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The supported nano-catalysts represented by platinum-carbon (Pt/C) are widely used with many advantages such as high surface area, high activity and cost-effective. Pt/C is one of the most important catalysts in modern industry and plays an indispensable role as the cathode for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) applications. However, due to the scarcity of noble metal, the large-scale preparation of novel Pt/C catalysts with higher catalytic activity has become a hot topic of research in both academia and industry. In this study, we develop an Fe3+ triggered micellization process to successfully obtain novel surface-engineered Pt/C catalyst with better oxygen reduction performance for fuel cell applications. This method has been scaled up and verified through pilot experiments, producing more than one kilogram of catalysts per batch with promising commercial values. This work will provide new ideas for the synthesis-route design and practical production of advanced nano-catalysts. [Display omitted] • An Fe3+ triggered micellization method is investigated to synthesize surface-engineered Pt/C catalyst. • The water-based synthesis method is facile to scale-up with a kilogram scale verification. • The simultaneous nitrogen doping during the synthesis process further promotes the oxygen reduction performance. • The surface-engineered Pt/C sample shows a superior performance than commercial Pt/C for oxygen reduction reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a detailed review on the ultrathin catalyst layer (UTCL) design strategy for high-performance proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Specifically, the motivation towards the further reduced Pt loadings by applying the UTCL electrode design is firstly introduced from both the historical and mechanism deductions. Then, the recent developments on the UTCL designs belonging to different classifications are summarized with their respective merits. In particular, the critical issues remained on these ultra-thin, low Pt-loaded electrodes are proposed with alternative solutions. Finally, the whole review is concluded with the perspectives on the possible future directions settling the remaining challenges. • Different kinds of ultrathin catalyst layer (UTCL) designs for PEMFCs are proposed with multiple advantages. • The breakthroughs on the most critical issues for the possible commercialization of UTCL electrodes are highlighted. • The current challenges and perspectives of UTCL design are summarized and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have been widely and successfully applied to various applications, but they require large amounts of memory and computational power. This severely restricts their deployment on resource-limited devices. To address this issue, many efforts have been made on training low-bit weight DNNs. In this paper, we focus on training ternary weight {−1, 0, ＋1} networks which can avoid multiplications and dramatically reduce the memory and computation requirements. A ternary weight network can be considered as a sparser version of the binary weight counterpart by replacing some −1s or 1s in the binary weights with 0s, thus leading to more efficient inference but more memory cost. However, the existing approaches to train ternary weight networks cannot control the sparsity (i.e., percentage of 0s) of the ternary weights, which undermines the advantage of ternary weights. In this paper, we propose to our best knowledge the first sparsity-control approach (SCA) to train ternary weight networks, which is simply achieved by a weight discretization regularizer (WDR). SCA is different from all the existing regularizer-based approaches in that it can control the sparsity of the ternary weights through a controller α and does not rely on gradient estimators. We theoretically and empirically show that the sparsity of the trained ternary weights is positively related to α. SCA is extremely simple, easy-to-implement, and is shown to consistently outperform the state-of-the-art approaches significantly over several benchmark datasets and even matches the performances of the full-precision weight counterparts. • An extremely simple approach to training ternary weight networks via a regularizer • A novel regularizer for training ternary weight networks and controlling the sparsity • The first work to our best knowledge to control the sparsity of ternary weights • Ternary weight networks matching the performances of the full-precision counterparts [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In theory, changes in the price of oil, which is a critical raw material for production, can affect the Producer Price Index (PPI). In this study, the PCA method is first employed to extract factors from the PPI of 39 industrial sectors in China, followed by the application of the NARDL model to analyze the nonlinear effects of international oil price fluctuations on the PPI of three industries. The results indicate that the long and short-term fluctuations in international oil prices have a significant impact on the PPI of resource-intensive industries and labor-intensive