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With the emergence and development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), different sensors have become more miniaturized and intelligent. UAVs equipped with various sensors are now an important approach for acquiring spatial data. Many advantages, such as low cost, short revisiting cycle, flexibility and high precision, have made UAVs powerful tools in geological, agricultural, ecological and forestry growth monitoring, as well as evaluation. Now, UAVs are a hotspot in scientific research. Their application in mining areas (MA), although still in its infancy, is developing rapidly in terms of speed, scale and service scope. This research examines aspects such as UAV platforms, different sensors and their application fields, as well as reviewing the advances of scientific research in MA at the present time. By combining current research and the functions of multiple sensors, an application framework for UAV monitoring in MA is constructed. Finally, the challenge and prospects for the development of UAVs and sensors are also considered. This research hopes to provide a technical reference, expanding the knowledge and recognition of UAV monitoring in MA, as well as an assessment of applications in mining, reclamation and environment.

AbstractF-type ATP synthase (F-ATPase) and vacuolar ATP hydrolase (V-ATPase) are well-known biomolecular motors, which play significant catalytic roles in ATP synthesis and ATP hydrolysis reactions. Their rotational torques are important factors involved in their rotational behavior that can be measured experimentally but with considerable difficulty. To overcome this difficulty and thereby provide an in-depth understanding of their operation mechanism, we herein carry out simple and fast computer modelling to study the two proteins, using our torque approach that relies on interatomic forces and coordinates of unequilibrated configurations taken from brief molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. As predicted by the torque approach, F-ATPase is demonstrated to be a random rotor, but it prefers to rotate in clockwise direction (as seen from the membrane toward the protein) for ATP synthesis, owing to the predominantly negative angle-averaged torques. By contrast, V-ATPase tends to rotate only in counterclockwise direction for ATP hydrolysis, due to the almost uniform averaged positive torques generated by the unidirectional rotation near the three catalytic sites. The rotational behaviors of both proteins are also affected by the surrounding solvent which can promote or hinder the internal rotation. By combining the torque approach with classic force-field MD simulations, the torques of two biomolecular motors can be calculated economically, and are found to agree with previous experiments and theoretical calculations. This work demonstrates that our torque approach can be extended to the field of biology and can help gain a deeper insight into the mechanistic rotation of biomolecular motors with modest computation time.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Hot-rolled Al-Si alloy sheets are used to be formed Al alloy welding additions and cladding materials that are widely used in the aviation, automotive, and air conditioning industries. However, if parameters of hot-rolling process are not properly selected, porosity defects during casting will lead to cracks or fractures in Al-Si alloy sheets. This study based on meso-damage theory and established a damage equation describing porosity defects in the hot rolling process. The parameters of GTN (Gurson-Tvergaard-Needleman) void defect evolution, including the volume fraction of voids in different periods, the plastic equivalent variation of void nucleation, the standard variance of equivalent variation of void nucleation, and the correction coefficient of the material, are determined in this study. A finite element model of the porosity defects is developed based on the determined parameters. The finite element method is used to analyze the effect of different process parameters on the porosity defects and cracks in Al-Si alloy sheets during hot rolling, then we performed the hot rolling test to validate the results. The results show that the void stress and diameter are reduced and the quality of porosity defects is improved by decreasing rolling reductions and increasing the temperature. The optimized process parameters were a 20% depression and a temperature of 550°C.

Surgical treatment for congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries is widely debated, with both physiologic repair and anatomic repair holding advantages and disadvantages. This meta-analysis, which includes 44 total studies consisting of 1857 patients, compares mortality at different time points (operative, in-hospital, and post-discharge), reoperation rates, and postoperative ventricular dysfunction between these two categories of procedures. Although anatomic and physiologic repair had similar operative and in-hospital mortality, anatomic repair patients had significantly less post-discharge mortality (6.1% vs 9.7%; P= .006), lower reoperation rates (17.9% vs 20.6%; P< .001), and less postoperative ventricular dysfunction (16% vs 43%; P< .001). When anatomic repair patients were subdivided into those who had atrial and arterial switch versus those who had atrial switch with Rastelli, the double switch group had significantly lower in-hospital mortality (4.3% vs 7.6%; P= .026) and reoperation rates (15.6% vs 25.9%; P< .001). The results of this meta-analysis suggest a protective benefit of favoring anatomic repair over physiologic repair.

