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Recently, transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have been widely explored for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) due to their advantaged activity. Nevertheless, the OER performance of TMPs in an alkaline medium is still unsatisfactory. Therefore, interfacial engineering of TMPs to enhance the OER performance is highly desirable. Herein, a Co(OH)2nanosheet coupled with a CoP sphere supported on nickel foam (NF) is developed by a simple two-step electrodeposition. The large surface area derived from stacked nanosheets and the electronic regulation induced by heterostructure can significantly enhance charge/mass transfer and expose more active sites, thus accelerating the kinetics of the reaction. In addition, the strong electronic interaction between CoP and Co(OH)2is conducive to the generation of a high valence cobalt center; thus, the electrocatalytic performances toward HER and OER are remarkably improved. Impressively, the optimized CoP/Co(OH)2@NF heterostructure obtains an excellent HER and OER performance with low overpotentials of 76 and 266 mV at 10 mA cm–2, respectively, superior to the commercial Pt/C and RuO2. Moreover, the optimized CoP/Co(OH)2@NF can afford the lowest cell voltage of 1.58 V to achieve 10 mA cm–2for alkaline overall water splitting and shows outstanding long-term stability.

Simultaneously predicting the future trajectories of heterogeneous multiple agents in a neighborhood is crucial for ensuring the safe and efficient operations of autonomous vehicles in intelligent transportation systems. The unsignalized roundabout is a typical traffic scenario wherein the multivariate and complex information interactions make the prediction task challenging. To address the aforementioned challenges, a macro-micro-hierarchical spatio-temporal attention (MMH-STA) architecture, which can effectively extract the temporal and spatial features of multiple agents based on the interaction mechanism, is presented in this article. This work makes three contributions: 1) A novel hierarchical framework, which considers the heterogeneity of different types of agents, is proposed for trajectory prediction in the roundabout environment. Similarly, the macro-state for interaction with the roundabout structure and the micro-state for interaction with other agents are introduced for an agent. 2) A heterogeneous graph is devised to represent the spatial interactions of a multi-agent, which is reflected in connections between different types of agents and the properties of nodes and edges in the graph. 3) A novel heterogeneous graph attention network with a multi-order neighborhood is designed to describe the spatial feature interactions in the neighborhood. Finally, a characterized decoder forecasts the future trajectories of multiple agents concomitantly. The experimental results reveal that the proposed model can effectively implement multi-agent trajectory prediction in roundabout scenarios with high accuracy and state-of-the-art performance compared to the baseline.

China is planning to launch a relay satellite in the coming years with a payload for the Earth–Moon very-long-baseline interferometer observation research and scientific applications, known as the lunar orbit very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) experiment (LOVEX) system. This system will perform the LOVEXs for in the world, and will improve the accuracy of planetary spacecraft orbit determination and the scientific observation capabilities of astrophysics and astrometry. Prior to launch, key technologies of the system must be verified, so we have established a LOVEX ground validation system with similar performance to the LOVEX system. The LOVEX ground validation system consists of a 4.5-m ring-focus antenna, $X$ -band receiver, frequency converter and digital backend, hydrogen maser, and monitoring and control software. Using this system, we have successfully conducted VLBI differential observation experiments with the Shanghai 65 m radio telescope and Beijing 50 m radio telescope. The experimental results show that, after calibration with NRAO150, the standard deviations (STDs) of delay error of Tianwen-1 are within 0.5 ns, consistent with the theoretical timing accuracy, verifying the feasibility of the LOVEX time-delay calibration.

Objectives: Post-ESD esophageal stricture especially after wholly circumferential ESD remains an unresolved issue without ideal strategies. Our initiative novel self-control stricture-preventing water balloon may be an alternative. Methods: Patients with esophageal neoplastic lesions expected to result in a whole circular mucosa defect after esophageal ESD from February 2018 to August 2020 were included in the study. We used a novel self-control stricture-preventing water balloon combined with oral prednisolone as preventive strategy for the enrolled patients. Results: Thirty-seven patients (9 females and 28 males, patients aged 52 to 82 years) finished the 12-week treatment including steroid treatment and balloon placement. The median size of longitudinal diameter was 7 cm (range from 4 to 14 cm). All the lesions achieved curative resection and the median procedure time was 110 min (range 50 to 180 min). Balloons were found migration in 4 patients. As a result, there were 3 patients (8.1%) experienced stricture. Generally, patients could tolerate to balloons, only with mild uncomfortableness, such as occasional sore throat, cough, and retrosternal pain. In addition, during the follow-up period, no significant adverse events associated to oral steroid administration were observed and no recurrence was found. Conclusions: Our novel self-control stricture-preventing water balloon based on the oral steroid therapy is effective and safe. This strategy well prevents esophageal stricture after complete circumferential ESD.

