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Observable scattering processes entail emission-absorption of soft photons. As these degrees of freedom go undetected, some information is lost. Whether some of this information can be recovered in the observation of the hard photons, depends of the actual pattern of the scrambling of information. We compute the information scrambling of photon scattering by the tripartite mutual information in terms of the 2-Renyi entropy, and find a finite amount of scrambling is present. The developed procedure thus sheds novel light on the black hole information loss paradox, showing that scrambling is a byproduct of decoherence achieved by the scattering system in its interaction with the environment, due to the emission-absorption of soft photons in fully unitary processes., Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 remains public health burdens and many unresolved issues worldwide. Molecular assays based on real-time RT-PCR are critical for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in clinical specimens from patients suspected of COVID-19.We aimed to establish and validate an in-house real-time RT-PCR for the detection of SARS-CoV-2.Primers and probes sets in our in-house real-time RT-PCR assay were designed in conserved regions of the N and E target genes. Optimized multiplex real-time RT-PCR assay was validated using the first WHO International Standard (NIBSC code: 20/146) and evaluated clinical performance.The limit of detection validated using the first WHO International Standard was 159 IU/ml for both E and N target genes. The evaluation of clinical performance on 170 clinical samples showed a positive percent agreement of 100% and the negative percent agreement of 99.08% for both target genes. The Kappa value of 0.99 was an excellent agreement, the strong correlation of CIn the present study, we established and validated an in-house real-time RT-PCR for molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 in a resource-limited country.

Yuxin Fan,1– 3 Jingjing Chen,1,4 Meixiao Liu,1,2 Xin Xu,1,2 Yu Zhang,1– 3 Peng Yue,1,4 Wenjing Cao,1,4 Zhenhua Ji,1,2 Xuan Su,1,2 Shiyuan Wen,1– 3 Jing Kong,1,2 Guozhong Zhou,1,2 Bingxue Li,1,2 Yan Dong,1,2 Aihua Liu,1,3,4 Fukai Bao1– 3 1The Institute for Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650500, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650030, People’s Republic of China; 3Yunnan Province Key Laboratory of Children’s Major Diseases Research, The Affiliated Children Hospital, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650030, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650030, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Aihua Liu; Fukai Bao, The Institute for Tropical Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Kunming Medical University, Kunming, 650500, People’s Republic of China, Email liuaihua@kmmu.edu.cn; baofukai@kmmu.edu.cnAbstract: Tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) infection, which has seriously endangered human health for many years. With the emergence of multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant MTB, the prevention and treatment of TB has become a pressing need. Early diagnosis, drug resistance monitoring, and control of disease transmission are critical aspects in the prevention and treatment of TB. However, the currently available diagnostic technologies and drug sensitivity tests are time consuming, and thus, it is difficult to achieve the goal of early diagnosis and detection drug sensitivity, which results in limited control of disease transmission. The development of molecular testing technology has gradually achieved the vision of rapid and accurate diagnosis of TB. Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) is an excellent nucleic acid quantification method with high sensitivity and no need for a calibration curve. Herein, we review the application of ddPCR in TB diagnosis and drug resistance detection and transmission monitoring.Keywords: Mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis, droplet digital PCR, diagnosis, drug resistance test, disease transmission

For normal‐weight population, the management of prehypertension may be more beneficial by identifying insulin resistance (IR) status than relying solely on traditional indicators of obesity. We investigated the association of triglyceride glucose (TyG) index, a simple surrogate marker of IR, and its combination of obesity indices with prehypertension in lean individuals. A total of 105 070 lean adults without hypertension were included in this analysis. Body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), waist‐to‐height ratio (WtHR), and TyG were calculated according to the corresponding formula; TyG‐BMI, TyG‐WC, and TyG‐WHtR were calculated by multiplying the corresponding two parameters. Gardner‐Altman plots, partial correlation, and logistic regression analyses were applied to explore the associations in continuous variables and quartiles. The prehypertensive ones had higher mean values of TyG, TyG‐BMI, TyG‐WC, and TyG‐WHtR than normotensive individuals. All the four indicators showed positive correlations with systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. After full adjustment, only TyG‐BMI and TyG‐WC were significantly associated with prehypertension in both genders. Furthermore, TyG‐BMI had the highest OR for prehypertension. Our study showed that TyG‐BMI might be an accessible and complementary monitor in the hierarchical management of non‐obese prehypertensive patients.

