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Abstract Metabolite accumulation in lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) results in impaired cell function and multi‐systemic disease. Although substrate reduction and lysosomal overload‐decreasing therapies can ameliorate disease progression, the significance of lysosomal overload‐independent mechanisms in the development of cellular dysfunction is unknown for most LSDs. Here, we identify a mechanism of impaired chaperone‐mediated autophagy (CMA) in cystinosis, a LSD caused by defects in the cystine transporter cystinosin (CTNS) and characterized by cystine lysosomal accumulation. We show that, different from other LSDs, autophagosome number is increased, but macroautophagic flux is not impaired in cystinosis while mTOR activity is not affected. Conversely, the expression and localization of the CMA receptor LAMP2A are abnormal in CTNS‐deficient cells and degradation of the CMA substrate GAPDH is defective in Ctns−/− mice. Importantly, cysteamine treatment, despite decreasing lysosomal overload, did not correct defective CMA in Ctns−/− mice or LAMP2A mislocalization in cystinotic cells, which was rescued by CTNS expression instead, suggesting that cystinosin is important for CMA activity. In conclusion, CMA impairment contributes to cell malfunction in cystinosis, highlighting the need for treatments complementary to current therapies that are based on decreasing lysosomal overload.

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of Sanjie Analgesic Capsule (SAC) in Chinese patients with endometriosis-associated pain. Methods: This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted at 15 centers between November 2013 and July 2017 in China. Eligible 323 patients with endometriosis were randomized at a 3:1 ratio to the SAC group (241 cases) and placebo group (82 cases) by stratified block randomization. Patients in the SAC or placebo groups were given SAC or placebo 1.6 g 3 times per day, orally, respectively since the first day of menstruation for 3 consecutive menstrual cycles. The primary endpoint was clinical response to dysmenorrhea evaluated using a 10-point Visual Analogue Scale at 3 and 6 months. The secondary endpoint was the pain score evaluated by VAS (chronic pelvic pain, defecation pain, and dyspareunia) at 3 and 6 months, and the pain recurrence rate at 6 months. Adverse events (AEs) were recorded during the study. Results: A total of 241 women were included in the SAC group, and 82 were in the placebo group. Among these women, 217 (90.0%) and 71 (86.6%) completed the intervention, respectively. At 3 months, overall response rate (ORR) was significantly higher in women administered SAC (80.1%) compared with those who received a placebo (30.5%, P<0.01). Six months after treatment, the ORR for dysmenorrhea was 62.7% in the SAC group and 31.7% in the placebo group (P<0.01). Chronic pelvic pain and defecation pain were significantly improved by SAC compared with placebo (both P<0.05). The incidence rates of total AEs events in the SAC and placebo groups were 6.6% and 9.8%, respectively, and no significant difference was shown between the two groups (P=0.339). Conclusion: SAC is well-tolerated and may improve dysmenorrhea in women with endometriosis-associated pain. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT02031523) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suspended vegetation in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and canals can change flow structure, which will in turn affect the sediment transport and cause the variation of water ecological environment. In order to study the characteristics of bend flow through suspended vegetation, three-dimensional numerical simulations are carried out by using the multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method (MRT-LBM). The drag force induced by vegetation is added in the velocity correction in the equilibrium distribution and a hybrid format combined bounce and specular reflection scheme is applied in the solid-fluid boundaries. After the validation of this model, six cases are designed to conduct the numerical simulations according to the root depth and the arrangement of vegetation. The simulated results show that the suspended vegetation can redistribute the flow structure in curved open channels. After the arrangement of suspended vegetation, the main flow moves to the side without vegetation, and the distribution of velocity tends to be balanced when vegetation is arranged on the entire cross section, the range of circulating current is reduced from the whole cross section to the local position without vegetation, however, the circulating current can still exist in the curve where the suspended vegetation enters less than half of the water depth. In addition, it can also be concluded that the suspended vegetation can affect the lateral gradient of flow velocity, and the bed shear stress in the curved channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is a serious progressive fibrotic disease that is characterized by excessive accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM), thus resulting in stiff lung tissues. Lysyl oxidase (LOX) is an enzyme involved in fibrosis by catalyzing collagen cross-linking. Studies found that the ingredients in schisandra ameliorated bleomycin (BLM)-induced PF, but it is unknown whether the anti-PF of schisandra is related to LOX. In this study, we established models of PF including a mouse model stimulated by BLM and a HFL1 cell model induced by transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 to evaluate the inhibition effects of Schisandrin C (Sch C) on PF. We observed that Sch C treatment decreased pulmonary indexes compared to control group. Treatment of Sch C showed a significant reduction in the accumulation of ECM as evidenced by decreased expressions of α-SMA, FN, MMP2, MMP9, TIMP1 and collagen proteins such as Col 1A1, and Col 3A1. In addition, the expression of LOX in the lung tissue of mice after Sch C treatment was effectively decreased compared with the MOD group. The inhibition effects in vitro were consistent with those in vivo. Mechanistic studies revealed that Sch C significantly inhibited TGF-β1/Smad2/3 and TNF-α/JNK signaling pathways. In conclusion, our data demonstrated that Sch C significantly ameliorated PF in vivo and vitro, which may play an important role by reducing ECM deposition and inhibiting the production of LOX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrite is widely used due to its personal properties. It not only exists in the food processing and chemical industry but also in every corner of the natural world. Nevertheless, excessive