Prosodic boundaries are still crucial to the naturalness of end-to-end speech synthesis systems. This article proposes to use adversarial multi-task learning to predict prosodic boundaries. Adversarial multi-task learning is utilized to transfer knowledge from an auxiliary POS tagging task to a prosodic boundary prediction task. Furthermore, multi-modal embeddings are composed of contextual word and speech embedding features obtained from the pre-trained bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) model and Speech2Vec. We can utilize linguistic and acoustic information from large amounts of external text and speech data without prosodic boundary labels. At the inference stage, the prosodic boundary predicting model can use the syntactic features learnt from the POS tagging task without any extra computation cost due to only employing the prosodic boundary predicting task to decode. We conducted experiments on Mandarin datasets. The results show that the models using multi-modal embeddings from the pre-trained BERT and Speech2Vec outperform the models trained with single modal embedding. Furthermore, the models trained with adversarial training obtain further performance gains by up to 2.95% in $F_{1}$ score.

ABSTRACTTTR (transthyretin) strikes a neuroprotective function in the prevention of amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition in Alzheimer disease (AD). Perturbation of the stringently controlled TARDBP/TDP-43 (TAR DNA binding protein) expression gives rise to cytoplasmic aggregation, characterized by TARDBP proteinopathy affiliated with several neurological disorders, including frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TARDBP pathology (FTLD-TDP) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/ALS. Proposedly, TTR can maintain cellular proteostasis susceptible to TARDBP aggregates and initiate its removal. Herein, we disclose that TTR upregulated in response to excessive TARDBP causes TARDBP aggregation in FTLD-TDP and co-accumulates with it. Moreover, TTR expression increases with age in FTLD-TDP but shows a downward decline in the elderly. TTR promotes macroautophagy/autophagy activity and facilitates aggregated TARDBP degradation via autophagy. Compellingly, TTR binds to ATF4 and boosts its nuclear import for autophagy upregulation. Therefore, TTR directs autophagy teamwork in bi-directional regulation through enhancing autophagy activity via ATF4 and chaperoning aggregated TARDBP to phagophores for degradation.Abbreviations:Aβ: amyloid-β; AD: Alzheimer disease; ER: endoplasmic reticulum; FTLD-TDP: frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TARDBP pathology; TARDBP/TDP-43: TAR DNA binding protein; TTR: transthyretin; UPR: unfolded protein response

The main objective of the study was to evaluate the bioequivalence of two rosuvastatin calcium tablets in healthy Chinese subjects under fasted and fed conditions. The study was carried out using a randomized, open‐label, two‐formulation, two‐sequence, two‐period, single‐dose crossover design, with a washout period of 7 days. Both the fasted study and fed study enrolled 28 subjects. In each study period, the subjects were administrated a single oral dose of the test product or reference product of rosuvastatin 10 mg. Blood samples were collected from pre‐dose to 72 hours after administration with 16 time points in total. Bioequivalence evaluation was performed using ln‐transformed pharmacokinetic parameters of rosuvastatin, including Cmax, AUC0–t, and AUC0–∞. In the present study, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of test/reference geometric mean ratios (GMRs) of Cmax, AUC0–t, and AUC0–∞under the fasted and fed conditions were all within the acceptance range of 80%–125%. Additionally, only one subject experienced one adverse event (AE). High‐fat meals reduced the Cmax, AUC0–t, and AUC0–∞, but had no significant effects on the λz, t1/2, or Tmaxof rosuvastatin. In the current study, the test product was bioequivalent to the reference product, and a single dose of rosuvastatin (10 mg) was well‐tolerated. Food decreased the systemic exposure of rosuvastatin without the effects on the Tmaxor elimination rate.

Haemaphysalis longicornisNeumann, a vector of various pathogens with medical and veterinary importance, is a recent invasive species in the United States. Like many tick species, discerning H. longicornisfrom congeners can be a challenge. To overcome the difficulty of morphological identification, a Taqman quantitative real-time PCR based on the internal transcribed spacer gene (ITS2) was developed for quick and accurate identification of H. longicorniswith a detection limit of as low as 19.8 copies. We also applied the assay to 76,004 archived ticks and found 37 ticks were H. longicornis. One H. longicorniswas submitted from Warren, Somerset County, New Jersey in June 2015, 2 yr earlier than the initial report from the United States. None of these 37 H. longicorniswas positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, B. miyamotoi, B. mayonii, Babesia microti, or Ehrlichia muris–like agent.

Objective: Patients with positive surgical margins (PSMs) after radical prostatectomy for localized prostate cancer have a higher risk of biochemical failure (BCF). We investigated the risk factors of BCF in patients with PSMs after robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP).Methods: We evaluated 462 patients who underwent RARP in a single medical center from 2006 through 2013. Of them, 61 with PSMs did not receive any treatment before BCF. Kaplan-Meier curve and Cox regression analysis were used to compare patients with (n = 19) and without (n = 41) BCF.Results: Overall, 13.2% of patients had PSMs, and of those, 31.7% experienced BCF during follow-up. The mean follow-up duration was 43.7 months (42.4 [non-BCF] vs 46.35 (BCF], p= 0.51). In univariant analyses, the platelet to lymphocyte ratio (6.26 [non-BCF] vs 8.02 [BCF], p= 0.04) differed statistically. When patients were grouped by pathologic grade ≦2 or ≧3 (p= 0.004), the BCF-free survival rates differed significantly. Seminal vesicle invasion also differed significantly (5 [non-BCF] vs 7 [BCF], p= 0.005). Patients with undetectable nadir prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after RARP (BCF rate 4/34) differed statistically from those with detectable PSA after RARP (BCF rate 15/26) (p< 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, the platelet/lymphocyte (P/L) ratio, pathologic grade, and undetectable nadir PSA remained statistically significant.Conclusions: In patients who undergo RARP and have PSMs, P/L ratio >9 preoperatively, pathologic grade ⩾3, and detectable nadir PSA after RARP should be considered adverse features. Early intervention such as salvage radiation therapy or androgen deprivation therapy should be offered to these patients.

