, and its therapeutic effect is not ideal. Notch signaling pathway plays an important role in tumor proliferation and invasion. Whether small molecule drug AT13148 can affect glioblastoma by regulating Notch signaling pathway is the focus of this study.Material and methodsIn vitro, glioblastoma U87 cell line transfected with sh-ITGB1 (U87sh-ITGB1), U87 cell line transfected with oe-ITGB1 (U87oe-ITGB1) and control group were treated with a small molecular drug AT13148. RT-qPCR, western-blot and clone formation ability assays were used to detect the mRNA and protein expression of the ITGB1 and the key gene NOTCH1, as well as the proliferation of cancer cells. Therapeutic effects of AT13148 were examined in vivo using a nude mice model of U87 cells. After treatment with AT13148, volume of tumors were calculated, and RT-qPCR and western-blot were used to evaluate the mRNA and protein expression of the ITGB1 and NOTCH1.ResultsAT13148 inhibits the activity of U87 cells. Lentiviral transfection of sh-ITGB1 and oe-ITGB1 can interfere with the expression of ITGB1 in U87 cells. AT13148 could down-regulate both the expression of ITGB1 and NOTCH1. Moreover, AT13148 affects the cloning ability of U87 cells. AT13148 can also inhibit the proliferation of U87 cells. Furthermore, AT13148 inhibited the proliferation and invasion of transplanted tumors in vivo.ConclusionsThis study indicated that AT13148 could affect the expression of ITGB1 and NOTCH1, which also could be a potential potential anti-glioblastoma small molecule drug candidate in clinic medicine.

In this work, we have successfully synthesized a novel imidazolium polymeric ionic liquid containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane and use it as host polymer to develop novel solid polymer electrolytes with high room temperature ionic conductivity, good cycle performance and rate capability. The polymeric polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane ionic liquids based solid polymer electrolytes exhibit highest room temperature ion conductivity up to 4.82 × 10−4 S cm−1 and outstanding electrochemical stability up to 5 V relative to Li+/Li. Moreover, the Li/LiFePO4 cells containing the novel solid polymer electrolytes exhibit excellent cycle performance and rate capability, delivering an initial discharge capacity of about 151.8 mAh g−1 at a rate of 0.1 C at room temperature with excellent capacity retention after 100th cycles.

Anthracycline-related cardiotoxicity has a poor prognosis; therefore, early detection of any change in LV function is critical.The aim of this study was to evaluate the two-dimensional speckle tracking technique for the early detection of cardiac toxicity after low-dose anthracycline chemotherapy in the Chinese population.Forty breast cancer patients were treated by chemotherapy using anthracycline for 4-6 cycles. Patients were examined by echocardiography before chemotherapy (T0) and after the second (T2), fourth (T4), and sixth (T6) cycle. LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) and endocardium, mid-myocardium, and epicardium global longitudinal strain (GLS-Endo, GLS-Mid, and GLS-Epi). Additionally, global circumferential strain (GCS), RV global longitudinal strain (RVGLS), and LA global longitudinal strain (LAGLS) were evaluated.Left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly reduced at T4 (P 0.05). Compared with T0, GLS, GLS-Endo, GLS-Mid, and GLS-Epi were significantly reduced at T2, T4, and T6 (P 0.05 for all), the apical septum wall (AS) was also reduced significantly at T2 (P 0.05), and the apical anterior wall (AA) and the basal anterior wall (BA) longitudinal strains were significantly reduced at T4 (P 0.05). GCS, RVGLS, and LAGLS were not significantly changed after treatment (P 0.05).LV stratified strains and strain of the segments supplied by the left anterior descending coronary artery are more sensitive to the cardiac toxicity of anthracycline.

