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The MEMS gas sensor is one of the most promising gas sensors nowadays due to its advantage of small size, low power consumption, and easy integration. It has been widely applied in energy components, portable devices, smart living, etc. The performance of the gas sensor is largely determined by the sensing materials, as well as the fabrication methods. In this review, recent research progress on H 2 , CO, NO 2 , H 2 S, and NH 3 MEMS sensors is surveyed, and sensing materials such as metal oxide semiconductors, organic materials, and carbon materials, modification methods like construction of heterostructures, doping, and surface modification of noble metals, and fabrication methods including chemical vapor deposition (CVD), sputtering deposition (SD), etc., are summarized. The effect of materials and technology on the performance of the MEMS gas sensors are compared.

Advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs) with Zn coatings are commonly joined by the resistance spot welding (RSW) technique. However, Zn coatings could possibly cause the formation of liquid metal embrittlement (LME) cracks during the RSW process. The role of a Zn coating in the tensile-shear fatigue properties of a welding joint has not been systematically explored. In this study, the fatigue properties of tensile-shear RSW joints for bare and Zn-coated advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) specimens were comparatively studied. In particular, more severe LME cracks were triggered by employing a tilted welding electrode because much more stress was caused in the joint. LME cracks had clearly occurred in the Zn-coated steel RSW joints, as observed via optical microscopy. On the contrary, no LME cracks could be found in the RSW joints prepared with the bare steel sheets. The fatigue test results showed that the tensile-shear fatigue properties remained nearly unchanged, regardless of whether bare or Zn-coated steel was used for the RSW joints. Furthermore, Zn mapping adjacent to the crack initiation source was obtained by an electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA), and it showed no segregation of the Zn element. Thus, the failure of the RSW joints with the Zn coating had not initiated from the LME cracks. It was concluded that the fatigue cracks were initiated by the stress concentration in the notch position between the two bonded steel sheets.

Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi is a traditional medicinal herb that has been extensively used in Chinese medicine for various therapeutic purposes. In this study, twelve chemical constituents were isolated from the roots of P. lobata , comprising three puerosides (compounds 1 - 3 ), six alkaloids (compounds 4 - 9 ), and three additional compounds (compounds 10 - 12 ). Notably, compound 1 (4 R -pueroside B) was identified as a novel compound. The structures of all compounds were elucidated using a range of spectroscopic techniques, including CD spectroscopy for the first-time determination of the absolute configurations of pueroside B isomers (compounds 1 and 2 ). Enzyme inhibition assays revealed that, with the exception of compound 2 , all isolated compounds exhibited varying degrees of α -glucosidase and α -amylase inhibitory activity. Remarkably, compound 12 demonstrated IC 50 values of 23.25 μM for α -glucosidase inhibition and 27.05 μM for α -amylase inhibition, which are superior to those of the positive control, acarbose (27.05 μM and 36.68 μM, respectively). Additionally, compound 11 exhibited inhibitory activity against α -glucosidase and α -amylase comparable to the positive control, acarbose. Molecular docking studies indicated that compound 12 interacts with the active sites of the enzymes via hydrogen bonds, van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic interactions, which likely contribute to their inhibitory effects. These findings suggest that the chemical constituents of P. lobata could be potential natural sources of α -amylase and α -glucosidase inhibitors, with compound 12 being particularly promising for further investigation.

Low or insufficient testosterone levels caused by caponization promote fat deposition in animals. However, the molecular mechanism of fat deposition in caponized animals remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the metabolomics and transcriptomic profiles of adipose tissues and study the effect of testosterone and leptin on the proliferation of adipocytes. We observed a significant enlargement in the areas of adipocytes in the abdominal fat tissues in capon, as well as increased luciferase activity of the serum leptin and a sharp decrease in the serum testosterone in caponized gander. Metabolomics and transcriptomic results revealed differentially expressed genes and differentially expressed metabolites with enhanced PARR signal pathway. The mRNA levels of peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor γ, fatty acid synthase, and suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 in goose primary pre-adipocytes were significantly upregulated with high leptin treatment and decreased significantly with increasing testosterone dose. Hence, reduced testosterone and increased leptin levels after caponization possibly promoted adipocytes proliferation and abdominal fat deposition by altering the expression of PPAR pathway related genes in caponized ganders. This study provides a new direction for the mechanism through which testosterone regulates the biological function of leptin and fat deposition in male animals.

In this study, the decomposition of a martensite/austenite (M/A) microconstituent in bainitic steels was analyzed using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) data in conjunction with Kissinger's and Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK)'s formulas. In bainitic steel subjected to austempering heat treatment, the presence of an M/A microstructure adversely affects the mechanical properties. According to the kinetic equations derived, it is observed that after tempering the sample at 600 °C for 4000 s, the generation of each phase reaches its maximum. The SEM images taken before and after tempering reveal extensive decomposition of the M/A constituent in the microstructure. The proportion of the M/A microstructure decreased significantly from about 10% before tempering to less than 1% after. Additionally, the content of residual austenite also reduced nearly to zero. These observations are consistent with the predictions of the kinetic equations.

A Q345 steel butt-welded joint was manufactured using laser-arc hybrid welding (LAHW) technology, and its microstructure, microhardness, and residual stress (RS) distribution were measured. Using ABAQUS software, a sequentially coupled thermo-metallurgical-mechanical finite element method was employed to model the welding RS distribution in the LAHW joint made of Q345 steel. The effects of solid-state phase transformation (SSPT) and transverse restraint on the welding RS distribution were explored. The results show that a large number of martensite phase transformations occurred in the fusion zone and heat-affected zone of the LAHW joint. Furthermore, the SSPT had a significant effect on the magnitude and distribution of RS in the LAHW joint made of Q345 steel, which must be taken into account in numerical simulations. Transverse restraints markedly increased the transverse RS on the upper surface, with a comparatively minor impact on the longitudinal RS distribution. After the transverse restraint was released, both the longitudinal and transverse RS distributions in the LAHW joint reverted to a level akin to that of the welded joint under free conditions.

The remarkable efficacy of cancer immunotherapy has been established in several tumor types. Of the various immunotherapies, PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors are most extensively used in the treatment of many cancers in clinics. These inhibitors restore the suppressed antitumor immune response and inhibit tumor progression by blocking the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling. However, the low response rate is a major limitation in the clinical application of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Therefore, combination strategies that enhance the response rate are the need of the hour. In this investigation, PT-100 (also referred to as Talabostat, Val-boroPro, and BXCL701), an orally administered and nonselective dipeptidyl peptidase inhibitor, not only augmented the effectiveness of anti-PD-1 therapy but also significantly improved T immune cell infiltration and reversed the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. The combination of PT-100 and anti-PD-1 antibody increased the number of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells. Moreover, the mRNA expression of T cell-associated molecules was elevated in the tumor microenvironment. The results further suggested that PT-100 dramatically reduced the ratio of tumor-associated macrophages. These findings provide a promising combination strategy for immunotherapy in lung cancer.

