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The Early Permian (c. 290 Ma) Panjal Traps is the most extensive sequence of flood basalts within the Tethyan domains of the Himalaya. The Panjal Traps erupted during a period of tensional plate stress related to the rifting of Cimmerian terranes from the Tethyan margin of Gondwana. The majority of the mafic Panjal Traps were affected by post-emplacement low-temperature deuteric alteration and/or regional deformation. Consequently, constraining the magmatic conditions of the rocks is difficult. The least altered Panjal Traps are located within the Guryal Ravine section of the western Zanskar Range and the southern Pir Panjal Range. The rock and mineral textures are preserved and they have a primary mineralogy of clinopyroxene (Wo30.3−42.5En29.4−49.7Fs13.8−34.2) and plagioclase (An61.0−43.5) phenocrysts within an aphanitic matrix. Secondary minerals include chlorite, epidote, actinolite, quartz, albite, orthoclase, rutile, and titanite and indicate that some of the rocks underwent greenschist to sub-greenschist facies metamorphism. Clinopyroxene-liquid geothermobarometers were used to assess the equilibrium crystallization temperature and pressure of the least altered Panjal Traps. The clinopyroxene-liquid saturation conditions yielded temperatures of 1104−1184 °C and pressures of 1.8−7.0 kbar which are within the uncertainty of the jadeite-diopside-hedenbergite exchange thermometer (1064−1167 °C) and the Al exchange barometer (1.1−6.8 kbar). The equilibrium temperatures are not anomalously high and similar to lavas that erupt at a passive rift setting rather than from a mantle plume. The whole rock V/Sc and V/Ga ratios suggest that the oxygen fugacity of the lavas was likely at or below the fayalite-magnetite-quartz buffer (∆FMQ = 0 to –1). Rhyolite-MELTS modeling (∆FMQ = –1; P = 2 kbar) indicates the water content within the basalts was variable and probably did not exceed 2.25 wt% prior to eruption. The post-emplacement metamorphic conditions are constrained using Perple_X modeling and demonstrate that the rocks from both Guryal Ravine and southern Pir Panjal Range (P = < 3.0 kbar and T = 390–415 °C) underwent greenschist facies metamorphism at similar temperature. However, the pressure is not well constrained. We attribute the metamorphism to regional deformation associated with terrane accretion to the Indian plate during the Mesozoic and Cenozoic that occurred after the deposition of the Late Permian to Early Triassic Pangea megasequence but before the Oligocene.

Wireless power transfer (WPT) has emerged to enhance the robustness of the energy harvesting Internet of Things (EH-IoT), whereas beamforming has been leveraged to significantly boost the efficiency of far-field WPT. Nevertheless, potential negative impacts due to high electromagnetic fields (EMF) exposure for radiation-susceptible users have not been thoroughly considered in the design of WPT for EH-IoT with IoT application-level requirements (e.g., coverage). In this article, we explore the health-aware beamforming and IoT selection problem under the EH and human safety constraints. First, we formulate a new optimization problem Health-Aware Beamforming and IoT Selection (HABIS) and prove the NP-hardness. Second, we design an approximation algorithm, named Minimum Radiation Exposure and Maximum IoT Coverage (MREMIC), to exploit the EH-health dependency (EHHD) graph for properly addressing the trade-off between EH efficiency and potential EMF radiation exposure to human bodies. We also discover the optimal health-aware beamforming to minimize the total radiation energy absorption of humans. Simulation results show that MREMIC can effectively charge IoT devices and significantly outperforms existing EH approaches by more than 200% regarding human safety.

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is one of the key technologies of 5G New Radio to support emerging applications such as autonomous driving. Due to the high density of vehicles, Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) will be deployed as Road Side Units to support V2X. Nevertheless, activation of all RRHs during low-traffic off-peak hours may cause energy wasting. The proper activation of RRH and association between vehicles and RRHs while maintaining the required service quality are the keys to reducing energy consumption. In this work, we first formulate the problem as an Integer Linear Programming optimization problem and prove that the problem is NP-hard. Then, we propose two novel algorithms, referred to as “Least Delete (LD)” and ”Largest-First Rounding with Capacity Constraints (LFRCC).” The simulation results show that the proposed algorithms can achieve significantly better performance compared with existing solutions and are competitive with the optimal solution. Specifically, the LD and LFRCC algorithms can reduce the number of activated RRHs by 86$\%$% and 89$\%$% in low-density scenarios. In high-density scenarios, the LD algorithm can reduce the number of activated RRHs by 90$\%$%. In addition, the solution of LFRCC is larger than that of the optimal solution within 7$\%$% on average.