BackgroundChronic kidney disease (CKD) is known to increase the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) development, but the relationship between AF and subsequent renal function decline in patients with CKD is not well understood. In this study, we explored the role of AF on renal outcomes among patients with CKD.MethodsIn a retrospective hospital-based cohort study, we identified patients with CKD aged ≥20 years from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2018. The patients were divided into AF and non-AF groups. We matched each patient with CKD and AF to two non-AF CKD controls according to propensity scores. The outcomes of interest included estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline of ≥20%, ≥30%, ≥40% and ≥50%, and end-stage renal disease (ESRD).ResultsAfter propensity score matching, 6731 patients with AF and 13 462 matched controls were included in the analyses. Compared with the non-AF group, the AF group exhibited greater risks of eGFR decline ≥20% (HR 1.43; 95% CI 1.33 to 1.53), ≥30% (HR 1.50; 95% CI 1.36 to 1.66), ≥40% (HR 1.62; 95% CI 1.41 to 1.85) and ≥50% (HR 1.82; 95% CI 1.50 to 2.20), and ESRD (HR 1.22; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.34). Higher CHA2DS2-VASc scores were associated with greater risks of eGFR decline and ESRD.ConclusionsIn patients with CKD, AF was associated with greater risks of subsequent renal function decline. CHA2DS2-VASc scores may be a useful risk stratification scheme for predicting the risk of renal function decline.

This study aims to develop a mobile time-banking system on blockchain (MTBB), which can track service transaction records for community elderly care via mutual service exchange. The MTBB was developed to enable organizations, either corporate-social-responsibility organizations or nonprofit organizations to issue proprietary time tokens to members who participate in the organizations’ volunteer activities. Database applications with smartphone apps integrated with MultiChain blockchain technology were developed. Metadata with the service transaction information are stored in the MultiChain blocks so that the transaction records are immutable and can be analyzed in the future. Cahn’s time-banking guidelines were applied in developing this MTBB with MultiChain blockchain technology integrated for tracking service transaction records. The study also combines one-to-one mutual service exchange with organizations which offer volunteer activities and issue proprietary time tokens. With the blockchain transaction tracking mechanism, all elderly care service records via or within organizations can be tracked and analyzed to show their alignment with some of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

Objectives: Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD)-based artificial intelligence (AI) has been shown to be highly accurate for detecting and characterizing colon polyps. However, the application of AI to identify normal colon landmarks and differentiate multiple colon diseases has not yet been established. We aimed to develop a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based algorithm (GUTAID) to recognize different colon lesions and anatomical landmarks. Methods: Colonoscopic images were obtained to train and validate the AI classifiers. An independent dataset was collected for verification. The architecture of GUTAID contains two major sub-models: the Normal, Polyp, Diverticulum, Cecum and CAncer (NPDCCA) and Narrow-Band Imaging for Adenomatous/Hyperplastic polyps (NBI-AH) models. The development of GUTAID was based on the 16-layer Visual Geometry Group (VGG16) architecture and implemented on Google Cloud Platform. Results: In total, 7838 colonoscopy images were used for developing and validating the AI model. An additional 1273 images were independently applied to verify the GUTAID. The accuracy for GUTAID in detecting various colon lesions/landmarks is 93.3% for polyps, 93.9% for diverticula, 91.7% for cecum, 97.5% for cancer, and 83.5% for adenomatous/hyperplastic polyps. Conclusions: A CNN-based algorithm (GUTAID) to identify colonic abnormalities and landmarks was successfully established with high accuracy. This GUTAID system can further characterize polyps for optical diagnosis. We demonstrated that AI classification methodology is feasible to identify multiple and different colon diseases.

Active engine mounts (AEMs) are key elements for improving automotive noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) performance. An accurate AEM model is crucial for its active control. This work focuses on the establishment and verification of a linear model for AEM with an oscillating coil actuator (OCA). Experiments and simulations of an actuator with an attached decoupling membrane and a conventional hydraulic engine mount (HEM) are employed to verify the fundamental linear models for an OCA and HEM. An integrated linear model for an AEM with an OCA is established and verified by experimental analysis of active characteristics. Based on the AEM linear model, three control algorithms, i.e., PID, Fuzzy PID and FxLMS, are established to implement an active isolation performance simulation. The FxLMS is superior to the other two algorithms for an AEM considering the active performance for rotary machine.