use of nitrite can cause serious environmental and human health hazards. Therefore, the efficient and sensitive detection of nitrite content has become a problem that must be faced. Among numerous methods, the electrochemical method has been widely studied for its advantages, such as fast reaction speed, high sensitivity, and miniaturization. The principle of operation of the nitrite electrochemical sensor is as follows. A modified layer located on the electrode surface oxidizes nitrite to nitrate. The sensing signal generated during oxidation can be converted into a measurable electrochemical signal. The electrochemical signal is proportional to nitrite concentration within a certain range, so that nitrite can be quantitatively detected. However, the sensor's performance is affected by the high oxidation potential of the bare electrode in electrochemistry. Therefore, the electrode is often modified to improve the sensor's performance in the study. In this review, the research progress of materials other than precious metals is discussed in the electrochemical detection of nitrite in recent years (2023–2013). The properties of carbon materials, non-noble metals, metal-organic framework compounds, conductive polymers, and their composites in electrochemical sensors are discussed in detail. Besides, it also looks forward to the challenges and prospects of nanomaterials in electrochemical sensor applications. Article overall summary diagram [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urea is mainly derived from animal urine and urea industry. The discharge of wastewater rich in urea causes serious harm to the environment and human health. Urea electrooxidation technology is an important means to remove urea pollutants, which has the dual significance of environmental protection and clean energy production. However, the kinetics of urea oxidation is slow, so it is urgent to develop efficient catalysts for urea electrooxidation. In recent years, nickel-based materials as effective catalysts for urea electrooxidation have been favored by researchers because of their low cost, high activity, and high stability. Suitable support can significantly improve the catalytic performance of electrocatalyst. In this paper, the research progress of supported nickel-based catalysts in the field of urea electrooxidation was reviewed, and the applications of supported nickel-based catalysts in urea electrolysis hydrogen production, fuel cells, and urea sensors were reviewed in detail. The development prospect, challenges, and practical applications of supported nickel-based catalysts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Binder-free nickel–cobalt phosphate (NiCoPO) micro flakes are evenly grown on the nickel foam (NF) by a simple hydrothermal method, which can act as a highly efficient bifunctional electrocatalyst (NiCoPO/NF) for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and urea oxidation reaction (UOR). NiCoPO/NF presents the relatively prominent OER and UOR activities with ultralow potentials of 1.51 V and 1.34 V (vs. reversible hydrogen electrode) to reach the current density of 100 mA cm−2, respectively. The outstanding UOR and OER performance of NiCoPO/NF might be attributed to the fact that the successful incorporation of oxygen atoms into Ni/Co phosphate is beneficial for the oxidation of metal atoms at high overpotential. In addition, NF can improve the electrical conductivity to accelerate the electron transfer from the electrode to the catalyst. Additionally, in the alkaline solution (1 M KOH), NiCoPO/NF shows excellent durability and stability after the consecutive OER and UOR tests for 48 h. The design of NiCoPO/NF would pave the way to construct more efficient bifunctional electrodes for electrocatalytic water splitting with or without urea in alkaline solution, which provides a novel technological platform for the conversion of human waste into the sustainable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancing of location-detection technologies and the increasing popularity of mobile phones and other location-aware devices, trajectory data is continuously growing. While large-scale trajectories provide opportunities for various applications, the locations in trajectories pose a threat to individual privacy. Recently, there has been an interesting debate on the reidentifiability of individuals in the Science magazine. The main finding of Sánchez et al. is exactly opposite to that of De Montjoye et al., which raises the first question: "what is the true situation of the privacy preservation for trajectories in terms of reidentification?" Furthermore, it is known that anonymization typically causes a decline of data utility, and anonymization mechanisms need to consider the trade-off between privacy and utility. This raises the second question: "what is the true situation of the utility of anonymized trajectories?" To answer these two questions, we conduct a systematic experimental study, using three real-life trajectory datasets, five existing anonymization mechanisms (i.e., identifier anonymization, grid-based anonymization, dummy trajectories, k-anonymity and ε-differential privacy), and two practical applications (i.e., travel time estimation and window range queries). Our findings reveal the true situation of the privacy preservation for trajectories in terms of reidentification and the true situation of the utility of anonymized trajectories, and essentially close the debate between De Montjoye et al. and Sánchez et al. To the best of our knowledge, this study is among the first systematic evaluation and analysis of anonymized trajectories on the individual privacy in terms of unicity and on the utility in terms of practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suspended vegetation in open channels such as natural river, lake, reservoir usually affect the flow structure, causing the change of the water environment, sediment transport, bed deformation. In order to study the water flow behavior in curved open channels under the influence of suspended vegetation, experiments were conducted in a U-shaped flume with 180° bend where the suspended vegetation substituted by cylindrical glass rods were partially placed. The particle image velocimeter (PIV) system was employed to measure the flow velocities of various cases with different vegetation arrangements and roots length. Comparison and analysis were conducted for measured data, such as water level, velocity, head loss, Reynolds stress, and turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) to obtain certain general rules of water flow in open curved channels with suspended vegetation. It can be found from the measured