The Epstein-Barr virus–associated smooth muscle tumor (SMT) is an uncommon neoplasm. It arises mainly in 3 immunosuppression settings: HIV-associated SMT; drug-related immunosuppression in transplant recipients; and congenital immunodeficiency disorder–associated SMT. We present 18F-FDG PET/CT findings of an adrenal Epstein-Barr virus–associated SMT in a 65-year-old woman with a history of follicular lymphoma after chemotherapy.

Mobile live video streaming is expected to become mainstream in the fifth generation (5G) mobile networks. To boost the Quality of Experience (QoE) of streaming services, the integration of Scalable Video Coding (SVC) with Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) becomes a natural candidate due to its scalability and the reliable transmission supports for real-time interactions. However, it still takes efforts to integrate MEC into video streaming services to exploit its full potentials. We find that the efficiency of the MEC-enabled cellular system can be significantly improved when the requests of users can be redirected to proper MEC servers through optimal user associations. In light of this observation, we jointly address the caching placement, video quality decision, and user association problem in the live video streaming service. Since the proposed nonlinear integer optimization problem is NP-hard, we first develop a two-step approach from a Lagrangian optimization under the dual pricing specification. Further, to have a computation-efficient solution and less performance loss, we provide a one-step Lagrangian dual pricing algorithm by the convex transformation of non-convex constraints. The simulations show that the service quality of live video streaming can be remarkably enhanced by the proposed algorithms in the MEC-enabled cellular system.

Cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) has been continuously evolving since Release 14 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for future autonomous vehicles. Apart from automotive safety, 5G NR further bring new capabilities to C-V2X for autonomous driving, such as real-time local update, and coordinated driving. These capabilities rely on the provision of low latency and high reliability from 5G NR. Among them, a basic demand is broadcasting or multicasting environment update messages, such as cooperative perception data, with high reliability and low latency from a Road Side Unit (RSU) or a base station (BS). In other words, broadcasting multiple types of automotive messages with high reliability and low latency is one of the key issues in 5G NR C-V2X. In this work, we consider how to select Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS), RSU/BS, Forward Error Correction (FEC) code rate, to maximize the system utility, which is a function of message delivery reliability. We formulate the optimization problem as a nonlinear integer programming problem. Since the optimization problem is NP-hard, we propose an approximation algorithm, referred to as the Hyperbolic Successive Convex Approximation (HSCA) algorithm, which uses the successive convex approximation to find the optimal solution. In our simulations, we compare the performance of HSCA with those of three algorithms respectively, including the baseline algorithm, the heuristic algorithm, and the optimal solution. Our simulation results show that HSCA outperforms the baseline and the heuristic algorithms and is very competitive to the optimal solution.

In this study, we aimed to assess the geographic distribution and molecular characteristics of β-lactamases among Enterobacteralesisolates causing intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) from 2015 to 2018 in the Asia–Pacific region.

In Taiwan, there were only 799 confirmed COVID-19 cases in 2020. The unique backdrop amidst a pandemic and promotion of nonpharmaceutical interventions generated some distinct changes in the epidemiology of common respiratory pathogens. In this study, we aimed to investigate the dynamic changes in respiratory pathogens in children during 2020.

In this Letter, we propose a new, to the best of our knowledge, proof-of-concept of optical nano-tweezers based on a pair of dielectric rectangular structures that are capable of generating a finite-volume in-plane optical capsule. Finite-difference time-domain simulations of light spatial distributions and optical trapping forces of a gold nanoparticle immersed in water demonstrate the physical concept of an in-plane subwavelength optical capsule integrated with a microfluidic mesoscale device. It is shown that the refractive index of and the distance between the two dielectric rectangular structures can effectively control the shape and axial position of the optical capsule. Such an in-plane mesoscale structure provides a new path for manipulating absorbing nano-particles or bio-particles in a compact planar architecture, and should thus lead to promising perspectives in lab-on-a-chip domains.