AbstractThe purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of oregano essential oil (OEO) on the performance, intestinal morphology and intestinal flora of fattening Sewa sheep. Sixty 20-month-old Sewa sheep with similar body weights (BWs) and in good health were randomly divided into four groups. The groups were fed a diet containing 0 mg/kg OEO (group A), 150 mg/kg (group B), 300 mg/kg (group C) or 450 mg/kg (group D). Daily gain, slaughter rate and other production performance parameters were analysed in the test sheep (mean ± standard error). Intestinal morphology was analysed by tissue sectioning, and intestinal flora was analysed by 16S rRNA genome sequencing. The indexes, including average daily gain (ADG), slaughter rate, villus length of the small intestine and number of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal flora, in group C were significantly higher than those in the other groups. Supplementation with 300 mg/kg OEO concentrate in the diets can improve the growth performance of Sewa sheep by changing their intestinal morphology and modifying their intestinal flora structure. Conclusively, these encourage to further verifying in practice positive evidence in improving growth performance of OEO supplementation in the diets for Sewa sheep.HighlightsOregano essential oil (OEO) can improve the performance of Sewa sheep by changing the intestinal morphology and regulating the intestinal flora structure.

In this paper, the problem of high-dimensional multivariate analysis of variance is investigated under a low-dimensional factor structure which violates some vital assumptions on covariance matrix in some existing literature. We propose a new test and derive that the asymptotic distribution of the test statistic is a weighted distribution of chi-squares of 1 degree of freedom under the null hypothesis and mild conditions. We provide numerical studies on both sizes and powers to illustrate performance of the proposed test.

There are few data to delineate the risk differences among open aortic procedures. We aimed to investigate the influence of the procedural types on the outcomes of proximal thoracic aortic aneurysm repair.

IMPORTANCE: Older patients may benefit from the hemodynamic stability of etomidate for general anesthesia. However, it remains uncertain whether the potential for adrenocortical suppression with etomidate may increase morbidity. OBJECTIVE: To test the primary hypothesis that etomidate vs propofol for anesthesia does not increase in-hospital morbidity after abdominal surgery in older patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multicenter, parallel-group, noninferiority randomized clinical trial (Etomidate vs Propofol for In-hospital Complications [EPIC]) was conducted between August 15, 2017, and November 20, 2020, at 22 tertiary hospitals in China. Participants were aged 65 to 80 years and were scheduled for elective abdominal surgery. Patients and outcome assessors were blinded to group allocation. Data analysis followed a modified intention-to-treat principle. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either etomidate or propofol for general anesthesia by target-controlled infusion. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Primary outcome was a composite of major in-hospital postoperative complications (with a noninferiority margin of 3%). Secondary outcomes included intraoperative hemodynamic measurements; postoperative adrenocortical hormone levels; self-reported postoperative pain, nausea, and vomiting; and mortality at postoperative months 6 and 12. RESULTS: A total of 1944 participants were randomized, of whom 1917 (98.6%) completed the trial. Patients were randomized to the etomidate group (n = 967; mean [SD] age, 70.3 [4.0] years; 578 men [59.8%]) or propofol group (n = 950; mean [SD] age, 70.6 [4.2] years; 533 men [56.1%]). The primary end point occurred in 90 of 967 patients (9.3%) in the etomidate group and 83 of 950 patients (8.7%) in the propofol group, which met the noninferiority criterion (risk difference [RD], 0.6%; 95% CI, –1.6% to 2.7%; P = .66). In the etomidate group, mean (SD) cortisol levels were lower at the end of surgery (4.8 [2.7] μg/dL vs 6.1 [3.4] μg/dL; P &lt; .001), and mean (SD) aldosterone levels were lower at the end of surgery (0.13 [0.05] ng/dL vs 0.15 [0.07] ng/dL; P = .02) and on postoperative day 1 (0.14 [0.04] ng/dL vs 0.16 [0.06] ng/dL; P = .001) compared with the propofol group. No difference in mortality was observed between the etomidate and propofol groups at postoperative month 6 (2.2% vs 3.0%; RD, –0.8%; 95% CI, –2.2% to 0.7%) and 12 (3.3% vs 3.9%; RD, –0.6%; 95% CI, –2.3% to 1.0%). More patients had pneumonia in the etomidate group than in the propofol group (2.0% vs 0.3%; RD, 1.7%; 95% CI, 0.7% to 2.8%; P = .001). Results were consistent in the per-protocol population. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Results of this trial showed that, compared with propofol, etomidate anesthesia did not increase overall major in-hospital morbidity after abdominal surgery in older patients, although it induced transient adrenocortical suppression. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02910206

