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Family conflict is a risk factor for suicidal behaviors among adolescents. However, few longitudinal studies have investigated this association and explored the mediation effect of behavioral and emotional problems. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal association between family conflict, internalizing and externalizing problems, and suicidal behaviors in a large sample of Chinese adolescents.This longitudinal study of 7,072 adolescents was based on the Shandong Adolescent BehaviorHealth Cohort (SABHC). Participants completed a self-administrated questionnaire to assess family conflict, internalizing and externalizing problems, suicidal behaviors, and family demographics at baseline. Excluding adolescents with any suicidal behavior at baseline (N = 839), others (N = 6,233) were allowed to report their internalizing and externalizing problems and suicidal behaviors one-year later. Path analyses were conducted to examine the mediation relationship of internalizing and externalizing problems between family conflict and suicidal behaviors.Of 6,233 participants, mean age was 14.52 at baseline and 51.2% were males. Adolescents with subsequent suicidal behaviors reported higher scores in family conflict, internalizing and externalizing problems (Ps 0.01). Path analyses showed that internalizing and externalizing problems played a significant mediating role in the associations of family conflict with suicidal behaviors after adjusting for covariates.Family conflict is associated with suicidal behaviors in adolescents, which is partially mediated by internalizing and externalizing problems. Internalizing problems is the major mediator between family conflict and suicidal thought or suicide plan; however, internalizing and externalizing problems play similar mediating roles in the family conflict-suicide attempt link.

Prolonged mobile phone use has been demonstrated to be associated with mental health problems and suicidal behavior in adolescents. This study examined the mediating role of depressive symptoms in the association between duration of mobile phone use (DMPU) and suicidal behavior in adolescents.A total of 6,923 participants from the Shandong Adolescent BehaviorHealth Cohort (SABHC) were included in the analysis. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire to assess DMPU on weekdays and weekends, mental disorders, insomnia symptoms, depressive symptoms, suicidal behavior (thought, plan, or attempt), and family demographics in November-December 2015. One year later, a follow-up survey was conducted to ask participants to report their depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Path analyses with logistic regressions were performed to examine the mediating role of depressive symptoms in the DMPU-suicidal behavior link.Of the sample, mean age was 14.58 (SD = 1.45) and 3,455 (49.9 %) were female at baseline. 12.12 % of participants reported having ever suicidal behavior during the past 12 months at baseline, and 10.63 % reported having ever suicidal behavior during 1-year follow-up. Path analyses showed that the depressive symptoms played a partial mediating role in the association of DMPU on weekdays and weekends with subsequent suicidal behavior. After controlling for covariates, depressive symptoms accounted for 33.6 % and 58.6 % of the total effect of DMPU on weekdays and weekends on suicidal behavior, respectively.All variables were measured based on self-report.The link between DMPU and suicidal behavior was partially mediated by depressive symptoms. Prolonged mobile phone use and depressive symptoms should be assessed and intervened to prevent suicidal behavior in adolescents.

Little is known about the association between perceived social support (PSS) and suicidal ideation in Chinese adolescents. This study was to examine the association of perceived social support and suicidal ideation (SI) and the mediating role of depressive symptoms in a large sample of adolescents in China.A total of 11,831 adolescents who participated in the baseline Shandong Adolescent BehaviorHealth Cohort were included for analysis. Perceived social support, depressive symptoms, and other variables were assessed by a self-administrated questionnaire. Path analysis was used to estimate the association between PSS, depressive symptoms, and suicidal ideation.The prevalence rate of SI in the past year was 12.5%. Suicidal ideation and depressive symptoms were significantly associated with low PSS from family, friends, and significant others. Path analysis revealed that depressive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between PSS from family, friends, and significant others and suicidal ideation. After controlling for covariates, the mediation effect proportion of depressive symptoms on the associations between perceived social support from family, friends, and significant others and SI ranged from 19.20% to 62.12%.As this is a cross-sectional study, no causal relationship could be made.Depressive symptoms partially mediated the association between perceived social support and suicidal ideation. Longitudinal research is needed to better understand the association between social support and suicidal ideation in adolescents.

Introduction Gut microbiota has been implicated in the pharmacological activities of many natural products. As an effective hypolipidemic agent, berberine (BBR)’s clinical application is greatly impeded by the obvious inter-individual response variation. To date, little evidence exists on the causality between gut microbes and its therapeutic effects, and the linkage of bacteria alterations to the inter-individual response variation. Objectives This study aims to confirm the causal role of the gut microbiota in BBR’s anti-hyperlipidemic effect and identify key bacteria that can predict its effectiveness. Methods The correlation between gut microbiota and BBR’s inter-individual response variation was studied in hyperlipidemic patients. The causal role of gut microbes in BBR’s anti-hyperlipidemic effects was subsequently assessed by altered administration routes, co-treatment with antibiotics, fecal microbiota transplantation, and metagenomic analysis. Results Three-month clinical study showed that BBR was effectively to decrease serum lipids but displayed an obvious response variation. The cholesterol-lowering but not triglyceride-decreasing effect of BBR was closely related to its modulation on gut microbiota. Interestingly, the baseline levels of Alistipes and Blautia could accurately predict its anti-hypercholesterolemic efficiency in the following treatment. Causality experiments in mice further confirmed that the gut microbiome is both necessary and sufficient to mediate the lipid-lowering effect of BBR. The absence of Blautia substantially abolished BBR's cholesterol-decreasing efficacy. Conclusion The gut microbiota is necessary and sufficient for BBR’s hyperlipidemia-ameliorating effect. The baseline composition of gut microbes can be an effective predictor for its pharmacotherapeutic efficacy, providing a novel way to achieve personalized therapy.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in many biological processes. Knocking out or knocking down some lncRNAs will lead to lethality or infertility. These lncRNAs are called essential lncRNAs. Knowledges of essential lncRNAs are important in establishing minimal genomes of living cells, developing drug therapies and early diagnostic approaches for complex diseases. However, existing databases focus on collecting essential coding genes. Essential non-coding gene records are rare in existing databases. A comprehensive collection of essential non-coding genes, particularly essential lncRNA genes, is demanded. We manually curated 207 essential lncRNAs from literatures for establishing a database on essential lncRNAs, which is named as dbEssLnc (Database of essential lncRNAs). The dbEssLnc database has a web-based user-friendly interface for the users to browse, to search, to visualize and to blast search records in the database. The dbEssLnc database is freely accessible at https://esslnc.pufengdu.org. All data and source codes for mirroring the dbEssLnc database have been deposited in GitHub (https://github.com/yyZhang14/dbEssLnc).

