Search

Clinical and experimental evidence suggested that anesthesia choice can influence cancer progression and patients’ outcomes by modulating tumor microenvironment and tumorigenic pathways. Curative resection is the mainstay of therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is an intractable disease due to high recurrence and poor prognosis. However, different anesthetics may play different roles in alleviating surgery-induced stress response and inflammatory cytokines release that are considered to be closely associated with proliferation, invasion and metastasis of tumor cells. Propofol, sevoflurane, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and local anesthetics have shown to exert anti-tumor effect on HCC mainly through regulating microRNAs or signaling pathways, while other inhalational agents, dexmedetomidine and opioids have the potential to promote tumor growth. In terms of anesthetic methods and analgesia strategies, propofol based total intravenous anesthesia and thoracic epidural analgesia could be preferred for HCC patients undergoing open liver resection rather than inhalational anesthesia. Local anesthesia techniques have great potential to attenuate perioperative stress response, hence they may contribute to more favorable outcomes. This review summarized the relations between different anesthesia choices and HCC patients’ long-term outcomes as well as their underlying mechanisms. Due to the complexity of molecules interactions and signaling pathways, further studies are warranted to confirm these results so as to optimize anesthesia strategy for HCC patients.

Symbolic Extension Entropy Theorem (SEET) describes the possibility of a lossless digitalization of a dynamical system by extending it to a subshift. It gives an estimate on the entropy of symbolic extensions (and the necessary number of symbols). Unlike in the measure-theoretic case, where Kolmogorov--Sinai entropy is the estimate, in the topological setup the task reaches beyond the classical theory of entropy. Tools from an extended theory of entropy structures are needed. The main goal of this paper is to prove the SEET for actions of countable amenable groups: Let a countable amenable group $G$ act by homeomorphisms on a compact metric space $X$ and let $\mathcal M_G(X)$ denote the simplex of $G$-invariant probability measures on $X$. A function $E $ on $\mathcal M_G(X)$ equals the extension entropy function $h^\pi$ of a symbolic extension $\pi:(Y,G)\to (X,G)$, where $h^\pi(\mu)=\sup\{h_\nu(Y,G): \nu\in\pi^{-1}(\mu)\}$ ($\mu\in\mathcal M_G(X)$), if and only if $E $ is an affine superenvelope of the entropy structure of $(X,G)$. The statement is preceded by presentation of the concepts of an entropy structure and superenvelopes, adapted from $\mathbb Z$-actions. In full generality we prove a slightly weaker version of SEET, in which symbolic extensions are replaced by quasi-symbolic extensions, i.e., extensions in form of a joining of a subshift with a zero-entropy tiling system. The notion of a tiling system is a subject of earlier works and in this paper we review and complement the theory developed there. The full version of the SEET is proved for groups which are either residually finite or enjoy the comparison property. In order to describe the range of our theorem, we devote a large portion of the paper to the comparison property. Our main result in this aspect shows that all subexponential groups have the comparison property (and thus satisfy the SEET)., Comment: 89 pages. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1712.05129

A primary development plan for a country is to attain carbon neutrality and high-quality international commerce development. This study uses panel data from 30 provinces in mainland China to analyze the dynamic interplay between international trade, technological innovation, and carbon emissions. The findings show that foreign trade, technological progress, and carbon emissions all have their own “economic inertia” that can be self-motivated and self-reinforcing. Foreign commerce and carbon emissions are mutually inhibiting, but technical progress and carbon emissions are mutually reinforcing. This illustrates that achieving a positive cycle of international trade, technological improvement, and carbon emissions necessitates a significant baseline need. Overcoming carbon trade barriers is currently the most difficult challenge for Chinese enterprises involved in foreign commerce. Low-carbon technology advancements are a critical part in this process. Our research strengthens the positive connections between international trade and carbon emissions as a result of technological improvement and proposes a feasible plan for international trade to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality.