Macroalgae play important ecological roles, including as hosts for a wide range of epifauna. However, the diversity relationships between macroalgae and epifauna are poorly understood for most tropical host species and algal morphologies. This study aims to characterize and analyse the diversity of invertebrates present amongst macroalgae with three distinct morphologies (three-dimensional, filamentous and foliose) across different tropical intertidal sites in Singapore. Morphological and DNA barcoding tools were employed for epifaunal species identification, and ordination statistics and multiple linear regression were used to test the effects of algal morphology, species and site on community structure and diversity of epiphytic invertebrates. Overall, epifaunal communities were distinct among sites and algal morphologies, and diversity was affected significantly by algal morphology. In particular, filamentous macroalgae hosted the highest abundance of epifauna dominated mainly by amphipods, which were able to take advantage of the high surface area to volume ratio in filamentous algal mats as a consequence of their thinner forms. Foliose species showed a significantly negative effect on invertebrate diversity. Our findings highlight the diverse associations between intertidal macroalgae and invertebrates with high turnover between algal morphology and sites that contribute to the high biodiversity of tropical shores. Future studies should consider the effects of the host habitat, seasonality and more algal species on epifaunal diversity.

Vibrational properties associated with the intra- and intermolecular bonding of the crystalline Dibenz[a,h]anthracene at low temperatures are investigated by Raman scattering. A complete characterization of phonon spectra is given for this material. In the 120-150 K temperature region, several lattice modes show abrupt changes of splitting and the discontinuities in the temperature shift, but no emergence of new modes. Moreover, the intensity ratio of I

Biomass direct-fired power generation technology has many advantages in realizing large-scale harmless utilization of biomass resources. It is an effective way to achieve the goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. Taking the 15MW direct-fired biomass power generation project of typical unit configuration as an example, this paper constructs a CHP system with biomass as fuel to replace the traditional coal-fired boiler for power generation, analyzes its economic, environmental and energy-saving benefits. As shown by results, compared with the conventional coal-fired power plant, the system cannot only save more than 700000 tons of coal, but also reduce more than 1610.41 tons of carbon dioxide emission, more than 26.41 tons of sulfur dioxide emission and more than 3000 tons of smoke and dust every year. The adoption of a new boiler and straw thermal power technology can competently deal with the three major problems of energy use, environmental protection and farmer’s income increment, which is of great significance to realize the effective cycle of “resource product renewable resource” economy.

Yun Chen,1 Yanming Zhang,2,3 Xuan Su4 1Guangdong Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine Hospital Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan, People’s Republic of China; 2The Fifth Clinical Medical College of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Guangdong Second Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4The Ninth People’s Hospital of Nanhai District, Foshan, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Xuan Su, Email suxuan2022@126.com View the original paper by Dr Meng and colleagues

Background. Clonorchis sinensis/Opisthorchis viverrini and minute intestinal flukes (MIF) such as Haplorchis pumilio and H. taichui are fish-borne trematodes (FBT) that may coexist in regions where local people have a habit of eating raw fish like Vietnam. Responses to FBT should be verified according to the data on the distribution of these flukes. This study aims to explore the prevalence of different species of FBT and related factors among local people in a northern province of Vietnam. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Kim Son and Yen Khanh districts, Ninh Binh province, between March 2016 and March 2017. Four hundred people aged 15 years or older were interviewed and gave stool samples. The FBT eggs in faecal samples were enumerated by modified formalin-ether technique and identified by sequencing of the second internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region. Result. Among the 400 persons, 19.5% were infected with FBT. On univariate analysis, eating raw fish was the main risk factor (odds ratios (OR)) of 6.769 (95% confidence interval (CI) of 2.655–17.259) followed by being of male gender (3.994 (CI95% 2.117–7.536)) and drinking alcohol (2.680 (CI95% 1.440–4.986)), respectively. There was no risk of increased infection among those living at home without hygienic latrines, those living close to rivers or having ponds, or those raising cats or dogs. By multivariate analysis, FBT infection was only related to the consumption of raw fish and gender. Seventy stool samples with a sufficient amount of faecal matter were subjected to DNA extraction, 42.85% of them yielded DNA production, and all were of Clonorchis sinensis. Conclusion. Results of the study showed the high prevalence of infection of fish-borne trematode, mostly C. sinensis among humans in Ninh Binh province. The prevention of FBT should be strengthened with programs detailed according to the distribution of FBT in different endemic areas.