Transient delayed feedback control is proposed by applying the transient control technique to the original delayed feedback control, with the aim of enlarging the stable region of the stabilized periodic oscillation, where the stable region is a subset of the parameter space of feedback gains for which the periodic oscillation is stabilized. The control signal is activated when the system is in a certain subset (the controlling area) of the state space, and inactivated otherwise, which is different from the standard control signal of the original delayed feedback control. The specific control performances of the transient delayed feedback control are investigated through case studies. The relationship between the stable region of the stabilized periodic oscillation and the controlling area is obtained by calculating the maximum Lyapunov exponent, which is a function of the feedback gain. It is shown that the stable region varies non-smoothly with the change of the controlling area. When the controlling area is properly chosen, the stable region with transient delayed feedback control is much larger than the stable region with original delayed feedback control.

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a major cause of end-stage renal disease, but treatment remains ineffective. C-reactive protein (CRP) is pathogenic in DN, which significantly correlated with dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4) expression in diabetic patients with unknown reason. Here, using our unique CRP(tg)-db/db mice, we observed human CRP markedly induced renal DPP4 associated with enhanced kidney injury compared with db/db mice. Interestingly, linagliptin, a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved specific DPP4 inhibitor, effectively blocked this CRP-driven DN in the CRP(tg)-db/db mice. Mechanistically, CRP evoked DPP4 in cultured renal tubular epithelial cells, where CD32b/nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) signaling markedly enriched p65 binding on the DPP4 promoter region to increase its transcription. Unexpectedly, we further discovered that CRP triggers dimerization of DPP4 with CD32b at protein level, forming a novel DPP4/CD32b/NF-κB signaling circuit for promoting CRP-mediated DN. More importantly, linagliptin effectively blocked the circuit, thereby inhibiting the CRP/CD32b/NF-κB-driven renal inflammation and fibrosis. Thus, DPP4 may represent a precise druggable target for CRP-driven DN.

This study focused on the prediction factors of catastrophic outcomes of all-cause mortality at 90 days after mechanical thrombectomy and selection of candidates for clinical decision making up by the generating pre-MT and peri-MT prognostic models.A secondary analysis based on the prospective, multicenter, randomized, non-inferiority clinical trial of Jrecan retriever from China were performed in this study. 187 stroke patients with a large-vessel anterior circulation occlusion, NIHSS score ≥ 6, ASPECT ≥ 7, and stroke onset time within 8 h were enrolled from March 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 and followed up for 90 days. Data with mRS cumulative rates of 6, as well as mortality were analyzed and potential predictors for the mortality risk were identified by univariate and multivariate regression analysis.Among 186 patients, the median age was 66 years (IQR, 58-74) and 106 patients (56.4%) were male. The mortality was 20.8% (39/186) and general favorable outcome was obtained in 78 patients (41.7%, 78/187) at 90 days after MT. Five variables including ASPECT≤ 9 (3.136 [1.239-7.939], P = 0.016), Occlusion location with IC-ICA (3.538 [1.604-7.803], P = 0.002), un-Successful recanalization; PH (7.644 [1.890-30.917], P = 0.004), and END (without PH) with a significance of P 0.05 were entered into the multivariable logistic regression analysis and were incorporated into pre-procedure model and peri-procedure models respectively.Occlusion with IC-ICA and PH were the strong predictors for mortality risk at 90-day, which could be reduced through good management and evaluation during pre-procedure and peri-procedure of mechanical thrombectomy.

A new Ni(II)-metal organic framework was self-assembled by the reaction of tripodal benzene-1,3,5-tribenzoic acid (H3BTB), 2,4,6-tris(4-pyridyl)-1,3,5-triazine (TPT) and NiII salts under solvothermal conditions. {[Ni3(OH)(BTB)2(TPT)[NH(CH3)2]}n•2nH2O (MOF1) exhibited two-fold interpenetrated three-dimensional (3D) framework, which was constructed from the Ni3(OH)(COO)6 trinuclear unit, connected by the mixed H3BTB and TPT ligands. In 1, the trinuclear Ni3(OH)(COO)6 units were firstly linked into 3D network by tripodal BTB3− ligands, which were further accommodated with another size-matched trigonal TPT ligands, and novel (3,8)-connected 3D net was created. The catalytic measurements showed that compound 1 was a good heterogeneous catalyst for the one-pot synthesis of imines from benzyl alcohols and aniline under solvent-free condition, and the catalyst could be recycled without losing its structural integrity and catalytic activity.