A photonic hook (PH) is a high-intensity, curved focusing beam with a subwavelength waist based on the photonic nanojet effect. It is generally created by illuminating mesoscale transparent particles using optical plane waves. In this work, we numerically explore the generation of the PH supported by the Janus microcylinder under point-source illumination. To simulate the photonic intensity distributions near the shadow surface of the Janus microcylinder, a finite-difference time-domain technique is used. The power flow distributions near the Janus microcylinder are examined for working in the visible spectrum. Due to the asymmetric vortices of Poynting vectors, the PH with a large bending angle can be produced. By changing the location of the point-source illumination, the shape and curvature of the PH can be adjusted efficiently. Moreover, when the point-source illumination is located close to the Janus microcylinder, a long focal length PH can be present. Based on the numerical results, we propose a practical modeling scheme for optical imaging using a microscope where the light source is close to the target.

Foot and root rot caused by Phytophthora parasiticais a substantial threat to citrus cultivation, affecting both yield and quality. Thus, rapid and accurate detection of P. parasiticaplays an important role in disease management. The aim of this study was to develop a simple diagnostic method to detect P. parasiticainfection by combining recombinase polymerase amplification and lateral flow strips (LF-RPA). To establish the LF-RPA assay of P. parasitica,the primers and probe designed based on the Ypt1gene were tested for specificity to P. parasitica,which showed no cross-reactivity with DNAs of other related oomycete species. The LF-RPA assay detected the amount of genomic DNA of P. parasiticawhich was as low as 1 pg. To make the LF-RPA assay useful in low-resource settings, four simplified DNA extraction methods were compared, after which the LF-RPA assay was applied, with no specialized equipment, to analyze a diverse range of citrus tissues by using a simplified PEG-NaOH method for DNA extraction. This method was successful in detecting P. parasiticain infected plant samples within 30 min. Combining the LF-RPA assay and a simplified DNA extraction method could be a potential detection test for P. parasitica,especially in areas with limited resources.

In this Letter, we report on a numerical study, fabrication, and experimental observations of photonic nanojet (PNJ) shaping by control of a tangential electric field component. Here the PNJs are generated by a single mesoscale micro-cube that is fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane, deposited on a silicon substrate and placed on thick metal screen at illuminating wavelengths of 405, 532, and 671 nm. It is shown that the length, focal length, and width of the PNJ can be significantly reduced in the presence of the metal masks along the side faces of the micro-cube. Experimental measurements of the PNJ imaging are performed by a scanning optical microscope with laser sources. Our experimental results are in reasonable agreement with simulation predictions of the finite-difference time-domain method. Due to the appearance of the metal masks, the PNJ focal length decreases 1.5 times, the PNJ decay length decreases 1.7 times, and the PNJ resolution increases 1.2 times. Such PNJs possess great potential in complex manipulation, including integrated plasmonic circuits, biosensing, and optical tweezers.

Neuroendocrine prostate cancer (PCa) (NEPC), an aggressive subtype that is associated with poor prognosis, may arise after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). We investigated the molecular mechanisms by which ADT induces neuroendocrine differentiation in advanced PCa. We found that transmembrane protein 1 (MCTP1), which has putative Ca2+sensing function and multiple Ca2+-binding C2 domains, was abundant in samples from patients with advanced PCa. MCTP1 was associated with the expression of the EMT-associated transcription factors ZBTB46, FOXA2, and HIF1A. The increased abundance of MCTP1 promoted PC3 prostate cancer cell migration and neuroendocrine differentiation and was associated with SNAI1-dependent EMT in C4-2 PCa cells after ADT. ZBTB46 interacted with FOXA2 and HIF1A and increased the abundance of MCTP1 in a hypoxia-dependent manner. MCTP1 stimulated Ca2+signaling and AKT activation to promote EMT and neuroendocrine differentiation by increasing the SNAI1-dependent expression of EMT and neuroendocrine markers, effects that were blocked by knockdown of MCTP1. These data suggest an oncogenic role for MCTP1 in the maintenance of a rare and aggressive prostate cancer subtype through its response to Ca2+and suggest its potential as a therapeutic target.

