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We find that annual shareholder meetings conducted online can significantly increase the participation of shareholders, especially minority shareholders. This finding is more evident when the cost of physically attending the annual meeting is higher and when the firm's ownership is more dispersed. We further document significant positive stock returns when firms initiate annual online meetings. We also find that such online meetings help improve corporate governance. Overall, we provide evidence that online shareholder meetings provide shareholders a cost-effective way to participate in governance issues. KEYWORDS online annual general meetings, shareholder participation, corporate governance, 1 INTRODUCTION Annual general meetings (AGMs) often serve as an opportunity for shareholders to receive updates on company developments, ask management and directors questions, consider corporate proposals, and review the [...]

The task of hyperspectral image (HSI) classification is fundamental and crucial in HSI processing. Currently, domain adaptive methods have become a research hotspot in HSI classification. However, most domain adaptive methods ignore the class alignment in different domains. Additionally, HSIs have the characteristics of category imbalance and complex spatial–spectral distribution, which restricts the adaptation performance in HSIs. To address these problems, a class-aligned and class-balancing generative domain adaptation (CCGDA) method is proposed for HSI classification. The architecture of CCGDA is designed by using the classifier, domain discriminator, sampler, and two weight-sharing generators. In the classifier, split-level capsule network (CapsNet) is constructed by extracting rich spatial information of shallow layer and spectral features of deep layer with equivariant characteristic. Then, the classifier provides the pseudo-label of samples in the target domain. To prevent the generators from mode collapse caused by category imbalance, the sampler is designed. It samples and resamples the samples of the target domain in an adaptive proportion according to the statistical calculation through confidence and distribution of pseudo-labels. Finally, a novel class-aligned domain adversarial loss is defined to jointly optimize the generators and discriminator. It incorporates the class shift adjusting and adaptive sampling for the samples of the target domain to better adapt the discriminant boundary of the classifier to the target domain. Experiments on benchmark HSI datasets verify the superiority of the proposed method for domain adaptive classification.

Cardiac xenotransplantation from swine has been proposed to “bridge the gap” in supply for heart failure patients requiring transplantation. Recent preclinical success using genetically modified pig donors in baboon recipients has demonstrated survival greater than 6 mo, with a modern understanding of xenotransplantation immunobiology and continued experience with large animal models of cardiac xenotransplantation. As a direct result of this expertise, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first in-human transplantation of a genetically engineered cardiac xenograft through an expanded access application for a single patient. This clinical case demonstrated the feasibility of xenotransplantation. Although this human study demonstrated proof-of-principle application of cardiac xenotransplantation, further regulatory oversight by the Food and Drug Administration may be required with preclinical trials in large animal models of xenotransplantation with long-term survival before approval of a more formalized clinical trial. Here we detail our surgical approach to pig-to-primate large animal models of orthotopic cardiac xenotransplantation, and the postoperative care of the primate recipient, both in the immediate postoperative period and in the months thereafter. We also detail xenograft surveillance methods and common issues that arise in the postoperative period specific to this model and ways to overcome them. These studies require multidisciplinary teams and expertise in orthotopic transplantation (cardiac surgery, anesthesia, and cardiopulmonary bypass), immunology, genetic engineering, and experience in handling large animal donors and recipients, which are described here. This article serves to reduce the barriers to entry into a field with ever-growing enthusiasm, but demands expertise knowledge and experience to be successful.

Effective immune responses require antigen presentation by major histocompatibility complexes with cognate T-cell receptor and antigen-independent costimulatory signaling for T-cell activation, proliferation, and differentiation. Among several costimulatory signals, CD40-CD40L is of special interest to the transplantation community because it plays a vital role in controlling or regulating humoral and cellular immunity. Blockade of this pathway has demonstrated inhibition of donor-reactive T-cell responses and prolonged the survival of transplanted organs. Several anti-CD154 and anti-CD40 antibodies have been used in the transplantation model and demonstrated the potential of extending allograft and xenograft rejection-free survival. The wide use of anti-CD154 antibodies was hampered because of thromboembolic complications in transplant recipients. These antibodies have been modified to overcome the thromboembolic complications by altering the antibody binding fragment (Fab) and Fc (fragment, crystallizable) receptor region for therapeutic purposes. Here, we review recent preclinical advances to target the CD40-CD40L pair in transplantation.

