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Our preliminary experiment indicated the activation of with-nolysine kinases 1 (WNK1) in bone cancer pain (BCP) rats. This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms via which WNK1 contributed to BCP. A rat model of BCP was induced by Walker-256 tumor cell implantation. WNK1 expression and distribution in the lumbar spinal cord dorsal horn and dorsal root ganglion were examined. SPS1-related proline/alanine-rich kinase (SPAK), oxidative stress-responsive kinase 1 (OSR1), sodium-potassium-chloride cotransporter 1 (NKCC1), and potassium-chloride cotransporter 2 (KCC2) expression were assessed. Pain behaviors including mechanical allodynia and movement-evoked pain were measured. BCP rats exhibited significant mechanical allodynia, with increased WNK1 expression in the dorsal horn and dorsal root ganglion neurons, elevated SPAK/OSR1 and NKCC1 expression in the dorsal root ganglion, and decreased KCC2 expression in the dorsal horn. WNK1 knock-down by small interfering alleviated mechanical allodynia and movement-evoked pain, inhibited WNK1-SPAK/OSR1-NKCC1 activities, and restored KCC2 expression. In addition, closantel (a WNK1-SPAK/OSR1 inhibitor) improved pain behaviors, downregulated SPAK/OSR1 and NKCC1 expression, and upregulated KCC2 expression in BCP rats. Activation of WNK1-SPAK/OSR1 signaling contributed to BCP in rats by modulating NKCC1 and KCC2 expression. Therefore, suppression of WNK1-SPAK/OSR1 may serve as a potential target for BCP therapy. PERSPECTIVE: Our findings demonstrated that the WNK1-SPAK/OSR1 signaling contributed to BCP in rats via regulating NKCC1 and KCC2. Suppressing this pathway reduced pain behaviors. Based on these findings, the WNK1-SPAK/OSR1 signaling may be a potential target for BCP therapy.

Lead sulfide (PbS) is an important nanomaterial due to its unique semiconductor properties. This paper contains the first example of the mechanochemical synthesis of PbS nanomaterials from lead oxide (PbO) and sodium sulfide (Na2S) at room temperature. Nanocrystals formed by this method have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), revealing nanocrystals with a face-centered cubic PbS structure and a uniform morphology. Average particles sizes ranging from 11.4 nm to 23.8 nm could be achieved by varying the milling speed. The optical properties of the nanocrystals were detected by UV–visible absorption spectroscopy (UV–Vis), photoluminescence spectroscopy (PL), Fourier Transform Infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and confirm the nanocrystals have band gaps of between 3.84 eV and 3.95 eV, representing a significant blue shift compared to naturally occurring PbS. The mechanochemically synthesized PbS nanocrystals exhibit quantum confinement effect caused by the tiny size of the nanocrystals.

The generation of transgenic chickens is of both biomedical and agricultural significance, and recently chicken transgenesis technology has been greatly advanced. However, major issues still exist in the efficient production of transgenic chickens. This study was designed to optimize the production of enhanced green fluorescence protein (EGFP)-transgenic broilers, including egg windowing at the blunt end (air cell) of egg, and the direct transfection of circulating primordial germ cells by microinjection of the Tol2 plasmid-liposome complex into the early embryonic dorsal aorta. For egg windowing, we discovered that proper manipulation of the inner shell membrane at the blunt end could improve the rate of producing G0 transgenic roosters. From 27 G0 roosters, we successfully collected semen with EGFP-positive sperms from 16 and 19 roosters after direct fluorescence observation and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses (13 detected by both methods), respectively. After artificial insemination using the G0 rooster with the highest number of EGFP fluorescent sperm, one G1 EGFP transgenic broiler (1/81, 1.23%) was generated. Our results indicate that appropriate egg windowing and screening of potentially transgene-positive roosters can improve the production of germline-transmitted transgenic birds.

For industries around the world, the hydrometallurgical roast–leach–electrowin process is the most common means of producing zinc metal. Dechlorination from the highly-concentrated zinc sulfate electrolyte is of vital importance to the zinc industry. In a recently published work, we innovatively employed diffusion dialysis (DD) to selectively remove Cl- and F- from a highly-acidic spent electrolyte, which extended the application of DD from acid recovery to selective ion separation. In the current paper, we greatly enhance the dechlorination selectivity by adjusting the acidity of feed electrolytes. The Cl-/SO42- permselectivity increases from 2.56 to 42.8 when the acidity is reduced from 160 to 0 g/L as free H2SO4, and meanwhile the removal ratio of Cl- impurity is basically retained (from 55.1% to 46.6%). The competitive permeation of different ions and the interplay between anions and cations are carefully investigated. It is believed that the distinct diffusivity of anions (Cl-, F-, HSO4- and SO42-) originates from their different hydrated sizes. This excellent selectivity observed here is unprecedented and has never been observed in any practical DD processes. It not only remarkably improves the cost-effectiveness of the dechlorination process in zinc production, but also puts forward a new possibility to regulate the permselectivities between ions with the same charge sign and provides new insights into the DD process in the selective ion separation.