This study aimed to address the issue of high-temperature challenges in asphalt pavement by developing two types of phase change materials (PCMs) for temperature control. Encapsulated paraffin wax particles (EPWP) and encapsulated myristic acid particles (EMAP) were synthesized using acid-etched ceramsite (AECS) as the carrier, paraffin wax (PW) or myristic acid (MA) as the core material, and a combination of epoxy resin and cement as the encapsulation material. The investigation encompassed leakage tests on PCMs; rutting plate rolling forming tests; SEM, FTIR, XRD, and TG-DSC microscopic tests; as well as heat storage and release tests and temperature control assessments using a light heating device. The study revealed the following key findings. Both types of PCMs exhibited no PCM leakage even under high temperatures and demonstrated low crushing ratios during rut-forming tests. Microscopic evaluations confirmed the chemical stability and phase compatibility of the constituents within the two types of PCMs. Notably, the phase change enthalpies of EPWP and EMAP were relatively high, measuring 133.31 J/g and 138.52 J/g, respectively. The utilization of AECS as the carrier for PCMs led to a substantial 4.61-fold increase in the adsorption rate. Moreover, the PCMs showcased minimal mass loss at 180 °C, rendering them suitable for asphalt pavement applications. The heat storage and release experiments further underscored the PCMs' capacity to regulate ambient temperatures through heat absorption and release. When subjected to light heating, the maximum temperatures of the two types of phase change Marshall specimens were notably lower by 6.6 °C and 4.8 °C, respectively, compared to standard Marshall specimens. Based on comprehensive testing, EPWP displayed enhanced adaptability and demonstrated substantial potential for practical implementation in asphalt pavements.

The isothermal steam oxidation behavior of the Zr-Sn-Nb alloy at 1050 °C was studied. In this study, the oxidation weight gain of Zr-Sn-Nb samples with oxidation durations ranging from 100 s to 5000 s was calculated. The oxidation kinetic properties of the Zr-Sn-Nb alloy were obtained. The macroscopic morphology of the alloy was directly observed and compared. The microscopic surface morphology, cross-section morphology, and element content of the Zr-Sn-Nb alloy were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS). According to the results, the cross-sectional structure of the Zr-Sn-Nb alloy consisted of ZrO 2 , α-Zr(O), and prior-β. During the oxidation process, its weight gain versus oxidation time curve followed a parabolic law. The thickness of the oxide layer increases. Micropores and cracks gradually appear on the oxide film. Similarly, the thicknesses of ZrO 2 and α-Zr versus oxidation time were in accordance with the parabolic law.

Liver fibrosis represents a significant health hazard with a high morbidity rate and an increased risk of liver cancer. Targeting overactivated Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) is a promising strategy to counteract collagen accumulation during liver fibrosis. However, there is a shortage of drugs to specifically block the activation of FGFR2 in liver fibrosis patients. Data mining, cell validation, and animal studies showed a positive correlation between FGFR2 overexpression and liver fibrosis development. Novel FGFR2 inhibitors were screened using a microarray-based high-throughput binding analysis. The effectiveness of each candidate was validated through simulated docking, binding affinity verification, single-point mutation validation, and in vitro kinase inhibition measurements to demonstrate the ability of each inhibitor to block the catalytic pocket and reverse FGFR2 overactivation. A specific FGFR2 inhibitor, cynaroside (CYN, also known as luteoloside), was screened based on the finding that FGFR2 promotes hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation and collagen secretion in hepatocytes. The results from cellular assays showed that CYN can inhibit FGFR2 hyperactivation resulting from its overexpression and excessive basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), reducing HSC activation and collagen secretion in hepatocytes. Animal experiments on a carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) mouse model and a nonalcoholic steatohepatitis mouse model indicate that CYN treatment reduces liver fibrosis during fibrosis formation. These findings suggest that CYN prevents liver fibrosis formation at the cell level and in mouse models.

Affected by the erosive environment, tunnel lining concrete in the long-term service zprocess often exhibits engineering diseases such as concrete corrosion degradation and loss of strength, decreasing the stability of the tunnel lining structure and the traffic safety. Based on HTG tunnel project, the basic distribution rule of tunnel lining corrosion and macro mechanical properties of corroded concrete were explored in this paper through engineering disease site investigation. Then, on this basis, aiming at large-scale corrosion of tunnel lining structure, two reinforcement and repair schemes are proposed, corrugated steel plate reinforcement method and channel steel reinforcement method. Indoor component tests are carried out on the two reinforcement schemes. The failure characteristics and stress and deformation law of tunnel lining members after reinforcement and repair were verified. The analysis showed that the failure process of the reinforced specimens on the tensile side could be divided into the non-cracking stage and the working stage with cracks, and the cracking load and failure load of the specimens were significantly increased. The bearing capacity of the reinforced specimens was divided into the ultimate bearing capacity against cracking and the ultimate bearing capacity during failure. Finally, the calculation methods of the bearing capacity of the channel steel reinforcement method and the corrugated steel plate reinforcement method were derived. Comparative analysis shows that the results of numerical simulation, experimental testing and theoretical simplification methods are close to each other, and the maximum deviation is less than 8%. The established method for calculating the bearing capacity of corroded components after reinforcement is reliable and can be used for the design calculation of corroded lining reinforcement.

Notched beam specimens were loaded by the three-point bending test device, and the effects of different volume contents and combinations of steel fibers on the tensile properties of hybrid steel fiber-reinforced self-compacting concrete (HSFRSCC) were studied. The failure law and strain field distribution of the specimens were studied by digital image correlation (DIC) technology. Moreover, the curves between the load and crack mouth opening displacement (CMOD) of 18 groups of hybrid steel fiber-reinforced concrete specimens were obtained, and the stress-strain curves of 18 groups of specimens were derived from the load-CMOD curves. The results show that both single and hybrid steel fibers can improve the crack deformation resistance and tensile properties of concrete, but hybrid steel fibers have a more significant improvement effect. Only when the content of steel fiber is more than 0.6% can it have a more obvious postpeak descending section, and hybrid steel fiber has higher postpeak deformation capacity and flexural toughness. The fundamental reason why concrete with hybrid steel fibers has better tensile properties is that micro and macro steel fibers cooperate with each other to resist cracks, improving the toughness of concrete after cracking. Finally, the mechanism of different size and volume content of steel fiber was analyzed from the micro level, which can be used as a reference for the engineering design of HSFRSCC in the future., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

