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Background: Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) represents a group of monogenic neurodegenerative disorders characterized by high clinical and genetic heterogeneity. HSP is characterized by slowly progressing hypertonia of both lower extremities, spastic gait, and myasthenia. The most prevalent autosomal dominant form of HSP, known as spastic paraplegia 4 (SPG4), is attributed to variants in the spastin (SPAST) gene. Methods and results: Here, a Chinese family presenting with spasticity in both legs and a shuffling gait participated in our investigation. Whole exome sequencing of the proband was utilized to identify the genetic lesion in the family. Through data filtering, Sanger sequencing validation, and co-separation analysis, a novel variant (NM_014946.3: c.1669G > C:p.A557P) of SPAST was identified as the genetic lesion of this family. Furthermore, bioinformatic analysis revealed that this variant was deleterious and located in a highly evolutionarily conserved site. Conclusion: Our study confirmed the diagnosis of SPG4 in this family, contributing to genetic counseling for families affected by SPG4. Additionally, our study broadened the spectrum of SPAST variants and highlighted the importance of ATPases associated with various cellular activity domains of SPAST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) poses a significant global health dilemma, emerging from complex causes. Although our prior research has indicated that a deficiency in Reticulon-3 (RTN3) accelerates renal disease progression, a thorough examination of RTN3 on kidney function and pathology remains underexplored. To address this critical need, we generated Rtn3-null mice to study the consequences of RTN3 protein deficiency on CKD. Single-cell transcriptomic analyses were performed on 47,885 cells from the renal cortex of both healthy and Rtn3-null mice, enabling us to compare spatial architectures and expression profiles across 14 distinct cell types. Our analysis revealed that RTN3 deficiency leads to significant alterations in the spatial organization and gene expression profiles of renal cells, reflecting CKD pathology. Specifically, RTN3 deficiency was associated with Lars2 overexpression, which in turn caused mitochondrial dysfunction and increased reactive oxygen species levels. This shift induced a transition in renal epithelial cells from a functional state to a fibrogenic state, thus promoting renal fibrosis. Additionally, RTN3 deficiency was found to drive the endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition process and disrupt cell-cell communication, further exacerbating renal fibrosis. Immunohistochemistry and Western-Blot techniques were used to validate these observations, reinforcing the critical role of RTN3 in CKD pathogenesis. The deficiency of RTN3 protein in CKD leads to profound changes in cellular architecture and molecular profiles. Our work seeks to elevate the understanding of RTN3's role in CKD's narrative and position it as a promising therapeutic contender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The separation of particles such as cells and bacteria in viscoelastic fluids has significant applications in biomedical fields. At present, one of the main challenges that limit the application of microfluidic technology is to separate particles in the viscoelastic fluids with different rheological properties. For instance, most existing microfluidic devices can only work in the fluid with a specific rheological property, resulting in the requirement of time-consuming design, manufacturing, testing, and optimization of different devices to separate particles in the fluids with different rheological properties. In this work, a novel hybrid three-stage microfluidic device that was made up of a micropore structure and two gradually contracted microchannels was designed to achieve efficient continuous separation of particles in the viscoelastic fluid over a wide range of rheological properties (0.07 < El < 340.41). Different separation strategies including first focusing, then initial separation, and then precise separation (FISPS) and initial separation and then precise separation (ISPS) were found. The separation strategy ISPS occurred at El < 0.14 while the separation strategy FISPS occurred at El > 8.43. In addition, the transformation of the separation mechanism from ISPS to FISPS was found under different flow conditions in the fluid with the transitional rheological properties (0.21 < El < 1.10). The effect of the flow rate and the rheological property of the fluid on microparticle separation were systematically studied by the experiment. With simple structure, easy operation, high separation efficiency, the present microfluidic device would have great potentials in the biomedical and clinical applications, such as the separation of cells for different patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cockayne syndrome is an inherited heterogeneous defect in transcription-coupled DNA repair (TCR) cause severe clinical syndromes, which may affect the nervous system development of infants and even lead to premature death in some cases. ERCC8 diverse critical roles in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) complex, which is one of the disease-causing genes of Cockayne syndrome. Methods and results: The mutation of ERCC8 in the patient was identified and validated using WES and Sanger sequencing. Specifically, a compound heterozygous mutation (c.454_460dupGTCTCCA p. T154Sfs*13 and c.755_759delGTTTT p.C252Yfs*3) of ERCC8 (CSA) was found, which could potentially be the genetic cause of Cockayne syndrome in the proband. Conclusion: In this study, we identified a novel heterozygous mutation of ERCC8 in a Chinese family with Cockayne syndrome, which enlarging the genetic spectrum of the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical looping single reactor (CLSR) system utilizing calcium ferrite as oxygen carriers represents an innovative approach to biogas reforming, which has the potential to enhance the efficiency and sustainability of biogas production. In this process, an oxy-combustion burner supplies the necessary endothermic heat while CO2 is simultaneously utilized, resulting in an autothermal process that generates high-purity syngas. Nearly 20% higher CO2 utilization can be achieved compared to the tri-reforming, owing to the higher driving force for CO2 oxidation in the counter-current moving bed and steam knock-out before inletting the flue gas into the reactor bottom. Additionally, the CLSR system is robust to variations in biogas to oxygen carrier ratios and CO2 concentration of the inlet feedstock, maintaining the outlet syngas purity within 1% variation. The effects of temperature, pressure, heat integration, and additional H2O/CO2 flow rate on the system performance are discussed, and the optimized scenarios are used for liquid fuel generation. The proposed process achieves about 13% reduction in syngas requirement compared to the conventional tri-reforming for the same amount of liquid fuel production. The feasibility of the CLSR system is further experimentally verified under various conditions. The results reveal the occurrence of CO2 counter-oxidation reactions on the surface of calcium ferrite oxygen carriers and demonstrate that higher temperatures are beneficial for the CH4 reforming reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To accelerate the performance estimation in neural architecture search, recently proposed algorithms adopt surrogate models to predict the performance of neural architectures instead of training the network from scratch. However, it is time-consuming to collect sufficient labeled architectures for surrogate model training. To enhance the capability of surrogate models using a small amount of training data, we propose a surrogate-assisted evolutionary algorithm with network embedding for neural architecture search (SAENAS-NE). Here, an unsupervised learning method is used to generate meaningful representation of each architecture and the architectures with more similar structures are closer in the embedding space, which considerably benefits the training of surrogate models. In addition, a new environmental selection based on a reference population is designed to keep diversity of the population in each generation and an infill criterion for handling the trade-off between convergence and model uncertainty is proposed for re-evaluation. Experimental results on three different NASBench and DARTS search space illustrate that network embedding makes the surrogate model achieve comparable or superior performance. The superiority of our proposed method SAENAS-NE over other state-of-the-art neural architecture algorithm has been verified in the experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common and fatal form of interstitial lung disease. IPF is characterized by irreversible scarring of the lungs leading to lung function decline. Although the etiology remains poorly understood, dysregulated autophagy in alveolar-epithelial cells (AECs) together with interplay between apoptotic-AECs and proliferative-myofibroblasts have been strongly implicated in IPF pathogenesis. Recent studies have revealed that a caveolin-1-derived 7-mer peptide, CSP7, mitigates established PF at least in part by improving AEC viability. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether and how CSP7 regulates autophagy in fibrotic-lung AECs. We found that p53 and autophagic proteins were markedly upregulated in AECs from mice with single/multi-doses of bleomycin—or silica-induced PF. This was abolished following treatment of PF-mice with CSP7. Further, CSP7 abrogated silica- or bleomycin-induced p53 and autophagy proteins in AECs. Immunoprecipitation further revealed that CSP7 abolishes the interaction of caveolin-1 with LC3BII and p62 in AECs. AEC-specific p53-knockout mice resisted silica- or bleomycin-induced changes in autophagy proteins, or CSP7 treatment. Our findings provide a novel mechanism by which CSP7 inhibits dysregulated autophagy in injured AECs and mitigates existing PF. These results affirm the potential of CSP7 for treating established PF, including IPF and silicosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical looping technology is an emerging technology for the efficient conversion of biomass to heat, power, fuel, and value-added chemicals. Chemical looping uses a metal oxide oxygen carrier to fully or partially oxidize the biomass feedstock, which avoids N2 dilution to the CO2 or syngas product. Thus, chemical looping technology can convert biomass to sequestration-ready CO2 or high purity syngas, which leads to the potential for negative carbon emission and enhanced energy efficiency in biomass conversions. Various chemical looping processes for biomass conversions, using different oxygen carrier materials and reactor designs, have been studied ranging from lab scale to pilot scale. This article reviews the current state of development in the scale-up of chemical looping technology for biomass conversions. It also provides perspectives on the chemical looping technology of relevance to various biomass conversion issues including CO2 capture, utilization and sequestration, biomass feedstock collection, handling and conversion enhancement, choice of reaction schemes, fuel and air reactor designs and operation, operational load variation, fate of pollutants and effect of ashes. Representative process configurations, reactor designs, oxygen carrier material selections, and the testing results are described along with the technology challenges, their potential solutions, and future research needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding mechanical properties of organic rich shale is crucial for successful exploration and long-term production of hydrocarbons from unconventional reservoirs. Due to the organic matter and clay minerals interlaced with other silicate minerals, shale can be studied as a heterogeneous material. In this work, the average mineral compositions and elastic mechanical properties were first characterized by scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and atomic force microscopy. Uniaxial compression and triaxial compression tests were then conducted on core-scale Lower Huron Shale samples. Numerical models were constructed to extract mechanical properties from both uniaxial compression and triaxial compression experiments. Next, homogeneous, mineral-based, and Weibull distribution-based numerical models were developed to investigate the influence of the mineral heterogeneity and shale hydration effect on the strength and deformation behavior of shale rocks. The homogeneous models have higher compressive and tensile strengths as well as mechanical properties than heterogeneous models. Compared to homogeneous models, when the shale rock is simulated with heterogeneous models, a transformation from brittle to ductile in stress–strain responses and that from simple modes to complex modes in failure mechanisms are observed. It is also demonstrated that the mineral property distribution and shale hydration effect have a larger influence on the triaxial compression strength. Furthermore, simulation studies suggest that numerical models accounting for the heterogeneity of shale can improve the accuracy of the mechanical property characterization. The outcome of this research will benefit the understanding of the Lower Huron Shale mechanical properties, which has significant implications to the successful development of shale reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volume rendering methods have been extensively studied in recent years due to their effectiveness and expressiveness for unstructured grid data visualization. Although existing volume rendering methods have demonstrated great success, we observe that these methods have extensive interpolation and integral operations, which may adversely affect their efficiency and further prevent them being applied in interactive visualization. To boost efficiency and achieve interactive rendering rates, we propose a novel multi-threaded parallel projection tetrahedral algorithm based on multi-core architecture. By analyzing the parallelism of volume rendering methods, we find that the visibility sorting and classification/decomposition of projection polygons are the most time-consuming parts. To reduce the execution time of these two parts, we design corresponding parallel methods. In this manner, our method can dramatically improve efficiency and further enable user interactions for progressive unstructured grid analysis. The visibility sorting part includes partial sorting and global sorting: In partial sorting, we partition disordered tetrahedral depth array and obtain several loosely coupled subarrays, and in global sorting, we sort each subarray with multi-threads technique. In the classification/decomposition of projection polygons part, we normalize tetrahedral projection to ensure arbitrary tetrahedral produces the same number of triangles, and then store the produced vertex data into