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• The honeycomb ventilated structure has a subwavelength thickness and a broad soundproofing bandwidth. • The bandwidth covers the human ear-sensitive frequency range and is much broader than most ventilated meta -panels. • The proposed acoustic-impedance model can significantly save computational resources compared to FEM simulations. • The proposed thin-ventilated device has wide applications in noisy industries, crowded buildings, and hospitals. In this research, we propose a ventilated acoustic meta -panel with a honeycomb appearance to overcome the challenges of attaining ventilation capability, broad bandwidth, and insulation performance simultaneously in a miniaturized size. A hexagonal unit cell comprises a pair of dual parallel hollow channels and is interconnected with a meandered air-flowing path to reduce the resonant-induced transmission leakages and achieve broadband sound insulation while maintaining air ventilation and compact sizes. Each unit cell has a subwavelength thickness of 0.06 λ and a compact volume of 6.24 × 10−5 λ3 where λ corresponds to the lowest frequency of the bandwidth. The device is theoretically analyzed with an equivalent acoustic impedance model, considering the curved channel effects and thermoviscous loss for sound wave propagation within narrow tubes. The circuit model provides a design guideline to optimize the geometric parameters for desired frequency responses. The circuit simulations are compared with 3D finite element simulations considering thermal conductivity effects and viscous loss. The unit-cell simulation results showed a broad soundproof bandwidth ranging from 427 Hz to 5979 Hz with 90 % sound energy insulations. For practical examinations, a 3D-printing prototype is fabricated and inserted in a commercial impedance tube system with a diameter of 10 cm. The experimental results demonstrated a wide sound filtering bandwidth ranging from 422 Hz to 1800 Hz and an air ventilation capability of 12 %. The proposed thin panel with broadband sound insulations and sufficient air ventilations has potential applications such as noise reduction in high-speed trains and factories and sound silencing in hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The proposed approach provides a design guideline for lateral or longitudinal coupled ventilated sound silencers. • The even/odd mode analysis and equivalent impedance model provide theoretical analysis for broadband ventilated structures. • The proposed acoustic-impedance model can significantly save computational resources compared to FEM simulations. In this research, we proposed an acoustic impedance-based design method to increase the soundproofing bandwidths and maintain efficient air ventilation for tubular structures consisting of hollow air-flowing channels. This research has great potential to provide design guidelines based on an acoustic impedance model and even/odd mode analysis for hollow-tube ventilated devices containing resonance and antiresonances. We introduced a thin ventilated structure with a subwavelength thickness of 0.107 λ where λ corresponds to the lowest frequency within the filtering bandwidth, a 19.4 % cross-section open for air passage, and a 10 dB fractional bandwidth of 110.2 % (i.e., 90 % sound energy is blocked), which is broader than that of a conventional Fano-like structure of 44.7 %. To experimentally verify the proposed approach, two prototypes, including lateral-coupled and longitudinal-coupled devices, were designed, fabricated with 3D printing, and experimentally characterized via a commercial-available impedance tube system. The simulations matched the measurements and demonstrated the 10 dB fractional bandwidth of 65 % and 91.5 % and ventilation efficiencies of 21.4 % and 33.4 %, respectively. The main contribution of this work is that the proposed approach can be adopted for lateral or longitudinal coupled ventilated structures with broadband sound insulations and lower the effects of resonance-induced sound transmissions. Besides, the proposed acoustic-impedance model can significantly save the required tremendous computational resources and time compared to FEM simulations. Moreover, the proposed lateral and longitudinal ventilated structures are expected to benefit broadband sound filtering and noise reduction for thin panel or tubular silencers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a known natural product with anti-tumor activity, honokiol has been widely researched and structural modified. Lots of honokiol derivatives have been found to possess good anti-proliferative activity and showed great potential in cancer therapy, but the SAR (structure-activity relationship) was still confused. Here in, the SAR were comprehensively researched by summary of reported derivatives and synthesis of novel derivatives. Amongst novel derivatives, the promising compounds A6 and A10 exhibited potent and selective anti-proliferative activities against K562 cell line with the IC 50 values of 5.04 and 7.08 μM respectively. The SAR was discussed around honokiol and 79 derivatives by the means of CoMFA and theoretical calculation, which provided useful suggestion for further structural