We study a stochastic program where the probability distribution of the uncertain problem parameters is unknown and only indirectly observed via finitely many correlated samples generated by an unknown Markov chain with $d$ states. We propose a data-driven distributionally robust optimization model to estimate the problem's objective function and optimal solution. By leveraging results from large deviations theory, we derive statistical guarantees on the quality of these estimators. The underlying worst-case expectation problem is nonconvex and involves $\mathcal O(d^2)$ decision variables. Thus, it cannot be solved efficiently for large $d$. By exploiting the structure of this problem, we devise a customized Frank-Wolfe algorithm with convex direction-finding subproblems of size $\mathcal O(d)$. We prove that this algorithm finds a stationary point efficiently under mild conditions. The efficiency of the method is predicated on a dimensionality reduction enabled by a dual reformulation. Numerical experiments indicate that our approach has better computational and statistical properties than the state-of-the-art methods., Comment: 20 pages

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major cause of renal failure in diabetic patients. RING-finger protein 166 (RNF166), composed of an N-terminal RING domain and C-terminal ubiquitin interaction motif, plays a critical role in mediating various cellular processes. However, its potential in DN has not been investigated. In the present study, we found that DN patients exhibited significantly increased expression of RNF166 in renal tissues compared with the normal individuals, and abundant RNF166 was detected in podocytes. We then showed that podocyte-conditional RNF166 knockout (RNF166cKO) markedly reduced blood glucose levels and ameliorated renal dysfunction in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice. Additionally, abnormal histological changes and podocyte injury were observed in STZ-induced diabetic mice, while being markedly ameliorated by RNF166cKO. Furthermore, podocyte-specific RNF166 deficiency considerably mitigated apoptosis and mitochondrial impairments in glomeruli podocytes of STZ-challenged mice through suppressing Caspase-3 cleavage and improving mitochondrial fission-associated molecules. In vitro studies further confirmed that high glucose (HG) induced mitochondrial dysfunction, along with enhanced releases of Cyto-c from mitochondria and elevated expression of cleaved Caspase-9, contributing to intrinsic apoptosis in podocytes. Intriguingly, these effects triggered by HG were dramatically ameliorated by RNF166 knockout. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that RNF166 directly interacted with cylindromatosis (CYLD), and negatively regulated CYLD expression. Notably, RNF166 knockout-attenuated mitochondrial damage and apoptosis were mainly through CYLD in podocytes upon HG stimulation. Together, all these findings provided new insights into the novel effects of RNF166 on maintaining mitochondrial function and apoptosis in podocytes during DN progression both in vivo and in vitro through interacting with CYLD, indicating that RNF166/CYLD may be an innovative therapeutic target for developing effective strategy against DN development.

Reinforced concrete is one of the most critical composite material in the modern civil engineering and can improve the tensile resistance of cement-based concrete, and its passivation film plays an important role in the durability of concrete and preventing steel corrosion. But, due to the size limitations, the destruction of micro-scale steel bars has not been well studied. In this work, the reactive molecular dynamics simulation was employed to studying the mechanical properties of steel and its passivation film. The uniaxial stretching of different compounds of γ-FeOOH, γ-Fe2O3 and Fe was performed. We found that the oxidation can reduce the tensile strength of steel. For the three compounds of γ-FeOOH, γ-Fe2O3 and Fe, the order of tensile strength from high to low is Fe>γ-Fe2O3>γ-FeOOH. But, the ductility of γ-FeOOH under x direction is increased. The detail microstructure analysis shown that the difference of tensile strength is origin from the coordination in the materials. The two kinds of stretching processes of whole system stretching (in the Fe phase and x direction of γ-FeOOH phase) and partly area stretching (in the Fe2O3 phase and z direction of γ-FeOOH phase) were clarified. The external force is dispersed in whole system stretching but opposite in partly area stretching. This investigation leads to possible new direction for studying the tensile strength of materials, and the strategy of evaluating materials tensile strength can supply valuable information in evaluating and improving the mechanical properties of reinforced concrete.

This paper proposes a laser sensor-based robotic smart method and introduces the workflow of the method and the key technologies involved, such as point laser locating technology, line laser hand-eye calibration technology. The software framework required for the method of operation is described. The techniques described in this article can avoid the difficulty of robotic manual teaching and improve the smart level of robotic operations and product quality.