Neuroendocrine (NE) differentiation is a well-recognized phenotypic change of prostate cancer after androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), and it ultimately develops into an aggressive subset of this disease. However, the contribution of signaling pathways that lead to metabolic disorders and NE differentiation of prostate cancer remains unclear. In this study, we identified that ADT induced upregulation of the succinate-CoA ligase GDP-forming beta subunit (SUCLG2), which regulates succinate metabolism and NE differentiation of prostate cancer. We demonstrated a connection that upregulation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) signaling induced SUCLG2 expression in prostate cancer cells. The LIFR is upregulated by nuclear EGFR, which acts as a transcriptional regulator, directly binds to the LIFRpromoter, and drives NE differentiation and glycolysis of prostate cancer. LIFR upregulation is associated with SUCLG2, which increased succinate synthesis and enzymatic activities of mitochondrial nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK) in prostate cancer cells. Knockdown of SUCLG2 suppressed NE differentiation in cultured cells and reduced prostate tumor growth in a xenograft model. Analysis of prostate tissue samples showed increased intensity of nuclear EGFR associated with the LIFR and SUCLG2 in castration-resistant prostate cancer tumors. Our study provides a mechanism whereby ADT upregulates EGFR–LIFR signaling that activates SUCLG2, which subsequently stimulates the metabolic changes associated with NE differentiation and aggressive prostate cancer phenotype.

Clostridioides difficileinfection (CDI) is a major enteric disease associated with antibiotic use and a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections worldwide. This is the first guideline for treatment of CDI in Taiwan, aiming to optimize medical care for patients with CDI. The target audience of this document includes all healthcare personnel who are involved in the medical care of patients with CDI. The 2018 Guidelines Recommendations for Evidence-based Antimicrobial agents use in Taiwan (GREAT) working group was formed, comprising of infectious disease specialists from 13 medical centers in Taiwan, to review the evidence and draft recommendations using the grading of recommendations assessment, development, and evaluation (GRADE) methodology. A nationwide expert panel reviewed the recommendations during a consensus meeting in March 2019. The recommendation is endorsed by the Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan (IDST). This guideline describes the epidemiology and risk factors of CDI, and provides recommendations for treatment of CDI in both adults and children. Recommendations for treatment of the first episode of CDI, first recurrence, second and subsequent recurrences of CDI, severe CDI, fulminant CDI, and pediatric CDI are provided.

Granulomatous reaction is not uncommon in histopathology, with various etiologies in different organs and geographic regions. Lymphoma is one of the underlying causes of granuloma; and sometimes the neoplastic cells may be masked by the granulomatous reaction. In this report, we present our experience with 7 lymphoma cases of various histologic types with coexisting granuloma to show the diagnostic challenges. In all cases, a granulomatous reaction was simultaneously present with the neoplastic cells. The 7 cases included 3 cases of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma in the lymph node or skin including one coexisting with mycobacterial infection, 2 cases of classical Hodgkin lymphoma involving the liver, and 1 case each of systemic Epstein-Barr virus–positive peripheral T-cell lymphoma and a hepatic inflammatory pseudotumor-like follicular dendritic cell sarcoma. Three cases were initially misdiagnosed as reactive change or mycobacterial infection instead of lymphoma, and a wrong histologic lymphoma type was diagnosed in 1 case. In this report, we showed that granulomatous reaction might mask lymphomas of various histologic types; and a diagnosis of mycobacterial infection or sarcoidosis could not exclude the possibility of an underlying lymphoma. We emphasized the importance of detailed histologic examination with the aid of ancillary studies to reach a correct diagnosis and to avoid inappropriate management of the patients. Our study also broadened the spectrum of lymphoma types coexisting with granuloma.

We report 4 cases of neonatal sepsis caused by Streptococcus gallolyticus. The clinical course was quite similar to early-and late-onset group B streptococcus disease. None of the mothers had group B streptococcus (GBS) colonization on prenatal screening nor received intrapartum antibiotics. We proposed the sporadic distribution of S. gallolyticussepsis among neonates was partly due to relatively low colonization rate in adults compared with GBS. Species determination of S. gallolyticusmay not be available using conventional microbiological methods and may contribute to underestimation or misclassification. In our series, we highlighted the importance of S. gallolyticusas an important pathogen in neonatal sepsis deserving further surveillance.