To analyze the failure mechanism and energy-absorbing characteristics of composite thin-walled C-channels subject to the low-speed axial compression, 12 groups of T700/MTM28 specimens with three di...

CF/PEEK composites were welded assisted by ultrasonic. The influence of vibration time and using of energy director (ED) to the joints were investigated in details. The joints had defect of incomplete fusion at the interface under short welding time without ED, and defects of cracks and voids appeared at the interface of carbon fiber and PEEK resin, which attributed to too much heat accumulation at the heat affected zone (HAZ). By using flat ED, joint with sound bonding was realized under vibration time of 0.9 s. The lap shear strength of joint can reach 28 MPa, and the joint fractured at the HAZ. The real-time temperature at interfaces were monitored. It is found that the heating rate can be accelerated by using flat ED, and the peak temperature was lowered. At last, the influence mechanism of processing parameter to the joint were discussed in details.

Lin-Man Weng,1,* Xuan Su,1,* Xue-Qiang Wang1,2 1Department of Sport Rehabilitation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Shanghai Shangti Orthopaedic Hospital, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xue-Qiang WangDepartment of Sport Rehabilitation, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86 02165503470Email Qiang897@163.comPurpose: On 11 March, 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. It brought substantial physical and psychological burden on individuals and financial loss across countries. Patients with COVID-19 may exhibit various symptoms, such as fever, cough, dyspnea, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, chest pain, and abdominal pain, at 2– 14 days after exposure to the novel coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS]-CoV-2). Pain symptoms present important challenge to clinicians’ diagnosis when treating COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms. Considering the increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, the pain symptoms should be systematically summarized.Results: The virus can invade different tissues of the body and cause different pain manifestations. SARS-CoV-2 primarily invades the respiratory system, and patients develop sore throat, fever, cough, and other pneumonia-associated symptoms. Moreover, it infects the nervous system (eg, headache, dizziness, and confusion), digestive system (eg, abdominal pain, diarrhea), and cardiovascular system (eg, chest pain, palmus, and cardiac injury). The incidence rate is 1.7– 33.9% for headache, 0.7– 47.1% for sore throat, 1.5– 61.0% for myalgia/arthralgia, 1.6– 17.7% for chest pain, and 1.9– 14.5% for abdominal pain. In comparison with chest and abdominal pain, COVID-19 patients are more likely to develop headache, sore throat, and myalgia/arthralgia.Conclusion: Different pain reflects the damage of different body systems. Therefore, the summary of pain symptoms for COVID-19 patients can help doctors improve the accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis when treating COVID-19 patients with atypical or mild symptoms and adopt more targeted treatment methods.Keywords: pain, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, symptom

Additional file 1: Table S1. Mite species used in the present study (DOCX 23 KB)

Background. Neuropathic pain has long been a very popular and productive field of clinical research. Neuropathic pain is difficult to cure radically because of its complicated etiology and uncertain pathogenesis. As pain worsens and persists, pain recovery techniques become more important, and medication alone is insufficient. No summary of bibliometric studies on neuropathic pain rehabilitation is yet available. The purpose of the present study is to analyze in a systematic manner the trends of neuropathic pain rehabilitation research over the period of 2000–2019. Methods. Studies related to neuropathic pain rehabilitation and published between January 2000 and December 2019 were obtained from the Science Citation Index-Expanded of Web of Science. No restrictions on language, literature type, or species were established. CiteSpace V and Microsoft Excel were used to capture basic information and highlights in the field. Results. Linear regression analysis showed that the number of publications on neuropathic pain rehabilitation significantly increased over time (P

Additional file 3: Table S3. Mitochondrial genome organization of Oribatula sakamorii (DOCX 20 KB)

Additional file 2: Table S2. Partition schemes used in the present study (DOCX 16 KB)