Transition metal oxides (TMOs) generally suffer severe capacity degradation as the potential anode materials for lithium-ion batteries, since the large volume changes of TMO anodes during conversion reactions result in the collapse of electrode structures. Fabricating specific nanostructures of TMOs has been demonstrated as a successful approach to partially solve this issue. Besides the concern of capacity retention, our previous work has demonstrated that the specific capacities of TMOs can be improved by enhancing their degrees of crystallinity. Therefore, the TMO nanostructures with high degrees of crystallinity are highly desired to achieve both high specific capacity and good capacity retention. However, the high crystallinity and desired nanostructure are usually contradictory in nanofabrication since the thermal treatment will lead to the collapse of a nanostructure. To overcome the obstacle, herein, the polydopamine coating followed by a thermal treatment in nitrogen is first introduced as a confined crystallization strategy to enhance the degree of crystallinity and simultaneously maintain the nanostructure of ZnO microspheres. Electrochemical performance tests demonstrate that the appropriate coating thickness and heat treatment can enhance the specific capacity from 288.0 mAh g−1 of pristine ZnO to 527.0 mAh g−1 of carbon coated ZnO after 100 cycles. The present work provides a good opportunity to develop TMO anodes with high capacities and superior cycling performances by the polydopamine-derived carbon coating and confined crystallization.

The effects of under-aging treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Al-Zn-Mg-Cu alloy produced by squeeze casting were investigated using optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and hardness and tensile testing. The results showed that most of secondary phases were dissolved into α(Al) matrix while no significant grain growth happened under the condition of solution treatment at 470 °C for 4 h. Due to the strengthening effect of GP zones, for alloys treated by under-aging process, the increase of aging time and aging temperature improved the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and yield strength (YS), but decreased the elongation (δ) to some extent. By utilizing appropriate aging time and temperature, the best combination of strength and ductility could be obtained to fulfill the design requirements of automobile components.

The magnetic composite-materials (Fe3O4@SDBS@LDHs) were prepared by sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) modified layered double hydroxides (SDBS@LDHs) with Fe3O4 via co-precipitation method. The results of XRD, FT-IR and SEM/EDS indicated that the dispersibility of LDHs was improved, and the modification of SDBS took place on the surface of LDHs. The adsorption capacity of Fe3O4@SDBS@LDHs to brilliant green (BG) reaches 329.1 mg/g after the adsorption equilibrium. The thermodynamic parameters indicated that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous, and the rate of a reaction increased with the raise of the reaction temperature. The Langmuir model was applicable for describing the sorption isotherms, indicating that the adsorption process is a monolayer adsorption. The results of kinetics study showed that adsorption fitted the pseudo-second order model well. The adsorbents still have good adsorption performance after four adsorption cycles. Moreover, the magnetic composite could be easily separated from aqueous solution. This indicated that Fe3O4@SDBS@LDHs can be considered as potential adsorbents in environmental applications for the removal of BG from aqueous solutions.

Hydraulic fracturing in-situ stress measurements and acoustic image logging were used to characterize the southern Beishan region of Gansu Province for China's first spent nuclear fuel repository. A total of 47 hydraulic fracturing measurements and 18 impression tests were performed in four boreholes at two sites to estimate magnitudes and orientations of horizontal principal stresses. The stress regime is mainly characterized by SHmax > Shmin ≥ Sv, indicating that the regional stress field is dominated by the maximum horizontal stress. This stress regime is prone to thrust and strike-slip faulting, according to Anderson's faulting theory. Measured results indicate that magnitude orders and stress gradients of horizontal principal stresses are larger than those previously obtained from other boreholes in the Beishan region, implying that the current stress field of candidate sites might be influenced by regional tectonic and geological controls. Using acoustic borehole logging data, geometric features of natural fractures of the four boreholes were mapped. We also found that wide fractures or faults penetrated in both boreholes at one site changed the orientations of the maximum horizontal principal stresses. Fractures with optimal orientations can be permeable owing to their narrow angles with in-situ principal stress orientations. Rock mass permeability is a priority for future investigation. Adopting the Coulomb frictional-failure criteria, we evaluated the possibility of reactivation of the wide fractures and faults and concluded that the crust in Jinta field should be stable.