Recurrent and hormone-refractory prostate cancer (PCA) exhibits aggressive behaviors while current therapeutic approaches show little effect of prolonging the survival of patients with PCA. Thus, a deeper understanding of the patho-molecular mechanisms underlying the disease progression in PCA is crucial to identify novel diagnostic and/or therapeutic targets to improve the outcome of patients. Recent evidence suggests that activation of Wnt signaling in cancer stem cells (CSCs) contributes to cancer progression in malignant tumors. Here, we report that a novel Wnt co-activator ASPM (abnormal spindle-like microcephaly associated) maintains the prostate CSC subpopulation by augmenting the Wnt-ß-catenin signaling in PCA. ASPM expression is incrementally upregulated in primary and metastatic PCA, implicating its potential role in PCA progression. Consistently, downregulation of ASPM expression pronouncedly attenuated the proliferation, colony formation, and the invasive behavior of PCA cells, and dramatically reduced the number of ALDH+CSCs and inhibited cancer stemness and tumorigenicity. Mechanistically, ASPM interacts with disheveled-3 (Dvl-3), a cardinal upstream regulator of canonical Wnt signaling, and inhibits its proteasome-dependent degradation, thereby increasing its protein stability and enabling the Wnt-induced ß-catenin transcriptional activity in PCA cells. In keeping with the role of ASPM as a CSC-regulator, ASPM co-localizes with ALDH in PCA tissues and its expression exhibits high intra-tumoral heterogeneity. The proportion of high-ASPM-expressing cells in the tumor inversely correlates with the relapse-free survival of PCA patients. Collectively, our data points to ASPM as a novel oncoprotein and an essential regulator of Wnt signaling and cancer stemness in PCA, which has important clinical and therapeutic significance.

Pneumonia is a leading cause of death worldwide, ranking third both globally and in Taiwan. This guideline was prepared by the 2017 Guidelines Recommendations for Evidence-based Antimicrobial agents use in Taiwan (GREAT) working group, formed under the auspices of the Infectious Diseases Society of Taiwan (IDST). A consensus meeting was held jointly by the IDST, Taiwan Society of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (TSPCCM), the Medical Foundation in Memory of Dr. Deh-Lin Cheng, the Foundation of Professor Wei-Chuan Hsieh for Infectious Diseases Research and Education and CY Lee's Research Foundation for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Vaccines. The final guideline was endorsed by the IDST and TSPCCM. The major differences between this guideline and the 2007 version include the following: the use of GRADE methodology for the evaluation of available evidence whenever applicable, the specific inclusion of healthcare-associated pneumonia as a category due to the unique medical system in Taiwan and inclusion of recommendations for treatment of pediatric pneumonia. This guideline includes the epidemiology and recommendations of antimicrobial treatment of community-acquired pneumonia, hospital-acquired pneumonia, ventilator-associated pneumonia, healthcare-associated pneumonia in adults and pediatric pneumonia.

Leukotriene-receptor antagonists (LTRA) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are common controller medications for asthma, but limited studies examine their comparative risks on neuropsychiatric adverse events (NAEs) in patients with asthma.

We report a 7-year-old girl who got Mycoplasma pneumoniaeinfection with prolonged fever. Macrolide was used on day 14 of illness but fever persisted with progressive lung consolidation. Oral prednisolone was administered on day 33 then fever subsided with dramatically clinical improvement (decreased CRP and resolution of lung consolidation). In this case, delayed effective antibiotic treatment with inflammation may be the major factor contributing to the fever rather than ongoing infection.

