Search

Modification-dependent and -independent biomolecular interactions, including protein-protein, protein-DNA/RNA, protein-sugar, and protein-lipid interactions, play crucial roles in all cellular processes. Dysregulation of these biomolecular interactions or malfunction of the associated enzymes results in various diseases; therefore, these interactions and enzymes are attractive targets for therapies. High-throughput screening can greatly facilitate the discovery of drugs for these targets. Here, we describe a biomolecular interaction detection method, called phase-separated condensate-aided enrichment of biomolecular interactions in test tubes (CEBIT). The readout of CEBIT is the selective recruitment of biomolecules into phase-separated condensates harboring their cognate binding partners. We tailored CEBIT to detect various biomolecular interactions and activities of biomolecule-modifying enzymes. Using CEBIT-based high-throughput screening assays, we identified known inhibitors of the p53/MDM2 (MDM2) interaction and of the histone methyltransferase, suppressor of variegation 3-9 homolog 1 (SUV39H1), from a compound library. CEBIT is simple and versatile, and is likely to become a powerful tool for drug discovery and basic biomedical research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pretreated steel slag was used to enhance sludge dewatering and the potential risk posed by heavy metals (HMs) was discussed in this study. Specific resistance to filtration and capillary suction time decreased by 98.8% and 78.6%, respectively, when 40 mg/g of dry sludge steel slag were added. The zeta potential showed that the steel slag addition considerably affected sludge with small particle. New fluorescence peaks indicated that the extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) structure was damaged and partially dissolved into solution EPS (S-EPS). The floc surface charge was reduced, and the small particles were enlarged owing to the flocculation of a small amount of S-EPS. Microstructure analysis showed that the inorganic components in the steel slag provided skeletal support during mechanical dewatering and ensured the outlet channel. Analysis of the HMs indicated that the Cu and Mn concentrations decreased by 60% and 85.2% in the liquid phase, respectively, and the Zn concentration increased 2.2 times. Moreover, the results of the toxicity characteristic leaching procedure showed that the Cu, Mn, and Zn concentrations in the sludge cakes decreased by 93.5%, 27.1%, and 22.1%, respectively. Therefore, the addition of steel slag reduced the risk and enhanced the immobilization of HMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, magnesium-incorporated hydroxyapatite (MHAP), with a poor crystalline structure was synthesized using a sol-gel method to remove lead from aqueous solutions. The results show that the adsorption capacity of MHAP for lead greatly increased compared with that of hydroxyapatite, which exhibits an adsorption capacity of 227.1 mg g-1 at an initial lead concentration of 550 mg L-1 at 30°C. This capacity is higher than that of previously reported hydroxyapatite-related adsorbents. In addition, the adsorption isotherm could be better described by a Langmuir isotherm, and the adsorption kinetics conformed to the pseudo-second-order model. The MHAP removes lead via dissolution-precipitation reaction. During the adsorption process, the MHAP was converted to hydroxyapatite [(Pb10(PO4)6(OH)2) or (Pb5(PO4)3OH)] as well as calcium lead phosphate hydroxide (Ca2Pb8(PO4)6(OH)2 and lead phosphate (Pb9(PO4)6). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The supersonic mixing process is a critical issue for the design of the scramjet engine. In this paper, the secondary flow control concept has been proposed and studied in order to strengthen the mixing process between the fuel and the incoming flow with the freestream Mach number being 3.75, and the influence of the secondary flow position on the mixing augmentation mechanism has been evaluated as well. The obtained results show that the secondary flow control concept has a great impact on the mixing augmentation mechanism in the transverse injection flow field, and the parameters should be properly selected, especially for the secondary flow position. When the upstream hole is close to the jet flow and the downstream hole is far away from the jet flow, the mixing process between the fuel and the incoming flow could be promoted, namely Case 1 is the best choice for the mixing augmentation in the range considered in the current study. This is due to the variation of the separation zone generated upstream of the fuel jet, and this issue should be evaluated quantitatively. The hydrogen plume shape changes from a "kidney" to a "lamp", and it is far away from the bottom wall in Case 1. The premature ignition phenomenon could be prevented properly in Case 1. • A secondary flow control concept was proposed to enhance the mixing process. • The influence of the secondary flow position on the flow field properties was evaluated. • Case 1 is the best choice for the airbreathing propulsion system. • The premature ignition phenomenon can be prevented when the upstream hole moves close to the jet flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drag and heat flux reduction characteristics plays a very important role in the conceptual design phase and engineering realization of the aerospace vehicle. In the current study, a novel thermal protection