Seven new tirucallane-type triterpenoids (1-7), kumuquassin A-G, along with 20 known analogues (8-27) were isolated from the stems of Picrasma quassioides. The structures and the absolute configurations of new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic data, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopic analyses and quantum ECD calculations. Notably, kumuquassin A (1) contains a rare Δ17, 20 double bond, kumuquassin B (2) is the first example of tirucallane triterpenoid possessing a 5/3 biheterocyclic ring system at the side chain. All the compounds were screened for the cytotoxicity against two human hepatoma cell lines, HepG2 and Hep3B, and several compounds exhibited promising activity. The most potential compound 3 was selected for cell cycle analysis, which showed that 3 could cause an accumulation of HepG2 cells at subG1 peak. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining further confirmed that compound 3 caused death of hepatoma cells through apoptosis induction.

In this paper, we present a novel bottom-up salient object detection approach by exploiting the relationship between the saliency detection and the null space learning. A key observation is that saliency of an image segment can be estimated by measuring the distance to the single point, which represents the background or foreground salient samples in the null spaces. We apply the null Foley–Sammon transformation to model the null spaces of the background samples or foreground salient samples, where the potentially large and complex intra-class variations of the samples are totally removed and the specific features of the respective classes are represented by a single point. Afterward, we formulate the separation of the saliency regions from the background as a distance measurement to this single point in the null space. An optimization algorithm is devised to fuse the background samples based saliency map and foreground samples based saliency map. Results on five benchmark datasets show that the proposed method achieves superior performance compared with the newest state-of-the-art methods in terms of different evaluation metrics, especially for complex natural images.

A new organic-inorganic hybrid phase transition material, N,N,N’N’-tetramethylethylenediamine dibisulfate (C6H18N2)(HSO4)2, was synthesized via the reaction of CuSO4·5H2O with N,N,N’N’-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA) in sulfuric acid aqueous solution. Differential scanning calorimetry measurement (DSC) discloses that (C6H18N2)(HSO4)2 undergoes a reversible second-order phase transition at 247.7 K with a small hysteresis (ca. 2.5 K). The variable-temperature X-ray single crystal structural analyses indicate that (C6H18N2)(HSO4)2 crystallizes in triclinic system with centrosymmetric space group Pīat low-temperature phase (LTP) and room-temperature phase (RTP). The cell volume of LTP shows an approximately doubling that of RTP and the remarkable differences of cell parameters between RTP and LTP reveal the phase transition. The phase transition of (C6H18N2)(HSO4)2 could be mainly associated with the disorder-order transformation of HSO4ˉ as well as reorientation of the flexible branched chain-like (C6H18N2)2+ cations with decreasing temperature. As expected, the temperature-dependent dielectric constant of (C6H18N2)(HSO4)2 exhibits remarkable peak-like dielectric anomalies around 245 K in accordance with the DSC result. It is expected that all these results could offer an avenue to develop organic-inorganic dielectric material for meeting practical application.

A novel implicit iterative algorithm is presented via successive over relaxation (SOR) iterations in this paper for solving the coupled Lyapunov matrix equation related to continuous-time Markovian jump linear systems. This algorithm contains a relaxation parameter, which can be appropriately chosen to improve the convergence performance of the algorithm. It has been shown that the sequence generated by the proposed algorithm with zero initial conditions monotonically converges to the unique positive definite solution of the considered equation. Moreover, some convergence results of the presented SOR implicit iterative algorithm with arbitrary initial conditions are established, and a method to choose the optimal relaxation parameter for this algorithm is given. Finally, two examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Four new 2D complexes namely [Ln(2-Cl-4-FBA)3(terpy)H2O] (Ln=Er(1),Ho(2)); [Eu(2-Cl-4-FBA)3(terpy)H2O]·1.5H2O(3); [Tb(2-Cl-4-FBA)3(terpy)H2O]·2H2O (4); (2-Cl-4-FBA=2-chloro-4-fluorobenzoate,terpy=2,2':6′,2 ″-terpyridine) were synthesized at normal temperature. The structures of complexes were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The results show that the two complexes 1-2 are isomorphous and complexes 3-4 are isostructural. Four complexes are both assembled into the 1D and 2D supramolecular structures through the C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bond interactions. The thermal decomposition mechanism of complexes 1-4 was investigated by the technology TG/DSC-FTIR. FTIR spectra were obtained by analyzing the evolved gases in the thermal decomposition process of complexes 1-4. In addition, the differential scanning calorimetry was used to measure the average molar melting values of the complexes 1-2 in the temperature range of 259.15-343.15K by a specific heat comparison method, and the thermodynamic function values were obtained by calculation. The fluorescence tests of complexes 3 and 4 show that both of them have certain luminescent properties.

In this study, we propose a compact four-channel angular-multiplexing polarisation holographic microscope to quantify the spatially resolved Jones matrix of a dynamic sample in a microfluidic channel. To make the imaging system compact, a common-path off-axis configuration based on a simple object and a reference beam generator unit, consisting of a Wollaston prism and a converging lens, was introduced in the holographic microscope. Using this system and the retrieval method described in this paper, the spatially resolved Jones matrix parameters, as well as the polarisation information, including the diattenuation and phase retardation, of the target sample could be simultaneously retrieved from a single-shot hologram. We experimentally demonstrated the feasibility of our method by quantitatively measuring the birefringence parameters of a quarter-wave plate and extracting the 2-D Jones matrix and polarisation parameters of potato starch particles and C. elegans worms. The simple optical structure and common-path design reduce the system requirements for light source coherence and system stability, which provides a feasible approach for the development of a portable polarisation holographic microscope for microfluidics.