Occlusions between human and objects, especially for the activities of human-object interactions, are very common in practical applications. However, most of the existing approaches for 3D human shape and pose estimation require that human bodies are well captured without occlusions or with minor self-occlusions. In this paper, we focus on the problem of directly estimating the object-occluded human shape and pose from single color images. Our key idea is to utilize a partial UV map to represent an object-occluded human body, and the full 3D human shape estimation is ultimately converted as an image inpainting problem. We propose a novel two-branch network architecture to train an end-to-end regressor via a latent distribution consistency, which also includes a novel visible feature sub-net to extract the human information from object-occluded color images. To supervise the network training, we further build a novel dataset named as 3DOH50K. Several experiments are conducted to reveal the effectiveness of the proposed method. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves state-of-the-art compared with previous methods. The dataset and codes are publicly available at https://www.yangangwang.com/papers/ZHANG-OOH-2020-03.html.

Background: Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) often manifests as cognitive deterioration, with activated microglia and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption implicated in these neurological complications. Wnt-inhibitory factor-1 (WIF-1), a secreted protein, has been detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of NPSLE patients. However, the contribution of WIF-1 in contributing to lupus cognitive impairment remains poorly understood. Methods: Using MRL/MpJ-Faslpr (MRL/lpr) lupus-prone mice and TLR7 agonist imiquimod (IMQ)-induced lupus mice, recombinant WIF-1 protein (rWIF-1) and adeno-associated virus (AAV) encoding sh-WIF-1 were administered via intracerebroventricular injection. Behavioral tests, histopathological examinations, flow cytometry, and molecular biology techniques were employed to investigate the underlying mechanisms. Results: Microinjection of rWIF-1 exacerbated cognitive deficits and mood abnormalities, increased BBB leakage and neuronal degeneration, and caused aberrant activation of microglia and synaptic pruning in the hippocampus. Conversely, lupus mice injected with AAV-shWIF-1 exhibited significant remission. In vitro, rWIF-1 induced overactivation of microglia with an increased CD86+pro-inflammatory subpopulation, upregulated phagocytic activity, and excessive synaptic engulfment, contributing to increased BBB permeability. Furthermore, WIF-1 exerted its biological effects through the CRYAB/STAT4 pathway, transcriptionally decreasing SHH production. We also identified that symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) could alleviate rWIF-1-induced microglial activation and BBB damage, thereby restoring SHH levels. Conclusions: In conclusion, WIF-1 exacerbates lupus-induced cognitive dysfunction in mice by triggering aberrant microglial activation and BBB disruption through the CRYAB/STAT4-SHH axis, highlighting the potential therapeutic effects of SDMA for the treatment of NPSLE.

Described herein is a decarbonylative tandem C–H bis-arylsulfenylation of indole at the C2 and C4 C–H bonds through the use of pentamethylcyclopentadienyl iridium dichloride dimer ([Cp*IrCl2]2) catalyst and disulfides. A new sacrificial electron-rich adamantoyl-directing group facilitates indole C–H bis-functionalization with a traceless in situ removal. Various differently substituted disulfides can be easily accommodated in this reaction by a coordination to Ir(III) through the formation of six- and five-membered iridacycles at the C2 and C4 positions, respectively. Mechanistic studies show that a C–H activation-induced C–C activation is involved in the catalytic cycle.

Myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) expand in an inflammatory microenvironment such as cancer and autoimmunity. To study if transplantation induces MDSCs and these cells regulate allograft survival, C57BL/6 donor hearts were transplanted into BALB/c recipients and endogenous MDSCs were characterized. The effects of adoptive transfer of transplant (tx), tumor (tm), and granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (g‐csf)–expanded MDSCs or depletion of MDSC were assessed. MDSCs expanded after transplantation (1.7‐4.6‐fold) in the absence of immunosuppression, homed to allografts, and suppressed proliferation of CD4 T cells in vitro. Tx‐MDSCs differed phenotypically from tm‐MDSCs and g‐csf‐MDSCs. Among various surface markers, Rae‐1 expression was notably low and TGF‐β receptor II was high in tx‐MDSCs when compared to tm‐MDSCs and g‐csf‐MDSCs. Adoptive transfer of these three MDSCs led to differential graft survival: control (6 days), tx‐MDSCs (7.5 days), tm‐MDSCs (9.5 days), and g‐csf‐MDSCs (19.5 days). In combination with anti‐CD154 mAb, MDSCs synergistically extended graft survival from 40 days (anti‐CD154 alone) to 86 days with tm‐MDSCs and 132 days with g‐csf‐MDSCs. Early MDSC depletion (day 0 or 20), however, abrogated graft survival, but late depletion (day 25) did not. In conclusion, MDSCs expanded following transplantation, migrated to cardiac allografts, prolonged graft survival, and were synergistic with anti‐CD154 mAb. Myeloid‐derived suppressor cells prolong graft survival in a mouse allocardiac transplant model.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the “gatekeepers” of the immune system in humans and other animals to protect the host from invading bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. Since TLR4 was discovered as the receptor for endotoxin in the late 1990s, significant progress has been made in exploiting an understanding of the function of TLRs. The TLR-signaling pathway is crucial for the induction and progression of various diseases. Dysregulation of TLR signaling contributes to numerous pathological conditions, including chronic inflammation, sepsis, cancers, asthma, neuropathic pain, drug addiction, and autoimmune diseases. Therefore, manipulation of TLR signaling is promising to halt their activity in inflammatory diseases, to enhance their signaling to fight cancers, to modulate their role in autoimmune diseases, and to suppress them to treat drug addiction. TLR agonists have demonstrated great potential as antimicrobial agents and vaccine adjuvants, whereas TLR antagonists are being developed as reagents and drugs to dampen immune responses. Because of their pivotal potential therapeutic applications, fruitful small-molecule compounds and peptide fragments have been discovered, and many of them have advanced to various stages of clinical trials (though only two have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA): MPLA as a TLR4 agonist and imiquimod as a TLR7 agonist).

