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Using viral metagenomics, the complete genome sequence of an infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) strain (named ahysx-1) from a fecal sample from a healthy chicken in Anhui province, China, was determined. The genome sequence of ahysx-1 was found to be very similar to that of IBV strain ck/CH/LLN/131040 (KX252787), except for the spike gene region, which is similar to that of a turkey coronavirus strain (EU022526), suggesting that ahysx-1 is a recombinant. Recombination analysis and phylogenetic analysis based on the genomic sequences of ahysx-1 and other related strains confirmed that ahysx-1 appears to be a recombinant resulting from a recombination event that occurred between a chicken coronavirus and a turkey coronavirus. Further studies need to be performed to determine whether this recombinant IBV strain is pathogenic and whether it is transmitted between chickens and turkeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, carbon dioxide capture and conversion, along with hydrogen from renewable resources, provide an alternative approach to synthesis of useful fuels and chemicals. People are increasingly interested in developing innovative carbon dioxide hydrogenation catalysts, and the pace of progress in this area is accelerating. Accordingly, this perspective presents current state of the art and outlook in synthesis of light olefins, dimethyl ether, liquid fuels, and alcohols through two leading hydrogenation mechanisms: methanol reaction and Fischer-Tropsch based carbon dioxide hydrogenation. The future research directions for developing new heterogeneous catalysts with transformational technologies, including 3D printing and artificial intelligence, are provided. Carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and conversion provide an alternative approach to synthesis of useful fuels and chemicals. Here, Ye et al. give a comprehensive perspective on the current state of the art and outlook of CO2 catalytic hydrogenation to the synthesis of light olefins, dimethyl ether, liquid fuels, and alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP), a persistent environmental pollutant, can induce neural tube abnormal development in animals. The possible effects of DBP exposure on human neural tube defects (NTDs) remain elusive. In this study, the distribution of DBP in the body fluid of human NTDs was detected by GC-MS. Then, chick embryos were used to investigate the effects of DBP on early embryonic development. Oxidative stress indicators in chick embryos and the body fluid of human NTDs were detected by ELISA. The cell apoptosis and total reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in chick embryos were detected by whole-mount TUNEL and oxidized DCFDA, respectively. The study found that the detection ratio of positive DBP and its metabolites in maternal urine was higher in the NTD population than that in normal controls. 8-hydroxy-2 deoxyguanosine (8-OHDG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were evidently upregulated and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was observably downregulated in amniotic fluid and urine. Animal experiments indicated that DBP treatment induced developmental toxicity in chick embryos by enhancing the levels of oxidative stress and cell apoptosis. MDA was increased and SOD was decreased in DBP-treated embryos. Interestingly, the supplement of high-dose choline (100 μg/μL), not folic acid, could partially restore the teratogenic effects of DBP. Our data collectively suggest that the incidence of NTDs is closely associated with DBP exposure. This study may provide new insight for NTD prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on previous studies, we investigated the influence of sexual dimorphism cues on mate retention and mate quality enhancement behaviors. A total of 233 participants were presented with facial photographs with varying sexual dimorphism cues that were generated using computer graphic techniques and were asked to rate their behavior tendencies associated with mate retention and quality enhancement. The results showed that (1) female participants utilized mate retention tactics as a function of the sexual dimorphism cues of targets, whereas male participants showed an overall stronger and indiscriminate tendency for mate retention; (2) female participants rated masculine men as more competent and more generally attractive and tended to introduce them to their own partner, a pattern that was consistent with mate quality enhancement strategies, whereas male participants did not exhibit comparable behaviors. Taken together, these results suggest that masculine and feminine facial cues are important, albeit subtle, to one's reproductive value and are closely associated with mate retention and quality