Background: Nanocovax is a recombinant severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 subunit vaccine composed of full-length prefusion stabilized recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins (S-2P) and aluminum hydroxide adjuvant. Methods: We conducted a dose-escalation, open label trial (phase 1) and a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (phase 2) to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the Nanocovax vaccine (in 25 microgram (mcg), 50 mcg, and 75 mcg doses, aluminum hydroxide adjuvanted). In phase 1, 60 participants received two intramuscular injection of the vaccine following dose-escalation procedure. The primary outcomes were reactogenicity and laboratory tests to evaluate the vaccine safety. In phase 2 which involved in 560 healthy adults, the primary outcomes are vaccine safety, and anti-S IgG antibody response. Secondary outcomes were surrogate virus neutralization, wild-type SARS-CoV-2 neutralization, and T-cell responses by intracellular staining (ICS) for interferon gamma (IFNg). Anti-S IgG and neutralizing antibody levels were compared with convalescent serum samples from symptomatic Covid-19 patients. Findings: For phase 1 study, no serious adverse events (SAE) were observed for all 60 participants. Most adverse events (AE) were grade 1 and disappeared shortly after injection. For phase 2 study, after randomization, 480 participants were assigned to receive the vaccine with adjuvant, and 80 participants were assigned to receive placebo. Reactogenicity was absent or mild in the majority of participants and of short duration (mean ≤3 days). Unsolicited adverse events were mild in most participants. There were no serious adverse events related to Nanocovax. Regarding the immunogenicity, Nanocovax induced robust anti-S antibody responses. In general, there humoral responses were similar among vaccine groups up to day 90. Anti S-IgG levels and neutralizing antibody titers at the peak response on day 42 were all higher than those of convalescent sera. Interpretation: Up to day 90, Nanocovax was found to be safe, well tolerated, and induced robust immune responses. 25 mcg was selected for a phase 3 trial to evaluate the vaccine efficacy. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04683484. NCT04683484, registration date in clinicaltrial.gov is Dec24, 2020, We has started our Phase 1 clinical trial in Vietnam on Dec 17, 2020, Funding: Research funded by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC., and the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam Declaration of Interest: The following authors Thuy Phuong Nguyen, Hiep Khong, Tri Minh Le, Tuyen Thi Ngoc Trang, Thanh Thi Dinh, Thuong Van Vo, Thao Thi Thu Vu, Quynh Bao Phuong Nguyen, Vuong Tan Phan, Vinh The Tran, Mai Thi Nhu Tran, Truc Thi Thanh Nguyen, Phat Tan Ha, Hieu Trong Huynh, Khanh Duy Nguyen, Chung Chinh Doan, Thuan Trong Ung, Si Minh Do are employees of Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC. All other authors declare no competing interests. Ethical Approval: The trials were designed and funded by Nanogen Pharmaceutical Biotechnology JSC and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) of Vietnam. The trial protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee/Protocol Review Board of the Ministry of Health (Vietnam)

Bin Han1 ,* Zijie Pei2 ,* Lei Shi,3 Qian Wang,4 Chen Li,1 Boyuan Zhang,1 Xuan Su,1 Ning Zhang,1 Lixiao Zhou,1 Bo Zhao,5 Yujie Niu,3,6 Rong Zhang1,6 1Department of Toxicology, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology, Medical School, China Three Gorge University, Yichang 443002, People’s Republic of China; 3Occupational Health and Environmental Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 4Experimental Center, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Laboratory Diagnosis, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei, People’s Republic of China; 6Hebei Key Laboratory of Environment and Human Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang 050017, Hebei, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Rong ZhangDepartment of Toxicology, Hebei Medical University, 361 Zhongshan East Road, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, People’s Republic of ChinaFax +86-311-86265605Email rongzhang@hebmu.edu.cnIntroduction: Because of the increased production and application of manufactured Nano-TiO2 in the past several years, it is important to investigate its potential hazards. TiO2 is classified by IARC as a possible human carcinogen; however, the potential mechanism of carcinogenesis has not been studied clearly. The present study aimed to investigate the mechanism of DNA damage in rat lung and extra-pulmonary organs caused by TiO2nanoparticles.Methods: In the present study, SD rats were exposed to Nano-TiO2 by intratracheal injection at a dose of 0, 0.2, or 1 g/kg body weight. The titanium levels in tissues were detected by ICP-MS. Western blot was used to detect the protein expression levels. The DNA damage and oxidative stress were detected by comet assay and ROS, MDA, SOD, and GSH-Px levels, respectively.Results: The titanium levels of the 1 g/kg group on day-3 and day-7 were significantly increased in liver and kidney as well as significantly decreased in lung compared to day-1. ROS and MDA levels were statistically increased, whereas SOD and GSH-Px levels were statistically decreased in tissues of rats in dose-dependent manners after Nano-TiO2 treatment. PI3K, p-AKT/AKT, and p-FOXO3a/FOXO3a in lung, liver, and kidney activated in dose-dependent manners. The levels of DNA damage in liver, kidney, and lung in each Nano-TiO2 treatment group were significantly increased and could not recover within 7 days. GADD45α, ChK2, and XRCC1 in liver, kidney, and lung of rats exposed to Nano-TiO2 statistically increased, which triggered DNA repair.Conclusion: This work demonstrated that Ti could deposit in lung and enter extra-pulmonary organs of rats and cause oxidative stress, then trigger DNA damage through activating the PI3K-AKT-FOXO3a pathway and then promoting GADD45α, ChK2, and XRCC1 to process the DNA repair.Keywords: Nano-TiO2, DNA damage, PI3K/AKT/FOXO3a signaling pathway, DNA repair, GADD45α/ChK2/XRCC1 signaling pathway