As tick vector ranges expand and the number of tickborne disease cases rise, physicians, veterinarians, and the public are faced with diagnostic, treatment, and prevention challenges. Traditional methods of active surveillance (e.g., flagging) can be time-consuming, spatially limited, and costly, while passive surveillance can broadly monitor tick distributions and infection rates. However, laboratory testing can require service fees in addition to mailing and processing time, which can put a tick-bite victim outside the window of potential prophylactic options or under unnecessary antibiotic administration. We performed a retrospective analysis of a national photograph-based crowdsourced tick surveillance system to determine the accuracy of identifying ticks by photograph when compared to those same ticks identified by microscopy and molecular methods at a tick testing laboratory. Ticks identified by photograph were correct to species with an overall accuracy of 96.7% (CI: 0.9522, 0.9781; P< 0.001), while identification accuracy for Ixodes scapularisSay (Ixodida: Ixodidae), Amblyomma americanumLinnaeus (Ixodida: Ixodidae), and Dermacentor variabilisSay (Ixodida: Ixodidae), three ticks of medical importance, was 98.2% (Cohen’s kappa [κ] = 0.9575; 95% CI: 0.9698, 0.9897), 98.8% (κ = 0.9466, 95% CI: 0.9776, 0.9941), and 98.8% (κ = 0.9515, 95% CI: 0.9776, 0.9941), respectively. Fitted generalized linear models revealed that tick species and stage were the most significant predictive factors that contributed to correct photograph-based tick identifications. Neither engorgement, season, nor location of submission affected identification ability. These results provide strong support for the utility of photograph-based tick surveillance as a tool for risk assessment and monitoring among commonly encountered ticks of medical concern.

Patients with penile schwannoma are rare and usually with variant presentations. No evidence-based clinical guideline exists for diagnosis or treatment. To put schwannoma into differential diagnoses of benign soft tissue lesions in the penis is important.

Biomolecules that respond to different external stimuli enable the remote control of genetically modified cells. We report herein a sonogenetic approach that can manipulate target cell activities by focused ultrasound stimulation. This system requires an ultrasound-responsive protein derived from an engineered auditory-sensing protein prestin. Heterologous expression of mouse prestin containing two parallel amino acid substitutions, N7T and N308S, that frequently exist in prestins from echolocating species endowed transfected mammalian cells with the ability to sense ultrasound. An ultrasound pulse of low frequency and low pressure efficiently evoked cellular calcium responses after transfecting with prestin(N7T, N308S). Moreover, pulsed ultrasound can also noninvasively stimulate target neurons expressing prestin(N7T, N308S) in deep regions of mouse brains. Our study delineates how an engineered auditory-sensing protein can cause mammalian cells to sense ultrasound stimulation. Moreover, our sonogenetic tools will serve as new strategies for noninvasive therapy in deep tissues.

Active Control Mounts (ACMs) are an effective solution to improve the comfort of passenger cars. This paper aims to apply neural networks to ACMs and explores the general process of neural network ACMs. A three-layer BP Neural Network Model (NNM) is established with an Oscillating Coil Actuator (OCA) as the controlled object. The actuator output force is collected as training samples when it is excited under different types of input current signals. Learning is performed, and the result shows the identified NNM based on random signals has good accuracy. Based on this well-identified NNM, two control methods - neural network direct self-tuning control and NNM reference control are discussed. The simulation results for typical low, medium and high frequencies show both control methods achieve good vibration isolation effects. This research shows the strong adaptability of neural networks, which lays a good foundation for subsequent control system development.

To investigate how estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline following sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) initiation predicts long-term cardiorenal outcomes.

The construction of well-designed heterostructures and phase engineering have been verified to be a promising strategy to improve electrochemical performance of supercapacitors. However, it is still a challenge to construct well-defined amorphous/crystalline hetero-phase electrode with plentiful heterointerfaces. Herein, a high-performance self-supported NiCo2O4@NiCo2S4electrode with crystalline NiCo2O4and amorphous NiCo2S4heterostructure is synthesized by electrodeposition-anneal-electrodeposition procedure. The interconnected nanosheet structure and rich heterointerfaces effectively promote the exposure of surface area and accelerate the electron/ion transfer kinetics of redox reaction as well as restrain the volume expansion and structural collapse, thus greatly enhancing the electrochemical performance and stability. Impressively, the advanced NiCo2O4@NiCo2S4electrode delivers a prominent specific capacitance of 2243.0 F g−1at 1 A g−1along with outstanding cyclic stability with a capacity retention of 83.29 % at 10 A g−1after 5000 cycles. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) assembled by NiCo2O4@NiCo2S4cathode and active carbon anode displays a maximum energy density of 66.7 Wh kg−1at 625.3 W kg−1and favorable cycling stability (77.23 % after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g−1).