Methamphetamine (METH) is one of the highly addictive nonopioid psychostimulants, acting as a xenobiotic-associated molecular pattern (XAMP) to target TLR4 and activate microglia. However, the molecule recognition of METH by innate immune receptor TLR4/MD-2 is not well-understood. METH exists in two enantiomeric forms, and it is unclear whether the TLR4 innate immune recognition with METH is stereoselective. Herein, molecular dynamics (MDs) simulations were performed to dissect the recognition of (+)-METH and (−)-METH by TLR4/MD-2 at the atomic level. Amphetamine (AMPH), which is an analogue of METH, was also investigated for comparison. Computational simulations indicate that METH binds into the interaction interface between MD-2 as well as TLR4* that is from the adjacent copy of TLR4-MD-2, therefore stabilizing the active heterotetramer (TLR4/MD-2)2complex. The calculated binding free energies and potential of mean force (PMF) values show that (−)-METH and (+)-METH have similar TLR4/MD-2 binding affinity. Further dynamics analyses of bindings with TLR4/MD-2 indicate that (−)-METH and (+)-METH behave similarly. Unlike the stereoselective neuron-stimulating activities of METH, no enantioselectivity was observed for METH interacting with TLR4/MD-2 complex as well as activating TLR4 signaling. Compared to METH, AMPH showed much weaker interactions with TLR4/MD-2, indicating that the substituted methyl group is critical in the molecular recognition of METH by TLR4/MD-2. In all, this study provides molecular insight into the innate immune recognition of METH, which demonstrates that METH could be nonenantioselectively sensed by TLR4/MD-2.

Nondegradable heavy metals have caused great dangers to the environment and human health. Combining stimuli-responsive materials with conventional MOF-based adsorbents has been considered an effective method to generate intelligent adsorbents for superior control over the adsorption process. Herein, a smart MOF-based ratiometric fluorescent adsorbent was designed to accurately monitor the progression of the removal of copper ions with dual-emitting fluorescence signal. Unlike the traditional difunctional materials, this delicately designed platform overcomes the huge energy gap to achieve two functions simultaneously. This unconventional platform provides a reliable fluorescent response toward Cu2+during the removing process, changing linearly related to the degree of the adsorption process, which holds extreme promise in effectively monitoring the adsorption process. The underlying relationship of the adsorption and fluorescence response process toward copper was investigated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In particular, because of the favorable ion binding affinity of ZIF-8 and self-calibrating effect of RhB, the as-prepared smart adsorbent demonstrates a superior adsorption performance of 608 mg g–1, broad response range (0.05–200 ppm, 2.07 × 10–7to 8.29 × 10–4M), ultrahigh sensitivity (0.04 ppm, 1.91 × 10–7M) toward Cu2+and strong anti-interference ability. This smart adsorbent opens an intelligent pathway to promote substantial advancements in the fields of environmental monitoring and industrial waste management.

Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is pivotal as an innate immune receptor, playing a critical role in mediating neuropathic pain and drug addiction through its regulation of the neuroinflammatory response. The nonclassical (+)-opioid isomers represent a unique subset of TLR4 antagonists known for their effective blood–brain barrier permeability. Despite growing interest in the structure–activity relationship of these (+)-opioid-based TLR4 antagonists, the specific impact of heteroatoms on their TLR4 antagonistic activities has not been fully explored. This study investigated the influence of the hydroxyl group at C14 in six (+)-opioid TLR4 antagonists (1–6) using wet-lab experiments and in silicosimulations. The corresponding C14-deoxy derivatives (7–12) were synthesized, and upon comparison with their corresponding counterparts (1–6), it was discovered that their TLR4 antagonistic activities were significantly diminished. Molecular dynamics simulations showed that the (+)-opioid TLR4 antagonists (1–6) possessed more negative binding free energies to the TLR4 coreceptor MD2, which was responsible for ligand recognition. This was primarily attributed to the formation of a hydrogen bond between the hydroxyl group at the C-14 position of the antagonists (1–6) and the R90 residue of MD2 during the binding process. Such an interaction facilitated the entry and subsequent binding of these molecules within the MD2 cavity. In contrast, the C14-deoxy derivatives (7–12), lacking the hydroxyl group at the C-14 position, missed this crucial hydrogen bond interaction with the R90 residue of MD2, leading to their egression from the MD2 cavity during simulations. This study underscores the significant role of the C14 hydroxyl moiety in enhancing the effectiveness of (+)-opioid TLR4 antagonists, which provides insightful guidance for designing future (+)-isomer opioid-derived TLR4 antagonists.

The opioid inactive isomer (+)-naltrexone is one of the rare Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) antagonists with good blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability, which is a lead with promising potential for treating neuropathic pain and drug addiction. (+)-Naltrexone targets the lipopolysaccharides (LPS) binding pocket of myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD-2) and blocks innate immune TLR4 signaling. However, the details of the molecular interactions of (+)-naltrexone and its derivatives with MD-2 are not fully understood, which hinders the ligand-based drug discovery. Herein, in silicoand in vitroassays were performed to elucidate the innate immune recognition of the opioid inactive (+)-isomers. The results showed that the conserved LPS binding pocket of MD-2 accommodated these opioid inactive (+)-isomers. The calculated binding free energies of (+)-naltrexone and its derivatives in complex with MD-2 correlated well with their experimental binding affinities and TLR4 antagonistic activities. Hydrophobic residues in the MD-2 cavity interacted directly with these (+)-naltrexone based TLR4 antagonists and principally participated in ligand binding. Increasing the hydrophobicity of substituted group at N-17 improved its TLR4 antagonistic activity, while charged groups disfavored the binding with MD-2. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations showed the binding of (+)-naltrexone or its derivatives to MD-2 stabilized the “collapsed” conformation of MD-2, consequently blocking the binding and signaling of TLR4. Thermodynamics and dynamic analysis showed the topology of substituted group at N-17 of (+)-naltrexone affected the binding with MD-2 and TLR4 antagonistic activity. This study provides a molecular insight into the innate immune recognition of opioid inactive (+)-isomers, which would be of great help for the development of next-generation of (+)-opioid based TLR4 antagonists.

Disruptions in the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway are linked to chronic inflammation, neuropathic pain, and drug addiction. (+)-Naltrexone, an opioid-derived TLR4 antagonist with a (+)-isomer configuration, does not interact with classical opioid receptors and has moderate blood–brain barrier permeability. Herein, we developed a concise 10-step synthesis for (+)-naltrexone and explored its precursors, (+)-14-hydroxycodeinone (1) and (+)-14-hydroxymorphinone (3). These precursors exhibited TLR4 antagonistic activities 100 times stronger than (+)-naltrexone, particularly inhibiting the TLR4–TRIF pathway. In vivostudies showed that these precursors effectively reduced behavioral effects of morphine, like sensitization and conditioned place preference by suppressing microglial activation and TNF-α expression in the medial prefrontal cortex and ventral tegmental area. Additionally, 3displayed a longer half-life and higher oral bioavailability than 1. Overall, this research optimized (+)-naltrexone synthesis and identified its precursors as potent TLR4 antagonists, offering potential treatments for morphine addiction.

