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Carnitine biosynthesis has been related to fatty acid oxidation, a process probably exerting neuroprotective effects. However, the role of carnitine biosynthesis in the development of ischemic stroke (IS) remains unclear. We aimed to examine the associations between plasma markers of carnitine biosynthesis and the IS risk.We performed a case-control study nested in a community-based cohort (2013-2018, n = 16457). The study included 321 incident cases of IS and 321 controls matched by age and gender. Carnitine, lysine, trimethyllysine (TML), glycine, and their ratios were measured/calculated in the baseline plasma samples using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass-spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Conditional logistic regression analyses were used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Plasma carnitine, lysine, TML, and glycine were not significantly associated with the IS risk, although a gradually reduced risk was observed across the increasing tertiles of glycine. Notably, the ratios of glycine/carnitine, glycine/lysine, and glycine/TML were all inversely associated with the IS risk. Compared to the lowest tertiles, the corresponding odds ratios for the highest tertiles were 0.60 (95% CI: 0.40-0.91), 0.63 (95% CI: 0.42-0.94), and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.42-0.95), respectively, after adjustment for body mass index, smoking, hypertension, family history of stroke, estimated glomerular filtration rate and total cholesterol. Repeating the analyses by excluding the first two years of follow-up did not materially alter the risk associations for the ratios of glycine/lysine and glycine/carnitine.Increased ratios of plasma glycine to carnitine, lysine, and TML were associated with a lower risk of incident IS. Our observational findings suggest that the homeostasis of circulating carnitine, lysine, TML, and glycine may involve in the pathogenesis of IS.

Reactive oxygen species activate EGFR/RAS/MAPK signaling either through the inactivation of phosphatases or by direct oxidation of kinases. We hypothesized that functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in antioxidant genes link to the efficacy of cetuximab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).We analyzed genomic and clinical data from FIRE-3, a phase III trial comparing cetuximab and bevacizumab along with FOLFIRI in untreated mCRC patients. Genomic DNA extracted from blood samples was genotyped. Thirteen functional SNPs in antioxidant genes were tested for associations with clinical outcomes.In total, 236 patients were included (FOLFIRI/cetuximab arm, n = 129; FOLFIRI/bevacizumab arm, n = 107). In univariate analysis, two SNPs (TXN2 rs4821494 and GPX4 rs4807542) were significantly associated with overall survival (OS) in the FOLFIRI/cetuximab arm. Multivariate analysis confirmed the significant association of TXN2 rs4821494 (T/T vs. any G allele, hazard ratio = 2.47, 95% confidence interval = 1.06-5.72, P = .03). In the FOLFIRI/bevacizumab arm, no SNPs were significantly associated with clinical outcomes. Treatment-by-SNP interaction test confirmed the predictive value of TXN2 rs4821494 (OS: P = .03).TXN2 rs4821494 involved in the antioxidant system may predict the efficacy of cetuximab-based first-line chemotherapy in mCRC, warranting further validation studies.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are primarily maintained by a network of pluripotency transcription factors (PTFs). Given a close relationship of CSC regulation with epidermal growth factor receptor and vascular endothelial growth factor signalling, we investigated whether single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PTF genes are related to the efficacy of cetuximab and/or bevacizumab in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).Genomic and clinical data from three independent clinical trial cohorts were tested: cetuximab cohort (FOLFIRI/cetuximab arm in FIRE-3, n = 129), bevacizumab cohort 1 (FOLFIRI/bevacizumab arm in FIRE-3, n = 107) and bevacizumab cohort 2 (FOLFIRI/bevacizumab arm in TRIBE, n = 215). Genomic DNA extracted from blood samples was genotyped, and ten SNPs were tested for association with clinical outcomes.In the cetuximab cohort, four SNPs were significantly associated with progression-free survival in univariate analysis: NANOG rs11055767 (any A allele vs C/C, hazard ratio [HR] = 0.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.42-0.94, p = 0.02), NANOG rs10744044 (any A allele vs G/G, HR = 0.59, 95% CI = 0.39-0.90, p = 0.01), NANOGP8 rs2168958 (any C allele vs A/A, HR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.36-3.29, p 0.001) and NANOGP8 rs2279066 (any C allele vs T/T, HR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.06-1.68, p = 0.03). Multivariate analysis confirmed the significant associations for NANOGP8 rs2168958 and NANOGP8 rs2279066. In either bevacizumab cohort, no significant associations were observed in univariate analysis.Germ line polymorphisms in the PTF genes could be predictive markers for cetuximab in mCRC.