industries, but the impact on capital and technology-intensive industries is not significant. However, it is worth noting that the long-term increases in oil prices will have a negative impact on the PPI of resource-intensive industries. From the perspective of asymmetry, the positive and negative shocks of international oil prices will have an asymmetric impact on the PPI of labor-intensive industries, while the impact on resource-intensive industries is symmetric. Based on the existing conclusions, this article proposes relevant policy recommendations from the perspectives of both government and enterprises. • The nonlinear impact of oil prices on various Chinese industries' PPI is examined. • Short-run oil price fluctuation positively impact resource- and labor-intensive PPI. • Oil prices oppositely effect labor- and resource-intensive PPI in the long-run. • Oil price changes symmetrically affect short- and long-run resource-intensive PPI. • Labor-intensive PPI shows asymmetric impact in response to oil price changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Fe-CQDs were synthesized with coffee grounds as precursor via a simple and eco-friendly method. • Fe-CQDs displayed excellent peroxidase-mimetic activity. • Fe-CQDs could be acted as a dual-mode sensor for AA determination with high selectivity and sensitivity. In this study, we reported the eco-responsible synthesis of iron-doped carbon quantum dots (Fe-CQDs) from waste coffee grounds through a simple hydrothermal method. The Fe-CQDs exhibited high peroxidase-like activity, which could convert 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) into blue ox-TMB in the presence of H 2 O 2. After adding ascorbic acid (AA) to above system, the blue solution faded. Based on this phenomenon, a colorimetric method for visual monitoring of H 2 O 2 and AA was developed. Meanwhile, the fluorescence of Fe-CQDs can be quenched by the formed ox-TMB via inner filter effect (IFE), followed by the recovery upon the addition of AA. Therefore, Fe-CQDs can be acted as a fluorescent probe to detect H 2 O 2 and AA through the "on–off-on" mode. Furthermore, the dual-recognition methods based on Fe-CQDs were used to measure AA content in beverage samples. Thus, this work would shed much light on converting waste into biomass CQDs and their potential applications in biomolecular detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly sensitive sandwiched luminol electrochemiluminescence (ECL) immunosensor has been constructed based on the double catalysis effect and multiamplification strategy of platinum-gold alloy hybrid functionalized zinc oxide nanocomposites (Pt-Au@ZnONPs). First, the improved surface area and excellent biocompatibility of Pt-Au@ZnONPs were used for binding the secondary antibody (Ab 2 ) and glucose oxidase (GOD) to obtain the novel bioconjugate Pt-Au@ZnONPs-GOD-Ab 2 . Pt-Au@ZnONPs and the loaded GOD amplified luminol ECL signals and promoted the luminol ECL response by efficiently catalyzing glucose to produce hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) in situ as a coreactant of luminol. Then, Pt-Au@ZnONPs catalyzed H 2 O 2 to generate various reactive oxygen species (ROSs) that accelerated the ECL reaction of luminol, thus enhanced the ECL intensity of luminol and improved the sensitivity of the immunosensor. Second, gold nanoparticles decorated reduced graphene sheets (AuNPs@GS) with large specific surface area, good biocompatibility, high conductivity, and high catalytic activity were prepared and used as substrate of the immunosensor to capture the primary antibody (Ab 1 ). Experimental results demonstrated that the proposed ECL immunosensor showed a sensitive response for the detection of α-1-fetoprotein (AFP) from 0.1 pg mL −1 to 200 ng mL −1 with detection limit of 0.03 pg mL −1 (S/N = 3). The as-proposed luminol ECL immunosensor has excellent sensitivity, stability, and specificity, which makes it very promising for clinical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aorta segmentation is clinically important as it is a necessary step towards accurate assessments of some aorta disease. In the paper, we present a graph cut based method for automated aorta segmentation. In our method, a discriminative integrated feature (DIF) and a novel adaptive smoothness constraint are designed. DIF consists of low level features and other discriminative features including eigenvalues of Hessian and local self-similarity descriptor. DIF and random forests (RFs) are used to generate the probability maps. The probability maps containing learning information from RFs are more accurate than traditional probability maps generated based on intensities directly. The negative logarithm of the probability maps serves as the penalty term in a cost function. Additionally, a novel adaptive smoothness constraint is imposed to ensure a smooth solution. The adaptive smoothness term is constructed by DIFs and data-driven weights. Two kinds of data-driven weights are developed based on the idea that the discontinuity of two neighboring voxels with different labels should be distinct with two neighboring voxels with the same label. The final segmentation is obtained