In this study, the argon gas and argon arc plasma are chosen as two typical examples of cold and hot flow fields, respectively, to investigate on the physical nature of the refractive index gradient in moire tomography diagnosis. The results indicate that refractive index gradient is mainly determined by refractive index sensitivity to the pressure change and the pressure gradient for the cold flow field. However, in the case of hot flows, refractive index gradient mainly depends on refractive index sensitivity to changes in pressure and temperature as well as to pressure and temperature gradients. The involved results can improve the use of moire tomography for characterizing various complicated flow fields. This may extend the range of application of all methods that determine flow field's key parameters from refractive index distributions.

Maize (Zea mays Linn.) during industrial processing generates a vast amount of residues including stigma maydis, which is generally regarded as a waste and discarded. However, there are great medicine and economic value in the industrial crop wastes. With the aim of fully utilizing the stigma maydis as a valuable source of bioactive components, a phytochemical investigation on stigma maydis was performed, leading to the isolation of five new macrocarpene-type sesquiterpenes (1–5), named stigmenes A-E, along with a known analogue stigmene F (6). The chemical structures of all compounds were unambiguously determined by employing various spectroscopic measurements. Their absolute configurations were confirmed by comparison of the experimental and calculated ECD data. All compounds were screened for the inhibitory effect of amyloid-β (Aβ) aggregation, among which 1 exhibited the most significant inhibitory activity. Molecular docking was used to predict the putative binding mode as the mechanism of action against Aβ aggregation. In addition, neuroprotection against H2O2-induced SH-SY5Y cell injury for all compounds was evaluated, and 5 and 6 were the most active. In total, the results suggest that stigma maydis is a promising and valuable crop waste for the pharmaceutical industry of neurological diseases.

Chemical investigation of the roots of Croton crassifolius led to the isolation of five pyran-2-one derivatives, including two brand new compounds (1–2), one new natural product (3) and two known compounds (4–5). Their structures and absolute configurations were established by spectroscopic analyses as well as comparison between the calculated optical rotation (OR) values with the experimental data. Interestingly, the new compound 1 showed an unusual negative chemical shift at H-11. It is well known that negative chemical shift values of 1H NMR spectrum are extremely rare in natural products. Such a negative chemical shift of 1H NMR spectrum was reproduced by density functional theory (DFT) calculations and explained by the shielding effect from the pyran-2-one ring over the hydrogen atom in the 3D conformations. Then, MTT assay was applied to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the isolated compounds (1–5) against two liver cancer cell lines (HepG2 and MHCC97H). The results suggested that compound 1 displayed the highest cytotoxicity with an IC50 value of 9.8 μM against HepG2 cells. Moreover, there was no obvious cytotoxicity of compounds 1–5 on normal liver cell line LO2. Furthermore, the mechanism of apoptosis induction in compound 1-treated HepG2 cells was investigated. The results showed that compound 1 could induce apoptosis via p53-mediated Ras/Raf/ERK suppression in HepG2 cells.

This review highlights recent advances in the synthesis of carbon dioxide (CO 2 )-based copolymers with both linear (di-, tri-, and multi-block, etc.) and non-linear (star-block and grafting) architectures. The corresponding catalytic systems are summarized. The microstructure and polymerization mechanism of various types of CO 2 -based copolymers, including block polycarbonates and block copolymers of polycarbonate with polyester, polyether, polyvinyl, and polydiene are discussed. The junction unit between two blocks, which indicates an abrupt change in the chain microstructure and property, is emphasized to define the microstructure of CO 2 -based block copolymers. Special attention was paid to one-pot terpolymerization for the synthesis of CO 2 -based block and grafting copolymers. Finally, the thermal, mechanical, and degradation properties and self-assembly of CO 2 -based block and grafting copolymers are reviewed. Prospective future research and applications of this new class of polymeric materials are discussed.

Sarsasapogenin, a kind of mainly effective component of Anemarrhena asphodeloides Bunge, possesses good antitumor properties. Two series of new sarsasapogenin derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their cytotoxicities against three human cancer cell lines (HepG2, A549, MCF-7) using the MTT assay. The structure-activity relationship revealed that the N, N-dimethylamino, pyrrolidinyl, and imidazolyl substituted at the C26 position could increase the antitumor efficacy of the 3-oxo sarsasapogenin series of compounds. Compound 4c with pyrrolidinyl substituted at the C26 position exhibited the greatest cytotoxic activity against MCF-7 cell line (IC50 = 10.66 μM), which was 4.3-fold more potent than sarsasapogenin. Action mechanism investigations showed that 4c could inhibit the colony formation and induce the apoptosis of MCF-7 cells. Further researches showed that a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and increases in the expression level of cleaved-PARP and the ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 were observed in MCF-7 cells after treatment with 4c, suggesting that the mitochondrial pathway was involved in the 4c-mediated apoptosis. These results show that compound 4c may serve as a lead for further optimization.

Background Large cell lung cancer (LCLC) patients have a poor prognosis because their tumors are highly malignant and show resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Plumbagin has anticancer activity toward several tumor types, but its effects on LCLC are unknown. This study investigated the effects of plumbagin on human L9981 and NL9980 large cell lung cancer cells and the mechanisms underlying its action. Methods The effects of plumbagin on L9981 and NL9980 cells proliferative activity and invasion were analyzed using MTT and Boyden chamber assays, respectively. Exogenous IL-6 was used to detect the presence of the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway in LCLC cell lines. L9981 cells were harvested after plumbagin treatment at 9.0 μmol/L (IC50), while NL9980 were harvested after treatment at 7.5 μmol/L for 6, 24, and 48 h, and the expression of IL-6, IL-6R, gp130, and STAT3 and the downstream genes Bcl-2, VEGF, and CycD1 was assessed by RT-PCR. ELISA was performed to determine secreted IL-6 levels, and intracellular phospho-STAT3 levels were measured by western blotting. Results After the introduction of exogenous IL-6, the mRNA expression of signaling genes and downstream genes was significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, plumbagin significantly inhibited the expression of the above mentioned genes in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. The mRNA expression levels of downstream genes were correlated with those of signaling genes. Conclusion Plumbagin was found to significantly inhibit the proliferation and invasion of L9981 and NL9980 cells, and may be an effective therapy for LCLC through targeting the IL-6/STAT3 signaling pathway.