data that the water level and the head loss in the vegetation area are closely related to the arrangements of the suspended vegetation. Furthermore, the drag force of the vegetation can not only lead to smaller increments of longitudinal TKE above the vegetation tail than that below it, but also lead to the flow velocities in vegetation area much smaller than areas without vegetation. In addition, suspended vegetation weakens the vortex strength near the water surface and increases the vortex strength below the vegetation tail, and the flow velocity in the vegetation area has a close relationship with the suspended vegetation length in the water. Therefore, it can be concluded that the reasonable arrangements of suspended vegetation group in curved open channel can protect the concave bank from being scoured, and protect the convex bank from being deposited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrite exists in the natural environment widely and is often used in human daily life. It causes varying degrees of harm to the water ecosystem and human health when the nitrite concentration exceeds the standard. Therefore, it is necessary to develop reliable nitrite detection methods. Compared with others, the electrochemical method for detecting nitrite has a series of advantages such as easier, lower cost, and faster analysis. The present research on the detection of nitrite by electrochemical methods focuses on the modification of electrodes. Numerous studies have shown that the addition of precious metals can increase the electronic transfer rate and the electrocatalytic active sites of the electrode, significantly improving the catalytic oxidation ability of the modified electrode for nitrite. This article reviews the research progress of precious metals (Au, Pd, Ag, Pt) in the preparation of nitrite electrochemical sensors in the past 10 years, including the application of single metal nanomaterials and bimetal or alloy materials. The performance and advantages of precious metal nanomaterials in the development of nitrite electrochemical sensors are discussed in detail. The challenges and application prospects of precious metal nanomaterials applied to nitrite electrochemical sensing platforms are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial chute cutoff can fundamentally eliminate the threat of flood caused by the meandering river, but it significantly changes its morphodynamic characteristics. Channel adjustments after cutoff are rapid, which makes it difficult to study the interaction between river morphology and flow structure only through field measurement. However, numerical simulations can provide insights into the hydrodynamic characteristics after artificial chute cutoffs. In this study, both field measurement and numerical simulation are employed to investigate the flow structure and bed morphology caused by an artificial chute cutoff in Sipaikou area of the Upper Yellow River in 2018. The measured hydrological data provide boundary conditions and initial values for the numerical model. The field measurement results reveal that the concave bank of the study area is severely scoured up to 270 m after the artificial cutoff, and a 20 m deep scour hole and a 2.26 km long pool are formed at the entrance and near the left bank of the chute channel. The numerical simulation results of velocity at typical cross-sections are in good agreement with the measurement results. Flow separation and stagnation zones are observed near the right bank during the low flow conditions (discharge of at least 902 m3/s), but this phenomenon is not seen during larger flow conditions (discharge exceeds 2000 m3/s). Interestingly, flow recirculation zones are also found near the left and right banks of the scour hole. Further, a long flux belt is formed at the scour hole and the pool. Consequently, the impact of the bed topography on the hydrodynamic characteristics is relatively prominent when the discharge is small, while the impact on the river banks and river bed is more noticeable when the water discharge is large. In addition, high shear stress is observed near the left bank at the downstream of the studied area, which indicates that the left bank at the downstream is still being scoured. These results suggest that bank protection measures along the left bank are required to maintain the effectiveness of the artificial chute cutoff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: This study aimed to investigate the evaluation and management of complications after pelvic floor reconstructive surgery for pelvic organ prolapse in China. Methods: Complications of pelvic floor reconstructive surgery for pelvic organ prolapses from 27 institutions were reported from November 2017 to October 2019. All complications were coded according to the category-time-site system proposed by the International Urogynecological Association (IUGA) and the International Continence Society (ICS). The severity of the complications was graded by the Clavien-Dindo grading system. Four scales were used to evaluate patient satisfaction and quality of life after management of the complications: the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I), the Pelvic Floor Impact Questionnaire Short Form (PFIQ-7), the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Symptom Score (POP-SS), and a 5-point Likert-type scale that evaluated the patient's choice of surgery. Results: Totally, 256 cases were reported. The occurrence of complications related to transvaginal mesh (TVM) and laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy (LSC) had a significantly longer post-surgery delay than those of native tissue repair surgery (p < 0.001 and p = 0.010, respectively). Both PFIQ-7 and POP-SS score were lower after management of complications (p < 0.001). Most respondents (81.67%) selected very much better, much better, or a little better on the PGI-I scale. Only 13.3% respondents selected unlikely or highly unlikely on the 5-point Likert-type scale. Conclusions: The occurrence of complications related to TVM surgery and LSC had a longer post-surgery delay than native tissue repair surgery. Long-term regular follow-up was vital in complication management. Patient satisfaction with the management of TVM complications was acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and hypothesis: This study aimed to compare the expression levels of extracellular matrix (ECM) and apoptosis proteins in the uterosacral ligament (USL) of patients with and without pelvic organ prolapse (POP). Methods: The USL were obtained from patients with POP-Q ≥ III (n = 35) and without POP (n = 20). Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining and RT-qPCR were conducted to assess the protein and mRNA levels, respectively. The levels of type I collagen (COLI), type III collagen (COLIII), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)1, MMP2, MMP9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)1, TIMP2, estrogen receptor (ER)α, ERβ and apoptosis-related gene B cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2)-associated agonist of cell death (Bad) and Bcl-2-associated X (Bax) in the USL were analyzed. Results: The protein expression and mRNA levels of MMP2 and MMP9, mRNA levels of BAD and BAX, and protein expression of active cleaved-Caspase3 were significantly higher in the POP group. There were no evident differences in COLIII, MMP1 or ERβ expression at either the mRNA or protein level or in TIMP1, TIMP2 or Caspase3 by IHC between the two groups. However, obvious decreases in COLI and ERα were evident at both the mRNA and protein levels in the POP group, and the mRNA levels of TIMP1 and TIMP2 were also decreased compared to those of the control group. Conclusion: ECM in the USL tissues of POP patients is remodeled compared with non-POP patients and is characterized by decreased synthesis and increased degradation of collagen; moreover, the levels of the main proteins involved in apoptosis are increased in POP tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of stage IC ovarian clear cell carcinoma (OCCC). Methods: The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was accessed for medical records of patients with stage IC OCCC from 1992 to 2016. The clinical and prognostic features of stage IC OCCC from several therapeutic perspectives were identified with Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards model. Results: Totally, 1079 patients were enrolled for the analysis. The median age was 55 (range 24–91) years. 850 (78.8%) patients were treated with chemotherapy, 877 (81.3%) received lymph node (LN) dissection, and 20 (1.9%) underwent radiotherapy. LN dissection (P = 0.501) and chemotherapy (P = 0.130) did not significantly impact cancer-specific survival (CSS). Among patients younger than 45 years, 23 received fertility-sparing surgery (FSS). No significant difference in CSS was observed between the FSS and non-FSS group (P = 0.523). Bilateral tumor (P < 0.001) and larger tumor size (P = 0.010) were significantly and independently associated with poor CSS. Older age (P = 0.001), bilateral tumor (P < 0.001), and larger tumor size (P = 0.005) were significantly and independently associated with poor overall survival (OS), while LN dissection (P = 0.005) was significantly and independently associated with better OS. Significant differences in CSS (P = 0.005) and OS (P < 0.001) were observed between the low- and high-risk groups, which were divided by median risk score. Conclusion: LN dissection and chemotherapy did not significantly impact CSS, while LN dissection was an independent prognostic factor for OS. Convincing evidence from clinical trials with a large number of patients are further required to develop treatment guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construction of heterogeneous Pd/SiO2 catalyst via the pollution-free strategy marked strong electrostatic adsorption has been reported for the application to Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. The exposed negatively charged oxygen groups, which were converted from the hydroxyl groups on the surface of silica under the alkaline atmosphere, could effectively anchor palladium species to form ultrafine Pd nanoparticles (Pd NPs) with an average particle size of 1.3 nm and high dispersion (43%). Pd/SiO2 catalyst was endowed with the excellent catalytic performance which was that the yield of the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction between bromobenzene and phenylboronic acid at 40 °C was > 99% for 30 min and the TOF was ~ 80,000 h−1. The catalyst could be easily recovered and recycled by facile procedure without a significant decrease in catalytic activity, which was able to maintain the 90% yield after repeated for 8 times. In addition, a continuous flow reaction device was designed using the Pd/SiO2 catalyst to effectively improve the production efficiency of biphenyl. Pd/SiO2 catalyst constructed with the strategy of strong electrostatic adsorption (SEA) possesses uniformly dispersed and highly exposed Pd sites which can be easily transformed into electron-deficient Pdδ+ and strengthened stability for itself due to its strong interaction with the front surface of the carrier, and has been endowed the outstanding catalytic performance for Suzuki−Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the prevalence of bladder and bowel dysfunction (BBD) and its relationship with delayed elimination communication (EC) in children. A cross-sectional study was carried out in kindergartens and primary schools in mainland China. A total of 10,166 children ranging from 4 to 10 years old were included. A total of 10,166 valid questionnaires were collected, and 409 children were diagnosed with BBD. The overall prevalence was 4.02% (409/10,166) and decreased with age, from 6.19% at age 4 to 1.96% at age 10. With the prolonged use of disposable diapers (DDs), the commencement of usage of EC in a child was significantly put off or delayed by parents, and the prevalence of BBD amongst these children increased (P < 0.001). The prevalence of BBD among children who stopped using DDs within the first 12 months and after more than 24 months was 2.79% and 4.38% respectively. Additionally, the prevalence among children who started EC within 12 months after birth and those who never engaged in EC was 1.36% and 15.71% respectively. Early introduction of EC and weaning of DD usage has a positive correlation with lower prevalence of BBD in children in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pathophysiological mechanisms for depression/anxiety are largely unknown. Evidence for transgenerational transmission of acquired epigenetic marks remains limited. We bred unstressed (US) female mice with adolescently restraint-stressed (RS), social instability-stressed (SI) or US males to produce RS, SI and control F1 offspring, respectively. Compared to controls, while paternal RS decreased anxiety-like behavior (ALB) in both female and male offspring, paternal SI increased ALB only in female offspring. Next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics using RS and SI female offspring identified 5 candidate anxiety-transmitting (CAT) genes; each showed a consistent pattern of DNA methylation from F0 spermatozoa through F1 blastocysts to fetal and adult hippocampi. Further analyses validated 4 CAT genes, demonstrated that paternal SI caused ALB