ATP-binding cassette transporter G (ABCG) has been shown to be engaged in export of broad-spectrum compounds with structural differences, but little is known concerning its role in cutin formation of cotton ( Gossypium spp.). In this study, we conduct a genome-wide survey and detected 69, 71, 124 and 131 ABCG genes within G. arboretum , G. raimondii , G. hirsutum and G. barbadense , separately. The above ABCGs could be divided into four groups (Ia, Ib, Ic, II). Some ABCG genes such as GhABCG15 , whose homologous gene transports cuticular lipid in Arabidopsis , was preferentially expressed in the development of fiber. A weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) demonstrated that GhABCG expression was significantly associated with the amount of 16-Hydroxypalmitate (a main component of cutin precursor) in cotton fibers. Further, silencing of GhABCG15 by virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) in cotton generated brightened and crinkled leaves as well as reduced thickness of cuticle and increased permeability. Chemical composition analysis showed the cutin content in GhABCG15 -silenced leaves had decreased while the wax content had increased. Our results provide an insight for better understanding of the role of the Gossypium ABCG family and revealed the essential role of GhABCGs in cotton cutin formation.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a ubiquitous human pathogen that can cause significant morbidity, primarily facial cold sores and herpes simplex encephalitis. Previous studies have shown that a variety of viruses can reprogram the metabolic profiles of host cells to facilitate self-replication. In order to further elucidate the metabolic interactions between the host cell and HSV-1, we used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to analyze the metabolic profiles in human lung fibroblasts KMB17 infected with HSV-1. The results showed that 654 and 474 differential metabolites were identified in positive and negative ion modes, respectively, and 169 and 114 metabolic pathways that might be altered were screened. These altered metabolites are mainly involved in central carbon metabolism, choline metabolism, amino acid metabolism, purine and pyrimidine metabolism, cholesterol metabolism, bile secretion, and prolactin signaling pathway. Further, we confirmed that the addition of tryptophan metabolite kynurenine promotes HSV-1 replication, and the addition of 25-Hydroxycholesterol inhibits viral replication. Significantly, HSV-1 replication was obviously enhanced in the ChOKα (a choline metabolic rate-limiting enzyme) deficient mouse macrophages. These results indicated that HSV-1 induces the metabolic reprogramming of host cells to promote or resist viral replication. Taken together, these observations highlighted the significance of host cell metabolism in HSV-1 replication, which would help to clarify the pathogenesis of HSV-1 and identify new anti-HSV-1 therapeutic targets.

Herein the reaction mechanism and the origin of stereoselectivity of asymmetric hydrogenation of oximes to hydroxylamines catalyzed by the cyclometalated iridium (III) complexes with chiral substituted single cyclopentadienyl ligands (Ir catalysts A1 and B1 ) under acidic condition were unveiled using DFT calculations. The catalytic cycle for this reaction consists of the dihydrogen activation step and the hydride transfer step. The calculated results indicate that the hydride transfer step is the chirality-determining step and the involvement of methanesulfonate anion (MsO - ) in this reaction is of importance in the asymmetric hydrogenation of oximes catalyzed by A1 and B1 . The calculated energy barriers for the hydride transfer steps without an MsO - anion are higher than those with an MsO - anion. The differences in Gibbs free energies between TSA5-1fR / TSA5-1fS and TSB5-1fR / TSB5-1fS are 13.8/13.2 (ΔΔ G ‡ = 0.6 kcal/mol) and 7.5/5.6 (ΔΔ G ‡ = 1.9 kcal/mol) kcal/mol for the hydride transfer step of substrate protonated oximes with E configuration ( E -2a-H + ) with MsO - anion to chiral hydroxylamines product R -3a / S -3a catalyzed by A1 and B1 , respectively. According to the Curtin-Hammet principle, the major products are hydroxylamines S -3a for the reaction catalyzed by A1 and B1 , which agrees well with the experimental results. This is due to the non-covalent interactions among the protonated substrate, MsO - anion and catalytic species. The hydrogen bond could not only stabilize the catalytic species, but also change the preference of stereoselectivity of this reaction.

Surveillance video has been widely used in business, security, search, and other fields. Identifying and locating specific pedestrians in surveillance video has an important application value in criminal investigation, search and rescue, etc. However, the requirements for real-time capturing and accuracy are high for these applications. It is essential to build a complete and smooth system to combine pedestrian detection, tracking and re-identification to achieve the goal of maximizing efficiency by balancing real-time capture and accuracy. This paper combined the detector and Re-ID models into a single end-to-end network by introducing a new track branch to YOLOv5 architecture for tracking. For pedestrian detection, we employed the weighted bi-directional feature pyramid network (BiFPN) to enhance the network structure based on the YOLOv5-Lite, which is able to further improve the ability of feature extraction. For tracking, based on Deepsort, this paper enhanced the tracker, which uses the Noise Scale Adaptive (NSA) Kalman filter to track, and adds adaptive noise to strengthen the anti-interference of the tracking model. In addition, the matching strategy is further updated. For pedestrian re-identification, the network structure of Fastreid was modified, which can increase the feature extraction speed of the improved algorithm by leaps and bounds. Using the proposed unified network, the parameters of the entire model can be trained in an end-to-end method with the multi-loss function, which has been demonstrated to be quite valuable in some other recent works. Experimental results demonstrate that pedestrians detection can obtain a 97% mean Average Precision (mAP) and that it can track the pedestrians well with a 98.3% MOTA and a 99.8% MOTP on the MOT16 dataset; furthermore, high pedestrian re-identification performance can be achieved on the VERI-Wild dataset with a 77.3% mAP. The overall framework proposed in this paper has remarkable performance in terms of the precise localization and real-time detection of specific pedestrians across time, regions, and cameras.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a clonal plasma cell tumor originating from a post-mitotic lymphoid B-cell lineage. Bortezomib(BTZ), a first-generation protease inhibitor, has increased overall survival, progression-free survival, and remission rates in patients with MM since its clinical approval in 2003. However, the use of BTZ is challenged by the malignant features of MM and drug resistance. Polyphenols, classified into flavonoid and non-flavonoid polyphenols, have potential health-promoting activities, including anti-cancer. Previous preclinical studies have demonstrated the anti-MM potential of some dietary polyphenols. Therefore, these dietary polyphenols have the potential to be alternative therapies in anti-MM treatment regimens. This systematic review examines the synergistic effects of flavonoids and non-flavonoid polyphenols on the anti-MM impacts of BTZ. Preclinical studies on flavonoids and non-flavonoid polyphenols-BTZ synergism in MM were collected from PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase published between 2008 and 2020. 19 valid preclinical studies (Published from 2008 to 2020) were included in this systematic review. These studies demonstrated that eight flavonoids (icariin, icariside II, (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate, scutellarein, wogonin, morin, formononetin, daidzin), one plant extract rich in flavonoids (Punica granatum juice) and four non-flavonoid polyphenols (silibinin, resveratrol, curcumin, caffeic acid) synergistically enhanced the anti-MM effect of BTZ. These synergistic effects are mediated through the regulation of cellular signaling pathways associated with proliferation, apoptosis, and drug resistance. Given the above, flavonoids and non-flavonoid polyphenols can benefit MM patients by overcoming the challenges faced in BTZ treatment. Despite the positive nature of this preclinical evidence, some additional investigations are still needed before proceeding with clinical studies. For this purpose, we conclude by providing some suggestions for future research directions.