enhancement strategies. Limitations and future directions are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We herein report on an examination of the compositions of copper relics unearthed from the Guangfentou site in Jiangchuan, Yunnan, China. Scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SED-EDS), metallographic microscopy, and lead isotope ratio analysis were used to analyze 20 metallurgical relics. The results indicated that the relics were either copper metal or copper slag. The copper metal was composed of either metallic copper or tin bronze, while the copper slags were either smelting slag or melting slag, with the melting slags being composed of refining or alloying slag. The Guangfentou site in the Jiangchuan county contains an extraordinarily complete set of bronze metallurgical relics from the Bronze Age of Yunnan. The processes involved in this site include smelting of sulfidic ores, refining of primary raw copper, bronze alloying, and bronze casting. This was an important metallurgical site in the ancient Dian Kingdom and has provided clues that will aid in efforts to reveal the origins of bronze smelting technologies and the sources of the copper ores used by the ancient Dian civilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyloid beta (Aβ) is the main component of the amyloid plaques that accumulate in the brains of Alzheimer patients. The present study was conducted to investigate whether the combined treatment with selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) offers more beneficial effects than that provided by either of them alone in reversing Aβ25-35-induced neurotoxicity in PC12 cells. Cells were pretreated with 0.1 μmol/L of Se and Zn for 4 h, after treated with 10 mmol/L Aβ25-35 for 24 h. Cells were divided into control and five treated groups, and received either 10 mmol/L Aβ25-35,10 mmol/L Aβ25-35 + 0.1 μmol/L Se, 10 mmol/L Aβ25-35 + 0.1 μmol/L Zn, 10 mmol/LAβ25-35 + 0.1 μmol/L Se + 0.1 μmol/L Zn, or 0.1 μmol/L Se + 0.1 μmol/L Zn. The result showed that cell viability was decreased in MTT metabolic rate; LDH release and MDA, H2O2, and NO levels were increased and the GSK-3β and phosphorylated tau protein level were increased in Aβ25-35-treated group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), which whole changes were attenuated by Se and Zn and Se combined Zn. In order to evaluate whether the Se and Zn have an effect on processing pathway of amyloid precursor protein (APP), we examined the activity of γ-secretase in primary cultured cortical neuron cells. ELISA analysis showed that Se and Zn could inhibit the activity of γ-secretase. Then we also investigated the effect of Se and Zn on the Aβ1-40 concentration and APP-N-terminal fragment expression from APP695 stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. APP695 stably transfected CHO cells were treated with 0.1 μmol/L Se and Zn; cells were divided into control and four treated groups, which received either 0.5 M DAPT, 0.1 μmol/L Se, 0.1 μmol/L Zn, or 0.1 μmol/L Se + 0.1 μmol/L Zn. Se and Zn could decrease Aβ1-40 production and increase the APP-N-terminal fragment protein expression. These experiments indicate that Se and Zn have a protective effect on AD pathology that a possible mechanism is inhibiting the activity of γ-secretase to decreasing Aβ1-40 production further influencing the APP processing. Altogether, our findings may provide a novel therapeutic target to treat AD sufferers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the safety of public roads and industrial factories requires more reliable and robust computer vision-based approaches for monitoring the eye state (open or closed) of human operators. Getting this information in real time when humans are driving cars or using hazardous machinery will help to prevent accidents and deaths. This paper proposes a new framework called EyeLSD to localize the eyes and detect their states without face detection step. For EyeLSD aims, two novel descriptors are proposed: enhanced Pyramidal Local Binary Pattern Histogram (ePLBPH) and Multi-Three-Patch LBP histogram (Multi-TPLBP). The performance of EyeLSD with ePLBPH and Multi-TPLBP is evaluated and compared against other approaches. For this evaluation three independent and public datasets were used: BioID, CAS-PEAL-R1 and ZJU datasets. The set EyeLSD, ePLBPH and Multi-TPLBP have a greater performance when compared against the state-of-the-art algorithms. The proposed approach is very stable under large range of eye appearances caused by expression, rotation, lighting, head pose, and occlusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: (1) To analyze peculiarities of presentation and prognosis of tubercular spondylodiscitis (TBS) in elderly. (2) To assess if associated co-morbidities and risks lead to poorer outcome (3) To observe if different