Supplemental Material for The Roles of Information Valence, Media Literacy and Perceived Information Quality on the Association Between Frequent Social Media Exposure and COVID-19 Vaccination Intention by Meiqi Xin, Sitong Luo, Suhua Wang, Junfeng Zhao, Guohua Zhang, Lijuan Li, Liping Li, and Joseph Tak-Fai Lau in American Journal of Health Promotion

Current therapeutic approaches have a limited effect on cardiac remodeling, which is characteristic of cardiac fibrosis and myocardial hypertrophy. In this study, we examined whether Danshenol A (DA), an active ingredient extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Radix Salviae, can attenuate cardiac remodeling and clarified the underlying mechanisms. Using the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) as a cardiac remodeling model, DA ameliorated blood pressure, cardiac injury, and myocardial collagen volume and improved cardiac function. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that DA might attenuate cardiac remodeling through modulating mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species. DA repaired the structure/function of the mitochondria, alleviated oxidative stress in the myocardium, and restored apoptosis of cardiomyocytes induced by angiotensin II. Besides, DA inhibited mitochondrial redox signaling pathways in both the myocardium and cardiomyocytes. Thus, our study suggested that DA attenuates cardiac remodeling induced by hypertension through modulating mitochondrial dysfunction and reactive oxygen species.

Li-rich layered oxides are highlighted as promising candidates for the next-generation cathode materials in Li-ion batteries, but suffer from poor cycling stability and voltage fading during the cycling process. Currently, less efforts are devoted to addressing these issues through exploring novel binders. In this work, we explore an aqueous binder of xanthan gum with double helix superstructure containing abundant charged functional groups. This unique structure is beneficial to the occurrence of significant mechanical interlocking effect and formation of chemical bond with particles’ surface, which can effectively suppress electrode exfoliation, particle pulverization and structural degradation during cycling. As a consequence, the electrode with xanthan gum still delivers the discharge capacity of 275.6 mAh g−1 with the retention of 98.4% after 200 cycles at 0.1C rate. Accordingly, the mid-point discharge voltage remains 87% (about 2.3 mV/per cycle drop). The current study provides a useful insight into how to design and develop superior binders based on charged double-helix superstructure for potential low-cost and environmentally friendly aqueous processing of high energy density Li-ion batteries.

Paeoniflorin (PF) is a main bioactive component of the root of Paeonia lactiflora Pal, and previous investigations suggest that it may impact cardiac remodeling in spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHR) via the MAPK signaling pathway. Thus, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the impacts of paeoniflorin cardiac function in SHR rats. Cardiac function and blood pressure were observed using echocardiography and non-invasive tail pressure gauge. Heart histopathology was assessed by histological staining and transmission electron microscopy. Genomic sequencing was performed and signaling pathway enrichment analyzed the function of differentially expressed genes(DEGs). Biochemical kits were used to analyze the serum level of proinflammatory cytokines including TNF-α, IL-6 and MCP-1. qRT-PCR proved the mRNA expression of Ngfr, Grin2b, and Ntf4. MAPK pathways were determined via western blot. Paeoniflorin decreased blood pressure and increased hemodynamic indexes. 131 DEGs were identified (SHR vs. PF), and mainly enriched on the MAPK signaling pathway. Paeoniflorin reduced IL-6, MCP-1, Ngfr, Grin2b, and Ntf4, and also decreased p-JNK, p-Erk1/2, and p-p38 proteins compared with the SHR group. Paeoniflorin attenuated cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, and inflammation, and subsequently improved LV function. In conclusion, the cardioprotective role of paeoniflorin was associated with the inhibition of MAPK signaling pathway.