Urban land use is often characterized based on the presence of built-up land, while the land use intensity of different locations is ignored. This narrow focus is at least partially due to a lack of data on the vertical dimension of urban land. The potential of Earth observation data to fill this gap has already been shown, but this has not yet been applied at large spatial scales. This study aims to map urban 3D building structure, i.e. building footprint, height, and volume, for Europe, the US, and China using random forest models. Our models perform well, as indicated by R2 values of 0.90 for building footprint, 0.81 for building height, and 0.88 for building volume, for all three case regions combined. In our multidimensional input variables, we find that built-up density derived from the Global Urban Footprint (GUF) is the most important variable for estimating building footprint, while backscatter intensity of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is the most important variable for estimating building height. A combination of the two is essential to estimate building volume. Our analysis further highlights the heterogeneity of 3D building structure across space. Specifically, buildings in China tend to be taller on average (10.35 m) compared to Europe (7.37 m) and the US (6.69 m). At the same time, the building volume per capita in China is lowest, with 302.3 m3 per capita, while Europe and the US show estimates of 404.6 m3 and 565.4 m3, respectively. The results of this study (3D building structure data for Europe, the US, and China) are publicly available, and can be used for further analysis of urban environment, spatial planning, and land use projections.

Flexible pressure sensors with a high sensitivity in the lower zone of a subtle-pressure regime has shown great potential in the fields of electronic skin, human&ndash, computer interaction, wearable devices, intelligent prosthesis, and medical health. Adding microstructures on the dielectric layer on a capacitive pressure sensor has become a common and effective approach to enhance the performance of flexible pressure sensors. Here, we propose a method to further dramatically increase the sensitivity by adding elastic pyramidal microstructures on one side of the electrode and using a thin layer of a dielectric in a capacitive sensor. The sensitivity of the proposed device has been improved from 3.1 to 70.6 kPa&minus, 1 compared to capacitive sensors having pyramidal microstructures in the same dimension on the dielectric layer. Moreover, a detection limit of 1 Pa was achieved. The finite element analysis performed based on electromechanical sequential coupling simulation for hyperelastic materials indicates that the microstructures on electrode are critical to achieve high sensitivity. The influence of the duty ratio of the micro-pyramids on the sensitivity of the sensor is analyzed by both simulation and experiment. The durability and robustness of the device was also demonstrated by pressure testing for 2000 cycles.

A nested equivalence source approximation (NESA) of the electric field integral equation with adaptive octree is explored for multiscale problems in this paper. The NESA low rank approximation formulation previously for far coupling groups with uniform size is derived for coupling groups with adaptive size, while preserves the kernel free and multiscale property. With the proposed adaptive group decomposition, reasonable separation of near and far region can be obtained. Numerical tests of the conformal and non-conformal multiscale electromagnetic simulation to show the validity of the adaptive NESA.

The adsorption behaviors of vitamin B3, B6 and C on γ-FeOOH surface are investigated by DFT + U approach. Vitamin B3 formed the most stable adsorption structure with the lowest adsorption energy. The van der Waals force and solvent effect play an important role in the adsorption process. More chemical bond formation between vitamin and surface means adsorption is stronger. B3 obtained the most electrons from the surface in the adsorption process. Charge density difference results also confirmed the chemical bond formation between vitamin molecule and γ-FeOOH surface, PDOS analysis shows strong hybridizations between N-2p, O-2p and surface H-1 s orbital.

An electrochemical method for simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid(AA), dopamine(DA) and uric acid(UA) was developed based on RGO-Ag/PANI modified glassy carbon electrode(RGO-Ag/PANI/GCE, RGO= reduced graphene oxide, PANI=polyaniline). Owing to the synergetic effect among RGO, Ag and PANI, the RGO-Ag/PANI based sensor not only improved the electrochemically catalytic oxidation of AA, DA and UA, but also resolved the overlapping anodic peaks. Under the optimized conditions, the calibration curves were obtained in the concentration ranges of 50—1000, 5—200 and 20—350 μmol/L, and the detection limits(S/N=3) of 0.5, 0.2 and 0.2 μmol/L were obtained for AA, DA, and UA, respectively, in neutral phosphate buffer solutions(PBS). The RGO-Ag/PANI/GCE sensor was successfully applied to the determination of AA, DA, and UA in bovine serum samples and showed high selectivity, sensitivity, and reproducibility.

The reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and Chitosan (CS) hybrid matrix RGO-CS were coated onto the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface, then, poly-l-lysine films (PLL) were prepared by electropolymerization with cyclic voltammetry (CV) method to prepare RGO-CS/PLL modified glassy carbon electrode (RGO-CS/PLL/GCE) for the simultaneous electrochemical determination of heavy metal ions Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II). Combining the advantageous features of RGO and CS, RGO and CS are used together because the positively charged CS can interact with the negatively changed RGO to prevent their aggregation. Furthermore, CS has many amino groups along its macromolecular chains and possessed strongly reactive with metal ions. Moreover, PLL modified electrodes have good stability, excellent permselectivity, more active sites and strong adherence to electrode surface, which enhanced electrocatalytic activity. The RGO-CS/PLL/GCE was characterized voltammetrically using redox couples (Fe(CN)63-/4-), complemented with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) has been used for the detection of Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II). The detection limit of RGO-CS/PLL/GCE toward Cd(II), Pb(II) and Cu(II) is 0.01μgL-1, 0.02μgL-1 and 0.02μgL-1, respectively. The electrochemical parameters that exert influence on deposition and stripping of metal ions, such as supporting electrolytes, pH value, deposition potential, and deposition time, were carefully studied.

This article aims at establishing the confidence intervals for individual parameters of high-dimensional sparse precision matrix. Benefit from a precision matrix estimator which is defined as the m...

The advances of databases on horticulture germplasm resources from China and abroad was briefly reviewed and the key technologies were discussed in details,especially in descriptors of data collection of germplasm resources. The prospective and challenges of databases were also discussed. It was evident that there was an urgent need to develop the databases of horticulture germplasm resources,with increasing diversity of germplasm,more user friendly and systematically access to the databases.

Caffeine (Cf, 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine), a major secondary metabolite of many higher plants, is widely used in popular non-alcoholic beverages, and in the pharmaceutical and health industries. Currently, this valuable chemical is mainly manufactured by chemical synthesis. In this study, we developed a novel approach for de novo caffeine production in metabolically engineered Escherichia coli. Xanthine-to-caffeine conversion was first achieved by the expression of a plant-derived gene encoding tea caffeine synthase (TCS1). Caffeine accumulation was then increased using two metabolic strategies: higher-level expression of the target enzymes, and enhancement of xanthine and S-adenosyl-L-methionine biosynthesis. The final strain (BL21/pRSF-eCS1-SAM2-vgb-eGUD1) produced up to 21.46 ± 1.03 mg L−1 caffeine from 20 g L−1 of glucose in shake flask culture, yielding caffeine up to 2.96 mg g−1 glucose, which represents the highest titer of caffeine produced by fermentation reported to date. This novel microbial conversion also represents an innovative approach to produce value-added methylxanthine chemicals from cheap carbon sources.

we propose a domain decomposition scheme for solving scattering problem from multi-objects distribution in a large-scale range. Each sub-object is enclosed by an equivalence sphere. The scheme is composed of the equivalence process and translation process. In the equivalence process, the scattering fields from the sub-object are produced by the equivalence mode currents on the equivalence sphere. The equivalence mode currents are the current expansion of the body of revolution (BoR) basis functions, which are transformed from the current expansion of the Rao–Wilton-Glisson (RWG) basis functions. The multilevel fast multipole algorithm (MLFMA) is employed to accelerate the equivalence process. In the translation process, the mode translation matrices are obtained based on the BoR basis functions and the coordinate conversion method for computing the interactions among the equivalence spheres. The adaptive cross algorithm (ACA) is used to accelerate the evaluation of mode translation matrices. The proposed approach is very efficient for analysis of the objects distributed in a large-scale range. Numerical results demonstrate that the approach provides significant improvements in terms of memory requirements.