We propose a new sampling-based approach for approximate inference in filtering problems. Instead of approximating conditional distributions with a finite set of states, as done in particle filters, our approach approximates the distribution with a weighted sum of functions from a set of continuous functions. Central to the approach is the use of sampling to approximate multiplications in the Bayes filter. We provide theoretical analysis, giving conditions for sampling to give good approximation. We next specialize to the case of weighted sums of Gaussians, and show how properties of Gaussians enable closed-form transition and efficient multiplication. Lastly, we conduct preliminary experiments on a robot localization problem and compare performance with the particle filter, to demonstrate the potential of the proposed method.

Y2O3 has a great application potential at reaction barrier coating of high-temperature composites due to its high thermodynamic stability and high melting point, and the phase structure stability at high temperature and structure dependent mechanical property are key parameters for this application. Y2O3 thin films were deposited on silicon (100) wafers by DC magnetron sputtering with various oxygen partial pressure and substrate bias, and then vacuum annealing at 1000°C was performed to investigate the phase structure stability. The microstructure, stress and hardness of as-deposited and annealed Y2O3 thin films were explored by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscope, and nanoindenter. The result showed that as-60 bias voltage was applied to substrate, cubic-c phase formed regardless of variation of oxygen partial pressure, and the cubic-c phase remains stability and crystallinity became better after annealing at 1000 °C.In addition, the hardness and modulus also just had minor changes as a function of oxygen partial pressure. As oxygen partial pressure was kept at 0.043 Pa, phase transition from cubic-c to monoclinic-b phase took place with increasing substrate bias, accompanying by the increment of hardness and modulus, and 1000 °Chigh-temperature annealing resulted in that as-deposited monoclinic-b phase transforms to cubic-c phase.

Niobium carbide films was deposited by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering on Si (001) substrates in discharging a mixture of CH4/Ar gas. The effects of growth temperature (Ts) and methane flow rate (FCH4) on the phase structure, composition, mechanical and tribological properties for NbCx films were explored. For the film grown at FCH4=6 sccm, a phase transition from cubic-NbC phase to hexagonal-Nb2C phases occurred with increasing the Ts; In contrast, when the film deposited at FCH4=16 sccm, only the cubic-NbC phase was observed at different Ts. The surface of all the films became rough with increasing the Ts. In addition, when the Ts increased from RT to 600 °C, the films exhibited the compressive stress and kept rising. While as the Ts > 600 °C, the stress partially relaxed both at FCH4=6 sccm and FCH4=16 sccm. The hardness (H) for sample grown at FCH4=6 sccm first increased up to a maximum value, and then decreased with increasing the Ts. And the films grown at FCH4=16 sccm kept decreasing with the maximum super-hard value of the filmsof 40.5 GPa at FCH4=6 sccm and 600 °C. The friction coefficient for the film obtained at FCH4=16 sccm was lower than that at FCH4=6 sccm, which might be due to the presence more carbon in the film grown at FCH4=16 sccm.

