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Early‐stage rape seedling density is closely related to yield estimation, growth diagnosis, cultivated area statistics, and field management. Currently, manual sampling and counting, which are inefficient and inaccurate, are heavily relied upon to estimate rape seedling density. Computer vision techniques have emerged as a promising solution to the automation of this task, as digital images have become more commonplace. Farmland field environments, however, face many challenges, including scale variation, denseness, and background occlusion. An improved multi‐column convolutional neural network, called seedling rape density prediction network (SRDPNet), has been proposed in this study to resolve the issues related to accurate density estimation and counting of rape seedlings in complex farmland scenarios. Based on the multi‐column convolutional attention encoder, filters of different sizes are used to capture the basic feature of rape seedlings at various scales. The channel attention and position attention modules are introduced into branches to alleviate the impact of low counting accuracy caused by background error and growth state differences. The SRDPNet was validated using the seedling rapeseed plant counting (SRPC) dataset created in this study. The experimental results showed that the SRDPNet demonstrated high accurate counting performance for the SRPC dataset with a high coefficient of determination (R2= 0.97396) and mean absolute error (MAE = 3.26, mean square error = 4.56), which are superior to that of the comparison method. SRDPNet can effectively solve the visual challenges of rape seedlings in complex farmland scenes and improve the robustness for complex visual variations. Multicolumn CNN with attention module can effectively solve the problems of the rape seedling images.Position attention module can significantly improve the counting accuracy for the rape seedling with scale changes.Channel attention module can significantly improve the counting accuracy of rape seedling with complex backgrounds.

The roles of brain region activities and genotypic functions in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remain unclear. Meanwhile, current imaging genetics methods are difficult to identify potential pathogenetic markers by correlation analysis between brain network and genetic variation. To discover disease-related brain connectome from the specific brain structure and the fine-grained level, based on the Automated Anatomical Labeling (AAL) and human Brainnetome atlases, the functional brain network is first constructed for each subject. Specifically, the upper triangle elements of the functional connectivity matrix are extracted as connectivity features. The clustering coefficient and the average weighted node degree are developed to assess the significance of every brain area. Since the constructed brain network and genetic data are characterized by non-linearity, high-dimensionality, and few subjects, the deep subspace clustering algorithm is proposed to reconstruct the original data. Our multilayer neural network helps capture the non-linear manifolds, and subspace clustering learns pairwise affinities between samples. Moreover, most approaches in neuroimaging genetics are unsupervised learning, neglecting the diagnostic information related to diseases. We presented a label constraint with diagnostic status to instruct the imaging genetics correlation analysis. To this end, a diagnosis-guided deep subspace clustering association (DDSCA) method is developed to discover brain connectome and risk genetic factors by integrating genotypes with functional network phenotypes. Extensive experiments prove that DDSCA achieves superior performance to most association methods and effectively selects disease-relevant genetic markers and brain connectome at the coarse-grained and fine-grained levels.

The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is extremely intricate, which makes AD patients almost incurable. Recent studies have demonstrated that analyzing multi-modal data can offer a comprehensive perspective on the different stages of AD progression, which is beneficial for early diagnosis of AD. In this paper, we propose a deep self-reconstruction fusion similarity hashing (DS-FSH) method to effectively capture the AD-related biomarkers from the multi-modal data and leverage them to diagnose AD. Given that most existing methods ignore the topological structure of the data, a deep self-reconstruction model based on random walk graph regularization is designed to reconstruct the multi-modal data, thereby learning the nonlinear relationship between samples. Additionally, a fused similarity hash based on anchor graph is proposed to generate discriminative binary hash codes for multi-modal reconstructed data. This allows sample fused similarity to be effectively modeled by a fusion similarity matrix based on anchor graph while modal correlation can be approximated by Hamming distance. Especially, extracted features from the multi-modal data are classified using deep sparse autoencoders classifier. Finally, experiments conduct on the AD Neuroimaging Initiative database show that DS-FSH outperforms comparable methods of AD classification. To conclude, DS-FSH identifies multi-modal features closely associated with AD, which are expected to contribute significantly to understanding of the pathogenesis of AD.

Parthanatos is a type of programmed cell death dependent on hyper-activation of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1). SIRT1 is a highly conserved nuclear deacetylase and often acts as an inhibitor of parthanatos by deacetylation of PARP1. Our previous study showed that deoxypodophyllotoxin (DPT), a natural compound isolated from the traditional herb Anthriscus sylvestris, triggered glioma cell death via parthanatos. In this study, we investigated the role of SIRT1 in DPT-induced human glioma cell parthanatos. We showed that DPT (450 nmol/L) activated both PARP1 and SIRT1, and induced parthanatos in U87 and U251 glioma cells. Activation of SIRT1 with SRT2183 (10 μmol/L) enhanced, while inhibition of SIRT1 with EX527 (200 μmol/L) or knockdown of SIRT1 attenuated DPT-induced PARP1 activation and glioma cell death. We demonstrated that DPT (450 nmol/L) significantly decreased intracellular NAD+levels in U87 and U251 cells. Further decrease of NAD+levels with FK866 (100 μmol/L) aggravated, but supplement of NAD+(0.5, 2 mmol/L) attenuated DPT-induced PARP1 activation. We found that NAD+depletion enhanced PARP1 activation via two ways: one was aggravating ROS-dependent DNA DSBs by upregulation of NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2); the other was reinforcing PARP1 acetylation via increase of N-acetyltransferase 10 (NAT10) expression. We found that SIRT1 activity was improved when being phosphorylated by JNK at Ser27, the activated SIRT1 in reverse aggravated JNK activation via upregulating ROS-related ASK1 signaling, thus forming a positive feedback between JNK and SIRT1. Taken together, SIRT1 activated by JNK contributed to DPT-induced human glioma cell parthanatos via initiation of NAD+depletion-dependent upregulation of NOX2 and NAT10.