Fe and nitrogen co-doped carbon (Fe-N-C) catalysts have emerged as attractive materials to substitute Pt-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in Zn-air batteries (ZABs). However, the Fe-N-C catalysts with monotypic active component usually endow suboptimal catalytic performance and stability under both acid and alkaline medium. Herein, a nano ZnO template and two-step pyrolysis co-assisted strategy is proposed to achieve the coupling of Fe-Nx sites and metallic Fe nanoparticles in hierarchically porous N-doped carbon for ORR. The nano ZnO template contributes to the formation of meso/macropores structure, while the secondary pyrolysis is beneficial to the creation of more micropores. Besides the advanced hierarchical porosity, the combination of dispersed Fe-Nx sites and dominated metallic Fe nanoparticles is also conducive to boost ORR activity in both acid and alkaline solution. Impressively, the prepared Fe@FeHPNC-P2 electrocatalyst exhibits an excellent half-wave potentials (E1/2) of 0.88 V and 0.79 V in alkaline and acidic electrolyte, respectively. Meanwhile, the assembled liquid Zn-air battery using Fe@FeHPNC-P2 delivers a peak power density of 149.3 mW cm−2and a maximum energy density of 957.1 Wh kgZn−1along with long-term stability for 1000 cycles.

The resonance energy and the transition rate of atoms, molecules, and solids were understood as their intrinsic properties in classical electromagnetism. It was later realized that these quantities are linked to the radiative coupling between the transition dipole and photon modes. Such effects can be greatly amplified in macroscopic many-body systems from virtual photon exchange between dipoles, but are often masked by inhomogeneity and pure dephasing, especially in solids. Here, we observe in both absorption and emission spectroscopy the renormalization of the exciton resonance and the radiative decay rate in transition metal dichalcogenides monolayers due to their radiative interactions. Tuning the photon mode density near the monolayer, we demonstrate control of cooperative Lamb shift, radiative decay, and valley polarization of the excitons as well as control of the charged exciton emission. Our work establishes a technologically accessible and robust experimental system for engineering cooperative matter–light interactions.

Graphene is a two-dimensional (2D) structure that creates a linear relationship between energy and momentum that not only forms massless Dirac fermions with extremely high group velocity but also exhibits a broadband transmission from 300 to 2500 nm that can be applied to many optoelectronic applications, such as solar cells, light-emitting devices, touchscreens, ultrafast photodetectors, and lasers. Although the plasmonic resonance of graphene occurs in the terahertz band, graphene can be combined with a noble metal to provide a versatile platform for supporting surface plasmon waves. In this study, we propose a hybrid graphene–insulator–metal (GIM) structure that can modulate the surface plasmon polariton (SPP) dispersion characteristics and thus influence the performance of plasmonic nanolasers. Compared with values obtained when graphene is not used on an Al template, the propagation length of SPP waves can be increased 2-fold, and the threshold of nanolasers is reduced by 50% when graphene is incorporated on the template. The GIM structure can be further applied in the future to realize electrical control or electrical injection of plasmonic devices through graphene.

AbstractConsumer recovery processes refer to social Connectedness, Hope, Identity, Meaning in life, and Empowerment (“CHIME”). This study examined if expectations of change in depression could mediate the relationship between CHIME recovery processes and depression severity. Participants were patients who consulted clinical psychologists at primary care clinics. Measures of depression change expectancy, CHIME recovery processes, and depression symptoms were administered. Change expectancy partially mediated the relationship between Hope and depression severity. The same was found for Identity, but Identity also mediated the relationship between change expectancy and depression. Thus, Hope may reduce depression by improving change expectancies, whereas Identity and change expectancy may have reciprocal influences that alter depression. Findings suggest that the CHIME recovery processes may facilitate recovery from depression.

Alternative polyadenylation (APA) has emerged as a prevalent feature associated with cancer development and progression. The advantage of APA to tumor progression is to induce oncogenes through 3′-UTR shortening, and to inactivate tumor suppressor genes via the re-routing of microRNA competition. We previously identified the Mammalian Cleavage Factor I-25 (CFIm25) (encoded by Nudt21gene)as a master APA regulator whose expression levels directly impact the tumorigenicity of glioblastoma (GBM) in vitro and in vivo. Despite its importance, the role of Nudt21in GBM development is not known and the genes subject to Nudt21APA regulation that contribute to GBM progression have not been identified. Here, we find that Nudt21is reduced in low grade glioma (LGG) and all four subtypes of high grade glioma (GBM). Reduced expression of Nudt21associates with worse survival in TCGA LGG cohorts and two TCGA GBM cohorts. Moreover, although CFIm25 was initially identified as biochemically associated with both CFIm59 and CFIm68, we observed three CFIm distinct subcomplexes exist and CFIm59 protein level is dependent on Nudt21expression in GBM cells, but CFIm68 is not, and that only CFIm59predicts prognosis of GBM patients similar to Nudt21. Through the use of Poly(A)-Click-Seq to characterize APA, we define the mRNAs subject to 3′-UTR shortening upon Nudt21depletion in GBM cells and observed enrichment in genes important in the Rassignaling pathway, including Pak1. Remarkably, we find that Pak1expression is regulated by Nudt21through its 3′-UTR APA, and the combination of Pak1and Nudt21expression generates an even stronger prognostic indicator of GBM survival versus either value used alone. Collectively, our data uncover Nudt21and its downstream target Pak1as a potential “combination biomarker” for predicting prognosis of GBM patients.

