Search

The thermodynamic properties of intermetallic compounds MgSc and AlSc with CsCl-type B2 structure have been studied by performing density functional theory and density functional perturbation theory within the quasi-harmonic approximation in comparison with NiAl. The linear thermal expansion of the lattice, coefficients of thermal expansion, isothermal bulk modulus, phonon dispersions, phonon density of states, and specific heat capacities at constant volume and constant pressure have been obtained. Comparisons have been made with available experimental data and the results of previous calculations, and good agreement has been obtained. Our results show that the thermal expansion of MgSc is larger than that of AlSc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Anthocyanins are secondary metabolites of higher plants that contribute to the colors of leaves and flowers, and chalcone synthase is the first key enzyme in anthocyanin biosynthesis. We isolated a 2.4-kb and a 1.8-kb 5′-upstream sequence of chalcone synthase (McCHS) from ‘ever-green-leaf’ and ‘ever-red-leaf’ color types of Malus crabapple cvs. ‘Flame’ and ‘Royalty’, respectively, and found a 743-bp fragment missing from ‘Flame’ when comparing these sequences. The missing sequence contained two MYBPLANT elements and three MYBCORE elements that are essential for MYB transcription-factor binding and inducing anthocyanin biosynthesis. Thus, we concluded that the lack of these important cis-elements was a reason for the low expression level of McCHS in ‘Flame’. GUS activity and transient expression assays showed a series of 12 deletion promoter fragments had promoter activity and could drive GUS expression; however, the GUS staining color and the GUS activity were different, indicating that different fragments had different promoter activity. Tissue expression assays in stable transgenic tobacco showed that the McCHS promoter was expressed widely, i.e. in leaves, roots and stems. To sum up, the McCHS promoter has potential application in genetic transformation to improve plant color. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Quantum dual-signature means that two signed quantum messages are combined and expected to be sent to two different recipients. A quantum signature requires the cooperation of two verifiers to complete the whole verification process. As an important quantum signature aspect, the trusted third party is introduced to the current protocols, which affects the practicability of the quantum signature protocols. In this paper, we propose a quantum dual-signature protocol without arbitrator and entanglement for the first time. In the proposed protocol, two independent verifiers are introduced, here they may be dishonest but not collaborate. Furthermore, strongly nonlocal orthogonal product states are used to preserve the protocol security, i.e., no one can deny or forge a valid signature, even though some of them conspired. Compared with existing quantum signature protocols, this protocol does not require a trusted third party and entanglement resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reference 1 Zhang T, Qu R, Chan S. Discovery of a novel third-generation EGFR inhibitor and identification of a potential combination strategy to overcome resistance. Tao Zhang, Rong Qu, and Shingpan Chan contributed equally to this work. [Extracted from the article]

As the field of genomics matures, more complex genotypes and phenotypes are being studied. Fanconi anemia (FA), for example, is an inherited chromosome instability syndrome with a complex array of variable disease phenotypes including congenital malformations, hematological manifestations, and cancer. To better understand specific aspects of the genetic etiology of FA and other rare diseases with complex phenotypes, it is often necessary to reduce the dimensions of the disease phenotype information. Towards this end, we extend a novel non-parametric approach to include information about a hierarchical structure among disease phenotypes. The proposed extension increases information content of the phenotype scores obtained and, thereby, the power of genotype-phenotype relationships studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immune escape is the main cause of the low response rate to immunotherapy for cancer, including ovarian cancer. Growth differentiation factor-15 (GDF-15) inhibits immune cell function. However, only few reports described the mechanism. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the mechanism of immune escape regulated by GDF-15 in ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer patients and healthy women were enrolled in this study. Immunohistochemistry and ELISA were performed to measure GDF-15 expression. Immunoprecipitation combined with mass spectrometry, surface plasmon resonance, and co-immunoprecipitation assay were used to evaluate the interaction between GDF-15 and the surface molecules of DCs. Immunofluorescence analysis, flow cytometry and transwell assay were used to evaluate additional effects of GDF-15 on DCs. The results showed that GDF-15 expression was higher in the ovarian cancer patients compared to that in the healthy women. The TIMER algorithm revealed that highly GDF-15 expression is associated with immune DC infiltration in immunoreactive high-grade serous carcinoma. A further study showed that GDF-15 suppressed DCs maturation, as well as IL-12p40 and TNF-α secretion, the length and number of protrusions and the migration. More importantly, CD44 in the surface of DCs interacted with GDF-15. The overexpression of CD44 in DCs resulted in the suppression of the inhibitory effect of GDF-15 on the length and number of DC synapses. In DCs overexpressing CD44 the inhibition of GDF-15 on the expression of CD11c, CD83 and CD86 was decreased, while in DCs with a knockdown of CD44 the inhibition was further enhanced. Knockdown of CD44 in DCs enhanced the inhibitory effect of GDF-15 on DC migration, while the overexpression of CD44 inhibited the inhibitory effect of GDF-15 on DC migration. In conclusion, the present study suggested that GDF-15 might facilitate ovarian cancer immune escape by interacting with CD44 in DCs to inhibit their function. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Images as a common information carrier are widely disseminated and used at present, meanwhile, image security and privacy protection are also facing severe tests. To enhance the security of images, an asymmetric double color images cryptosystem introduced optical chaos technology is proposed based on compression sensing (CS) and double random phase encoding (DRPE). It is the first time that the combination of CS, DRPE and optical chaos technology is demonstrated to the best of our knowledge. By means of the optical chaos keys generated by a constructed optical chaos model, the two color images are first decomposed into their respective Red–Green–Blue (RGB) channels, CS based on discrete wavelet transform is then performed for the first encryption. Afterwards, the second encrypion of DRPE in fractional Fourier transform domain (FrFT) with optical chaos technology is also used, and the asymmetric encryption by carrying out equal modulus decomposition (EMD) with optical chaos keys further enhance the security finally. Simulation results and security analysis confirm that the cryptosystem owns multi-layer protection and adequate resistance to brute-force attack, statistical attack, differential attack, noise attack and chosen-plaintext attack, which is efficient and capable of guaranteeing the security of images and can provide an alternative solution for image security and privacy protection. • Proposing an image cryptosystem based on CS and DRPE using optical chaos. • Applying optical chaos to DRPE, CS, and EMD, multi-layer protection is established. • A real laser chaos system is to realize the all-optical phase mask process for DRPE. • Greatly saving the storage space and transmission cost of the ciphertext image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Strong amplitude vibrations are achieved at the tip of an acoustic black hole beam. • This makes acoustic black holes (ABH) suitable for energy harvesting. • A method is presented to solve the equations of an ABH bimorph cantilever. • A parametric analysis is carried for the piezoelectric layer and ABH profile. • Outstanding behavior results from proper combination of patches and resistor values. An acoustic black hole (ABH) beam termination can be achieved by decreasing its thickness according to a power-law profile. Waves entering the ABH slow down and vibrational energy strongly concentrates at the tip of the beam. This can be exploited for energy harvesting, as suggested in some recent works. The finite element method (FEM) is commonly used to carry out the simulations, which hampers long parametric analyzes. In this paper, we develop a semi-analytical approach to characterize the performance of a piezolectric bimorph cantilever with an ABH termination. The method can be easily extended to further configurations and allows one to determine ABH harvesting capabilities when varying system parameters, in a fast and efficient way. The Lagrangian of the ABH beam plus piezoelectric layers is constructed and the coupled equations for the flexural vibrations and voltage are derived from it. The flexural displacement