Myocardial apoptosis and necroptosis are the major etiological factor during doxorubicin (DOX) induced cardiotoxicity, and one of the important reasons that limit the drug’s clinical application. Up to date, its mechanism has not been fully elucidated. The protective role of phosphocreatine (PCr) in heart surgery and medical cardiology has been observed in numerous clinical trials. This study aimed to evaluate cardioprotective actions of PCr against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity and investigate the underlying mechanism involving in transforming growth factor β-activated kinase 1 (TAK1) mediated myocardial survive signaling pathway. Male Sprague-Dawleyrats were intraperitoneally (ip) injected with normal saline (NS) or DOX (2 mg/kg) alone or DOX with PCr (200 mg/kg) used as animal model. The data showed that DOX significantly impaired cardiac function and structure, induced oxidative stress, myocardial apoptosis and necroptosis, and dramatically down-regulated the expression level of TAK1, while the intervention of PCr obviously attenuated cardiac dysfunction, oxidative stress, myocardial apoptosis and necroptosis, especially alleviated the decrease of TAK1 expression. In vitro analysis, after H9c2 cells were pretreated with or without PCr (0.5 mM) or N-Acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, 0.5 mM) or 5Z-7-oxozeaenol (5z-7-Ox, 1 μM) for 1 h, subsequently treated with DOX (1 μM) for 24 h. The results revealed that inhibition of TAK1 further deteriorated apoptotic and necroptotic cell death induced by DOX in H9c2 cells, but didn’t affect oxidative stress. While the pretreatment of PCr or NAC enhanced antioxidant activity to reduce oxidative stress, significantly alleviated apoptotic and necroptotic cell death induced by DOX in H9c2 cells. Consistent with the results in vivo, PCr or NAC significantly inhibited the decrease of TAK1 expression induced by DOX. In conclusion, oxidative stress induced by DOX inhibits the expression of TAK1, and leads to myocardial apoptotic and necroptotic death, while the intervention of PCr increases antioxidant activity to alleviate oxidative stress, which in turn activates TAK1 signaling pathway to promote myocardial survival, and finally attenuate DOX-induced cardiotoxicity.

Fully dense biphasic calcium silicates with improved biomechanical behavior were fabricated via mechanothermal method followed by the conventional sintering process. The effects of dopant concentration on the phase composition, structural evolution, and mechanical properties of palladium-doped calcium silicates (PCSs) were investigated. The results showed that the coalescence of nanoparticles, coarsening of particles, and the formation of large agglomerates occurred during the mechanothermal reactions. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy spectra of the PCSs represented the characteristic bands of the calcium silicates, including the bending mode of Si–O–Si and O–Si–O, the stretching vibration of O–Si–O group, the stretching mode of Si–O–Ca, as well as the symmetrical stretching mode of Si–O–Si group. The results of the Rietveld refinement indicated that the phase compositions and structural features noticeably affected by the dopant concentration so that the phase fraction (PF) of Wollastonite-1A and Pseudowollastonite was 0.318 ± 0.035 and 0.526 ± 0.025 in the case of undoped calcium silicate (PCS0), which respectively reached 0.411 ± 0.021 and 0.589 ± 0.021 for the Pd-doped calcium silicate (PCS20). Comparing with the PCS0, the Vickers hardness of the consolidated PCS20 increased by ~79%. From the biomineralization analysis, the surface of the consolidated sample was covered by the bone-like apatite after soaking in a simulated body fluid (SBF) for 2 weeks.

The present paper focuses on the heat transfer and contact pressure at the casting-die interface in squeeze casting process. Experiments were conducted and a “plate shape” was used to cast aluminum alloy A356 in H13 steel die. Based on the temperature measurements inside the die, the interfacial heat transfer coefficient (IHTC) at the metal-die interface was determined by applying an inverse approach. The pressure at the metal-die interface was measured by using Kistler pressure transducer. The acquired data were processed by a low pass filtering method based on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). Besides, a set of methods was set up to verify the computer program for the inverse model. The results show that the pressure at the casting-die interface and the IHTC rose to the peak value almost simultaneously as soon as the pressure was applied by the press. The higher the applied pressure, the higher the peak value of the IHTC and the pressure at the casting-die interface. It was a pressure maintaining stage immediately after the pressure was applied. During this stage, the pressure at the casting-die interface decreased immediately after it reached the peak value. The IHTC sharply dropped at the beginning. Then, the decrease rate of the IHTC became lower and lower. Besides, the IHTC of the cases with pressure applied was much higher than those without pressure applied. It indicates that the applied pressure greatly improved the contact status of casting and die surfaces and reduced the thermal resistance between the two surfaces. The IHTC profiles of the cases with the pressures 23 MPa and 46 MPa applied did not make much difference, however, when the applied pressure reached 70 MPa, the influence of the pressure at the casting-die interface on the IHTC became very remarkable.