by optimizing the cost function using graph cuts. We evaluate the proposed method through challenging task of abdominal aorta segmentation in 3D CT images. With average dice metric (DM)  >  0.9690 on the test set, our experimental results demonstrate that our method achieves higher aorta segmentation accuracy than existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the use of kartogenin (KGN) in augmenting healing of the repaired enthesis after rotator cuff repair in a murine model.Methods: Seventy-two C57BL/6 wild-type mice underwent unilateral detachment and transosseous repair of the supraspinatus tendon augmented with either fibrin sealant (control group; n = 36) or fibrin sealant containing 100 μmol/L of KGN (experimental group; n = 36) applied at the repair site. Postoperatively, mice were allowed free cage activity without immobilization. Mice were humanely killed at 2 and 4 weeks postoperatively. Repair site integrity was evaluated histologically through fibrocartilage formation and collagen fiber organization and biomechanically through load-to-failure testing of the supraspinatus tendon-bone construct.Results: At 2 weeks, no differences were noted in percent area of fibrocartilage, collagen organization, or ultimate strength between groups. At 4 weeks, superior collagen fiber organization (based on collagen birefringence [17.3 ± 2.0 vs 7.0 ± 6.5 integrated density/μm2; P < .01]) and higher ultimate failure loads (3.5 ± 0.6 N vs 2.3 ± 1.1 N; P = .04) were seen in the KGN group. The percent area of fibrocartilage (13.2 ± 8.4% vs 4.4 ± 5.4%; P = .04) was higher in the control group compared with the KGN group.Conclusions: Rotator cuff repair augmentation with KGN improved the collagen fiber organization and biomechanical strength of the tendon-bone interface at 4 weeks in a murine model.Clinical Relevance: These findings have implications for improving the structural integrity of the repaired enthesis and potentially reducing the retear rate after rotator cuff repair, which can ultimately lead to improvements in clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To develop a clinically relevant, robust murine model of rotator cuff tendon repair to examine cellular and molecular mechanisms of healing.Methods: Sixty C57BL/6 male mice underwent rotator cuff transection and repair using microsurgical techniques. A modified Kessler suturing technique was used prior to tendon detachment. Sutures were passed through 2 intersecting bone tunnels that were made at the tendon attachment site. Mice were sacrificed at 2 and 4 weeks with subsequent biomechanical, histologic, micro-CT, and gene expression evaluations.Results: Failure forces in the 2- and 4-week groups were 36% and 75% of the intact tendon, respectively. Histologic evaluation revealed complete reattachment of the tendon with no observable gap. Healing occurred by formation of fibrovascular tissue at the tendon-bone interface, similar to larger animal models. Molecular analysis revealed gene expression consistent with gradual healing of the reattached tendon over a period of 4 weeks. Comparisons were made using 1-way analysis of variance.Conclusions: This model is distinguished by use of microsurgical suturing techniques, which provides a robust, reproducible, and economic animal model to study various aspects of rotator cuff pathology.Clinical Relevance: Improvement of clinical outcomes of rotator cuff pathology requires in-depth understanding of the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of healing. This study presents a robust murine model of supraspinatus repair to serve as a standard research tool for basic and translational investigations into signaling pathways, gene expression, and the effect of biologic augmentation approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a cultivation system with daily recycling of the post-harvest culture broth was set up and performed in order to reuse the water and nutrients in pretreated anaerobically digested swine manure, which was used as media to cultivate Chlorella vulgaris (UTEX 2714) at different recycling ratios. Results showed that the alga grew well in the system with an accumulative algal biomass and productivity of 1.68–3.47 g/L and 234.1–532.2 mg/L/d, respectively, at the end of the cultivation. Additionally, chemical compositions in this alga varied with the change of recycling ratios, and the highest productivities of carbohydrate, protein and lipids (76.4, 257.2 and 183.7 mg/L/d, respectively) were obtained in the system with a recycling ratio of 1/4 or 1/6. Fatty acid profiles indicated that this alga could be used as a good-quality biodiesel feedstock with a biodiesel productivity of 9.65–40.1 mg/L/d. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid swine manure was subjected to thermophilic anaerobic digestion, ammonia stripping and centrifugation in order to increase the available carbon sources and decrease the ammonia concentration and turbidity. Chlorella vulgaris (UTEX 2714) was grown on minimally diluted (2×, 3× and 4×) autoclaved and non-autoclaved pretreated anaerobic digestion swine manure (PADSM) in a batch-culture system for 7 days. Results showed that C. vulgaris (UTEX 2714) grew best on 3× PADSM media, and effectively removed NH 4 + -N, TN, TP and COD by 98.5–99.8%, 49.2–55.4%, 20.0–29.7%, 31.2–34.0% and 99.8–99.9%, 67.4–70.8%, 49.3–54.4%, 73.6–78.7% in differently diluted autoclaved and non-autoclaved PADSM, respectively. Results of chemical compositions indicated that contents of pigment, carbohydrate, protein and lipid in C. vulgaris (UTEX 2714) changed with the culture conditions. Moreover, its fatty acid profiles suggested that this alga could be used as animal feed if cultivated in autoclaved PADSM or as good-quality biodiesel feedstock if cultivated in non-autoclaved PADSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Natural ventilation can be used in residential buildings in several Australian climatic zones and well-designed windows have the potential to facilitate indoor thermal comfort by allowing occupants to control volumetric outdoor airflow and indoor air velocities. Top-hung window is one of the most popular window types in Australia. This paper investigates the effect of the attributes of top-hung windows (i.e. window length, aspect ratio, height above the ground, window opening angle and the fly screen porosity) and outdoor air conditions (i.e. outdoor air temperature, wind speed and direction) on indoor thermal comfort during cross ventilation using CFD simulations. The Taguchi method was used to design the simulation scenarios and analysis of variance was used to determine the most significant factors influencing thermal comfort optimisation so as to reduce the number of CFD simulation cases. For the range of parameters considered and a particular case study building, results show that outdoor air temperature, window height and window opening angle are the most important factors influencing indoor thermal comfort in this room. The optimal window configurations for indoor thermal comfort of the case study building are also identified using a signal-to-noise ratio analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been considered as “green” substitutes for traditional organic solvents in many existing biological and chemical areas. However, they have high solubility and poor biodegradability in water, suggesting that they could become persistent chemical pollutants in aquatic environment. The ability of two widely used imidazolium-based ILs to affect the growth and physiological characteristics of a marine diatom ( Phaeodactylum tricornutum ) was investigated in this study. The diatom was exposed to different concentrations of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C 4 mim]BF 4 ) and 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C 8 mim]BF 4 ) for 96 h within a batch-culture system. Results showed that [C 4 mim]BF 4 and [C 8 mim]BF 4 were very stable in seawater during 96 h of exposure, and the compounds significantly inhibited the growth of P. tricornutum with 24, 48, 72 and 96 h EC 50 values of 30.81, 28.53, 39.92, 45.88 mg L −1 and 30.17, 23.36, 28.62, 31.37 mg L −1 , respectively. In addition, the photosynthetic activity and chlorophyll a synthesis of P. tricornutum were inhibited by [C 4 mim]BF 4 and [C 8 mim]BF 4 , indicating that the structural integrity of chloroplasts of the diatom may be disrupted or damaged by the two ILs. Compared with that of the controls, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level was increased by 0.65, 1.17, 1.85, 3.13, 2.94 times and 0.55, 1.77, 2.42, 3.45, 3.47 times in 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 mg L −1 [C 4 mim]BF 4 and [C 8 mim]BF 4 treatments, respectively. The excessive ROS may cause lipid peroxidation, shortage of metabolic energy and decline of photosynthetic efficiency, which may be the main reason for toxicity of the two ILs to marine diatoms. To withstand the damaging effects of excessive ROS, remarkable physiological and biochemical responses occurred in treatments with the two ILs to protect the cells of P. tricornutum . Parameters such as soluble protein content, soluble sugar content, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities of the diatom increased significantly with increasing concentrations of the two ILs at 96 h of exposure relative to the controls. These findings not only provide strong background for evaluating the ecological risks and toxicity of ILs in marine environment, but also help to unravel the toxic mechanism of the two ILs to marine diatoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, some researchers have pointed out that the threats of ionic liquids (ILs) to aquatic environment cannot be ignored. Thus, this study investigated the potential toxicity of 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C 12 mim]BF 4 ) on a marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum at population, biochemical and physiological levels using 96 h growth tests with a batch-culture system. Results showed that [C 12 mim]BF 4 was very stable in aquatic environment during 96 h of exposure. The growth of P . tricornutum was significantly inhibited by [C 12 mim]BF 4 with 24, 48, 72 and 96 h EC 50 values of 0.63, 0.61, 0.68 and 0.72 mg L − 1 , respectively. Although there were no significant differences between the controls