field is expanded in terms of Gaussian basis functions. Vibration shapes and harvested power are computed with the proposed method and validated against FEM simulations. The ABH piezolectric bimorph cantilever is shown to substantially enhance the harvesting capabilities of a cantilever with uniform cross-section. The semi-analytical approach is then used to examine the influence of several ABH and piezoelectric layer parameters on energy harvesting efficiency. As regards the former, the effects of the tip truncation thickness and ABH order are explored. In what concerns the piezoelectric layer, we investigate the effects of its location, thickness, splitting it into several patches and varying the load resistors to enhance its performance in a broad frequency range. The proposed method constitutes a valuable tool for the design of ABH energy harvesting devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Actual performance of antibiotic resistance with temperature-controlled composting. • ARGs significantly decreased initially, while sul1 and sul2 increased after 30 days. • Different correlations among ARGs at thermophilic stage. • Potential carriers of ARGs increased at low concentration of antibiotics. • Composting properties affected bacterial community, and then ARGs abundances. Current work for animal manure processing is not up to the required standards and hence are not supposed to reflect the actual performance in antibiotic resistance control. As a result, this study carried out temperature-controlled aerobic composting, with sulfamethoxazole (SMX) as a typical antibiotic. The results of four different treatments demonstrated that temperature, water content, C/N ratio, EC, and pH showed no significant (p > 0.05) difference. Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) significantly decreased in the initial 10 days of the thermophilic phase, but the abundance of sul1 and sul2 increased greatly after 30 days. Moreover, ARGs were closely related with each other during the late stages of composting. A noteworthy effect of composting properties, especially temperature on bacterial community, which then had a positive effect on ARGs abundances. These findings provided evidence that the standard composting was still insufficient to control antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ASK120067 is a third-generation EGFR-TKI for the treatment of NSCLC. • An LC-MS/MS method was developed to detect ASK120067 and its metabolite in plasma. • This method was fully validated from whole blood collection to plasma analysis. • This high-throughput method was rapid in analysis and simple in sample preparation. • This method was applied for a first-in-human clinical trial in Chinese patients. ASK120067, an oral irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), is formulated for the management of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who harbor T790M resistant and EGFR active mutations. Two rapid and high-throughput methods based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to detect ASK120067 and its primary metabolite CCB4580030 in human plasma were developed and applied in the clinical trials. A protein precipitation method using acetonitrile coupled with a gradient elution separation in a BEH C18 column (1.7 µm, 2.1 × 50 mm) was used to process plasma and separation analytes. The chromatographic separation was performed on the mobile phase of 5 mM ammonium acetate in water with 0.1% formic acid (A) and acetonitrile (B), and the flow rate was 0.4 mL/min. The multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was selected to monitor the precursor-to-product ion transitions of m / z 546.2 → m / z 431.2 for ASK120067 and m / z 532.1 → m / z 420.2 for CCB4580030 at the positive ionization mode. The precision and accuracy of the two methods for ASK1200067 and CCB4580030 were within acceptable range for the linear range in 5.00–5000 ng/mL and 0.500–500 ng/mL, respectively. Further stabilities for the two analytes and internal standard were also investigated covered the entire experimental process beginning from harvesting whole blood to plasma extraction and analysis. ASK120067 was then administered without issue onto a dose-escalation, the first-in-human Phase I clinical trial in Chinese NSCLC patients to determine the pharmacokinetics of oral ASK120067 administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The cross-linked hierarchical CuO@CoNi LDH was facilely synthesized. • The cross-linked CuO@CoNi LDH growing on Cu foams has obviously stronger adhesive force. • The assembled CF@CuO@CoNi LDH 1–4//RGO asymmetric supercapacitor indicates extraordinary energy density. Core-shell