TiC coating on 316L stainless steel surface is prepared by molten salt disproportionation reaction by using carbon layer converted from organic carbon solution as carbon source. The Raman and morphology characterizations show that the carbon layer and TiC coating are successfully prepared on the surface of 316L stainless steel, the prepared carbon layer and 316L matrix have good adhesion, and the prepared TiC coating is smooth and dense. In the simulated cathodic environment of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell, the potentiostatic and potentiodynamic polarization measurements show that the TiC coating has smaller and more stable current density fluctuation than the 316L stainless steel substrate, and the electrochemical impedance test lasting for 275 h still shows better stable corrosion resistance than that of the 316L stainless steel substrate. Finally, in the water contact angle and interface contact resistance tests, the TiC coating consistently maintained better hydrophobicity and lower interface contact resistance values than 316L stainless steel.

Evidence suggests that neurometabolite alterations may be involved in the pathophysiology of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We performed a meta-analysis of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) studies to examine the neurometabolite levels in the brains of patients with ASD. A systematic search of PubMed and Web of Science identified 54 studies for the meta-analysis. A random-effects meta-analysis demonstrated that compared with the healthy controls, patients with ASD had lower N-acetyl-aspartate-containing compound (NAA) and choline-containing compound (Cho) levels and NAA/(creatine-containing compound) Cr ratios in the gray matter and lower NAA and glutamate + glutamine (Glx) levels in the white matter. Furthermore, NAA and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) levels, NAA/Cr ratios, and GABA/Cr ratios were significantly decreased in the frontal cortex of patients with ASD, whereas glutamate (Glu) levels were increased in the prefrontal cortex. Additionally, low NAA levels and GABA/Cr ratios in the temporal cortex, low NAA levels and NAA/Cr ratios in the parietal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, and low NAA levels in the cerebellum and occipital cortex were observed in patients with ASD. Meta-regression analysis revealed that age was positively associated with effect size in studies analyzing the levels of gray matter NAA and white matter Glx. Taken together, these results provide strong clinical evidence that neurometabolite alterations in specific brain regions are associated with ASD and age is a confounding factor for certain neurometabolite levels in patients with ASD.

Combining suitable microstructure and dielectric-magnetic synergy effect is conducive to achieve lightweight, broadband, and high-efficiency microwave absorbing materials within low filler loading. Herein, porous carbon polyhedrons coupled with bimetallic CoNi alloys were synthesized by using metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a template and subsequent pyrolysis treatment. Electromagnetic analysis indicated that the existence of metal Ni element could influence the wave attenuation capacity effectively, resulting in frequency selective wave absorption performance. Additionally, the pyrolysis temperature was also closely related to wave absorption intensity. The Co 2 Ni 1 /C/PVDF composites calcined at 800 °C possessed outstanding wave absorption performance at an ultra-low filler loading of 5 wt%. The minimum reflection loss value achieved -52 dB (10.8 GHz) under the matched thickness of 3 mm. Moreover, the broadest effective absorption bandwidth (RL< -10 dB) reached 6.2 dB (11.8–18 GHz) for Co/C-800/PVDF composites when the thickness turned into 2 mm. The remarkable wave attenuation ability was mainly ascribed to magnetic and dielectric loss, impedance matching as well as porous structure effect. • Porous carbon polyhedrons coupled with bimetallic CoNi alloys (CoNi/C) were successfully synthesized by valid pyrolysis treatment. • The Ni doping enable to influence the microwave attenuation ability, resulting in frequency selective wave absorption performance. • The minimum reflection loss value of Co 2 Ni 1 /C-800/PVDF composites is up to -52 dB at 10.8 GHz within an ultra-low filler loading of 5 wt%. • The broadest EAB reach 6.2 GHz (11.8-18 GHz) for Co/C-800/PVDF composites under a thickness of 2 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conidia of Pyricularia oryzaewere cultured on barley grain medium for 17 days in this study. Two hundred milliliters of barley grains of each tested strain were cultured in a 500 mL Erlenmeyer flask. The conidia were eluted with 300 mL of sterile water from the cultivated barley grains in each flask. The barley grains were placed in aluminum plates for continued cultivation. The conidia were eluted with 48 h of interval culture, and the elution method used each time was the same as that used for the first elution. All the tested strains could be eluted 6 times; thus, we obtained a large number of conidia. The numbers of conidia produced in the elutions of all the strains were significantly different, with the smallest number produced in the first elution, followed by a gradual increase and then a gradual decrease after reaching the peak; the number of conidia produced in the sixth elution, that is, the final elution, was also low. The total number of conidia and the total number of effective conidia differed among the strains. A large number of effective conidia can be obtained by using the method described in this study, and much time can be saved because the conidia can be eluted six times in one culture cycle.

The objective of this study was to preliminarily analyze the differences in pathogenicity and physiologic races between Pyricularia oryzaeisolates from indicaand japonicarice varieties. Five to 7 isolates of P. oryzaefrom indicaand japonica,having good sporulation capacity, were screened out in each experimental year. To determine the pathogenicity of P. oryzae, different kinds of rice varieties were inoculated with mixtures of indicaand japonicaisolates. A total of 46 isolates, including 23 indicaisolates and 23 japonicaisolates, were screened out in four years. In total, 1252 rice varieties, including 490 indica, 296 japonicaand 466 indica-japonicahybrid rice varieties, were inoculated. Our results suggested that the degree of disease was more severe in most indicavarieties infected with indicaisolates than in those infected with japonicaisolates. That is, indicaisolates were more inclined to infect indicavarieties. A majority of japonicaand indica-japonicahybrid rice varieties infected with japonicaisolates showed more severe infection than those infected with indicaisolates. In other words, japonicaisolates more easily infected japonicaand indica-japonicahybrid rice varieties. The differences in quantity among the varieties indicated high resistance to rice blast in the corresponding kinds of rice inoculated with indicaand japonicaisolates, fully explaining the above viewpoint. Most of the 23 indicaisolates belonged to indicaraces. Among the 23 japonicaisolates, half were indicaraces and half were japonicaraces. In addition, there were significant differences between the isolates selected in the first two years and those selected in the second two years. The isolates in the first two years were all of indicaraces, and those of japonicaraces all appeared in the second two years. The results showed that the race of isolates shared little association with the kind of rice variety collected but was associated with the year of neck blast sample collection.