vertex array with offset computation that ensures correct order for the multi-threads runtime. The experimental results show that the proposed multi-threaded projection tetrahedral algorithm can achieve a speedup of 3.4X on a 20 cores CPU and outperforms the fastest VTK implementation at a speedup of 2.5X, which verifies the efficiency of our algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the temporal–spatial temperature field and mechanical response of an orthotropic steel bridge deck during paving with gussasphalt concrete (GAC), in situ monitoring of the Cuntan Yangtze River Bridge in China was conducted during GAC paving, and a finite element method model of the temperature field was established. The test and model show the following: (1) The maximum temperature occur at the paving area mid-span on the steel bridge deck, and the temperature stress of the ribs is non-negligible. (2) The deck in the paving and non-paving areas is mainly subjected to compressive and tensile stresses, respectively. (3) The beam end of the steel box expanded outward, and the deck bulge upward. (4) Based on the analysis of the construction parameters, the paving temperature and width have a greater influence than the paving speed on the stress and deformation fields. In bridge design, the temperature-stress problem caused by high-temperature pavement and the pavement thickness problem caused by the temperature deformation of the deck must be considered. The longitudinal elongation should meet the allowable limits of the corresponding telescopic device. These results can provide a reference for construction workers and maintenance personnel of bridge deck pavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Recently, cancer-derived exosomes were shown to have pro-metastasis function in cancer, but the mechanism remains unclear. Angiogenesis is essential for tumor progression and is a great promising therapeutic target for advanced cervical cancer. Here, we investigated the role of cervical cancer cell-secreted exosomal miR-221-3p in tumor angiogenesis. Methods and results: miR-221-3p was found to be closely correlated with microvascular density in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) by evaluating the microvascular density with immunohistochemistry and miR-221-3p expression with in situ hybridization in clinical specimens. Using the groups of CSCC cell lines (SiHa and C33A) with miR-221-3p overexpression and silencing, the CSCC exosomes were characterized by electron microscopy, western blotting, and fluorescence microscopy. The enrichment of miR-221-3p in CSCC exosomes and its transfer into human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were confirmed by qRT-PCR. CSCC exosomal miR-221-3p promoted angiogenesis in vitro in Matrigel tube formation assay, spheroid sprouting assay, migration assay, and wound healing assay. Then, exosome intratumoral injection indicated that CSCC exosomal miR-221-3p promoted tumor growth in vivo. Thrombospondin-2 (THBS2) was bioinformatically predicted to be a direct target of miR-221-3p, and this was verified by using the in vitro and in vivo experiments described above. Additionally, overexpression of THBS2 in HUVECs rescued the angiogenic function of miR-221-3p. Conclusions: Our results suggest that CSCC exosomes transport miR-221-3p from cancer cells to vessel endothelial cells and promote angiogenesis by downregulating THBS2. Therefore, CSCC-derived exosomal miR-221-3p could be a possible novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for CSCC progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion behaviors of uncoated, enamel-coated, and epoxy-coated steel samples were evaluated in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution with open-circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization tests. Two types of enamel (powder and slurry) were coated on steel samples in electrostatic and wet spraying processes, respectively. Twelve 25 mm × 25 mm steel samples were cut from an API 5L X65 pipe of 323.850 mm in outer diameter and 9.525 mm in wall thickness. They were divided into four groups of three identical samples. Each group represents one of the four conditions: uncoated, powder enamel-coated, slurry enamel-coated and epoxy-coated. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that the powder and slurry enamel coatings were approximately 180 and 235 µm thick, respectively. The powder enamel coating has fewer but larger isolated pores than the slurry enamel coating. Electrochemical tests consistently indicated that the powder and slurry enamel coatings provided slightly better and worse corrosion protection to the coated steel samples, respectively, than the epoxy coating. The charge transfer resistances of all the coated samples are approximately 108 times larger than that of the uncoated samples. All the coated samples were unlikely corroded within 2 h of immersion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chen-Fei Zhou and Li Liang have not responded to any correspondence from the editor or publisher about this retraction. Xiang-Guang Wu, Yan-Mei Zhang, Rui-Ming Yan, Wen-Fei Wei, Xiao-Jing Chen, Hong-Yan Yi, Luo-Jiao Liang, Liang-sheng Fan, Sha Wu and Wei Wang agree to this retraction. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the first molecularly and clinically characterized genetic disease of lipid metabolism. It is an autosomal dominant disorder with significantly elevated levels of total cholesterol and low density of lipoprotein cholesterol in serum, which would lead to extensive xanthomas and premature coronary heart disease. Mutations in low density lipoprotein receptor ( LDLR), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 and Apo lipoprotein B- 100 ( APOB) have been identified to be the underlying cause of this disease. Methods: Genetic testing and reports of the mutations in the Chinese population are still limited. In this study, 11 unrelated Chinese FH families were enrolled to detect the candidate gene variants by DNA direct sequencing. Results and conclusion: We identified 12 mutations (11 in LDLR and one in APOB) in ten FH families. Three novel LDLR mutations (c.516C>A/p.D172E, c.1720C>A/p.R574S and c.760C>T/p.Q254X) were identified and co-segregated with the affected individuals in the families. Our discoveries not only further supports the significant role of LDLR in FH, but also expands the spectrum of LDLR mutations. These new insights will contribute to the genetic diagnosis and counseling of FH patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subcritical water is an emerging method in food industry. In this study, soybean protein isolate (SPI) was treated by subcritical water (SBW) at various temperatures (0, 120, 160, 200 °C) for 20 min. The changes in the appearances, physicochemical properties and structural changes were investigated. After SBW treatment, the color of SPI solution modified turned to be yellow. The mean particle size and turbidity of SPI had similar behaviors. The mean particle size was decreased from 263.7 nm to 116.8 nm at 120 °C and then reached the maximum at 160 °C (1446.1 nm) due to the aggregation of protein. Then it was decreased to 722.9 nm at 200 °C caused by the protein degradation. SBW treatment could significantly enhance the solubility, emulsifying and foaming properties of SPI. With increasing temperature, the crystalline structure of protein was gradually collapsed. The degradation of the protein advanced structure occurred, especially at 200 °C revealed by ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry. Better functional properties exhibited in hydrolysis products indicating that SBW treatment could be used as a good method to modify the properties of soy proteins isolate for specific purposes under appropriate treatment condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Familial hypercholesterolaemia (FH) is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder, associated with elevated level of serum low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), which can lead to premature cardiovascular disease (CVD). Mutations in low density lipoprotein receptor ( LDLR) and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 ( PCSK9) have been identified to be the underlying cause of this disease. Genetic research of FH has already been extensively studied all over the world. However, reports of FH mutations in the Chinese population are still limited. In this paper, 20 unrelated FH families were enrolled to detect the candidate gene variants in Chinese FH population by DNA direct sequencing. We identified 12 LDLR variants in 13 FH probands. Importantly, we first reported two unique mutations (c.2000_2000 delG/p.C667LfsX6 and c.605T>C/p.F202S) in LDLR gene. Our discoveries expand the spectrum of LDLR mutations and contribute to the genetic diagnosis and counseling for FH patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new microfluidic device for fast and high-throughput particle focusing is reported. The particle focusing is based on the combination of inertial lift force effect and centrifugal force effect generated in a microchannel with a series of repeated asymmetric sharp corners on one side of the channel wall. The inertial lift force induces two focused particle streams in the microchannel, and the centrifugal force generated at the sharp corner structures tends to drive the particles laterally away from the corner. With the use of a series of repeated asymmetric sharp corner structures, a single and highly focused particle stream was achieved near the straight channel wall at a wide range of flow rate. In comparison with other hydrodynamic particle focusing methods, this method is less sensitive to the flow rate and can work at a higher flow rate (up to 700 μL/min) and Reynolds number ( Re = 129.5). With its simple structure and operation, and high throughput, this method can be potentially used in particle focusing processes in a variety of lab-on-a-chip applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the major cause of cancer death worldwide. Increasing