Veno-arterial extracorporeal life support (VA-ECLS) has increasingly become an important tool in the treatment of patients with refractory cardiogenic shock (RCS) [1].

While del Nido (DN) cardioplegia is increasingly used in cardiac surgery, knowledge is limited in its safety profile for operations with prolonged crossclamp time (CCT). We have introduced a unique redosing strategy for aortic surgery: all operations use DN with a 1000-mL initiation dose (750 mL antegrade, 250 mL retrograde) composed of 1:4 blood:DN crystalloid. At 90 minutes CCT and every 30 minutes thereafter, a 250-mL dose was introduced retrograde in a 4:1 (“reverse”) ratio. Additionally, at 90 minutes CCT and every 90 minutes thereafter, a reverse ratio dose of approximately 100 to 400 mL was introduced via the right coronary artery. Here, we analyze the outcomes of our unique redosing strategy used.

Valve-sparing root replacement (VSRR) requires a unique skill set. This study aims to examine the influence of surgeon’s procedural volume on outcomes of VSRR.

Background: Angular contact ball bearings are the most popular bearing type used in the high speed spindle for machining centers. The performance of the bearing directly affects the machining efficiency of the machine tool, obtaining a higher dm∙n value is the direction of its research and development. Objective: By analyzing the research achievements and patents of electric spindle angular contact bearings, summarizing the development trend provides a reference for the development of electric spindle bearings. Methods: Through the analysis of the relevant technology of the electric spindle angular contact ball bearing, the advantages and disadvantages of the angular contact ball bearing are introduced, and the research results are combined with the patent analysis. Results: With the rapid development of high-speed cutting and numerical control technology and the need for practical applications, the spindle requires higher and higher speeds for bearings. In order to meet the requirements of use, it is necessary to improve the bearing performance by optimizing the structure size and improving the lubrication conditions. Meanwhile, reasonable processing and assembly methods will also have a beneficial effect on bearing performance. Conclusion: With the continuous deepening of bearing technology research and the use of new structures and ceramic materials has made the bearing's limit speed repeatedly reach new highs. The future development trend of high-speed bearings for electric spindles is environmental protection, intelligence, high speed, high precision and long life.

Background: With a growing demand for blueberries, the planting area of blueberries is also increasing. However, the main method of picking blueberries is the traditional manual picking, so the operation of picking is the most time-consuming and laborious in the chain of production. Objective: By analyzing and discussing the patents of equipment of blueberry picking, some valuable conclusions have been drawn to predict future research, and the development of equipment used in blueberry picking. Methods: This paper sketches out various current representative patents relevant to the equipment of blueberry picking. Results: Through summarizing a large number of patents about equipment of blueberry picking, the characters of those patents are analyzed and compared, and further development tendency of equipment of blueberry picking is discussed. Conclusion: The research on the multifunction, intelligence, versatility of blueberry picking machine is helpful in solving the problems of low efficiency, low quality and poor versatility.

