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This article proposes a tracking control strategy based on fixed‐time for uncertain nonlinear systems with prescribed performance and actuator faults. Fuzzy logic systems are used to model unknown functions with uncertainties or fuzzy parameter features. The improvement of the conventional backstepping method through the introduction of command filtering technology has effectively addressed the challenge of a sharp increase in computational complexity during controller design. Additionally, a mechanism for error compensation has been established to mitigate the potential impact of errors that may arise during the filtering process on the system. Then, a new fixed‐time performance function is introduced into the adaptive backstepping method to ensure that the tracking signal with output error converges to an arbitrarily small neighborhood within a fixed time. Additionally, in order to enhance the tracking performance of the control method, the controller algorithm incorporates fault‐tolerant control based on the fixed‐time performance function. Finally, a numerical simulation of a power system with a static reactive power compensation device is presented, and demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed control algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ship classification is an important technique for enhancing maritime management and security. Visible and infrared sensors are generally employed to deal with the challenging problem and improve classification performance. Herein, a two‐branch feature fusion neural network structure is proposed to classify the visible and infrared maritime vessel images simultaneously. Specifically, in this two‐branch neural network, one branch is based on a deep convolutional neural network that is used to extract the visible image features, while the other is a hybrid network structure that is a multi‐scale patch embedding network called MPANet. The sub‐network MPANet can extract fine‐ and coarse‐grained features, in which the pooling operation instead of the multi‐head attention mechanism is utilized to reduce memory consumption. When there are infrared images, it is used to extract the infrared image features, otherwise, this branch is also utilized to extract visible image features. Therefore, this dual network is suitable with or without infrared images. The experimental results on the visible and infrared spectrums (VAIS) dataset demonstrate that the introduced network achieves state‐of‐the‐art ship classification performance on visible images and paired visible and infrared ship images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC) caused by sulfate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) is a major threat to buried pipelines. The crevices beneath disbonded coatings provide the environment for the survival and growth of SRB, accelerating the attachment of SRB and significantly reducing the effectiveness of buried pipelines. In this work, the influence of initial pH values (6.4, 8.0) and SRB concentrations (2.0 × 101, 4.5 × 102, 2.5 × 103 cells/mL) were investigated on the behaviors of L415 carbon steel. The results indicated that the overall uniform corrosion rate of L415 carbon steel decreased while the maximum pitting corrosion rate exhibited an increasing trend with the increasing of initial concentration of SRB. In comparison to the pH 6.4 environment, the overall risk of pitting corrosion in pH 8.0 environment was reduced due to the biomineralization of SRB, enhancing the protection of metal materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, ZnCo2O4/Ag3PO4 composite catalyst was prepared by the precipitation method, and their performance in the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange (MO) was studied. The catalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, high‐resolution transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, selected area electron diffraction, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV‐Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The results indicate that the 0.1 ZnCo2O4/Ag3PO4 composite system has good photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methyl orange. Under simulated sunlight conditions, the degradation rate can reach 94% after 30 min. The maximum reaction rate constant of 0.1 ZnCo2O4/Ag3PO4 was 0.05301 min−1, which is 3 times and 52 times the rate constant of pure Ag3PO4 and pure ZnCo2O4, respectively. In catalyst recycling experiments, 0.1 ZnCo2O4/Ag3PO4 still degraded methyl orange at a rate of 84.4% after three cycles. Trapping experiments showed that holes and superoxide radicals mostly contributed to the photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange by the catalyst, while hydroxyl radicals played a partial role. The energy level structure of ZnCo2O4/Ag3PO4 is conducive to the effective separation of photogenerated electrons and holes, improving the lifespan of photogenerated charges. In the investigated catalyst series, 0.1 ZnCo2O4/Ag3PO4 demonstrated the best photocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Tannic acid (TA), a naturally occurring polyphenol, has shown diverse potential in preventing intestinal damage in piglet diarrhea induced by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88. However, the protective effect of TA on ETEC k88 infection‐induced post‐weaning diarrhea and its potential mechanism has not been well elucidated. Therefore, an animal trial was carried out to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with TA on the intestinal diarrhea of weaned piglets challenged with ETEC K88. In addition, porcine intestinal epithelial cells were used as an in vitro model to explore the mechanism through which TA alleviates intestinal oxidative damage and inflammation. RESULTS: The results indicated that TA supplementation (2 and 4 g kg−1) reduced diarrhea rate, enzyme activity (diamine oxidase [DAO] and Malondialdehyde [MAD]) and serum inflammatory cytokines concentration (TNF‐α and IL‐1β) (P < 0.05) compared to the Infection group (IG), group in vivo. In vitro, TA treatment effectively alleviated ETEC‐induced cytotoxicity, increased the expression of ZO‐1, occludin and claudin‐1 at both mRNA and protein levels. Moreover, TA pre‐treatment increased the activity of antioxidant enzymes (such as T‐SOD) and decreased serum cytokine levels (TNF‐α and IL‐1β). Furthermore, TA increased cellular antioxidant capacity by activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway and decreased inflammatory response by down‐regulating the expression of TLR4, MyD88, NF‐kB and NLRP3. CONCLUSION: The present study showed that TA reduced the diarrhea rate of weaned piglets by restoring the intestinal mucosal mechanical barrier function, alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation. The underlying mechanism was achieved by modulating the p62‐keap1‐Nrf2 and TLR4‐NF‐κB‐NLRP3 pathway. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Alcohol is implicated in epileptogenesis and seizures attack. An increasing number of studies about alcohol and epilepsy have been published. We aimed to assess research trends and hot spots in the field of alcohol and epilepsy. Patients and Methods: Literature concerning alcohol and epilepsy was systemically searched through the Web of Science database. Collaborative maps were quantitatively analyzed by using the VOSviewer and CiteSpace tools. Results: A total of 1578 papers about the field of alcohol and epilepsy were taken into analysis, which was written by 6840 authors from 2153 institutions in 85 countries, published in 676 journals, and cited 79 667 references from 10 750 journals. The United States was the leading country and had close ties with others. The University of Toronto was the most productive institution. Alcoholism‐clinical and experimental research was the fastest‐growing journal. Richard J. Bodnar was the author contributing the most literature. Analysis of keywords showed epilepsy, alcohol, seizures, alcohol withdrawal, and management were common themes. Conclusion: The presented study conducted the first bibliometric analysis of the field of alcohol and epilepsy, which will provide insights into the latest progress, evolution paths, frontier research hot spots, and future research trends in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the habitats of species can provide insights into the impact of climate change on their habitats. Species in the genus Morina (Morinoideae) are perennial herbaceous plants that are mainly distributed in the South Asian Mountains and Eastern Mediterranean. In China, there are four species and two varieties of this genus distributed across the Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu provinces. This study used the optimal MaxEnt model to simulate past, current, and future potentially suitable habitats of Morina kokonorica and Morina chinensis. Seventy data of M. kokonorica occurrences and 3 of M. chinensis were used in the model to predict potentially suitable habitats. The model prediction results indicated that both M. kokonorica and M. chinensis exhibited trends of northward migration to higher latitudes and westward migration along the Himalayas to higher elevations, suggesting that the northern valleys of Hengduan Mountains and northern and eastern parts of the Himalayas were potential refugia for M. kokonorica, and the potential refugia for M. chinensis was located in the eastern part of Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. The results of this niche analysis showed that the two species had higher levels of interspecific competition and that the environmental adaptability of M. chinensis was stronger. This research could help further understand the response pattern of Morina to environmental change, to understand the adaptability of species to the environment, and promote the protection of species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection can lead to HPV‐related cancer in men, including the anus, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers and precancerous lesions. This study retrospectively investigated HPV prevalence and genotype distribution in Liaocheng men between 2016 and 2022. The total HPV positive rate was 64.87% (2388/3681, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 63.32%–66.40%), where high risk (HR)‐HPV and low risk (LR)‐HPV accounted for 42.49% (1564/3681, 95% CI: 40.90%–44.09%) and 69.71% (2566/3681, 95% CI: 68.20%–71.17%), respectively. The mixed HPV infection rate of two and more genotypes was 35.72%. The infection rate of HR‐HPV increased with the number of positive cases annually from 2016 (16.91%) to 2022 (46.59%). The most common HR‐HPV genotypes were HPV16 (11.60%), HPV52 (6.95%), and HPV59 (6.28%), whereas the least common HR‐HPV was HPV26. The most common LR‐HPV genotypes were HPV6 (56.99%), HPV11 (23.79%), and HPV43 (6.37%). The 9 v HPV vaccine preventable for LR‐HPV and HR‐HPV accounted for 80.78% and 30.40%, respectively, in this study. Most HPV‐positive patients aged 1–86 were in the 30–39 age group. This study confirmed that HPV prevalence in Liaocheng men was common and diverse. HPV16, HPV52, and HPV59 are widely distributed in Liaocheng men, and the male HR‐HPV infection rate remained high in this region. Regarding public health and cancer prevention, it is recommended and effective to include the HPV vaccination in the national vaccination program for men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The helium (He) contents of the Weiyuan and Anyue gas fields in the Sichuan Basin (China) differ significantly despite their similar helium‐nitrogen (N2) coupling characteristics, that is, the positive correlation between the N2 and He contents, and the negative correlation between the nitrogen/helium (N2/He) ratio and depth. To determine the factors influencing the differential enrichment of He resources and He–N2 coupling in the Weiyuan and Anyue gas fields, this study analysed the compositions of natural gases within the study area and established a computational model for evaluating the dissolution and exsolution amount of He and N2 in the pore water. The results indicated that: the uplift of the basement granite was crucial for the exsolution and enrichment of dissolved helium, and it was also the main reason for He–N2 coupling. The differential uplift that occurred in the Leshan–Longnvsi palaeo‐uplift during the Himalayan period further promoted the differential enrichment of He resources, thus also impacting the N2/He ratio in the study area. The distinct quantities of N2 and He exsolution during the uplift directly affected the negative correlation between the N2/He ratio and the depth. Within the same depth range of the uplift, the average and variations of the N2/He ratio in the crust‐derived helium‐rich natural gas reservoir were inversely proportional to the in situ molar partial pressure of He. The uplift of the crystalline basement is an important mechanism that causes the enrichment of helium resources and the coupling of helium‐nitrogen in the crust‐derived helium‐rich natural gas reservoir, which is of great significance for understanding the variation of N2/He ratio and exploration of He resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is considered to be the most important forage crop on a global scale. Nevertheless, soil salinity significantly decreases productivity, seriously threatening food security worldwide. One viable strategy is to explore salt stress‐responsive factors and elucidate their underlying molecular mechanism, and utilize them in further alfalfa breeding. In the present study, we designated MsWRKY33 as a representative salt stress‐responsive factor preferentially expressed in alfalfa roots and leaves. Subsequently, it was demonstrated that MsWRKY33 was localized in the cell nucleus, and functioned as a transcriptional activator of the W‐box element. Transgenic alfalfa overexpressing MsWRKY33 displayed enhanced salt stress tolerance and antioxidant activities with no significant difference in other agronomic traits. Transcriptome profiling of MsWRKY33 transgenic alfalfa under control and salt treatment unveiled significantly altered expression of reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger genes in transgenic alfalfa. Subsequent examination revealed that MsWRKY33 binded to the promoter of MsERF5, activating its expression and consequently fine‐tuning the ROS‐scavenging enzyme activity. Furthermore, MsWRKY33 interacted with the functional fragment of MsCaMBP25, which participates in Ca2+ signaling transduction. Collectively, this research offers new insight into the molecular mechanism of alfalfa salt stress tolerance and highlights the potential utility of MsWRKY33 in alfalfa breeding. Summary Statement: The exploration and utilization of salt stress‐responsive factors in alfalfa are the effective approaches to alleviating the damage caused by salt stress. MsWRKY33 contributed to alfalfa salt stress tolerance by enhancing antioxidant activities through activating the expression of MsERF5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper focuses on the issue of the adaptive fuzzy fault‐tolerant control for a type of nonlinear system with input delay and disturbances. Fuzzy logic systems (FLSs) are used to estimate the unknown nonlinear quantities of the system. The Pade approximation is applied to counteract the negative effects of input delay on the system. The prescribed performance control based on error transformation helps to guarantee the transient performance of system errors. A fuzzy state observer is established to estimate the unmeasurable states of the system. Then, in presence of disturbances and actuator faults, a finite‐time control scheme