Primary intraosseous squamous cell carcinoma is a highly malignant but rare tumor within jaws. We reported the 18F-FDG PET/CT findings of primary intraosseous squamous cell carcinoma of the mandible in a 42-year-old man. 18F-FDG PET/CT identified a cystic lesion in the mandible with irregular annular uptake of 18F-FDG, which has been confirmed as primary intraosseous squamous cell carcinoma pathologically.

Infective endocarditis is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition. The valve leaflets and annulus are the most commonly affected sites, but involvement of the papillary muscles is extremely rare. We present the case of a 69-year-old woman who had infective endocarditis only involving the papillary muscle on 18F-FDG PET/CT.

Dysregulation of long noncoding RNA (LncRNA) FENDDR has been shown to be closely related to the progression of several cancers. However, its role and upstream regulatory mechanism in endometrioid endometrial carcinoma (EEC) remains unclear. This study was conducted using the cancerous tissues of EEC patients (n= 60), EEC cell lines, and a xenograft mouse model. The expression level of LncRNA FENDRR was decreased and the N-methyladenosine (m6A) methylation levels of LncRNA FENDRR was elevated in cancerous tissues of EEC patients. In vitro experiments demonstrated that YTH domain-containing 2 (YTHDF2), an m6A reader, recognized the abundance of m6A-modified LncRNA FENDRR in EEC cells and promoted its degradation. LncRNA FENDRR overexpression suppressed cell proliferation and facilitated cell apoptosis in the EEC cell line HEC-1B by reducing the protein level of SRY-related HMG box transcription factor 4 (SOX4). Interference of LncRNA FENDRR reversed the inhibitory effect of sh-YTHDF2 on cell proliferation and the promoting effect of sh-YTHDF2 on cell apoptosis in HEC-1B cells by silencing FENDRR. Finally, in vivo experiments confirmed that overexpression of LncRNA FENDRR retarded the growth of EEC cells. In conclusion, YTHDF2-mediated LncRNA FENDRR degradation promotes cell proliferation by elevating SOX4 expression in EEC.

The carnivorous fungus Arthrobotrys entomopaga(Drechsler) can develop adhesive knobs to capture nematodes. Chemical study on the culture medium of A. entomopagaproducing adhesive knobs led to isolation of six trace amounts of metabolites, including two new metabolites, paganins A and B (1and 2), blumenol A (3), talathermophilins A and B (4and 5), and cyclo(glycyltryptophyl) (6). Compounds 3–6were reported for the first time from carnivorous fungi. Compounds 1and 2promoted the formation of the predatory adhesive knobs with an increasing rate up to 118% at a concentration of 50 μM but showed moderate inhibitory activity at a concentration of 5 μM. Moreover, compounds 1and 2displayed strong inhibitory activities toward the formation of A. entomopagaconidiophores with inhibitory rates of 40–75%. Growth experiments suggested that compounds 1and 2could be involved in the regulation of the fungal predatory and reproductive abilities. Nematode chemotaxis bioassay indicated that compounds 1and 3displayed strong nematode-attracting abilities. These findings provided a new type of regulatory metabolite and support for the hypothesis that predators often evolve to respond to their metazoan prey.

Feature selection is essentially a high-dimensional combinatorial optimisation problem. To find representative feature subsets, the selection method needs powerful exploration ability. In addition, if alternative feature subsets could be provided, the final prediction accuracy can be improved by ensembling these subsets. Multimodal optimisation (MO) methods with high exploration power can find multiple suitable solutions in one single run. Therefore, this paper presents an ensemble feature selection algorithm based on multimodal optimisation techniques. Differential evolution based on fitness Euclidean-distance ratio (FERDE) algorithm is utilised to search for multiple diverse feature subsets in the huge feature space. A set of diverse-based classifiers are built based on these subsets and ensemble to improve the final classification performance. Compared with several existing classical algorithms and ensemble feature selection methods, the proposed method can achieve higher predictive accuracy.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male disorder. Although orally-administered phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5 inhibitors) are now recognized as the primary pharmacological treatment method for ED, 20%–30% of the patients treated with PDE5 inhibitors exhibit no significant effects. This study aims to investigate the influencing factors of ED in young adults with no response to PDE5 inhibitors. ED patients who would take PDE5 inhibitors were included and investigated with a questionnaire. Patients with no response to PDE5 inhibitors (tadalafil and sildenafil) served as study group, and those with response to PDE5 inhibitors as control group. Then Chi square test and logistic regression analysis were applied to find the potential influencing factors. In total, 378 ED patients were included. Ninety-three (24.6%) cases were non-responsive to PDE5 inhibitors, and the remaining 285 (75.4%) responded to PDE5 inhibitors. In multiple logistic regression analysis, we found that history of drinking (OR=3.152; 95%CI 1.672–6.975), spousal noncooperation (OR=2.994; 95%CI 1.589–5.638), number of fixed sex partners (OR=0.358; 95%CI 0.132–0.651), duration of ED (OR=3.356; 95%CI 1.352–8.333), and depression (OR=3.689; 95%CI 1.579–8.979) could be the influencing factors for ED patients’ non-response to PDE5 inhibitors. In conclusion, history of drinking, spousal noncooperation, number of fixed sex partner, long duration of ED, and depression could be the influencing factors for ED patients’ non-response to PDE5 inhibitors. Patients and doctors should pay attention to these factors.