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) has been widely accepted as the treatment for early-stage esophageal epithelial neoplasms. However, stricture is a common complication after large-circumference ESD. This retrospective study is conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of intralesional steroid injection plus oral steroid administration in preventing esophageal stricture. 70 patients with a mucosal defect extending over more than two-thirds of the circumference after esophageal ESD for epithelial neoplasms were enrolled in this study. Those who received intralesional triamcinolone injection combined with oral prednisolone administration were assigned to the treatment group, while those who were treated without any prophylaxis of esophageal stricture were assigned to the control group. The primary observation result was the frequency of stricture. The secondary observation results were the number of endoscopic balloon dilation (EBD) sessions and rate of complications. Compared with the control group, the frequency of stricture (14.7% 5/34 patients vs. 51.5% 19/36 patients) and number of EBD sessions (mean 0.2 vs. 3.3) were significantly lower in the treatment group. One patient suffered from perforation in the treatment group and recovered with conservative treatment. None steroid-related complications were found during a long-term follow-up. Intralesional steroid injection plus oral steroid administration is safe and effective in preventing stricture following esophageal ESD for esophageal epithelial neoplasms with a mucosal defect extending no less than two-thirds of the circumference in a long-term follow-up.

Accurate crankshaft torsional stiffness is important to build the lumped parameter model (LPM) for crankshaft torsional vibration analysis. For the crankshaft system of a four-cylinder in-line gasoline engine, a procedure to build the finite element model (FEM) is presented. And the applicability of two ways to set the equivalent mass or equivalent moment of inertia for piston-rod in FEM is declared. When building a lumped parameter model, the concept of rigid-rotation of the crank pin central section around the central line of the crankshaft is proposed, and a method to obtain the torsional angle of the central section is declared. What is more, three post-processing methods are presented to obtain the torsional stiffness coefficients. According to three load cases of no-load, half load and full load, the tests are carried out. The simulation results of FEM and LPM, and the test results have good agreement with each other.

ABSTRACTTranscription factor 3 (TCF3) is a member of the basic Helix – Loop – Helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF) family and is encoded by the TCF3 gene (also known as E2A). It has been shown that TCF3 functions as a key transcription factor in the pathogenesis of several human cancers and plays an important role in stem cell maintenance and carcinogenesis. However, the effect of TCF3 in the progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is poorly known. In our study, TCF3 was found to express highly and correlated with cancer stage and prognosis. TCF3 was shown to promote ESCC invasion, migration, and drug resistance both from the results of in vivo and in vitro assays. Moreover, further studies suggested that TCF3 played these roles through transcriptionally regulating Inhibitor of DNA binding 1(ID1). Notably, we also found that TCF3 or ID1 was associated with ESCC stemness. Furthermore, TCF3 was correlated with the expression of cancer stemness markers CD44 and CD133. Therefore, maintaining cancer stemness might be the underlying mechanism that TCF3 transcriptionally regulated ID1 and further promoted ESCC progression and drug resistance.

The low conductivity of cobalt-based oxides greatly limits its application in supercapacitors (SCs). Recently, construction of heterogeneous structural materials has emerged as an effective way to solve this problem. Herein, nickel‑cobalt oxide @ nickel‑cobalt layered double hydroxides (NiCoOX@NiCo LDH) heterostructure is synthesized by an electrodeposition-annealing-electrodeposition step, in which the inner nickel‑cobalt oxide (NiCoOX) layer is firstly deposited on the carbon cloth with a subsequent annealing process, and the outer nickel‑cobalt layered double hydroxides (NiCo LDH) layer is electrodeposited on the prepared NiCoOXlayer. Benefiting from the multi-channel structure and extensive specific surface area produced by the heterogeneous structure material, as same as its synergistic effect, at 1 A g−1, NiCoOX@NiCo LDH exhibits an extremely advanced specific capacitance (2451 F g−1). It is much better than pure NiCoOXand pure NiCo LDH. Meanwhile, its specific capacitance retention rate still keeps 62.8 % even at 20 A g−1, indicating its excellent rate property. Furthermore, the assembled all-solid-state asymmetric SCs with NiCoOX@NiCo LDH//Active carbon (AC) exhibits a high energy density of 34.9 Wh kg−1when the power density is 800 W kg−1. Meanwhile, it has a high capacitance retention of 81.79 % (10 A g−1) after 10,000 cycles, which indicates a remarkable cycle life.