The paper offers a thorough study of multiorders and their applications to measure-preserving actions of countable amenable groups. By a~{\em multiorder} on a~countable group we mean any probability measure $\nu$ on the collection $\tilde{\mathcal{O}}$ of linear orders of type $\mathbb Z$ on $G$, invariant under the natural action of $G$ on such orders. Every free measure-preserving $G$-action $(X,\mu,G)$ has a~multiorder $(\tilde{\mathcal{O}},\nu,G)$ as a factor and has the same orbits as the $\mathbb Z$-action $(X,\mu,S)$, where $S$ is the \emph{successor map} determined by the multiorder factor. Moreover, the sub-sigma-algebra $\Sigma_{\tilde{\mathcal{O}}}$ associated with the multiorder factor is invariant under $S$, which makes the corresponding $\mathbb Z$-action $(\tilde{\mathcal{O}},\nu,\tilde S)$ a factor of $(X,\mu,S)$. We prove that the entropy of any $G$-process generated by a finite partition of $X$, conditional with respect to $\Sigma_{\tilde{\mathcal{O}}}$, is preserved by the orbit equivalence with $(X,\mu,S)$. Furthermore, this entropy can be computed in terms of the so-called random past, by a formula analogous to $ h(\mu,T,\mathcal P)=H(\mu,\mathcal P|\mathcal{P}^-)$ known for $\mathbb Z$-actions. The above fact is then applied to prove a variant of a result by Rudolph and Weiss. The original theorem states that orbit equivalence between free actions of countable amenable groups preserves conditional entropy with respect to a~sub-sigma-algebra $\Sigma$, as soon as the ``orbit change'' is measurable with respect to $\Sigma$. In our variant, we replace the measurability assumption by a~simpler one: $\Sigma$ should be invariant under both actions and the actions on the resulting factor should be free. In conclusion we provide a characterization of the Pinsker sigma-algebra of any $G$-process in terms of an appropriately defined remote past arising from a multiorder., Comment: 36 pages, 2 figures, Changes: slightly changed formulation and proof of Theorem 7.4, some remarks added

Thermal reduction of the partial oxidation of CH4 NiFe2O4 followed by oxidation with H2O and CO2 was numerically investigated for H2 and CO production. P1 radiation model was used to account for radiative heat transfer. The synergistic effect of the reactivity of Fe/Ni exhibited a very promising strategy for producing 45% of syngas with 2.54 ratios of H2:CO at the first step and 55% of syngas with 2.34 ratios of H2:CO at the second step. The increase in incident radiation heat flux to 437.69 kW/m2 resulted in higher reduction kinetics of species conversion until the formation of oxygen carriers consisting of 65% of FeO, 35% of Ni Fe and 2.6% of carbon deposition. However, during the reduction process, the decrease in total pressure to 0.05 MPa enhanced the species reactivity and the production of H2 and CO while minimizing carbon deposition. Moreover, the oxidation temperature, operating pressure and the concentration of oxidizing species have strong impacts on the oxidation kinetics. Unlike high thermal reduction process, increasing the total pressure to 1 MPa has favorable effects on syngas production at oxidation step.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Kangxian formula (KXF) is a traditional Chinese medicine which shows effective outcomes in treating cardiac remodeling induced by hypertension. However, the exact effects and the mechanisms involved remain obscure. Aim of the study In this study, we aimed to identify the therapeutic role of KXF in vivo and in vitro, and investigate the mechanism of KXF on hypertension induced cardiac remodeling. Materials and methods After quality control of KXF using fingerprint, blood pressure, cardiac structure/function indexes, and degree of myocardial collagen were measured in vivo. Moreover, the proliferation, migration, and fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transformation (FMT) of cardiac fibroblasts (CFBs) were determined. Using gene chip, the related mechanisms of KXF treatment on cardiac remodeling were identified and further validated by western blot and polymerase chain reaction. Results A stable quality control standard of KXF was established in this study. KXF administration ameliorated systolic/diastolic blood pressure, cardiac damages, and cardiac fibrosis in vivo. The proliferation, migration, and FMT of CFBs were also inhibited by the treatment of KXF medicated serum. Furthermore, KXF reduced the protein level of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) receptors Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Tak1, p38, Smad2/3, and Smad4 and the expression of mRNA, which are the hub proteins in the TGF-β signaling pathway. Conclusion Our findings suggest that KXF attenuates cardiac remodeling by improving cardiac damages, attenuating cardiac fibrosis, and inhibiting the activity of CFBs. In addition, KXF ameliorates cardiac remodeling partially through modulating the TGF-β signaling pathway. These data provide insights and mechanisms into the wide application of KXF in clinical practice.

A highly active photocatalyst TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 was synthesized by a facile two-step method including sol-gel and calcination, using Ti(OBu) 4 as a Ti source and melamine as a nitrogen source. The resultant photocatalysts were characterized by XRD, TEM and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra. The results show that TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 is formed and TiO 2 is beset with graphite-like carbon nitride of layer structure. TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 exhibits obviously enhanced visible light photocatalytic activity, and the degradation efficiency of Methylene blue (MB) reaches 94.46% after irradiation for 1 h, which is much higher than that of g-C 3 N 4 and TiO 2 . The improved photocatalytic activity of TiO 2 /g-C 3 N 4 is attributable to its wide spectrum responsive range, strong visible light adsorption capability, and the synergistic effect between TiO 2 and g-C 3 N 4 . The mechanism of photocatalytic reaction was discussed.