The quasi-static and dynamic compressive mechanical behaviors of two kinds of fiber reinforced SiC-matrix composites including 2D-C/SiC and 2D-SiC/SiC were investigated. Their compressive behaviors of materials at room temperature and strain rate from 10-4 to 104 /s were studied. The fracture surfaces and damage morphology were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the dynamic failure strengths of the two kinds of fiber reinforced SiC-matrix composites obey the Weibull distribution. The Weibull modulus of the two materials were 13.70 (2D-C/SiC) and 5.66 (2D-SiC/SiC), respectively. It was found that the two kinds of fiber reinforced ceramic matrix composites presented a transition from brittle to tough with the decrease of strain rate. The 2D-SiC/SiC materials demonstrated a more HYPERLINK "http://dict.cnki.net/dict_result.aspx?searchword=%e6%98%be%e8%91%97%e7%9a%84&tjType=sentence&style=&t=remarkable"significant strain rate sensitivity and smoother fracture surface compared to the 2D-C/SiC composites, implying that the former composites present brittle features. This was because the SiC/SiC composites possessed high bonding strength in interface of fiber/fiber and fiber/matrix is very strong.

Nitrate (NO3−), which is mainly oxidized from NO2by the OH radical (OH·) and O3in the atmosphere, is a major component of inorganic aerosols. However, the contributions of the OH· and O3pathways to NO3−in urban aerosols and the influence of air pollution to both pathways remain unclear. Oxygen isotopes of NO3−were measured for PM2.5in Beijing in 2014. The Δ17O‐NO3−values (17.0–32.8‰) were significantly higher in winter (27.2 ± 3.6‰) than in summer (24.2 ± 1.3‰). By estimating contributions of O3to the NOxcycle, the Δ17O values of NO3−endmembers produced via the NO2+ OH· (P1), NO3· + DMS/HC (P2), and N2O5hydrolysis (P3) pathways were calculated for each observation. The contributions of the three pathways (P1: 32 ± 10%, P2: 34 ± 10%, and P3: 34 ± 20% annually) were calculated using the Stable Isotope Analysis in R model. We found that NO3−formation was dominated by the O3oxidation pathways (P2 + P3; 68 ± 23% annually, 73 ± 21% in spring, 59 ± 23% in summer, 75 ± 20% in autumn, and 69 ± 22% in winter). Moreover, PM2.5, NO2, and NO3−pollution decreased the importance of the OH· pathway relative to the O3pathways for NO3−production. However, O3pollution increased the importance of the OH· pathway relative to the O3pathways for NO3−production. These results provided a comprehensive analysis on the oxygen isotope records in particulate NO3−for understanding the relative importance of major oxidation pathways of NO2. Atmospheric pollution substantially influenced the pathways of NO2oxidation to NO3−in city environments. Air pollution is a major environmental and public health issue; to strengthen studies on haze formation mechanisms is a national environment demand. Although monitoring works have been widely conducted on atmospheric particulates, it has long been difficult to quantify production mechanisms of key chemical components. Combined oxygen isotopes (18O, 17O) of nitrate with the Stable Isotope Analysis in R model, we evaluated the fractional contributions of three major oxidation pathways (NO2+ OH· [P1], NO3· + DMS/HC [P2], and N2O5hydrolysis [P3]) to the NO3−of PM2.5. We found that annually 68 ± 23% of NO3−in PM2.5at Beijing was produced by the O3oxidation pathways (P2 + P3). Moreover, PM2.5, NO2, and NO3−pollution decreased the importance of the OH· pathway relative to the O3pathways for NO3−production. Our results provided a comprehensive analysis on the oxygen isotope records in particulate NO3−for understanding the relative importance of major oxidation pathways of NO2. Atmospheric pollution substantially influenced the pathways of NO2oxidation to NO3−in city environments. Δ17O signatures of NO3−in PM2.5at Beijing were reportedContributions of major oxidation pathways to NO3−of PM2.5were evaluatedAir pollution changed the importance of OH· pathway relative to O3pathways for NO3−production

ABSTRACTPeroxisomes are ubiquitous organelles in eukaryotic cells that fulfill multiple important metabolisms. Pex13 and Pex14 are key components of the peroxisomal docking complex in yeasts and mammals. In the present work, we functionally characterized the homologues of Pex13 and Pex14 (Mopex13 and Mopex14) in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Mopex13 and Mopex14 were peroxisomal membrane distributed and were both essential for the maintenance of Mopex14/17 on the peroxisomal membrane. Mopex13 and Mopex14 interacted with each other, and with Mopex14/17 and peroxisomal matrix protein receptors. Disruption of Mopex13 and Mopex14 resulted in a cytoplasmic distribution of peroxisomal matrix proteins and the Woronin body protein Hex1. In the ultrastructure of Δmopex13 and Δmopex14 cells, peroxisomes were detected on fewer occasions, and the Woronin bodies and related structures were dramatically affected. The Δmopex13 and Δmopex14 mutants were reduced in vegetative growth, conidial generation and mycelial melanization, in addition, Δmopex13 showed reduced conidial germination and appressorial formation and abnomal appressorial morphology. Both Δmopex13 and Δmopex14 were deficient in appressorial turgor and nonpathogenic to their hosts. The infection failures in Δmopex13 and Δmopex14 were also due to their reduced ability to degrade fatty acids and to endure reactive oxygen species and cell wall-disrupting compounds. Additionally, Mopex13 and Mopex14 were required for the sexual reproduction of the fungus. These data indicate that Mopex13 and Mopex14, as key components of the peroxisomal docking complex, are indispensable for peroxisomal biogenesis, fungal development and pathogenicity in the rice blast fungus.