High levels of serum free fatty acids (FFAs) and proteinuria have been implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity-related nephropathy. CD36, a class B scavenger receptor, is highly expressed in the renal proximal tubules and mediates FFA uptake. It is not clear whether FFA- and proteinuria-mediated CD36 activation coordinates NLRP3 inflammasomes to induce renal tubular injury and inflammation. In this study, we investigated the roles of CD36 and NLRP3 inflammasomes in FFA-induced renal injury in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity. HFD-fed C57BL/6 mice and palmitate-treated HK2 renal tubular cells were used as in vivo and in vitro models. Immunohistochemical staining showed that CD36, IL-1β, and IL-18 levels increased progressively in the kidneys of HFD-fed mice. Sulfo-N-succinimidyl oleate (SSO), a CD36 inhibitor, attenuated the HFD-induced upregulation of NLRP3, IL-1β, and IL-18 and suppressed the colocalization of NLRP3 and ASC in renal tubular cells. In vitro, SSO abolished the palmitate-induced activation of IL-1β, IL-18, and caspase-1 in HK2 proximal tubular cells. Furthermore, treatment with SSO and the knockdown of caspase-1 expression by siRNA both inhibited palmitate-induced cell death and apoptosis in HK2 cells. Collectively, palmitate causes renal tubular inflammation, cell death, and apoptosis via the CD36/NLRP3/caspase-1 axis, which may explain, at least in part, the mechanism underlying FFA-related renal tubular injury. The blockade of CD36-induced cellular processes is therefore a promising strategy for treating obesity-related nephropathy.

Primary hepatic lymphoma (PHL) is a tumor confined to the liver without involvement of the spleen, lymph nodes, or bone marrow. It is an extremely rare malignancy, accounting for only 0.0016% of non-Hodgkin lymphoma worldwide. Generally, a liver biopsy is required to make a diagnosis of PHL due to the lack of specific clinical manifestations, biochemical indicators, and image features. However, there is currently a lack of consensus on the standard treatment of PHL. Chemotherapy can be an effective treatment due to the tumor's chemosensitivity. Herein, we report a 78-year-old male with a confirmed diagnosis of primary hepatic diffuse large B-cell lymphoma via liver biopsy. We treated the patient with immunochemotherapy using Rituximab-COP combination. The tumor had a favorable response, without recurrence for over a three-year period of follow-up. Even though the reported median survival of PHL is 15 months, appropriate treatment can provide a chance for sustained remission.

•Low surface tension characteristics of supercritical carbon dioxide could be dyed nanocrystalline titanium dioxide photoelectrodes with anthocyanin.•Supercritical dyeing process produced a deeper color in the TiO2photoelectrode.•Supercritical dyeing time can be shortened to 1/10 that of the traditional dip process under total absorption equivalent.

Although traditional chemotherapy kills a fraction of tumor cells, it also activates the stroma and can promote the growth and survival of residual cancer cells to foster tumor recurrence and metastasis. Accordingly, overcoming the host response induced by chemotherapy could substantially improve therapeutic outcome and patient survival. In this study, resistance to treatment and metastasis has been attributed to expansion of stem-like tumor-initiating cells (TICs). Molecular analysis of the tumor stroma in neoadjuvant chemotherapy–treated human desmoplastic cancers and orthotopic tumor xenografts revealed that traditional maximum-tolerated dose chemotherapy, regardless of the agents used, induces persistent STAT-1 and NF-κB activity in carcinoma-associated fibroblasts. This induction results in the expression and secretion of ELR motif–positive (ELR+) chemokines, which signal through CXCR-2 on carcinoma cells to trigger their phenotypic conversion into TICs and promote their invasive behaviors, leading to paradoxical tumor aggression after therapy. In contrast, the same overall dose administered as a low-dose metronomic chemotherapy regimen largely prevented therapy-induced stromal ELR+ chemokine paracrine signaling, thus enhancing treatment response and extending survival of mice carrying desmoplastic cancers. These experiments illustrate the importance of stroma in cancer therapy and how its impact on treatment resistance could be tempered by altering the dosing schedule of systemic chemotherapy.

In this study, different parameters of 4H-SiC epitaxial growth were used to investigate the influence on surface pits density. It was found that the density of surface pits can be reduced significantly at lower C/Si ratio condition but doping uniformity became worse simultaneously. The background doping was higher than 2E15 cm-3 when C/Si ratio was lower than 1.0. Influences of growth temperature and growth rate are also discussed. The lower surface pits density 4H-SiC epilayer with good uniformity (s/mean below 2%) can be realized during optimal condition.