AbstractThis study was aimed to evaluate the effects of the substitution of oregano essential oil (OEO) for antibiotics in the plateau-broiler diet. Partridge Shank chicken is a broiler breed which has stronger adaptability and disease resistance compared with commercial broiler strain. It is generally slaughtered at 75 -d-old. Here, after a 12-d pre-experiment, 144 57-d-old healthy Partridge Shank chickens were randomly divided into three groups, and fed a basal diet supplemented with OEO (group OEO), a basal diet supplemented with aureomycin (group aureomycin), or a basal diet alone (group control) for 28 days. At the end of the experimental period, production performance, mortality ratio, carcass traits, nutrient digestibility, serum antioxidant performance, intestinal morphology, and intestinal flora structure were determined in each group of broilers. We found that the chickens in group OEO and group aureomycin were improved in average daily gain, average daily feed intake, thigh yield, breast yield, and digestibility of crude protein, reduced in mortality ratio compared with group control (p < 0.05), while there were no significant differences in these indices between these two groups (p > .05). Besides, dietary supplementation with OEO improved serum antioxidant activity and intestinal morphology in the plateau broilers, as well as the richness of beneficial bacteria in the intestine. Thus, OEO improved production performance, nutrient digestibility and reduced mortality ratio of Partridge Shank chickens in the plateau by improving intestinal flora structure. Conclusively, it is practicable that use of OEO to replace growth-promoting antibiotic additives in the plateau-broiler diet.HighlightsOregano essential oil may improved production performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass characteristics and reduced mortality ratio.Dietary supplementation with Oregano essential oil improved the serum antioxidant performance of plateau broilers.Oregano essential oil may improved intestinal flora structure of plateau-broilers.

ABSTRACTDNA methylation plays an important role in reproduction. Tibetan pigs maintain high sperm motility, even under extreme conditions at high altitudes. However, the DNA methylation mechanisms underlying testicular plateau adaptations in Tibetan pigs remain unclear. We determined the genomic DNA methylation level in the testicular tissues of Tibetan pigs living at high altitudes (TP) and of Yorkshire pigs that migrated to high altitudes (YP) using the fluorescence method. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blots were used to measure the gene and protein expression levels, respectively, of three DNA methyltransferases (DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B) and hypoxia-inducible factor 2α (HIF2α). We found that the genomic DNA methylation level and the mRNA and protein expression levels of the four genes were all significantly lower in the testicular tissues of TP than YP. In short, compared with YP, the downregulation of DNA methyltransferases in the TP testes led to lower levels of genomic DNA methylation, which would facilitate higher sperm motility. Meanwhile, HIF2α expression in the TP testes was down-regulated, which might contributes to TP testes’ adaption to the plateau environment. This study provided new insights into the DNA methylation mechanisms underlying plateau adaptations in TP testicles.

ABSTRACTBACKGROUND:To investigate the effects of adjunct ketamine treatment on depressive symptoms and brain activity in chronic treatment-resistant schizophrenia (CTRS) patients with treatment-resistant depressive (TRD) symptoms.METHODS:Calgary Depression Scale for Schizophrenia (CDSS), positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), and regional homogeneity (ReHo) results were compared before versus after ketamine treatment in 12 CTRS patients with TRD symptoms.RESULTS:From 7 days to 14 days after the first ketamine administration, CDSS and PANSS total scores were reduced by 63.8% and 12.9%, respectively. By day 21, ReHo values had increased in the main components of the default mode network (DMN) and bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) after family-wise error correction. ReHo alterations did not correlate with TRD symptom changes. TRD symptoms relapsed by the 21-day time point, while increased ReHo was sustained. No adverse secondary effects (ASEs) necessitating medical intervention occurred.CONCLUSIONS:Adjunct ketamine alleviation of TRD symptoms lasted only a week, whereas increased ReHo in DMN regions and the OFC in CTRS patients was maintained beyond 2 weeks, indicating that adjunct ketamine is not well-suited for CTRS patients with TRD symptoms and that effects on functional activity dissociate from effects on TRD symptoms. This small-sample pilot study provides clues for further research into therapy for TRD symptoms in CTRS patients.

Minimally invasive cardiac surgery is employed in many cardiac surgical procedures [1, 2].