is designed using the Lyapunov function and the backstepping technique. Based on Lyapunov stability, it is proved that the tracking error can converge to a specified range in a finite time, and all signals in the system are bounded in the controller design. In the end, the simulations of a second‐order system and a multi‐area interconnected power system certify the feasibility and effectiveness of the control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To translate and test the psychometric properties of a Chinese version scale to measure the Fear of Activity in patients with Coronary Artery Disease. Design: A cross‐sectional design. Methods: The translation of the scale to measure Fear of Activity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease included three steps, forward‐back translation, expert discussion and pilot survey. The internal consistency and test–retest reliability were used to assess the reliability of the Chinese version scale of the Fear of Activity. Content, construct, criterion, and known‐group validity of the scale were also evaluated. Data Sources: A total of 275 patients with Coronary Artery Disease were recruited from a university‐affiliated hospital in Guangzhou, southern China. Results: The overall content validity index of the Chinese version scale of the Fear of Activity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease was 0.90. Principal component analyses extracted four factors with a cumulative variance contribution of 57.5%. There is a strong correlation (r = 0.83) between this scale and Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia Heart. The total scores of the Chinese version scale of the Fear of Activity in female patients were higher than those in male patients with Coronary Artery Disease, indicating that the scale was able to distinguish the differences between low and high score groups. The Internal consistency and test–retest reliability coefficients of the scale were 0.74 and 0.82, respectively. Conclusion: The Chinese version scale of the Fear of Activity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease, which consists of 21 items with four dimensions, is a reliable and valid instrument to evaluate the fear of activity in patients with Coronary Artery Disease. Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care: The Chinese version scale of the Fear of Activity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease can be used to assess the levels of fear of activity in patients with Coronary Artery Disease and explores the factors that influence fear of activity in the population. Impact: This study translates and confirms the psychometric properties of the Chinese version scale of the Fear of Activity in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease in China. It is useful in both research and clinical fields to explore the fear of activity and its associated factors in patients with Coronary Artery Disease. Reporting Method: The study design followed the guideline of Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology statement. Patient or Public Contribution: Patients in a university‐affiliated hospital participated in this study and contributed to data collection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was discovered the bimetallic Zn−Sb nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes can electrocatalyze CO2 into formate efficiently, comprising the best performance to date for Sb‐based catalysts under moderate overpotential. This project was accomplished by a versatile two‐step alcoholysis precipitation strategy with tunable Zn : Sb ratios, and the performance of optimized Zn2.33Sb0.67O4 was locked in the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction. During the subsequent electrolysis, the mixed phases of metallic Zn and Sb served as active centers. The Zn−Sb heterostructure and the electron relocation were confirmed. By means of interactions and possible additional binding sites for reaction intermediate *OCHO, the material displayed different catalytic properties from either Zn or Sb, and was selective for formate up to 92%, which was ca. 6.1 times or 4.6 times than that of each single component. The encouraging results highlight the power of the interaction between binary metallic components to synergistically electrocatalyze CO2 conversion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the lack‐of‐fit test of parametric single‐index quantile models when the response variable is missing at random. The model's coefficients are estimated by an estimation method suitable for the quantile regression coefficients of the missing data. Simultaneously, an algorithm for solving the central subspace of the multidimensional quantile regression model with missing responses is proposed. Based on the central quantile regression subspace, we construct two‐dimensional reduction adaptive‐to‐model test statistics suitable for randomly missing response variables to avoid the curse of dimensionality. Under the null hypothesis and local alternative hypothesis, the asymptotic properties of the test statistics are obtained. The proposed testing methods are shown to be consistent and able to detect local alternative hypothetical models converging to the null model at the rate of order O(n−1/2h−1/4). A consistent bootstrap method is proposed to determine the critical values, and its asymptotic properties are established. The simulation results show that the proposed method is superior to existing methods in terms of both empirical size and power in the case of multidimensional and even high‐dimensional covariables. The ACTG Protocol 175 data set is analyzed to demonstrate the application of the testing procedures. Supplementary materials for this article are available online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noninvasive optical imaging through dynamic scattering media has numerous important biomedical applications but still remains a challenging task. While standard diffuse imaging methods measure optical absorption or fluorescent emission, it is also well‐established that the temporal correlation of scattered coherent light diffuses through tissue much like optical intensity. Few works to date, however, have aimed to experimentally measure and process such temporal correlation data to demonstrate deep‐tissue video reconstruction of decorrelation dynamics. In this work, a single‐photon avalanche diode array camera is utilized to simultaneously monitor the temporal dynamics of speckle fluctuations at the single‐photon level from 12 different phantom tissue surface locations delivered via a customized fiber bundle array. Then a deep neural network is applied to convert the acquired single‐photon measurements into video of scattering dynamics beneath rapidly decorrelating tissue phantoms. The ability to reconstruct images of transient (0.1–0.4 s) dynamic events occurring up to 8 mm beneath a decorrelating tissue phantom with millimeter‐scale resolution is demonstrated, and it is highlighted how the model can flexibly extend to monitor flow speed within buried phantom vessels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider the artificial neural networks for solving the elliptic differential equation with boundary layer, in which the gradient of the solution changes sharply near the boundary layer. The solution of the boundary layer problems poses a huge challenge to both traditional numerical methods and artificial neural network methods. By theoretically analyzing the changing rate of the weights of the first hidden layer near the boundary layer, a mapping strategy is added in traditional neural network to improve the convergence of the loss function. Numerical examples are carried out for the 1D and 2D convection–diffusion equation with boundary layer. The results demonstrate that the modified neural networks significantly improve the ability in approximating