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Background and Purpose: Dopamine protects the duodenal mucosa. Here we have investigated the source of dopamine in gastric juice and the mechanism underlying the effects of luminal dopamine on duodenal bicarbonate secretion (DBS) in rodents.Experimental Approach: Immunofluorescence, UPLC-MS/MS, gastric incubation and perfusion were used to detect gastric-derived dopamine. Immunofluorescence and RT-PCR were used to examine the expression of dopamine receptors in the duodenal mucosa. Real-time pH titration and pHi measurement were performed to investigate DBS.Key Results: H+ -K+ -ATPase was co-localized with tyrosine hydroxylase and dopamine transporters in gastric parietal cells. Dopamine was increased in in vivo gastric perfusate after intravenous infusion of histamine and in gastric mucosa incubated, in vitro, with bethanechol chloride or tyrosine. D2 receptors were the most abundant dopamine receptors in rat duodenum, mainly distributed on the apical membrane of epithelial cells. Luminal dopamine increased DBS in a concentration-dependent manner, an effect mimicked by a D2 receptor agonist quinpirole and inhibited by the D2 receptor antagonist L741,626, in vivo D2 receptor siRNA and in D2 receptor -/- mice. Dopamine and quinpirole raised the duodenal enterocyte pHi . Quinpirole-evoked DBS and PI3K/Akt activity were inhibited by calcium chelator BAPTA-AM or in D2 receptor-/- mice.Conclusion and Implications: Dopamine in the gastric juice is derived from parietal cells and is secreted along with gastric acid. On arrival in the duodenal lumen, dopamine increased DBS via an apical D2 receptor- and calcium-dependent pathway. Our data provide novel insights into the protective effects of dopamine on the duodenal mucosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic skin (I‐Skin) has the advantage of feasible compatibility with biological systems. Nevertheless, developing a stable and durable ionic skin is challenging. Here, an ionic polyurethane (i‐PU) is synthesized, which is capable of self‐healing and able to lock the ionic liquids (ILs). In detail, an ionic chain extender containing an ammonium cationic group is synthesized, followed by the polymerization to obtain the target i‐PU. Through electrostatic interaction and chain diffusion, the i‐PU can be fully self‐healed at room temperature within 400 min. Afterward, low contact angle (37°) of the i‐PU against IL and the density functional theory (DFT) calculation prove their good compatibility and strong interaction, originating from the electrostatic interaction. The Raman intensity map shows the reversible process of the enrichment and restoration of ionic concentration on the i‐PU/IL surface when external pressure is applied or released, proving stable binding of ions by ionic polymer chains. Lastly, the self‐healing I‐Skin based on the i‐PU/IL is fabricated with a wide range of pressures (0–120 kPa), fast response time (32 ms), excellent antifatigue property (2% attenuation after 1000 cycles), and remarkable sensitivity (52.4 kPa–1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal settlements are often subject to government‐led demolitions and clearances. In contemporary China, the removal of such settlements often necessitates negotiations between governments and landlords who are hard to dislocate, as exemplified in 'Nail Households' literature, whereas migrant tenants, if any, can be easily evicted without appropriate compensation. Our case study, however, presents evidence contrary to this. Migrant tenants proactively defended their rights and demanded compensation from their landlords. Drawing upon the lens of rights consciousness, this paper examines how the presumably marginalised migrant tenants were able to successfully defend their rights and interests. We found that (i) social capital accumulation, stigmatisation, the exclusion of planning participation and the transfer of clearance responsibility through two rounds of 'state retreats' reinforced the rights consciousness of migrant tenants and served to consolidate their bargaining power, contributing to a reshuffling of the landlord–tenant power position. (ii) The landlords, incentivised by attractive compensation packages, were brought into a temporary and fragile alliance with government agencies to secure the dislocation of the migrant tenants. The landlords thus took responsibility for the clearance from government agencies, whereas the local state was able to tactfully avoid any government–tenant confrontations. Although the tenants were able to secure adequate compensation from their landlords, the overall situation brought an end to the social support that existed in migrant enclaves and thus hampered their upward social mobility. This study revisits the understanding of the reshuffling of the landlord–tenant power relationship, albeit contingent and transient, against the backdrop of changing state–society relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of bio‐based diester plasticizers with various alkyl chain asymmetry and the same molecular weight were designed and synthesized, using renewable 5‐hydroxymethyl‐2‐furancarboxylic acid (HFCA) as the raw material. The chemical structures of the HFCA‐based plasticizers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR and 13C NMR). Besides, the influence of alkyl chain asymmetry on plasticization properties of the HFCA‐based plasticizers in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) blends was also investigated. It was found that increasing the alkyl chain asymmetry of the diester plasticizer and keeping the molecular weight unchanged simultaneously could further improve its plasticizing efficiency, without sacrificing its volatility resistance and exudation resistance. The results showed that this study provided a new approach for further optimizing the overall properties of the asymmetric diester plasticizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although copper‐nitrene has been extensively studied as a versatile active species in various transformations, asymmetric reactions involving copper‐nitrene have been limited to the aziridination of olefins. Herein, we report the novel copper‐nitrene‐catalyzed desymmetric oxaziridination reaction of cyclic diketones with alkyl azides and the subsequent rearrangement of the resulting highly active intermediate, which produces a synthetically challenging chiral bicyclic lactam containing a quaternary carbon center. This procedure not only enriches the copper‐nitrene‐catalyzed asymmetric reactions, but also provides an alternative strategy to address the inherent challenges of catalytic asymmetric Schmidt reactions. This unique reaction could inspire the investigation of novel copper‐nitrene‐catalyzed asymmetric transformations and their reaction mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhanced red emissive carbon dots (CDs) and their enrichment in spheres are ideal for sensing applications. Here, we propose a novel strategy for enhancing the red emission of CDs and enriching it in dendritic SiO2 nanospheres. The surface carboxylated and red emissive CDs obtained by alkali/acid treatment of blue emissive CDs are dissolved in N‐β‐(aminoethyl)‐γ‐aminopropyltrimethoxysilane for silanization. Electron injection and long chain passivation greatly enhance the red emission of CDs. Through the reaction of silane with the hydroxyl groups of dendritic SiO2 spheres, the silanized CDs can be enriched in dendritic