system combining the forward-facing cavity and the pulsed counterflowing jet has been proposed, and three groups of the combinations with the same pulsed counterflowing jet but different forward-facing cavities are established. The waveform and period of the pulsed counterflowing jet are triangular waveform and T = 2 ms respectively, and the diameter of the jet nozzle is set to be d = 4 mm. The forward-facing cavities with L / D = 1.25, 1.33 and 1.75 has been taken into consideration. The cavity is placed at the nose of the blunt body, and the jet nozzle is placed at the center of the cavity surface. In the numerical investigation, an axisymmetric numerical simulation model of the counterflowing jet on the supersonic vehicle nose-tip is established, and a two-dimensional axisymmetric Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations coupled with the two equation k-ω shear stress transport (SST) turbulence model are employed. The wall Stanton number distributions, as well as the surface static pressures, have been extracted from the flow field structures in order to evaluate the drag and heat flux reduction characteristics. Further, the influence of the length-to-diameter ratio of the cavity on the drag and heat flux reduction has been analyzed based on the wall Stanton number and surface pressure distributions. The obtained results show that The combinational forward-facing cavity and pulsed counterflowing jet configuration with L / D = 1.33 owns the best drag and heat flux reduction performance in the range considered in this paper, and the smaller cavity volume is beneficial for the stability of the flow field. There is an optimal value for the length-to-diameter ratio of the forward-facing cavity, and the optimal configuration for the thermal protection may be not the same as that for the drag reduction. This should be dealt with the multi-objective design optimization approaches. • A novel thermal protection system combining forward-facing cavity and pulsed counterflowing jet is proposed. • Influence of length-to-diameter ratio of cavity on drag and heat flux reduction is evaluated. • Triangular pulsed counterflowing jet with the period being 2 ms is established by UDF function. • Case with length-to-diameter ratio of the cavity being 1.33 is beneficial for drag and heat flux reduction. • Formation of Mach rings is beneficial for drag and heat flux reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Red mud (RM), which is a byproduct of alumina refining, is typically stored in landfills. This study investigated the capability of RM combined with steel slag to improve sludge dewatering performance. When the RM dosage was 20 mg/g, the HCl/RM ratio was 0.6, and the steel slag dosage was 3 mg/g DS, RM combined with steel slag exhibited a good conditioning capability as the pH of the filtrate approached neutrality. This result indicates that the coagulation of RM by Fe3+ and Al3+ is critical in sludge conditioning and that the steel slag acts as a neutralizer and a skeleton builder. Thus, four mechanisms of RM and steel slag were proposed for sewage sludge conditioning. First, Fe3+ and Al3+ generated from RM acted as coagulants that agglomerated small sludge particles into large dense particles with low bound water. Second, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) were degraded into proteins by RM. Third, the released proteins were destroyed by the steel slag. Last, the bound water was converted into free water due to EPS degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Desulfurization sludge is generally characterized by high moisture content and high heavy metal content, leading to difficulty in co-landfilling treatment. This study presents a new type of sludge modification to reduce the moisture content of desulfurization sludge and a new type of curing agent to reduce the leaching concentrations of heavy metals. The moisture content could be reduced to less than 60%. The leaching concentrations of all heavy metals measured by the acetic acid buffer solution method could be reduced less than the standard limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the characteristics of high moisture content and low calorific value of sludge, an innovative co-combustion method of sewage sludge and rice husk was proposed. The method provided a theoretical basis for the resource utilization of sewage sludge. Through thermal analysis technology, the changes of thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric at different temperatures with various ratios of mixed combustion materials were investigated. Then, the corresponding dynamic model was established to analyze the dynamic mechanism of the co-combustion material. The following conclusions were obtained: First, the combustion of mixed fuel when the amount of sludge is less than 30% is beneficial. Therefore, the use of sewage sludge as fuel to combustion is possible. Moreover, the kinetic mechanism of the combustion reaction can be divided into four processes, that is, one-dimensional diffusion, chemical reaction, one-dimensional diffusion, and three-dimensional diffusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate the inactivation of nonpathogenic Escherichia coli in nutrient broth and milk through the use of either ultrasound (US) alone or US combined with nisin (USþnisin) treatments. The E. coli cells were treated at 0 to 558C, 242.04 to 968.16 W/cm2 for 0 to 15 min. The results showed that the inactivation of E. coli