Remaining largely under-appreciated, a majority of metal ion sorbents are limited in their target selectivity. In this work, a 3D sulfide intercalated NiFe-layered double hydroxide (NFL-S) hierarchical sorbent has been synthesized for selective heavy metal removal. The intercalation of sulfurated groups in the interlayer of the layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets endows NFL-S as a selective heavy metal ion filter; the selectivity of NFL-S for heavy metals is in the order of Pb2+ > Cu2+ ≥ Zn2+ > Cd2+> Mn2+, and NFL-S has high k d values for Pb2+ (∼106 mL/g) and Cu2+ (∼105 mL/g). Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and powder X-ray diffraction were used to analyze the composition of the as-prepared nanoadsorbent. The selective adsorption behavior was systematically studied using batch experiments, and the performance was evaluated through kinetic and isotherm studies. Moreover, the adsorption mechanism of heavy metals by NFL-S through surface complexation was also investigated, which shows great potential for water decontamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lateral root (LR) emergence is a highly coordinated process involving precise cell–cell communication. Here, we show that MITOGEN-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE3 (MPK3) and MPK6, and their upstream MAP-kinase kinases (MAPKKs), MKK4 and MKK5, function downstream of HAESA (HAE)/HAESA-LIKE2 (HSL2) and their ligand INFLORESCENCE DEFICIENT IN ABSCISSION (IDA) during LR emergence. Loss of function of MKK4/MKK5or MPK3/MPK6results in restricted passage of the growing lateral root primordia (LRP) through the overlaying endodermal, cortical and epidermal cell layers, leading to reduced LR density. The MKK4/MKK5–MPK3/MPK6 module regulates the expression of cell wall remodelling genes in cells overlaying LRP and therefore controls pectin degradation in the middle lamella. Expression of constitutively active MKK4 or MKK5 driven by the HAEor HSL2promoter fully rescues the LR emergence defect in the idaand hae hsl2mutants. In addition, the MKK4/MKK5–MPK3/MPK6 module is indispensable in auxin-facilitated LR emergence. Our study provides insights into the auxin-governed and IDA–HAE/HLS2 ligand–receptor pair-mediated LR emergence process.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) inhibit T cell responses and are relevant to cancer, autoimmunity and transplant biology. Anti-thymocyte globulin (ATG) is a commonly used T cell depletion agent, yet the effect of ATG on MDSCs has not been investigated. MDSCs were generated in Lewis Lung Carcinoma 1 tumor-bearing mice. MDSC development and function were assessed in vivoand in vitrowith and without ATG administration. T cell suppression assays, RT-PCR, flow cytometry and arginase activity assays were used to assess MDSC phenotype and function. MDSCs increased dramatically in tumor-bearing mice and the majority of splenic MDSCs were of the polymorphonuclear subset. MDSCs potently suppressed T cell proliferation. ATG-treated mice developed 50% fewer MDSCs and these MDSCs were significantly less suppressive of T cell proliferation. In vitro, ATG directly bound 99.6% of MDSCs. CCR7, L-selectin and LFA-1 were expressed by both T cells and MDSCs, and binding of LFA-1 was inhibited by ATG pre-treatment. Arg-1 and PD-L1 transcript expression were reduced 30–40% and arginase activity decreased in ATG-pretreated MDSCs. MDSCs were bound and functionally inhibited by ATG. T cells and MDSCs expressed common Ags which were also targets of ATG. ATG may be helpful in tumor models seeking to suppress MDSCs. Alternatively, ATG may inadvertently inhibit important T cell regulatory events in autoimmunity and transplantation.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a better understanding of the driving forces and structural changes of China as a market provider for Korea. This paper gives the answers for the following questions: How do China’s final demands trigger the growth of its imports from Korea? And what’s the impact of China’s final demands on the import in different industries? Design/methodology/approach: Based on the Multi-Regional Input-Output model and World Input-Output Table database, this paper constructs the non-competitive imports input-output (IO) table of China to Korea. According to this table, we can calculate the induced imports coefficient and comprehensive induced import coefficients of China’s four final demands for imports from Korea in the 56 industries in China. Findings: Among the four driving forces, the strongest one is changes in inventories and valuables. The impact of final consumption expenditure and fixed capital formation is much lower than that of changes in inventories and valuables, but they have a broader impact for the 56 industries. This paper finds out the China’s import induction of the final demands to Korea peaked in 2005 and 2010 and decreased greatly in 2014, so the position of China as market provider for Korea will no longer rise substantially, contrarily it will be in a steady state. Originality/value: First, this paper constructs the non-competitive IO table to analyze the market provider issues between two countries and provides practical ways and methods for studies on the issues of imports and market provider. Second, this paper investigates the different roles of four final demands on driving force of China as market provider for Korea and the structural changes of China as a market provider for Korea among 56 industries from 2000 to 2014.

Short selective CD28 blockade combined with prolonged anti-CD154-treatement in heart transplanted primates decreased severity of acute rejection and of cardiac allograft vasculopathy as well as maintained levels of CD4+Treg. Although it did not prolong survival over anti-CD154 treatment, these results warrant more prolonged treatments with selective CD28 blockade. Supplemental digital content is available in the text.

Treatment with 2 αCD40L (IDEC-131, 5C8H1) or 1 αCD40 (2C10R4) MAbs in a cynomolgus monkey cardiac allograft recipients prolong graft survival, but grafts from 5C8H1 or 2C10R4-treated recipients show longer prolongation vs IDEC-131. Attenuation of alloAb was more efficient in 5C8H1 or 2C10R4 recipients, but all grafts show Ab-mediated rejection. Supplemental digital content is available in the text.