management strategy needs to be implemented in them.Methods: Retrospective analysis of 66 consecutive elderly TBS patients (>60 years) treated conservatively or surgically between January 2010 and July 2013 was performed. Details regarding clinical presentation (general health, ambulatory status, co-morbidities), neurological status, medical or surgical complications and outcome measurements [visual analog score, clinico-radiological evidence of healing and lumbar lordosis in lumbar (L) or lumbo-sacral (LS) or focal kyphosis in thoracic (T) or thoraco-lumbar (TL) disease] were analysed.Results: Of 66 patients (mean age 67.9 years), 85% had at least one medical co-morbidity and only 45% were community ambulators. Mean delay in presentation was 132 days and lumbar disease was commonest. 35% had neuro-deficit. Most patients had stage 2 (38%) or 3 (42.4%) disease. 19 patients were conservatively managed, while others underwent surgery. Significant complications occurred in 23 patients, most common being liver dysfunction (9 patients). Five patients (8%) expired during treatment: three succumbed to multi-focal tubercular disease, while two expired secondary to medical illnesses. Mean loss of lordosis in conservatively treated (CG) L/LS disease was 8°, while lordosis was restored by 11.6° in operative group (OG). In T/TL disease, sagittal alignment correction by 12.6° was observed in OG as against 5.7° kyphotic collapse in CG patients. 92% patients were cured with no recurrences. The final VAS scores in operative and conservative groups were not significantly different (OG 1.4 ± 0.6, CG 1.9 ± 0.7).Conclusion: TBS in elderly differed from that in younger by having a higher co-morbidities, later presentation, higher neuro-deficit, greater mortality and increased complications. Nevertheless, in those who survived, clinico-radiological outcomes of both conservative and surgical treatments were good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing wall stress as is elicited by arterial hypertension promotes their reorganization in the vessel wall which may lead to arterial stiffening and contractile dysfunction. The nuclear factor of activated T cells 5 (NFAT5) pathway plays a role in regulating growth and differentiation in various cell types. We investigated whether the NFAT5 pathway was involved in the regulation of biomechanical stretch-induced human arterial smooth muscle cell (HUASMC) proliferation, inflammation, and migration. Herein, we showed that stretch promoted the expression of NFAT5 in human arterial smooth muscle cells and regulated through activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase under these conditions. This may contribute to an improved activity of HUASMCs and thus promote reorganization in vascular remodeling processes such as hypertension-induced arterial stiffening and contractile dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substitution of KO for NaO content was performed for ferroelectric glass ceramics in the PbO-SrO-NaO-NbO-SiO system, in which a conventional melt quenching method was adopted for the parent glass production in order to investigate its effect on the crystallization process and associated dielectric properties. Phase identification combined with differential thermal analysis results show that the crystalline phase was compressed by the substitution of potassium ions. The hysteresis loop results demonstrate that by increasing the substitution of K for Na, the maximal polarization was decreased while both the remanent polarization and coercive electric field increase. It is also noted that increasing the content of K could also reduce the dielectric constant of the glass ceramic system; the dielectric constant demonstrated a decrease from 775 to 299, meanwhile, the dielectric loss increased from 0.013 to 0.021 when 50 mol.% Na was replaced by K. Additionally, leakage current results show that as more sodium ions are replaced by potassium ions, the leakage current increased and the resistivity decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of glass-phase design on the dielectric properties of PbO-BaO-NaO-NbO-SiO glass-ceramic has been investigated. The glass phase of 36Na NbO-18(PbSr) NbO-46SiO glass-ceramic was modified by addition of lead ions, which is expected to optimize the dielectric properties of the SiO glass, thus improving the performance of the glass-ceramic composite. Phase composition and dielectric behavior were systematically investigated. Dielectric properties varied as a function of the amount of PbO added. The dielectric constant increased from 515 to 648 when 10 mol.