Big data analytics (BDA) is regarded as an advanced tool for achieving sustainable development as part of the grand challenges (GCs). However, it is not clear how BDA can be used by data scientists to solve the GCs with multisource data in a cross-disciplinary approach. Based on a case study of city-based dangerous goods transportation (DGT), this paper explores how data scientists use BDA to triangulate data, methods, knowledge and solutions for solving GCs. The contribution of this study is threefold: (1) it contributes to research on GCs and discusses how BDA can be used in problem solving for multidomain GCs from a management perspective; (2) it enriches the theory of information triangulation and proposes several steps for information triangulation in BDA to solve GCs; and (3) it contributes some practical implications for the management of organizations when solving social problems and pursuing sustainable development.

ABTRACT Background Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a heritable and heterogeneous inflammatory chronic skin disorder. Utilizing decision tree/supervised learning of extensive clinical, molecular and genetic data, we aimed to define distinct AD endotypes. Methods Deep phenotyping and whole-genome sequencing was performed on samples obtained from participants of EPIONE, a randomized-controlled phase III study in AD patients with severe pruritus comprising mild (23%), moderate (64%) and severe (13%) AD as determined by AD Investigator Global Assessment scale. Three categories of analysis were performed: clinical associations, lab value associations (EOS, IgE, cytokines) and genetic analysis of whole-genome sequencing data Results Based on a decision tree, we found that five clinical features from the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) Index can accurately differentiate between IGA severities. We observe a significant difference between severity and eosinophil counts (p Conclusion Our results suggest significant differences between severity groups across a number of features appear to constitute distinct endotypes with likely distinct causative factors. Differing underlying pathophysiology’s indicate endotype knowledge is critical to help guide therapeutic approaches to AD. Capsule summary AD is a heritable and heterogeneous skin disorder that makes the ‘one size fits all’ therapeutic approach suboptimal for patients with AD. We attempted to define AD endotypes based on clinical, molecular, and genetic characteristics. Clinical, CBC, and genetic associations all tend to suggest existence of separate endotypes.

Background BRCA1/2 mutations have been shown to be associated with the development of many solid tumors including endometrial cancer (EC). The objectives of this study are to analyze the association between BRCA1/2 mutational status and clinicopathological characteristics as well as outcomes in EC patients. Methods 510 eligible EC patients from the Cancer Genome Atlas database were included in the study. The association between clinicopathological characteristics and different BRCA1/2 mutational status was compared and analyzed. Analyses of the impact of BRCA mutations on survival in EC patients was conducted using Kaplan-Meier survival analyses and Cox regressions. In order to control confounding bias between groups, propensity score matching method was used. Results Among the eligible patients, 11 (2.2%) harbored BRCA1 mutation, 43 (8.4%) harbored BRCA2 mutation, and 36 (7.1%) harbored both. Body mass index, rates of hypertension history, proportion of non-endometrioid histology and rates of positive peritoneal cytology were lower in patients with BRCA1/2 mutations compared with the group of wild-type counterpart (p = 0.020, 0.048, 0.001 and 0.012, respectively). Patients with BRCA1/2 mutations showed longer overall (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) (in Kaplan-Meier analyses, p Conclusion BRCA1/2 mutations are associated with better survival in patients with high grade endometrioid EC, indicating the value of BRCA testing in EC clinical management.

Oxidative stress is one of the major factors involved in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Here, a smart dual-function drug delivery system (DDS) that neutralized the plaques through its reaction with the oxidative microenvironment was fabricated. Micelles were obtained from the graft copolymer of serotonin hydrochloride, polyethylene glycol, p (itaconic acid) and aminophenylboronic-acid-linked rutin. Fluorescence carbon quantum dots (CDs) were attached to the surface of the micelles to provide dual functionality of precise treatment and diagnosis. DDS was simultaneously served as a stimuli-responsive drug delivery carrier and as a probe to detect plaques. In vitro experiments indicated that these “smart” nanoparticles could efficiently target macrophages and provide accurate imaging. At the same time, their “smart” responses to H2O2 solved the problem of sudden drug release, which could significantly improve therapeutic effect of the delivered drug.