A microplate-based assay is described for the sensitive and selective fluorometric determination of the pesticide dimethoate. Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-coated CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) are used as the molecular recognition probe. The MIP-coated QDs were synthesized using one-step reversed-phase microemulsion in the presence of hydrophobic CdSe/ZnS QDs. Copolymerization was performed by using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as the functional monomer, tetraethoxysilane as the cross-linker, and dimethoate as the template. The fluorescence of the coated QDs is quenched by dimethoate when dimethoate becomes rebound on the imprinting sites of the MIP. Under the optimal conditions, fluorescence (best measured at excitation/emisison wavelengths of 380/620 nm) drops linearly in the 5.0–150 μg L−1 dimethoate concentration range, and the limit of detection is 2.1 μg L−1 (at S/N = 3). The assay was utilized for dimethoate determination in spiked real samples. Satisfactory recoveries (89.8%–98.0%) with relatively standard deviations of

The preparation and practical applications of molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensors (MIECSs) remain challenging due to issues involving electrode surface renewal modes, low adsorption capacities, and sample preparation speeds. To solve these issues, magnetic molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensors (MMIECSs) have been extensively explored by various groups. Recently, MMIECSs fabricated based on diverse strategies have yielded insight into the development of MIECSs, and they have provided effective paths for sample preparation, immobilization and renewal of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) on the electrode surface, leading to promising performances of MIECSs. This review comprehensively describes the research advances for various types of MMIECSs and their applications in the fields of food safety, environmental monitoring, and clinical and pharmaceutical analysis. Based on our understanding of MMIECSs, the literature in this field is thoroughly explored and classified in this review. The challenges existing in this research area and some potential strategies for the rational design of high-performance MMIECS are also outlined.

In this paper we study chaotic behavior of actions of a countable discrete group acting on a compact metric space by self-homeomorphisms. For actions of a countable discrete group G, we introduce local weak mixing and Li-Yorke chaos; and prove that local weak mixing implies Li-Yorke chaos if G is infinite, and positive topological entropy implies local weak mixing if G is an infinite countable discrete amenable group. Moreover, when considering a shift of finite type for actions of an infinite countable amenable group G, if the action has positive topological entropy then its homoclinic equivalence relation is non-trivial, and the converse holds true if additionally G is residually finite and the action contains a dense set of periodic points.

A new terbium sensitized spectrofluorimetric method was developed for the determination of trace amounts of dopamine (DA) using ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid as co-ligand and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride as sensitizer. UV absorption and fluorescent spectra were used to investigate the photophysical properties of the ternary complex. Under the optimum conditions, the enhanced fluorescence intensities of the Tb(III) complexes increased linearly with the concentration of DA over the ranges 8 × 10–8–5 × 10–5 M and the limit of detection for DA was found to be 2.4 × 10–8 M. The proposed method has been applied for the quantitative determination of DA in a pharmaceutical preparation and urine samples. The possible energy transfer mechanisms in the lanthanide complexes were discussed.

Using density functional theory calculations, the electronic sensitivity and reactivity of pristine, Al and Si doped C70 fullerenes are inspected toward anti-tuberculosis isoniazid (IS) drug. We found that the IS prefers to be physically adsorbed on the pristine C70 via its O-head with adsorption energy about −1.3 kcal/mol and no effect on the C70 electrical conductivity. Substituting a C atom of C70 by Al and Si atoms, the C70 reactivity meaningfully increases, and the predicted adsorption energies are about −67.9 and −51.3 kcal/mol, respectively. The HOMO-LUMO gap (Eg) and work function of Al–C70 are not sensibly affected by the IS drug. While because of a large HOMO destabilization in the Si–C70 upon the IS adsorption, the Eg of Si–C70 largely decreases from 2.24 to 1.12 eV, increasing its electrical conductivity which can generate an electrical signal. This signal is connected to the presence of IS in the environment. Therefore, we concluded that the Si–C70 may be a promising electronic sensor for the IS drug detection. Similar to the case of Al–C70, the Fermi level and work function of Si–C70 are not sensibly affected by IS adsorption, indicating that the Si–C70 can be used only as an electronic sensor not a work function type sensor.