Hydrogenated black TiO2is receiving ever-increasing attention, primarily due to its ability to capture low-energy photons in the solar spectrum and its highly efficient redox reactivity for solar-driven water splitting. However, in-depth physical insight into the redox reactivity is still missing. In this work, we conducted a density functional theory study with Hubbard U correction (DFT+U) based on the model obtained from spectroscopic and aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC-STEM) characterizations to reveal the synergy among H heteroatoms located at different surface sites where the six-coordinated Ti (Ti6C) atom is converted from an inert trapping site to a site for the interchange of photoexcited electrons. This in-depth understanding may be applicable to the rational design of highly efficient solar-light-harvesting catalysts.

Rotation-inducing torque based on interatomic forces is a true indicator of internal molecular rotations. We use the induced intramolecular torque to study the underlying rotational mechanism stimulated by an electron injection or extraction for the rotor molecule 9-(2,4,7-trimethyl-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene)-9H-fluorene, which consists of a “rotator” fragment and a “stator” fragment. The results show that the charged molecule in a quartet spin state can rotate internally, while that in the doublet state cannot. The torque on the rotator in the quartet state always maintains unidirectional rotation. In addition, the attachment/extraction of an electron leads to the reduction of the rotational energy barrier by about 18 kcal/mol, facilitating a more favorable molecular rotation than in the neutral singlet state. Our finding provides a molecular-level understanding of various transformation pathways for experimental designs and further demonstrates the effectiveness of the torque approach.

Fe3O4@SiO2magnetic nanoparticles functionalized with mesoporous cerium oxide (Fe3O4@SiO2@mCeO2) was fabricated as a novel adsorbent to remove phosphate from water. The prepared adsorbent was characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), and its phosphate removal performance was investigated through the batch adsorption studies. Characterization results confirmed that mesoporous cerium oxide was successfully assembled on the surface of Fe3O4@SiO2nanoparticles, and the synthesized adsorbent possessed a typical core-shell structure with a BET surface area of 195 m2/g, accessible mesopores of 2.6 nm, and the saturation magnetization of 21.11 emu/g. The newly developed adsorbent had an excellent performance in adsorbing phosphate, and its maximum adsorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir model was 64.07 mg/g. The adsorption was fast, and the kinetic data could be best fitted with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The phosphate removal decreased with the increase of solution pH (2 to 10), while the higher ionic strength slightly promoted the phosphate adsorption. The presence of Cl−and SO42−could enhance the adsorption of phosphate whereas HCO3−had interfering effect on the phosphate adsorption. The adsorption mechanism was studied by analyzing Zeta potential and FTIR spectroscopy, and the results indicated that the replacement of the surface hydroxyl groups by phosphate ions with the formation of inner-sphere complex played a key role in the phosphate adsorption. The spent adsorbent could be quickly separated from aqueous solution with the assistance of the external magnetic field, and the adsorbed phosphate could be effectively desorbed using a 1 mol/L NaOH solution.

Opencast coal mining has a large impact on the land surface, both at the mining pits themselves and at waste sites. After artificial management is stopped, a reclaimed opencast coal mine dump is affected by wind and water erosion from natural processes, resulting in land degradation and even safety incidents. In this paper, the soil erosion and land degradation after 5 years of such natural processes, at the Xilinhot opencast coal mine dump in Inner Mongolia, were investigated. A multi-source data acquisition method was applied: the vegetation fraction coverage (VFC) was extracted from GF-1 satellite imagery, high-precision terrain characteristics and the location and degree of soil erosion were obtained using a drone, and the physical properties of the topsoil were obtained by field sampling. On this basis, the degree and spatial distribution of erosion cracks were identified, and the causes of soil erosion and land degradation were analyzed using the geographical detector. The results show that (1) multi-source data acquisition method can provide effective basic data for the quantitative evaluation of the ecological environment at dumps, and (2) slope aspect and VFC are the main factors affecting the degree of degradation and soil erosion. Based on above analysis, several countermeasures are proposed to mitigate land degradation: (1) The windward slope be designed to imitate the natural landform. (2) Reasonable engineering measures should be applied at the slope to restrain soil erosion. (3) The Pioneer plants should be widely planted on the platform at the early stage of reclamation.