The activation of stimulator of interferon genes (STING) was reported to enhance cetuximab-mediated natural killer cell activation and dendritic cell maturation. Polymorphisms in genes in the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)-STING pathway may affect innate immune response. Therefore, we hypothesised that genetic variants in the cGAS-STING pathway may predict the efficacy of cetuximab-based treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.Genomic DNA from blood samples of patients enrolled in FIRE-3 (cetuximab arm, n = 129; bevacizumab arm, n = 107) and TRIBE (bevacizumab arm, n = 215) was genotyped using the OncoArray-500K bead chip panel. Seven selected single nucleotide polymorphisms in 3 genes (cGAS, STING and interferon B1 (IFNB1)) were analysed for the association with overall survival and progression-free survival.In the cetuximab cohort, patients with STING rs1131769 any T allele showed significantly shorter overall survival (36.3 versus 56.1 months) than carriers of C/C in both univariate [hazard ratio (HR) = 2.08; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-4.07; P = 0.03] and multivariate (HR = 2.98; 95% CI: 1.35-6.6; P = 0.0085) analyses; patients carrying IFNB1 rs1051922 G/A and A/A genotype showed a significantly shorter progression-free survival than carriers of G/G allele in both univariate (G/A versus G/G, 10.2 versus 14.1 months, HR = 1.84; 95% CI 1.23-2.76; A/A versus G/G, 10.7 versus 14.1 months, HR = 2.19; 95% CI 0.97-4.96; P = 0.0077) and multivariate analyses (G/A versus G/G, HR = 2; 95% CI 1.22-3.3; A/A versus G/G, HR = 2.19, 95% CI 0.92-5.26, P = 0.02). These associations were not observed in the bevacizumab arm of FIRE-3 or TRIBE.These results suggest for the first time that germline polymorphisms in STING and IFNB1 genes may predict the outcomes of cetuximab-based treatment in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Antibodies (Abs) have been widely used in both immunodiagnostics and immunotherapy for the treatment of various diseases and, in recent years, scientific research applications. With the increasing use of Abs, there has been an urgent demand for low-cost and highly efficient purification methods. In this study, we present a novel formulation based on a β-d-glucan particle loaded protein A/G (GP-protein A/G conjugates) by the carbodiimide method for the purification of immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies. The prepared GP-protein A/G conjugates exhibit high stability and isolation efficiency. The microspheres also constitute an essential specialty reagent useful for isolating IgG from mammalian species such as goat, mouse and rabbit. Recovery of IgG showed that up to a purity of 92% was reached in the elution step. In addition, they has been shown to be important tools for molecular purification methods such as immunoprecipitation and co-immunoprecipitation. Taken together, these results suggest that the GP-protein A/G system has the potential to be used as a platform for purification techniques.

With the improvement in the service accuracy and expansion of the application scope of satellite navigation systems, users now have high demands for system integrity that are directly related to navigation safety. As a crucial index to measure the reliability of satellite navigation systems, integrity is the ability of the system to send an alarm when an abnormity occurs. The new-generation Beidou Navigation Satellite System (BDS-3) prioritized the upgrading of system integrity as an important objective in system construction. Because the system provides both basic navigation and satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) services by the operational control system, BDS-3 adopts an integrated integrity monitoring and processing strategy that applies satellite autonomous integrity monitoring and ground-based integrity monitoring for both the basic navigation service and SBAS navigation service. BDS-3 also uses an improved and refined integrity parameter system to provide slow, fast and real-time integrity parameters for basic navigation, and provide SBAS-provided integrity information messages in accordance with Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) specification and dual frequency, multi-constellation (DFMC) specification to support the SBAS signal frequency, single constellation operation and DFMC operation respectively. The performance of BDS-3 system integrity monitoring is preliminarily verified during on-orbit testing in different states, including normal operation, satellite clock failure and satellite ephemeris failure. The results show that satellite autonomous integrity monitoring, ground-based integrity monitoring and satellite-based augmentation all correctly work within the system. Satellite autonomous integrity monitoring can detect satellite clock failure but not satellite orbit failure. However, ground-based integrity monitoring can detect both. Moreover, the satellite-based augmentation integrity system monitors the differential range error after satellite ephemeris and clock error corrections based on user requirements. Compared to the near minute-level time-to-alert capability of ground-based integrity monitoring, satellite autonomous integrity monitoring reduces the system alert time to less than 4 s. With a combined satellite-ground monitoring strategy and the implementation of different monitoring technologies, the BDS-3 integrity of service has been considerably improved.

Phellodendron amurense (Rupr.) is a well-known medicinal plant with high medicinal value, and its various tissues are enriched in various active pharmaceutical ingredients. Isoquinoline alkaloids are the primary medicinal component of P. amurense and have multiple effects, such as anti-inflammation, antihypertension, and antitumor effects. However, the potential regulatory mechanism of isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis during stem development in P. amurense is still poorly understood. In the present study, a total of eight plant hormones for each stem development stage were detected; of those, auxin, gibberellins and brassinosteroids were significantly highly increased in perennial stems and played key roles during stem development in P. amurense. We also investigated the content and change pattern of secondary metabolites and comprehensively identified some key structural genes involved in the isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis pathway by combining the transcriptome and metabolomics. A total of 39,978 DEGs were identified in the present study, and six of those had candidate structural genes (NCS, GOT2, TYNA, CODM, TYR, TAT and PSOMT1) that were specifically related to isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis in P. amurense. Corydalmine, cyclanoline, dehydroyanhunine, (S)-canadine and corybulbine were the most significantly upregulated metabolites among the different comparative groups. Three differentially expressed metabolites, dopamine, (S)-corytuberine and (S)-canadine, were enriched in the isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis pathway. Furthermore, bHLH and WRKY transcription factors play key roles in the isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis pathway in P. amurense. The results not only provide comprehensive genetic information for understanding the molecular mechanisms of isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis but also lay a foundation for the combinatory usage of the medicinal active ingredient of P. amurense.