In this study, the finite element model of the ultrasonic cleaning system was established and the harmonic response analysis was carried out to obtain the vibration distribution of the ultrasonic cleaning floor and the sound pressure distribution in the water. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the adhesion of fouling organisms. The results show that the ultrasonic treatment mode has a significant effect on the microscopic fouling adsorption of PMMA surface. When the total time of the ultrasonic action is same, the shorter the ultrasonic interval time, the more significant the effect of ultrasonic decontamination.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of mortality in patients with diabetes, particularly those with type 2 diabetes. Long non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs), including terminal differentiation‑induced lncRNA (TINCR), myocardial infarction‑associated transcript (MIAT) and H19, serve a key role in the regulation of DCM. MicroRNAs (miRNAs/miRs) can inhibit the expression of mRNA at the post‑transcriptional level, whereas lncRNAs can mask the inhibitory effects of miRNAs on mRNA. Together, miRNAs and lncRNAs form a competitive endogenous non‑coding RNA (ceRNA) network that regulates the occurrence and development of various diseases. However, the regulatory role of lncRNAs in DCM is unclear. In this study, a background network containing mRNAs, miRNAs and lncRNAs was constructed using starBase and a regulatory network of DCM was screened using Cytoscape. A functional lncRNA, X‑inactive specific transcript (XIST), was identified in the disease network and the main miRNAs (miR‑424‑5p and miR‑497‑5p) that are regulated by XIST were further screened to obtain the ceRNA regulatory network of DCM. In conclusion, the results of this study revealed that lncRNAs may serve an important role in DCM and provided novel insights into the pathogenesis of DCM.

2015-2016年对鄱阳湖区的滨湖农田和湖滩草洲的黄毛鼠种群繁殖进行了研究。研究结果表明，其种群雌雄比为81.36%，在不同的季节、生境和年龄组之间都有一定的差别，雌雄比在夏季较低，春、秋、冬季的雌雄比都超过了50.00%，其中冬季的达到了133.33%。农田和湖滩草洲上的雌雄比也都超过了50.00%，且农田的高于湖滩草洲的。在不同的年龄组之间，雌雄比最高的为幼体组140.00%，其次为成体90.20%。所有雌鼠全年的怀孕率为45.26%，平均胎仔数为6.74只，繁殖指数为1.36。夏和秋季的怀孕率都较高，冬季未捕获到怀孕鼠，仅捕获到有怀孕经历（有宫斑）的雌鼠。从繁殖指数看，春、秋季维持高峰水平，且秋峰高于春峰。雌性黄毛鼠总的参产率为71.58%，各季节间变化呈现单峰曲线，夏季最高，其次是秋季和春季，冬季停止怀孕。随着年龄的增长，平均胎仔数有明显增加的趋势，成体组胎仔数最高，而繁殖指数也是以成体组最高，说明成体组是种群中繁殖的主体。雄性黄毛鼠的睾丸下降率全年总计为81.36%，分四季平均为79.64%，春、夏、秋季都维持在较高水平，冬季最低。下位睾丸的大小季节性差异极显著（P < 0.01），春季与冬季相比，有显著性差异，说明开春后，雄性黄毛鼠在生殖潜能上已有明显变化。这些特征与雌鼠的繁殖高峰基本吻合。说明黄毛鼠主要在春、夏、秋季繁殖，繁殖盛期在春、秋季。从不同的年龄组看，幼体组个体不参与繁殖，亚成体组个体开始参与繁殖，繁殖主体是成体组个体。

Self-assembled micronsized flower silver (Ag) particles were synthesized using AgNO3 as starting material by a stainless steel assisted vitamin C (Vc) reduction method. X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were employed to characterize the phases and the morphologies of the products. The results show that the micronsized flower Ag particles with 1∼6 µm size can be rapidly and routinely produced on relatively large scales, which are composed of nanoplates or nanorods with the thickness of around 200 nm. The growth process of the micronsized flower Ag particles was investigated and their growth mechanism was proposed. It is revealed that the micronsized flower Ag particles might be assembled from small particles step by step. The presence of stainless steel and temperature plays an important role in determining the geometric shape and the size of micronsized flower Ag particles.