In this paper, a novel iterative algorithm with a tuning parameter is developed to solve the forward discrete periodic Lyapunov matrix equation associated with discrete-time linear periodic systems. An important feature of the proposed algorithm is that the information in the current and the last steps is used to update the iterative sequence. The convergence rate of the algorithm can be significantly improved by choosing a proper tuning parameter. It is shown that the sequence generated by this algorithm with zero initial conditions monotonically converges to the unique positive definite solution of the periodic Lyapunov matrix equation if the tuning parameter is within the interval ( 0 , 1 ] . In addition, a necessary and sufficient convergence condition is given for the proposed algorithm in terms of the roots of a set of polynomial equations. Also, a method to choose the optimal parameter is developed such that the algorithm has the fastest convergence rate. Finally, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

A chiral mononuclear DyIII complex, formulated [Dy(PNO)6(H2O)2]Cl3 (1) (PNO = pyridine-N-oxide), has been prepared by using an achiral ligand through spontaneous resolution. Structure analyses show that complex 1 consists of a DyIII mononuclear unit and such units interact with each other by hydrogen bonds to form helical chains along a axis. The crystals of 1 are optically active and opposite Cotton effects can be observed in the circular dichroism (CD) spectra. Magnetic studies reveal that complex 1 exhibits field-induced single molecule magnet behavior with an energy barrier of 49 K.

Introduction Non-traditional acupuncture (NTA), defined as the stimulation of certain parts of the body includes; acupressure, transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS), laser acupuncture, intradermal needle, and acupoint catgut embedding (ACE). This systematic review evaluated their efficacy and safety for smoking cessation. Methods Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing NTA with sham NTA or conventional therapy for smoking cessation were included. Ten databases were searched from their inception to March 2021. Data were synthesized using risk ratios (RR) or mean differences (MD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). The primary outcome was abstinence rate defined as abstinence between date of quitting and follow-up. Results Acupressure was more effective than sham acupressure or conventional therapy in the short-term (RR 1.41, 95% CI [1.04 to1.91]; low certainty; 8 trials, n=637) and for mid-term smoking cessation (RR 1.63, 95% CI [1.27 to 2.09]; low certainty; 8 trials, n=749). TEAS appeared more beneficial for mid-term abstinence (RR 1.58, 95% CI [1.10 to 2.27]; moderate certainty; 3 trials, n=325). Laser acupuncture was superior to sham control for long-term abstinence (RR 2.25, 95% CI [1.23 to 4.11]; moderate certainty; 2 trials, n=160). ACE was comparable to Bupropion for mid-term smoking cessation (RR 0.99, 95% CI [0.70 to 1.40]; low certainty; 2 trials, n=177). No serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions Low certainty evidence suggests that NTA was effective in short-term, middle-term or long-term smoking cessation. Further long-term follow-up RCTs are warranted to verify these benefits. Registration INPLASY 202120054.

A transient extended delayed feedback control method was developed by modifying the original extended delayed feedback control method with a transient control technique to enlarge the stable domain of the controlled high-period oscillations. The control force is applied to the system only when the system is in the controlling region, which is different from the static control force of the original extended delayed feedback control. The specific control performance of the transient extended delayed feedback control was analyzed through case studies. The relationships between the stable domain of the controlled high-period oscillations and the controlling regions were obtained by calculating the largest magnitude of the Floquet multipliers. It is shown that the stable domain changes in a non-smooth manner with the variation of the controlling region. In particular, the transient extended delayed feedback control can stabilize high-period unstable oscillations in a much larger stable domain than that of the original extended delayed feedback control when the controlling region is properly chosen.

Chalcogenides are extensively studied as infrared nonlinear optical materials, while rare-earth-based ones are scarcely explored. Here, two ternary rare-earth sulfides Ho3GaS6 (1) and Er3GaS6 (2), are obtained by high-temperature solid-state reactions. They are isostructural and crystallize in the orthorhombic noncentrosymmetric space group Cmc21. Their structures can be described as rare earth–S bonds constructed 3D framework, providing tetrahedral cavities for Ga atoms. Their optical band gaps are determined to be 3.03 (1) and 3.08 (2) eV, and their powder samples have no infrared absorption peaks between 400 and 4000 cm–1. Size-dependent second-harmonic generation measurements suggest that both of them are phase-matchable, and have the effects around 0.4 and 0.6 times that of AgGaS2 for their 150–210 μm samples. The structure-property relationship is also studied by structural analysis and theoretical calculations.

Discrete supramolecular constructs continue to attract strong research interest because of their myriad applications. Most of the work in this area has been performed with a single type of metal atom or ion and one or two organic ligands, but considerable success has also been achieved by employing heterometallic systems. The focus of this review is on recent developments in the area of discrete heterometallic architectures. The two main synthetic strategies towards these metallamacrocycles and metallacages are discussed, and special attention is given to molecular structures with special shapes and functions, such as catalysts, host-guest properties and others.