Wet piling is a key process for producing pu'erh tea because various components change under the action of microorganisms. Among these components, caffeine content is increased. Evidence has indicated a salvage pathway for caffeine biosynthesis in microbes, in which xanthine is methylated in the order of N-3 → N-1 → N-7. In addition, guanine can be used to synthesize xanthine through guanine deaminase (EC: 3.5.4.3). In this study, we investigated the variation in caffeine content during piling fermentation with supplementary guanine, 15N-labeled guanine and xanthine. We cloned the guanine deaminase gene (GUD1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (one dominant strain in piling fermentation). The results revealed that [15N]xanthine could be synthesized from [15N]guanine, and [15N]caffeine was also detected during piling with supplementary [15N]xanthine. Furthermore, ScGUD1 could catalyze the conversion of guanine to xanthine, which is likely to be methylated for caffeine synthesis under microorganism action. The obtained results revealed the mechanism underlying the increased caffeine content during piling of pu'erh tea.

Background: The association between Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms and lung cancer risk in Chinese people has been widely explored; however, the results remain controversial. Thus, we conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the association between MTHFR gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to lung cancer in Chinese people. Objective: We performed an updated meta-analysis to investigate the association between MTHFR gene polymorphisms and susceptibility to lung cancer in Chinese people. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, WANFANG database, and CNKI were searched to collect eligible articles. The associations of MTHFR gene polymorphism with lung cancer risk were evaluated by calculating the pooled odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence interval (CI). The dominant, recessive, heterozygous, homozygous, and allelic genetic models were used to calculate the combined ORs. Results: A total of 16 eligible studies were identified in the present meta-analysis. Evidence from the pooled results indicated a significant association between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and lung cancer susceptibility in Chinese people under the dominant, recessive, homozygous and allelic genetic models (T vs C: OR = 1.252, 95% CI, 1.090–1.437; TT vs CC: OR = 1.741, 95% CI, 1.252–2.420. (TT + CT) vs CC: OR = 1.227, 95% CI, 1.030–1.426. TT vs (CT + CC): OR = 1.606, 95% CI, 1.207–2.137). Conclusion: The present updated meta-analysis demonstrated that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism was significantly associated with susceptibility to lung cancer in Chinese people. Additional case-control studies with large sample sizes are needed to validate our findings.

Background: In recent years, L-3-n-butylphthalide (L-NBP) has been used for Parkinson disease dementia (PDD) to attenuate cognitive impairments in China. Therefore, we selected published and qualified clinical trials to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis with the aim of assessing the effectiveness and safety of L-NBP in the treatment of PDD. Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the effectiveness and safety of L-NBP in the treatment of PDD. Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Scientific Journal Database (VIP database), and Wan-Fang Database to collect eligible articles. We calculated pooled estimates of odds ratios or the standard mean deviation with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Eight randomized controlled trials were included in our meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis showed that L-NBP combined with Western medicine (WM) had a better effect on improving cognitive dysfunction, the total effective rate, symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD), and activities of daily living function than WM alone. Regarding safety, no serious adverse events were observed in the experimental group. Conclusion: We found that L-NBP as a complementary therapy may have a positive therapeutic effect for improving cognitive dysfunction, the total effective rate, symptoms of PD, quality of life, and the related serum factors in the treatment of PDD. Furthermore, L-NBP was a safe treatment for PDD. However, the findings of our meta-analysis may be influenced by the low quality of the included studies. We highlight the need to conduct trials with higher methodological quality.

Moringa stem meal (MSM) with a high level of crude fibre (CF) might be developed and utilized in herbivorous geese as an unconventional feedstuff. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the MSM level in the diet on the growth performance, slaughter performance, breast meat quality and serum biochemical parameters in geese from 22 to 70 days of age. A one-factor completely randomized design was adopted in our study. A total of one thousand eight 21-day-old geese were randomly divided into six groups, with six replicates per group and 28 birds per replicate. The geese were fed diets containing MSM levels of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 or 100 g/kg during day 22-70. The dietary MSM level had no effect (p .05) on the final body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG) or average daily feed intake (ADFI). The feed/gain ratio (F/G) increased linearly (p .001) as the dietary MSM level increased. No differences (p .05) were observed in the slaughter performance, meat quality and the relative organ weight (except for thymus) of the geese (p .05). The relative weight of the thymus in the geese fed diets with supplementation of MSM was higher than that in the non-supplemented MSM control group (p .05). In addition, 100 g MSM/kg of diet decreased the serum glucose (GLU) level (p .05) and increased the alanine transaminase (ALT) enzyme activity (p = .03). Dietary MSM levels of no more than 60 g/kg had no effects on the growth performance and slaughter performance, whereas diets with 100 g MSM/kg increased the F/G and serum ALT enzyme activity, as well as decreasing the serum GLU level. Therefore, MSM provided at a reasonable level could be developed as an unconventional feedstuff for geese at the finisher period.