optimization of honokiol derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • 5-Arylbenzofuran neolignan (1) was semi-synthesized from honokiol in a high yield. • Twenty-four 5-arylbenzofuran neolignan derivatives were synthesized. • Several derivatives displayed potent fungicidal and insecticidal activity. • Promising compounds showed low toxicity in the model of human cells. Abstract As shown in a number of previous researches, the extracts of Magnolia officinalis exhibited broad-spectrum fungicidal and insecticidal activity. In our preliminary study, 5-arylbenzofuran neolignans, the secondary metabolite of Magnolia officinalis , was found to inherit the activity of Magnolia officinalis. For developing novel agrochemicals, natural 5-arylbenzofuran neolignan was selected as lead compound. After structural optimization, the fungicidal and insecticidal activity and selectivity were significantly improved. Compounds 5a , 5b , 6c and 6d displayed similar or equivalent activity compared with the positive controls against corresponding fungi or pests. Especially, compounds 6c and 6d exhibited the most promising insecticidal ability against Aphis fabae with the LC 50 values of 3.56 mg/L and 5.96 mg/L, respectively. The preliminary structure-activity relationship was obtained, and the promising derivatives showed low toxicity in the model of human cells. The results of research indicated great potential of 5-arylbenzofuran neolignan derivatives in the field of fungicide and insecticide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most common degenerative disease which causes pain and disability of joint and brings heavy socioeconomic burden in the world. However, the pathogenesis of OA has not been fully understood. Articular cartilage degradation or loss was often regarded as the characteristic of osteoarthritis. But we believe that there may had a illusion that OA was simply considered to be a process of wear and tear because evidences have supported all joint tissues remodeling including cartilage, subchondral bone, synovium, ligament, fat pad, and etc, were engaged in OA, in particular the cartilage and subchondral bone. Many factors such as mechanics, inflammation and immunological abnormality could drive the joint tissues metabolic and disturb the steady state of cartilage and bone, which further devoted to a serial pathological manifestations, consisting of hypertrophy and apoptosis of articular chondrocytes, degradation of cartilage matrix, angiogenesis and calcification of hyaline cartilage, replication of tidemark, formation of osteophytes, degeneration of ligaments and, in the knee, the menisci, hypertrophy of the joint capsule and remodeling of subchondral bone along with increased permeability of the osteochondral interface. The thickening of calcified cartilage, the thinning of superficial hyaline cartilage and the remodeling of subchondral bone indicated that the cartilage degradation could be a procedure of enchondral ossification similar to the growth plate, of driven by a host of cytokines within the affected joint. Articular cartilage loses stable state from normal resting to a high turnover in the stimulation of abnormal mechanical stresses and cytokines would subsequently contributed to slowly sustained remodeling and calcification, which might be the key features of the initiation and development of OA. In this article, the development and structural comparison of articular cartilage and growth plate as well as the major pathologic features of OA will be discussed to explain that cartilage degeneration in OA might be a process of enchondral ossification similar to growth plate. This would provide a new perspective for understanding OA's pathogenesis and the treatment in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light interception capability is a critical factor affecting the growth, development, fruit yield and quality of fruit trees; thus, it is beneficial to cultivate optimal canopy types with high light interception efficiency. In this study, we present a quantitative method of analyzing light interception by tree canopies based on a virtual plant model. A detailed three-dimensional (3D) peach model with a natural growth shape was reconstructed and then the branches in the model were pruned to generate canopies with an open center form. These models were used to calculate the light interception and corresponding net photosynthesis. A solar radiation transfer model was used to determine the radiation intensity at the top of the canopy, and a ray tracing algorithm and turtle algorithm were utilized to simulate the spatial distribution of direct and diffuse radiation, respectively, in the tree canopy and obtain the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) for each leaf. In the final step, we applied the photosynthesis model to calculate the canopy net photosynthetic rate. To compare the light interception efficiency among various plant canopy shapes, the net production rate at the whole-canopy scale and the average net photosynthetic rate per unit leaf area were calculated. The simulation results showed that peach canopies with an open center form provided better results compared with canopies with a natural form in