by US and USþnisin increased when the temperature, US power density, and treatment time were increased. The inactivation kinetics of E. coli in nutrient broth by US and USþnisin both conformed to linear models. The largest reductions of 2.89 and 2.93 log cycles by US and USþnisin, respectively, were achieved at 968.16 W/cm2 and at 258C for 15 min. The suspension media of the E. coli cells influenced the inactivation effect of US, while the growth phases of E. coli cells did not affect their resistance to US. Under all experiment conditions of this study, the differences between US and USþnisin in their respective inactivation effects on E. coli were not obvious. The results suggested that nisin had either no effect at all or a weak synergistic effect with US and that the E. coli cells were inactivated mainly by US, thus indicating that the inactivation of E. coli by US is an ‘‘all or nothing’’ event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Remnant cholesterol (RC) is receiving increasing attention regarding its relation to cardiovascular risk. Whether RC is associated with periprocedural myocardial injury (PMI) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in type 2 diabetes (T2D) is currently unknown. Methods We prospectively enrolled 1182 consecutive T2D patients who were scheduled for PCI but with baseline normal preprocedural cardiac troponin I (cTnI). Patients were divided according to their glycemic control status: group A [glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) < 7%, n = 563] and group B (HbA1c ≥ 7%, n = 619). PMI was evaluated by cTnI analysis within 24 h. The associations of preprocedural RC and the RC to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (RC/HDL-C) with PMI were investigated. Results The associations of RC and RC/HDL-C with PMI were observed in group B (both p < 0.05) but not in group A (both p > 0.05). Patients in group B, a 1-SD increase of RC produced 30% and 32% increased risk for postprocedural cTnI > 3× upper limit of normal (ULN) and >5 × ULN, respectively. The odds ratios for RC/HDL-C were the highest compared with any cholesterol fractions including total cholesterol (TC)/HDL-C, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C)/HDL-C, nonHDL-C/HDL-C, and triglyceride/HDL-C with 1.43 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.10–1.88] for >3× ULN and 1.49 (95% CI: 1.13–1.97) for >5× ULN. However, no such associations were found in group A. Furthermore, patients with RC >27.46 mg/dL (third tertile) [RC ≤ 14.15 mg/dL (first tertile) as reference] were associated with a 1.57-fold and 2-fold increased risk for >3× ULN and >5× ULN in group B, respectively. Conclusions RC and RC/HDL-C might be valuable, independent predictors for PMI in poorly-controlled diabetic patients undergoing PCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous trials of iron supplementation in infancy did not consider maternal iron supplementation.Objective: This study assessed effects of iron supplementation in infancy and/or pregnancy on infant iron status, illnesses, and growth at 9 mo.Methods: Enrollment occurred from December 2009 to June 2012 in Hebei, China. Infants born to women in a pregnancy iron supplementation trial were randomly assigned 1:1 to iron [∼1 mg Fe/(kg · d) as oral iron proteinsuccynilate] or placebo from 6 wk to 9 mo, excluding infants with cord ferritin <35 μg/L. Study groups were pregnancy placebo/infancy placebo (placebo/placebo), pregnancy placebo/infancy iron (placebo/iron), pregnancy iron/infancy placebo (iron/placebo), and pregnancy iron/infancy iron (iron/iron). The primary outcome was 9-mo iron status: iron deficiency (ID) by cutoff (≥2 abnormal iron measures) or body iron <0 mg/kg and ID + anemia (hemoglobin <110 g/L). Secondary outcomes were doctor visits or hospitalizations and weight or length gain from birth to 9 mo. Statistical analysis by intention to treat and dose-response (between number of iron bottles received and outcome) used logistic regression with concomitant RRs and general linear models, with covariate control as applicable.Results: Of 1482 infants randomly allocated, 1276 had 9-mo data (n = 312-327/group). Iron supplementation in infancy, but not pregnancy, reduced ID risk: RRs (95% CIs) were 0.89 (0.79, 0.998) for placebo/iron compared to placebo/placebo, 0.79 (0.63, 0.98) for placebo/iron compared to iron/placebo, 0.87 (0.77, 0.98) for iron/iron compared to placebo/placebo, and 0.86 (0.77, 0.97) for iron/iron compared to iron/placebo. However, >60% of infants still had ID at 9 mo. Receiving more bottles of iron in infancy was associated with better infant iron status at 9 mo but only among iron-supplemented infants whose mothers were also iron supplemented (i.e., the iron/iron group). There were no group differences in hospitalizations or illnesses and no adverse effects on growth overall or among infants who were iron sufficient at birth.Conclusions: Iron supplementation in Chinese infants reduced ID at 9 mo without adverse effects on growth or illness. Effects of iron supplementation in pregnancy were observed only when higher amounts of iron were distributed in infancy. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00613717. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous trials of prenatal iron supplementation had limited measures of maternal or neonatal iron status. Objective: The purpose was to assess effects of prenatal iron-folate supplementation on maternal and neonatal iron status. Methods: Enrollment occurred June 2009 through December 2011 in Hebei, China. Women with uncomplicated singleton pregnancies at ≤20wk gestation, aged ≥18y, and with hemoglobin ≥100 g/L were randomly assigned 1:1 to receive daily iron (300 mg ferrous sulfate) or placebo + 0.40 mg folate from enrollment to birth. Iron status was assessed in maternal venous blood (at enrollment and at or near term) and cord blood. Primary outcomes were as follows: 1) maternal iron deficiency (ID) defined in 2 ways as serum ferritin (SF) <15 µg/L and body iron (BI) <0 mg/kg; 2) maternal ID anemia [ID + anemia (IDA); hemoglobin <110 g/L]; and 3) neonatal ID (cord blood ferritin <75 µg/L or zinc protoporphyrin/heme >118 µmol/mol). Results: A total of 2371 women were randomly assigned, with outcomes for 1632 women or neonates (809 placebo/folate, 823 iron/folate; 1579 mother-newborn pairs, 37 mothers, 16 neonates). Most infants (97%) were born at term. At or near term, maternal hemoglobin was significantly higher (+5.56 g/L) for iron vs. placebo groups. Anemia risk was reduced (RR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.66), as were risks of ID (RR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.79 by SF; RR: 0.65; 95% CI: 0.59, 0.71 by BI) and IDA (RR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.38, 0.62 by SF; RR: 0.51 ; 95% CI: 0.40,0.65 by BI). Most women still had ID (66.8% by SF, 54.7% by BI). Adverse effects, all minor, were similar by group. There were no differences in cord blood iron measures; >45% of neonates in each group had ID. However, dose-response analyses showed higher cord SF with more maternal iron capsules reported being consumed (β per 10 capsules = 2.60, P< 0.05). Conclusions: Prenatal iron supplementation reduced anemia, ID, and IDA in pregnant women in rural China, but most women and >45% of neonates had ID, regardless of supplementation. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02221752. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aims of this study were to determine whether arterial hypertension could affect the venous system of brain and to find out the consequent pathologic changes of cerebral veins. Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups: a sham-clipped group and a stroke-prone renovascular hypertensive rat group. A 2-kidney 2-clip rat model was used to induce renovascular hypertension in the hypertensive group. Systolic blood pressure was measured by tail cuff once each week. Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) was performed at 12, 16, and 20 weeks after surgery. All the rats were sacrificed after the SWI examination at 20 weeks after surgery. The brains were extracted and embedded in paraffin for histologic examination. Masson trichrome staining was performed to identify venous collagenosis. Results: The sham group demonstrated less prominence of cerebral veins compared with hypertensive groups (P < .01); the hypertensive group showed significant venous collagenosis in cerebral venous walls compared with the sham group (P < .01). Conclusions: The increased visibility of cerebral veins on SWI as a sign of venous hypertension and the thickened cerebral venous walls (venous collagenosis), which may play a role in cerebral ischemia and/or infarction, are both consequences of long-term hypertension in hypertensive rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel, inexpensive procedure for the preparation of highly fluorescent and water-soluble CdTe quantum dots (QDs) using β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) as surface-coating agents was fabricated through the substitution reaction at the C-6 position of mono-6-deoxy-6-(p-tolylsulfonyl)-cyclodextrin (6-TsO-β-CD) by the -NH2 of (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane-coated CdTe QDs (APTES/CdTe QDs) under mild conditions. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), ultraviolet and visible (UV–vis) spectrophotometer, and fluorescence (FL) spectrophotometer were used to characterize the obtained nanoparticles, which proved that the CdTe QDs have been effectively modified by β-CD. The quantum yields (QYs) of CdTe QDs, APTES/CdTe QDs and β-CD/APTES/CdTe QDs in water comparative to Rhodamine 6G were about 17%, 12%, and 9%, respectively. A pair of isomer o,p′-DDT and p,p′-DDT was chosen as the template molecules to evaluate the molecular recognition properties of β-CD/APTES/CdTe QDs. The results revealed that β-CD/APTES/CdTe QDs simultaneously possessed unique optical properties of QDs and excellent molecules recognition ability of β-CD through combining their individual distinct advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siphon desilting can effectively solve the problem of silting-up in small and medium reservoirs. Based on the cross-dam siphon model, through clean water and muddy water siphon tests, the paper investigated hydraulic characteristic, desilting characteristic of the siphon pipe and influence factors. By analyzing the experimental data and calculated results, the calculating method of siphon pipe resistance has been verified. The results show that under certain water head, pipe resistance ascends along with increscent pipe diameter, while it descends when hump height or desilting concentration increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The article designed a kind of new nondestructive testing device control system to increase the test efficiency and improve the reliability of computed tomography. This