evidence shows that microRNAs (miRNAs), evolutionally conserved non-coding RNAs, are widely involved in the development and progression of NSCLC. Aberrant alteration of miRNAs expression has been implicated in NSCLC initiation and progression. Herein, we studied the role of miR-27b in NSCLC cells. We found that miR-27b was significantly decreased in several NSCLC cell lines. Forced overexpression of miR-27 inhibited both the growth and invasion of NSCLC cells. Furthermore, we identified Sp1 transcription factor (Sp1) as a target of miR-27b in NSCLC cells. Moreover, we found that miR-27 suppressed growth and invasion of NSCLC cells partially by targeting Sp1. Our data indicate that miR-27b may play a critical role in the development of NSCLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Zhejiang University: Science B is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: Observational and preclinical studies suggested an association between the expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) and clinical effects of pemetrexed-based chemotherapy in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, the predictive value of TS for pemetrexed-containing chemotherapy regimen remained controversial. The aim of the study was to further appraise the association between the expression of TS and clinical efficacy pemetrexed-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients. Methods: We searched in MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE, and Cochrane Library from January 1945 to May 2013. Two authors independently extracted information from the characteristics of study participants. Primary outcomes included therapeutic response (TR; i.e., complete response + partial response vs. stable disease + progressive disease), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS). Relative risk (RR) and hazard ratio (HR) were used for evaluating the risk or hazard. Results: Eight studies were included in the meta-analysis. Better response usually appeared in NSCLC patients with a lower expression of TS [RR = 2.06 95 % confidence intervals (CI) 1.44, 2.96]. There was a significant association between TS expression and outcomes of pemetrexed-based chemotherapy for NSCLC (PFS: HR = 0.63 95 % CI 0.52, 0.76; OS: HR = 0.74, 95 % CI: 0.63, 0.88). In addition, no evidence of publication bias was observed. Conclusions: This meta-analysis evaluated the predictive value of TS and provided evidence that NSCLC patients with lower TS expression could significantly benefit from pemetrexed-based chemotherapy. This increased level of TS was probably an independent risk factor of potential resistance against pemetrexed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To identify the effects of adding two different doses of dexamethasone on the duration and quality of interscalene block in patients undergoing shoulder surgery in ambulatory surgery settings. Methods: The study design was reviewed and approved by the University at Buffalo Institutional Review Board for Human Subjects. After obtaining informed consent, a total of 90 patients undergoing shoulder surgery using interscalene block with 0.5% bupivacaine (40 mL) were assigned randomly to one of three groups: control patients, 'Group C,' who received no additive; low dose, 'Group L,' who received additional dexamethasone 4 mg; and high dose, 'Group H,' who received dexamethasone 8 mg in addition to 0.5% bupivacaine. Postoperative analgesia was assessed using the numeric rating scores of pain and the postoperative consumption of acetaminophen 325 mg + hydrocodone 7.5 mg tablets. Analysis was by intention to treat. Statistical significance was tested using a two-way analysis of variance and a nonparametric analysis of variance for consumption of analgesics. Results: Four patients were excluded from the study due to either a failed block or inadequate follow-up. The duration of analgesia was significantly prolonged in both Group L (21.6 ± 2.4 h) and Group H (25.2 ± 1.9 h) compared with Group C (13.3 ± 1.0 h) ( p < 0.05). Similarly, the duration of motor block was longer in both Group L (36.7 ± 4.1 h), and Group H (39.2 ± 3.9 h) compared to Group C (24.6 ± 3.3 h) ( p < 0.05). Postoperative analgesic consumption for the first 48 h was significantly lower in Group L (6.5 [4-8] tabs) and in Group H (5.5 [4-7] tabs) vs. 9.5 [8-12] tabs in Group C ( p < 0.01). There were no adverse events related to dexamethasone during the 4-week follow-up period. Conclusion: The addition of dexamethasone to bupivacaine significantly prolonged the duration of the motor block and improved the quality of analgesia following interscalene block. There was no difference in the duration of analgesia and motor block between low-dose and high-dose dexamethasone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-situ annealing at a high temperature of 640°C was performed for a low temperature grown Si capping layer, which was grown at 300°C on SiGe self-assembled quantum dots with a thickness of 50 nm. Square nanopits, with a depth of about 8 nm and boundaries along 〈110〉, are formed in the Si capping layer after annealing. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observation shows that each nanopit is located right over one dot with one to one correspondence. The detailed migration of Si atoms for the nanopit formation is revealed by in-situ annealing at a low temperature of 540°C. The final well-defined profiles of the nanopits indicate that both strain energy and surface energy play roles during the nanopit formation, and the nanopits are stable at 640°C. A subsequent growth of Ge on the nanopit-patterned surface results in the formation of SiGe quantum dot molecules around the nanopits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a previously developed dual modality imaging system is applied to image the flow of granular matter with different electrical properties in cylindrical vessels. The imaging system is based on both capacitance and power measurements acquired by an electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) sensor located around the vessel. The measurement data are then used to reconstruct cross-sectional images of both permittivity and conductivity distributions. A neural network multi-criterion optimization reconstruction technique (NN-MOIRT) is used for the inverse (reconstruction) problem. The contribution of this technology to the field of granular matters is explored through review of research articles that can be a direct application of this development. We discuss the capabilities of this dual-modality acquisition system using synthetic data for granular matter with different electrical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the generalized anti-reflexive solution for matrix equations (BX = C, XD = E), which arise in left and right inverse eigenpairs problem, is considered. With the special properties of generalized anti-reflexive matrices, the necessary and sufficient conditions for the solvability and a general expression of the solution are obtained. Furthermore, the related optimal approximation problem to a given matrix over the solution set is solved. In addition, the algorithm and the example to obtain the unique optimal approximation solution are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategic alliance has suffered much instabilities since its first implementation. Scholars have carried out many embedded, precise and comprehensive researches from both theory and empiricism. Here we try to find certain stable solutions by employing game theory, in an attempt to construct theoretical bases for strategic alliance, which people called “one of the most important organizational innovation in the end of the 20th century” (Shi, 2001), to exploit its advantages in the process of globalization. Finally, this article puts forward some advices for its success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe are a unique group of countries. In the process of transformation to market economies, some of them adopted the “shock therapy” while others the “gradualism” mode. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays an important role in economic growth through the addition of physical capital, technological know-how, management skill and marketing network. This paper empirically demonstrates that the mode of transformation definitely affects the effectiveness of FDI in promoting growth. ( JEL: P3, P33) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discovery of long-lived epithelial stem cells in the bulge region of the hair follicle led to the hypothesis that epidermal renewal and epidermal repair after wounding both depend on these cells. To determine whether bulge cells are necessary for epidermal renewal, here we have ablated these cells by targeting them with a suicide gene encoding herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV-TK) using a Keratin 1–15 (Krt1-15) promoter. We show that ablation leads to complete loss of hair follicles but survival of the epidermis. Through fate-mapping experiments, we find that stem cells in the hair follicle bulge do not normally contribute cells to the epidermis which is organized into epidermal proliferative units, as previously predicted. After epidermal injury, however, cells from the bulge are recruited into the epidermis and migrate in a linear manner toward the center of the wound, ultimately forming a marked radial pattern. Notably, although the bulge-derived cells acquire an epidermal phenotype, most are eliminated from the epidermis over several weeks, indicating that bulge stem cells respond rapidly to epidermal wounding by generating short-lived 'transient amplifying' cells responsible for acute wound repair. Our findings have implications for both gene therapy and developing treatments for wounds because it will be necessary to consider epidermal and hair follicle stem cells as distinct populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement method is a decisive step for any calibration method. This paper studies the practical performance of a 5DOF manipulator based on a 3-RPS parallel mechanism. By comparing the controlling data that resides in parallel part and serial part at different orientations, a calibration method has been put forward and proved to be applicable. The precision of the calibrated model mainly depends on the number of measurements carried out. The distribution of measurement points also affects the precision and the measurement number could be significantly reduced if uniform distribution were ensured. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multistage process which can be completely characterized by a state variable and a control variable is called a one-dimensional multistage process with a control variable. It is shown that the optimal policy for controlling or operating such a process is to apply an equal control action at each stage when the process is linear in state variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of the velocity profile, from a uniform one at the entrance, for an electrically conducting fluid entering a semi-infinite flat duct with a transversely applied magnetic field is investigated. It is assumed that the fluid has constant physical properties, the duct walls are electrically nonconducting, a uniform magnetic field is imposed perpendicular to the duct walls, and there can be a net electrical current flow parallel to the walls and perpendicular to the flow direction with a variable external resistance connecting the two side plates, which are displaced at infinity. The basic governing continuity and momentum equations are expressed in finite difference form and solved numerically on a high-speed digital computer with a mesh network superimposed on the flow field. A practical mesh size ratio suitable for computation was determined. Results were obtained for the variations of velocity and pressure distribution between the inlet and the region for the fully developed velocity profile for Hartmann numbers of 0, 4, and 10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik und Physik (ZAMP) is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Angewandte Mathematik und Physik (ZAMP) is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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Chemical looping methane partial oxidation provides an energy and cost effective route for methane utilization. However, there is considerable CO2 co-production in current chemical looping systems, rendering a decreased productivity in value-added fuels or chemicals. In this work, we demonstrate that the co-production of CO2 can be dramatically suppressed in methane partial oxidation reactions using iron oxide nanoparticles embedded in mesoporous silica matrix. We experimentally obtain near 100% CO selectivity in a cyclic redox system at 750–935 °C, which is a significantly lower temperature range than in conventional oxygen carrier systems. Density functional theory calculations elucidate the origins for such selectivity and show that low-coordinated lattice oxygen atoms on the surface of nanoparticles significantly promote Fe–O bond cleavage and CO formation. We envision that embedded nanostructured oxygen carriers have the potential to serve as a general materials platform for redox reactions with nanomaterials at high temperatures. Chemical looping methane partial oxidation is an effective technology to produce syngas with a minimal energy penalty. Here, the authors design and develop a mesoporous silica supported nanoparticle oxygen carrier that enables a near 100% CO generation with high recyclability and substantially lower operating temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple microfluidic device is reported for continuous, sheath-free focusing of microparticles in both viscoelastic and Newtonian fluids. Gradually contracted and suddenly expanded structures in the flow direction were designed on one side of the microchannel to induce asymmetric distribution of the elastic force on the cross section in the viscoelastic fluid. Driven by the elastic force and the viscous drag force, microparticles were focused in a single position located near the straight wall of the channel. In the Newtonian fluid, these contracted and expanded structures were utilized to generate highly curved streamlines which induced momentum-change-induced inertial force on particles. Under the combined effect of this force and the inertial lift force, the particles were also focused in a single stream in the Newtonian fluid. The influences of flow rate, particle size, polymer concentration, fluid viscosity and channel geometry on the particle focusing were investigated in the paper. In comparison with other particle focusing devices, the present microchannel can focus microparticles in a single stream in both the viscoelastic and the Newtonian fluids in a short channel length without the aid of sheath flow. With simple structure and easy operation, this device could be potentially utilized in a variety of particle focusing processes in biomedical applications, such as the enrichment of cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]