SiO2 spheres. Encapsulation of composite spheres with (3‐Aminopropyl)‐trimethoxysilane protects CDs and facilitates bioconjugation. These fluorescence SiO2 spheres exhibit high quantum yields in red emission (48.5 % for aqueous solution and 35.7 % for solid state) and maintain good monodispersity. It is further used as a signal of lateral flow test strips to target Zika virus, and demonstrates an ultra‐sensitive, specific and effective immunoassay. And considerable results have been achieved in the analysis of actual samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactions of polycarboxylate ligand (2,2′‐H2bpdc or H3OABDC), N‐donor auxiliary ligand (4‐bpmh) with Cd(II) salts under solvothermal conditions resulted in two coordination polymers formulated as [Cd(2,2′‐bpdc)(4‐bpmh)(H2O)]n·n(H2O) (1) and [Cd3(OABDC)2(4‐bpmh)2(H2O)4]n·2n(H2O) (2) (2,2′‐H2bpdc = diphenic acid, H3OABDC = 5‐oxyacetate isophthalic acid, and 4‐bpmh is N,N‐bis‐pyridin‐4‐ylmethylene‐hydrazine). Meanwhile, the investigations of luminescent performances and thermal stabilities suggest that the two compounds are candidate materials for the fluorescent emitting material. The assessment of their application values on the infantile bronchial pneumonia was carried out and their specific mechanism was investigated in the meantime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a stabilization scheme for a class of continuous‐time nonlinear Markov jump systems is investigated by sampled‐data control mechanism. This stabilization scheme is given in the form of a discrete‐time state feedback controller which is designed based on the approximate discrete‐time model (ADTM) of the original continuous‐time system via the discrete‐time design method. During the process of controller design, an appropriate iteration step size is selected for the ADTM to restore the missing intersampling data due to the sampling characteristics, and this provides the iteration solutions of ADTM to the controller. The introduction of the iteration step size achieves a perfect tradeoff between calculation precision and control cost which not only guarantees the calculation precision of the ADTM, but also reduces sampling frequency effectively. Subsequently, we analyze the consistency condition between the continuous‐time nonlinear Markov jump systems and its ADTM, and give the criterion of the mean‐square exponential stability of the system. Based on this criterion, we prove the mean‐square exponential stability of the closed‐loop sampled‐data system with the designed discrete‐time state feedback controller. Finally, the feasibility and effectiveness of this scheme are clearly verified by a numerical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro‐sized porous silicon‐based anode materials gain much interest due to good cycling stability, high rate performance, reasonable tap density and low processing cost. Self‐templating process is developed to construct micro‐sized macro‐/mesoporous silicon through magnesiothermic reduction of Stöber silica. The size of the silica particles plays a vital role in the structure control of the porous silicon. In this work, silica particles with a diameter of 130 nm are used as templates to guide the synthesis of micro‐sized macro‐/mesoporous silicon. The magnesiothermic reduction temperature is varied in a systematic way to reveal the self‐templating mechanism comprehensively. It is found that the silica particles with small diameter of 130 nm still exercise the self‐templating effect during the magnesiothermic reduction process in the temperature range of 700 to 900°C. Based on the experimental results, the structure‐property correlation of the porous silicon anode is unveiled. Improved electrochemical performance is demonstrated by the porous silicon compared to the commercial nano‐sized silicon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyesters from renewable resources with glass transition temperature (Tg) higher than 100°C are crucial in broadening their application range. In this work, a series of high molecular weight copolyesters, poly(butylene bis[4‐(2‐hydroxyethoxy) phenyl] sulfone 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) (PBSF), was synthesized from bis[4‐(2‐hydroxyethoxy) phenyl] sulfone (BHEPS), bio‐based 1,4‐butanediol (BDO), and 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) via transesterification. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H‐NMR and 13C‐NMR) was used to confirm their chemical structures, composition, and sequence distribution. Characterizations demonstrated that with the increasing content of BHEPS unit, Tg of synthesized polyesters was increased from 38.2°C for PBF to 122°C for PBSF‐95, in which the content of BHEPS unit was 95%. However, the weight average molecular weight (Mw) of PBSF was dramatically decreased after the addition of BHEPS, from 95,300 g/mol for PBF to only 9600 g/mol for PBSF‐95, which was too low for practical application. Taking molecular weight, Tg, and mechanical properties into account, PBSF‐65 was considered to be a promising polyester with Mw of 28,500 g/mol, Tg of 104.7°C, tensile strength of 82 MPa, and elongation‐at‐break of 98%. Besides, it was a completely amorphous polyester with a transmittance of 89.9% by cutoff at 700 nm. Summarily, PBSF‐65 showed great potential to be used as raw material for the manufacture of baby bottles, children's toys, kitchen appliances, and beverage packaging, especially in the case when high transparency and heat resistance are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of different morphologies of initial grains obtained by pre‐extrusion under different extrusion hole diameters or different extrusion temperatures on the microstructure and mechanical properties of forged Mg−Al−Zn−Ce alloy are studied. After homogenization treatment of as‐cast Mg−Al−Zn−Ce alloy, β‐Mg17Al12 phase is completely dissolved into the α‐Mg matrix. Then, pre‐extrusion deformation is conducted. Dynamic recrystallization (DRX) occurs during the pre‐extrusion process, and the initial grains with different grain sizes, second‐phase volume fractions, and textures are obtained. The pre‐extruded alloys show a strong basal plane (0001) texture and a monotonous increasing (or decreasing) change. After forging the pre‐extruded alloys, compared with the homogeneous forged alloy, the average grain size of the pre‐extruded‐forged (PEF) alloys is smaller and the texture strength is greatly weakened. As the microstructure of the pre‐extruded alloys, the PEF alloys show a monotonous increase (or decrease) in grain size, the volume fraction of the second phase, and texture strength. It is inferred that the microstructure and texture of PEF alloys evolve based on the microstructure and texture of the pre‐extruded alloys, and their mechanical properties are determined by the evolved microstructure and texture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The mechanisms of vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) for the treatment of drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE) remain unclear. This study aimed to measure spontaneous brain activity changes caused by VNS in DRE patients using resting‐state functional MRI (rs‐fMRI). Methods: The rs‐fMRI scans were performed in 16 DRE patients who underwent VNS surgery. Amplitude of low‐frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) was generated and examined using paired sample t‐test to compare activity changes at different current intensity