Azimzadeh et al report that preemptive CD20 B cell depletion with anti-CD154 modulated pathogenic alloimmunity delays alloantibody production and attenuates cardiac allograft vasculopathy in nonhuman primate cardiac allotranspoantation, but the authors underscore the propensity for over immunosuppression when rabbit anti-thymocyte globulin is included. Supplemental digital content is available in the text.

A genetically engineered pig cardiac xenotransplantation was done on Jan 7, 2022, in a non-ambulatory male patient, aged 57 years, with end-stage heart failure, and on veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, who was ineligible for an allograft. This report details our current understanding of factors important to the xenotransplantation outcome.

We present combined Mie lidar, ozone lidar and wide-range particle spectrometer observations which were carried out in Beijing, north China during two periods—one haze period before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting and one moderate pollution period during the meeting in 2014. High extinction coefficient, moderate ozone concentration and variable particle number concentration were obtained throughout the first haze observation period. The mean extinction coefficients in the two pollution periods were 0.52 and 0.23 km-1, respectively, at 532 nm. The ozone concentration during the first haze phase was more various with a higher average value of 49 ppb compared with that in the second pollution observations (32 ppb). Compared with the same metrological condition occurring at the end of October, the sharply decreased aerosol extinction coefficient and ozone concentration show the effectiveness of the emission-cutting measures implemented during APEC in November. The comparison of aerosols and ozone in different heights indicate different pollution sources and the complicated ozone process of generation and disappearance. The correlation between the scattering coefficient and particle number concentrations of various diameter depended on the ambient humidity. Especially the particle number concentration (500 nm–1 µm) contributed most to PM2.5concentration. The four-day back trajectories from a Hybrid Single-particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model indicate that the air masses in the lower boundary layer before and during APEC were advected from the densely populated south regions of China and the long pollution transportation passing through northern China.

Anti-CD40L mAb blockade can induce tolerance, the mechanism of which has been traditionally related to effector T cell inhibition and Treg induction. The current study shows that CD40L blockade also induces a critical subset of marginal zone precursor B cells which produce IL-10 required for tolerization. Supplemental digital content is available in the text.

Textile stretchable electronics can conform to the curved human skin, thus make favorable elements for various wearable applications. However, mechanical stretchability of the electronic textiles has been overemphasized, instead of the essential electrical characteristics, such as conductivity and electrical stability. In this work, we report a stretchable textile interconnects, i.e., the multi-layer helical yarn (MLHY). Thanks to the helical structural configuration and incorporation of metal fibers, these conductive yarns not only show supreme stretching capability, but also remain ultrahigh conductivity with nearly 100% electrical stability before failure. It’s further demonstrated that, MLHYs can be easily integrated in textile structures, through sewing, weaving, or knitting technologies. Hence, we suggest that MLHYs are reliable and promising stretchable interconnects, which can promote the fabrication of versatile textile stretchable electronics.

The influence of Ga doping on the crystal structure and cobalt oxidation state of Ca3Co4O9+δwas determined using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy. The results show that Ga is preferentially located on the Co site in the rock-salt-type [Ca2CoO3] layer, up to a maximum occupancy of ∼2.2%, and that doping does not change the cobalt oxidation state of this material. We find that the doping-induced point defect scattering and modification of charge carrier concentration result in lower thermal conductivity and lower electrical resistivity, thereby improving the thermoelectric figure of merit in the Ga-doped Ca3Co4O9+δmaterial. In addition, the influence of sample density and measuring atmosphere on their thermoelectric performance was found to be significant. It is believed that the interconnected pore structure in the low-density sample facilitates oxygen out-diffusion from the lattice, which leads to anomalous electrical resistivity behavior at elevated temperatures. We show that this behavior can be effectively suppressed by improving the sample density.

This paper uses the 2008 financial crisis to examine the association between audit pricing and firm risk. The empirical analysis shows that when firm risk increased during the crisis, accounting firms charged more for their auditing services, supporting the risk premium of audit fee. An analysis of different industries presents a positive correlation between the audit fees and firm risk for export companies that were seriously shocked by the crisis. Further, compared with private firms, the audit fees of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) did not increase with firm risk under the crisis, due to the government’s bailout guarantee. Finally, the risk premium of audit fee was only found for companies audited by non-Big Four accounting firms.