Zinc metal is mainly produced by a hydrometallurgical process, in which zinc electrolyte is recirculated, and impurities especially halides are accumulated then, which have dreadful impacts on the process and product. Until now numerous efforts have been made to remove halides from the electrolyte, but none of them are fully satisfying, and it is still a big issue for the industry. As a conventional membrane technology, diffusion dialysis (DD) is originally designed to recover free acid from acid-salt mixture by concentration gradient. In this work, we proposed a novel process to selectively remove these halide impurities from the spent zinc electrolyte by DD directly. Significant Cl - and F - permselectivities over HSO 4 - are observed in this process. The removal efficiencies are as high as 50–70% and 30–42% for chloride and fluoride, respectively, while the zinc loss is less than 1%. The flow intensity in the current work is much higher than that in conventional DD, which reduces the overall cost immensely. The mechanism of this selective mass transfer is also studied intensively to understand influence of flow intensity, charge number and hydrated radii of ions on the permselectivity. The results here are not confined to provide a superior method to remove halide impurities for the zinc industry, but also extend new applications and deepen understandings for the well-established DD process in selective ion separation. This capability is very likely to become a new growth point and future direction for the DD process besides acid/alkali recovery.

Viral infection induces translocation of the nucleolar protein GLTSCR2 from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, resulting in attenuation of the type I interferon IFN-β. Addressing the role of GLTSCR2 in viral replication, we detect that knocking down GLTSCR2 by shRNAs results in significant suppression of viral replication in mammalian and chicken cells. Injection of chicken embryo with the GLTSCR2-specific shRNA-1370 simultaneously or 24 h prior to infection with Newcastle disease virus (NDV) substantially reduces viral replication in chicken embryo fibroblasts. Injection of shRNA-1370 into chicken embryo also reduces the replication of avian influenza virus (AIV). In contrast, GLTSCR2-derived protein G4-T, forming α-helical dimers, increases replication of seven various DNA and RNA viruses in cells. Our studies reveal that alteration of the function of cellular GLTSCR2 plays a role in supporting viral replication. GLTSCR2 should be seriously considered as a therapeutic target for developing broad spectrum antiviral agents to effectively control viral infection., Highlights • G4-T, a protein that mimics GLTSCR2, folds in an α-helical dimer structure. • G4-T suppresses type I IFN antiviral response. • G4-T promotes efficient proliferation of DNA and RNA viruses belonging to 7 families. • GLTSCR2-specific shRNA reduces the infection of viruses in mammalian and chicken cells. • Injection of GLTSCR2-specific shRNA into chicken embryo reduces the replication of NDV and AIV.

The Alxa area is a candidate site for China's high-level radioactive waste (HLW) repository. In-situ stress measurements using hydraulic fracturing were performed to directly estimate the present-day stress field of the Alxa area. Variation of the in-situ stress components with depth in two sub-sites (i.e., Nuorigong, and Tamusu) was analyzed based on valid hydraulic fracturing data obtained from two sub-vertical boreholes. The results reveal that the horizontal stresses in the Alxa area present an intermediate or low level. The in-situ stress magnitudes are consistent within the crustal frictional strength range that predicated using the Coulomb frictional-failure theory incorporating frictional coefficients of approximately 0.6–1.0. The maximum horizontal stress in the Alxa area is dominantly oriented in the NNE–SSW direction which is consistent with the direction of the tectonic stress field of northwest China. The estimation of the in-situ stress measurement results provides critical knowledge of the engineering geological characteristics of this candidate area, and support on potential underground excavation.

Clinical studies have shown that fenretinide (4-HPR) is an attractive chemopreventive agent for cancer treatment. However, to date, few studies have demonstrated the mechanism of the preventive effect of 4-HPR. In our current study, we revealed that 4-HPR could significantly suppress IL-4/IL-13 induced M2-like polarization of macrophages, which was demonstrated by the reduced expression of M2 surface markers, the down-regulation of M2 marker genes, and the inhibition of M2-like macrophages promoted angiogenesis. Mechanistically, our study suggested that the inhibition of the phosphorylation of STAT6, rather than the generation of oxidative stress, is involved in the 4-HPR-driven inhibition of M2 polarization. More intriguingly, by utilizing adenomatous polyposis coli (APCmin/+) transgenic mice, we demonstrated that the tumorigenesis was dramatically decreased by 4-HPR treatment accompanied with fewer M2-like macrophages in the tumor tissues, thereby profoundly blocking tumor angiogenesis. These findings, for the first time, reveal the involvement of M2 polarization inhibition in 4-HPR-mediated chemoprevention, which provides a new point of insight and indicates the potential mechanism underlying the chemopreventive effect of 4-HPR.