the solutions with sharp gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atomic substitutions at the tetrahedral site (ATd) could theoretically achieve an efficient optimization of the charge at the octahedral site (BOh) through the ATd‐O‐BOh interactions in the spinel oxides (AB2O4). Despite substantial progress having been made, the precise control and adjustment of the spinel oxides are still challenging owing to the complexity of their crystal structure. In this work, we demonstrate a simple solvent method to tailor the structures of spinel oxides and use the spinel oxide composites (ACo2O4/NCNTs, A=Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) for oxygen electrocatalysis. The optimized MnCo2O4/NCNTs exhibit high activity and excellent durability for oxygen reduction/evolution reactions. Remarkably, the rechargeable liquid Zn–air battery equipped with a MnCo2O4/NCNTs cathode affords a specific capacity of 827 mAh gZn−1 with a high power density of 74.63 mW cm−2 and no voltage degradation after 300 cycles at a high charging–discharging rate (5 mA cm−2). The density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the substitution could regulate the ratio of Co3+/Co2+ and thereby lead to the modulation of the electronic structure accompanied with the movement of the d‐band center. The tetrahedral and octahedral sites interact through the Mn−O−Co, and the Co3+Oh of MnCo2O4 with the optimal charge structure allows a more suitable binding interaction between the active center and the oxygenated species, resulting in superior oxygen electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Phosphatidylserine (PS) is essential for inflammation-associated thrombogenesis, but the exact effect of PS on the prothrombotic state in periodontitis is uncertain. This study aimed to determine the PS-related procoagulant state in patients with periodontitis.Methods: A total of 138 patients with periodontitis were examined compared with 42 healthy controls. PS-exposing cells and microvesicles in blood samples were detected by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. The clotting time assay and prothrombinase complex formation assay were used to measure the procoagulant activity of microvesicles, blood cells and endothelial cells. Periodontal clinical parameters and laboratory characteristics of patients with severe periodontitis were recorded and analyzed at baseline and 6 months after non-surgical periodontal therapy.Results: Total PS-positive (PS+ ) microvesicles and the percentage of PS+ blood cells increased in patients with severe periodontitis compared with patients with moderate/mild periodontitis or healthy controls. Endothelial cells cultured in serum from patients with severe periodontitis expressed more PS compared with those cultured in serum from healthy controls. Specifically, PS exposure on blood cells and endothelial cells significantly decreased after inhibiting the effect of inflammatory cytokines. The elevated levels of PS+ cells and microvesicles in severe periodontitis shortened clotting time and led to increased prothrombinase complex formation. Non-surgical periodontal therapy significantly attenuated the release of microvesicles and the PS exposure of blood cells in severe periodontitis.Conclusions: The prothrombotic state of patients with periodontitis is mediated by PS+ cells and microvesicles stimulated by elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we study the reachable set estimation and controller design problems for a class of discrete time‐varying‐delay singularly perturbed systems. First, by constructing a ε‐dependent Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and using reciprocally convex inequality, delay‐dependent conditions are obtained to ensure the state of the system under zero initial conditions is contained by an ellipsoid for any singularly perturbed parameters below a given threshold. Second, by the method of designing a state‐feedback controller, sufficient conditions that the reachable set of the closed‐loop system can be included in a given ellipsoid are obtained for admissible singularly perturbed parameters. Finally, two examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adaptive finite‐time event‐triggered quantized control for the nonlinear systems considering uncertain parameters and external disturbances is investigated in this article. First, for the parametric nonlinear systems with external disturbances, an adaptive finite‐time event‐triggered control scheme with input quantization is proposed. The designed controller can ensure the semiglobal finite‐time stability of the closed‐loop system. Then, to deal with the global finite‐time control problem for the parametric nonlinear systems, a novel adaptive quantized event‐triggered control scheme is constructed. Finally, two simulation examples are utilized to illustrate the effectiveness of the adaptive event‐triggered control schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permafrost that exists near the boundary of the permafrost zone is generally more sensitive to climate change. By analyzing ground temperatures observed from two 30‐m‐deep boreholes, a case study was conducted to present some characteristics of recent permafrost warming in the Xidatan area, near the northern limit of the permafrost zone on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau. The rate of permafrost degradation from top to bottom in the area was far less than that from bottom to top. Local conditions produced spatial differences in permafrost characteristics, and thus the site covered by alpine meadow had a thinner active layer and lower rate of change than the site with desert steppe. With permafrost warming, the depths of zero annual amplitude at the two sites showed significant decreasing trends, suggesting that the warming could change the proportion of unfrozen water and ice in permafrost, and then lead to a decrease in the mean thermal diffusivity of formation. Mean annual permafrost temperatures at depth of zero annual amplitude of the two boreholes were respectively −0.4°C and −0.7°C, indicating that high‐temperature permafrost is widely distributed in the study area. The lower temperature permafrost had a higher warming rate and a higher upward shift rate of the permafrost base. The pattern of permafrost degradation near the limit of permafrost was characterized by nonuniform speed and staged development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, pharmacists have started to manage cancer pain at outpatient clinics. This retrospective study performed at a tertiary teaching hospital was aimed to evaluate the effects of a physician‐pharmacist joint clinic for cancer pain management. The study was performed between December 2016 and August 2019 and included 113 outpatients with moderate to severe cancer‐related pain. Patients were divided into two groups according to the clinic each patient visited: the physician‐pharmacist joint clinic (joint group, n = 59) or physician‐only clinic (usual group, n = 54). Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) and Morisky Medication Adherence Measure (MMAM) were used to collect data on pain intensity, interference and medication adherence. Pain Management Index (PMI) was also calculated. BPI, MMAM and PMI were assessed at baseline (patients' first visit, week 0) and week 4 follow‐up. The Chinese version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire‐Core 30 (EORTC QLQ‐C30) was used to assess patients' health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) at week 4. The primary outcomes were the improvement in pain intensity, adequacy of pain management and medication adherence. The secondary outcome was the improvement in HRQoL. At week 4, compared to the usual group, the BPI pain intensity categories except the pain right now were significantly lower in the joint group: worst pain, 4 (3‐7) vs 6 (4‐8), P =.020; least pain, 1 (0‐2) vs 2 (1‐3), P =.010; average pain, 3 (2‐4) vs 4 (2‐5), P =.023; pain right now, 2 (1‐3) vs 2 (0‐4), P =.796. For the seven pain interference categories, there were no significant improvements in the joint group (P >.05). Significantly more patients achieved adequate pain control in the joint group than the usual group ((P =.002). There was also a significant difference in medication adherence between the two groups (P =.001). There were no significant differences in HRQoL between the two groups. The study suggests that pharmacist participation in outpatient cancer pain management is associated with improvement of patients' pain control and medication adherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constipation is the most common gastrointestinal complaint all over the world, and it is a risk factor of colorectal cancer. In this study, the protective of Quercetin against loperamide‐induced constipation and its potential mechanism in a rat model were investigated. Results showed that Quercetin at 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg could significantly (p <.05) increase the intestinal transit rate, motilin, gastrin, substance P levels, and concentration of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs), reduce the somatostatin levels, and improve the gastrointestinal peristalsis of rats. In addition, the expression levels of enteric nerve‐related factors, glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), nitric oxide synthase (NOS), c‐Kit, stem cell factor (SCF), and aquaporin 3 (AQP3) were examined by RT‐qPCR and/or Western blot analysis. The results suggest that Quercetin relieves loperamide‐induced constipation by increasing the levels of interstitial cells of Cajal markers (c‐Kit and SCF), as well as AQP3. In conclusion, the present study suggested that Quercetin exerted a protective effect against loperamide‐induced constipation, which may be associated with its role in regulation of multiple signal pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cost of health care can vary substantially across hospitals, centers, or providers. Data from electronic health records provide information for studying patterns of cost variation and identifying high or low cost centers. Cost data often include zero values when patients receive no care, and joint two‐part models have been developed for clustered cost data with zeros. Standard methods for center comparisons, sometimes called profiling, can use these methods to incorporate zero values into total cost. However, zero costs also provide opportunities to further examine sources of cost variation and outliers. For example, a hospital may have high (or low) cost due to frequency of nonzero cost, amount of nonzero cost, or a combination of those. We give methods for decomposing hospital differences in total cost with zeros into components for probability of use (i.e., of nonzero cost) and for cost of use (mean of nonzero cost). The components multiply to total cost and quantify components on the same easily interpreted multiplicative scales. The methods are based on Bayesian hierarchical models and counterfactual arguments, with Markov chain Monte Carlo estimation. We used simulated data to illustrate use, interpretation, and visualization of the methods in diverse situations, and applied the methods to 30,024 patients at 57 US Veterans Administration hospitals to characterize outlier hospitals in one year cost of inpatient care following a cardiac procedure. Twenty eight percent of patients had zero cost. These methods are useful in providing insight into cost variation and outliers for planning future studies or interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: With the pandemic dissemination of COVID‐19, attitude and sentiment surrounding facial rejuvenation have evolved rapidly. Aims: The purpose of this study was to understanding the impact of pandemic on the attitude of people toward facial skin rejuvenation. Methods: Twitter data related to facial rejuvenation were collected from January 1, 2020, to April 30, 2020. Sentiment analysis, frequency analysis, and word cloud were performed to analyze the data. Statistical analysis included two‐tailed t tests and chi‐square tests. Results: In the post‐declaration, the number of tweets about facial rejuvenation increased significantly, and the search volume in Google Trends decreased. Negative public emotions increased, but positive emotions still dominate. The words frequency of "discounts" and "purchase" decreased. The dominant words in word cloud were "Botox," "facelift," "hyaluronic," and "skin." Conclusion: The public has a positive attitude toward facial rejuvenation during the pandemic. In particular, minimally invasive procedures dominate the mainstream, such as "Botox," "Hyaluronic acid," and "PRP." The practitioners could understand the change of the public interest in facial rejuvenation in time and decide what to focus on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the Al2O3 dust environment on the crack propagation behaviour of 2524‐T3 Al alloy was investigated. The results show that the Al2O3 dust environment reduces the fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) of alloy especially at low ΔK. Many Al2O3 particles are deposited and stuck in the crack during fatigue loading which promotes crack closure, while this effect is gradually weakened with the increase of ΔK. The deposited Al2O3 particles induce the disorderly arranged slip bands (SBs) ahead of the crack tip which deflects the crack path making it more tortuous in the Al2O3 dust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The skin expansion technique is widely used to induce skin growth for large‐scale skin deformity reconstruction. However, the capacity for skin expansion is limited and searching for ways to improve the expansion efficiency is a challenge. In this study, we aimed to explore the possible mechanism of skin expansion and to find a potential therapeutic target on promoting skin growth. We conducted weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) of microarray data generated from rat skin expansion and found CCN1 (CYR61) to be the central hub gene related to epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT). CCN1 up‐regulation was confirmed in human and rat expanded skin and also in mechanically stretched rat keratinocytes, together with acquired mesenchymal phenotype. After CCN1 stimulation on keratinocytes, cell proliferation was promoted and partial EMT was induced by activating β‐catenin pathway. Treatment of CCN1 protein could significantly increase the flap thickness, improve the blood supply and restore the structure in a rat model of skin expansion, whereas inhibition of CCN1 through shRNA interference could dramatically reduce the efficiency of skin expansion. Our findings demonstrate that CCN1 plays a crucial role in skin expansion and that CCN1 may serve as a potential therapeutic target to promote skin growth and improve the efficiency of skin expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we construct a lack‐of‐fit test for testing parametric single‐index quantile regression models. We apply the kernel smoothing technique for the multivariate nonparametric estimation involved in this task. To avoid the “curse of dimensionality” in multivariate nonparametric estimation and to fully utilize the information contained in the model, we employ a sufficient dimension reduction technique to identify the corresponding dimensionally reduced subspace and then construct our test statistic in this subspace. At different quantile levels, the test statistics given in this paper can quickly detect local alternative hypotheses, which are different from the null hypothesis for small and moderate sample sizes. A new wild bootstrap method is applied to approximate the critical values