% lead ions (relative to the SiO glass) was added to the glass phase. Dielectric breakdown strength also increased slightly, from 5.1 to 7.8 kV/mm, suggesting glass-phase design could be an efficient way of optimizing the dielectric properties of glass-ceramic composites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of vacuum heat treatment on the dielectric properties of PbO-BaO-NaO-NbO-SiO glass-ceramic has been investigated. Results demonstrate that the dielectric constant, dielectric loss, and resistivity remain stable up to 700°C, yet substantial deterioration of the dielectric constant occurred when exceeding 700°C. X-ray diffraction spectra confirm that the deterioration was not due to phase transformation, but could be attributed to oxygen vacancies, as supported by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowing the grain geometry in grinding wheels is an asset for better understanding the grinding processes. This study investigates the grain protrusion and rake angles of two self-dressing zirconia-alumina grinding wheels in a robotic grinding process. The topography of the wheel is measured using a confocal scanning laser microscope. An optical image of the surface is used to create a mask of the grains with image processing techniques. Grain geometry information is then obtained by applying the mask to the entire surface. A vertex normal technique is used to find the cutting edges facing the cutting direction and only consider those edges in grain rake angle calculations. Surface parameters, including grain density, width, protrusion height, and rake angle, are extracted from the topography. The grinding wheel is characterized in low, medium, and high depths of cut in the range of robot operation. Results indicate that grain density, width, and protrusion height distribution are not affected by the depth of cut. It is also found that in shallow grinding, grain rake angle shifts slightly to higher negative angles; whereas, with a higher depth of cut, sharper edges exist on the wheel surface, which improve process efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Several studies have examined the association between glucokinase (GCK)-30G > A polymorphism and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). However, the results are still controversial. We performed the case-control study to investigate whether GCK-30G > A polymorphism correlates with the susceptibility of GDM in Chinese populations, and then conducted a meta-analysis by combining the previous studies. Methods: We recruited 948 GDM patients and 975 controls from May 2011 to August 2013. All the subjects were genotyped using the PCR-based invader assay. The differences of allelic frequencies and genotype distributions between GDM patients and controls were investigated in case-control study. A systematic search of all relevant studies was conducted. The observational studies that were related to an association between the glucokinase (GCK)-30G > A polymorphism and GDM were identified. The association between the glucokinase (GCK)-30G > A polymorphism and GDM susceptibility was assessed using genetic models. Results: The case-control study showed that GCK-30G > A polymorphism was associated with the susceptibility of GDM in a Chinese population. Furthermore, other six previously reported studies were included to perform meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that GCK-30G > A polymorphism was associated with GDM in Caucasian and Asian. Conclusions: This study suggested that GCK-30G > A polymorphism may be associated with the susceptibility of GDM in a Chinese population. The further meta-analysis provides additional evidence supporting the above result that the risk allele of the GCK-30G > A polymorphism may increase GDM risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monascus purpureus is a key fungus used to produce food pigments from secondary metabolites. Low-frequency magnetic field (LF-MF) affects production of M. purpureus secondary metabolites as one of the cultivation environments. The objective of this study was to measure optimum strength of induced magnetic field and duration of exposure for yellow and red pigment production of M. purpureus in solid-state fermentation. There was a 65.4 and 59.2 % increase in peak yield of yellow and red pigments compared to the control when the treatments were exposed to a magnetic field induction at 0.4 mT on the 8-9th day of incubation time. From kinetics of yellow and red pigment production, yield of yellow and red pigments was significantly increased in the samples exposed to magnetic field from the 8th to 11th day compared with that of the control group. LF-MF could increase the production rates of yellow pigments from 221.25 to 381.75 and red pigments from 165.00 to 292.50 U/g day. It could also significantly prolong the quickly generate time of yellow pigment. The appropriate magnetic field treatment could increase the efficiency of yellow and red pigment production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel strategy of carbonization and subsequent