and treatments with 0.1 and 0.5 mg L − 1 [C 12 mim]BF 4 , the effective quantum yields ( Φ PSII ) of the diatom in 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg L − 1 [C 12 mim]BF 4 treatments were 61.48, 17.04, 2.96 and 0.74% of that in the controls at 96 h of exposure, respectively. Chl a content of the diatom was decreased by 34.86, 47.79, 49.81, 59.21, 79.82 and 86.98% compared with that of the controls at 96 h of exposure in 0.1, 0.5, 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 mg L − 1 [C 12 mim]BF 4 treatments, respectively. Relative to the controls, soluble sugar content, reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities of the diatom increased with increasing [C 12 mim]BF 4 concentrations at 96 h of exposure, and reached their maxima (1.46 μg 10 6 cell − 1 , 7.48 FU 10 7 cell − 1 , 3.35 nmol 10 8 cell − 1 , 33.41 and 7.23 U mg − 1 proteins, respectively) in 5 mg L − 1 [C 12 mim]BF 4 treatments. While the maximum soluble protein content (1.56 μg 10 6 cell − 1 ) of the diatom was obtained in 0.5 mg L − 1 [C 12 mim]BF 4 treatments, and then decreased with increasing [C 12 mim]BF 4 concentrations from 0.5 to 10 mg L − 1 . These findings provide strong evidence for the potential toxicity of ILs to marine diatoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate chondrocyte apoptosis and the expression of biochemical markers associated with apoptosis in Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) and in an established T-2 toxin- and selenium (Se) deficiency-induced rat model. Methods Cartilages were collected from the hand phalanges of five patients with KBD and five healthy children. Sprague-Dawley rats were administered a selenium-deficient diet for 4 weeks prior to T-2 toxin exposure. The apoptotic chondrocytes were observed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling staining. Caspase-3, p53, Bcl-2, and Bax proteins in the cartilages were visualized by immunohistochemistry, their protein levels were determined by Western blotting, and mRNA levels were determined by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Results Increased chondrocyte apoptosis was observed in the cartilages of children with KBD. Increased apoptotic and caspase-3-stained cells were observed in the cartilages of rats fed with normal and Se-deficient diets plus T-2 toxin exposure compared to those in rats fed with normal and Se-deficient diets. Caspase-3, p53, and Bax proteins and mRNA levels were higher, whereas Bcl-2 levels were lower in rats fed with normal or Se-deficiency diets supplemented with T-2 toxin than the corresponding levels in rats fed with normal diet. Conclusion T-2 toxin under a selenium-deficient nutritional status induces chondrocyte death, which emphasizes the role of chondrocyte apoptosis in cartilage damage and progression of KBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Bone marrow aspirate has been used in recent years to augment tendon-to-bone healing, including in rotator cuff repair. However, the healing mechanism in cell-based therapy has not been elucidated in detail. Methods Sixteen athymic nude rats were randomly allocated to 2 groups: experimental (human mesenchymal stem cells in fibrin glue carrier) and control (fibrin glue only). Animals were sacrificed at 2 and 4 weeks. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to evaluate Indian hedgehog (Ihh) signaling and SOX9 signaling in the healing enthesis. Macrophages were identified using CD68 and CD163 staining, and proliferating cells were identified using proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining. Results More organized and stronger staining for collagen II and a higher abundance of SOX9 + cells were observed at the enthesis in the experimental group at 2 weeks. There was significantly higher Gli1 and Patched1 expression in the experimental group at the enthesis at 2 weeks and higher numbers of Ihh + cells in the enthesis of the experimental group vs control at both 2 weeks and 4 weeks postoperatively. There were more CD68 + cells localized to the tendon midsubstance at 2 weeks compared with 4 weeks, and there was a higher level of CD163 staining in the tendon midsubstance in the experimental group than in the control group at 4 weeks. Conclusion Stem cell application had a positive effect on fibrocartilage formation at the healing rotator cuff repair site. Both SOX9 and Ihh signaling appear to play an important role in the healing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses field monitoring and post occupancy evaluation (POE) surveys to investigate the indoor thermal comfort of an office building that is located in subtropical zone. The building is special as it combines advanced natural ventilation (ANV) strategies and underfloor air distribution (UFAD) systems. A comparison between a static thermal comfort model and a dynamic thermal comfort model is also conducted. The results show that the thermal comfort conditions in the case study building are satisfactory in summer while in winter there is evidence of thermal discomfort. For the case study building, the static thermal comfort model gives outputs that matched well with the responses of the occupants during