stage. The preoperative and postoperative ALFF/ReHo were also compared in eight responders (≥50% reduction of seizure frequency three months after surgery) and eight nonresponders using paired sample t‐test. Results: The significant ALFF and ReHo changes were shown in various cortical/subcortical structures in patients under different current intensity. After three months of stimulation, responders exhibited increased ALFF in the right middle cingulate gyrus, left parahippocampal gyrus, and left cerebellum, and increased ReHo in the right postcentral gyrus, left precuneus, left postcentral gyrus, right superior parietal gyrus, right precentral gyrus, and right superior frontal gyrus. Nonresponders exhibited decreased ALFF in the left temporal lobe and right cerebellum, increased ALFF in bilateral brainstem, decreased ReHo in bilateral lingual gyri, and increased ReHo in the right middle frontal gyrus and right anterior cingulate gyrus. Conclusions: The spontaneous neural activity changes in DRE patients caused by VNS were in an ongoing process. Increased ALFF/ReHo in frontal cortex, cingulate gyri, precentral/postcentral gyri, parahippocampal gyri, precuneus, parietal cortex, and cerebellum may implicate in VNS‐induced improvement in seizure frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymeric elastomers play an increasingly important role in the development of stretchable electronics. A highly demanded elastic matrix is preferred to own not only excellent mechanical properties, but also additional features like high toughness and fast self‐healing. Here, a polyurethane (DA‐PU) is synthesized with donor and acceptor groups alternately distributed along the main chain to achieve both intra‐chain and inter‐chain donor‐acceptor self‐assembly, which endow the polyurethane with toughness, self‐healing, and, more interestingly, thermal repair, like human muscle. In detail, DA‐PU exhibits an amazing mechanical performance with elongation at break of 1900% and toughness of 175.9 MJ m−3. Moreover, it shows remarkable anti‐fatigue and anti‐stress relaxation properties as manifested by cyclic tensile and stress relaxation tests, respectively. Even in case of large strain deformation or long‐time stretch, it can almost completely restore to original length by thermal repair at 60 °C in 60 s. The self‐healing speed of DA‐PU is gradually enhanced with the increasing temperature, and can be 1.0–6.15 µm min−1 from 60 to 80 °C. At last, a stretchable and self‐healable capacitive sensor is constructed and evaluated to prove that DA‐PU matrix can ensure the stability of electronics even after critical deformation and cut off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafine SnO2/Sn nanoparticles encapsulated into the adjustable mesoporous carbon matrix has been successfully fabricated by a facile route. The mesoporous carbon effectively improve the conductivity of the SnO2/Sn, prevent the aggregation, accommodate the strain of volume change and provide high interface area with the electrolyte, thus resulting in excellent cycling performance. A reversible capacity of 1105 mAh g–1 still retained after 290 cycles at 200 mA g–1, and the capacity still can keep at 107 mAh g–1 at high current density of 10 A g–1. The porous structures by the in situ SiOx template provide an appropriate specific surface area, which contributes to a relatively high capacitive contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyurethane (PU), as a polymer material with versatile product forms and excellent performance, is used in coatings, elastomers, adhesives, and foams widely. However, the raw materials (polyols and isocyanates) of PU are usually made using petroleum‐derived chemicals. With the concern for depletion of petroleum resources and the associated negative impact on the environment, developing technologies that can use renewable raw materials as feedstock has become a research hotspot. Lignin, as an abundant, natural, and renewable organic carbon resource, has been explored as raw material for making polyurethanes because it possesses rich hydroxyl groups on its surface. Meanwhile, compared to vegetable oils, lignin does not compete with food supply and performance of the resulting products is superior. Lignin or modified lignin has been shown to impart the polyurethane material with additional functionalities, such as UV‐blocking ability, hydrophobicity, and flame retardancy. However, the utilization of lignin has encountered some challenges, such as product isolation, heterogeneity, aggregation, steric hindrance, and low activity. This paper summarizes recent research progress on utilizing lignin and modified lignin for bio‐based polyurethane synthesis with a focus on elastomers and foams. Opportunities and challenges for application of the lignin‐based polyurethanes in various fields are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facial paralysis can result in severe implications for patients. A good prognosis depends on the degree of nerve regeneration. Schwann cells (SCs) play an important role in facial nerve development and regeneration through migration. Forkhead box C1 (Foxc1), a member of the forkhead transcription factor family, is implicated in cell migration. However, the role of Foxc1 in the progression after facial nerve crush remains unknown. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of Foxc1 overexpression on SC migration and recovery of facial nerves after crush injury. The rat facial nerve crush injury model was established through the use of unilateral surgery. The results showed that the expression of Foxc1 was increased in the surgery group compared to that of the control group. SCs were isolated from the sciatic nerves and cultured. Foxc1, delivered by an adeno‐associated virus in vivo, or adenovirus in vitro, both induced overexpression of Foxc1, and increased the expression of CXCL12 and β‐catenin. After the transfection of Foxc1, the migration of SC was increased both in vitro and in vivo, was reduced by the inhibition of CXCL12 or β‐catenin. The facial nerve function and the nerve axon remyelination of the rats transfected with Foxc1 were significantly improved after nerve crush injury. Overall, the results demonstrated that overexpression of Foxc1 promoted SC migration by regulating CXCL12 via the Wnt/β‐catenin pathway, thus contributing to improved facial nerve function after crush injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cervical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an effective neuromodulation therapy for patients with drug‐resistant epilepsy (DRE). The previous studies reported that VNS may reduce seizures by regulating the functional connectivity (FC) between cortical and subcortical regions. However, no studies on brainstem have been done in responders who achieved ≥50% seizure reduction following VNS. Methods: Eight healthy controls and eight patients who became responders after 3 months of operation were enrolled in this study. Resting‐state functional MRI (rs‐fMRI) was performed, and two sample and paired sample t test were, respectively, used to detect altered FC between brainstem and cortical/subcortical regions between controls and patients, between preoperative and postoperative patients. Results: In the control group, regions with highest FC to brainstem included bilateral anterior cingulate gyri, left basal ganglia, left insula, left cuneus, right precuneus, and bilateral cerebellum. In preoperative patients, right frontal middle