carboxylation in the confined mesopores of SBA-15 was implemented to synthesize meso-structured carbon/silica(C/Si) composites with enhanced acidity. The XRD and N sorption measurements suggested the preservation of ordered mesoporous structure; FTIR characterization indicated that the C/Sis were successfully modified with -COOH and the acidity of COOH-C/Si material was significantly enhanced. COOH- 30C/Si(A) with high COOH density of 2.61 mmol/g and retained mesoporous structure exhibited superior activity for dichlorohydrin production. Through the optimization of reaction variables, as high as 65.7 %, the yield of DCH, can be achieved over COOH- 30C/Si(A) after 12 h reaction under 130 °C. Meanwhile, it was 100 % that the conversion of the glycerol can be reached. A significant issue, good durability, especially for practical application, was verified through five consecutive cycles with the optimal reaction variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elevated serum phosphate is associated with cardiovascular and total mortality in patients with kidney diseases and healthy individuals. But whether serum phosphate is associated with stroke is controversial. We searched PubMed and Embase from January 1, 1970 to May 9, 2014 with keywords such as 'serum phosphate', 'serum phosphorus', and 'stroke'. Dose-response meta-analysis was conducted. A restricted cubic spline model was used, and then we estimated pooled RR using generalized least square regression taking into account the correlation among categories of each study. Five studies with a total of 32,608 patients were included. We identified a linear relationship between serum phosphate and risk of stroke ( P for non-linearity = 0.5258). The RR of phosphate (1 mg/dL) for stroke was 1.00 (95 % CI 0.97-1.05), similar results were observed in subgroup analysis. A linear relationship between serum phosphate and risk of stroke is identified. There is no association between serum level of phosphate and stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A set of propysulfonic acid modified mesostructured silica materials (SBA-15-SOH) were prepared by a convenient one-pot co-condensation method. Samples were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, Py-FTIR, N adsorption-desorption, elemental analysis and acid-base titration. The catalysts exhibited excellent activities and selectivities for addition esterification of acrylic acid and cyclohexene. The highest catalytic activity (82.8 %) and selectivity (92.6 %) were obtained over SBA-15-SOH (15 %). The efficient catalytic performance of SBA-15-SOH (15 %) was attributed to the high surface area, proper mesopore texture and presence of sulfonic acid groups in its structure. SBA-15-SOH catalyst was easily separated and recycled with high stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation of node importance in complex networks has been an increasing widespread concern in recent years. Seeking and protecting vital nodes is important to ensure the security and stability of the whole network. Existing clustering algorithms of complex networks all have certain drawbacks, which could not cover everything in calculation accuracy and time complexity, and need external supervision. To design a fast complex networks clustering method is a problem which requires to be solved immediately. This paper proposes a clustering algorithm of complex networks based on data field using physical data field theory, which excavates key nodes in complex networks by evaluating the importance of nodes based on a mutual information algorithm, and then uses it to classify the clusters. To verify the validity of the algorithm, a simulation experiment was conducted. The results indicated that the algorithm could analyze the cluster exactly and calculate with high-speed, it could also determine the granularity of a partition according to the actual demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objects and design: Regarding to anti-inflammatory role of interleukin (IL) 10, its inhibitory effects on p38MAPK activity and, different pro and anti-inflammatory roles of activated p38MAPK in cells, this study was aimed to investigate relationship between serum IL10 level and p38MAPK enzyme activity on behavioral and cellular aspects variation of hyperalgesia during different stages of arthritis in rats. Materials and methods: Adjuvant arthritis (AA) was induced by a single subcutaneous injection of complete Freund's adjuvant into the rats' hind paw. Behavioral and inflammatory responses were assessed at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days of study. Receptor and other protein enzyme expression variations were detected by western blotting. Anti-IL10 and p38MAPK inhibitor were administered daily during the 21 days of study. Result: Daily treatment with anti-IL10 antibody