The objectives of this research were to: 1) evaluate the accuracy of the Molly cow model predictions of ruminal metabolism and nutrient digestion when simulating dairy and beef cattle diets, 2) advance representations of N recycling between blood and the gut and urinary N excretion in the model, 3) improve the representation of pH and to refit parameters related to ruminal metabolism and nutrient digestion in the model, 4) investigate how ruminal pH affects the microbial community, expression of carbohydrate-active enzyme transcripts (CAZymes), fiber degradation, and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations. To achieve the first objective, a total of 229 studies (n = 938 treatments) including dairy and beef cattle data, published from 1972 through 2016, were collected from the literature and used to assess the model accuracy and precision based on root mean squared errors (RMSE) and concordance correlation coefficients (CCC). Only slight mean and slope bias were exhibited for ruminal outflow of NDF, starch, lipid, total N, and non-ammonia N, and for fecal output of protein, NDF, lipid, and starch. However, ruminal pH was poorly simulated and contributed to problems in ruminal nutrient degradation and VFA production predictions. To achieve the second objective, representations including ruminal ammonia outflow, intestinal urea entry, microbial protein synthesis in the hindgut, and fecal urea N excretion, were added in the model. Total urea entry, gut urea entry, and urinary urea elimination rates collected from 15 published urea kinetics studies were used to derive related parameters. Significant improvements in predictions of variables describing ruminal N metabolism, blood urea metabolism and urinary N secretion were exhibited after the modifications. To achieve the third objective, a dataset assembled from the literature containing 284 peer reviewed studies with 1223 treatment means was used to derive parameter estimates for ruminal metabolism and nutrient digestions. After refitting the parameters, the model is even more robust in representing ruminal nutrient degradation compared to the initial model. Adding ammonia concentration as a driver to the pH equation increased the precision of predicted ruminal pH, and thereby, the precision of predicted VFA concentrations due to an improved representation of pH regulation of VFA production rates. To achieve the fourth objective, six cannulated Holstein heifers with an initial BW of 362 ± 22 kg (mean ± SD) were subjected to 2 treatments in a cross-over design. The treatments were 10 days of intraruminal infusions of both 1) distilled water (Control), and 2) a dilute blend of hydrochloric and phosphoric acids to achieve a pH reduction of 0.5 units (LpH). Statistical analyses indicated 19 bacterial genera and 4 protozoal genera were affected by low ruminal pH. We observed significant correlations between 54 microbes (43 bacterial and 11 protozoal genera) and 25 enzymes, of which 8 key enzymes participated in reactions leading to SCFA production, suggesting that the ruminal microbial community alters fiber catalysis and fermentation in response to altered pH through a shift in carbohydrate-active enzyme transcripts (CAZymes) expression. Overall, after the modifications and reparameterizations, 19.7 to 37.5% of RMSE with essentially no slope bias and minor mean bias were exhibited for of ruminal and fecal outflow of ADF, NDF, fat, and protein, suggesting the model is properly to represent nutrient degradation and digestion in the bovine. Considering ruminal microbes and CAZymes in predicting ruminal volatile fatty acid concentrations could explain more variance of observations. Ph. D. The purpose of this research was to improve ruminal nutrient metabolism and nutrient digestion representations in the Molly cow model. First, the model accuracy and precision were assessed using a dataset including 229 studies (n = 938 treatments) conducted with dairy and beef cattle. The model evaluation results indicated the mechanisms encoded in the model relative to ruminal and total tract nutrient digestion are properly represented. However, ruminal pH was very poorly represented in the model with a RMSE of 4.6% and a concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.0. Although VFA concentrations had negligible mean (2.5% of MSE) and slope (6.8% of MSE) bias, the CCC was 0.28 implying that further modifications with respect to VFA production and absorption are required to improve model precision. As identified by the residual analyses, the representations of N recycling between blood and the gut were improved by considering ruminal ammonia outflow, intestinal urea entry, microbial protein synthesis in the hindgut, and fecal urea N excretion in the model. Observations of total urea entry, gut urea entry, and urinary urea elimination rates were collected from 15 published urea kinetics studies were used to derive related parameters. After the modifications, prediction errors for ruminal outflows of total N, microbial N, and non-ammonia non-microbial N were 39.5, 27.8 and 35.9% of the respective observed mean values. Prediction errors of each were approximately 10% units less than the corresponding values before model modifications and fitting due primarily to decreased slope bias. The revised model predicted ruminal ammonia and blood urea concentrations with substantially decreased overall error and reductions in slope and mean bias. After that, ammonia concentration as a driver was added to the pH equation, and a dataset assembled from the literature containing 284 peer reviewed studies with 1223 treatment means was used to derive parameter estimates for ruminal metabolism and nutrient digestions. Refitting the parameters significantly improved the accuracy and precision of the model predictions for ruminal nutrient outflow (ADF, NDF, total N, microbial N, non-ammonia N, and non-ammonia, non-microbial N), ammonia concentrations, and fecal nutrient outflow (protein, ADF, and NDF). Therefore, the improved model can be used to simulate nutrient degradation and digestion in the bovine. Although minor mean and slope bias were observed for ruminal pH and VFA concentrations, the small values for concordance correlations indicated much of the observed variation in these variables remains unexplained. To further explain variance in ruminal metabolism and understand how ruminal pH affects the microbial community, expression of carbohydrate-active enzyme transcripts (CAZymes), fiber degradation, and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations, six cannulated Holstein heifers with an initial BW of 362 ± 22 kg (mean ± SD) were subjected to 2 treatments in a cross-over design. We observed 19 bacterial genera and 4 protozoal genera were affected by low ruminal pH, and significant correlations between 54 microbes (43 bacterial and 11 protozoal genera) and 25 enzymes, of which 8 key enzymes participated in reactions leading to SCFA production. In summary, after the modifications and reparameterizations, the model is even more robust to represent nutrient degradation and digestion in bovine compared to the initial model. More variance of observations of ruminal volatile fatty acid concentrations could be explained by considering ruminal microbes and CAZymes expressions in further study.