the POE survey in winter while the dynamic model is more representative of the sensation of the occupants in summer, [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is very important to have a good understanding of the biological effects of nanoparticles (NPs) on marine diatoms. In this study, the physiological and biochemical responses of a marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum to titanium dioxide NPs (nano-TiO 2 ) and cerium oxide NPs (nano-CeO 2 ) were compared and evaluated using 96 h growth tests in a batch-culture system. At 96 h of exposure, the growth inhibition rate ( IR , %) of P. tricornutum increased from 5.46 to 27.31% with increasing nano-TiO 2 concentrations from 2.5 to 40 mg L − 1 . The maximum IR of 49.59% occurred in 40 mg L − 1 nano-TiO 2 treatments at 48 h of exposure. Growth of the diatom was increased in low nano-CeO 2 treatments (≤ 5 mg L − 1 ), but was inhibited in high nano-CeO 2 treatments (≥ 10 mg L − 1 ). Large aggregates of NPs were attached to the cells of P. tricornutum in 20 and 40 mg L − 1 nano-TiO 2 and nano-CeO 2 treatments. In addition, the effective quantum yields ( Φ PSII ) of P. tricornutum in 40 mg L − 1 nano-TiO 2 and nano-CeO 2 treatments were 83.33 and 71.13% of that in the controls at 96 h of exposure, respectively. Compared with that of the controls at 96 h of exposure, chlorophyll a content, soluble sugar content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, SOD and POD activities of P. tricornutum in 40 mg L − 1 nano-TiO 2 and nano-CeO 2 treatments increased by 57.56, 142.97, 373.25, 698.76, 204.85% and 21.43, 89.41, 194.97, 340.05, 502.86%, while soluble protein content decreased by 70.38 and 28.64%, respectively. These findings will be helpful to understand the effect mechanisms of NPs on marine organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of purified human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to augment healing of an acute small- to medium-sized rotator cuff repair in a small-animal model, evaluating the structure and composition of the healing tendon-bone interface with histologic and biomechanical analyses.Methods: Fifty-two athymic rats underwent unilateral detachment and transosseous repair of the supraspinatus tendon augmented with either fibrin glue (control group) or fibrin glue with 106 human MSCs (experimental group) applied at the repair site. Flow cytometry verified the stem cell phenotype of the cells as CD73+, CD90+, CD105+, CD14-, CD34-, and CD45-. Rats were killed at 2 and 4 weeks, with 10 from each group used for biomechanical testing and 3 for histologic analysis.Results: Safranin O staining identified increased fibrocartilage formation at the repair site at 2 weeks in the human MSC group (18.6% ± 2.9% vs 9.1% ± 1.6%, P = .026). Picrosirius staining identified decreased energy (36.88 ± 4.99 J vs 54.97 ± 8.33 J, P = .04) and increased coherence in the human MSC group (26.96% ± 15.32% vs 14.53% ± 4.10%, P = .05), indicating improved collagen orientation. Biomechanical testing showed a significant increase in failure load (11.5 ± 2.4 N vs 8.5 ± 2.4 N, P = .002) and stiffness (7.1 ± 1.2 N/mm vs 5.7 ± 2.1 N/mm, P < .001) in the experimental group compared with the control group at 2 weeks. These effects dissipated by 4 weeks, with no significant differences in fibrocartilage formation (35% ± 5.0% vs 26.6% ± 0.6%, P = .172) or biomechanical load to failure (24.6 ± 7.1 N vs 21.5 ± 4.1 N, P = .361) or stiffness (13.5 ± 3.1 N/mm vs 16.1 ± 5.6 N/mm, P = .384). All failures occurred at the bone-tendon interface.Conclusions: Rotator cuff repair augmentation with purified human MSCs improved early histologic appearance and biomechanical strength of the repair at 2 weeks, although the effects dissipated by 4 weeks with no significant differences between groups.Clinical Relevance: Human MSCs may improve early rotator cuff healing during the first 2 weeks after repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Address the debate on whether improvements in ESG performance worthy for enterprises. • Listed firms with higher ESG ratings tend to enjoy higher total factor productivities (TFP). • High ESG ratings result in lower financial constraints, lower stock price crash risk, and higher labor productivity. • Ownership, size, and location are three factors that affect the ESG rating's impact on TFP. Scholars have long argued about whether improvements in environment, society, and governance (ESG) performance benefit a firm itself. To address this debate from a general perspective, we present empirical evidence on the positive correlation between a firm's ESG rating and its total factor productivity (TFP). We also explore three possible mechanisms that work within the relationship between ESG rating and TFP, in which each pillar (E, S, and G) of the ESG rating has its own function in influencing a mediator variable that eventually affects TFP. Our findings are of referential value for both policymakers and investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The commercialization of anodes for sodium ion batteries (SIBs) requires multitude approaches such as the practicality of the synthesis process, battery