The etching of gold nanorods/nanobipyramid, or silver-coated nanorods/nanobipyramid inducing plasmon changes represents an efficient strategy to improve the performance of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). However, the effect of shape on the sensitivity was negligible, especially the thickness of coated silver shell. Here, we propose a plasmonic ELISA for multi-colorimetric detection of CRP based on the etching of Ag-coated Au nanobipyramid (Au NBP@Ag). The effect of silver shell thickness on the sensitivity of plasmon peak shifting was investigated by experiments and DDA calculations. The relationship between the Ag shell thickness and the sensitivity of plasmon peak shifting was obtained. Our results reveal that the thickness of coated Ag shell acts as a key factor in the multi-color change of Au NBP@Ag etching. It is found that Au NBP@Ag with medium Ag shell thickness and rod-like shape has the higher sensitivity and is suitable for sensing. At the optimized most sensitive Ag shell, the detection limit of proposed plasmonic ELISA for CRP was determined to be 0.09 ng/mL with a spectrometer in the range from 0.09 ng/mL to 25 ng/mL. Importantly, the visual detection limit was 0.78 ng/mL, which allows the differential diagnosis with the naked eye. Compared with traditional ELISA with the monochromatic intensity variations, the multi-color ELISA proposed in this study has a large linear range and rich color variation for high-sensitivity and naked-eye semi-quantitative detection.

Afterpulsing is a critical non-ideal factor of SPAD at telecommunication wavelength, which limits its performance. In order to evaluate the effects of afterpulsing, a new bit error rate (BER) model of SPAD-based photon-counting communication system including afterpulsing is built. To verify the theoretical model, an experimental system is founded. Compared with experimental results, the new BER model is found to be in good agreement. Based on the new BER model, the error performance of photon-counting communication system is investigated. The results indicate that maintaining the afterpulsing probability (AP) of 0, 0.1 will bring 1.2 to 3-dB sensitivity benefit than AP of 0.25. Maintaining the total number of gates per bit above 20 can significantly improve the system sensitivity or background tolerance. Inhibiting the AP below 0.1 is critical for expanding the scale of SPADs array to enhance system error performance.

In order to detect weak signal photons from background radiation, using an array of InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) as a detector is receiving increasing interest. Firstly, the canonical structure and operation principle of SPAD are analyzed. Then, based on the basic parameters (excess bias, operating temperature, absorption region thickness, and multiplication region thickness), the integrated SPAD model of performance parameters, which combines photon detection efficiency (PDE) and dark count rate (DCR), is built. Moreover, a scheme of utilizing SPADs array to detect weak signal photons and an accurate bit error rate (BER) model of photon-counting communication with the limitation of non-ideal factors of SPAD are studied. Then, the joint model of the integrated SPAD model and the BER model is founded. According to the joint model, the design considerations of SPAD to improve the BER in photon-counting communication are investigated. In addition, in regard to a specific photon-counting communication system, the basic parameters of SPAD can be effectively optimized through the joint model.

A fast and efficient dsDNA library-immobilized magnetic bead-based SELEX technique was employed for selection of the aptamers against polysialic acid (PSA). Overall twelve rounds of screening, the pooled library was subjected to high-throughput sequencing. Five aptamer candidates with low Gibbs binding free energy and high abundance were selected for affinity evaluation. Apt3 was demonstrated to be the optimal aptamer for PSA with K

Variations in carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) stoichiometry and nutrient resorption during stand development are essential indicators for assessing forest degradation. Yet, their patterns along a chronosequence have been inconsistent. In this study, we analyzed the patterns of tree (leaf, branch, and root) C, N, P stoichiometry and nutrient resorption along a chronosequence of Metasequoia glyptostroboides forests (young forests: 7-, 12-year old; middle aged forests: 22-, 28-year old; and mature forests: 33-, 37-year old) in subtropical coastal China. We found that no significant trend was displayed along the chronosequence for both tree N concentrations and N resorption efficiency (NRE). Both tree P concentrations and P resorption efficiency (PRE) were higher, while tree C:P, and N:P were lower in young forests than those in middle-aged and mature forests. These results suggested that tree P stoichiometry and PRE were most strongly associated with forest degradation. Leaf P stoichiometry (P concentration, C:P, and N:P) was impacted more by soil stoichiometry, and leaf P concentration and N:P increased exponentially along soil P concentration and N:P, respectively. While branch, root P stoichiometry and PRE were affected more by tree age. Overall, our findings suggested that P deficiency was the leading factors, in terms of nutrients, for the M. glyptostroboides forests degradation in coastal China.