In this study, bacterial community compositions in seven different estuarine sediments of Poyang Lake were analyzed using 16S rRNA gene-targeted metagenomic approach. Remarkable differences in the bacterial diversity were observed in these different estuarine sediments. Le, Chang and Rao river samples exhibited the higher bacterial diversity; the Fu river sample showed the less diversity. Bacterial richness and diversity were positively regulated by sediment inorganic phosphorus, and nitrite nitrogen, total phosphorus and inorganic phosphorus were found to be important drivers for bacterial community compositions. Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Firmicutes, Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes, Gemmatimonadetes, Actinobacteria, Nitrospirae, and Verrucomicrobia were the major components of sediment bacterial communities. Among them, Proteobacteria was the most dominant phylum, followed by Acidobacteria and Firmicutes. Our study gives a comprehensive insight into the structure of bacterial community of the different estuarine sediments of Poyang Lake, indicating that the environmental factors played a key role in influencing the bacterial community composition in the freshwater ecosystem.

We provide a criterion for a point satisfying the required disjointness condition in Sarnak's M��bius Disjointness Conjecture. As a direct application, we have that the conjecture holds for any topological model of an ergodic system with discrete spectrum., 15 pages, treats topological models of all ergodic systems with discrete spectra and supersedes previous version

In this article, the hardware system of radionuclide monitoring and the test results are introduced. The analysis of the digital pulse signal through the pretreatment circuit, high-speed ADC and the FPGA, can obtain the signal amplitude, time, pulse shape etc, and then the marine radioactivity can be obtained. This system can be used to monitor the marine radionuclide.

For the question of applying high-pressure water injection to increase gas extraction efficiency by increasing the permeability of water to drive gas action, an independently designed gas desorption experimental measuring device was used under the condition of external solution invasion. The law of water effect on gas desorption was obtained after water invasion through experiment for the first time. The results show that water’s later invasion not only can make the quantity of gas desorption greatly reduced, but also can make gas desorption end early. Therefore, when evaluating the applications of high-pressure water injection to increase gas extraction efficiency, we should take water damaging effects on gas desorption into account.

For the question of gas exceeding limit in the coal face, independent research and development gas desorption experimental measuring device was used under the condition of external solution invasion, according to the experimental data and curve with and without penetrant solution invasion impacting on gas desorption, it can be seen that there is the influence law of external solution invasion to gas desorption, and the article discusses the feasibility and implementation way by means of water lock effect of penetrant solution to prevent gas exceeding limit in the coal face. The results of study have some reference and application value to prevent gas exceeding limit in the coal face.

Aiming at detection puzzle of small target in grayscale image with low SNR,the characteristics of infrared small targets were analyzed and a detection algorithm was put forward based on multi-structural element morphological filter combined with adaptive threshold segmentation.In view of the continuity and regularity of motion for target and the randomness of generation for noise,and considering the characteristics of structure element,the design of morphological filter and a technique via assembly line and pipe scheme were considered to detect target trajectory.Experiments show that the algorithm is able to obtain excellent results toward low SNR infrared image under complex background,and has high detection probability,high speed and low false alarm rate.

The stable and transition structures of N4X (X = O, S, Se, Te) series with singlet state are optimized with the ab initio (MP2) and density functional theory (B3LYP) methods using the 6-311+G(d) basis set. The ring isomers are found to be the global minima for N4O, N4S, N4Se, and the chain isomer is the minimum for N4Te. The stabilities are studied by evaluating the dissociation barriers with respect to dissociation. The reactants and products connected by transition structures are determined by applying the intrinsic reaction coordinate (IRC) calculations. The C2v, C3v and ring isomers decompose into linear NNX and N2 molecules, however, the chain isomers decompose into cyclic N2X and N2 firstly. A new possible isomerization mechanism between the cyclic and linear structures of N2X series is studied. The cyclic structures of N2X convert into linear structures easily with the very low barriers. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009

The interaction of sophoricoside and human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by UV-absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy at simulative physiological pH with sophoricoside concentrations of 3.0 × 10 −6 to 2.3 × 10 −5 mol L −1 . The experimental results suggested that the intrinsic fluorescence of HSA was quenched by addition of sophoricoside through static quenching mechanism. The interaction between sophoricoside and HSA was occurred via a single class of binding site. The binding constants at 290, 301, 310 and 318 K were 6.19 × 10 4 , 4.69 × 10 4 , 3.54 × 10 4 , 3.11 × 10 4 L mol −1 , respectively. In the presence of sophoricoside the protein secondary structure changed in aqueous solution. The standard enthalpy change (−19.44 kJ mol −1 ) and standard entropy change (24.71 J mol −1 K −1 ) of the binding reaction revealed that hydrophobic interaction was the predominant binding force. In addition, molecular modeling showed that sophoricoside was bound within the subdomain IIA of the HSA.