Salvianolic acid A (SAA) is a minor phenolic carboxylic acid extracted from Salviae miltiorrhizaeBunge (Danshen). SAA exhibits a variety of pharmacological activities, such as antioxidative, anti-thrombotic, neuroprotective, and anti-fibrotic effects, as well as protection from myocardial ischemia and prevention of diabetes and other diseases. Furthermore, SAA has shown renal-protective effects in doxorubicin-induced nephropathy. However, there has been limited research regarding the effects of SAA and underlying mechanisms in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Here, we examined the effects and molecular mechanisms of SAA in an established animal model of 5/6 nephrectomized (5/6Nx) rats. The rats were injected with SAA (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg per day, intraperitoneally (ip)) for 28 days. SAA dose-dependently lowered the levels of urine protein, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, plasma total cholesterol, and plasma triglycerides in 5/6Nx rats. Histological examination revealed that SAA dose-dependently attenuated renal pathological lesions, evidenced by reduced renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis by decreasing the expression levels of tumor growth factor-β1 and α-smooth muscle actin in 5/6Nx rats. Moreover, SAA dose-dependently inhibited the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, subsequently attenuating the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β and inhibiting the expression of monocyte chemotactic protein-1, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in kidneys of 5/6Nx rats. The above results were consistent with those obtained in lipopolysaccharide-induced HK-2 cells in vitro (a recognized in vitro inflammatory model). In conclusion, our results demonstrated that SAA effectively attenuates kidney injury in 5/6Nx rats. The therapeutic effects of SAA on kidney injury can be attributed to its anti-inflammatory activities through inhibition of the activation of the NF-κB and p38 MAPK signaling pathways.

Sandwich face sheets are very important roles in composite materials. It was simulated that the quasi-static compressive crush performances of three types of sandwich sheets by ANSYS/LS-DYNA software. The aluminum top panels (“half hard”) had the higher plateau stress and its absorption energy reached 20.483J/mm3, were superior to the steel top panel (“hard”); the bottom face sheet rarely affects the energy absorption properties in cases.

Reliable dynamic mechanical properties of high nitrogen steels are necessary for the design and assessment of armor structures subject to impact and blast. A series of experiments, based on Hopkinson bar techniques, were conducted and described in this study. The dynamic compression, tensile and shear properties of high nitrogen steel had been tested, and the stress-strain curves under high strain rates were obtained. The results have been showed as follows: High nitrogen steel has a remarkable strain rate strengthening effect. Compared to the static curves, the constitutive curves of dynamic tension and compression move upper. The dynamic compressive yield strength of high nitrogen steel increases first and then decreases with the increase of strain rate, and the yield strength varies in the range of 1465–1549 MPa within the range of 1147–2042 s−1strain rate; The tensile strength of high nitrogen steel increases with the increase of strain rate. When the strain rate is greater than 1341 s−1, the tensile strength will not increase and the curve tends to be gentle. The pure shear yield strength of the high nitrogen steel is above 800 MPa.

The effect of thermal aging on phase transformation and impact toughness of an as-cast duplex stainless steel was investigated at room temperature. After long-term thermal aging, the impact toughness decreases significantly and the cracks initiate and propagate more easily. The plastic deformation ability of the ferrite phase decreases after thermal aging, which leads to the degradation of impact toughness. High stress concentration occurs on the grain boundaries of the austenite phase in the aged materials. Meanwhile, high-stress concentration areas are also observed in the austenite phase near the grain boundaries. After long-term thermal aging, pinned dislocations in ferrite and along phase boundaries lead to the high stress concentration. Micro-cracks preferentially initiate in the ferrite phase and propagate via separation of phase boundaries. The blocking influences of spinodal decomposition precipitates and G-phase precipitates are stronger than the effect of grain boundaries and phase boundaries on the dislocation movement.

Maintenance of lipid homeostasis is crucial for cells in response to lipid requirements or surplus. The SREBP transcription factors play essential roles in regulating lipid metabolism and are associated with many metabolic diseases. However, SREBP regulation of lipid metabolism is still not completely understood. Here, we showed that reduction of SBP-1, the only homolog of SREBPs in Caenorhabditis elegans, surprisingly led to a high level of zinc. On the contrary, zinc reduction by mutation of sur-7, encoding a member of the cation diffusion facilitator (CDF) family, restored the fat accumulation and fatty acid profile of the sbp-1(ep79)mutant. Zinc reduction resulted in iron overload, which thereby directly activated the conversion activity of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD), a main target of SREBP, to promote lipid biosynthesis and accumulation. However, zinc reduction reversely repressed SBP-1 nuclear translocation and further downregulated the transcription expression of SCD for compensation. Collectively, we revealed zinc-mediated regulation of the SREBP-SCD axis in lipid metabolism, distinct from the negative regulation of SREBP-1 or SREBP-2 by phosphatidylcholine or cholesterol, respectively, thereby providing novel insights into the regulation of lipid homeostasis.

Abstract.Background:To compare the efficacy of temporary abdominal aortic occlusion with internal iliac artery occlusion for the management of placenta accreta. Patients and methods:105 patients with placenta accreta were selected for treatment with temporary abdominal aortic occlusion (n = 57, group A) or bilateral iliac artery occlusion (n = 48, group B). Temporary abdominal aortic and internal iliac artery balloon occlusions were performed during caesarean sections. Data regarding the clinical success, blood loss, blood transfusion, balloon insertion time, fluoroscopy time, balloon occlusion time, foetal radiation dose, and complications were collected. Results:Temporary abdominal aortic occlusion and bilateral internal iliac artery occlusion were technically successful in all patients. The amount of blood loss (P < 0.001), amount of blood transfusion (P < 0.001), balloon insertion time (P < 0.001), foetal radiation dose (P < 0.001) and fluoroscopy time (P < 0.01) in group A were significantly lower than those of patients in group B. No marked differences were found between these 2 groups with respect to age, mean postoperative hospital stay, balloon occlusion time, and Apgar score (p > 0.05). Conclusions:Temporary abdominal aortic balloon occlusion resulted in better clinical outcomes with less blood loss, blood transfusion, balloon insertion time, fluoroscopy time and foetal radiation dose than those in bilateral internal iliac balloon occlusion.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is usually considered an immune inflammatory disease. Interaction between platelets and monocytes is associated with immune inflammation. Cross-talk between platelets and monocytes is reflected by formation monocyte-platelet aggregates (MPAs). This study aims to test MPAs and MPAs with the different monocyte subsets to evaluate their association with disease severity in CKD.