nanostructured compounds are considered as promising electrode materials for supercapacitors in virtue of their facile accessibility to active sites and high electrical conductivity, yet always limited by low capacity or poor cyclic stability because of the weak combination or shedding of active materials from the substrate. To address this issue, we first synthesize three-dimensional (3D) CuO cross-linked nanosheet aggregates grown on Cu foams (CF) by wet chemical oxidation, and further demonstrate the growth of ultra-thin cobalt-nickel layered double hydroxides (CoNi LDH) onto the core of 3D CuO cross-linked nanosheet aggregates by electrodeposition. In this way, we find that the cross-linked CuO@CoNi LDH growing on Cu foams has stronger adhesive force. The as-prepared core-shell nanohybrid (CF@CuO@CoNi LDH) is featured with a high specific capacity (319.4 mAh·g−1 at 1 A·g−1), excellent rate performance and long cycling stability. The as-assembled CF@CuO@CoNi LDH 1–4//RGO asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) delivers an ultra-high energy density of 92.5 Wh·kg−1 at a power density of 400 W·kg−1, as well as an excellent cycling performance with capacitance retention of 83.8% after 8000 cycles at 5 A·g−1. These results indicate that the cross-linked hybrid is a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors, and could provide new insight into the synthesis of novel core-shell nanomaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Generations of free chlorine and OH varied between T and D treatments. • ARGs removal was closely associated with free chlorine and OH. • The relative abundance of ARGs decreased with increasing current densities. • Less multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria survived EC treatments. • The MAR indices of wastewater was significantly reduced after EC disinfection. Laboratory-scale electrochemical (EC) disinfection experiments were carried out to investigate its removal efficiency for 23 antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) that confer against 8 classes of antibiotics and its effects on the antibiotic resistance of surviving bacteria. EC treatments were conducted at different current densities (D treatment) and with different reaction times (T treatment). Prolonged electrolysis resulted in a higher inactivation rate than an increased current density, while the former was less efficient in the removal of ARGs. For example, the inactivation ratios for the T20 and D80 treatments were both >99%, while the decrease in the relative abundance of ARGs with D80 (from 0.54 to 4.1) was greater than that with T20 (from 5.4 to 5.2). The detection frequency of bacteria resistant to the tested antibiotics decreased by 9–100% after EC treatment. This was mainly attributed to a change in bacterial composition. The proportion of bacteria with high antibiotic resistance frequencies decreased (such as Escherichia), while that with low resistance frequencies (like Acinetobacter and Pseudomonas) increased. In addition, fewer multi-antibiotic-resistant bacteria survived EC disinfection, which also contributed to the significant decrease in the frequency of antibiotic resistant bacteria as well as in the multi-antibiotic-resistance indices of wastewater samples (from 0.47 to 0.35) after EC treatment (P < 0.05). In total, EC disinfection not only reduced the relative abundance of ARGs, but also impaired the antibiotic resistance of surviving bacteria. So it might be a promising disinfection method for controlling the dissemination of antibiotic resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Excellent properties of hot-deformed magnets with high Ce content are obtained by Pr-Cu diffusion. • The effect of Pr-Cu diffusion on the coercivity enhancement of hot-deformed magnets is illustrated. • The temperature stability of coercivity of hot-deformed magnet after Pr-Cu diffusion is improved. The coercivity of hot-deformed (Ce,Nd,Pr)-Fe-B magnet was enhanced from 1.44 T to 1.71 T by the addition of 3 wt% Pr-Cu powders for grain boundary diffusion. Microstructure analysis has shown that the formation of thick grain boundary phase with non-ferromagnetism can well isolate the adjacent main phase grains and weaken the intergranular exchange coupling, which is beneficial to coercivity enhancement. Moreover, the size of platelet shaped grains inhibited by liquid phase inside the ribbon is also one of the reasons for the increase of coercivity. In addition, the temperature stability of coercivity was improved after the diffusion of Pr-Cu alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The ML is subjected to optical feedback and external optical injection. • Optical