gyrus, bilateral basal ganglia, and right cerebellum were showed highest FC to brainstem. Compared with the controls, preoperative patients exhibited increased FC in bilateral inferior frontal gyri, right temporal cortex, while decreased FC in left insula, left postcentral gyrus, right posterior cingulate gyrus, right precuneus, and left superior parietal gyrus. In postoperative patients, regions with increased FC to brainstem were left insula, left precuneus and left cuneus, and those with decreased FC were right inferior occipital gyrus and right cerebellum. Conclusions: Recurrent seizures caused disturbances in brainstem‐cortical/subcortical FC, especially in motor executive function related regions and default mode network. VNS could reorganize the altered FC between brainstem and insula, precuneus, and cerebellum in responders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper industry, chlorine is often used to treat the pulp for bleaching. After pulping, a large amount of xylan is present in the fiber. Xylanase can be used to degrade xylan in an eco‐friendly process called biobleaching, which can help minimize the usage of chlorine in the delignification process. However, a bottleneck in the adoption of biobleaching is the cost of xylanase and the requirement that xylanase be active and stable at extreme conditions. Here, we investigated whether using sodium alginate beads to immobilize an extracellular xylanase from Bacillus subtilis (Lucky9) can reduce the potential cost of enzyme usage. The optimal pH and the activity of the immobilized enzyme were increased at optimal temperature compared with the free enzyme. In addition, immobilized xylanase was shown to be more stable than free xylanase. The results of this study suggest that the immobilized xylanase has potential applications in the biobleaching industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(butylene terephthalate‐co‐butylene 2,5‐furandicarboxylate) copolyesters (PBTFs) were synthesized from 1,4‐butanediol, dimethyl terephthalate (DMT), and 2,5‐furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) by a two‐step polymerization method. Their chemical structures were confirmed by Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance before thermal properties were explored with differential scanning calorimeter and thermogravimetric analyzer. Results showed that PBTFs changed from semi‐crystalline to completely amorphous when the content of FDCA unit was increased to 45 mol% at first, and then became crystallographic again with the further increment of FDCA unit to 75 mol%. For their mechanical properties, the tensile modulus and strength showed the similar trend, decreasing firstly and then increasing later. Their barrier to carbon dioxide and oxygen became better with the increasing of furan content due to the rigidity and higher polarity of furan ring. The performance of PBTFs copolyesters was investigated clearly, and the relative content of FDCA and DMT can be adjusted to satisfy different performance requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNA (circRNA) are single‐stranded RNA with covalently closed 3′ and 5′ ends, with many recognized to be involved in human diseases as gene regulators, typically by interacting with other RNA. CircFNDC3B is a circRNA formed by back‐splicing of exons 5 and 6 of the FNDC3B gene. CircFNDC3B was recently implicated in renal carcinoma, gastric and bladder cancer. However, the expression levels of circFNDC3B and its role in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain unclear. Expression of circFNDC3B and TIMP3 levels in CRC tissues and cell lines were found to be low, whereas microRNA (miR)‐937‐5p expression was high in CRC. MicroRNA‐937‐5p downregulated TIMP3, thereby promoting tumor cell proliferation, invasion, migration and angiogenesis. Moreover, CircFNDC3B was shown to bind to miR‐937‐5p. CircFNDC3B and circFNDC3B‐enriched exosomes inhibited tumorigenic, metastatic and angiogenic properties of CRC, and miR‐937‐5p overexpression or TIMP3 knockdown could reverse these effects. In vivo CRC tumor growth, angiogenesis and liver metastasis were suppressed by circFNDC3B overexpression, circFNDC3B‐enriched exosomes or miR‐937‐5p knockdown. In conclusion, our work reports a tumor‐suppressing role for the circFNDC3B–miR‐97‐5p–TIMP3 pathway and suggests that circFNDC3B‐enriched exosomes can inhibit angiogenesis and CRC progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, Mg–8Al–0.5Zn (AZ80) alloys with different Ce contents (0, 0.2, 0.8, and 1.4 wt%) are designed and prepared. The effects of the forging temperature (250, 300, 350, 400, and 450 °C), forging reduction (7.5%, 17.5%, 27.5%, and 37.5%), and Ce addition on the microstructure and compressive properties of the as‐forged AZ80 alloy are investigated. With increasing forging temperature, the compressive strength and fracture strain increased due to grain refinement. With an increase in forging reduction, the yield strength and compressive strength were also improved under the action of fine‐grain strengthening and work hardening. The results finally reveal that the appropriate forging temperature was 400 °C, and the optimized forging reduction was 27.5%. The addition of Ce significantly refined the grains of the as‐forged AZ80 alloys, and with addition of 1.4 wt% Ce, the grain size was significantly reduced by ≈42.0%. AZ80 alloys with Ce addition obtain remarkable grain refinement effects due to the existence of the Al4Ce phase. The results of tensile tests show that Ce addition effectively improves the tensile properties ascribed to the excellent grain refinement and work hardening effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) is an airborne signaling phytohormone that can induce changes in endogenous jasmonates (JAs) and cause photosynthetic responses. However, the response of these two aspects of citrus plants at different MeJA concentrations is still unclear. Four MeJA concentrations were used in two citrus varieties, Huangguogan (C. reticulata × C. sinensis) and Shiranuhi [C. reticulata × (C. reticulata × C. sinensis)], to investigate the effects of MeJA dose on the endogenous JAs pathway and photosynthetic capacity. We observed that MeJA acted in a dose‐dependent manner, and its stimulation in citrus leaves showed a bidirectional character at different concentrations. This work demonstrates that MeJA at only a concentration of 2.2 mM or less contributed to the activation of magnesium protoporphyrin IX methyltransferase (ChlM, EC 2.1.1.11) and protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase (POR, EC 1.3.1.11) and the simultaneous accumulation of Chl a and Chl b, which in turn contributed to an improved photosynthetic capacity and PSII photochemistry efficiency of citrus. Meanwhile, the inhibition of endogenous JAs synthesis by exogenous MeJA was observed. This was achieved by reducing the ratio of monogalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG) to diagalactosyl diacylglycerol (DGDG) and inhibiting the activities of key enzymes in JAs synthesis, especially 12‐oxo‐phytodienoic acid reductase (OPR, EC 1.3.1.42). Another noteworthy finding is that there may exist a JA‐independent pathway that could regulate 12‐oxo‐phytodienoic acid (OPDA) synthesis. This study jointly analyzed the internal hormone regulation mechanism and the external physiological response, as well as revealed the effects of exogenous MeJA on promoting the photosynthesis and inhibiting the endogenous JAs synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many factors are involved in the process of nerve regeneration. Understanding the mechanisms regarding how these factors promote an efficient remyelination is crucial to deciphering the molecular and cellular processes required to promote nerve repair. Schwann cells (SCs) play a central role in the process of peripheral nerve repair/regeneration. Using a model of facial nerve crush injury and repair, we identified Annexin A1 (ANXA1) as the extracellular trigger of SC proliferation and migration. ANXA1 activated formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2) receptors and the downstream adenosine 5′‐monophosphate (AMP)‐activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling cascade, leading to SC proliferation and migration in vitro. SCs lacking FPR2 or AMPK displayed a defect in proliferation and migration. After facial nerve injury (FNI), ANXA1 promoted the proliferation of SCs and nerve regeneration in vivo. Collectively, these data identified the ANXA1/FPR2/AMPK axis as an important pathway in SC proliferation and migration. ANXA1‐induced remyelination and SC proliferation promotes FNI regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binders play a crucial role in maintaining mechanical integrity of electrodes in lithium‐ion batteries. However, the conventional binders lack proper elasticity, and they are not suitable for high‐performance silicon anodes featuring huge volume change during cycling. Herein, a poly(siloxane imide) copolymer (PSI) has been designed, synthesized, and utilized as a binder for silicon‐based anodes. A rigidness/softness coupling mechanism is demonstrated by the PSI binder, which can accommodate volume expansion of the silicon anode upon lithiation. The electrochemical performance in terms of cyclic stability and rate capability can be effectively improved with the PSI binder as demonstrated by a silicon nanoparticle anode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the commercialization of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) in the early 1990s, tin (Sn), antimony (Sb), and germanium (Ge)‐based anodes have attracted considerable research interest as promising candidates for next‐generation LIBs due to their high theoretical capacities, suitable operating voltages, and natural abundance. Additionally, the awareness of limited global lithium sources promoted the renaissance of sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs) in recent years. Sn, Sb, and Ge can electrochemically alloy with sodium and are regarded as promising anode candidates for high‐performance SIBs. However, these alloying/dealloying anodes suffer severe volume expansion during lithiation or sodiation processes, which is one of the biggest obstacles toward practical applications. In order to solve this problem, several strategies are developed including reducing the absolute size of particles, creating interior void space, and introducing buffer media. After more than two decades' efforts, the electrochemical performance of Sn, Sb, and Ge‐based anodes is significantly improved. Considerable studies about Sn, Sb, and Ge‐based anodes are summarized in a chronicle perspective and the brief development histories of the three anodes are outlined. With this unique review, light will be shed on the future trends of the studies on the Sn, Sb, and Ge‐based anodes for advanced rechargeable batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence suggests that long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are associated with carcinogenesis. LncRNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 3 (SNHG3) is up‐regulated in various cancers and positively associated with poor prognosis of these cancers. However, the precise role of lncRNA SNHG3 in bladder cancer (Bca) remains unclear. In our research, we first reported that lncRNA SNHG3 was up‐regulated in bladder cancer tissues and positively related to poor clinical prognosis. Moreover, knockdown of lncRNA SNHG3 significantly suppressed the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT process of Bca cells in vitro and vivo. Mechanistically, we revealed that suppression of SNHG3 evidently enhanced miR‐515‐5p expression and decreased GINS2 expression at posttranscriptional levels. Moreover, SNHG3 positively regulated GINS2 expression by sponging miR‐515‐5p under a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) mechanism. To sum up, our study suggested lncRNA SNHG3 acted as a microRNA sponge and an oncogenic role in the progression of bladder cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iodine‐catalyzed [3+2] cycloaddition/ring opening reaction of 1,1‐diacylcyclopropanes with sulfonyl hydrazides has been reported. In the presence of 20 mol‐% iodine, a range of structurally diverse fully substituted pyrazoles with a hydroxy functional group are obtained in moderate to excellent yields with extremely high regioselectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TiO2 is a promising lithium‐ion battery anode due to its good operation safety enabled by its voltage profile. However, the intrinsically low electronic/ionic conductivity and moderate reversible capacity compromise its potential for practical applications. It is proposed in this work to incorporate super‐small sized metallic high capacity tin‐based nanoparticles into TiO2/carbon nanohybrids, coupled with in situ generation of mesoporous structures. Difunctional methacrylate resin monomers are used as the solvent and carbon source, followed by carbonization and hydrofluoric (HF) etching treatment. The precursors of TiO2, tin‐based component, and SiOx porogen agent are homogeneously integrated into the cross‐linking network at a molecular level. High reversible capacities, excellent rate capability, and good capacity retention are achieved simultaneously due to synergistic effects from the tin‐based component bearing high capacity and good electron conductivity, and mechanical buffer medium of the mesoporous structures. Reversible capacities of 452 mAh g−1 are achieved after 400 cycles at 200 mA g−1. High rate capacity of 131 mAh g−1 is maintained at 5 A g−1. The overall capacities are increased by more than 2 times compared with the capacities of the tin‐free TiO2/C and pristine TiO2/SnO2/Sn/SiOx/C nanohybrids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this article, the state and mode feedback control strategy is investigated for the discrete‐time Markovian jump linear system (MJLS) with time‐varying controllable mode transition probability matrix (MTPM). This strategy, consisting of a state feedback controller and a mode feedback controller, is proposed to ensure MJLS's stability and meanwhile improve system performance. First, a mode‐dependent state feedback controller is designed to stabilize the MJLS based on the time‐invariant part of the MTPM such that it can still keep valid even if the MTPM is adjusted by the mode feedback control. Second, a generalized quadratic stabilization cost is put forward for evaluating MJLS's performance, which contains system state, state feedback controller, and mode feedback controller. To reduce the stabilization cost, a mode feedback controller is introduced to adjust each mode's occurrence probability by changing the time‐varying controllable part of MTPM. The calculation of such mode feedback controller is given based on a value‐iteration algorithm with its convergence proof. Compared with traditional state feedback control strategy, this state and mode feedback control strategy offers a new perspective for the control problem of general nonhomogeneous MJLSs. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the validity of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This study focuses on the asynchronous ℋ∞ control problem for two‐dimensional discrete‐time hidden Markovian jump systems where the mode observation conditional probability matrix is partly known. Considering the original system modes are invisible, the observed modes emitted from an observer serve as an alternative for stability analysis and controller design where a mode observation conditional probability matrix is constructed to characterize the emission between system modes and observed modes. Specially, only partly known information of the mode observation conditional probability matrix is accessible. With the introduction of the free‐connection weighting matrices, the asymptotic mean square stability criterion is firstly derived based on Lyapunov method. This introduction provides a further degree of relaxation and less conservatism is therefore achieved. Secondly, we present synthesis conditions for asynchronous ℋ∞ state feedback controller design given in terms of a set of interconnected linear matrix inequalities. Moreover, cluster concept based on the partitions of observed modes is adopted which helps to decrease the number of controllers and simplify the design complexity. A numerical example, regarding the cases with and without clustering of the observed modes, is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CuO based anodes hold a promise alternative to the commercial graphite due to their high reversible capacities, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, drastic volume change, partial irreversibility, and poor electron conductivity yields compromised the electrochemical performance including reversible capacities, cyclic stability and rate performance. A facile scalable method is developed to synthesize CuO/C nanohybrid lithium‐ion battery anode. Copper nanoparticles are synthesized in situ using the amine based curing agent as both coordination ligand and reducing agent. The copper nanoparticles/amine based curing agent further reacts with the epoxy resin monomers, where the copper nanoparticles are incorporated into the thermosetting polymer network. Due to thermosetting nature of the epoxy polymer, agglomeration of the copper nanoparticles is effectively suppressed during the carbonization process, which are further converted to the CuO nanoparticles within the carbon matrix through heat treatment in air. Systematic structure and electrochemical performance characterizations are carefully studied. The results show that both the reversible capacities are effectively improved in comparision with the bare carbon sample. Moreover, excellent cyclic stability and high rate capability are also demonstrated by the CuO/C nanohybrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both phototropins (phot1 and phot2) and cryptochromes (cry1 and cry2) were proven as the Arabidopsis thaliana blue light receptors. Phototropins predominately function in photomovement, and cryptochromes play a role in photomorphogenesis. Although cryptochromes have been proposed to serve as positive modulators of phototropic responses, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. Here, we report that depleting sucrose from the medium or adding gibberellic acids (GAs) can partially restore the defects in phototropic curvature of the phot1 phot2 double mutants under high‐intensity blue light; this restoration does not occur in phot1 phot2 cry1 cry2 quadruple mutants and nph3 (nonphototropic hypocotyl 3) mutants which were impaired phototropic response in sucrose‐containing medium. These results indicate that GAs and sucrose antagonistically regulate hypocotyl phototropism in a cryptochromes dependent manner, but it showed a crosstalk with phototropin signaling on NPH3. Furthermore, cryptochromes activation by blue light inhibit GAs synthesis, thus stabilizing DELLAs to block hypocotyl growth, which result in the higher GAs content in the shade side than the lit side of hypocotyl to support the asymmetric growth of hypocotyl. Through modulation of the abundance of DELLAs by sucrose depletion or added GAs, it revealed that cryptochromes have a function in mediating phototropic curvature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly efficient synthesis strategy, focusing on amide bond formation and peptide synthesis, has been developed under mild condition by employing a 2‐chloroimidazolium chloride IMesCl−Cl as a coupling reagent. This strategy exhibited wide substrate scope and good chemo‐selectivity. Notably, no significant loss of enantiopurity was observed when employing this strategy to dipeptide synthesis. This method was also successfully applied in glycine‐conjugate bile acids synthesis. A plausible formation mechanism via an active ester intermediate was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary of main observation and conclusion: Five types of ZrO2 are used to simply establish an effective aqueous catalytic system with sulfuric acid for the hydrolysis of cellulose to sugar, respectively. By adjusting surface roughness and particle size of ZrO2, different adsorption is produced. Accordingly, following the thought to inhibit the self‐aggregation nature of cellulose, after the introduction of ZrO2 with adsorption in catalysts, the efficiency of the hydrolysis of cellulose to sugar is improved. The results show different ZrO2 can produce different effects during the hydrolysis of the cellulose with relatively low crystallinity. Under the optimal conditions, the conversion of cellulose and TRS yield reaches 95.5% and 93.6%, respectively. Through this research, it reveals the critical point to organize a feasible and useful way for the hydrolysis of cellulose to sugar with high efficiency in an aqueous system. An important theoretical and technical support is also provided for the conversion and utilization of cellulose in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Text. A general method for the synthesis of structural diversity and complexity of azepines from aldimine esters and β′‐acetoxy allenoates is reported. Under phosphine catalysis, a [4+3] cycloaddition for the formation of 1,3‐dihydro‐2H‐azepine‐2,2,4‐tricarboxylates was achieved with broad substrate scope under mild reactions. A switchable process was given and a variety of important 2,3‐dihydrochromeno[4,3‐b]azepin‐6(1H)‐ones were selectively formed when the reaction was performed in the presence of Cs2CO3 and PPh3, which involved an intramolecular ester group migration and subsequent lactonization of 1,3‐dihydro‐2H‐azepine‐2,2,4‐tricarboxylates. Besides easy handle process, high synthetic value of resulting products, it is worth to note that this work showed the novel example of 1,5‐ethoxycarbonyl migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fascinating and dangerous colored pathogens contain unique chemically pigmented molecules, which give varied and efficient assistance as virulence factors to the crucial reproduction and growth of microbes. Therefore, multiple novel strategies and inhibitors have been developed in recent years that target virulence factor pigments. However, despite the importance and significance of this topic, it has not yet been comprehensively reviewed. Moreover, research groups around the world have made successful