performance and the recycling option which most studies overlooked. Herein, we showed the scalable synthesis of self-standing sulfur-doped flexible graphene films as the anode materials for SIBs, demonstrating up to 377 mA h g −1 capacity at 100 mA g −1 current density as well as an excellent rate capability and a moderate decay rate of 0.106% per cycle during long cycling test. The work also shows that sulfur doping creates additional redox sites for reaction with Na + and induces larger interspacing layers, leading to an enhanced capacity compared to the non-doped graphene. The self-standing nature of the films also eliminates the need for other additional anode components, such as conductive carbon or binder, and more importantly, allows their recovery and subsequent reuse in new applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cDNA of a biphenyl hydrolase-like (BPHL) protein from Bombyx mori was cloned via rapid amplification of cDNA ends and submitted to GenBank under accession number JN020647 . The full-length BmBPHL cDNA was 1161 bp, with four exons and three introns. It consisted of a 208 bp 5′-terminal untranslated region (UTR) and a 191 bp 3′-UTR with three polyadenylation signal sequences AATAAA and a poly(A) tail. The BmBPHL cDNA encodes a 253–amino acid polypeptide with a theoretical isoelectric point of 8.67 and a predicted molecular weight of 28.9 kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence of BmBPHL contained an abhydrolase _ 6 domain and the Gly-X-Ser-X-Gly motif that is characteristic of serine hydrolases. Sequence comparison showed that BmBPHL is 51% identical to Tribolium castaneum BPHL and 50% identical to Nasonia vitripennis BPHL. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that BmBPHL is grouped with insect BPHL proteins, separating from vertebrate BPHLs. The BmBPHL mRNA transcripts were mainly detected in hemolymph and fat body using fluorescent quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, infection with B. mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV) upregulated the relative BmBPHL expression in the hemolymph and midgut. Therefore, BmBPHL may have an important function in the response of silkworms to BmCPV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manganese (Mn) overexposure induced neurological damages, which could be potentially protected by sodium para -aminosalicylic acid (PAS-Na). In this study, we systematically detected the changes of divalent metal elements in most of the organs and analyzed the distribution of the metals in Mn-exposed rats and the protection by PAS-Na. Sprague Dawley (SD) rats received intraperitoneal injections of 15 mg/kg MnCl 2 ·4H 2 O (5 d/week for 3 weeks), followed by subcutaneous (back) injections of PAS-Na (100 and 200 mg/kg, everyday for 5 weeks). The concentrations of Mn and other metal elements [Iron (Fe), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca)] in major organs (liver, spleen, kidney, thighbone and iliac bone, cerebral cortex, hippocampus and testes) and blood by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES). The results showed that Mn overexposure significantly increased Mn in most organs, Fe and Zn in liver, Fe and Mg in blood; however decreased Fe, Cu, Zn, Mg and Ca in cortex, Cu and Zn in kidney, Cu and Mg in iliac bone, and Zn in blood. In contrast, PAS-Na treatment restored most changes particularly in cortex. In conclusion, excessive Mn exposure disturbed the balance of other metal elements but PAS-Na post-treatments could restore these alterations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey skin is used as a source of fat in finished ground turkey products. Salmonella-contaminated skin may potentially disseminate this pathogen to ground turkey. The objective of this study was to determine and compare Salmonella levels (presence and numbers) associated with the skin of turkey parts (i.e., drumstick, thigh, and wing). Over a 10-month period, 20 turkey flocks expected to be highly contaminated with Salmonella based on boot-sock testing data of turkey houses were sampled. A total of 300 samples per type of turkey part were collected postchill and were tested for Salmonella using the mostprobable- number (MPN) and enrichment methods. Overall, Salmonella was detected in 13.7, 19.7, and 25.0% of drumstick skin, thigh skin, and wing skin samples, respectively. Salmonella prevalence from wing skin was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than in drumstick skin, but the difference was not significant (P > 0.05) when compared with thigh skin. Salmonella was 2.4 times more likely to be present from thigh skin (odds ratio = 2.4; P < 0.05) when the pathogen was found from wing skin. Salmonella mean numbers from drumstick, thigh, and wing were 1.18, 1.29, and 1.45 log MPN per sample, respectively; these values were not significantly different [P > 0.05). Based on our findings, the high prevalence of Salmonella associated with the skin of turkey parts could be a potential source for ground turkey contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous carbon materials have received considerable attention recently, particularly in the energy field. To meet the increasing demands for electrochemical energy conversion and storage-related applications, the development of novel porous carbon materials that show high electrochemical performances is highly desired. Here, a facile method for the preparation of nitrogen-doped hierarchically porous carbon materials is proposed. Cost-effective chitosan is selected as the nitrogen-containing carbon source, and the carbonation is realized in a ZnCl 2 molten salt at a temperature range of 400–700 °C. Hierarchically porous carbon with a specific surface area of 1582 m 2 g −1 and a high nitrogen content of 9.0 wt.