Tungsten carbide thin films were deposited on silicon (100) substrates by DC reactive magnetron sputtering using CH4 as a carbon source. The microstructure, compressive stress, hardness and tribological behaviors showed great dependences on the rates of CH4 flow (FCH4). Increasing the FCH4 from 2 to 5 sccm, the film exhibited a phase transition from hexagonal-W2C to cubic-WC1-x. Further increasing the FCH4 larger than 10sccm, the film presented amorphous state. As the FCH4 increased, the Raman revealed that the films showed a graphitization trend, meanwhile, the surface of the films became smoother and smoother. The hardness of tungsten carbide films first increased, and then decreased after reaching the maximum 38.5GPa (FCH4=10 sccm). While the sample deposited at 15 sccm obtained the lowest wear rate (2.17×10-6 mm3/Nm) and low coefficient of friction (CoF, 0.24) and still maintained a high hardness of 32.1 GPa. The lowest wear rate could be ascribed to the highest ratio of H3/E2.

The cubic-NbN/NbCN multilayers with modulation periodicity (Λ) ranging from 4.2 to 39.1 nm were deposited on Si (100) substrate by reactive magnetron sputtering in a mixture of Ar and N2 gases. The Λ dependent structural, mechanical and tribological properties for resulting c-NbN/NbCN multilayers were explored. As Λ varied from 4.2 to 39.1 nm, all the films exhibited an obvious modulated structure. Increasing the Λ, the Nb (C,N)(111) peak in XRD gradually shifted to bigger angles and the peak intensity of NbN(111) became stronger. The stress for all multilayers was compressive ranging in between the stress for both NbN and NbCN single layers, and the stress value was stable with increasing Λ. The NbN layer was beneficial to relaxing the compressive stress which induced by NbCN layer. In addition, as Λ increases, the hardness (H) first increased, and then decreased after reaching a maximum value. The obvious enhancement in hardness for multilayers was observed, whose maximum value approaches 43.3 GPa when Λ = 8.4 nm, 37% larger than that obtained by the rule of mixture value. The friction coefficient values of NbN/NbCNmultilayers ranging between 0.34 and 0.4 were much lower than that of NbN monolayer but higher than that of NbCN monolayer were.

TC4 coating was successfully prepared on the surface of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastics (CFRP) via laser cladding technology. The microstructure of the TC4 coating/CFRP substrate interface was analyzed. The results indicated that the molten TC4 infiltrated into the CFRP substrate and reliable bonding of TC4 coating and CFRP substrate was obtained. TiC and a small amount of TiS2 phases were formed at the interface between TC4 coating and CFRP substrate. In addition, the process for preparing TC4 coating on the surface of CFRP substrate and the bonding mechanism at the interface was put forward based on the basis of experimental observation and theoretical analysis.

In this paper, thick-section TC4 alloy was welded to itself by laser-MIG hybrid (LAMIG) welding. The microstructure of the welded joints was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The results revealed that &alpha, &rsquo, and &beta, phases were formed in the weld seam. The effects of heat input (E) on the microstructure and tensile strength of the joints were investigated. With the increase of heat input, the residence time of platelet &alpha, martensite in the high-temperature phase changing zone became longer and the thickness of platelet &alpha, martensite increased. Furthermore, the &beta, thickness became large, and tangling dislocations were found to exist in platelet &alpha, In addition, the increasing heat input could cause a decrease in the tensile strength. The failed dimple pattern experienced a change from equiaxed to tearing, which was harmful to the property of the joint.

Based on previous work on lubricant hard HfCxfilm, the HfCxNyfilmswere deposited by sputtering from theHf target in a mixture of discharging N2,Ar and CH4, and the N content in films was accurately controlled by changing the N2flow rate.Theintroduction of N into the films contributed to the presence of solid solution FCC-HfC(N) and FCC-HfNphase appeared at high N content in films. In addition, the a-C content in the filmsdecreasedwith increment ofN content in the films. In comparison with HfCxfilm, hardness of HfCxNyfilms were enhanced from 21 GPa to 25 GPa with N content rising to 6.8 at.% but then surplus N in the films impaired the hardness. The coefficient of friction and surface roughness for HfCxNyfilms increasedfrom 0.10 to 0.23 and 3.13 nm to 12.4 nm, respectively, with decreasing a-C content from 52.9 at.% to 46.3 at.%. However, the introduction of N into HfCxFilm improvedthe wear resistance of filmseffectively, and the specific friction rate for this HfCxNyfilm deposited at 8 sccm N2was only 6.17×10-7mm3/Nm about half of that of HfCxfilm (1.09×10-6mm3/Nm).