Introduction:Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) and septal myectomy (SM) are two options of septal reduction therapy (SRT) for patients with medication-resistant symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The 2020 AHA/ACC HCM Guideline recommends SM as the first-line choice and ASA as the second-line option to be conducted only if SM is contraindicated or surgical risk is high. However, little is known about the effectiveness of ASA versus SM for HCM on mortality in the real-world settings.Objective:To compare mortality between patients with HCM who underwent ASA and those who had SM using population-based databases.Methods:We identified patients with HCM who underwent an SRT from 2007 through 2014 using the SPARC database — a comprehensive, all-payer claims database that includes record of every inpatient stay and outpatient visit in New York State. We compared mortality at 15, 30, 180, and 360 days after SRT between the ASA group and the SM group (the reference group) using unadjusted analysis, propensity score matching (PSM), and inverse probability weighting (IPW). In the PSM and IPW models, we adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance type, and each item in the Elixhauser Comorbidity Index.Results:We identified 755 patients with HCM who underwent an SRT, including 348 in the ASA group and 407 in the SM group. In the unadjusted analysis, mortality in the ASA group was lower than that in the SM group (crude mortality at 360 days, 3.7% vs. 7.4%; Figure). Using the PSM method, mortality was lower in the ASA group in the 180-day and 360-day post-SRT periods (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.31 at 360 days; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.09-0.93; P = 0.049). The IPW model showed consistent findings with the PSM model (aOR = 0.44 at 360 days; 95% CI, 0.21-0.88; P = 0.02).Conclusions:Patients with HCM who underwent ASA had lower mortality than those who had SM during a 1-year post-SRT period in this population-based study.

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), an alternative and complementary medicine, has been applied in various diseases. Recently, a number of anti-liver fibrogenesis compounds exhibiting antiliver fibrosis effects have been discovered in CHM. In this review, we reviewed the published data on their anti-fibrosis effects and discussed the possible underlying mechanisms. More investigations are needed to improve the insight into therapeutic effect of CHM on liver fibrosis.

In non-conforming rolling contact, the contact stress is highly concentrated in the contact area. However, there are some limitations of the special contact model and stress model used for the theoretical study of the phenomenon, and this has prevented in-depth analysis of the associated friction, wear, and failure. This paper is particularly aimed at investigating the area of rolling contact between a sphere and a cone, for which purpose the boundary is determined by the Hertz theory and the geometries of the non-conforming surfaces. The phenomenon of stick-slip contact is observed to occur in the contact area under the condition of no-full-slip (Q < μ · P). Using the two-dimensional rolling contact theory developed by CARTER, the relative positions of the stick and slip regions and the distribution of the tangential force over the contact area are analyzed. Furthermore, each stress component is calculated based on the McEwen theory and the idea of narrow band. The stress equations for the three-dimensional rolling contact between the sphere and the cone are obtained by the principle of superposition, and are used to perform some numerical simulations. The results show that the stress components have a large gradient along the boundary between the stick and slip regions, and that the maximum stress is inversely proportional to the contact coefficient and proportional to the friction coefficient. A new method for investigating the stress during non-classical three-dimensional rolling contact is proposed as a theoretical foundation for the analysis of the associated friction, wear, and failure.

We investigated the effects of cerebral arterial microemboli on amyloid protein (A) deposition in the hippocampal region of amyloid precursor protein/presenilin 1 (APP/PS1) double transgenic mice and evaluated the role of cerebral arterial microemboli in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. The mice were divided into a wild-type sham surgery group (n = 15), a wild-type coupled with microemboli group (n =15), an APP/PS1 double transgenic sham surgery group (n =15) and an APP/PS1 double transgenic coupled with microemboli group (n =15). The microemboli mice were injected via the left internal carotid artery with 300 µL of a normal saline suspension containing 100 whole blood clot-derived microemboli (25-50 µm). The sham surgery mice were injected with equal volumes of saline. After the mouse model was established for 1, 2 or 4 weeks, the A1-42 deposition in the left hippocampal region and the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression levels were determined through immunohistochemical staining. The A1-42 deposition level in the left hippocampi of transgenic microemboli group was significantly greater than in the transgenic sham group at week 1 and 2 (P<0.001) but not at week 4. No A1-42 deposition was detected in the wild-type groups. Only sporadic MMP-9- and GFAP-positive cells were observed in the wild-type sham group. Significantly more MMP-9- and GFAP-positive cells were detected in the transgenic groups (P<0.001), particularly in the transgenic microemboli group. An intragroup analysis of the time factor for the microemboli groups showed significantly more MMP-9- and GFAP-positive cells at week 1 than at week 2 or 4 (P<0.001). No difference was detected between time points in the sham groups. Cerebral microemboli increased A deposition in the hippocampal region of APP/PS1 double transgenic mice. MMP-9 and GFAP expression may play an important role in excess A deposition, which is caused by an imbalance between the protein’s synthesis and removal.