% is obtained at a carbonation temperature of 600 °C with a high carbon yield of 42 wt.% based on the weight of chitosan. Importantly, using this as-synthesized carbon material as the electrode in supercapacitors, high specific capacitances of 252 and 145 F g −1 at current densities of 0.5 and 50 A g −1 , respectively, and stable cycling performance without decay after 10,000 cycles at 8 A g −1 are realized. The facile synthesis, easy recovery of ZnCl 2 and high carbon yield make this new method highly promising for the preparation of porous carbon materials for use in supercapacitors and other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the full-length cDNA of a peptidoglycan recognition protein named BmPGRP-S3 was identified from the silkworm, Bombyx mori by rapid amplification of cDNA ends. It is 807 bp and comprises the following: a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) with a length of 112 bp, a 3′-UTR with a length of 92 bp including a poly-adenylation signal sequence (AATAAA) and a poly(A) tail. The longest open reading frame (ORF) of BmPGRP-S3 is 603 bp and encodes a polypeptide of 200 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 22.3 kDa including a PGRP domain. Sequence similarity and phylogenic analysis results indicated that BmPGRP-S3 belongs to the group of insect PGRPs and is closer to BmPGRP-S4 with the highest identity of 68%. Fluorescent quantitative real-time PCR results revealed that the mRNA transcripts of BmPGRP-S3 were presented in all of the tissues, but were highest in the midgut. In the silkworm larvae infected with B. mori cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus (BmCPV), the relative expression level of BmPGRP-S3 was upregulated. The DNA segment of a mature BmPGRP-S3 peptide was inserted into the expression plasmid pET-28a(+) to construct a recombinant expression plasmid. Western blot results revealed that mature BmPGRP-S3 could be detected in the hemolymph and midgut which were the most important immune tissues in silkworm. All the results suggested that BmPGRP-S3 may play an important role in the immune response of silkworm to BmCPV infection and provided helpful information for further studying the function of BmPGRP-S3 in silkworm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cordierite–mullite bonded porous SiC ceramics were prepared by an in situ reaction bonding technique using a silicon carbide, aluminum hydroxide, MgO, and graphite as starting materials. The starting materials were mixed in different ratios and heated at different temperatures (1300–1450°C) to obtain good mechanical properties. The pores in the ceramics were formed by burning graphite and by stacking particles of SiC and Al(OH)3. The surface of SiC was oxidized to SiO2 at high temperature, and fine Al2O3 grains produced by the decomposition of aluminum hydroxide. With further increasing the temperature, SiO2 reacted with Al(OH)3 and MgO to form cordierite–mullite. SiC particles were bonded by the oxidation-derived SiO2 and cordierite–mullite. The reaction bonding behavior, phase composition, open porosity, microstructure and mechanical strength as well as pore size distribution of porous SiC ceramics were investigated. The results show that when 4.5wt% MgO was added, in the absence of graphite, the flexural strength and the open porosity of the porous SiC ceramics were 78.71MPa and 21.63%, respectively. In addition, when 30% graphite was added to the above composition, a flexural strength of 41.29MPa was achieved at an open porosity of 42.11%. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Digital gene expression (DGE) was performed to investigate the gene expression profiles of 4008 and p50 silkworm strains at 48h after oral infection with BmCPV. 3,668,437 clean tags were identified in the BmCPV-infected p50 silkworms and 3,540,790 clean tags in the control p50. By contrast, 4,498,263 clean tags were identified in the BmCPV-infected 4008 silkworms and 4,164,250 clean tags in the control 4008. A total of 691 differentially expressed genes were detected in the infected 4008 DGE library and 185 were detected in the infected p50 DGE library, respectively. The expression profiles identified some important differentially expressed genes involved in signal transduction, enzyme activity and apoptotic changes, some of which were verified using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). These results provide important clues on the molecular mechanism of BmCPV invasion and resistance mechanism of silkworms against BmCPV infection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]