The development of Internet technologies has promoted the popularity of e-commerce. C2C online transaction is one of the most significant part. However, with the characteristics of Internet such as technical complexity, openness, and virtualization, there exist more uncertainty and risks in online transactions, as well as information asymmetry. Besides, the influence factors of trust include not only the purchase intention of buyers and the reputation of the sellers, but also Internet-based trust and site quality. To this end, in this paper, we introduce a trust enhanced mechanism to effectively ensure the transaction by allowing complaining after purchasing unhonest products. Moreover, besides the cost of product itself, cost for sellers to accumulate credits, and cost for sellers to cheat, we also take into consideration the cost of trusting the website which sellers are affiliated to. We employ game theory to model the purchase process between buyers and sellers, and build a signal based game model tree.

Autophagy is a ubiquitous intracellular process for cellular homeostasis maintenance by recycling damaged protein and organelles. Dysregulation of cardiomyocytes autophagic activity is implicated in various heart diseases. Recent studies had demonstrated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) played crucial roles on modulation of autophagic activity. In this study, we first established an angiotensin II-induced autophagy model on neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Western blot assay confirmed that the expression of Beclin 1 and the conversion of soluble LC3-I to lipid bound LC3-II were significantly increased at 12 h after angiotensin II stimulation, but the cardiomyocytes surface area and hypertrophic markers expression had no significant change. Then microarray analysis and real-time PCR were applied to detect differentially expressed lncRNAs during cardiomyocytes autophagy. A total of 1,249 lncRNAs were determined as differentially expressed, including 700 upregulated lncRNAs and 549 downregulated lncRNAs. LncRNAs subgroup analysis showed there were 43 transcribed ultra-conserved noncoding RNAs (T-UCRs) differentially expressed in cardiomyocytes autophagy, of which 26 T-UCRs were upregulated and 17 T-UCRs were downregulated. Bioinformatics analysis further showed that 94 differentially expressed lncRNAs contained potential binding sites of miR-22, a pro-hypertrophic and pro-autophagic microRNA. Therefore, these differentially expressed lncRNAs might play critical roles in cardiomyocytes autophagy. This finding would provide an experimental basis for future investigation on ischemic heart disease.

Matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) works inefficiently on small molecules because of the interference of matrix-related peaks in low m/z regions. A modified SBA-15 matrix, ([CHC−] [NH3+-Si-SBA-15-Si-NH3+] [CHC−]), was synthesized by covalently attaching SBA-15 to an ionic liquid formed by α-cyano-4-hydroxy cinnamic acid (CHCA) and 3-APTES. Compared with CHCA and ([SBA-15-Si-NH3+] [CHC−]), [CHC−] [NH3+-Si-SBA-15-Si-NH3+] [CHC−] demonstrated several advantages in melamine analysis, such as minimal background interference ions, high homogeneity, and improved sensitivity and reproducibility. Using the new matrix, we developed a high-throughput screening method for the detection of melamine in milk samples by MALDI-TOF MS. The influence of various parameters, such as solvent, concentration of the matrix suspension, the ratio between matrix and sample, deposition strategy, drying methods, and sample preparation method, were also investigated. Under optimized conditions for melamine determination in milk samples, a low detection limit (0.10 mg/kg) and high reproducibility (RSD ≤ 14%) were obtained.

In order to understand well the different ferroelectric behaviour of quantum paraelectrics and ferroelectrics and the origin of the ferroelectricity of the solid solution KTa0.5Nb0.5O3(KTN), we calculated the electronic structure of CaTiO3, BaTiO3 and KTN by first principles calculation. From total energy analysis, it is shown that, with increasing cell volume, the crystals (CaTiO3, SrTiO3) will have a ferroelectric instability. For BaTiO3, the ferroelectricity will disappear as the cell volume is decreased. From the density of states analysis, it is shown that the hybridization between B d and O p is very important for the ferroelectric stability of ABO3 perovskite ferroelectrics. This is consistent with the analysis of band structure.