differences between male and female offspring through modifying the CAT genes, and indicated a strong correlation between inflammation and ALB pathogenesis and an important function for intronic DNA methylation in regulating ALB-related genes. In conclusion, this study identified important CAT genes and suggested the possibility that stresses on males might alter offspring's ALB by modifying sperm DNA methylation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the flow characteristics in water bodies with rigid aquatic vegetation, series of laboratory experiments are carried out in an open channel, in which glass rods are used as plants with diameters of 6mm, 8mm and 10mm, respectively. For each diameter of glass rods, four typical cases are considered with various densities and arrangements of glass rods. The flow velocities in the four cases are measured by the 3-D laser Doppler velocimeter (LDV). The water surface slope, the flow velocity, the water head loss, the vegetation drag force and the hydraulic slope are calculated, analyzed and discussed. The horizontal, vertical and total vegetation densities in the vegetation area are defined and the relationship between these physical parameters and the water surface slope are studied. The head loss and the hydraulic slope in the vegetation area are also calculated, compared and analyzed. It is indicated that the water surface slope and velocity, the head loss and the hydraulic slope in the vegetation area have a close relationship with the arrangement, the density, and the plant diameter of the vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully recognize various problems in the observed magnetotelluric (MT) data is the precondition of inverse solutions. In the paper, according to the geomorphological conditions of the observational MT stations in the Guangxi area, we constructed several different kinds of models to conduct a three-dimensional forward simulation of the MT field using the vector finite element method (FEM). First, the variation rule and differences of apparent resistivity ρxy and ρyx in the xy and yx modes were studied and analyzed, and then the geoelectric information reflected by the change of apparent resistivity ρxx and ρyy were discussed. Final, the responses of typical geological structures that cause a static shift problem were presented. The synthetic examples showed that ρxy and ρyx were relevant to the layout of the survey line, for instance, ρxy had different values along the west-east profile compared with that of the south-north profile, Moreover, ρxx and ρyy could subtly show the abnormal body-host rock interface, which could be used to restrict the anomalous domain in the inversion process. In addition to the scale and depth of the top surface of the anomalous body, the widespread rivers and hills, can simulate static shift. Hence, to reduce the influence of static shift on MT data, a reasonable distance between a station and rivers or hills should be considered in accordance with the scale of rivers or hills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic vegetation can significantly affect flow structure, sediment transport, bed scour and water quality in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and open channels. In this study, the lattice Boltzmann method is applied for performing the two dimensional numerical simulation of the flow structure in a flume with rigid vegetation. A multi-relaxation time model is applied to improve the stability of the numerical scheme for flow with high Reynolds number. The vegetation induced drag force is added in lattice Boltzmann equation model with the algorithm of multi-relaxation time in order to improve the simulation accuracy. Numerical simulations are performed for a wide range of flow and vegetation conditions and are validated by comparing with the laboratory experiments. Analysis of the simulated and experimentally measured flow field shows that the numerical simulation can satisfactorily reproduce the laboratory experiments, indicating that the proposed lattice Boltzmann model has high accuracy for simulating flow-vegetation interaction in open channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developmental competence of IVM porcine oocytes is still low compared with that in their in vivo counterparts. Although many studies reported effects of glucose metabolism (GM) on oocyte nuclear maturation, few reported on cytoplasmic maturation. Previous studies could not differentiate whether GM of cumulus cells (CCs) or that of cumulus-denuded oocytes (DOs) supported oocyte maturation. Furthermore, species differences in oocyte GM are largely unknown. Our aim was to address these issues by using enzyme activity inhibitors, RNAi gene silencing and special media that could support nuclear but not cytoplasmic maturation when GM was inhibited. The results showed that GM in CCs promoted pig oocyte maturation by releasing metabolites from both pentose phosphate pathway and glycolysis. Both pyruvate and lactate were transferred into pig DOs by monocarboxylate transporter and pyruvate was further delivered into mitochondria by mitochondrial pyruvate carrier in both pig DOs and CCs. In both pig DOs and CCs, pyruvate and lactate were utilized through mitochondrial electron transport and LDH-catalyzed oxidation to pyruvate, respectively. Pig and mouse DOs differed in their CC dependency for glucose, pyruvate and lactate utilization. While mouse DOs could not, pig DOs could use the lactate-derived pyruvate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mix-signal foreground calibration method for charge domain pipelined ADC is proposed. The calibration method can calibrate the common-mode and differential-mode charge errors caused by capacitor mismatches stage by stage based on a binary search. Common-mode and differential-mode charge errors caused by the capacitor mismatches in charge domain pipelined substage circuits can be compensated for by the proposed calibration method. Based on the proposed calibration method, a 14-bit 250-MS/s charge domain pipelined ADC is designed and realized in a 1P6M 0.18 μm CMOS process. Test results show that the 14-bit 250-MS/s ADC achieves a signal-to-noise ratio of 70.5 dBFS and a spurious free dynamic range of 88.7 dB, with 20.1 MHz input at 250-MS/s, while the ADC core consumes 235 mW of power and occupies an area of 3.2 mm2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The series of graphene materials and N-doped graphene materials were successfully synthesized and improved by high-temperature treatment with trace iron oxide. XRD, Raman, FT-IR, TEM and XPS were employed for these catalysts. The catalytic performance of these catalysts