A novel complex nanostructured TiO2electrode and fabrication process were proposed and demonstrated to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In the proposed process, a nanoporous TiO2layer was firstly fabricated on the FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide) conducting substrate by an anodization process, then a nanoparticulate TiO2film was deposited on the nanoporous TiO2layer by the screen printed method to form the complex nanostructured TiO2electrode. The experiments demonstrated that the nanoporous TiO2layer can enhance the light scattering, decrease the contact resistance between TiO2electrode and FTO, and suppress the recombination of I3-ion with the injected electrons of FTO. The process variables are crucial to obtain the optimized performance of DSSCs. By adopting the optimized process, improved conversion efficiency of DSSCs was achieved at AM 1.5 sunlight.A novel complex nanostructured TiO2electrode and fabrication process were proposed and demonstrated to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In the proposed process, a nanoporous TiO2layer was firstly fabricated on the FTO (fluorine-doped tin oxide) conducting substrate by an anodization process, then a nanoparticulate TiO2film was deposited on the nanoporous TiO2layer by the screen printed method to form the complex nanostructured TiO2electrode. The experiments demonstrated that the nanoporous TiO2layer can enhance the light scattering, decrease the contact resistance between TiO2electrode and FTO, and suppress the recombination of I3-ion with the injected electrons of FTO. The process variables are crucial to obtain the optimized performance of DSSCs. By adopting the optimized process, improved conversion efficiency of DSSCs was achieved at AM 1.5 sunlight.

Simultaneous enhancement of the interdependent Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity has been achieved through defect engineering by doping Mg into specific sites of Na0.8CoO2. Results from thermoelectric measurement demonstrate that the power factor was substantially increased by 50% at ambient. Experimental and theoretical analyses show that the occupation of divalent Mg in the disordered Na layer immobilizes the Na ions and thus induces a long-range ordering of Na ions. This phenomenon improves the carrier mobility significantly, giving rise to the observed exotic thermoelectric performance. Moreover, it is predicted that other electronically closed-shell dopants in sodium cobaltate play a similar role in enhancing the thermoelectric conversion efficiency.

The bifunctional role of hydrazine as a potent nucleophile and antioxidant was investigated for the rapid aminolysis of RAFT polymers within minutes in air with effective suppression of the formation of disulfides. Using both dithioesters and trithiocarbonates as model compounds, we showed that hydrazine exhibited a significantly improved aminolysis rate when compared with a commonly used primary alkyl amine. On the basis of the exellent results with CTAs, we further studied the aminolysis of RAFT polymers prepared with either dithioesters or trithiocarbonates. In accord with the aminolysis results on CTAs, hydrazine aminolyzed RAFT polymers in an impressively short time and, more importantly, it significantly suppressed the formation of disulfides as comfirmed with GPC.

Several techniques including current-collecting metal fingers and double-layer TiO2 electrode were applied to improve the conversion efficiency of large area dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Silver paste was used to fabricate the current-collecting metal fingers on the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate by screen-printing process. Then a single- or double-layer TiO2 electrode was fabricated by using screen-printing process. The double-layer TiO2 electrode consists of a transparent TiO2 layer and a light-scattering TiO2 layer. Results showed that applying the current-collecting metal fingers and double-layer TiO2 electrode could effectively improve the conversion efficiency. The conversion efficiency of 5.89% was achieved in a DSSC module with an area of 50mmx50mm by using the current-collecting metal finger cell of 45mmx3.5mm and double-layer TiO2 electrode under global air mass 1.5 condition.

The role of the innate immune system in the development of thrombotic microangiopathy (TM) after α1,3-galactosyltransferase gene-knockout (GTKO) pig organ transplantation in primates is uncertain.

Three different alleles of the Hoxb4locus were generated by gene targeting in mice. Two alleles contain insertions of a selectable marker in the first exon in either orientation, and, in the third, the selectable marker was removed, resulting in premature termination of the protein. Presence and orientation of the selectable marker correlated with the severity of the phenotype, indicating that the selectable marker induces cis effects on neighboring genes that influence the phenotype. Homozygous mutants of all alleles had cervical skeletal defects similar to those previously reported for Hoxb4mutant mice. In the most severe allele, Hoxb4PolII, homozygous mutants died eitherin uteroat approximately E15.5 or immediately after birth, with a severe defect in ventral body wall formation. Analysis of embryos showed thinning of the primary ventral body wall in mutants relative to control animals at E11.5, before secondary body wall formation. Prior to this defect, both Alx3and Alx4were specifically down regulated in the most ventral part of the primary body wall in Hoxb4PolIImutants. Hoxb4loxpmutants in which theneogene has been removed did not have body wall or sternum defects. In contrast, both the Hoxb4PolIIand the previously described Hoxb2PolIIalleles that have body wall defects have been shown to disrupt the expression of bothHoxb2and Hoxb4in cell types that contribute to body wall formation. Our results are consistent with a model in which defects in ventral body wall formation require the simultaneous loss of at least Hoxb2and Hoxb4,and may involve Alx3and Alx4.