Zirconium diboride is one of the most promising ultra high temperature ceramics, which are urgently required in the development of hypersonic flight, atmospheric re-entry and rocket propulsion. In this work, the zirconium diboride coating is successfully obtained on different substrates by electrochemical deposition from a NaCl-KCl-K2ZrF6-KBF4 melt. The effects of current density, operating temperature, electrodeposition time and substrate materials on the microstructure and phase composition of the coating are also investigated by SEM, EDX, and XRD. Besides, the electrochemical reduction of zirconium, boron and zirconium diboride has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronopotentiometry. The results show that various morphological and structure of ZrB2 coatings can be synthesized on stainless steel, graphite and carbon fiber reinforced carbon composite (C/C composite) substrates and the synthesis of ZrB2 mainly follow two subsequent electrochemical reactions and a chemical reaction.

G-quadruplex is expected to be a promising target for drug design. The manually synthesized small-molecule compounds are able to induce the formation of and stabilize G-quadruplexes. In this paper, we summarize the current understanding of the structure of G-quadruplexes, the binding mode of G-quadruplexes and small-molecule ligands, and important synthesized small molecules targeting G-quadruplexes as potential drugs.

A method for the accurate determination of mercury content in gas condensates is of significance in the applications of condensates. In this paper, a simple and rapid method for the determination of mercury in gas condensates using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry was established. The effects of experimental conditions including extraction reagent, sample mass, extraction time in water bath, and membrane filtration treatment were investigated. A sample mass of 1.00 g, 10 mL of aqua regia as pretreatment reagent, and boiling water bath time of 60 min were selected as the optimal pretreatment conditions. After hydrophilic membrane filtering, the obtained solution was diluted 10 times using 3% (v/v) nitric acid and the inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry determination was conducted. The method detection limit was 0.4 ng g−1, and the relative standard deviation range was from 2.8% to 5.4% for the samples of different natures. Both standard addition recovery experiments and comparison results with a microwave-assisted digestion method indicated that the proposed method was reliable for the determination of mercury in gas condensates.

To observe the effect of balancing yin-yang needling manipulation on post-stroke upper limb spasticity and changes of electromyography (EMG) after treatment. A total of 60 eligible cases were randomly allocated into an observation group and a control group, 30 in each group. Based on routine medication, cases in the control group were treated with conventional needling manipulation, whereas cases in the observation group were treated with balancing yin-yang manipulation. After the courses of treatment were completed, the therapeutic efficacies were evaluated using modified Ashworth scale and clinical spasticity index (CSI), coupled with the integrated electromyography (IEMG) and root mean square (RMS) value of biceps in passive flexion of the elbow joint during isokinetic testing recorded with the surface EMG. The total effective rate in the observation group was 86.7%, versus 53.3% in the control group, showing a statistical significance (P< 0.05). After treatment, there was between-group statistical significance in severity of elbow spasticity (P<0.05); there were intragroup (P<0.01, P<0.05) and inter-group (P<0.05) statistical significances in CSI index; and there were intra-group (P<0.01, P<0.05) and inter-group (P<0.01, P<0.05) statistical significances in IEMG and RMS values. Balancing yin-yang and conventional needling manipulations can both improve upper limb spasm and reduce CSI as well as IEMG and RMS values in stroke patients; however, balancing yin-yang manipulation is better than conventional manipulation in clinical effect.

Hyperuricemia is a non-communicable disease that threatens human health, and its prevalence has been increasing in recent decades. However, there have been no national surveys about hyperuricemia performed in China. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of hyperuricemia and its risk factors in Chinese adults. Using data from 36,348 participants aged 18 years and older from the China National Survey of Chronic Kidney Disease (a nationwide cross-sectional survey with a randomized, multistage, stratified sampling strategy), we investigated the prevalence of hyperuricemia. Male subjects with serum uric acid ≥416.0 μmol/l (7.0 mg/dl) and female subjects with ≥357.0 μmol/l (6.0 mg/dl) were diagnosed with hyperuricemia. The prevalence of hyperuricemia was calculated, and the factors associated with hyperuricemia were analyzed using logistic regression. The adjusted prevalence of hyperuricemia among Chinese adults in 2009–2010 was 8.4 % [95 % confidence interval (CI) 8.0–8.8 %], and it was 9.9 % (9.2–10.6 %) in men and 7.0 % (6.5–7.5 %) in women. The prevalence was much higher among urban than rural residents (14.9 vs. 6.6 %, p < 0.01). Areas with high per capita gross domestic product (GDP) levels had higher prevalence of hyperuricemia. In the multivariate regression model, the estimated glomerular filtration rate was inversely associated with hyperuricemia. Alcohol consumption, body mass index and serum triglyceride levels were positively correlated with hyperuricemia. Other factors independently correlated with hyperuricemia were age, sex, education level, area of residence, and economic development. In order to demonstrate the discriminatory power for hyperuricemia of the risk factors all together, we calculated the probabilities by logistic regression analysis, which represented the combined effects of these risk factors. Then, receiver operating characteristic analysis was used to demonstrate the value of the probabilities for hyperuricemia diagnosis. Finally, ROC curve analysis revealed the area under the curve was 0.746 (95 % CI 0.739–0.754), statistically significant for the association with hyperuricemia of these risk factors considered all together (p < 0.001). Hyperuricemia is prevalent in the economically developed areas of China. Our report indicates the feasibility of studying the influence that economic changes have on the prevalence of hyperuricemia.

Because of a vast amount of business process, difficult tracking, low turnover efficiency, processing of logistics management information behind time and with antiquated means, the application of advanced RFID technology in the field of logistics and storage management is proposed to solve the above problems on the basis of analyzing the shortages. In this paper, the logistics warehouse management information system based on RFID is conducted. The working flow and process structure of the logistics and storage arc given on the basis of analysis of the traditional logistics and storage service flow. The integral framework of the logistics and storage service system based on RFID technology is established. This thesis mainly does research about the pattern of RFID application in warehouse, the system framework and the information flow. On the base, it designs the information system and realizes its function module.