terms of light penetration and air ventilation. Our method supports quantitative analysis of light interception and use efficiency for different types of canopy architectures at each time step and for individual leaf units. The approach was implemented in the interactive parametric individual 3D tree modeling software ParaTree. The extended ParaTree software is useful for fruit tree management applications because it provides an intuitive tool that can assist in tree pruning and design for ideal canopy architecture types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study investigates the atmospheric occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) over the Pacific Ocean near southern Taiwan and the northern Philippines. We determined sixty-six compounds, including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DLPCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), as well as polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDEs), polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PBDD/Fs), and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), in air samples simultaneously collected from the offshore oceanic atmosphere (n=6) and over a rural area (n=2). We calculated the atmospheric World Health Organization 2005 toxic equivalency levels (WHO2005-TEQ), for the total dioxin-like POPs, including PCDD/Fs, DLPCBs, and PBDD/Fs, being 0.00612pg WHO2005-TEQ/m3 and 0.0138pg WHO2005-TEQ/m3 over the ocean and land, respectively. We found unexpected lower averaged atmospheric PBDE concentrations in the rural area (15.9pg/m3) than over the ocean (31.1pg/m3) due to higher levels of the BDE209 congener, although the difference was not statistically significant. We have compared and reported our field results with previously published datasets over the global oceans, which suggest PCBs and PBDEs are the dominant chemical contaminants in the global oceanic atmosphere among these halogenated POPs (e.g. PCBs and Σdi-hepta PBDEs could be found in the range of 0.09–48.7 and 8.07–94.0pg/m3, respectively, including our dataset). However, there are still very few investigations on the global atmospheric levels of PBDD/Fs, PCDEs and PBBs and our data sums to these earlier studies. Finally, we point out that the halogenated POPs originated from Taiwan or the continental East Asia which could easily reach remote ocean sites via atmospheric transport. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In order to improve the dynamic state resolution of aerial remote sensor, it is indispensable to analyzing image rotation of aerial remote sensor. According to optical reflection vector theory, study on imaging character of aerial remote sensor with off-axis three-reflective optical system. At first, a simple mathematics model is abstracted from the aerial remote sensor. In the Cartesian coordinate system, compute the image plane revolution vector quantity caused by scan mirror rotating of parallactic angle and depression angle by analysis of image rotation direction for aerial remote sensor with off-axis three-reflective optical system applying coordinate conversion and geometrical optics, provide a theoretical resource for the application of the drift mechanism (eliminating image rotation mechanism). Using this method can calculate exactly image motion and image motion compensation error of image planeand image motion quantity less than 0.003mm. In conclusion, the result of the computation improves Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) of optical system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Decim v1 is a hardware oriented stream cipher that was proposed by Berbain et al. and has been submitted to eSTREAM. Decim v2 is a revised version of Decim v1 and was submitted to ISO/IEC 18033-4. Decim-128 is a 128-bit security version of Decim. In this paper, we propose related key chosen IV attacks on Decim v2 and Decim-128. The attacks on Decim v2 and Decim-128 can recover the 80-bit and 128-bit secret keys with computational complexity of 268/296, requiring 220/251 chosen IVs, 226/256.88-bit stream sequence and negligible/ 242.58 bits space, respectively. When more than 8 and 10 related keys can be obtained for Decim v2 and Decim-128, the computational complexity can be reduced to 232/238, requiring 223/233.32 chosen IVs, 229/239.25-bit stream sequence and negligible/ 230.91 bits space, respectively. These results have been the best key recovery attacks on Decim v2 and Decim-128. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The minichromosome maintenance (MCM) complex, a replicative helicase, is a heterohexamer essential for DNA duplication and genome stability. We identified Scliizosaccharomyces pombe mcb1~ (Mcm-binding protein 1), an apparent orthologue of the human MCM-binding protein that associates with a subset of MCM complex proteins. mcb1~ is an essential gene. Deletion of mcbl + caused cell cycle arrest after several generations with a cdc phenotype and disrupted nuclear structure. Mcbl is an abundant protein, constitutively present across the cell cycle. It is widely distributed in cytoplasm and nucleoplasm and bound to chromatin. Co-immunoprecipitation suggested that Mcbl interacts robustly with Mcm3-7 but not Mcm2. Overproduction of Mcbl disrupted the association of Mcm2 with other MCM proteins, resulting in inhibition of DNA replication, DNA damage, and activation of the checkpoint kinase Chkl. Thus, Mcbl appears to antagonize the function of MCM helicase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We used molecular typing methods to investigate an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in a respiratory care ward in Taiwan. From March to June 2006, the incidence of MRSA infection increased 3.75-fold. The overall carrier rates among the health care workers (HCWs) were 31.3% (total S. aureus), 16.4% (MRSA), and 14.9% (methicillin-sensitive SA, MSSA). Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), antibiograms derived from susceptibility testing of MRSA isolates, and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) provided strong epidemiologic and microbiologic evidence that the outbreak of MRSA infections at our hospital was linked to the same PFGE pulsotype A SCCmec type II, pvl-negative, MLST ST5 strain of MRSA isolated from seven HCWs and five patients. The outbreak was controlled by application of topical fucidin ointment to the anterior nares in all colonized HCWs. Multiplex PCR combined with PFGE and MLST is a feasible method for outbreak investigations in routine clinical laboratories. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the predictive factors for mortality in primary septicemia or wound infections caused by Vibrio vulnificus. Methods: A retrospective review of 90 patients 18 years and older who were hospitalized due to V vulnificus infection between January 2000 and December 2006 was performed. Clinical characteristics, laboratory studies, treatments, and outcomes retrieved from medical records were analyzed. Multiple logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed. Results: Of 90 patients identified as V vulnificus infections, 39 had primary septicemia and 51 had wound infection. The mean age was 63.0 ± 11.9 years. The mean Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE II) and Mortality in Emergency Department Sepsis (MEDS) scores on admission were 11.1 ± 4.9 and 5.5 ± 3.8, respectively. Fifteen patients died, yielding an in-hospital mortality rate of 17%. Multivariate analysis revealed that higher APACHE II (odds ratio, 1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.2-1.8; P< .0001) and MEDS (odds ratio, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6; P = .0201) scores on admission were significantly associated with mortality. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves values for APACHE II and MEDS in predicting in-hospital mortality were 0.928 (95% CI, 0.854-0.972) and 0.830 (95% CI, 0.736-0.901), respectively. Conclusions: The APACHE II and MEDS scores on admission are significant prognostic indicators in primary septicemia or wound infections caused by V vulnificus. A further prospective study to strengthen this point is required. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background/Purpose: Reference intervals of biochemical tests for screening for diabetes mellitus and liver and renal function among school children in Central Taiwan have never been documented. Therefore, this study aimed to establish the reference intervals for the above mentioned biochemical tests for pediatric populations. Methods: A total of 4326 subjects, including 2029 kindergarten children, 1624 elementary-school children, 325 junior-high-school children, and 348 teachers were selected randomly in Central Taiwan. All serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cr) and glucose levels were determined using a Beckman Synchron CX5 analyzer. The reference intervals reflected estimates of the 2.5th–97.5th percentiles of non-parametric distributions. Results: Adults had significantly higher biochemical analyte values [except for BUN/creatinine (B/C) ratio] than children had. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that biochemical analyte values were significantly higher in male than in female subjects. The concentrations of glucose and Cr increased with age. On the contrary, the B/C ratio decreased with age. Conclusion: Our study provides new pediatric reference intervals (2.5th–97.5th percentiles) of 60–99 mg/dL for serum glucose concentrations, 8–38 IU/L for ALT, 0.4–1.1 mg/L for Cr, 8.7–18.0 mg/L for BUN, and 10–34 for B/C ratio. The B/C ratio in children was higher than those of adults, possibily due to that children had a higher intake of protein. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Structure of A. roxburghii polysaccharides was characterized by various techniques. • A. roxburghii polysaccharides relieved the fatigue of mice from swimming. • A. roxburghii polysaccharides showed potential antioxidant activity on model mice. • A. roxburghii polysaccharides prolonged the survival time of hypoxic mice. Anoectochilus roxburghii (Wall.) Lindl is a perennial herb of Orchidaceae, which was regarded as a widely favorite functional food. A. roxburghii polysaccharides, possessing multitudinous activities, are one of the most important bioactive components of A. roxburghii. To promote the research and application of A. roxburghii polysaccharides, the structure of polysaccharides was analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectra, atomic force microscopy, and gas chromatography. Besides, the anti-fatigue, anti-oxidation, and anti-hypoxia effects of polysaccharides were evaluated. The results showed that the structure of A. roxburghii polysaccharides was rod-like aggregate, with no branching, and the size was uniform. A. roxburghii polysaccharides were mainly composed of rhamnose, arabinose, xylose mannose, glucose and galactose in the molar ratio of 0.28: 1.93: 2.06: 2.40: 1.00: 6.43. In vivo experiments in mice proved that it exhibited good anti-fatigue, anti-oxidation and anti-hypoxia activities. Overall, the results suggested that A. roxburghii polysaccharides may serve as potential functional food and medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daxx has been shown to function as an apoptosis regulator and transcriptional repressor via its interaction with various cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins. Here, we showed that Daxx interacts with Smad4 and represses its transcriptional activity via the C-terminal domain of Daxx. In vitro and in vivo interaction studies indicated that the binding of Smad4 to Daxx depends on Smad4 sumoylation. Substitution of Smad4 SUMO conjugation residue lysine 159, but not 113, to arginine not only disrupted Smad4-Daxx interaction but also relieved Daxx-elicited repression of Smad4 transcriptional activity. Furthermore, chromatin immunoprecipitation analyses revealed the recruitment of Daxx to an endogenous, Smad4-targeted promoter in a Lys159 sumoylation-dependent manner. Finally, down-regulation of Daxx expression by RNA interference enhanced transforming growth factor β-induced transcription of reporter and endogenous genes through a Smad4-dependent, but not K159R-Smad4-dependent, manner. Together, these results indicate that Daxx suppresses Smad4-mediated transcriptional activity by direct interaction with the sumoylated Smad4 and identify a novel role of Daxx in regulating transforming growth factor 13 signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Podocyte injury is a characteristic pathological hallmark of diabetic nephropathy (DN). However, the exact mechanism of podocyte injury in DN is incompletely understood. This study was conducted using db/db mice and immortalized mouse podocytes. High-throughput sequencing was used to identify the differentially expressed long noncoding RNAs in kidney of db/db mice. The lentiviral shRNA directed against long non- coding RNA small nucleolar RNA host gene 5 (SNHG5) or microRNA-26a-5p (miR-26a-5p) agomir was used to treat db/db mice to regulate the SNHG5/miR-26a-5p pathway. Here, we found that the expression of transient receptor potential canonical type 6 (TRPC6) was significantly increased in injured podocytes under the condition of DN, which was associated with markedly decreased miR-26a-5p. We determined that miR-26a-5p overexpression ameliorated podocyte injury in DN via binding to 3' -UTR of Trpc6, as evidenced by the markedly reduced activity of luciferase reporters by miR-26a-5p mimic. Then, the upregulated SNHG5 in podocytes and kidney in DN was identified, and it was proved to sponge to miR-26a-5p directly using luciferase activity, RNA immunoprecipitation, and RNA pull-down assay. Knockdown of SNHG5 attenuated podocyte injury in vitro, accompanied by an increased expression of miR-26a-5p and decreased expression of TRPC6, demonstrating that SNHG5 promoted podocyte injury by controlling the miR-26a-5p/TRPC6 pathway. Moreover, knockdown of SNHG5 protects against podocyte injury and progression of DN in vivo. In conclusion, SNHG5 promotes podocyte injury via the miR-26a-5p/TRPC6 pathway in DN. Our findings provide novel insights into the pathophysiology of podocyte injury and a potential new therapeutic strategy for DN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fiber-optic sensor with customized sensing probe made of optical fibers and microcapillaries connected to a low price off-the-shelf portable system was characterized for monitoring the chemotherapy agent induced tumor apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. The extrinsic fiber-optic platform is aimed to provide in vivo monitoring of non-homogeneously distributed apoptotic biomarker induced by the chemotherapy agent to adjust the tunable delivery of the agent as a personalized chemotherapy system. During apoptosis sensing, fluorescent response of phospholipid conjugated marina blue (Fluo Mb , cell distribution indicator) was firstly detected for verifying the cell densities (in the vicinity of sensor probe) were larger than 1 × 10 7 cells/ml (sensitivity limit), regardless of apoptosis activity (with or without CPA treatment). Fluorescent response of FM 1-43 (Fluo FM 1-43 , apoptotic activity indicator) was measured later, and applied to indicate the induction of tumor apoptosis by establishing a threshold value as the ratio of two fluorophore emissions (Fluo FM 1-43 /Fluo Mb , see Part 1), which was 17 from in vitro cell culture study and 23.5 from in vivo xenografts study. Reproducibility of the sensor detection was found to have a bias lower than 16%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]