system could not only precisely locate and control the turntable and lifting platform by adopting digital control, servo control and other advanced control methods, but also develop a high-precision servo turntable by using a three-layers closed-loop controller. This system, whose workpiece rotate platform is particularly suitable for small-space detection, has an increasingly improved automatic detection efficiency of 20 work-pieces at a time and a wider detection scope of maximum height of up to 50cm. By the means of pre-setting parameters, high-precision servo turntable can rotate to any regulated angle, offering a satisfactory platform for computed tomography. The system, as a new type of automatic non-destructive testing platform, adapts to the digital transformation of traditional X-ray detection device as well. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Reverse engineering technology plays an important role in reconstruction of a surface. It significantly reduces the reconstruction time and the costs of the part duplication. This paper presents a new approach to the reconstruction of a surface. The proposed methodology finds the basic parts of the surface and blends surfaces between them. Each basic geometric part is divided into triangular patches which are compared using normal vectors for face grouping.. Each basic geometric surface is then implemented to the infinitive surface. The infinitive surface''s intersections are trimmed by boundary representation model reconstruction. The proposed methodology has several advan tages such as computational efficiency and automatic functional modelling in reverse engineering. Reverse engineering should be the 3D equipment of the photocopying process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In underground water resources evaluation, calculation of underground water recharge is the most important and preliminary work. If underground water recharge within an area comes from exclusive item, then it is easy to calculate any water volume related to each probability based on the empirical frequency curve. In most cases, underground water recharge is not a single item, but four or five items or even more items. In this case, it is necessary to find out the suitable methods to carry out underground water recharge calculation. Therefore, the paper firstly analyzed the problems existed in the recharge calculation of underground water resources, especially the problems existed in the frequency analysis and the differences between the calculation results and the actual industrial and agricultural requirement. Secondly, the Monte Carlo method was introduced, which includes the basic theory, problems existed in simulation experiment and its adaptability. Finally, taking the irrigation area of the downstream Yellow River as an example, based on the results of analysis and statistics for different recharge factors, and using the developed computer softer wale, the regional underground water recharge was calculated for multi-recharge conditions. It shows that Monte Carlo method can solve the problems existed in analytical, numerical, experiment and empirical frequency methods. Besides, Monte Carlo method has the advantages of convenience, time saving and high efficiency. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: fx1 In order to enhance students’ mastery of VC programming and improve their capacity to solve practical problems, computer testing system and computer-aided teaching method are applied in the course of VC programming. This paper gives a brief introduction to progresses and problems in designing the VC programming testing system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Global energy shortages and climate change promote low carbon economy become an important research focus. A study on model of urban low-carbon Transformation has important theoretical and practical value for the promotion of sustainable development in resource-based cities. In this paper, resource-based cities as a study object, by analyzing five constraints impact on the low-carbon transition of resource-based cities, we proposed five low-carbon transition models and paths for resource-based cities: the ecological evolution model, technological innovation model, alternative models for industry, demand-driven model and policy guidance model. Our study strongly suggests that relevant governments in the resource-based cities should draw up policies and take measures to effectively guide low- carbon transition. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The contradiction between economy and environment is a great challenge for resource-dependent city in the process of transition to low carbon economy. According to economic development and energy consumption data of Zibo city, 1999-2009, empirical research of dynamic relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions is made based on VAR (Vector autoregression) model with the use of impulse response functions and variance decomposition. It is concluded that in resource-dependent cities per capita GDP changes lead to Granger cause changes in carbon emissions; economic growth and carbon emissions do not exist inverted U-shaped relationship in the dynamic sense; per capita GDP contribute highly to the interpretation of predictive variance decomposition of carbon emissions, carbon reduction targets constraint is bound to cause the expense of economic growth to some extent. Therefore, the study suggested that in resource-dependent cities carbon reduction potential and the impact on the economy in determining carbon target constraints should be fully considered, the attention to harmonious development between economic growth and carbon emission reductions should be paid. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Several types of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene alternations have been observed in human tumors. Here we present a novel EGFR variant with aberrant splicing of exon 4 (named as de4 EGFR). Variant-specific polymerase chain reaction showed that de4 EGFR was expressed in some glioma (4/40), prostate cancer (3/11), and ovarian cancer (3/9) tissues but not in tissues adjacent to tumors or normal tissues. de4 EGFR displayed an enhanced transformation and a higher metastasis-promoting capacity in comparison to wild-type EGFR. With minimal EGF-binding activity, de4 EGFR underwent ligand-independent autophosphorylation and self-dimerization. Moreover, in serum-starved condition, de4 EGFR expression in U87 MG cells significantly upregulated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase and AKT phosphorylation and expression of JUN and Src. Importantly, E-cadherin expression was barely detectable in the U87 MG cells expressing de4 EGFR and restored expression of E-cadherin in these cells inhibited their metastatic behaviors. Taken together, we identified a novel EGFR variant with increased metastasis-promoting activity that may become a promising new target for cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the world''s leading cause of mortality and morbidity. Therefore, quick and reliable diagnostics of AMI is extremely critical. Compared to the traditionally used central laboratory tests (CLT), which can be time-consuming and expensive, point-of-care testing (POCT) for AMI-indicative cardiac markers provides a convenient means for rapid diagnostic assays to be performed at the site of patient care delivery. In this article, the etiology and diagnosis of AMI are introduced, and some typical cardiac markers and their clinical applications are reviewed. Furthermore, the various POC cardiac marker devices that are currently available, the benefits of using cardiac marker POC assays, and challenges that cardiac marker POCT are facing are also discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) individually enhance monocyte matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) but induce MMP-1 only when added in combination. Because interferon-γ (IFNγ) is also found at inflammatory sites, we determined its effect on monocyte MMPs in the presence or absence of TNFα and GM-CSF. IFNy alone did not stimulate monocyte MMP-9 or MMP-1; however, in the presence of GM-CSF it induced MMP-1 and enhanced MMP-1 stimulated by GM-CSF and TNFα. IFNγ induced MMP-1 in the presence of GM-CSF through the stimulation of TNFα production through a mechanism involving both p38 and ERK½ MAPKs, in which GM-CSF stimulated ERK½ whereas IFNγ activated p38. In support of this conclusion TNFα neutralizing antibody and antibodies against TNF receptor I and -II blocked the induction of MMP-1 by GM-CSF and IFNγ In contrast to its effects on MMP-1, IFNγ inhibited TNFα-induced MMP-9 through a caspase 8-dependent pathway as demonstrated by the restoration of MMP-9 with caspase 8 inhibitors. Moreover, the phosphorylation of STAT1 by IFNγ was blocked by an inhibitor of caspase 8, indicating that STAT1 had a suppressive effect on MMP-9. Caspase 8-mediated phosphorylation of STAT1 through p38 MAPK as shown by the inhibition of IFNγ-induced phosphorylation of p38 by caspase 8 inhibitors. Activation of caspase 8 by IFNγ did not result in increased apoptosis. Thus IFNγ in the presence of GM-CSF and/or TNFα differentially regulates monocyte MMPs through induction of TNFα and a novel mechanism involving caspase 8 that is independent of apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the NdMg 12 -Ni alloy was synthesized through a ball milling process, and a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms by which ball milling duration affects the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of hydrogen absorption and desorption was systematically explored. The experimental findings reveal that the ball milling process is capable of inducing a modest quantity of the Mg 2 Ni phase on the surface of the NdMg 12 -Ni alloy. As the ball milling duration is prolonged, the concentration of nanocrystals within the NdMg 12 -Ni alloy initially increases, followed by a subsequent decline. Specifically, upon reaching a ball milling duration of 6h, the primary structure of the NdMg 12 -Ni alloy manifests itself in a nanocrystalline phase, intertwined with a small presence of amorphous components. In terms of thermodynamic properties, the hydrogen absorption enthalpy ΔH ab of sample NdMg 12 -Ni+6h reaches its minimum, recording a mere 74.6109 kJ/mol. With regard to kinetic features, the NdMg 12 -Ni+6h sample displayed exceptional hydrogen absorption kinetics across the temperature range of 330 °C–350 °C, accomplishing 95% of its saturated hydrogen storage capacity in just 180s. Furthermore, as ball milling time increased from 0 to 8 h, the hydrogen desorption activation energy of NdMg 12 -Ni alloy experienced a significant decline from 236.3334 kJ/mol to 115.2953 kJ/mol, and the optimal hydrogen desorption temperature was also effectively reduced. • Ball-milling effectively reduces the optimum hydrogen desorption temperature. • After ball-milling, the Ea can be diminished from 236.3334 to 115.2953 kJ/mol. • Ball-milling promoted the formation of Mg 2 Ni in the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A case of primary cardiac leiomyoma arising from the infundibulum of the right ventricle of a 24-year-old woman is presented. The mass protruded into the cavity of the right ventricle and caused severe right ventricular outflow tract obstruction. We resected the tumor under cardiopulmonary bypass successfully, and confirmed it histologically to be a benign leiomyoma. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first case report of a primary cardiac leiomyoma in an adult woman. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive and irreversible complication in lung transplant patients who have received long-term treatment with tacrolimus. This study aimed to verify long-term tacrolimus exposure values in CKD progression. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of adult lung transplant recipients performed at our center between 2012 and October 2015. Patients who completed the 5-year follow-up period were enrolled in this study. CKD was defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <60 mL/min/1.73 m2. Results: Eighty patients were analyzed. Compared with baseline (109 ± 38.1 mL/min/1.73 m2), the average eGFR values of our patients gradually decreased during the fifth-year post transplantation (46.5%, 58.3 ± 28.3 mL/min/1.73 m2), and the decline in eGFR values was particularly pronounced in the first year (31.2%, 74.6 ± 28.91 mL/min/1.73 m2). Moreover, 10 (12.7%), 21 (26.9%), 24 (31.2%), 28 (41.2%), and 48 (60%) patients had eGFR <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at 3, 6, 1, 3, and 5 years after lung transplantation (LT), respectively. A significant negative correlation was found between tacrolimus dose and eGFR 6 months after LT (P = 0.0414). We found no correlation between the serum tacrolimus concentration and CKD progression. Conclusion: eGFR constantly decreased and the incidence of CKD increased during the 5-year follow-up period after LT. The tacrolimus dose had a significant negative correlation with eGFR at 6 months after LT. Meanwhile, whole-blood tacrolimus trough concentrations were not correlated with eGFR decline. When possible, lower dosing within 1 year after LT can reduce potential nephrotoxic side effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circulation of influenza A virus (IAV), especially within poultry and pigs, continues to threaten public health. A simple and universal detecting method is important for monitoring IAV infection in different species. Recently, nanobodies, which show advantages of easy gene editing and low cost of production, are a promising novel diagnostic tool for the monitoring and control of global IAVs. In the present study, five nano-bodies against the nucleoprotein of H9N2 IAV were screened from the immunized Bactrian camel by phage display and modified with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) tags. Out of which, we determined that H9N2-NP-Nb5-HRP can crossreact with different subtypes of IAVs, and this reaction is also blocked by positive sera for antibodies against different IAV subtypes. Epitope mapping showed that the nanobody-HRP fusion recognized a conserved conformational epitope in all subtypes of IAVs. Subsequently, we developed a nanobody-based competitive ELISA (cELISA) for detecting anti-IAV antibodies in different species. The optimized amount of coating antigen and dilutions of the fusion and testing sera were 100 ng/well, 1:4000, and 1:10, respectively. The time for operating the cELISA was approximately 35 min. The cELISA showed high sensitivity, specificity, reproducibility, and stability. In addition, we found that the cELISA and hemagglutination inhibition test showed a consistency of 100% and 87.91% for clinical and challenged chicken sera, respectively. Furthermore, the agreement rates were 90.4% and 85.7% between the cELISA and commercial IEDXX ELISA kit. Collectively, our developed nanobody-HRP fusion-based cELISA is an ideal method for monitoring IAV infection in different species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field campaign on air quality was carried out in Shanghai in winter of 2012. The concentrations of NO, NO2, NOx, SO2, CO, and PM2.5 increased during haze formation. The average masses of SO42 −, NO3− and NH4+ were 10.3, 11.7 and 6.7 μg/m³ during the haze episodes, which exceeded the average (9.2, 7.9, and 3.4 μg/m³) of these components in the non-haze days. The mean values for the aerosol scattering coefficient (bsp), aerosol absorption coefficient (bap) and single scattering albedo (SSA) were 288.7, 27.7 and 0.91 Mm-1, respectively. A bi-peak distribution was observed for the mass concentrations of CO, NO, NO2, and NOx. More sulfate was produced during daytime than that in the evening due to photochemical reactions. The mass concentration of NH4+ achieved a small peak at noontime. NO3− showed lower concentrations in the afternoon and higher concentrations in the early morning. There were obvious bi-peak diurnal patterns for bsp and bap as well as SSA. bsp and bap showed a positive correlation with PM2.5 mass concentration. (NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3, organic mass, elemental carbon and coarse mass accounted for 21.7%, 19.3%, 31.0%, 9.3% and 12.3% of the total extinction coefficient during non-haze days, and 25.6%, 24.3%, 