progress against antibacterial infections by targeting pigment production, including our serial works on the discovery of CrtN inhibitors against staphyloxanthin production in Staphylococcus aureus. On the basis of the previous achievements and recent progress of our group in this field, this article will be the first comprehensive review of pigment inhibitors against colored pathogens, especially S. aureus infections, and this article includes design strategies, representative case studies, advantages, limitations, and perspectives to guide future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synthetically useful approach for the synthesis of functionalized α, α‐disubstituted α‐amino acid derivatives via palladium‐catalyzed 1,7 addition of readily available aldimine esters to vinylcyclopropanes is reported. This methodology was operated under mild conditions, affording α‐allylic α‐amino esters in good to excellent yields and excellent regio‐ and stereoselectivity. This transformation displays broad functional‐group tolerance and enantioselective allylic alkylation has also been realized using a chiral phosphine ligand to provide the desired product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wilms tumour is a renal malignancy that commonly occurs in children. LIN28A gene overexpression has been reported to be involved in various human malignancies, while its roles in Wilms tumour risk are still under investigation. Here, we genotyped four LIN28A polymorphisms in 355 Wilms tumour patients and 1070 healthy controls from four hospitals in China. The genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) include the following: rs3811464 G>A, rs3811463 T>C, rs34787247 G>A and rs11247957 G>A. Overall, we found that rs3811463 T>C and rs34787247 G>A were associated with increased risk of Wilms tumour. Combination analysis of risk genotypes showed that, compared to non‐carriers, subjects with 1 risk genotype and 1‐3 risk genotypes were more likely to develop Wilms tumour, with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.58 and 1.56, respectively. Stratified analysis further demonstrated that the risk effect remained prominent in some subgroups. We also found that presence of 1‐3 risk genotypes was associated with Wilms tumour risk in subgroups > 18 months of age, females, males and those with clinical stage I + II diseases. Furthermore, expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) analysis indicated that rs3811463 C allele was significantly associated with increased transcripts of LIN28A gene. These findings suggest that LIN28A gene polymorphisms may be associated with increased predisposition to Wilms tumour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probabilistic load flow (PLF) is an important tool in power system planning and operation. One limitation of conventional PLF is that only the probability information of random variables is obtained as a reference for related analyses. Frequency and duration information often plays an important role in power system assessment. In this study, a frequency and duration method for PLF with correlated wind power sources and loads is proposed based on Latin hypercube sampling (LHS), Nataf transformation, and Markov chains. In the proposed method, the spatial and temporal correlations among wind power sources and loads are addressed using Nataf transformation and Markov chains, which are incorporated into the LHS framework to solve the PLF problem with frequency and duration quantities. With the proposed method, not only the probability information but also the frequency and duration information of the random output variables in a PLF problem can be efficiently and accurately obtained. The performance of the proposed PLF method is verified using comparative tests on three modified test systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have found that known functions of circular RNAs (circRNAs) include sequestration of microRNAs (miRNAs) or proteins, modulation of transcription and interference with splicing, and even translation to produce polypeptides. The zebrafish model is also demonstrably similar to humans in many studies. To explore the changes in circRNAs during embryonic development and to further research the mechanism of action of circRNAs in development‐related diseases, Zebrafish embryos at the blastula period, gastrula period, segmentation period, throat stage, and incubation period were collected. Illumina deep‐sequencing technology and CircRNA Identifier (CIRI) algorithm were used to detect circRNAs. In total, we identified 1,028 circRNAs (junction reads ≥5 and p < 0.05). Considering that the function of circRNAs is related to host genes, a bioinformatics analysis revealed these differentially expressed host genes are involved in NOTCH signaling pathways, cardiovascular system development, retinal ganglion cell axon guidance, and so on. Moreover, circRNAs can participate in biological regulation through the function of miRNA sponges. TargetScan and miRanda were used to predict 73 miRNAs binding to circRNAs such as miR‐19b, miR‐124, and so on. Some miRNAs play important roles in embryogenesis. The peak expression of circRNAs is distributed at different time points, suggesting that it may be involved in embryogenesis at different stages. Our study provides a foundation for understanding the dynamic regulation of circRNA transcriptomes during embryogenesis and identifies novel key circRNAs that might control embryonic development in a zebrafish model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The receptor‐tyrosine‐kinase (RTK)‐like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) is a transmembrane glycoprotein regarded as a tumor‐associated antigen. ROR1 plays an important role in cancer development, but the detailed function of ROR1 in diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains unclear. In this study, we first detected ROR1 expression and evaluated the relationship between ROR1 expression and the clinicopathological characteristics of DLBCL patients. Next we employed shRNA‐mediated knockdown of ROR1 in DLBCL cell line to explore the characteristics of ROR1 in DLBCL development both in vitro and in vivo. The results showed a significantly higher level of ROR1 in DLBCL tissues than in lymphatic hyperplasia tissues. High ROR1 expression was correlated with unfavorable prognosis in DLBCL patients. Furthermore, ROR1 knockdown inhibited the growth and induced the apoptosis in DLBCL cells and xenografts. In addition, shROR1 inhibited activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, both in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our results suggest that ROR1 is a novel prognostic marker for DLBCL survival and ROR1 significantly promotes DLBCL tumorigenesis by regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway. Targeting ROR1 may provide a promising strategy for DLBCL treatment. © 2019 BioFactors, 45(3):416–426, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Super‐small sized TiO2 nanoparticles are in situ co‐composited with carbon and nickel nanoparticles in a facile scalable way, using difunctional methacrylate monomers as solvent and carbon source. Good control over crystallinity, morphology, and dispersion of the nanohybrid is achieved because of the thermosetting nature of the resin polymer. The effects of the nickel nanoparticle on the composition, crystallographic phase, structure, morphology, tap density, specific surface area, and electrochemical performance