of the quantile regression model test. The effectiveness of the method is verified by simulation experiments and a real data application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent supercapacitors are interesting for energy storage and management in future transparent electronics and have become an intriguing research topic at the interface of materials science, energy and electronics research. This minireview presents the recent progress in transparent supercapacitors, particularly the use of nano‐engineered materials to construct transparent electrodes. Focusing on the two key features of transparency and capacitance, we analyze the influences of nanostructures on the electrode and device performances, and present the outlook the future perspectives for transparent supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence indicates that fibroblast‐specific protein 1 (FSP1) provides vital effects in cell biofunctions. However, whether FSP1 influences the adventitial fibroblast (AF) and vascular remodelling remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the potential role and action mechanism of FSP1‐mediated AF bioactivity. AFs were cultured and stimulated with FSP1 and siRNA‐FSP1 in vitro. Viability assays demonstrated that siRNA‐FSP1 counteracted AFs proliferative, migratory and adherent abilities enhanced with FSP1. Flow cytometry revealed that FSP1 increased AFs number in S phase and decreased cellular apoptosis. Contrarily, siRNA‐FSP1 displayed the contrary results. RT‐PCR, Western blotting and immunocytochemistry showed that FSP1 synchronously up‐regulated the expression of molecules in RAGE, JAK2/STAT3 and Wnt3a/β‐catenin pathways and induced a proinflammatory cytokine profile characterized by high levels of MCP‐1, ICAM‐1 and VCAM‐1. Conversely, FSP1 knockdown reduced the expression of these molecules and cytokines. The increased number of autophagosomes in FSP1‐stimulated group and fewer autophagic corpuscles in siRNA‐FSP1 group was observed by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Autophagy‐related proteins (LC3B, beclin‐1 and Apg7) were higher in FSP1 group than those in other groups. Conversely, the expression of p62 protein was shown an opposite trend of variation. Therefore, these pathways can promote AFs bioactivity, facilitate autophagy and induce the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines. Contrarily, siRNA‐FSP1 intercepts the crosstalk of these pathways, suppresses AF functions, restrains autophagy and attenuates the expression of the inflammatory factors. Our findings indicate that crosstalk among RAGE, STAT3/JAK2 and Wnt3a/β‐catenin signalling pathways may account for the mechanism of AF functions with the stimulation of FSP1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization of the host lattice is a novel strategy to achieve efficient up‐conversion luminescence (UCL) with multi‐peak full‐spectrum emission. Herein, lattice optimization is performed in a non‐vacuum sulfur‐rich environment, where the ultra‐low phonon energy NaYS2 heterogeneous phase is forced to intergrow, which overcomes the limitations of the conventional vacuum preparation method and achieves high‐efficient UCL. Remarkably, the lattice sites are preferentially occupied by S2−, which causes lattice distortion and generates layered NaYS2/Y2O2S hybrid crystalline with high inversion asymmetry to reconfigure excitation mechanism and exhibit distinct luminescence centers at the multi‐peak full‐spectrum. Moreover, owing to longer lifetime of excited state energy levels of Er3+ after lattice modification and ordered segregation of Er3+ in the YS6 layer restricting the negative energy exchange process, the luminescence intensity is increased by about six times, and the remodeling of full‐spectrum‐efficient UCLs is realized. This work reports an innovative approach for lattice optimization and a facile preparation of ternary sulfides, which provides a new direction for achieving highly efficient UCLs with promising applications in biomedical imaging, near‐infrared detection, and temperature sensing synergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coexistence of hydrogen‐containing materials and radioactive substances in source rocks is universal. Few documents have researched whether the latter can radiate the former to generate hydrogen gas (H2) as well as the factors controlling this process. This work conducted a series of radiation experiments to address this issue. Samples were placed in sealed Pyrex glass containers and subject to cobalt (60Co) γ irradiation and components and contents of resultant gases were analyzed using gas‐chromatography. The results show that all the samples released variable amounts of H2 after irradiation and that the yield (H2) of decane is lower than that of 3‐tetradecylthiophene but higher than that of distilled water, which implies that a weaker H‐X bond energy (X indicates O, C or other element) in homogeneous materials corresponds with increased yield (H2). The yields (H2) of samples decreased with the decreasing solutions concentrations in sequence from mixed salts solution, KCl solution, Yellow Sea water, oil field water, gypsum solution to distilled water. The experimental results also show that the yield (H2) of distilled water with montmorillonite is higher than that of distilled water with kaolinite, because due to the larger specific surface area, ion exchange capacity and more effective energy transfer effect of montmorillonite. Meanwhile, the irradiation of oxygen‐ and carbon‐containing materials also releases O2 and CH4. The production of H2 via the irradiation of hydrogen‐containing materials makes the involvement of exogenous H2 into hydrocarbon generation possible, which can enhance the hydrocarbon volume and optimize crude oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health care cost data often contain many zero values, for patients who did not use any care. Two-part models with logistic models for part I, probability of use (ie, nonzero cost) and log-link models for part II, mean cost of use (ie, nonzero cost) are often used. Effects of exposures or covariates on total (marginal) cost are often of interest, and recent work has proposed useful methods. Factors that affect total cost do so through a combination of effects on probability of use and cost of use. Such a decomposition is needed to understand and act on factors that affect total cost, but little work has been done on this question. This paper presents two new methods for decomposing effects on total cost, namely, an adjusted approach based on log-binomial models for part I and a population average approach based on counterfactual arguments. Extensive simulations illustrate performance, interpretation, and robustness over a wide range of data features. The method is applied to risk-adjusted 30-day outpatient cardiac cost for patients following percutaneous coronary intervention from the Department of Veterans Affairs Clinical Assessment, Reporting, and Tracking Program. Results illustrate the simple decomposition of effects on total cost into components for probability of use and cost of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the separation efficiency of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and the conductivity of electrons to photoanode substrates are critical to achieve high‐performance photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. Here, a SnS2/H‐TiO2/Ti heterojunction photoanode was fabricated with SnS2 nanosheets vertically grown on hydrogen‐treated TiO2 (H‐TiO2) nanotube arrays on a Ti substrate. It showed a significantly enhanced photocurrent of 4.0 mA cm−2 at 1.4 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode) under AM 1.5 G illumination, 70 times higher than that of SnS2/TiO2/Ti. Kelvin probe force microscopy measurements indicated that photogenerated electrons could be easily transported through the SnS2/H‐TiO2 interface but not through the SnS2/TiO2 interface. Through hydrogen treatment, defects were created in H‐TiO2 nanotubes to convert type I junctions to type II with SnS2 nanosheets. As a result, a high efficiency of electron–hole separation at the SnS2/H‐TiO2 interface and a high electron conductivity in H‐TiO2 nanotubes were achieved and improved PEC performance. These findings show an effective route towards high‐performance photoelectrodes for water splitting. Exactly your type: A type II heterojunctioned photoanode based on SnS2 nanosheets/hydrogenated TiO2 nanotube arrays (SnS2/H‐TiO2/Ti) shows a significantly enhanced photocurrent of 4.0 mA cm−2 at 1.4 V (vs. RHE), 70 times higher than a type I heterojunctioned photoanode of SnS2 nanosheets/TiO2 nanotube arrays (SnS2/TiO2/Ti). Hydrogenation creates defects in TiO2 nanotubes, improves their electrical conductivity and converts their junctions with SnS2 nanosheets from type I to type II. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of clustered damages in Pt‐chemotherapeutic‐drugs‐DNA complexes induced by low‐energy (0‐30 eV) electrons (LEEs) may provide further understanding of the synergy mechanism in cancer treatment with concomitant chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Five‐monolayer films of Pt‐DNA complexes, containing cisplatin, carboplatin and oxaliplatin with ratio 5:1 were irradiated with mono‐energetic electrons of 10 eV, the most prominent energy for bond dissociation by LEE impact. Damages to plasmid DNA including crosslinks, SSBs, DSBs and the loss of the supercoiled configuration were analyzed by the electrophoresis. Base damages (BDs) occurring within two turns of DNA helix were detected by the treatment of E. coli base excision repair endonuclease (Nth and Fpg). The total DNA damages to Pt‐DNA complexes was found to be 350 ± 42, 296 ± 45 and 434 ± 46 ×10−15 electron−1molecule−1, respectively, while the percentages of BDs in this total were 56%, 54% and 60%, respectively. Compared to unmodified DNA, binding of Pt‐drugs to DNA increased BDs by factors of 1.9, 1.6 and 2.6, respectively, which partly resulted in significant enhancements of potentially lethal lesions (i. e. crosslinks, double strand breaks (DSBs) and non‐DSB cluster damages). These results reveal the significant role that LEEs play in the formation of clustered DNA damages related to BDs, which are expected to contribute to the higher efficacy of cancer treatment by CRT with the Pt‐drugs investigated. Binding of Pt‐drugs to DNA with electron irradiation at 10 eV significantly lead to enhancements of potentially lethal lesions, including crosslinks, double strand breaks (DSBs) and non‐DSB cluster damages. Base damages contributes the important perspective in the LEEs‐induced clustered DNA damages mechanism, which are expected to benefit the higher efficacy of cancer treatment by CRT with the Pt‐drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic texture (DT) classification has attracted extensive attention in the field of image sequence analysis. The probability distribution model, which has been used to analysis DT, can describe well the distribution property of signals. Here, the authors introduce the finite mixtures of Gumbel distributions (MoGD) and the corresponding parameter estimation method based on expectation–maximisation algorithm. Then, the authors propose the DT features based on MoGD model for DT classification. Specifically, after decomposing DTs with the dual‐tree complex wavelet transform (DT‐CWT), the median values of complex wavelet coefficient magnitudes of non‐overlapping blocks in detail subbands are modelled with MoGDs. The model parameters are accumulated into a feature vector to describe DT. During the classification, a variational approximation version of the Kullback–Leibler divergence is used to measure the similarity between different DTs. The experimental evaluations on two popular benchmark DT data sets (UCLA and DynTex++) demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Original organisms are the biological precursors of organic matter in source rocks. Original organisms in source rocks are informative for oil‐source rock correlation and hydrocarbon potential evaluation, especially for source rocks which have high‐over level of thermal maturity. Systematic identification of original organism assemblages of the Lower Paleozoic potential source rocks and detailed carbon isotopic composition of kerogen analyses were conducted for four outcrop sections in the Tarim basin. Results indicated that the original organism assemblages of the lower part of the Lower Cambrian were composed mainly of benthic algae, whereas those of the Upper Cambrian and the Ordovician were characterized by planktonic algae. Kerogen carbon isotopic data demonstrated that the δ13Ckerogen values of source rocks dominated by benthic algae are lower than –34‰, whereas the δ13Ckerogen values of source rocks dominated by planktonic algae are higher than –30‰ in general. We tentatively suggested that the carbon species those are utilized by algae and the carbon isotopic fractionation during photosynthesis are the major controls for the δ13Ckerogen values in the Lower Paleozoic source rocks in the Tarim basin. Correlating the δ13C values of oils exploited in the Tarim basin, the original organism assemblages, and δ13Ckerogen values of source rocks, it implied that the Lower Paleozoic oils exploited in the Tarim basin should be sourced from the source rocks with original organism assemblages dominated by planktonic algae, and the hydrocarbon sourced from the Cambrian benthic algae should be of great exploration potential in future. Original organism assemblages in source rocks can provide important clues for oil‐source rocks correlation, especially for the source rocks with high thermal maturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the problem of adaptive control of a class of strict-feedback nonlinearly parameterized systems with quantized input signal. A hysteretic type of quantizer is used to avoid chattering. By using a power integrator technique, a new controller is designed to ensure the global finite-time stability of the nonlinear system. Finally, two simulation examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of our design method. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human serum albumin (HSA) and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1Ra) fusion protein is a potential long-acting drug in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. Previously, the expression level of HSA/IL1Ra in Pichia pastoris was successfully improved by increasing the gene copy number and coexpression with chaperone (protein disulfide isomerase) in our laboratory. However, the overexpression strain resulted in low production of high- cell-density fermentation. In this study, the culture medium was optimized in both flask and fermenter, and the optimum culture medium notably increased the productivity and stability of HSA/IL1Ra. To further improve the expression, response surface methodology was used to further optimize the culture condition through modeling three selected parameters (induction pH, induction temperature [ T], and maximum methanol feed rate [ Vm]). The maximum yield of HSA/IL1Ra reached 1.1 g/L (10-fold higher than original fermentation condition) under the optimized culture condition (pH 7.0, T = 29 ℃ and Vm = 4.82 mL/L/H) in a 5-L fermenter. In addition, the degradation position of HSA/IL1Ra during fermentation was determined to be K571, serving as a potential target for genetic modification strategies to reduce the degradation. Finally, the in vivo activity study showed that HSA/IL1Ra maintained the therapeutic effect of IL1Ra in type 2 diabetes model rats meanwhile reducing the frequency of administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the