In order to study the axial compression property of a GFRP (glass fiber-reinforced polymer) tube-confined coal gangue steel fiber short concrete column, a test was carried out. The whole process of deformation and failure of the specimen under axial compression load was observed, and the whole process of the stress-strain curve of the specimen was obtained. The results show that the thickness of the GFRP tube has the most significant effect on the mechanical properties. The thickness of the 7 mm tube is 4.3 times the axial ultimate stress and 21.5 times the ultimate strain of the unconstrained short column. Under a certain volume fraction, the ultimate axial strain of the wave fiber is 10.1% higher than that of the hook fiber short column, and the ductility coefficient is 9.6% higher. The fiber volume fraction significantly increases the strain of the short column, and the 3% fiber content is 50.1% higher than that of the non-fiber short column. Finally, three classical strength models of confined concrete were selected for comparative calculation, and a new stress correction model was proposed.

As a widely clinical detection method, ultrasonography (US) has been applied to the diagnosis of breast cancer. In this paper, the multi-element synthetic aperture focusing (M-SAF) is applied to the ring array of breast ultrasonography (US) imaging, which addresses the problem of low imaging quality due to the single active element for each emission and the reception in the synthetic aperture focusing. In order to determine the optimal sub-aperture size, the formula is derived for calculating the internal sound pressure of the ring array with a 200 mm diameter, and the sound pressure distribution is analyzed. The ring array with 1024 elements (1024 ring array) is established in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6, and the optimal sub-aperture size is 16 elements, according to the sound field beam simulation and the directivity research. Based on the existing experimental conditions, the ring array with 256 elements (256 ring array) is simulated and verified by experiments. The simulation has a spatial resolution evaluation in the k-Wave toolbox, and the experiment uses nylon rope and breast model imaging. The results show that if the sub-aperture size has four elements, the imaging quality is the highest. Specifically, the spatial resolution is the best, and the sound pressure amplitude and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are maintained at a high level in the reconstructed image. The optimal sub-aperture theory is verified by the two kinds of ring arrays, which also provide a theoretical basis for the application of the multi-element synthetic aperture focusing technology (M-SAF) in ring arrays.

The THz wireless transmission system based on photonics has been a promising candidate for further 6G communication, which can provide hundreds of Gbps or even Tbps data capacity. In this paper, 144-Gbps dual polarization quadrature-phase-shift-keying (DP-QPSK) signal generation and transmission over a 20-km SSMF and 3-m wireless 2 × 2 multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) link at 500 GHz have been demonstrated. To further compensate for the linear and nonlinear distortions during the fiber-wireless transmission, a novel joint Deep Belief Network (J-DBN) equalizer is proposed. Our proposed J-DBN-based schemes are mainly optimized based upon the constant modulus algorithm (CMA) and direct-detection least mean square (DD-LMS) equalization. The results indicate that the J-DBN equalizer has better bit error rate (BER) performance in receiver sensitivity. In addition, the computational complexity of the J-DBN-based equalizer can be approximately 46% lower than that of conventional equalizers with similar performance. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a novel joint DBN equalizer has been proposed based on classical algorithms. It is a promising scheme to meet the demands of future fiber-wireless integration communication for low power consumption, low cost, and high capacity.

Developing a rapid and reliable method for measuring the photoreactivity of TiO 2 pigments is of great importance for industrial application. The photoactivity of industrial TiO 2 pigments were evaluated via the photodegradation of a model azo dye, methyl orange (MO), in the present work. The TiO 2 pigments were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The photoactivity test results showed that the anatase TiO 2 pigment was responsible for accelerating MO degradation, while the rutile pigment acted as a stabilizer, and effective UV absorber retarded the photodegradation of MO. It was found that the photodegradation of MO was driven mainly by photoholes (h + ) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH), in the presence of TiO 2 pigment with high photoactivity. With the help of the degradation intermediates during the photodegradation process and the calculated data, the preliminary degradation mechanism including azo bond cleaving, h + oxidation, and hydroxylated products' generation for MO was also elucidated. The photoactivity of TiO 2 pigments can be rapidly evaluated in this work, which would be an efficient approach for assessing the product quality control and the end-use performance of TiO 2 pigments.

A homogeneous polysaccharide coded as CPP-1 was extracted and purified from the root of Codonopsis pilosula (Franch.) Nannf. by water extraction, ethanol precipitation, and column chromatography. Its structure was analyzed by HPGPC-ELSD, HPLC, GC-MS, FT-IR, and NMR techniques. The results indicated that CPP-1 was composed of mannose (Man), glucose (Glc), galactose (Gal), and arabinose (Ara) at a molar ratio of 5.86 : 51.69 : 34.34 : 8.08. The methylation analysis revealed that the main glycosidic linkage types of CPP-1 were (1→)-linked-Glc residue, (1→3)-linked-Glc residues, (1→4)-linked-Gal residue, (1→2,3,4)-linked-Glc residue, (1→)-linked-Man residue, (1→3,4)-linked-Glc residue, and (1→)-linked-Ara residue. In vivo efficacy trial illustrated that CPP-1 supplements could alleviate HFD-induced mice obesity significantly, as well as improve obesity-induced disorders of glucose metabolism, alleviate insulin resistance, and improve the effects of lipid metabolism. The findings indicate that this polysaccharide has the potential for the treatment of obesity.

Growth rate plays a critical role in the pig industry and is related to quantitative traits controlled by many genes. Here, we aimed to identify causative mutations and candidate genes responsible for pig growth traits. In this study, 2360 Duroc pigs were used to detect significant additive, dominance, and epistatic effects associated with growth traits. As a result, a total number of 32 significant SNPs for additive or dominance effects were found to be associated with various factors, including adjusted age at a specified weight (AGE), average daily gain (ADG), backfat thickness (BF), and loin muscle depth (LMD). In addition, the detected additive significant SNPs explained 2.49%, 3.02%, 3.18%, and 1.96% of the deregressed estimated breeding value (DEBV) variance for AGE, ADG, BF, and LMD, respectively, while significant dominance SNPs could explain 2.24%, 13.26%, and 4.08% of AGE, BF, and LMD, respectively. Meanwhile, a total of 805 significant epistatic effects SNPs were associated with one of ADG, AGE, and LMD, from which 11 sub-networks were constructed. In total, 46 potential genes involved in muscle development, fat deposition, and regulation of cell growth were considered as candidates for growth traits, including CD55 and NRIP1 for AGE and ADG, TRIP11 and MIS2 for BF, and VRTN and ZEB2 for LMD, respectively. Generally, in this study, we detected both new and reported variants and potential candidate genes for growth traits of Duroc pigs, which might to be taken into account in future molecular breeding programs to improve the growth performance of pigs.