as both lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion battery anodes are systematically investigated. It is found that the incorporation of the in situ formed nickel nanoparticles with certain content effectively enhances the electrochemical performance including reversible capacities, cyclic stability and rate performance as both lithium‐ion and sodium‐ion battery anodes. The experimental I‐V profiles at different temperatures and theoretical calculations reveal that the charge carriers are accumulated in the amorphous carbon regions, which act as scattering centers to the carriers and lower the carrier mobility for the composite. With increasing nickel content, the mobility of the charge carriers is significantly increased, while the number of the charge carriers maintains almost constant. The nickel nanoparticles provide extra pathways for the accumulated charge, leading to reduced scatterings among the charge carriers and enhanced charge‐carrier transportation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study elucidates the potential role of Trop2 in tumor invasion and the promotion of epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) when binding β‐catenin in GC. The role of Trop2 in promoting EMT in GC cells was examined by a variety of experimental assays. Moreover, the underlying molecular mechanism of Trop2 in promoting EMT was studied by in vivo and in vitro assays. The Trop2 expression in relation to tumor metastasis status was detected by IHC in 248 cases of GC tissues and 86 cases of matched adjacent tissues. Trop2 promoted the metastasis and induces EMT in GC. Meanwhile, the elevated protein levels of Trop2 and mesenchymal markers were also found in the TGF‐β1‐induced EMT model in GC cells. Importantly, Trop2 physically bound and activated β‐catenin to promote EMT; moreover, Trop2 increased the accumulation of β‐catenin in the nucleus to accelerate metastasis in GC cells. Inhibition of Trop2 expression in GC cells prevented the migration and invasion of GC cells in vivo. Trop2+/vimentin+ expression was higher in GC tissues than that in matched adjacent tissues, and Trop2+/vimentin+ expression in GC was associated with the differentiation, TNM stage, and distant metastases. These sets of data reveal a novel regulatory network of Trop2 in EMT and GC metastasis, suggesting Trop2 as a useful marker for inducing EMT and metastasis of GC, which may help to lead a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the GC. Trop2 as a useful marker for inducing EMT and metastasis of GC, which may help to lead a better understanding of the pathogenesis of the GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flame retardants from vanillin when utilized together with ammonium polyphosphate (APP) yield excellent synergistic flame retardancy toward epoxy resins. Bisphenol A epoxy resins have been widely used due to their excellent mechanical properties, chemical resistance, electrical properties, adhesion, etc., while they are flammable. Environment‐friendly and bio‐based flame retardants have captured increasing attention due to their ecological necessity. In this paper, 3 bio‐based flame retardants were synthesized from abundant and more importantly renewable vanillin, and their chemical structures were determined by 1H NMR and 13C NMR. They were used together with APP (an environment‐friendly commercial flame retardant) to improve the fire resistance of bisphenol A epoxy resin. With the addition APP content of 15 phr, the modified bisphenol A epoxy resin could reach UL‐94V0 rating during vertical burning test and limit oxygen index values of above 35%, but reducing APP content to 10 phr, the flame retardancy became very poor. With the total addition content of 10 phr, the epoxy resins modified by 7 to 9 phr APP and 1 to 3 phr bio‐based flame retardants with epoxy groups or more benzene rings showed excellent flame retardancy with UL‐94V0 rating and limit oxygen index values of around 29%. The Tgs of the epoxy resins could be remained or even increased after introducing bio‐based flame retardants, as the control; those of APP alone‐modified epoxy resins compromised a lot. The green synergistic flame‐retardant systems have a great potential to be used in high‐performance materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper investigates mode feedback control strategy for continuous‐time Markovian jump linear systems with controllable mode transition rate matrix (MTRM). Based on the fact that system stability as well as its performance is dependent on MTRM, a mode feedback controller is proposed to perform control on MTRM such that system stability is achieved. Meanwhile, this strategy can help to improve system performance since it can adjust the occurrence probability of each subsystem. Firstly, taking into account that MTRM will totally determine system stability in absence of state feedback controller, the existence and restrictions on mode feedback controller are discussed where two cases are included. Then, based on a quadratic stabilization cost function that is a combination of state cost and control cost, a feasible solution of mode feedback control strategy is then obtained with its detailed algorithm given. Simulation results including comparisons with current state feedback mechanism are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dear Editor, The 2017 World Health Organization classification of lymphoid neoplasms used the term "hydroa vacciniforme-like lymphoproliferative disorder (HVLPD)" to represent the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) associated hydroa vacciniforme-like lesions1 and replace various names previously reported, including hydroa vacciniforme-like lymphoma (HVLL), hydroa vacciniforme-like cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, and severe hydroa vacciniforme. All patients tested positive for high serum EBV DNA load (>5 × 10 SP 5 sp copies/ml). EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG antibodies were positive but IgM antibodies negative, suggesting chronic active EBV infection. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Cephalosporin C acylase (CA) plays a key role in the one‐step enzymatic catalysis of 7‐aminocephalosporanic acid (7‐ACA) from Cephalosporin C (CPC). However, the synthesis of 7‐ACA needs low‐temperature conditions: unless catalyzed at 13 °C, it will produce large amounts of undesired products. Unfortunately, cephalosporin CA catalyzes CPC to 7‐ACA directly at a very low efficiency at 13 °C or below. RESULTS: In this work, multiple techniques including molecular docking, multi‐site random‐directed mutagenesis and high‐throughput screening were adopted and combined into an engineering strategy to improve the cold adaptability of CA. Thus, the best‐hit mutant 9H9 containing mutations of P238G, P449G and P582G was screened revealing a specific activity of 1.94 U mg−1 at 13 °C, which is 1.3‐fold higher than that of the parent. Compared with the parent, the mutant 9H9 shows a slight decline in the Km value and significant improvement in the Vmax value. In addition, the yield of 7‐ACA catalyzed by 9H9 was obviously higher than that of the parent at low temperature. CONCLUSION: A new and viable strategy was established for improving the cold adaptability of CA and investigations were made into enhancing its conformational flexibility. This might lay a solid foundation for future study and industrial application of CAs. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]