was investigated in the selective oxidation of ethylbenzene with tert-butyl hydroperoxide as oxidant. The impacts of temperature, mass of catalysts, reaction time and oxidants on the selective oxidation of ethylbenzene were also investigated. The N-doped graphene materials exhibit greatly remarkable catalytic performance than others. The conversion of ethylbenzene is more than 90% and the selectivity of acetophenone is more than 95% at 353 K. Graphene can be used as catalyst owing to its unique structures and chemical properties. The characterization tests show that the doping of N atoms can create more defects and more active sites in the N-doped graphene materials which could greatly improve the catalytic performance. Furthermore, such cost-effective graphene-based catalysts possess good stability and could be reused at least five times without remarkable loss of the catalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subsurface defects were fluorescently tagged with nanoscale quantum dots and scanned layer by layer using confocal fluorescence microscopy to obtain images at various depths. Subsurface damage depths of fused silica optics were characterized quantitatively by changes in the fluorescence intensity of feature points. The fluorescence intensity vs scan depth revealed that the maximum fluorescence intensity decreases sharply when the scan depth exceeds a critical value. The subsurface damage depth could be determined by the actual embedded depth of the quantum dots. Taper polishing and magnetorheological finishing were performed under the same conditions to verify the effectiveness of the nondestructive fluorescence method. The results indicated that the quantum dots effectively tagged subsurface defects of fused-silica optics, and that the nondestructive detection method could effectively evaluate subsurface damage depths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As electrode materials for supercapacitors, biomass-derived activated carbons attract much attention owing to their natural abundance and low cost. In this work, porous activated carbons are facilely synthesized from cattail wool using Ni(NO3)2·6H2O and KOH as co-etching agents. Compared with the carbons singly etched with KOH, these CWAC-x materials with hierarchical pores have much higher specific surface areas and exhibit much better capacitive performance. As for CWAC-10, the specific surface area and total pore volume are as high as 1581 m2 g−1 and 0.992 cm3 g−1, respectively. For supercapacitor applications, CWAC-10 exhibits a high specific capacitance (314 F g−1 at 1.0 A g−1 in a three-electrode system), excellent cycling stability and high energy density (37.29 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 159.98 W kg−1 in a coin-type symmetric device). The enhanced electrochemical performance can be attributed to the unique structure and the existence of O and N elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dopamine receptor 1 (Dop1) mediates locust attraction behaviors, however, the mechanism by which Dop1 modulates this process remains unknown to date. Here, we identify differentially expressed small RNAs associated with locust olfactory attraction after activating and inhibiting Dop1. Small RNA transcriptome analysis and qPCR validation reveal that Dop1 activation and inhibition downregulates and upregulates microRNA-9a (miR-9a) expression, respectively. miR-9a knockdown in solitarious locusts increases their attraction to gregarious volatiles, whereas miR-9a overexpression in gregarious locusts reduces olfactory attraction. Moreover, miR-9a directly targets adenylyl cyclase 2 (ac2), causing its downregulation at the mRNA and protein levels. ac2 responds to Dop1 and mediates locust olfactory attraction. Mechanistically, Dop1 inhibits miR-9a expression through inducing the dissociation of La protein from pre-miR-9a and resulting in miR-9a maturation inhibition. Our results reveal a Dop1–miR-9a–AC2 circuit that modulates locust olfactory attraction underlying aggregation. This study suggests that miRNAs act as key messengers in the GPCR signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We adopted the LMM procedure because our offspring data were longitudinal (parents to offspring) data that nested litter effect. 2A, B, C & D, which included data from every individual in a litter, using the Linear Mixed Models (LMM) procedure. [Extracted from the article]

Using the Damour-Ruffini method, Hawking radiation of charged particles from squashed charged rotating five-dimensional Kaluza-Klein black holes is investigated extensively. Under the generalized tortoise coordinate transformation, Hawking temperature of the black holes is calculated by using charged scalar particles and Dirac fermions respectively. We find that the obtained Hawking temperature for charged Dirac fermions is the same as for charged scalar particles. What's more, the spectrum of Hawking radiation contains the information of the size of the extra dimension, which could provide insight for further investigation of large extra dimensions in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Although previous studies found that 1-time acute stress applied during follicle maturation impaired oocyte competence, it is unknown whether repeated chronic stress, which is known to cause animal behavioral adaptation, would damage oocytes when applied during follicle growth. Methods and Results: In this study, female mice were exposed to repeated restraint stress (RRS) or unpredictable stress (UPS) for different days before equine chorionic gonadotropin injection to initiate oocyte prematuration development and to observe effects of different stressors on oocytes in the growing follicles. The results showed that although oocyte pre- and postimplantation development was unaffected when mice were exposed to RRS or UPS once a day for 4 days, development was impaired when mice were exposed to RRS for 8 or more days or to UPS twice a day for 4 days (4 × 2). The 4 × 2 UPS caused more oxidative stress in oocytes and severer apoptosis in antral follicles than did the 4-day RRS. The RRS mice were stressed consistently from days 1 to 23 of restraint, and the stress that a mouse had 4 × 2 UPS was severer than that from 4-day RRS. Conclusion: The results suggest that (1) the degree that a stress damages oocytes is the product of duration × severity of the stress; (2) RRS impaired oocyte developmental potential through cumulative effects on growing follicles; and (3) preantral follicles were not as sensitive to stress as antral follicles were. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate clinical, lifestyle, and environmental factors associated with endometrioma (OMA) and/or deep infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) as determined by case-control comparison [women with superficial peritoneal endometriosis (SUP) or no endometriosis], and compare differences between factor associated with endometriosis at a national level.Methods: This was three countries (China, Russia, and France), case-control study in 1008 patients. Patients were identified and enrolled during their first routine appointment with their physician post-surgery for a benign gynecologic indication, excluding pregnancy. Retrospective information on symptoms and previous medical history was collected via face-to-face interviews; patients also completed a questionnaire to provide information on current habits. For every DIE patient recruited (n = 143), two women without endometriosis (n = 288), two SUP patients (n = 288), and two OMA patients (n = 288) were recruited.Results: For the overall population, factors significantly associated (P ≤ 0.05) with DIE or OMA [Odds ratio (OR) >1] were: previous use of hormonal treatment for endometriosis [OR 6.66; 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.05-10.93]; previous surgery for endometriosis (OR 1.95; 95% CI 1.11-3.43); and living or working in a city or by a busy area (OR 1.66; 95% CI 1.09-2.52). Differences between regions with regard to the diagnosis, symptomatology, and treatment of endometriosis exist.Conclusion: The findings provide insight into potential risk factors for endometriosis and differences between regions in terms of endometriosis management and symptomatology. Further investigations are required to confirm the associations found in this study.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01351051.Funding: Ipsen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2-D depth averaged RNG k – ɛ model is developed to simulate the flow in a typical reach of the Upper Yellow River with non-monotonic banks. In order to take account of the effect of the secondary flow in a bend, the momentum equations are modified by adding an additional source term. A comparison between the numerical simulation and the field measurements indicates that the improved 2-D depth averaged RNG k – ɛ model can improve the accuracy of the numerical simulation. An arc spline interpolation method is developed to interpolate the non-monotonic river banks. The method can also be reasonably applied for the 2-D interpolation of the river bed level. Through a comparison of the water surface gradients simulated in the seven bends of the studied reach, some analytical formulae are improved to reasonably calculate the longitudinal and transverse gradients in meandering river reaches. Furthermore, the positions of the maximum water depth and the maximum velocity in a typical bend are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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BRCA2 gene plays an important role in homologous recombination. Polymorphic variants in this gene has been suggested to confer cancer susceptibility. Numerous studies have investigated association between BRCA2 N372H polymorphism and risk of several cancers, especially breast cancer. However, the results were inconsistent. We performed a comprehensive meta-analysis to provide a more precise assessment of the association between N372H and cancer risk, following the latest meta-analysis guidelines (PRISMA). Forty six studies involving 36299 cases and 48483 controls were included in our meta-analysis. The crude ORs and the 95% CIs were used to evaluate the strength of the association. The results indicated that the BRCA2 N372H variant was significantly associated with an increased risk of overall cancer (dominant model: OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01-1.13; recessive model: OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02-1.23). Moreover, stratified analyses by the cancer type and source of control observed significantly increased risk associated with BRCA2 N372H in subgroups with ovarian cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and population-based controls, but not breast cancer or hospital-based controls. We also found such association among Africans. Overall, the meta-analysis suggested that BRCA2 N372H may be a cancer susceptibility polymorphism. Well-designed and large-scale studies are needed to substantiate the association between BRCA2 N372H polymorphism and cancer risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymorphisms of LIG4 gene may influence DNA repair ability, thus altering the genetic stability and resulting in carcinogenesis. A growing number of studies have investigated the relevance of LIG4 T9I (rs1805388) and D501D (rs1805386) polymorphisms with cancer risk, however, the results are conflicting. To obtain a comprehensive conclusion, we searched relevant literatures from PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid and Embase databases on May 15, 2014 and performed a meta-analysis. In this meta-analysis, a total of 17 articles were included. Of them, there were 15 studies with 5873 cases and 5771 controls for rs1805388 and 6 studies with 4161 cases and 4881 controls for rs1805386. Overall, our results suggested that there was no obvious relevance of LIG4 T9I polymorphism with cancer susceptibility. However, in subgroup analysis, we found the LIG4 T9I was associated with a slightly decreased cancer risk among Caucasians. As to the rs1805386, the genetic variant had no significant association with cancer risk. In conclusion, despite several limitations, this meta-analysis suggested that LIG4 T9I genetic variant is associated with a decreased risk of cancer among Caucasians, however, the rs1805386 gene polymorphism is not a risk factor of cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ERCC2 is indispensable for nucleotide excision repair pathway, and its functional polymorphisms may be associated with cancer risk. In a large case-control study of 1126 esophageal squamous cell carcinomas (ESCC) patients and 1131 controls, we genotyped two SNPs inERCC2 (rs238406 G.T and rs13181 T.G) and assessed their associations with ESCC risk. We found a significantly elevated ESCC risk associated with the rs238406 T variant genotypes (adjusted OR = 1.30 and 1.24, 95% CI = 1.02-1.66 and 1.03-1.49 for TG and TG/TT, respectively, compared with GG), particularly in the subgroup of those smoked more than 16 pack-years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis suggested a possible multiplicative gene-environment interaction between rs238406 genotypes and smoking (Pinteraction = 0.026) on ESCC risk. Although no significant risk associations were observed for rs13181, further mini meta-analysis