Ultrasound stimulation has recently emerged as a noninvasive method for modulating brain activity. However, the effectiveness of ultrasound neuromodulation has so far been evaluated mainly in animal and human studies with healthy subjects. Whether brain diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and depression can be treated using ultrasound stimulation still needs to be explored. Recent studies have reported that ultrasound stimulation suppressed epileptic seizures in a rodent model of epilepsy. These findings raise the crucial question of whether ultrasound stimulation can inhibit seizures in nonhuman primates with epilepsy. Here, we address this critical question. We confirm for the first time that ultrasound stimulation significantly reduced the frequency of seizures in acute epileptic monkeys. Furthermore, the statistical results showed that the number and duration of seizures were reduced while the inter-seizure interval was increased after ultrasound stimulation. In addition, no significant brain tissue damage was observed by T2-weighted MR imaging. Our results are of great importance for future clinical applications of ultrasound neuromodulation in patients with brain diseases.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley (syn. Rhus verniciflua or vernicifera Stokes, Anacardiaceae) (RVS), the lacquer tree, also known as sumac, has been used in China, Japan and South Korea for thousands of years as a highly durable coating material and a traditional herbal medicine, which contains medicinal ingredients with anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-rheumatic activities. Aim of this review This review intends to provide a comprehensive and critical appraisal of RVS, including its phytochemical data, botanical and pharmacological literature that support its therapeutic potential in treatment on human diseases, with emphasis on the isolation of natural occurring compounds and detailed pharmacological investigations. Materials and methods Specific information of RVS was collected by using the key words “Toxicodendron vernicifluum”, “Rhus verniciflua Stokes”, “Rhus vernicifera Stokes” and “Lacquer tree” through published scientific materials (including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley, ACS, CNKI, Scifinder, Springer, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Baidu Scholar) and other literature sources. Results The major phytoconstituents, 175 of which are presented in this review, including flavonoids, urushiols, terpenes, phenolic acids and other types of compounds, of which flavonoids and urushiols are main components. The extracts and isolates purified from RVS showed a wide range of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effects, such as anti-cancer, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, tyrosinase inhibition and so on. Conclusion The modern pharmacological research of RVS mainly focus on the pharmacological effects of crude extract or active constituents, of which the flavonoids are widely studied. However, there are few reports on the relationship between pharmacological effects and their structures. And at present, there is still a lack of researches that are of both effective and in-depth. Meanwhile, there is little research on quality control. Apart from the wood and lacquer, other botanical parts also need to be explored further. In addition to phenolic compounds, the study on other types of components in T. vernicifluum would start more sparks for the discovery of new bioactive principles.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Gnaphalium affine D. Don is an important Traditional Chinese herbal Medicine (TCM) used to treat hyperuricemia, asthma, rheumatic arthritis, antitussive, expectorant and cardiovascular in folk medicine because of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential beneficial effect of G. affine extract (GAE) on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced apoptosis and explore the possible underlying mechanism in cardiomyocyte. Materials and methods The ingredients of GAE were isolated and tentatively identified by HPLC-ESI-Q-Qribatrip-MS/MS. The cardioprotective and anti-oxidant effects of GAE were evaluated in the experimental model with H2O2 induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells. H9c2 cells were pretreated for 3 h with or without GAE or with GAE plus PX866 (PI3K inhibitor), then exposed to H2O2 for 6 h, H9c2 cells viability were detected by CCK8 kit, the content of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) and intracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity were measured by the commercial biochemical kits, western blotting, immunohistochemical (IHC), immunofluorescence (IF) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays were performed to evaluate the proteins and mRNA expression, propidium iodide (PI) staining was adopted to indicate H9c2 cells apoptosis. Results Firstly, seventeen polyphenols and flavonoids compounds with the characteristics of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant in GAE were tentatively identified by HPLC-ESI-Q-Qribatrip-MS/MS. In the experimental model, GAE not only significantly improved cells viability, but also showed anti-oxidant effects through improving SOD activity, up-regulating nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and decreasing intracellular concentration of ROS and MDA and the proteins expression of p47phox, p67phox and gp91phox. On the other hand, GAE revealed anti-apoptotic effect through up-regulating the expression of B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), down-regulating Bcl2-associated X (BAX) and cleaved-caspase 3. Furthermore, GAE significantly facilitated phosphorylation of AKT and glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK-3β) but not AMPK, while the effects were blocked by PX866 (PI3K inhibitor). Conclusions Our data suggested that GAE showed strong anti-oxidant effect to ameliorate oxidative stress and attenuate apoptosis induced by H2O2 in H9c2 cells by targeting PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β signaling pathway.

Phytochemical investigations on the fruit stalks and seeds of the plant Hovenia dulcis Thunb. led to the isolation of twenty-one compounds, including three triterpenes (1–3), two sterols (4–5), five flavonoids (6–10), two sesquiterpenes (11–12), one lignan (13), two phenylpropanoids (14–15), four benzoic acid derivatives (16–19), one acid amide (20) and one cerebroside (21). The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with previous literatures. Among them, ten compounds (4, 11–12, 14–20) were isolated from familiy Rhamnaceae, two (13, 21) from the genus Hovenia, and three (5, 8, 10) from the species Hovenia dulcis Thunb. for the first time, respectively. The chemotaxonomic significance of these isolates was also discussed.