signal with higher complexity is generated to be as carrier and key. • The encryption scheme using optical chaos consists of HC and logistic map. • The encrypted image is modulated and transmitted in single mode fiber. Optical chaos has great advantages in image encryption and optical message secure transmission, hence a novel image encryption and transmission system based on optical chaos is proposed. In this paper, we introduce optical chaos generated by the semiconductor laser in the encryption process. For increasing the chaotic complexity of slave lasers (SL1 and SL2), the master laser (ML) is subjected to the optical feedback and the external optical injection from the driven laser (DL). Then the SL1 and SL2 can generate the optical chaotic signal simultaneously, which can be used as chaotic carrier and the key for better security. The secret key and a new chaos sequence for the permutation can be structured by selecting randomly numbers from the optical chaos signal generated by the SL1 (or SL2). Furthermore, the result of color image encryption based on the Hilbert curve (HC) can be improved by introducing the optical chaos, after employing logistic chaotic map, the pixel positions and values of plain image are changed disorderly. The security analysis and simulation results can demonstrate the feasibility of proposed algorithms. Moreover, under the condition of chaos synchronization between the SL1 and SL2, the encrypted image can be modulated by using the chaos masking (CMS) technique and transmitted in 10 km single mode fiber (SMF) channel from the SL1 to SL2. The bit error rate (BER) can be for less than 4.22 × 10 - 20 and high quality factor (Q-factor) can be also for more than 9. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preparation, morphologies, and properties of Fe 3 O 4 octahedra have attracted considerable attention, while their formation mechanism has been less investigated. In this study, Fe 3 O 4 nano- and microoctahedra are prepared by dealloying Al– x Fe (x = 5–25 at.%) alloys in NaOH aqueous solutions with different concentrations. The dealloying of Al 15Fe in the 5-mol·L−1 NaOH solution provides the most regular Fe 3 O 4 octahedra. Al 13 Fe 4 in the precursor Al Fe alloy and appropriate concentration of OH– ions are dominant factors in the formation of Fe 3 O 4 octahedra by changing the chemical potentials and growth rates along the 〈111〉 and 〈100〉 plane directions. A low concentration of NaOH solution deteriorates the anisotropic growth of Fe 3 O 4 , while a highly concentrated solution enhances the reduction of oxides and produces α -Fe rather than Fe 3 O 4. In addition to the experimental results, ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations are performed to reveal the evolutions of the surface energies and growth rates of different facets, depicting the formation trajectory from Fe 3 O 4 nuclei to octahedra. This fundamental understanding provides technological guidelines for the synthesis and morphology control of Fe 3 O 4 , being of significance in the development of functional nanoparticles. Unlabelled Image • Fe 3 O 4 nano- and microoctahedra are prepared by dealloying Al Fe alloys. • Both for Al Fe and NaOH, there is maxima composition producing regular octahedra. • Dealloying of Al 15Fe in 5-mol·L−1 NaOH produces the most regular Fe 3 O 4 octahedra. • Ab-initio MD simulations reveal the formation route to the Fe 3 O 4 octahedra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the manipulative effect of N doping on topological insulator Bi 2 Se 3 was investigated by using density functional theory (DFT). The computational results reveal that the van der Waals (vdW) correction is necessary when calculating the geometric structure of Bi 2 Se 3. Taking into account the spin–orbit coupling(SOC), the electronic structure of Bi 2 Se 3 can be accurately described, especially for the energy bands near the Fermi level. The N doping at anion sites can produce an impurity band which appeared at Fermi energy. Comparing with pure Bi 2 Se 3 , the electronic structure of N doping Bi 2 Se 3 changed obviously at Fermi energy. The valence band and conduction band meet when N doped on Se1 sites, the insulating properties of Bi 2 Se 3 system are damaged. The indirect gaps between the valence band and conduction band are 0.135 eV and 0.115 eV with N doping on Se2 sites with the doping levels 6.67% and 1.67%, respectively. On the other hand, the N doping at Se sites of Bi 2 Se 3 can induce magnetic moments. The magnetic moments are related to the covalent bond length between N atom and Bi atom. Furthermore, the real and imaginary parts of dielectric functions have been computed. The static