Fast detection is important in screening large-scale samples. This study establishes a direct competitive ELISA method (dcTELISA) based on an enzyme thermistor for fast atrazine (ATZ) detection. ATZ competes with β-lactamase-labeled ATZ (ATZ–E) for the binding sites on anti-ATZ monoclonal antibody (mAb). The mAb are covalently bound to Controlled Pore Glass (CPG) in an immunoreactor to form immunocomplexes with ATZ and ATZ–E. Several parameters of biosensor performance were optimized, such as the ATZ–E concentration, concentration and nature of the substrate, flow rate, and effect of temperature on the sensor response. After optimization, the assay time for a single sample was 12 min. The work process and result were compared with those of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The detection results exhibited a recovery rate of 88% to 107% in ATZ-spiked fresh cut corn stalks and silage samples. The results obtained via dcTELISA had good correlation with that of HPLC, and the biosensor response was reproducible and stable even when used continuously for over 4 months. All these properties suggested that the fast detection method, dcTELISA, may be used to detect pesticide residue in large-scale samples.

A 41-year-old woman presented with paroxysmal chest pain, dyspnea, and palpitations, and a continuous heart murmur was heard over the right upper and lower sternal borders. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a giant ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SOVA), which had dislodged and ruptured into the right atrium adjacent to the tricuspid valve. The diameter of the aortic end of the defect was 4 mm. Interestingly, this windsock SOVA swung into the right atrium and the right ventricle during different phases of the cardiac cycle (Figure 1 and Movie I in the online-only Data Supplement). Biatrial enlargement showed that the left atrial volume was 54 mL and the right atrial volume was 91 mL. We attempted to perform a transcatheter closure of this ruptured giant SOVA at the aortic end of the rupture site. Figure 1. A , Transthoracic echocardiogram obtained in the aortic short-axis view showing a giant windsock sinus of Valsalva aneurysm (SOVA), which had become dislodged and ruptured into the right atrium. It was adjacent to the tricuspid valve during systole. B , The SOVA swung into the right ventricle during diastole. …

GPCRs are physiologically significant receptors linked to numerous diseases including cardiovascular disease, mental illness, and cancer. Inhibiting the interaction between a GPCR and its G-protein blocks the ability of the receptor to initiate a signal in a cell. G Protein active sites control nearly all G protein functions and determine the interactions upon which G protein signaling pathways are built. Characterization of the active sites in G protein or GPCRs would therefore lead to new methods of controlling G proteins and ultimately controlling cells. This paper use fuzzy evolutionary trace method to analyze the binding sites of G Protein and finally give an example.

Cross-study validation and combined analysis of microarray data is critical in genomic analysis. With so much genetic expression data being produced by microarrays in the study of cancer, knowing the extent to which these studies agree can provide valuable insight. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore used Pearson correlation coefficient to develop a system for performing cross-study comparisons of gene expression profiles, found in three separate lung cancer studies, for validation and integration. This paper presents a vector cosine angle method to validate and analyze cross-study of microarray data for cancer and compare the robust of cross-study vector cosine angle validation with that of cross-study Pearson correlation validation. Results show it is effective and robust.

Thirty cases of hiccup due to cerebral disorders were treated by injecting 2 ml ofAngelica Injection into bilateral Geshu (BL 17) and another 30 cases were treated by muscular injection of 30 mg of metoclopramide as the control group. After the treatments for three days, the total effective rate was 100% in the former and 83.3% in the latter.

Chromosomal analysis of nine benign leiomyomas of the uterus after short-term culture showed karyotypic abnormalities in four cases. All four exhibited multiple chromosome changes, including three cases characterized by complex chromosome rearrangements involving a number of chromosomes. Among others, these rearrangements included a translocation between chromosomes 12 and 14 in one case, a deletion of chromosome 7q in two cases, and both del(7q) and a complex translocation involving chromosomes 12 and 14 in another case. These results confirm the involvement of chromosomes 7, 12, and 14 in leiomyomas and indicate that benign tumors can also be characterized by complex cytogenetic changes.

A benign endometrial polyp from a 50-year-old postmenopausal woman has been cytogenetically investigated. A single clonal karyotypic anomaly, inv(12)(p11.2q13), was found in about 30% of cells analyzed after short-term culture. This finding contributes further to the hypothesis that the chromosomal segment 12q13-q14, which is also involved in chromosomal rearrangements in uterine leiomyomas, pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary glands, lipomas, and myxoid liposarcomas, contains a gene or genes that are related to cellular proliferation rather than to malignant transformation.