significantly increased paw edema and hyperalgesia in the AA group compared with the AA control group. Administration of anti-IL10 antibody caused significant increase in the ratio of phosphorylated p38 to p38MAPK enzyme level expression on 14th and 21st days of study compared with the AA control group. Conclusion: Our study confirmed that a part of anti- inflammatory effects of serum IL10 during AA inflammation was mediated via inhibition of p38MAPK enzyme phosphorylation. Moreover, these findings suggest that increase in the level of spinal mu opioid receptor expression during AA inflammation is not mediated via the direct effect of serum IL10 on spinal p38MAPK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monodispersed porous ZnO nanospheres with diameters about 400-600 nm were successfully fabricated by a facile and effective cationic surfactant assisted selective etching strategy. The as-synthesized ZnO materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and N adsorption-desorption. These samples were used as the gas sensor, showing the high, stable and fast response to acetone, revealing the potential application as gas sensor to detect acetone. In addition, the photocatalytic degradation property of the porous ZnO nanospheres for methyl orange (MO) under UV irradiation was investigated. The degradation efficiency of MO reaches 96 % of the porous ZnO samples after 50 min of UV-light irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Penicillium marneffei is an emerging pathogenic fungus that can cause a life-threatening systemic mycosis in immunocompromised hosts, especially in patients with AIDS. This infection is endemic in Southeast Asia. With the prevalence of AIDS in this area, the number of patients with systemic penicilliosis marneffei is found to be increasing rapidly in mainland China in recent years. We recently reviewed 668 cases of penicilliosis marneffei in mainland China from January 1984 to December 2009 in cnki, cqvip, CBMdisc and PubMed. We analyzed epidemiological and clinical features, laboratory findings, reaction to therapy and prognosis of the disease. We found that 99.4 % of the cases were reported in the southern part of China; among these cases, 42.8 % were from Guangxi (286 cases) and 40.6 % were from Guangdong province (271 cases). Five hundred and eighty-six cases (87.7 %) of penicilliosis marneffei were reported with infection by the human immunodeficiency virus, 25 cases (3.8 %) with other immunocompromised diseases, and 57 cases (8.5 %) without any documented underlying diseases. Fever, weight loss, anemia, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, respiratory signs and skin lesions were the common clinical manifestations of P. marneffei infections. The 569 cases received antifungal therapy with a mortality of 24.3 % (138 cases), 99 cases who had not received antifungal therapy had a mortality of 50.6 %. P. marneffei was an emerging pathogenic fungus and become a medical and public health importance in mainland China. The immunocompromised patients should pay more attention to P. marneffei infection in the endemic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2-LIKE38/LBD41 gene of Arabidopsis is a member of the ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2)/LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES (LOB) domain gene family. To explore ASL38 function, we transformed 35S:ASL38 constructs into cockscomb ( Celosia plumosus) plants via Agrobacterium tumefaciens and obtained T1 35S:ASL38 plants. The extremely folded or crinkly leaves were seen in these T1 cockscomb plants. The anatomical analysis of these malformed leaf blades indicated that adaxial cells revealed abaxialized traits, which were never seen in those of wild-type plants. These results suggested that ectopic expression of ASL38 might lead to alternations of dorsoventrality in folded or crinkly leaves of 35S:ASL38 cockscomb. In general, all data showed that ASL38 might be involved in dorsoventral determination in lateral organ development of plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In the present study, DFT calculations are carried out on domestically designed 7-methyl-2-phenyl-5'H-spiro[chromene-4,2′-chromeno[3,4-e][1,3]oxazin]-5′-one spiropyran and merocyanine derivatives to recognize alkali and alkaline earth metal ions. Detection of these metal ions can be attained by exploiting the variation of the second-order nonlinear optical properties. Merocyanine forms of these derivatives exhibit the ability to complex with different metal ions (Li+, Na+, K+, and Ca2+), which is associated with large contrasts in the hyper-Rayleigh scattering (HRS) response as a function of metal size and charge. Interestingly, in this study, Mero-Li+ shows significant nonlinear optical response with dynamic HRS first hyperpolarizability amounting to 