This study presents a low-power energy-harvesting circuit with error-correction demodulation for body sensor networks with radio-frequency identification (RFID) systems. The proposed circuit adopts a new structure that facilitates the demodulation of amplitude-shift-keying (ASK) signals, and it includes a power unit consisting of a wake-up circuit and a power-on-reset control circuit. The wireless bio-signal acquisition system and the digital processor are implemented on a field-programmable gate array to demonstrate the proposed RFID tag. The proposed energy-harvesting circuit can substantially decrease the capacitance used by the demodulator circuit and the wake-up circuit to as low as 14 pF. Moreover, a detection circuit and a correcting circuit are utilised to reduce the bit error rate of decoding. The wireless bio-signal acquisition scenario is also set up and the communication signal between reader and tag is measured to demonstrate the system that can be employed in body sensor network with the healthcare system. The chip was implemented in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor 0.18 µm technology. The sensitivity of this work is?-?13 dBm. The pulse width error can be reduced to <1% by the error-correction demodulator to fit the EPC Gen-2 standard.

The authors demonstrated the performance of Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLEDs) with hexylphosphonic acid (PA) or UV-ozone treatment on their molybdenum trioxide (MoO3) anode buffer layers. The OLEDs with a PA treated (5 mM @1 h) MoO3 layer have lower turn-on voltage and low current efficiency roll-off under high operating current. The hole-only device (ITO/MoO3 with PA or UV-ozone treatment/NPB/Al) was fabricated to calculate the active energy via temperature dependent I-V measurement. When the devices were operated at high temperatures, the activation energy of the UV-ozone treated, and untreated hole-only devices became nonlinear. However, the activation energy of the PA treated devices had a more stable performance at high temperatures. The interfacial resistance of the untreated hole-only devices and the PA and UV-ozone treated devices were calculated by Admittance Spectroscopy (AS) to be 204.5, 363, and 450 O. These results indicated that the PA treated devices reduced the activation energy, surface energy mismatch, and interface resistance to enhance the efficiency of carrier injection, which in turn lowers the turn on voltage. Moreover, PA treatment produces a long carbon chain and smooths the morphology of MoO3 to prevent roll-off phenomenon of OLEDs under high operating current.

In the present work, the effects of sintering temperature are investigated for the lead-free (Na0.52K0.4425)(Nb0.8925Sb0.07)O3-0.0375LiTaO3 ceramics. The phase structure transformations are identified via the XRD patterns and Rietveld refinement method. In addition, the electric properties are investigated through the empirical law, the Curie-Weiss law and the ferroelectric hysteresis loops. The best piezoelectric properties (Pr = 41.96 uC/cm2, Ec = 7.77 kV/cm, d33 = 310 pC/N and kP = 48%) were obtained at the sintering temperature of 1130degC. The response mechanisms suggest that a more polymorphic phase boundary, a more uniform grain, a higher density and fewer cation-oxygen vacancies can improve the electric properties.

Endoscopic full-thickness resection (EFTR) is a minimally invasive method for en bloc resection of gastrointestinal (GI) lesions originating from the muscularis propria layer. Successful closure of the wall defect is a critical step. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of a novel and simplified endoscopic grasp-and-loop (GAL) closure method using an endo-loop assisted with grasping forceps for defect closure. From January 2015 to March 2016, 13 patients with submucosal tumors (SMTs) originating from the muscularis propria (MP) layer underwent EFTR and were enrolled in this study. After successful tumor resection, an endo-loop was anchored onto the circumferential margin of the gastric defect with grasping forceps assistance and tightened gently. Patient characteristics, tumor size, en bloc resection, and postoperative complications were evaluated. Of the 13 lesions in the stomach, two were located in the greater curvature of the mid-upper body, 11 were located in the fundus. The endoscopic GAL closure method was successfully performed after EFTR in all the 13 patients without laparoscopic assistance. The mean procedure time was 43.5 min (range 20–80 min), while the GAL closure procedure took a mean of 9.4 min (range 3–18 min). The mean resected lesion size was 1.5 cm (range 0.5–3.5 cm). Pathological diagnoses of these lesions were 11 gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and two leiomyomas. No major adverse events occurred during or after the procedure. All the patients were discharged after a mean time of 2.4 days (range 1–4 days). No residual lesion or tumor recurrence was found during the follow-up period (median, 5 months; range, 1–15 months). The endoscopic GAL closure method is feasible, effective, and safe for closing the gastric defect after EFTR in patients.

Catalytically promiscuous enzymes are an attractive frontier for biochemistry, because enzyme promiscuities not only plausibly explain enzyme evolution through the mechanism of gene duplication but also could provide an efficient route to changing the catalytic function of proteins by mimicking this evolutionary process. PP1γ is an effectively promiscuous phosphatase for the hydrolysis of both monoanionic and dianionic phosphate ester-based substrates. In addition to its native phosphate monoester substrate, PP1γ catalyzes the hydrolysis of aryl methylphosphonates, fluorophosphate esters, phosphorothioate esters, and phosphodiesters, with second-order rate accelerations that fall within the narrow range of 1011–1013. In contrast to the different transition states in the uncatalyzed hydrolysis reactions of these substrates, PP1γ catalyzes their hydrolysis through similar transition states. PP1γ does not catalyze the hydrolysis of a sulfate ester, which is unexpected. The PP1γ active site is tolerant of variations in the geometry of bound ligands, which permit the effective catalysis even of substrates whose steric requirements may result in perturbations to the positioning of the transferring group, both in the initial enzyme–substrate complex and in the transition state. The conservative mutation of arginine 221 to lysine results in a mutant that is a more effective catalyst toward monoanionic substrates. The surprising conversion of substrate preference lends support to the notion that mutations following gene duplication can result in an altered enzyme with different catalytic capabilities and preferences and may provide a pathway for the evolution of new enzymes.