The Ni-Fe-La-P rare earth alloys of glass fiber were prepared. Rare earth element lanthanum (La) was first introduced into glass fiber by electroless plating, in order to improve and adjust the chemical, physical properties and microstructure of alloy coatings. The application of rare earth element La in electroless plating was explored. The results showed that an appropriate amount of rare earth element La could improve the stability of the chemical plating solution and reduce the temperature of electroless plating by 6 °C ~ 20 °C. The rare earth element La not only could make the morphology of alloy coatings compacted, smooth and uniform, but also could greatly improve the contents of Fe, Ni and could tremendously reduce the content of P in the alloy coatings of glass fiber. The conductivity and magnetic properties of the alloy coatings could be increased by rare earth element La. In the preparation of the Ni-Fe-La-P electroless alloys of glass fiber, the optimal content of La2O3 was 1.2 g·L-1. Rare earth element La could promote the transition of alloy coatings from amorphous state to rystal state, improve the electromagnetic performances of alloy coatings and enhance the electromagnetic wave absorbing properties of alloy coatings.

In the construction plan of the Xi'an-Xianyang Integration, water resources carrying capacity (WRBC) plays an important role in construction planning. Establish a comprehensive evaluation model of water resources carrying capacity in Xianyang City. 10 indexes of 5 categories, which were selected the analysis of relevant indexes including socio-economic indexes, water supply and demand indicators and water quality indicators, etc., were used to composing evaluation system. Using Cluster Analysis, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Matrix. The sum of insecurity and less security coefficient of Xianyang City Water Resources Carrying Capacity is at about 0.7. The sum of more security and security coefficient is at about 0.3. And the safety coefficient of Water Resources Carrying Capacity in Xianyang City shows increasing trend. In Xi'an-Xianyang integration, through economic development, focusing on the construction of water and water pollution control, water resources carrying capacity is expected to increase in Xianyang City.

Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2-NPs) are widely used in many fields. The bio-distribution and toxicology of different sizes (25 nm and 50 nm) of TiO2-NPs in vivo is evaluated in this paper. The results of quantitative distribution in vivo show that it is difficult for TiO2-NPs to excretion clearly from tissues and organs. At the endpoint of experiment of different groups, there are still many TiO2-NPs located in the main organs such as spleen, liver and lung after 120 days. Blood biochemical parameters keep unchanged compared with control group. However, pathological results show that lesions in spleen, liver and lung where TiO2-NPs particles are mainly accumulated and retained are getting serious with the time prolonging. The results indicate that TiO2-NPs are low toxic to mice but may have some potential effects on liver and kidney functions after exposure long time. The fundamental importance information gained from such a study will give the guidance on the application of TiO2-NPs.

A phytochemical investigation of the toxic tropical plant Dichapetalum gelonioidesled to the isolation and identification of 14 new dichapetalins (1–14) and the known dichapetalins A (15) and K (16). The structures of the new compounds were determined by analyses of their NMR, MS, electronic circular dichroism, and X-ray diffraction data. The esterification at C-25 by 4-hydroxyphenylpropanoic acid and the hydroxylation at C-2′ are unique in this unusual class of natural products. In addition to the known cytotoxicity, an array of biological activities, including antifeedant, nematicidal, antifungal, and NO and AChE inhibitory activities, were observed for this class of compounds. These findings suggested that dichapetalin hybrid triterpenoids as a class have broad biologically active cellular functions including defense against insect herbivores and pathogens.

A 57-year-old man presented with a rare extrahepatic portal vein bifurcation scar stenosis involving the proximal splenic vein and superior mesenteric vein after a Whipple procedure. He was treated with endovascular coil embolization for the gastroesophageal varices and kissing stents for the portal vein bifurcation stenosis. This case illustrates a rarely seen complication after the Whipple procedure and a novel management strategy that can be considered in the management of this complex disease.

n the wireless sensor network routing protocol design, the sensor node monitoring data in multi-hop relay approach to sink node for transmission. For sink aggregation node fixed network, the nearby sink nodes of sensor nodes need to transfer other nodes of the monitoring data, consequently, it consumes large amounts of energy, and it's easy to premature death, making the network connectivity decline, even making the network intersected, shorten the lifetime of the network. In order to solve this problem, from the view of sink node, this thesis brings forward a protocol of SERP, which is a energy balancing routing protocol based on sink Mobility and prolongs the lifetime of network. It adopts the strategy of sink movement which makes the hot nodes inside the network take turns, balances the load among them. In SERP, firstly, the WSN deployment area is divided into finite Virtual cells ;Secondly ,we make the center of each virtual cell as the mobile position of sink node; at last, we confirm the residence time when sink node stays in each position through linear programming. Finally, the paper makes simulation al analysis aiming at above-mentioned routing protocols . The result shows that the inside node energy consumption is comparatively balanced and efficient, and the network lifetime is prolonged effectively.

In high pressure water jet field, most components worked under very high fluctuated pressure. The high and fluctuated pressure would fail those components quickly, which leads to very short period of fatigue life for high pressure components. Cold expansion process could improve components fatigue properties greatly. This has been known for a while. By applying this process in high pressure field, much longer service time is expected. This paper investigated the cold expansion process experimentally. Based on micro-structure investigation, the strengthening mechanism has been explored.

The decomposition pathways in CVD preparing SiC with CH3SiCl3-H2 precursors was searched theoretically, which involves 54 well-defined transition states. The geometries of the species were optimized by employing the B3PW91/6-311G(d,p) method. The transition states as well as their linked intermediates were confirmed with frequency and the intrinsic reaction coordinates analyses. The energy barriers and the reaction energies were evaluated with the accurate model chemistry method at G3(MP2) level after a non-dynamical electronic correlation detection. The heat capacities and entropies were obtained with statistical thermodynamics. The Gibbs free energies at 298.15 K and 1200 K for all of the reactions were reported. The energies at any temperature could be derived classically by using the analytical heat capacities. All the possible elementary reactions, including both direct decomposition and the radical attacking dissociations for CH2SiCl3, CH3SiCl2 and CH2SiCl2 were examined. A free radical reaction mechanism was proposed.