7607 a.u., which is about nine times higher than its corresponding spiro form (846 a.u.) at the CAM-B3LYP/6-311G* level of theory. The present investigation clarifies the effect of metal nature on the enhancement of the first hyperpolarizability between the closed and open forms of the studied coumarin derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encapsulation by hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has been widely used to address intrinsic properties of two-dimensional (2D) materials. The hBN encapsulation, however, can alter properties of 2D materials through interlayer orbital hybridization. In this paper, we present measurements of temperature dependence of photoluminescence intensity from monolayer MoS2 encapsulated by hBN flakes. The obtained temperature dependence shows an opposite trend to that of previously observed in a monolayer MoS2 on a SiO2 substrate. This is caused by the existence of stable momentum-forbidden dark excitons in the hBN-encapsulated MoS2. Ab-initio band-structure calculations have shown that orbital hybridization between MoS2 and hBN leads to upward shift of Γ-valley of MoS2, which results in lowering of energy of the momentum-forbidden dark excitons. This work shows an important implication that the hBN-encapsulated structures used to address intrinsic properties of two-dimensional crystals can alter basic properties of encapsulated materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) plays an important role in human disease. It is often overexpressed in cancers and mutations can lead to a congenital haploinsufficiency syndrome characterized by craniofacial dysmorphisms and neurological dysfunctions, consistent with a role in brain development. Here, we show that Yy1 controls murine cerebral cortex development in a stage-dependent manner. By regulating a wide range of metabolic pathways and protein translation, Yy1 maintains proliferation and survival of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) at early stages of brain development. Despite its constitutive expression, however, the dependence on Yy1 declines over the course of corticogenesis. This is associated with decreasing importance of processes controlled by Yy1 during development, as reflected by diminished protein synthesis rates at later developmental stages. Thus, our study unravels a novel role for Yy1 as a stage-dependent regulator of brain development and shows that biosynthetic demands of NPCs dynamically change throughout development. The transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) plays an important role in human disease, yet little is known about its role in brain development. This study shows that YY1 controls cerebral cortex development by maintaining proliferation and survival of neural progenitor cells via transcriptional regulation of genes involved in metabolism and protein translation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the main etiologic risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Early studies indicated that the increase of omega-6-derived oxylipins may be involved in the pathogenesis of HBV-related HCC, yet their changes during the distinct clinical phases of chronic HBV infection remain unclear. To fill this gap, in this study we investigated the omega-6-derived oxylipin profiles in patients with three major clinical stages of chronic HBV infection (chronic hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis, and HCC).Methods: Eighteen omega-6-derived oxylipins were quantified in serum samples of 34 patients with chronic hepatitis B, 46 patients with HBV-related liver cirrhosis, 38 patients with HBV-related HCC, and 50 healthy controls using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry.Results: Seven oxylipins were found to be altered in patients with HBV-related liver diseases, including 9,10-dihydroxyoctadecenoic acid (9,10-DiHOME), 12,13-DiHOME, 14,15-dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acid (14,15-DiHETrE), 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE), 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12-HETE), 11-HETE, and thromboxane B2 (TXB2). Of these, three oxylipins derived from the cytochrome P450 (CYP450) pathways including 9,10-DiHOME, 12,13-DiHOME, and 14,15-DiHETrE were found to be associated with the levels of α-fetoprotein (AFP), a tumor marker. In combination with AFP, age, and gender, a combination of these seven differential oxylipins could significantly enhance the prediction of HBV-related liver diseases, particularly for liver cirrhosis (p < 0.05).Conclusion: This study for the first time shows the correlations between CYP450-derived oxylipins and the progression of chronic HBV infection, and sheds a new light on the surveillance of HBV-related live diseases using oxylipins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]