Proceedings of the ICA 2019 and EAA Euroregio : 23rd International Congress on Acoustics, integrating 4th EAA Euroregio 2019 : 9-13 September 2019, Aachen, Germany / proceedings editor: Martin Ochmann, Michael Vorländer, Janina Fels 23rd International Congress on Acoustics, integrating 4th EAA Euroregio 2019, ICA 2019, Aachen, Germany, 9 Sep 2019 - 13 Sep 2019; Aachen (2019)., Published by Aachen

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Background: Morbidity of poststroke depression (PSD) remains high worldwide. Additionally, PSD causes multiple sequelae. Although sertraline has been reported to be effective in treating PSD, many studies remain inconsistent. Methods: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Clinical trials. gov, Wan fang Data (Chinese), VIP (Chinese), and CNKI (Chinese) were retrieved from inception to April 2017. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and self-controlled trials (SCTs) were recruited, which met the inclusion criteria in our study. The depression rating scores, the incidence of PSD, activities of daily living (ADL), neurological impairment scores, and adverse effects were assessed. Results: Around 11 studies were recruited in our work, including 1258 participants. For trials enrolled, the results were depicted: the reduction of depression rating scores was significant in sertraline groups (WMD −6.38; 95% CI −8.63 to −4.14; P 0.05). However, in sensitivity analyses, the conclusions of the reduction of depression rating scores and the improvement of ADL were altered. Conclusions: The study suggests that sertraline has a potentially protective role compared with control groups and demonstrates sertraline is safe. However, the reduction of depression rating scores and the improvement of ADL should be considered carefully.