In this paper, the feasibility of using optical computerized tomography (OCT) methods for measuring the distribution of species concentration for flow fields is analyzed and discussed. First, feasible methods are chosen for two or three objects composed flow fields from the perspective of the measurable principle. Second, both common gas and plasma are chosen as two typical examples for specific analysis and discussion. The results show that the feasibility and applicable range of OCT methods are related to the temperature, pressure, and species composition of the measured flow fields. Finally, the study indicates that OCT methods are more suitable for measuring the distribution of species composition for common gas rather than plasma. In a word, this study could be helpful for extending the applicable range of OCT methods, which are based on the measurement of the refractive index.

In recent years many reports have indicated that Fourier’s heat conduction law is violated at size scales comparable to the mean free path of the heat transfer carriers or time scales of femtoseconds. Another open question is whether Fourier’s heat conduction law still holds at extremely high heat fluxes. Here, we present an experimental study of temperature dependent thermal conductivities and spatially resolved temperature profiles in electrically heated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using Raman spectroscopy. The experimental results yield evidence that thermal transport in SWCNTs obeys Fourier’s empirical law at high heat fluxes (q = 1.4 × 1011 W/m2) above 300 K in vacuum.

A sensitive colorimetric method for detection of copper ions (Cu2+) was developed based on surface modification of Ag/Pt nanoclusters (Ag/Pt NCs) and regulation of the peroxidase-like activity. It was found that 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA) could inhibit the catalytic ability of Ag/Pt NCs, however it would lose the inhibition toward catalytic ability of Ag/Pt NCs after oxidization by oxygen through the catalysis of Cu2+. On the basis of this, a colorimetric method was developed for the detection of Cu2+ by measuring the colorimetric signal variation of the TMB-H2O2 reaction. This method exhibited high sensitivity and selectivity toward Cu2+ over a panel of other metal ions, in the linear range of 10–100 nM with a detection limit of 5.0 nM. The method was simple and low cost, and suitable for Cu2+ detection in real water samples.

Two mononuclear DyIII complexes [Dy(H2TEG)(NO3)3]·[18-crown-6] (H2TEG = triethylene glycol) (1) and [Dy(H2TEG)Cl3]·[18-crown-6] (2) have been prepared using H2TEG as ligands. Magnetic studies revealed that both complexes show field-induced double magnetic relaxation behavior with energy barriers of 28 K and 54 K. Distinct magnetic dynamic properties observed in 1 and 2 are mostly attributed to the dissimilar coordination environments around DyIII centers in these two complexes.

The live attenuated anthrax vaccine and anthrax vaccine adsorbed (AVA) are two main types of anthrax vaccines currently used in human. However, the immunoprotective mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we compared humoral and cellular immunity induced by live A16R spore vaccine and A16R strain derived AVA-like vaccine in mice peripheral blood, spleen and bone marrow. Both A16R spores and AVA-like vaccines induced a sustained IgG antibody response with IgG1/IgG2b subtype dominance. However, A16R spores vaccine induced higher titer of IgG2a compared with AVA-like vaccine, indicating a stronger Th1 response to A16R spores. Using antigen-specific ELISpot assay, we observed a significant response of ASCs (antibody secreting cells) and IL4-CSCs (cytokine secreting cells) in mice. Specially, there was a positive correlation between the frequencies of antigen specific ASCs and IL4-CSCs in bone marrow derived cells, either by A16R spore or AVA-like vaccine vaccination. Moreover, we also found A16R spore vaccine, not AVA-like vaccine, could induce sustained frequency of IFN-γ-CSCs in bone marrow derived cells. Collectively, both the vaccines induced a mixed Th1/Th2 response with Th2 dominance in mice and A16R spore vaccine might provide a more comprehensive protection because of humoral and cellular immunity induced in bone marrow.

The effect of flow velocity is usually neglected when optical computerized tomography (OCT) methods are chosen to measure the temperature distribution of the flow fields up to now. In this paper, two sets of experiment are supplied to verify the effect of flow velocity on flow field's moire tomography. Specifically speaking, the temperature results with the assumption that it is an isobaric process (omit the effect of flow velocity) in the measured flame flow fields, manifest that the isobaric supposition is not suitable for all the flames. And then, a condition, which can be adopted to judge that when the effect of flow velocity on its temperature reconstruction can not be neglected any more, is proposed. This study would provide some reference to the temperature diagnosis by the optical methods which are based on the measurement of the refractive index.

MicroRNAs are extensively included in the pathogenesis and progression of many diseases by inhibiting target gene expression. Recently, studies have demonstrated that microRNA-497 (miR-497) may be implicated in human breast cancer that miR-497 predicts the prognosis of breast cancer patients from the posttranscriptional level. However, the specific function of miR-497 in spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury is far from clear nowadays. The present study was designed to determine the role of miR-497 in spinal cord IR injury and investigate the underlying spinal cord protective mechanism. The rat spinal cord IR injury model was performed by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery for 30 min, which is then followed by 12h reperfusion. As predicted, miR-497 over-expression markedly decreased the expression of IL-1 receptor associated kinase (IRAK1) and Cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB). Moreover, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) and Caspase-3, as miR-497 potential targets were significantly suppressed after miR-497 transfection, then preventing inflammatory cytokines and factors regulating apoptosis. We also found that tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-α) and interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) activity, pro-apoptotic related genes, such as extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK), Bcl-2 Associated X Protein (Bax), Bcl-2, Bcl-xL levels were all decreased associated with the down-regulation of IRAK1 and CREB. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that miR-497 could inhibit inflammation and apoptosis of spinal cord IR through its targets, IRAK1 of TLR4 and CREB signaling pathway. Thus, miR-497 may constitute a new therapeutic target for the prevention of spinal cord IR injury.