The D band to G band intensity ratio in the Raman spectroscopy has been widely used to identify the degree of covalent functionalizations of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). The Raman D band at ∼1350 cm−1 is extremely sensitive to the sidewall sp3 scattering centers created by covalent functionalizations. However, we report here that [2 + 1] cycloaddition functionalization does not efficiently excite the Raman D band even up to ∼ 3% of the functionalization as manifested by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In-depth Raman spectra and XPS spectra analysis suggest that such low excitation of the Raman D band originates from the weakened electron scattering in [2 + 1] cycloaddition functionalized SWCNTs due to their unique sidewall bonding configurations. Our results reveal the origin of the low excitation of the Raman D band in [2 + 1] cycloaddition functionalized SWCNTs, and provide a precise and in-depth understanding of [2 + 1] cycloaddition functionalized SWCNTs. MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore)

We use proprietary data on intraday transactions at a futures brokerage to analyze the link between implied leverage, trading performance, and the sources of profits/losses, conditional on investor skill. We measure skill during a training period, and analyze performance out of sample. Levered positions stimulate de facto liquidity provision by skilled investors, who earn 19.3 bps per leverage unit. Unskilled investors' leverage amplifies their losses, particularly those stemming from gambling proclivity. Across all individuals and institutions, forced liquidations largely account for the negative impact of leverage on performance. Regulatory increases in required margins decrease (enhance) skilled (unskilled) investors' performance.

With the ongoing global pandemic of COVID-19, a question is whether the coming summer in the northern hemisphere will reduce the transmission intensity of COVID-19 with increased humidity and temperature. In this paper, we investigate this problem using the data from the cases with symptom-onset dates from January 19 to February 10, 2020 for 100 Chinese cities, and cases with confirmed dates from March 15 to April 25 for 1,005 U.S. counties. Statistical analysis is performed to assess the relationship between the transmissibility of COVID-19 and the temperature/humidity, by controlling for various demographic, socio-economic, geographic, healthcare and policy factors and correcting for cross-sectional correlation. We find a similar influence of the temperature and relative humidity on effective reproductive number (R values) of COVID-19 for both China and the U.S. before lockdown in both countries: one-degree Celsius increase in temperature reduces R value by about 0.023 (0.026 (95% CI [-0.0395,-0.0125]) in China and 0.020 (95% CI [-0.0311, -0.0096]) in the U.S.), and one percent relative humidity rise reduces R value by 0.0078 (0.0076 (95% CI [-0.0108,-0.0045]) in China and 0.0080 (95% CI [-0.0150,-0.0010]) in the U.S.). If assuming a 30 degree and 25 percent increase in temperature and relative humidity from winter to summer in the northern hemisphere, we expect the R values to decline about 0.89 (0.69 by temperature and 0.20 by humidity). Moreover, after the lockdowns in China and the U.S., temperature and relative humidity still play an important role in reducing the R values but to a less extent. Given the notion that the non-intervened R values are around 2.5 to 3, only weather factors cannot make the R values below their critical condition of R

We directly optimize the objectives of portfolio management via deep reinforcement learning---an alternative to conventional supervised-learning paradigms that routinely entail first-step estimations of return distributions or risk premia. We develop multi-sequence, attention-based neural-network models tailored to the distinguishing features of financial data such as non-linearity and high dimensionality, while allowing interactions with the market states and training without labels. Our AlphaPortfolio yields stellar out-of-sample performances (e.g., Sharpe ratio above two and over 13% risk-adjusted alpha with monthly re-balancing) that are robust under various market conditions economic restrictions (e.g., exclusion of small stocks and short-selling). Moreover, we project AlphaPortfolio onto simpler modeling spaces (e.g., using polynomial-feature-sensitivity) to uncover key drivers of investment performance, including their rotation and nonlinearity. More generally, we highlight the utility of deep reinforcement learning in finance and "economic distillation" for model interpretation.

As more and more countries have employed stay-at-home policy to halt the spread of COVID-19, the effectiveness of this policy has become an important question to both researchers and policymakers. To answer this question, our paper empirically measures the effect of stay-at-home policy on the control of COVID-19. Using the city-level Baidu Mobility Index, measured by the total number of outside travels per day divided by the resident population, we find that reducing the number of outings can effectively decrease the new-onset cases; a 1% decline in the outing number will reduce about 1% of the new-onset-cases growth rate in 7 days (one serial interval). The critical level is a 50% drop in mobility, in which case the number of new-onset cases is lower than it was 7 days before, and hence the epidemic will gradually disappear holding this policy long enough. A strong stay-at-home policy execution with a short duration has a smaller economic cost than a loose execution with a long duration. For example, the mobility in Wuhan is down 85% after lockdown, in which case we estimate the number of new-onset cases is reduced by 50% in only 12 days.