In this study, a donor impurity confined in an elliptic cylindrical core/shell quantum dot (ECCSQD) under a non-axial electric field is studied by using a variational and perturbation approach. We have investigated the binding energy and corresponding photoionization cross section (PCS) variation with the core and shell sizes, ellipticity constant, impurity position under the non-axial electric field. The results show that the binding energy with elliptic cylinder shape is lower than that with cylinder shape. The influence of electric field in different directions on the binding energy with different impurity positions is completely different. Even though for the on-center impurity, the influence is also very different due to the elliptic cylinder shape. The PCS for the incident radiation propagates perpendicular or parallel to the axis of the ECCSQD are both considered. The results show that the PCS in both causes completely depends on the direction of non-axial electric field and impurity position. In addition, the elliptic cylinder shape also has a significant influence on the peak intensity and position of PCS.

Tumors require a blood supply for survival, growth, and metastasis. It is widely accepted that the development of the tumor microcirculation compartment need the production of new blood vessels (angiogenesis). Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is an alternative type of blood supplement independent of endothelial vessels which refers to the formation of tumor cell-lined vessels and is associated with tumor invasion, metastasis and poor cancer patient prognosis. Although a variety of proteins and microenvironmental factors are known to contribute to VM, the mechanisms underlying its formation remain unclear. The induction of VM seems to be related to hypoxia, which may promote the plastic, transendothelial phenotype of tumor cells capable of VM. Here, with regard to the above aspects, we review the advanced research on VM including molecular mechanisms and its clinical significance; and explore the development of VM-related strategies which are being utilized for anticancer treatment.

Pyroptosis is a form of caspase-1-induced programmed cell death. This study aimed to investigate the effect of periostin (postn) on pyroptosis in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). To this end, the differentially expressed genes were obtained from the GSE4105 dataset using the "GEO2R" online tool. Protein-protein interaction networks were constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database, and Module and Go analysis were conducted using the Cytoscape 3.6 plugs-in MCODE and BINGO, respectively. The analysis showed that postn was a critical gene in the most significant module. Experimental results, including triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining, pathological analysis, TUNEL staining, western blotting, and RT-qPCR assays, showed that MIRI induced caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis by activating the NLRP3 inflammasome. Postn was significantly upregulated in the heart tissues of MIRI rats and in H9C2 cells following hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) treatment. In addition, knockdown of postn suppressed the caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis and H/R-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation, as evidenced by flow cytometry, CCK8, RT-qPCR, western blotting, and ELISA assays. In contrast, overexpression of postn promoted NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis of H/R-treated H9C2 cells. According to the results of rescue experiments, a caspase-1 inhibitor reduced the increase in NLRP3 inflammasome-mediated pyroptosis induced by overexpression of postn, and the pyroptosis-promoting function of postn overexpression in H/R treated H9C2 cells was reversed by inhibition of NLRP3. In conclusion, postn overexpression promoted the caspase-1-mediated pyroptosis during MIRI by activating the NLRP3.

A phytochemical investigation of the heartwood of Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley led to the isolation of twenty-five compounds, including sixteen flavonoids (1–15), one flavonolignan (16), one chromone (17), four benzoic acid derivatives (18–21), two triterpenes (22–23) and two sterols (24–25). The structures of these compounds were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and comparison with previous literature data. Among them, 8 and 21were isolated from the genus Toxicodendron and 5, 9, 13, 17–20, 22 from the family Anacardiaceae for the first time. Furthermore, 21 had been identified only by LC/MS before. 20 was a synthetic product used as anthelmintics, newly identified as a natural product. Furthermore, the chemotaxonomic value of these isolates was also discussed in detail.

Using stress data measured in 16 boreholes along the strike of the Longmen Shan fault zone by hydraulic fracturing from 2008 to 2012 after the Wenchuan earthquake and before the Lushan earthquake, we characterize the contemporary stress state in the Longmen Shan thrust belt along the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau to understand the implications of in-situ stress for fault activity. The stress regimes are generally conducive to reverse faulting and partly to strike-slip faulting characterized by σ H > σ h > σ v and σ H > σ v > σ h , indicating that the regional stress field is definitely dominated by the maximum horizontal stress. The fracture impression results reveal that the maximum horizontal principal stresses are predominantly NE in the northern segment of the Longmen Shan fault zone and NW in the southern segment, postulating a preliminary understanding of the coupling between the shallow crustal stress field and lower crustal flow. According to Coulomb frictional failure criteria, horizontal principal stresses can be predicted as functions of rock density, ρ , frictional coefficient, μ, depth, H , and water level, H W , in frictional equilibrium. The influence of H W on critical stresses is discussed, and the decrease in the stress values corresponds to an increase in the water level. The depth profiles of the stress magnitudes in different segments are illustrated, indicating that the stress values are relatively higher in the southern and northern segments and lower in the middle segment. The stress state in the southern segment, specifically, near the epicenter of the Lushan earthquake, favors the occurrence of earthquakes. Under the stress state in the northern segment, the Longmen Shan fault might be the optimally oriented failure plane, assuming that the plane is critically stressed. This finding may imply that the northern segment of the Longmen Shan fault is likely to be active when the stress builds up sufficiently to destroy the frictional equilibrium.