To improve activity and hinder deactivation, nonacidic polycrystalline silicalite-1 was contiguously coated on HZSM-5 to yield HZSM-5@silicalite-1 composites using a hydrothermal synthesis method. The obtained samples were examined as catalysts for the generation of light olefins (ethylene and propylene) from CH 3 Br, and found to show high catalytic activity, stability and high selectivity to the desired products. The excellent performance is attributed to the silicalite-1 shell which causes passivation of acid sites on the external surface of HZSM-5. It was observed that the HZSM-5@silicalite-1 composite with thicker coating (ZS-2) shows much higher stability and selectivity to light olefins (up to 80%) than that with thinner coating (ZS-1), indicating that the surface of HZSM-5 crystals of the latter was less covered. Based on the characterization results, it is deduced that the catalytic stability of ZS-2 is due to the silicalite-1 shell that hinders HZSM-5 from deactivation as a result of surface coking.

The concept of two interactive factors is proposed to describe and deduce the dusty plasma's complex conductivity on considering the ions’ contribution. In the specific analysis and calculation, the actual fact that the temperature of electrons and ions in plasma may not be equal is taken into account. The theoretical deduction indicates that the ion-dust and electronic-dust interactive factors have a close relate to the corresponding particle number density, mass, and temperature, as well as the radius and number density of the particles. In further, it is found that the two interactive factors are both composed by the charging response factor and the electric potential impact factor. The most critical result is the condition which can be used to judge whether the contribution of ions to the conductivity can be ignored is proposed.

In contrast with the past, the water buffalo is now not only a draft animal, but also an important food source of milk and meat. It is increasingly apparent that the water buffalo have huge potential for meat production, but its breeding needs to be investigated. Regarding the molecular mechanisms involved in the meat quality difference between the buffalo (Bubalus bulabis) and yellow cattle (Bos taurus), 12 chemical-physical characteristics related to the meat quality of longissimus thoracis muscles (LTM) have been compared at the age of 36 months. Intramuscular lipid and b* (yellowness) were greater in cattle than the buffalo, whereas a* (redness) was greater in the buffalo. Gene expression profiles were constructed by bovine genome array. A total of 8884 and 10,960 probes were detected in buffalo and cattle, respectively, with 1580 genes being differentially expressed. Over 400 probes were upregulated and nearly 1200 were downregulated in LTM of the buffalo, most being involved in ribosomal RNA (rRNA) processing, cholesterol homeostasis, regulation of transcription, response to hypoxia, and glycolysis. Quantitative real-time PCR was used to validate the microarray data. Enriched GO analyses of highly expressed genes in LTM showed that protein biosynthesis, striated muscle contraction, iron homeostasis, iron transport, glycolysis and glucose metabolism were similar between the buffalo and cattle. High protein content, low fat content and deep meat color of buffalo LTM may be closely associated with the increased expression of genes involved in cholesterol and iron homeostasis, while also reducing the expression of genes involved in ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis and protein oxidative phosphorylation. These results establish the groundwork for further studies on buffalo meat quality and will be beneficial in improving water buffalo breeding by molecular biotechnology.

Monilistrobus Wang et Berry is a fossil lycopsid reported from the Upper Devonian Wutong Formation of Jiangsu Province, China, and includes only the type species Monilistrobus yixingensis Wang et Berry. Along a single fertile axis, Monilistrobus has cone-like structures separated by and alternated with a length of vegetative region, which is an important character here termed as periodicity of reproductive growth. The alternation of fertile and vegetative growth occurs regularly and produces repeated intercalary (non-terminal) fertile zones. New specimens, identified as Monilistrobus cf. yixingensis, from the same formation but of Zhejiang Province extend the geographic distribution of this genus. These new specimens demonstrate morphological variations within this genus, such as the lack of spiny appendages on the leaves, different measurements of leaf bases, and different shapes and positions of cone-like structures. The distribution of intercalary fertile zones, as summarized for the first time in this paper, occurs in the Drepanophycales, the Protolepidodendrales, the Isoetales, the Lycopodiales, the Selaginellales, and Wuxia Berry, Wang et Cai and Monilistrobus of uncertain affinities. Thus, this peculiar trait might have evolved in the very early evolutionary stage of the lycopsids, as indicated in the basal group Drepanophycales. However, the presence of repeated, two or more intercalary fertile zones along a single fertile axis is demonstrated only in Monilistrobus and the extant Huperzia Bernhardi.

The alternating copolymerization of one-carbon (C1) building blocks including carbon dioxide (CO2) and its sulfur analogues of carbon disulfide (CS2) and carbonyl sulfide (COS) with epoxides afford new copolymers, namely polycarbonates and polythiocarbonates, with tailored chain structures and properties. This review mainly focuses on the recent advances in C1-involved copolymerization via heterogeneous catalysis of zinc-cobalt(III) double metal cyanide complex [Zn–Co(III) DMCC] catalyst. The chemistry of zinc-hydroxyl bond of Zn–Co(III) DMCC is responsible to the copolymerization of these C1 monomers with epoxides through the formation of C–O (S) bond. The syntheses of CO2-based copolymers with various topologies are also reviewed in detail. The utilization of CO2, COS and CS2 as monomers for polymer synthesis have significant contributions to the sustainable use of renewable resources.