The impact of tree windbreaks on air flow remains poorly understood in field conditions. Porosity (ϕ), an indicator of tree windbreak structure, has often been used to explain shelter effects, but its relationship with shelter effects has not been consistent and even contradictory among studies. Here, we compiled a global dataset on shelter effects and optical porosity from published field studies for tree windbreaks. We found that shelter effects, including minimum relative wind speed (Um/U0), average reduction of relative wind speed (R) and effective shelter distance (D70), displayed a good linear relationship with optical porosity. External characteristics of tree windbreaks (width, number of row, height, and forest type) explained 36.1% of the total variation of optical porosity, and these characteristics modulated the relationships between shelter effects and optical porosity. An optimal optical porosity (ϕ = 20–40%), with best shelter effects, was found for tree windbreaks with one row, which should provide some practical guidance for windbreaks construction. The failure to find an optimal optical porosity for tree windbreaks with multiple rows suggested some indices that could express 3-D structure should be developed and used for tree windbreaks with width dimension. Our study is the first that reveals the relationships between shelter effects and optical porosity for tree windbreaks using a global dataset, which should advance our understanding on structure and function of tree windbreaks.

In this work, novel Lewis acidic ionic liquids [ODBU]Cl/nZnCl2 (n = 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) with alkylated 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) cation and ZnCl2-based complex anion have been developed and utilized in extraction combined with oxidative desulfurization (ECODS) of both model oil and diesel fuel with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 30 wt%) as an oxidant. It was observed that the ECODS performance could be effectively optimized by the change of ZnCl2 proportion. Some important reaction parameters such as reaction temperature, molar ratio of O/S, mass ratio of IL/oil and sulfide species were systematically investigated. Furthermore, the ILs could be reused for at least six cycles without noticeable changes in desulfurization performance as well as its chemical structure, thus revealing its good reusability. Finally, [ODBU]Cl/3ZnCl2 was employed in the ECODS of a hydrogenated diesel, the S-content could be reduced from 559.7 ppm to 4.8 ppm with 99.2% sulfur removal via a one-step process under mild conditions.

In this work, novel POMs-based organic-inorganic hybrid nanowires were prepared facilely and proposed as catalysts for oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of fuel with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 30 wt%) as an oxidant. The preparation was based on the ionic self-assembly between centrosymmetric organic bivalent cations and polymolybdate anions without using any template agents or toxic organic solvents. The as-prepared nanowire was characterized by different techniques, which verified the formation of uniform morphology and ordered supramolecular structure. As for its ODS application, despite non-porous property of the catalyst, the surface catalysis could achieve excellent catalytic performance in multi-phase reactions by reaching complete conversion of dibenzothiophene in short time. Significant reaction factors upon the ODS process were investigated in detail. The repeated experiments verified its excellent stability in regular structure, chemical composition as well as catalytic performance. In the end, the mechanism of H2O2 activation by this catalyst was revealed with the assistant of Raman analysis.

Developing high-performance nonprecious-metal electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for efficient water splitting. Therefore, the reasonable design principle of catalyst, leading to high activity catalytic center and improving the accessibility of active sites, is undoubtedly crucial. Here, we used a kind of Prussian blue analogue (CoFe-PBA) nanoparticles to anchor the nitrogen-carbon doped CoFe2O4 (CoFe2O4@NC) species to reduced graphene oxide aerogels as OER catalysts. The strong interaction between nanosized CoFe2O4@NC and the graphitic carbon shell led to synergistic effects in the OER, and the protection of the carbon shell guaranteed stability of the catalyst. As a result, the aerogel electrocatalyst exhibits more excellent activity and stability than the most advanced RuO2 catalyst in OER under the same mass load in alkaline medium. It shows smaller overpotential of 250 mV to afford a current density of 10 mA cm−2 in a continuous working time of more than 70 hours.

The prevention of wound infection has remained to be a critical step for facilitating wound healing following the application of wound dressing. To overcome such challenge, nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HAP) with high specific surface area, excellent biocompatibility, high mechanical strength and strong adsorption capacity was developed into a novel controlled release system for antimicrobial therapy. In general, n-HAP was loaded with a model antibiotic, tetracycline hydrochloride and was subsequently encapsulated inside chitosan/gelatin polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) nanofibers with a typical core-shell geometry. Firstly, the encapsulation of either tetracycline hydrochloride (TCH) or n-HAP led to the slight shrinkage of fiber diameter and enhancement in the thermotropic stability of PEC nanofiber. Secondly, the good water retention and air transmission properties of PEC was not impaired by the inclusion of n-HAP and TCH. Finally, the n-HAP reinforced PEC nanofiber membrane with encapsulated tetracycline hydrochloride has achieved the effect of long-term drug release, thereby improving the antibacterial efficacy against S. aureus, a common pathogen. Based on the good water retention, high rigidity, long term sustained drug release and prolonged antibacterial therapeutic efficacy, n-HAP reinforced PEC nanofiber membranes will serve as a promising platform for developing into novel antimicrobial wound dressings.