with our and 18 other published studies of 5,012 cases and 8,238 controls found evidence of an association between the rs13181 variant G allele and esophageal cancer risk (TG/GG vs. TT, OR = 1.17; 95% CI = 1.02-1.33). Interestingly, we consistently found a significant correlation between variant genotypes of these two SNPs and ERCC2 mRNA expression. These findings suggest that potentially functional SNPs in ERCC2 may contribute to ESCC risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is an important enzyme involved in folate metabolism and DNA synthesis. A number of studies have examined the association of MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) susceptibility; however, the conclusions were contradictory. We searched available publications assessing the polymorphisms of MTHFR and NHL susceptibility from MEDLINE, EMBASE and CBM. Genotype-based mRNA expression analysis was performed using data from 270 individuals with three different ethnicities. Ultimately, a total of 7448 cases and 11146 controls from 25 studies were included for the C677T polymorphism, 6173 cases and 9725 controls from 19 studies for the A1298C polymorphism. Pooled results indicated that neither C677T nor A1298C polymorphism was associated with NHL susceptibility. However, C677T polymorphism showed a statistically significantly increased risk for Caucasians, but a decreased risk for Asians in the subgroup analysis by ethnicity. The same variants may confer increased susceptibility to develop follicular lymphoma (FL). Moreover, A1298C polymorphism was associated with increased NHL risk for Asians. This meta-analysis indicated that C677T polymorphism was associated with altered NHL susceptibility for Caucasians, Asians and FL. Increased NHL risk was also shown for A1298C among Asians. These findings warrant validation in large and well-designed prospective studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clinical application of dihydroartemisinin (DHA) has been hampered due to its poor water-solubility. To overcome this hurdle, we devised a novel polymer-drug conjugate, multiarm polyethylene glycol-dihydroartemisinin (PEG-DHA), made by linking DHA with multiarm polyethylene glycol. Herein, we investigated PEG-DHA on chemical structure, hydrolysis, solubility, hemolysis, cell cytotoxicity in vitro, and efficacy in vivo. The PEG-DHA conjugates have showed moderate drug loadings (2.82 ~ 8.14 wt%), significantly good water-solubilities (82- ~ 163-fold of DHA), excellent in vitro anticancer activities (at concentrations ⩾8 μg/ml, showed only 15-20% cell viability) with potency similar to that of native DHA, and long blood circulation half-time (5.75- ~ 16.75-fold of DHA). Subsequent tumor xenograft assays demonstrated a superior therapeutic effect of PEG-DHA on inhibition of tumor growth compared with native DHA. The novel PEG-DHA conjugates can not only improve the solubility and efficacy of DHA but also show the potential of scale-up production and clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equilibrium geometries, growth patterns, stabilities, and electronic properties of bimetallic BeSi ( n = 1-11) clusters are systematically investigated at the B3LYP/6-311G(d) level of theory. Harmonic vibrational analysis has been performed to assure that the optimized geometries are stable. The optimized results suggest that the three-dimensional structures are observed for the most stable isomers of BeSi clusters when n > 2. The calculated vertical ionization potential for the lowest-energy isomers are comparable to the experimental values of Si. According to the averaged binding energy, fragmentation energy, second-order energy difference and HOMO-LUMO gaps calculations, we identify that the BeSi and BeSi clusters are more stable, and Be atoms doping enhance the chemical reactivity of the Si host. The natural population and natural electron configuration analyses indicate that the Be atoms possess positive charge at n = 1-5 but negative charge at n = 6-11. The chemical hardness of BeSi clusters show three local maxima at n = 2, 5, and 9, whereas three local minima are found for the corresponding chemical potential, meaning these clusters are more stable than their neighboring cluster sizes. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The enrichment of Ni from a low-grade saprolitic laterite ore, which has been pre-treated by high pressure grinding roller(HPGR) to be 74% passing 0.074 mm and contains 0.92% Ni, 18.47% Fe, 10.61% MgO and 42.27% SiO, was conducted by using pelletizing, rotary kiln reduction and magnetic separation process on a semi industrial scale, and the effects of reduction duration, mass ratio of coal to pellets(C/P), the types of magnetic separator, the sections of grinding-separation and the grinding fineness on the recovery of Ni and Fe were examined. It is shown that nickel concentrate containing 3.13 % Ni and 59.20 % Fe was achieved at recoveries of 84.36 % and 71.51 % for Ni and Fe, respectively under the following conditions: reducing at (1120±40) °C for 120 min, C/P being 1.0, wet grinding of reduced pellets up to 70%-87% passing 0.074 mm and a magnetic field intensity of 238.8 kA/m during the first section of grinding-magnetic separation, and a grinding fineness of 84%-91% passing 0.045 mm and a magnetic intensity of 39.8 kA/m during the second section of grinding-magnetic separation. The enriched Ni containing concentrate has a low content of S and P, and can be used for further processing to produce high-grade ferronickel alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many genome walking methods based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are available, including those with and without restriction enzyme modification. Nevertheless, these methods suffer from low reproducibility, inefficiency, and non-specificity. Here, we present a traceable and efficient PCR strategy: randomly broken fragment PCR with 5' end-directed adaptor for genome walking. The genome is first fragmented randomly. After blunting ends, the fragments are ligated to the 5' end-directed adaptors. Semi-nested PCR is then performed. Thus, we can obtain an unknown sequence by cloning the fragments of interest, followed by sequencing. This method effectively bypasses the above-mentioned obstacles and offers the advances: 1) genome fragmentation without using restriction enzymes; 2) enhancement of primer specificity and the prevention of self-ligation between the adaptors by employing a 5' end-directed adaptor. All of the steps in this new method are straightforward, and the unknown sequence can be definitively obtained by merely applying the method once. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]