To achieve more accurate prediction of the potential failure location and to conduct a deeper analysis of the failure mechanism of concrete constructions, it is critical to probe the evolution process of internal meso-cracks that bear various intensities of load. While a computer Tomography (CT) test provides a non-destructive detection technique for obtaining the internal meso-damage state of concrete, traditional image processing and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) are ineffective in extracting meso-damage information from concrete CT images. On the other hand, by observing the shape change law of concrete's internal holes under load, it is proposed to use the hole roundness and area fraction formula, developed based on the stereology principle and morphology, to characterize and predict the potential failure location. Four features particularly addressed include the CT image as a whole, image equal partitioning, crack and non-crack areas, and representative holes. The approach is to explore the variation law of critical hole shape parameters, especially the hole roundness under different loading stages, and analyze the relationship between the change in hole shapes and the final macro-crack positions. It is found that compared with the average area fraction, the average hole roundness value of cross section images is more sensitive to the change in stress. In both uniform partitioning and non-uniform partitioning, the average hole roundness value near the final macro-crack location exhibits an increase trend with the stress, while the smoothing effect caused by the hole roundness averaging always exists. Near the final macro-crack location, the roundness of each individual hole is positively associated with the stress, while away from the final macro-crack location such a relation may not be observed. This trend expounds the evolution process of meso-damage in concrete, and the finding can be used to predict the accurate locations of macro-cracks.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is an enteric coronavirus that causes acute diarrhea, vomiting, dehydration, and a high mortality rate in neonatal piglets. In recent years, PEDV has been associated with co-infections with other swine enteric viruses, including porcine rotavirus (PoRV), resulting in increased mortality among newborn piglets. In this paper, we developed a bivalent vaccine against PEDV and PoRV by constructing a recombinant PEDV encoding PoRV VP7 (rPEDV-PoRV-VP7). The recombinant virus was constructed by replacing the entire open reading frame 3 (ORF3) in the genome of an attenuated PEDV strain YN150 with the PoRV VP7 gene using reverse genetic systems. Similar plaque morphology and replication kinetics were observed in Vero cells with the recombinant PEDV compared to the wild-type PEDV. It is noteworthy that the VP7 protein could be expressed stably in rPEDV-PoRV-VP7-infected cells. To evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of rPEDV-PoRV-VP7, 10-day-old piglets were vaccinated with the recombinant virus. After inoculation, no piglet displayed clinical symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, or anorexia. The PoRV VP7- and PEDV spike-specific IgG in serum and IgA in saliva were detected in piglets after rPEDV-PoRV-VP7 vaccination. Moreover, both PoRV and PEDV neutralizing antibodies were produced simultaneously in the inoculated piglets. Collectively, we engineered a recombinant PEDV expressing PoRV VP7 that could be used as an effective bivalent vaccine against PEDV and PoRV.

The selection of optimal process parameters has a decisive effect on the quality of 3D printing. In this work, the numerical and experimental methods were employed to investigate the FDM printing deposition process of PLA/GNPs nanocomposite. The effect of process parameters on cross-sectional morphology and dimension of the deposited filament, as well as the mechanical property of the FDM printed specimens were studied. The extrusion and the deposition process of the molten PLA/GNPs nanocomposite was simulated as a fluid flow by the paradigm of CFD, the effects of printing temperature and shear rate on thermal-physical properties, such as viscosity and surface tension, were considered in models. Under the assumptions of non-Newtonian fluid and creep laminar flow, the deposition flow was controlled by two key parameters: the nozzle temperature and the nozzle velocity. The numerical model was verified by experiments from four aspects of thickness, width, area, and compactness of the deposited PLA/GNPs nanocomposite filament cross-section. Both the numerical simulation and experiment results show that with the increase of nozzle temperature and nozzle velocity, the thickness, area, and compactness of the deposited filament decreases. While the width of deposited filament increased with the increase of nozzle temperature and decrease of nozzle velocity. The decrease in thickness and the increase in width caused by the change of process parameters reached 10.5% and 24.7%, respectively. The tensile strength of the printed PLA/GNPs specimen was about 61.8 MPa under the higher nozzle temperatures and velocity condition, an improvement of 18.6% compared to specimen with the tensile strength of 52.1 MPa under the lower nozzle temperatures and velocity condition. In addition, the experimental results indicated that under the low nozzle velocity and nozzle temperature condition, dimensional standard deviation of the printed specimens decreased by 52.2%, 62.7%, and 68.3% in X, Y, and Z direction, respectively.

Nearly 5% of the Shenqi Fuzheng Injection's dry weight comes from the secondary metabolites of Radix codonopsis and Radix astragali . However, the chemical composition of these metabolites is still vague, which hinders the authentication of Shenqi Fuzheng Injection (SFI). Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with a charged aerosol detector was used to achieve the profiling of these secondary metabolites in SFI in a single chromatogram. The chemical information in the chromatographic profile was characterized by ion mobility and high-resolution mass spectrometry. Polygonal mass defect filtering (PMDF) combined with Kendrick mass defect filtering (KMDF) was performed to screen potential secondary metabolites. A total of 223 secondary metabolites were characterized from the SFI fingerprints, including 58 flavonoids, 71 saponins, 50 alkaloids, 30 polyene and polycynes, and 14 other compounds. Among them, 106 components, mainly flavonoids and saponins, are contributed by Radix astragali , while 54 components, mainly alkaloids and polyene and polycynes, are contributed by Radix codonopsis , with 33 components coming from both herbs. There were 64 components characterized using the KMDF method, which increased the number of characterized components in SFI by 28.70%. This study provides a solid foundation for the authentification of SFIs and the analysis of its chemical composition.

A calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 )-based coating with gamma-C 2 S (γ-C 2 S) as the main carbonatable binder is proposed to protect the metal substrate against corrosion in this paper. Here, the morphology and phase assemblage of the coatings are studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the corrosion resistance of the coating is evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results show that the carbonated coating has excellent properties in terms of ultraviolet (UV) aging resistance, salt fog resistance, and electrochemical corrosion resistance. The porosity of deposited coating on steel substrates decreases by 47.1% after carbonation due to the compacted calcium carbonate formation, which is recognized as a self-compacting process during carbonation. The coating also exhibits rapid strength development within the first 2 h of carbonation; both the CO 2 uptake efficiency and degree of carbonation (DOC) can reach more than 95% of the total CO 2 uptake efficiency and final DOC values. This study provides a novel insight to extend the category of inorganic coating with additional benefits of CO 2 solidification.