Biodegradation is commonly employed for remediating trichloroethene- or toluene-contaminated sites. However, remediation methods using either anaerobic or aerobic degradation are inefficient for dual pollutants. We developed an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor system with intermittent oxygen supply for the codegradation of trichloroethylene and toluene. Our results showed that oxygen inhibited anaerobic dechlorination of trichloroethene, but dechlorination rates remained comparable to that at dissolved oxygen levels of 0.2 mg/L. Intermittent oxygenation engendered reactor redox fluctuations (−146 to −475 mV) and facilitated rapid codegradation of targeting dual pollutants, with trichloroethene degradation constituting only 27.5% of the noninhibited dechlorination. Amplicon sequencing analysis revealed the predominance of Dehalogenimonas(16.0% ± 3.5%) over Dehalococcoides(0.3% ± 0.2%), with ten times higher transcriptomic activity in Dehalogenimonas. Shotgun metagenomics revealed numerous genes related to reductive dehalogenases and oxidative stress resistance in Dehalogenimonasand Dehalococcoides, as well as the enrichment of diversified facultative populations with functional genes related to trichloroethylene cometabolism and aerobic and anaerobic toluene degradation. These findings suggested that the codegradation of trichloroethylene and toluene may involve multiple biodegradation mechanisms. Overall results of this study demonstrate the effectiveness of intermittent micro-oxygenation in aiding trichloroethene-toluene degradation, suggesting the potential for the bioremediation of sites with similar organic pollutants.

Background:Translational studies showed positive results of stem cell therapy against myocardial infarction (MI)-induced cardiac dysfunction. Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) is a key immune receptor, which modulates immune system and maintain the stability of coronary plaques. Akt is one of the signaling that exert its cardioprotective effect through regulating PD-L1. In the present study, we overexpressed PD-L1 and Akt in adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AdMSC) and determined the protection against MI.Methods and Results:Adult Wistar rats were randomly separated into four groups: sham, MI, treatment of AdMSC or AdMSC overexpressed with PD-L1 and Akt (AdMSC-PDL1-Akt) immediately after MI. MI was induced by LAD ligation and ADMSC were injected into the heart around the area at risk. After 4 weeks, rats were examined by echocardiography, pressure-volume analysis, infarct size measurement, and immunohistochemistry to evaluate the efficacy of the ADMSCs on myocardium. Results demonstrated AdMSC-PDL1-Akt was more resistant to ROS in vitro, and could restore MI-induced contractile dysfunction in vivoby increasing ESPVR (P=0.048) and PRSW (P=0.015). AdMSC-PDL1-Akt could also protect hearts from MI-increased infarct size (P=0.002). Immunohistochemistry staining with caspase 3 and NFκB were upregulated in MI hearts and significantly reversed in AdMSC-PDL1-Akt group (P<0.001 and P=0.036). To clarify mechanisms underlying the effect of AdMSC-PDL1-Akt, we found it could induce normal T cells into CD25+regulatory T cells in vitro, which is in parallel with the data shown in our in vivoimmunohistochemistry study that CD25 was upregulated in AdMSC-PDL1-Akt tissues (P=0.03).Conclusions:Overexpression of PD-L1 and Akt in AdMSC could increase its resistance to ROS-related apoptosis in vitroand enhance the protective effects against MI-induced cardiac dysfunction through modulation of T cells in vivo.Keywords:AdMSC; PD-L1; myocardial infarction; regulatory T cells

Highly electronegative low-density lipoprotein (LDL) L5 induces endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis, which leads to the development of atherosclerosis. We examined the effects of sesamol (1), a natural organic component of sesame oil, on plasma L5 levels and atherosclerosis development in a rodent model and on the L5-induced apoptosis of ECs. Syrian hamsters, which have an LDL profile similar to that of humans, were fed a normal chow diet (control), a high-fat diet (HFD), or a HFD supplemented with the administration of 50 or 100 mg/kg of 1via oral gavage (HFD+1) for 16 weeks (n = 8 per group). Hamsters in the HFD+1groups had reduced plasma L5 levels when compared with the HFD group. Oil Red O staining showed that atherosclerotic lesion size was markedly reduced in the aortic arch of hamsters in the HFD+1groups when compared with that in the HFD group. In human aortic ECs, 0.3–3 μM 1blocked L5-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Further mechanistic studies showed that 1inhibited the L5-induced lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1)−dependent phosphorylation of p38 MAPK and activation of caspase-3 and increased phosphorylation of eNOS and Akt. Our findings suggest that sesamol (1) protects against atherosclerosis by reducing L5-induced atherogenicity.