Nicotine is the principal alkaloid of tobacco often manufactured into cigarettes and belongs to a highly addictive class of drugs. Nicotine attenuates the neuroinflammation induced by microglial activation. However, the molecular target(s) underlying anti-inflammatory action of nicotine has not been fully understood. Considering the psychoactive substances morphine, cocaine, and methamphetamine act as xenobiotic-associated molecular patterns and can be specifically sensed by the innate immune receptor Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), here we sought to delineate whether nicotine and/or its metabolite cotinine may be recognized by the innate immune system via myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD2), an accessory protein of TLR4 that is responsible for ligand recognition. MD2-intrinsic fluorescence titrations, surface plasmon resonance, and competitive displacement binding assays with curcumin (MD2 probe) demonstrated that both nicotine and cotinine targeted the lipopolysaccharide (LPS; TLR4 agonist) binding pocket of MD2 with similar affinities. The cellular thermal shift assay indicated that nicotine binding increased, while cotinine binding decreased, MD2 stability. These biophysical binding results were further supported by in silicosimulations. In keeping with targeting MD2, both nicotine and cotinine inhibited LPS-induced production of nitric oxide and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and blocked microglial activation. Neither a pan nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) inhibitor nor RNAi for nAChRs abolished the suppressive effect of nicotine- and cotinine-induced neuroinflammation. These data indicate that TLR4 inhibition by nicotine and cotinine at the concentrations tested in BV-2 cells is independent of classic neuronal nAChRs and validate that MD2 is a direct target of nicotine and cotinine in the inhibition of innate immunity.

Mullite has an orthorhombic crystal structure, with various advantages, such as high mechanical strength, and stable chemical and physical properties. Especially, mullite whiskers have been widely acknowledged to be potential candidates as reinforcing elements in the fabrication of ceramic-matrix composites. Various strategies have been developed to synthesize mullite whiskers, such as catalytic methods, liquid-phase reaction, molten salt reaction, solid-state reaction and high-energy ball milling process. In different synthesis methods, the underlying mechanisms governing the anisotropic grain growth of mullite grains vary. This paper aims to offer an overview on the progress in fabrication of mullite whiskers with different methods, and the perspectives on these special materials are briefly discussed.

Electrochemical techniques have garnered increasing attention as a heavy metal remediation platform for pollutant mitigation and sustainable recycling. Inspired by the biological signal-transfer mode, biomimic neuron-like hierarchical adsorptive networks were constructed by interweaving one-dimensional manganese oxide nanowires into polyaniline-decorated hollow structural metal–organic frameworks (MOFs). The prepared biomimic neuron adsorbent exhibits good adsorption capacity toward cations (Pb2+) and oxyanions (Cr2O72–) at the neutral state; tunable cation/oxyanion desorption can be electrochemically switched at the oxidized and reduced states, respectively, where the biomimic neuron-like hierarchical adsorptive networks facilitated electron transfer and benefited substantial redox reactions. The combination of simulations and calculations demonstrates that the curvature-induced polarization in a hollow MOF structure enhances the desorption efficiencies by improving the redox processes at the electrode–electrolyte interface, which facilitate the promising implementation in terms of water economy and downstream waste sustainability.

This Letter reports for the first time that the ilmenite structure-type oxide, β-CdSnO3semiconductor, can be used as a new material for detecting ethanol gas. The phase and microstructure of β-CdSnO3powders were studied by XRD and TEM. The conductance-temperature, sensitivity-temperature and sensitivity-gas concentration properties of β-CdSnO3-based sensors were investigated. The sensors based on this phase have a high sensitivity and selectivity to ethanol gas and are promising for detecting ethanol.

A mobile vehicle lidar system has been developed and applied to detect urban air quality. On September 21 and 22, 2015, particulate matter observation with mobile vehicle lidar was carried out in the Binhai New Area of Tianjin. Combined with the latitude and longitude information acquired by a GPS, the three-dimensional distribution of the aerosol extinction coefficient was presented in the experimental area. Furthermore, the source, distribution, and the transportation path of the aerosols in the area were investigated based on lidar data, local meteorological data, and backward trajectory analysis. The results show that mobile vehicle lidar can detect the atmospheric aerosols and reflect the stereoscopic distribution properties of aerosols. The potential of this vehicle lidar system provides a new scientific basis for the study of the source, distribution, and transportation of atmospheric particles.

An improved method of immunosuppression allows better immune function and prolongs the survival of transplanted organs in nonhuman primates.