synchronization of general linear multi-agent systems with measurement noises in mean square. It shows that the conventional consensus protocol is efficient and robust to the additive and multiplicative measurement noises in mean square. For the additive measurement noises which are independent of the relative-states, it shows that the multi-agent systems can achieve synchronization in practical mean square. For the multiplicative measurement noises which are dependent of the relative-states, it shows that the multi-agent systems can achieve synchronization in (strict) mean square. Furthermore, the new consensus protocol is better than the conventional one at some specific situations, i.e., the multi-agent systems with additive measurement noises can also achieve synchronization in (strict) mean square. Numerical simulations are also provided and the results show highly consistent with the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the adaptive neural backstepping control for multiple‐input and multiple‐output pure‐feedback systems subject to input saturation and disturbances. Neural networks are used to approximate the uncertain non‐linear functions without any prior limited conditions. A non‐linear disturbance observer and a state observer are constructed to design the output‐feedback neural controller. A new coordinate transform is defined to handle the pure‐feedback systems in the backstepping procedure. The proposed controller can make sure that all the state trajectories are ultimately bounded in the pure‐feedback non‐linear systems. An illustrative example is given to show the usefulness of the authors' designed new control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the research on the Jiaoshiba shale gas found in the Sichuan Basin in China. According to the author the openness study aims to explore the relationship between carbon isotopic reversal and Jiaoshiba mudrock systems. Topics include the use of quadrupole mass spectrometry to analyse alkane composition and isotope in shale gas, and the composition of noble gases such as argon and helium in shale gas.

Quality‐of‐service‐guaranteed video communication in wireless video sensor networks (WVSNs) is extremely challenging because of the unique constraints of WVSN (e.g. limited resources of sensors and high error rates in wireless sensor networks) and the characteristics of video traffic (e.g. huge data rate and tight delay bounds). Distributed video coding (DVC) has emerged as a new video coding paradigm for video applications with resource‐limited encoders. However, current DVC architectures still have several technical limitations that prevent their widespread use in real‐world applications. A low‐complexity distributed multiple description coding method that combines the principles of multiple description coding and DVC has been proposed to further improve the error resilience of DVC, while maintaining low encoder complexity and good rate‐distortion performance in WVSN. Simulation results show that the proposed method is robust against transmission errors, while maintaining low encoder complexity and low system latency for resource‐limited applications in WVSNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human growth hormone (h GH) can mobilize lipid and inhibit the synthesis of triglycerides. However, it is not a potentially useful drug for treating obesity because it has many other actions resulting in several side effects. Here, we report a novel approach to develop the lipolytic function of h GH. The amino terminus of h GH was replaced by an inactive protein so that the actions unrelated to lipolytic function would be avoided. The fusion genes encoding human serum albumin ( HSA) and lipolytic domain of h GH were constructed and expressed in Pichia pastoris. The recombinant proteins were purified and characterized by SDS- PAGE and Western blot. The preliminary stability tests demonstrated that HSA-h GH166-191 and HSA-h GH177-191 were stable at different pH levels after four days at 37°C. Lipolytic activity assay revealed that fusion proteins could increase the amounts of glycerol released from the isolated adipocytes. The HSA fusion proteins constructed in this work can be further developed as antiobesity agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the pyrolysis products for the Jurassic low-mature coal under programmed temperature, and chemical and carbon isotopic compositions of natural gas from the Kuqa Depression, the genetic origin of natural gas was determined, and then a gas filling model was established, in combination with the geological background of the Kuqa Depression. The active energy of CH4, C2H6 and C3H8 was gotten after the data of pyrolysis gas products under different heating rates (2°C/h and 20°C/h) were fitted by the Gas Oil Ratio (GOR) Isotope Model soft. When the frequency factor (Af) was chosen as 1×1014, the active energy of CH4, C2H6 and C3H8 was 58 kcal/mol, 57 kcal/mol and 54 kcal/mol, respectively. The distributive ranges of the δ13C1, δ13C2 and δ13C3 values for the pyrolysis gas products are -35.9‰ to -30.7‰, -26.2‰ to -21.3‰ and -26.4‰ to -22.7‰, respectively. All of the natural gases from the Kuqa Depression are dominated by hydrocarbon gases, with the high gas dryness (C1/C1-4) at the middle and northern parts of the depression and the low values at both east and west sides and the southern part. The carbon isotopes of methane and its homologs as a typical coal-type gas are enriched in 13C, and the distributive range of the δ13C1, δ13C2 and, δ13C3 value is -32‰ to -38‰, -22‰ to -24‰ and -20‰ to -22‰, respectively, with the carbon isotopes of gaseous alkanes being less negative with the carbon number. With the ethane being enriched in 13C the increasing tendency of the geological reserve of natural gas in the Kuqa Depression is observed. This observed change is consistent with the results of pyrolysate gas yield of coal as a potential gas source in the Kuqa Depression, suggesting natural gas was thermally derived from the humic organic matters and the carbon isotopes of gaseous alkanes would coarsely predict the geological reserve of gas in the Kuqa Depression. Through the simulation of kinetic processes of gas generation for the Jurassic coal in the Kuqa Depression, the gas in the Kela 2 gas field would get the threshold of gas expulsion after 27 Ma, be expelled out of source rocks as 'pulse action', and then filled in the gas reservoir. The peak gas-filling history took place during the past 2 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The NADPH-oxidase 1 (Nox1) is a homolog of gp91 phox, the catalytic subunit of the phagocyte superoxide-generating NADPH-oxidase. Nox1 is expressed in normal colon epithelial cells and in colon tumor cell lines, and overexpression in model cells has been implicated in stimulation of mitogenesis and angiogenesis and inhibition of apoptosis. This suggests that aberrant expression of Nox1 could contribute to the development of colorectal cancer. Herein, we examine the expression of Nox1 mRNA in 24 colon tumors of various stages compared with paired adjacent normal tissue from the same patient, and correlate expression with some common mutations associated with colon cancer. Nox1 was overexpressed compared with paired normal tissue in 57% of tumors as early as the adenoma stage, with no correlation of expression level with tumor stage. Overexpression of Nox1 mRNA correlated with Nox1 protein levels assessed by immunofluorescence and immunohistochemistry with an antibody specific for Nox1. There was a strong correlation between Nox1 mRNA level and activating mutations in codons 12 and 13 of K-Ras. Eighty percent (8/10) of tumors with codons 12 and 13 mutations had a 2-fold or more increase in Nox1 mRNA, and 70% (7/10) had a 5-fold or greater increase. Transgenic mice expressing K-Ras [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]