TSV interpsoer is one of the common forms used the 3D package. In this paper, the 3D finite element method is used to analyze the thermo-mechanical reliability of TSV interposer and solder joint. This paper focuses on the influence of several points including IMC, TSV distribution, underfill, substrate and the structure of TSV. The finite element modeling results draw some cinclusion. Stress of both interposer and solder joint with the IMC is much larger than that without IMC. The effect of solder joint distribution is not significant to the reliability of interposer and solder joint. Underfill is beneficial to reliability of solder joint, but makes interposer stress large. The solder joint reliability is more sensitive to substrate thickness for package without underfill. It is validated by finite element analysis that the structure of unfully filled TSV is beneficial to reduce the mismatch between copper and silicon.

Background Xue-Fu-Zhu-Yu decoction (XFZYD), Tian-Ma-Gou-Teng-Yin (TMGTY) and Wen-Dan decoction (WDD) are Chinese herbal formulas used to treat hypertension and cardiovascular diseases in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The goal of our study is to determine if XFZYD, TMGTY or WDD treatment ameliorated myocardial fibrosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and to identify the mechanisms underlying any beneficial effects observed during the courses of the investigation. Methods Forty-five 12-week-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats and five age-matched male Wistar-Kyoto control rats were studied for 16 weeks. Each day 6 g∙kg−1 or 12 g∙kg−1 of XFZYD, TMGTY or WDD was orally administered at the indicated dose, and the systolic blood pressure (SBP) of all rats was measured using the tail-cuff method. Collagen levels were measured via hydroxyproline content assays and histological examination. Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1) protein levels were determined via immunhistochemical and Western blot analysis. TGF-β1 mRNA levels were assessed using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results Systolic blood pressure was unaffected, but collagen and TGF-β1 levels in SHRs treated with captopril and XFZYD (12 g∙kg−1) were significantly reduced when compared with untreated control SHRs. Administration of 12 g∙kg−1 XFZYD increased myocardial cell protection and decreased TGF-β1 mRNA and protein expression when compared with the other SHR treatment groups. Conclusions XFZYD treatment demonstrated a superior ability to reverse myocardial fibrosis when compared with WDD or TMGTY treatment in SHRs. XFZYD also decreased TGF-β1 mRNA and protein expression, suggesting that the TGF-β1 signaling pathway plays a role in the therapeutic effects of XFZYD treatment. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12906-016-1030-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

In this paper, following the idea of dual phase alloys, the authors dealt with the TiAl based Ti-Al-Si ternary alloys. The investigation was carried out to understand the basic properties of these alloys. Emphasis was placed on the relationship between microstructures and mechanical properties. Their present study has shown that a sufficient Si addition to the TiAl matrix resulted in TiAl + Ti{sub 5}Si{sub 3} dual phase alloys. The microstructure was coupled-growth in general which could be characterized as eutectic, hypoeutectic and hypereutectic. The second phase Ti{sub 5}Si{sub 3} contributed to the enforcement of the matrix, which was the expected result. However, high Si and Al contents resulted in low ductility and fracture strength. This was because of the coarse Ti{sub 5}Si{sub 3} primary phases and the embrittlement of the matrix. So in the view of alloy design, emphasis should be placed on the hypoeutectic and eutectic alloys, and adjusting the amount and shape of Ti{sub 5}Si{sub 3} in the Ti rich TiAl matrix may shed some light on their practical use in the future.