Using hydraulic fracturing method, we determined in-situ stress after the Wenchuan earthquake at Yingxiu, Leigu, and Yong'an sites along the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault which is one of the three active faults of the Longmenshan fault belt and defines the western margin of the Sichuan Basin. The measurements reveal that the crustal stress level is relatively high in the Yingxiu region but relatively low in the Leigu and Yong'an regions. The stress field along the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault is dominated by horizontal stress within the depth range of most of the measurements. The stress regimes are conducive to thrust faulting in the Yingxiu and Yong'an regions. However, the stress regimes at shallow and deep depths in the Leigu region are conducive to thrust faulting and strike-slip faulting, respectively. The ratios of the maximum to minimum effective stresses in these three sites, as well as their implications for fault activity and geological hazards, are estimated by combining Coulomb friction failure criteria and Byerlee's law with frictional properties of the geological units along the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault. We conclude that most of the measured ratios in the Yingxiu region exceed the expected limit for the reactivation of optimally oriented faults with coefficients of friction ranging from 0.4 to 0.6. This means that sections of the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault in this region show high chance of being reactivated. However, most of the measured ratios at the Leigu and Yong'an sites do not exceed the expected limit with coefficients of friction within the same 0.4–0.6 range, indicating that sections of the Beichuan-Yingxiu fault in the Leigu and Yong'an regions stand less chance of being reactivated in the future. Turning to geological hazards, we suggest that the tectonic faults, the endogenic condition inducing geological hazards, stand less chance of inducing geological hazards in the Leigu and Yong'an regions. The exogenic conditions, such as topography, lithology, and rainfall should be studied in this region. Because fault reactivation in the Yingxiu region is more likely, both endogenic conditions and exogenic conditions should still be studied there.

An improved quantum key distribution scheme via single-photon two-qubit states is proposed. The input–output model of the polarization state is established. And the influence of the interferometers to the polarization state is analyzed. Quantum bit error rate of polarization coding caused by birefringent and coordinate system difference between incident light and the fast and slow axes in fiber interferometer is simulated. Furthermore, maintaining conditions of polarization state are given on this basis.

This paper established 3D coupled thermo-mechanical finite element simulation model of a conical ring rolling process. Three simulation experiments were designed and performed. The effects of key simulation parameters such as mass scaling factor, time scaling factor and remeshing sweeps per increment on simulation time and volume change of conical ring were investigated and analyzed. The reasonable values of simulation parameters in conical ring rolling process were determined for decreasing simulation time and simultaneously reducing finite element simulation error.

A parallel quantum key distribution scheme, which allows the secret keys to be shared by polarization coding in parallel sidebands channel of different frequencies, is presented and studied on a theoretical basis. Theoretically speaking, the shared key generation rate could be increased several times. A forward spectral filtering structure for filtering the carrier frequency and other unwanted frequencies in the output pulse is designed and studied. The filtered pulse can be divided by receiver’s wavelength division demultiplexer. The simulation shows that an experimental implementation of this scheme is possible.

The aim of this study was to examine the role of the lateral peterygoid muscle in the reconstruction of the shape of the condyle during healing of a sagittal fracture of the mandibular condyle. Twenty adult sheep were divided into 2 groups: all had a unilateral operation on the right side when the anterior and posterior attachments of the discs were cut, and an oblique vertical osteotomy was made from the lateral pole of the condyle to the medial side of the condylar neck. Ten sheep had the lateral pterygoid muscle cut, and the other 10 sheep did not. Sheep were killed at 4 weeks (n=2 from each group), 12 weeks (n=4), and 24 weeks (n=4) postoperatively. Computed tomograms (CT) were taken before and after operations. We dissected the joints, and recorded with the naked eye the shape, degree of erosion, and amount of calcification of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). In the group in which the lateral peterygoid muscle had not been cut the joints showed overgrowth of new bone and more advanced ankylosis. Our results show that the lateral pterygoid muscle plays an important part in reconstructing the shape of the condyle during the healing of a sagittal fracture of the mandibular condyle, and combined with the dislocated and damaged disc is an important factor in the aetiology of traumatic ankylosis of the TMJ.