Bacterial infective diseases due to antibiotic resistance remain a great challenge in clinic. Design of novel antibacterial drugs with high efficiency and low side effects to overcome antibiotic resistance is urgently needed. Herein, M-Cs (mannose- modified chitosan) modified selenium (Se) nanoparticles to co-deliver ampicillin (Ap) and β-lactamase inhibitor were synthesized and characterized (SAMCP NPs). Mannose modification endowed SAMCP NPs with enhanced recognition of bacteria by FimH lectin. Co-delivery of ampicillin and β-lactamase inhibitor (3-carboxyphenylboronic acid, Pba) by selenium nanocomposite (30 μg/mL) effectively inhibited β-lactamase activity, which synergistically enhanced ampicillin-induced antibacterial activity against ampicillin-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli (R)) in vitro by suppression of AcrAB-TolC efflux pump system through eliminating ROS. SAMCP NPs (5 mg/kg) in vivo also showed synergistic anti-infective efficiency by inhibiting E. coli (R) infection-induced inflammatory response, cell apoptosis and regulating multiple signal pathways, and eventually promoted wound healing of mice. Importantly, SAMCP NPs displayed low toxicity and low side effects in vivo. Our findings validated our rational design that co-delivery of ampicillin and β-lactamase inhibitor by selenium nanocomposite to overcome multidrug resistance could be a highly efficient way to achieve antibacterial synergy.

In recent years, various thermal microscope imaging systems have been developed to meet the demands of micro-thermal analysis for large-scale integrated circuits, biomedical, science, and research fields. However, conventional thermal microscope imaging systems, which use cooled infrared detectors are heavy and expensive. In order to solve this problem, we developed a thermal microscope imaging system based on an uncooled infrared detector. However, the spatial resolution of the thermal microscope imaging system based on an uncooled infrared detector is low. With optical micro-scanning technology, the spatial resolution of the thermal microscope imaging system can be increased without increasing the detector dimension or reducing the detector unit size. In order to improve its spatial resolution, a micro-scanning system based on optical plate rotation was developed, and an optical microscanning thermal microscope imaging system was obtained after the integrated design. Due to environmental factors, mechanical vibration, alignment error and other factors, there is micro-scanning error in the designed micro-scanning thermal microscope imaging system. The four low-resolution images collected by micro-scanning thermal microscope imaging system are not standard down-sampled images. The quality of the image interpolated directly by four collected images is reduced and the performance of the micro-scanning system isn’t fully exploited. Therefore, based on the proposed second-order oversampling reconstruction micro-scanning error correction algorithm and the new edge directed interpolation algorithm, a new micro-scanning error correction technique is proposed. Simulations and experiments show that the proposed technique can effectively reduce optical micro-scanning error, improve the systems spatial resolution and optimize the effect of the imaging system. It can be applied to other electro-optical imaging systems to improve their spatial resolution.

In this work, poly(ionic liquid)s (PIL), namely poly-[1-vinyl,3-alkylimidazolium] bromine (PVABr) with different length of monomer carbon chain have been synthesized and assembled with [β-Mo8O26]4− into novel interlinked thin-layer nano-wire mesoporous material. The resulting POM/PIL hybrids were characterized by different techniques and utilized to catalyze the oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of thiophenic compounds with H2O2 as oxidant. Detailed experiments for ODS of synthesized diesel were carried out to investigate the influence of some important factors, including reaction temperature, molar ratio of H2O2/S, catalyst dosage and sulfide species. As for the desulfurization of hydrogenated diesel, it was observed that almost all of the original sulfur compounds in diesel could be completely converted and a further solvent extraction with methanol as extractant led to the deep sulfur removal. The catalyst could at least be reused for six times without noticeable changes in catalytic performance. The results demonstrate that the mesoporous isopolyanion-based polymeric hybrid is an efficient, durable and sustainable catalyst for ODS of diesel fuel.