Reactions of dilithium salt of 1,1-bis-o-carborane with half-sandwich transition metal complexes [Cp*MCl2]2 (M = Ir, Rh) in THF at room temperature afforded the C,C-chelated mononuclear metal complexes Cp*M(C2B10H10)2 (M = Ir (1), Rh (2), Cp* = η5−C5Me5) in moderate yields, respectively. They represent the first examples of a new type of 16-electron “pseudo-aromatic” bis-o-carborane iridium and rhodium complexes. All products were fully characterized by elemental analysis and IR and NMR spectroscopy. The structure of complex 1 was further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Background/aims Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is a large and diverse class of RNA molecules, and has received widespread attention for its role in the regulation of various biological processes, including stem cell transformation, neurological disease, and tumorigenesis. However, the role of lncRNA in renal fibrosis remains unclear. Methods We investigated the expression of lncRNA-GAS5 by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or fluorescence in situ hybridization in chronic kidney disease (CKD) by designing both in vivo and in vitro experiments. With over-expression of GAS5 or knockdown GAS5, miR-21 and its downstream target genes were tested using quantitative real-time PCR or western blots. Mutants of miR-21 were designed and transfected in cells. GAS5 in the plasma and urine of patients with CKD was measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Results In normal rats, GAS5 was predominantly expressed in renal tubular epithelial cells. GAS5 induction was significantly reduced in obstructive kidneys at 7 days after unilateral ureteral obstruction. In vitro, GAS5 was inhibited in cultured normal rat renal proximal tubular cells (NRK-52E) after incubation with transforming growth factor β at 24 h. Ectopic over-expression of GAS5 repressed extracellular matrix (ECM) levels such as collagen type III and fibronectin 1. Conversely, knockdown GAS5 augmented ECM accumulation in NRK-52E cells. GAS5 suppressed miR-21 activity in a direct and mechanistic manner. It subsequently turned off the expression of miR-21 downstream target genes, matrix metallopeptidase 2 and 9, which resulted in excessive ECM synthesis and deposition. Of note, plasma GAS5 was positively correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate levels in CKD patients with different etiologies while urine GAS5 was negatively correlated. Conclusion Activation of lncRNA-GAS5 attenuates kidney fibrosis by modulating miR-21 activity and may serve as a surrogate biomarker in monitoring CKD progression.

Ischemia-reperfusion injuries (IRIs) can aggravate the condition of some patients with acute occlusion of major intracranial artery (AOMIA) who received endovascular thrombectomy. Here, we provided data confirming the association of Repressor Element-1 Silencing Transcription factor (REST) with the long-term neuroprotective effect of the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats underwent Gradual Flow Restoration (GFR).Long term neuroprotective effects of GFR intervention were evaluated on MCAO rats model after 3d and 7d reperfusion. The neurological deficit score and TTC staining were performed to evaluate the degree of brain damage in GFR and other interventions at different time. Differentially expressed genes related to cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury (CIRI) were initially screened and identified using GSE32529 microarray analysis. REST protein expression in rat brain cortex infarction was detected by Western blot analysis.MCAO rats intervened with GFR exhibited reduced neurological deficit (P 0.05) and alleviated brain infarction volume (P 0.01). The REST gene with up-regulated expression and its downstream genes with down-regulated expression were screened by Microarray analysis. The brain cortex infarction in MCAO rats produced high levels of REST expression. The GFR intervention inhibited REST expression, and alleviated brain injury on MCAO rats.Our results demonstrated that GFR intervention plays a long-term neuroprotective role and reduces brain edema and damage at reperfusion, possibly by inhibiting REST expression.

The halogen-substituted derivatives and the hexabenzoperylenes in organic semiconductors are theoretically studied using density functional theory. The effects of halogen-substitution on intramolecular energy-level transition and intermolecular stacking patterns are discussed by studying the charge transfer and spectral characteristics. The results show that halogen atom can effectively lower the frontier molecule orbitals energy and enhance the molecular stability. Not only the plane characteristics of the molecular structure been controlled, but also the semiconductors can be converted from p-type to n-type by changing the number and position of halogen-substituted atoms. The studies reveal that the molecular torsion angle can been used to effectively predict the transport level of molecules, and the halogen-substitution play an important part in the photochemical properties of molecules.

NAC proteins represent one of the largest transcription factor (TF) families involved in the regulation of plant development and the response to abiotic stress. In the present study, we elucidated the detailed role of GmNAC8 in the regulation of drought stress tolerance in soybean. The GmNAC8 protein was localized in the nucleus, and expression of the GmNAC8 gene was significantly induced in response to drought, abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene (ETH) and salicylic acid (SA) treatments. Thus, we generated GmNAC8 overexpression (OE1 and OE2) and GmNAC8 knockout (KO1 and KO2) lines to determine the role of GmNAC8 in drought stress tolerance. Our results revealed that, compared with the wild type (WT) plant, GmNAC8 overexpression and GmNAC8 knockout lines exhibited significantly higher and lower drought tolerance, respectively. Furthermore, the SOD activity and proline content were significantly higher in the GmNAC8 overexpression lines and significantly lower in the GmNAC8 knockout lines than in the WT plants under drought stress. In addition, GmNAC8 protein was found to physically interact with the drought-induced protein GmDi19-3 in the nucleus. Moreover, the GmDi19-3 expression pattern showed the same trend as the GmNAC8 gene did under drought and hormone (ABA, ETH and SA) treatments, and GmDi19-3 overexpression lines (GmDi19-3-OE9, GmDi19-3-OE10 and GmDi19-3-OE31) showed enhanced drought tolerance compared to that of the WT plants. Hence, the above results indicated that GmNAC8 acts as a positive regulator of drought tolerance in soybean and inferred that GmNAC8 probably functions by interacting with another positive regulatory protein, GmDi19-3.