In this study, CuF2 and LiNbO3 modified lead-free (Na, K)NbO3 (NKN)-based ceramics (NKNCF and NKLN) were synthesized using solid-state reaction methods. The influence of doping materials on the electrical properties and stability of the synthesized ceramics was then investigated. The ceramics synthesized with CuF2 and LiNbO3 dopants were of higher density than pure NKN ceramics and far more stable under the effects of temperature and humidity. NKNCF ceramics sintered at 1000degC exhibited excellent "hard" piezoelectric properties (kp = 35%, kt = 45%, d33 = 88 pC/N, Qm = 2800, and tand = 0.1%). In contrast, NKLN ceramics sintered at 950degC exhibited excellent "soft" piezoelectric properties (kp = 50%, kt = 53%, d33 = 150 pC/N, Qm = 168, and tand = 4%). The ceramics were then used in the fabrication of 3-MHz ultrasonic therapeutic transducers driven by a self-tuning circuit to investigate the dynamic performance. Our results clearly demonstrate that the resonance resistance, Qm, and tand play a more important role in the generation of acoustic power of ultrasonic therapeutic transducers than the electromechanical coupling coefficient (k). The CuF2-doped ceramics were found to easily generate a greater acoustic power, which makes them suitable for applications in therapeutic transducers.

A series of Ca6BaP4O17:Sm3+ phosphors without or with different charge compensation approaches (co-doping Li+ or Na+ ions) were synthesized by using a conventional solid-state reaction method. The crystal structure and morphologies of the phosphors were investigated by using X-ray diffraction pattern and scanning electron microscope after synthesizing the phosphor, respectively. The luminescence and spectral properties were studied by photoluminescence and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. By introducing the charge compensator alkali metal ions A+ (A = Li and Na) into the lattice of Ca6BaP4O17:Sm3+ phosphor, its emission intensity can be enhanced. The phosphors under 405 nm excitation show characteristic emission of Sm3+ ion with the main orange-red peak centered at 602 nm. The results suggested that the Li+ ion is a good charge compensator in Ca6BaP4O17:Sm3+ phosphors due to its enhancement in luminescence and as a flux for improving the morphology of phosphors. The calculated CIE coordinates and color purity of phosphors with charge compensation of optimal Li+ ions co-doping concentration are (0.6090, 0.3892) in the orange-red region of the spectrum and [?] 99.5% under 405 nm excitation. Besides, the thermal stability of proposed samples can be improved from 84% to 93% which is pretty high compared with published data. The mechanism is detailed in this paper.

In the present work, the effects of SrTiO3 are investigated for nonstoichiometric (Na0.48-xK0.48-xLi0.04Srx)Nb0.89-xTixTa0.05Sb0.06O3 lead-free relaxor ferroelectric ceramics synthesized using a solid-state reaction method. The empirical law, two ordering models, the spin-glass model and the Curie-Weiss law are used to appraise the dielectric behavior. According to the fitting results and experimental data, the dielectric properties exhibit strong temperature-dependent characteristics with increasing amounts of SrTiO3 dopant, which is attributed to the disorder of the cations being significantly enhanced.

In this study, the efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) was enhanced by depositing an Al2O3-doped ZnO (AZO) film as a buffer layer by thermal evaporation. The enhancement mechanism was systematically investigated, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy results of which revealed the formation of the UV-ozone-treated AZO film. The work function increased from 4.8 eV (standard ITO electrode) to 5.24 eV (AZO with 1 wt% for 1 nm), while the surface roughness was smoother than that of the ITO electrode. UV-ozone-treated AZO film increased the surface energy and polarity of the ITO surface. The transmittance increased in the 325-375 nm when the UV-ozone treated AZO was deposited on the ITO substrate. Further, results from admittance spectroscopy showed that the inserted AZO film increased the capacitance and conductance. It was also found that the carrier injection increased in the space-charge region. Moreover, the turn-on voltage of the devices decreased from 4 V to 3.2 V at 0.5 mA/cm2, the luminance increased from 7588 cd/m2 to 31880 cd/m2, and the current efficiency increased from 3.2 cd/A to 4.7 cd/A when a 1 nm-thick UV-ozone-treated AZO film with 1 wt% was inserted as a buffer layer in the OLEDs.

AbstractMany countries did not have alternative healthcare arrangements during their initial coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lockdowns. This is surprising as partial and full lockdowns have been previously used to manage terrorism and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002–2003. This paper examines how lockdowns disrupt normal health care services and discusses countermeasures that can be used during lockdowns regardless of the emergency that engendered them. Solutions for consultations and pharmacy operations are discussed pragmatically with frontline clinicians, health care managers, and policy-makers in mind. Mental health services are used as a case in point with generalizable lessons for other healthcare specialties.