Soil heavy metal pollution is frequent around areas with a high concentration of heavy industry enterprises. The integration of geostatistical and chemometric methods has been used to identify sources and the spatial patterns of soil heavy metals. Taking a county in southwestern China as an example, two subregions were analyzed. Subregion R1 mainly contained nonferrous mining, and subregion R2 was affected by smelting. Two factors (R1F1 and R1F2) associated with industry in R1 were extracted through positive matrix factorization (PMF) to obtain contributions to the soil As (64.62%), Cd (77.77%), Cu (53.10%), Pb (75.76%), Zn (59.59%), and Sb (32.66%); two factors (R2F1 and R2F2) also related to industry in R2 were extracted to obtain contributions to the As (53.35%), Cd (32.99%), Cu (53.10%), Pb (56.08%), Zn (67.61%), and Sb (42.79%). Combined with PMF results, cokriging (CK) was applied, and the z-score and root-mean square error were reduced by 11.04% on average due to the homology of heavy metals. Furthermore, a prevention distance of approximately 1800 m for the industries of concern was proposed based on locally weighted regression (LWR). It is concluded that it is necessary to define subregions for apportionment in area with different industries, and CK and LWR analyses could be used to analyze prevention distance.

Cadmium pollution of soil threatens the environmental quality and human health. Phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated soil has attracted global attention in recent decades. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive and systematic review of the literature on phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated soil based on bibliometric analysis. A total of 5494 articles published between 1994 and 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Our knowledge mapping presented the authors, journals, countries, institutions, and other basic information to understand the development status of phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated soil. Based on a keyword cluster analysis, the identified major research domains were "biochar", " Thlaspi caerulescens ", "endophytic bacteria", "oxidative stress", "EDTA", and "bioconcentration factor". Overall, this study provided a detailed summary of research trends and hotspots. Based on the keyword co-occurrence and burst analysis, the core concepts and basic theories of this field were completed in 2011. However, the pace of theoretical development has been relatively slow. Finally, future research trends/frontiers were proposed, such as biochar addition, rhizosphere bacterial community manipulation, cadmium subcellular distribution, and health risk assessment.

The roots of Taraxacum kok-saghyz Rodin (TKS) are well-known and valued for their rubber-producing ability. Therefore, research on the analysis and detection of metabolites from the roots of TKS have been reported in previous studies. However, all of these studies have the shortcoming of focusing on only the rubber of TKS, without profiling the other metabolites in a systematic and comprehensive way. Here, the primary and secondary metabolites from the leaves of TKS were investigated using UPLC-ESI-MS/MS, and a total of 229 metabolites were characterized. Carboxylic acid derivatives, fatty acyls, phenols, and organooxygen compounds were found to be the major metabolites of TKS. The transcriptome data indicated that ribosomal, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, and linoleic acid metabolism genes were significantly differentially expressed. This study is the first to report the differences in the metabolic and transcriptome profiles of TKS leaves under exogenous ethephon spray, which improves our understanding of the main metabolites and their molecular mechanisms in TKS leaves.

The disabled glue on valve surfaces is known to reduce aircraft durability and performance. In this paper, glue contaminants were removed from 2Cr13 stainless valves by dry-type laser processing with a cold air gun and compared with the chemical soaking method. The laser-processed surface was examined by white-light interferometer, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometer, hardness tester, and metallographic microscopy. The substrate surface became a little smoother but also had deeper dips due to laser thermal melting. After laser degumming, the new constituent was found in the laser-irradiated region and analyzed as FeCr 0.29 Ni 0.16 C 0.06 , since the ratio of chemical compositions changed. Based on our simulation and experiments, the temperature of the workpiece was effectively controlled by the cold air gun, and its physical properties, including hardness and metallographic structure, were hardly changed. It was shown that laser degumming provides an alternative method for metal valve cleaning.

Heat stress (HS) poses a significant threat to production and survival in the global swine industry. However, the molecular regulatory effects of heat stress on maternal endometrial cells are poorly understood in pigs during early embryo implantation. In this study, we systematically examined morphological changes in the endometrium and the corresponding regulation mechanism in response to HS by combining scanning electron microscopy (SEM), hematoxylin/eosin (H&E) staining, western blot, and RNA-seq analyses. Our results showed that HS led to porcine endometrium damage and endometrial thinness during embryo implantation. The expression levels of cell adhesion-related proteins, including N-cadherin and E-cadherin, in the uterus were significantly lower in the heat stress group (39 ± 1 °C, n = 3) than in the control group (28 ± 1 °C, n = 3). A total of 338 up-regulated genes and 378 down-regulated genes were identified in porcine endometrium under HS. The down-regulated genes were found to be mainly enriched in the pathways related to the microtubule complex, immune system process, and metalloendopeptidase activity, whereas the up-regulated genes were mainly involved in calcium ion binding, the extracellular region, and molecular function regulation. S100A9 was found to be one of the most significant differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the endometrium under HS, and this gene could promote proliferation of endometrial cells and inhibit their apoptosis. Meanwhile, HS caused endometrial epithelial cell (EEC) damage and inhibited its proliferation. Overall, our results demonstrated that HS induced uterine morphological change and tissue damage by regulating the expression of genes associated with calcium ions and amino acid transport. These findings may provide novel molecular insights into endometrial damage under HS during embryo implantation.

Background: This study aimed to assess the outcome of cancer patients undergoing systemic anti-cancer treatment (SACT) at our centre to help inform future clinical decision-making around SACT during the COVID-19 pandemic., Methods: Patients receiving at least one episode of SACT for solid tumours at Guy's Cancer Centre between 1 March and 31 May 2020 and the same period in 2019 were included in the study. Data were collected on demographics, tumour type/stage, treatment type (chemotherapy, immunotherapy, biological-targeted) and SARS-CoV2 infection., Results: A total of 2120 patients received SACT in 2020, compared to 2449 in 2019 (13% decrease). From 2019 to 2020, there was an increase in stage IV disease (62% vs. 72%), decrease in chemotherapy (42% vs. 34%), increase in immunotherapy (6% vs. 10%), but similar rates of biologically targeted treatments (37% vs. 38%). There was a significant increase in 1st and 2nd line treatments in 2020 (68% vs. 81%; p < 0.0001) and reduction in 3rd and subsequent lines (26% vs. 15%; p = 0.004) compared to 2019. Of the 2020 cohort, 2% patients developed SARS-CoV2 infections., Conclusions: These real-world data from a tertiary Cancer Centre suggest that despite the challenges faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SACT was able to be continued without any significant effects on the mortality of solid-tumour patients. There was a low rate (2%) of SARS-CoV-2 infection which is comparable to the 1.4%-point prevalence in our total cancer population.

Based on the actual hot zone structure of an AlN crystal growth resistance furnace, the global numerical simulation on the heat transfer process in the AlN crystal growth was performed. The influence of different heater structures on the growth of AlN crystals was investigated. It was found that the top heater can effectively reduce the axial temperature gradient, and the side heater 2 has a similar effect on the axial gradient, but the effect feedback is slightly weaker. The axial temperature gradient tends to increase when the bottom heater is added to the furnace, and the adjustable range of the axial temperature gradient of the side 1 heater + bottom heater mode is the largest. Our work will provide important reference values for AlN crystal growth by the resistance method.