dielectric constant ε 1 (0) becomes significantly larger and the peaks in the imaginary part of dielectric constant ε 2 (ω) spectra move toward low energy. The intensity of the peak is gradually enhanced and there is a small bump in Bi 6 Se 8 N2 at 0.38 eV. The N doping paves a prospective way to tune the topological properties and may find change to potential spintronic applications and electronic devices. • The electronic structure of N doping Bi 2 Se 3 are changed obvious at fermi energy. • The insulation properties of Bi 2 Se 3 system are damaged with N doping on Se1 sites. • The N doping at Se sites can induce magnetic moments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Copy number variations (CNVs) involving the 17q12 region are associated with a broad range of clinical phenotypes. Deletion of the 17q12 chromosome results in structural or functional abnormalities in the kidney and urethra, type 5 diabetes (MODY5), and neurodevelopmental or neuropsychiatric disorders. Microduplication of 17q12 is rare and is associated with an increased risk of epilepsy and mental retardation. We studied the prenatal diagnosis of 17q12 microduplication and microdeletion syndrome in fetuses with congenital renal abnormalities. Case presentation: We conducted a retrospective analysis of prenatal diagnoses in our hospital from January 2016 to April 2018. Abnormal renal ultrasound findings were present in 126 fetuses and the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities was 10.32%(13/126). Conventional karyotyping detected 7 of 126 fetuses as aneuploid (5.56%). In addition, chromosome microarray analysis (CMA) detected 6 fetuses(4.76%) with copy number variations (CNVs), of which 5 were shown to have 17q12 microdeletion syndrome and 1 had 17q12 microduplication syndrome. We followed up these pregnant women. The results of the testing had a significant impact on pregnancy outcome. The phenotypes of 17q12 microdeletions and microduplications vary widely, affecting patients in different ways, such as language delays, social deficiencies, and even abortion. Conclusions: The characteristics of 17q12 microdeletions and microduplications are so vague that the condition is often misdiagnosed or missed. This study demonstrated that karyotype analysis combined with CMA can significantly improve the diagnostic rate in prenatal diagnosis of CNVs, which can provide evidence for genetic counseling in such pregnancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blind quantum computation (BQC) enables the client, who has few quantum technologies, to delegate her quantum computation to a server, who has strong quantum computabilities and learns nothing about the client’s quantum inputs, outputs and algorithms. In this article, we propose a single-server BQC protocol with quantum circuit model by replacing any quantum gate with the combination of rotation operators. The trap quantum circuits are introduced, together with the combination of rotation operators, such that the server is unknown about quantum algorithms. The client only needs to perform operations X and Z, while the server honestly performs rotation operators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red leaf color is an attractive trait of Malus families, including crabapple (Malus spp.); however, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that regulate the coloration. Dihydroflavonols are intermediates in the production of both colored anthocyanins and colorless flavonols, and this current study focused on the gene expression balance involved in the relative accumulation of these compounds in crabapple leaves. Levels of anthocyanins and the transcript abundances of the anthocyanin biosynthetic gene, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (McDFR) and the flavonol biosynthetic gene, flavonol synthase (McFLS), were assessed during the leaf development in two crabapple cultivars, 'Royalty' and 'Flame'. The concentrations of anthocyanins and flavonols correlated with leaf color and we propose that the expression of McDFR and McFLS influences their accumulation. Further studies showed that overexpression of McDFR, or silencing of McFLS, increased anthocyanin production, resulting in red-leaf and red fruit peel phenotypes. Conversely, elevated flavonol production and green phenotypes in crabapple leaves and apple peel were observed when McFLS was overexpressed or McDFR was silenced. These results suggest that the relative activities of McDFR and McFLS are important determinants of the red color of crabapple leaves, via the regulation of the metabolic fate of substrates that these enzymes have in common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]