By using Quasi-Shannon wavelet, we develop a wavelet collocation method for the Hamilton canonical equation of elastic bodies, and get the Hamilton canonical equation which is discrete in the plane of the rectangular laminated plate and continuum along its thickness. The approximate solution expressed by Quasi-Shannon wavelet satisfies the clamped boundary conditions of the plate easily. Hence, it is convenient to establish the wavelet collocation precise integration method for the static problem of the rectangular laminated plate with four sides clamped. Numerical results show that the current approach offers excellent predictive capability for rectangular composite laminated plate with clamped boundary conditions.

Firstly, based on the theory of state-vector equation, the semi-analysis finite element formulation for the stability of the plates under various boundary conditions was derived by modified Hellinger-Reissner (H-R) variation principle for the elastic material. Secondly, the three-dimensional models for the stability of stiffened plates were established. The semi-analytical solution of state equation for the stability of stiffened plates are proved to be efficient and accurate by comparing with the exact solutions of references and the numerical solutions of the finite element software through several examples.

Orthogonal experiments were used to investigate the porous magnesium CPU heat dissipation under the forced convection condition. Three factors were involved in the experiment, i.e. different porosity level (50%, 60%, and 70%), different pore size (0.8-1.6mm, 1.6-2.2mm, 2.2-3.2mm) and different thickness (20mm, 35mm, 50mm) of open-cell porous magnesium. The materials used in the present study were prepared by upper-pressure infiltration method. Experimental results indicated that cooling effect factors of porous magnesium are relevant with the pore structure while the most important one is pore size, followed by porosity. Under the experimental conditions with the pore size of 2.2~3.2mm, porosity of close to 70%, and thickness of 35mm, the maximum heat dissipation benefit was obtained. Compared with the commercial radiator, the fluid flow and heat transfer on the surface of radiators integral fins are better than the others when the CPU is fully busy. Average reduced temperatures of porous magnesium CPU by using upper-pressure infiltration method are 4.4 - 8 lower compared with the commercial ones.

The rhizomes of Paris polyphyllavar. yunnanensisand P. polyphyllavar. chinensisare used as traditional herbal medicines in many parts of China. The Paridis Rhizomesaponin (PRS), as the active ingredient, has played an important role in hemostasis, antibacterial action, and inflammation counteraction, bearing some analogy to Gongxueningand Yunnanbaiyaoin efficacy. Modern pharmacological experiments have proved that PRS possesses two main sapogenins: diosgenin and pennogenin, which could provide a lot of clinical treatment effects (anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, anti-metastasis, and immunostimulant, etc.). In the past, several main steroid saponins have been studied in a number of randomized controlled trials for their effects and mechanisms mainly on antitumor performance. The extensive results have demonstrated that PRS was an effective group of active components to antitumor clinical trials. In this article, we reviewed the reported phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of PRS and compared the structure-cytotoxicity relationship of PRS in antitumor effects.

The establishment of eco-industrial parks can not only reduce the costs of waste disposal and the purchase of raw materials, but also has a positive impact on both economy and environment. By setting Shanghai as an example, a model of the eco-industrial park was described and the design plan and operating procedures of the park were provided in this paper. Then the benefits of this park were discussed. It may bring about some practicable approaches for the development of China’s eco-industrial parks through a specific analysis as well as the presentation of an operating model.

Informal learning is an important learning form in today’s knowledge society. This article introduced the concept of Digital Bloom, and discussed its great guiding significance for informal learning, then proposed an informal learning environment model based on the research of Digital Bloom, and illustrated the model detailedly from its composition, the learning model and the support system so as to provide some reference for improving informal learning quality.

Network education has been received more and more attention by educators and researchers, but the current quality system of network education seems still not perfect. How to create an effective evaluation model by using modern technology has become an important issue for education workers. DM technology is effective means for abstracting useful information from vast data, which can be used for education evaluation. So introducing DM technology into network education evaluation system, and designing an evaluation model based on DM, will be a new and useful attempt for network education quality evaluation, and will provide a valuable reference for the construction of network education.

This study has been carried out to determine how the fines content affects the post liquefaction strength and deformation characteristics of sand. With the GDS dynamic triaxial system, a series of monotonic undrained compression tests of the sand after liquefaction with variation in fines content from 0 to 40% were conducted, and effects of fines content on the post liquefaction strength and deformation characteristics of sand were analyzed. Results show that with the addition of fines up to a fines content of 30%, the stress-strain curve moves downward and axial strain at low intensive stage is increased, beyond this critical value of fines content the trend is reversed. However, shear strength of post-liquefied sand first decreases with increasing fines content, and beyond the critical value of fines content it increases with increasing fines content at the strength recovery stage when are subjected to monotonic loading. At the same time, the strength recovery rate decreases firstly and then increases with the increasing fines content.

The influence of converter faults to the system is introduced and the fault detection method based on wavelet transform and neural network is proposed in this paper. The fault information can be decomposed by wavelet transform, then the fault eigenvectors can be extracted and put into neural network for training and testing. Finally the neural network outputs specific codes, and thus the fault location and fault components of converters are confirmed, which lays the foundation for the fault-tolerant operation control of converters. Simulation and experimental results show the correctness and effectiveness of the method.

Novel autoregulatory metabolites, arthrosporols A–C (1–3), involved in regulating the morphological switch in fungi, were purified and characterized from the carnivorous fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora. These compounds possess a novel hybrid carbon skeleton consisting of an epoxy-cyclohexenol combined with a rare monocyclic sesquiterpenol substructure. This is the first report of a monocyclic sesquiterpenol of this type of fungal origin. Compounds 1–3displayed significant inhibitory activities toward the formation of conidiophores, while compounds 1and 3showed the opposite effects on the formation of a two-dimensional network with increasing rates of 40–90% and inhibiting rates of 30–90%, respectively.