This paper proposes a statistical framework with which artificial intelligence can assist human decision making. The performance of each human decision maker is first benchmarked against the machine predictions; we then replace the decisions by relatively incapable decision makers with the recommendation from the artificial intelligence algorithm. Our statistical frameworks are motivated by both Bayesian principles and frequentist principles of hypothesis testing and confidence set formation. We illustrate our methods by an example of birth defect detection, using a large data set of pregnancy outcomes and doctor diagnosis from the Pre-Pregnancy Checkups of reproductive age couples that are provided by the Chinese National Health Commission. The overall quality of our algorithm on a test data set outperforms the diagnoses made only by doctors, with higher true positive rate and lower false positive rate. We also find that doctors who are from rural areas are more likely to be replaceable by the machine learning prediction, which suggests that decision making with artificial intelligence is more beneficial to poor areas than to more developed regions.

Human inosine 5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (hIMPDH) is a rate-limiting enzyme in the de novo biosynthetic pathway of purine nucleotides, playing crucial roles in cellular proliferation, differentiation, and transformation. Dysregulation of hIMPDH expression and activity have been found in a variety of human cancers including leukemia. In this study, we found that myricetin, a naturally occurring phytochemical existed in berries, wine and tea, was a novel inhibitor of human type 1 and type 2 IMPDH (hIMPDH1/2) with IC50 values of 6.98 ± 0.22 μM and 4.10 ± 0.14 μM, respectively. Enzyme kinetic analysis using Lineweaver-Burk plot revealed that myricetin is a mix-type inhibitor for hIMPDH1/2. Differential scanning fluorimetry and molecular docking simulation data demonstrate that myricetin is capable of binding with hIMPDH1/2. Myricetin treatment exerts potent anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on K562 human leukemia cells in a dose-dependent manner. Importantly, cytotoxicity of myricetin on K562 cells were markedly attenuated by exogenous addition of guanosine, a salvage pathway of maintaining intracellular pool of guanine nucleotides. Taking together, these results indicate that natural product myricetin exhibits potent anti-leukemia activity by interfering with purine nucleotides biosynthetic pathway through the suppression of hIMPDH1/2 catalytic activity.

Wireless networks and large bandwidth delay product (BDP) networks are two types of challenging environments for TCP congestion control. Many congestion control algorithms have been proposed to improve the performance of TCPs in these two environments. Although these improved algorithms can achieve remarkable performance enhancements for either of the two environments, designing a congestion algorithm that performs well over heterogeneous networks that contain both wireless and large BDP links remains a great challenge. In this study, we propose a novel congestion avoidance algorithm called TCP-FIT, which can perform excellently over both wireless and large BDP links while maintaining good fairness with the standard TCP Reno algorithm. To evaluate the proposed algorithm, theoretical analysis is presented for equilibrium, network utilization, stability, TCP friendliness, RTT fairness, and responsiveness. A series of experimental results obtained using network emulators and over the "live" Internet are also presented to demonstrate the significant performance and fairness improvements of TCP-FIT compared with other state-of-the-art algorithms.

The attenuation characteristics of ultraviolet (UV) and infrared transmitting in the atmosphere is analyzed, when long-haul Non-Line-of-Sight (NLOS) optical scattering communication is considered. The effects of Rayleigh and Mie scattering to link performance are presented. Under given geometric configurations, a critical range R C is found. When communication range is shorter than R C , the attenuation of UV is lower than that of infrared. But the path loss of UV increases rapidly, while the path loss of infrared increases much slower. When communication range is longer than R C , the attenuation of UV is higher than that of infrared. Numerical values of R C under different geometries are analyzed. It is also indicated that, under arbitrary geometric configurations, the impact of the Rayleigh scattering to infrared scattering communication is weak, but to UV scattering, the Rayleigh scattering effect cannot be ignored.

The application of biochar (BC) in conjunction with mineral fertilizers is one of the most promising management practices recommended to improve soil quality. However, the interactive mechanisms of BC and mineral fertilizer addition affecting microbial communities and functions associated with soil organic matter (SOM) cycling are poorly understood. We investigated the SOM in physical and chemical fractions, microbial community structure (using phospholipid fatty acid analysis, PLFA) and functions (by analyzing enzymes involved in C and N cycling and Biolog) in a 6-year field experiment with BC and NPK amendment. BC application increased total soil C and particulate organic C for 47.4-50.4% and 63.7-74.6%, respectively. The effects of BC on the microbial community and C-cycling enzymes were dependent on fertilization. Addition of BC alone did not change the microbial community compared with the control, but altered the microbial community structure in conjunction with NPK fertilization. SOM fractions accounted for 55% of the variance in the PLFA-related microbial community structure. The particulate organic N explained the largest variation in the microbial community structure. Microbial metabolic activity strongly increased after BC addition, particularly the utilization of amino acids and amines due to an increase in the activity of proteolytic (l-leucine aminopeptidase) enzymes. These results indicate that microorganisms start to mine N from the SOM to compensate for high C:N ratios after BC application, which consequently accelerate cycling of stable N. Concluding, BC in combination with NPK fertilizer application strongly affected microbial community composition and functions, which consequently influenced SOM cycling.