Lys63-linked polyubiquitination of RIG-I is essential in antiviral immune defense, yet the molecular mechanism that negatively regulates this critical step is poorly understood. Here, we report that USP21 acts as a novel negative regulator in antiviral responses through its ability to bind to and deubiquitinate RIG-I. Overexpression of USP21 inhibited RNA virus–induced RIG-I polyubiquitination and RIG-I–mediated interferon (IFN) signaling, whereas deletion of USP21 resulted in elevated RIG-I polyubiquitination, IRF3 phosphorylation, IFN-α/β production, and antiviral responses in MEFs in response to RNA virus infection. USP21 also restricted antiviral responses in peritoneal macrophages (PMs) and bone marrow–derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). USP21-deficient mice spontaneously developed splenomegaly and were more resistant to VSV infection with elevated production of IFNs. Chimeric mice with USP21-deficient hematopoietic cells developed virus-induced splenomegaly and were more resistant to VSV infection. Functional comparison of three deubiquitinases (USP21, A20, and CYLD) demonstrated that USP21 acts as a bona fide RIG-I deubiquitinase to down-regulate antiviral response independent of the A20 ubiquitin-editing complex. Our studies identify a previously unrecognized role for USP21 in the negative regulation of antiviral response through deubiquitinating RIG-I.

A rapid, simple and sensitive ultra high‐performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC‐MS/MS) method was established for determining the absorption amount of emodin in the five digestive segments of rat. Plasma samples were pre‐purified by solid‐phase extraction (SPE) with Oasis MAX cartridge. Separation of emodin and 1,8‐dihydroxyanthraquinone (internal standard) was performed on an Acquity BEH UHPLC C18column (100 mm×2.1 mm, 1.7 μm) with gradient elution of methanol and 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution. The LC/MS system was operated under multiple reaction monitoring mode using electrospray ionization (ESI) in negative ion mode. The results showed that this established method was valid and sensitive for emodin within 0.04–16.4 μg/mL, with low limits of detection and quantification of 0.6 ng/mL and 2.4 ng/mL, respectively and upper limit of quantification of 220.0 ng/mL. The intra‐ and interday variations were below 4.9% of RSD. The extraction recoveries were 98.9–106.1% with RSD of 1.9–3.2%. The plasma concentration‐time relationship showed that the absorption of emodin in stomach was faster than in intestine segments. The sequence of absorption amount was: ileum>jejunum>colon≈duodenum>stomach. Most of emodin was absorbed in ileum, and the absorption amount was increased with prolonged retention of drug form in intestine, especially in ileum and jejunum. The developed UHPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS method was appropriate for determining the in vivoabsorption of emodin in other herbal medicines or preparations containing this compound.