The pharmacokinetics of 16-dehydropregnenolone (16-DHP), a sterols compound isolated from Solanum lyratum Thunb., was investigated in rats following a Single intramuscular administration (40 mg/kg). The concentration of 16-DHP in rat plasma was determined by a high Performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with UV detection. Levonorgestrel was used as the internal Standard (IS). The pharmacokinetic parameters of 16-DHP were derived by non-compartmental method. After a Single intramuscular administration, the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) was (289 ± 25) ng/mL, time to reach Cmax(tmax) was (0.38 ± 0.14) h, the elimination half-life (t1/2) was (2.5 ± 1.1) h, the area under the plasma concentration-time curve from time zero to the time of the last measurable concentration (AUC(0-t)) was (544 ± 73)ng · h/mL. The results indicated that 16-DHP was absorbed quickly and eliminated rapidly in rats after the intramuscular injection. Keywords: 16-dehydropregnenolone, intramuscular administration, pharmacokinetics, high Performance liquid chromatography

The incidence of diacapitular (intracapsular) fractures of the mandibular condyle has increased in recent years, but their treatment remains inadequate, particularly of type B fractures. To evaluate and compare outcomes of open and closed treatments we created a sheep model of a type B fracture through an osteotomy. Eight sheep were randomly divided into two groups of four each to be given closed treatment or open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) and were evaluated by veterinary and radiological examinations. Compared with before the osteotomy, there were significant reductions in maximum mouth opening (MMO) and left movement in the closed group, but no significant differences in the range of jaw movements in the ORIF group after 12 weeks of treatment. The two radiological scores that indicated the degree of osteoarthrotic changes and ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in the ORIF group were significantly lower than those in the closed group. Anatomical observation confirmed the pathological changes in the right TMJ in the closed group and adaptive changes in the ORIF group. We conclude that ORIF is more efficient than closed treatment in restoring the function and shape of the TMJ to after a type B diacapitular condylar fracture.

In this paper, extensive experimental results on broad-band double cladding Er 3+ –Yb 3+ co-doped superfluorescent fiber sources (SFSs), characterizing their output power, mean wavelength, and bandwidth (BW) stability with variations of pump power, pump wavelength, and fiber temperature, have been reported. For a 55-cm fiber, SFS power from 3.7755 (maximum BW condition of more than 80 nm) to 9.1837 mW (maximum power condition, BW is about 34 nm) has been achieved. The SFS mean wavelength dependence on pump wavelength is highly pump temperature sensitive, and can be reduced to zero in a chosen pump temperature field. The intrinsic variation of the SFS mean wavelength λ m with fiber temperature is also measured, and a linear variation from 15 to 45 °C with a slop of −0.053 nm/°C for L f = 100 cm and −0.04 nm/°C for L f = 55 cm is found.

Objective To observe the effects of cupping on blood flow under different skins of back in healthy human. Methods With meridian-cupping dredging apparatus to set cupping pressure at −0.04 MPa, cupping was applied at Dazhuī ( GV 14) and bilateral Dazhu ( BL 11) for 10 min in healthy subject. Blood flow monitoring video system of laser speckle was used to record blood flow of GV 14, Shēnzhu ( GV 12), bilateral Feishū ( BL 13) and Xīnshū ( BL 15) before cupping therapy, immediate time of cupping removal and 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 20 min, 25 min and 30 min after cupping removal. Results Compared before cupping therapy, the blood flow of GV 14, GV 12 and bilateral BL 13 was obviously increased at immediate time of cupping removal (all P GV 11) and bilateral BL 15 before and after cupping therapy was not significantly different (all P>0.05). Conclusion The cupping therapy could adjust skin blood flow, which is more obvious near the cupping area.

Ordered Al nanowire arrays with the same nanowire density but the diameters decrease radially embedded in one piece of anodic alumina membranes were successfully fabricated by two-step synthesis: electrodeposition of Zn and replacement in AlCl3 solution. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected-area electron diffraction techniques were used to characterize the Al nanowires obtained. SEM and TEM images taken from the different areas of Al nanowire arrays show that we can control the growth of aligned Al nanowires with different diameters in a single process at the same time. The investigation results not only have potential applications in photoelectric devices but also open up a new method for fabricating nano-scale materials.

A modified attack scheme base on GHZ state is proposed. The relationships among QBER, ratio of qubits which eavesdropped by Eve(eavesdropper) and average photon number in signal state were analysed. The simulation shows that when Eve attacks all of the multi-photons state pulses and the 43% of single-photon state pulses he can get about 46% original qubits which shared between Alice (sender) and Bob (receiver). And the average photon number of the signal state affect the QBER and the leaked information non-linearly.

A small interfacial (antimony scratch) cell is shown to be satisfactory for indicating end-points in microtitrations of 28 organic acids, as well as pharmaceutical preparations. The method is simple and rapid and end-points are sharp. Recoveries were 98.0–101.9% for sample weights of 0.6–4 mg.

A small-intefacial voltaic cell (antimony scratch) is shown to be satisfactory for end-point detection in titrations of various alkaloids and other basic drugs and their salts in ethanol, chloroform or dibutyl ether media with picric acid in the same medium. Small (0.4–4 mg) amounts can be determined. This method has the advantages of being simple and rapid with sharp end-points. The recoveries were 96.52-100.8% for the determinations of 19 drugs and their salts. The relative error was ±5% for five pharmaceutical tablets and injections.