A method to construct girth-12 (3,L) quasi-cyclic low-density parity-check (QC-LDPC) codes with all lengths larger than a certain given number is proposed, via a given girth-12 code subjected to some constraints. The lengths of these codes can be arbitrary integers of the form LP, provided that P is larger than a tight lower bound determined by the maximal element within the exponent matrix of the given girth-12 code. By applying the method to the case of row-weight six, we obtained a family of girth-12 (3,6) QC-LDPC codes for arbitrary lengths above 2688, which includes 30 member codes with shorter code lengths compared with the shortest girth-12 (3,6) QC-LDPC codes reported by O'Sullivan., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

A method of spatial load forecasting based on support vector machines (SVM) and cellular automata (CA) is proposed in this paper. Spatial load forecasting can be regarded as a complex problem considering many kinds of factors, while the theory of CA fully reflects the idea "complex systems are from the interaction of simple subsystem”, and is an easy and effective method to deal with complicated problems. In the paper, in order to make the mode more suitable to simulate the space distribution of power load, the traditional mode of CA is advanced. Moreover, since the core definition of CA is to vary regulations, generalized SVM mode is applied to practice the conversion regulations of CA and it can effectively solve nonlinear problem and data noise question during the practice research of projects. The case in the paper proves the mode, put forward in the paper, accords with the factual situation of spatial load forecast in distribution power system.

An approved CFAR (constant false alarm rate) method based on half side Gaussian model (HG-CFAR) is presented for the target segmentation in infrared image. Firstly, the distribution of the residual image after preprocessing based on morphological filters is exploited. Although widely used and useful, the traditional Gaussian distribution does not appear to be the best choice for modeling the residual images. Half side Gaussian distribution (HG) is adopted to model the residuals since it fits the data better. Then, based on the HG model a new CFAR threshold method called HG-CFAR is proposed. Secondly, a novel algorithm for model parameter estimation is given. The estimation algorithm has at least two merits: one is very simple and efficient can be realized on hardware easily. Another is robust to the number and size of the targets. At last, comparisons are made between HG-CFAR and traditional CFAR based on Gaussian distribution. The results show that the new method is more efficient.

The vulnerability assessment algorithm of the bulk power grid based on complex network theory is proposed in this paper. The traditional research model of the power grid based on complex network theory is a graph with no direction and no weight at present. Because this model is far from the real power system, sometimes the wrong results may be gotten. In this paper, the models of components in the power grid are constructed detailedly, furthermore the weighted and directional graph is provided. First, the connecting formings among buses (instead in the traditional methods only substations are considered), lines, transformers and generators are simulated detailedly. Second, the power flow direction in the power grid is considered, and the components' tolerance to disturbances is also considered. Based on the proposed model, the power grid's tolerance to errors and attacks is analyzed. The key components and weak areas are indicated. At last, the robustness and fault dissemination mechanism of the power grid under cascading failures are analyzed based on the proposed method. The North China power grid is used as an example to validate the proposed method.

The law of how the minimum absolute eigenvalue of the Jacobian matrix varies with the load of power systems is analyzed, based on which a new approach is proposed to estimate the static voltage collapse. BPA is used to calculate power flows with the increasing loads. Using the new approached method, the critical point of the static voltage collapse can be conveniently estimated under various power system operation states. The approach is tested on the standard IEEE9 system

传统的经济学认为，增加财富是增加幸福最主要的方法。但是，研究发现，增加财富并不一定能增加幸福。文章分别从适应性理论、可评价性理论和比较、以及时间模式三个方面给出解释。最后，文章将展望经济学新的发展方向。 It is a long - hold economic theory that wealth is the best proxy of happiness. However, research shows that more money may not necessarily bring more happiness. The article explains this paradox from three perspectives: Adaptation, Evaluability and Social Comparison, and also Temporal Pattern. The article also looks into the new direction of Economics.

This paper reports an experiment on the failure of a precracked plate made of unidirectional glass-epoxy fi-ber-reinforced composites subjected to three-point bending impact load. In the experiment, the whole process of crack growth was recorded by using high-speed photographic technique, in which a transmitted light path was adopted. Moreover, a new phenomenon of dynamic fracture has been observed. Based on the results, some preliminary studies have been carried out on the rate and path of the crack growth, as well as the failure mode.

A new family of binary sequences is constructed by Legendre sequence with period P, P=3 (mod 4). The new signal set includes two subsets consisting of (P−1)/2 and (P+1)/2 codes with good balance property. A conjecture about the maximum over all (non–trivial) autocorrelation and crosscorrelation values of sequence contained within the two subsets is proposed.