A fast ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–evaporative light scattering detection (UPLC‐ELSD) method was established for simultaneous quantification of seven components in natural Calculus bovis(C. bovis) and its substitutes or spurious breeds. On a Waters Acquity UPLC®BEH C18column, seven analytes were efficiently separated using 0.2% aqueous formic acid–acetonitrile as the mobile phase in a gradient program. The evaporator tube temperature of ELSD was set at 100°C with the nebulizing gas flow‐rate of 1.9 L/min. The results showed that this established UPLC‐ELSD method was validated to be sensitive, precise and accurate with the LODs of seven analytes at 2–11 ng, and the overall intra‐day and inter‐day variations less than 3.0%. The recovery of the method was in the range of 97.8–101.6%, with RSD less than 3.0%. Further results of PCA on the contents of seven investigated analytes suggested that compounds of cholic acid, deoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid or cholesterol should be added as chemical markers to UPLC analysis of C. bovissamples for quality control and to discriminate natural C. bovissample and its substitutes or some spurious breeds, then normalize the use of natural C. bovisand ensure its clinical efficacy.

Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling is essential for auditory cell fate determination and inner ear dorsalventral patterning during development. Here, we show that Shh accelerates inner ear progenitor cell proliferation, and the inhibitor of Shh signaling cyclopamine reduces mitotic growth of otocyst cells in vitro. The number of hair cells in cultures of inner ear progenitor cells that were treated with Shh was significantly higher than that in control cultures. When Shh signaling was blocked with cyclopamine, hair cell generation was largely inhibited. Our results suggest that Shh may be a regulator of inner ear progenitor cell growth and hair cell generation.

Lignin is a complex aromatic polymer of vascular plants that provides mechanical strength to the stem and protects cellulose fibres from chemical and biological degradation. 4-Coumarate : CoA ligases (EC 6.2.1.12) are key enzymes for the biosynthetic pathway of monolignols which is an important complex aromatic polymer for lignin biosynthesis and tree growth. Recently, 4-coumarate : CoA ligase has been used as exogenous gene in transgenic plants to genetically modify the lignin biosynthesis pathway. Since most lignin is produced in the vascular cells, a tissue-specific-expressed promoter in the vascular cell would be important and useful to change and modify the content of lignin. Here we report the existence of a promoter of GRP1.8 (the glycine-rich protein 1.8) in Sopho japonicaL. (GenBank accession number AF250149) and studies on its function in transgenic tobacco. The promoter activity was analyzed in transgenic tobacco plants by histochemical staining of GUS gene expression driven by a 613-bp sjGRP1.8p promoter sequence. In sjGRP1.8p-GUS transgenic plants, intense GUS staining was detected in the xylem of the stem. To further investigate the regulation of the tissue-specific expression of the 4CL1 gene, we analyzed the activity of the 4CL1 gene which is sense orientated with the sjGRP1.8p promoter in transgenic tobacco. The Pto4CL1 gene was expressed in the stem of transgenic tobacco. The activity of the 4CL1 enzyme was increased 1–2-fold in the stem but not increased in the leaves of transgenic tobacco. In comparison with the control plants, the content of lignin was increased 25% in the stem but there was no increase in the leaves of transgenic tobacco.

Several studies have identified an increased abundance of Fusobacteriumin the intestinal tracts of patients with colon cancer, liver cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, HIV infection, and alcoholism. However, the direct mechanism(s) of action of Fusobacteriumon pathophysiological within the gastrointestinal tract is unclear.

Molecular motors offer promising applications in the fields of nanodevices and nanofluidics. It is thus highly relevant to study their practical operation processes in fluids. In this work, we adopted the torque approach based on quantum mechanical-calculated results to explicitly demonstrate that liquids hinder the rotation of a cogwheel-gearing system consisting of two nonpolar hexaethynyl-benzene molecules stacked on graphene with π–π bonding. For nine common organic solvents (some of which can be viewed as small models of lubricants)—acetic acid, propylene carbonate, benzene, ethyl acetate, ethanol, tetrahydrofuran, acetone, acetonitrile, and n-hexane–torque profiles reveal a counterintuitive increasing hindrance effect with decreasing solvent viscosity. Through a further analysis by the reduced density gradient method, we find that noncovalent interactions, that is, dispersion forces between the solvents and gears, dominate in obstructing nonpolar gear rotation transfer in the solvents of lower viscosity; our torque approach thus predicts a significant solvent effect on molecular motors. This study shows that the torque approach can help better understand the mechanisms of molecular rotors working in a realistic liquid medium and guide the design of effective molecular motors for viscosity probes or pumping fluids, for example.