30.1%, 8.1% and 8.2% during hazy days. Organic matter was the largest contributor to light extinction. The contribution proportions of ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate to light extinction were significantly higher during the hazy time than during the non-haze days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-pore domain K+ channels (K2P) mediate background K+ conductance and play a key role in a variety of cellular functions. Among the 15 mammalian K2P isoforms, TWIK-1, TASK-1, and TASK-3 K+ channels are sensitive to extracellular acidification. Lowered or acidic extracellular pH (pHo) strongly inhibits outward currents through these K2P channels. However, the mechanism of how low pHo affects these acid-sensitive K2P channels is not well understood. Here we show that in Na+- based bath solutions with physiological K+ gradients, lowered pHo largely shifts the reversal potential of TWIK-1, TASK-1, and TASK-3 K+ channels, which are heterologously expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells, into the depolarizing direction and significantly increases their Na+ to K+ relative permeability. Low pHo-induced inhibitions in these acid-sensitive K2P channels are more profound in Na+-based bath solutions than in channel-impermeable N-methyl-D-glucamine-based bath solutions, consistent with increases in the Na+ to K+ relative permeability and decreases in electrochemical driving forces of outward K+ currents of the channels. These findings indicate that TWIK-1, TASK-1, and TASK-3 K+ channels change ion selectivity in response to lowered pHo, provide insights on the understanding of how extracellular acidification modulates acid-sensitive K2P channels, and imply that these acid-sensitive K2P channels may regulate cellular function with dynamic changes in their ion selectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hens of a commercial Hy-line brown layer flock in China exhibited increased mortality and decreased egg production at 47 wk of age. From 47 to 57 wk, average weekly mortality increased from 0.11 to 3.0%, and egg production decreased from 10 to 30%, with a peak mortality rate (3.0%) observed at 54 wk of age. Necropsy of 11 birds demonstrated tissue damage that included hepatitis, liver hemorrhage, rupture, and/or enlarged livers. Microscopic liver lesions exhibited hepatocytic necrosis, lymphocytic periphlebitis, and myeloid leukosis. While no bacteria were recovered from liver and spleen samples, avian hepatitis E virus (HEV) RNA was detected in all 11 tested hens by nested reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Of these, subgroup J avian leukosis virus (ALV-J) proviral DNA was detected in 5 hens by PCR. Alignments of partial ORF2 gene sequences obtained here demonstrated shared identity (76 to 97%) with corresponding sequences of other known avian HEV isolates. Env sequences of ALV-J isolates obtained here shared 50.1 to 55% identity with other ALV subgroups and 91.8 to 95.5% identity with other known ALV-J isolates. Phylogenetic tree analysis of selected sequences obtained here grouped an avian HEV sequence with genotype 3 HEV and assigned an ALV-J sequence to a branch separate from known ALV-J subgroups. Immunohistochemical results confirmed the presence of avian HEV and ALV-J in livers. Therefore, these results suggest that avian HEV and ALV-J co-infection caused the outbreak of hepatitis and liver hemorrhagic syndrome observed in the layer hen flock analyzed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Previously, we have generated EGFR v III-targeting CAR-T cells and brought hope for treating advanced breast cancer. However, EGFR v III-targeting CAR-T cells were defined limited anti-tumor efficacy, which might be due to reduced accumulation, persistence of therapeutic T cells in tumor site of breast cancer. CXCLs were highly expressed in tumor environment of breast cancer and CXCR2 is the main receptor for CXCLs. Here, CXCR2 could significantly improve the trafficking and tumor specific accumulation of CAR-T cells both in vivo and in vitro. However, the anti-tumor effect of CXCR2 CAR-T cells were weaken which might be results of the apoptosis of T cells. Cytokines could stimulate T cell proliferation, such as interleukin (IL)-15 and IL-18. Then, we generated CXCR2 CAR with synthetic IL-15 or IL-18 production. Co-expressing IL-15 or IL-18 could significantly suppress the exhaustion and apoptosis of T cells and enhanced the anti-tumor activity of CXCR2 CAR-T cells in vivo. Further, coexpression IL-15 or IL-18 in CXCR2 CAR-T cells did not cause toxicity. These findings provide a potential therapy strategy of co-expression IL-15 or IL-18 in CXCR2 CAR-T cells for the treatment of advancing breast cancer in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new pump-out hydrodynamic mechanical seal with self-pumping effect is presented based on centrifugal pump's working principle. Results of parametric study show that both of the opening force and leakage rate increase with increasing medium pressure, channel diameter, spiral angle and width ratio of groove to ridge; The opening force increases with decreasing groove number and length ratio of groove to dam while the leakage rate decreases slightly; There exits an optimum groove depth that obtains higher opening force along with lower leakage rate. Moreover, the new mechanical seal can be used in conditions with larger pressure difference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]