Bearings are the key and important components of rotating machinery. Effective bearing fault diagnosis can ensure operation safety and reduce maintenance costs. This paper aims to develop a novel bearing fault diagnosis method via an improved multi-scale convolutional neural network (IMSCNN). In traditional convolutional neural network (CNN), a fixed convolutional kernel is often employed in the convolutional layer. Thus, informative features can not be fully extracted for fault diagnosis. In the proposed IMSCNN, a 1D dimensional convolutional layer is used to mitigate the effect of noise contained in vibration signals. Then, four dilated convolutional kernels with different dilation rates are integrated to extract multi-scale features through the inception structure. Experimental results from the popular CWRU and PU datasets show the superiority of the proposed method by comparison with other related methods.

Effective and rapid assessment of pork freshness is significant for monitoring pork quality. However, a traditional sensory evaluation method is subjective and physicochemical analysis is time-consuming. In this study, the near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique, a fast and non-destructive analysis method, is employed to determine pork freshness. Considering that commonly used statistical modeling methods require preprocessing data for satisfactory performance, this paper presents a one-dimensional squeeze-and-excitation residual network (1D-SE-ResNet) to construct the complex relationship between pork freshness and NIRS. The developed model enhances the one-dimensional residual network (1D-ResNet) with squeeze-and-excitation (SE) blocks. As a deep learning model, the proposed method is capable of extracting features from the input spectra automatically and can be used as an end-to-end model to simplify the modeling process. A comparison between the proposed method and five popular classification models indicates that the 1D-SE-ResNet achieves the best performance, with a classification accuracy of 93.72%. The research demonstrates that the NIRS analysis technique based on deep learning provides a promising tool for pork freshness detection and therefore is helpful for ensuring food safety.

The health status of the momentum wheel is vital for a satellite. Recently, research on anomaly detection for satellites has become more and more extensive. Previous research mostly required simulation models for key components. However, the physical models are difficult to construct, and the simulation data does not match the telemetry data in engineering applications. To overcome the above problem, this paper proposes a new anomaly detection framework based on real telemetry data. First, the time-domain and frequency-domain features of the preprocessed telemetry signal are calculated, and the effective features are selected through evaluation. Second, a new Huffman-multi-scale entropy (HMSE) system is proposed, which can effectively improve the discrimination between different data types. Third, this paper adopts a multi-class SVM model based on the directed acyclic graph (DAG) principle and proposes an improved adaptive particle swarm optimization (APSO) method to train the SVM model. The proposed method is applied to anomaly detection for satellite momentum wheel voltage telemetry data. The recognition accuracy and detection rate of the method proposed in this paper can reach 99.60% and 99.87%. Compared with other methods, the proposed method can effectively improve the recognition accuracy and detection rate, and it can also effectively reduce the false alarm rate and the missed alarm rate.

A novel homogeneous polysaccharide named GEP-1 was isolated and purified from Gastrodia elata ( G. elata ) by hot-water extraction, ethanol precipitation, and membrane separator. GEP-1 , which has a molecular weight of 20.1 kDa, contains a polysaccharide framework comprised of only glucose. Methylation and NMR analysis showed that GEP-1 contained 1,3,6-linked-α-Glc p , 1,4-linked-α-Glc p , 1,4-linked-β-Glc p and 1,4,6-linked-α-Glc p . Interestingly, GEP-1 contained citric acid and repeating p -hydroxybenzyl alcohol as one branch. Furthermore, a bioactivity test showed that GEP-1 could significantly promote the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila ( A. muciniphila ) and Lacticaseibacillus paracasei ( L. paracasei ) strains. These results implied that GEP-1 might be useful for human by modulating gut microbiota.

The water-cooled ceramic breeder (WCCB) blanket is a component of the China Fusion Engineering Test Reactor (CFETR). The Reduced Activation Ferrite/Martensite (RAFM) steels are the preferred structural materials for WCCB blanket. As a kind of RAFM steels, China low activation martensitic (CLAM) steel was welded by electron beam welding (EBW), and then quenched-tempered treatment was carried out. The results show that at the welding state, the welding seam was composed of large martensite and δ ferrite and the organization of the heat-affected zone (HAZ) was changed slightly with the different heat input. Moreover, the hardness of welded joints was higher than that of base material (BM), but the impact toughness was very low. After quenched-tempered treatment, the δ ferrite in the weld was eliminated, the residual stress of the test plate decreased as a whole, and the mechanical properties were improved significantly.

Nivolumab is an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody currently used as immunotherapy for patients with recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with evidence of disease progression after platinum-based chemotherapy. This study evaluates real-world safety and treatment outcomes of non-trial nivolumab use. A retrospective multicenter cohort study of patients with recurrent/metastatic HNSCC treated with nivolumab between January 2017 and March 2020 was performed. Overall, 123 patients were included. The median age was 64 years, the majority of patients were male (80.5%) and had a smoking history (69.9%). Primary outcomes included overall response rate (ORR) of 19.3%, median progression-free survival (PFS) of 3.9 months, 1-year PFS rate of 16.8%, a median overall survival (OS) of 6.5 months and 1-year OS rate of 28.6%. These results are comparable to the CHECKMATE-141 study. Of 27 patients who had PD-L1 status tested, positive PD-L1 status did not significantly affect PFS ( p = 0.86) or OS ( p = 0.84). Nivolumab was well tolerated with only 15.1% experiencing immune-related toxicities (IRT) and only 6.7% of patients stopping due to toxicity. The occurrence of IRT appeared to significantly affect PFS ( p = 0.01) but not OS ( p = 0.07). Nivolumab in recurrent/metastatic HNSCC is well tolerated and may be more efficacious in patients who develop IRT.

The dynamic mechanical response of high-performance thermoplastic composites over a wide range of strain rates is a challenging research topic for extreme environmental survivability in the field of aerospace engineering. This paper investigates the evolution of the dynamic properties of woven thermoplastic composites with strain rate and damage process at elevated temperatures. Out-of-plane dynamic-compression tests of glass-fiber (GF)- and carbon-fiber (CF)-reinforced polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) composites were performed using a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB). Results showed that thermoplastic composites possess strain-rate strengthening effects and high-temperature weakening dependence. GF/PPS and CF/PPS composites had the same strain-rate sensitivity (SRS) below the threshold strain rate. The softening of the matrix at elevated temperatures decreased the modulus but had little effect on strength. Some empirical formulations, including strain-rate and temperature effects, are proposed for more accurately predicting the out-of-plane dynamic-compression behavior of thermoplastic composites. Lastly, the final failure of the specimens was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to explore potential failure mechanisms, such as fiber-bundle shear fracture at high strain rates and stretch break at elevated temperatures.

Two new indole alkaloids, Bufotenidine B ( 2 ) and Bufocarboline A ( 6 ), along with seven known indole alkaloids ( 1 , 3-5 , and 7-9 ) and three organic acids ( 10-12 ), were isolated from the water extract of toad venom. The structures of the new alkaloids were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods. The absolute configurations of 4 , 6 , and 8 were determined for the first time by electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculations. The cytotoxic activity of all compounds was tested against human malignant melanoma cells A375 by the MTT method, and no antitumor activity was observed.

Uncaria alkaloids are the major bioactive chemicals found in the Uncaria genus, which have a long history of clinical application in treating cardiovascular and mental diseases in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, there are gaps in understanding the multiple targets, pathways, and biological activities of Uncaria alkaloids. By constructing the interactions among drug-targets-diseases, network pharmacology provides a systemic methodology and a novel perspective to present the intricate connections among drugs, potential targets, and related pathways. It is a valuable tool for studying TCM drugs with multiple indications, and how these multi-indication drugs are affected by complex interactions in the biological system. To better understand the mechanisms and targets of Uncaria alkaloids, we built an integrated analytical platform based on network pharmacology, including target prediction, protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, topology analysis, gene enrichment analysis, and molecular docking. Using this platform, we revealed the underlying mechanisms of Uncaria alkaloids' anti-hypertensive effects and explored the possible application of Uncaria alkaloids in preventing Alzheimer's disease. These results were further evaluated and refined using biological experiments. Our study provides a novel strategy for understanding the holistic pharmacology of TCM, as well as for exploring the multi-indication properties of TCM beyond its traditional applications.

Water transfer through porous textiles consists of two sequential processes: synchronous wicking-evaporating and evaporating alone. In this work we set out to identify the main structural parameters affecting the water transfer process of cotton fabrics. Eight woven fabrics with different floats were produced. The fabrics were evaluated on a specially designed instrument capable of measuring the water loss through a vertical wicking process. Each test took 120 min, and two phases were defined: Phase I for the first 10 min and Phase II for the last 110 min according to wicking behavior transition. Principal components and multivariate statistical methods were utilized to analyze the data collected. The results showed that Phase I dominated the whole wicking-evaporating process, and the moisture transfer speed in this phase varied with fabric structure, whereas the moisture transfer speeds in Phase II were similar and constant regardless of fabric structure. In addition, fabric with more floats has high water transfer speed in Phase I due to its loosened structure with more macropores., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The Fiber Society has no official involvement with the issue.

Lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) has become popular with applications in electronics and communication industries due to its excellent electro-optical and nonlinear properties. This paper presents the influence of laser power, repetition frequency, number of subpulses, depth of each pass, and scanning velocity in picosecond laser dicing on multiple characteristics of LiNbO 3 using the Taguchi method. By means of analysis of variance and analysis of relations between the characteristics, the optimal ps-laser-dicing parameter is obtained with good quality and high efficiency, which is applied to LiNbO 3 products. The result indicates that picosecond laser dicing provides an alternative to machine thick LiNbO 3 wafers with narrow kerf width, micro chipping, smooth surface, and high productivity.

Purpose : To better promote college students' physical activity (PA) and quality of life (QoL), it is imperative to understand this population's PA correlates, such as self-determined motivation and perceived competence. However, few studies existed in this area of inquiry among Chinese college students. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among Chinese college students' self-determined motivation, PA, and QoL. Method: A total of 220 college students (115 females; M age = 20.29 years, SD = 2.37; M BMI = 20.67) were recruited from one university in south-central China. Participants were instructed to wear the ActiGraph GT9X Link (ActiGraph, Pensacola, FL, USA) accelerometers for 7 days. A minute-by-minute stepping rate methodology was used to determine participants sedentary behaviors, light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Participants' self-determined motivation (autonomous, controlled, and amotivation), perceived competence, and QoL (physical function, stress, depression, fatigue, sleep, and social issues) were assessed by a battery of validated surveys in June 2017. Results : Participants reported moderate-high levels of PA correlates and QoL as the means ranged from 5.5 to 6 (out of 7) for PA correlates and 2.75 to 4 (out of 4) for QoL. The minute-by-minute stepping rate revealed participants had average 580.51 min/day in sedentary, 134.77 min/day in LPA, and 1.57 min/day in MVPA. Regression analyses for physical function, stress, depression, and social issues suggested that the models explained 4%-8% of the variances. Specifically, perceived competence was the negative predictor of the problems with physical function (β = -0.17, p < 0.05) and depression (β = -0.18, p < 0.01), amotivation was positively associated with depression and stress ( p < 0.05). Additionally, controlled motivation predicted the ability to participate in social roles and activities (β = 0.22, p < 0.05). No significant predictors emerged for fatigue or for sleep. Conclusions : Findings suggest Chinese college students' perceived competence and social support are critical for improving PA and QoL. In addition, strategies are needed to motivate Chinese college students to engage in PA participation and improve overall well-being.

Gastrodia elata Blume ( G. elata ) is a valuable Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with a wide range of clinical applications. G. elata polysaccharides, as one of the main active ingredients of G. elata , have interesting extraction, purification, qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, derivatization, and pharmacological activity aspects, yet a review of G. elata polysaccharides has not yet been published. Based on this, this article summarizes the progress of G. elata polysaccharides in terms of the above aspects to provide a basis for their further research and development.

By investigating of the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza , which is one of the most widely used Chinese herbs, we used phytochemical methods successfully to obtain twelve depsides: four depsides ( 1 ⁻ 4 ) that were previously undescribed, along with eight known ones ( 5 ⁻ 12 ). Their structure characteristics were assessed by HR-ESIMS, CD, NMR (¹H, 13 C, HSQC, HMBC) data analyses. These four newly isolated compounds ( 1 ⁻ 4 ), as well as the other eight compounds ( 5 ⁻ 12 ), show extraordinary protective effects on hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in HS-SY5Y cells. Among them, depside 4 and depside 6 displayed more obviously protective effects than others.

This study investigated the accumulation of As, Cd, and Pb in 16 wheat cultivars and the associated health risks for the inhabitants of Jiyuan, China. The results indicated that the concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb decreased in the order of root > leaf > stem > grain. The concentrations of As, Cd, and Pb in wheat grains varied from 0.13 for Pingan8 to 0.34 mg kg -1 for Zhengmai7698, 0.10 for Luomai26 to 0.25 mg kg -1 for Zhengmai7698, and 0.12 for Zhoumai207 to 0.42 mg kg -1 for Zhengmai379, respectively. There were significant differences in the bioaccumulation factors of As, Cd, and Pb among the 16 wheat cultivars. Cd was more readily accumulated to higher levels than As and Pb in wheat. The Target Hazard Quotients (THQs) of Cd and Pb in the grains from 16 wheat cultivars were below 1, while As THQ exceeded 1. The lowest detrimental human health effects via wheat consumption were found in cultivar AY58 among the 16 wheat cultivars, with total THQs (TTHQs) of 1.82 for children and 1.60 for adults, suggesting that children absorb more heavy metals than adults and they are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of these metals.