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Highlights: NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC facilitates the formation of S, N-rich, dense and robust cathode–electrolyte interphase on NaNMF cathode, which improves the cycling stability under high voltage. By utilizing NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC, the Na||NaNMF batteries achieved an impressive retention of 81.15% after 400 cycles at 2 C with the cutoff voltage of 4.2 V. The study offers a reference for the utilization of sulfolane-based electrolytes in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), while the nonflammability of the NaTFSI/SUL:OTE:FEC enhances the safety of SIBs. Sodium-ion batteries hold great promise as next-generation energy storage systems. However, the high instability of the electrode/electrolyte interphase during cycling has seriously hindered the development of SIBs. In particular, an unstable cathode–electrolyte interphase (CEI) leads to successive electrolyte side reactions, transition metal leaching and rapid capacity decay, which tends to be exacerbated under high-voltage conditions. Therefore, constructing dense and stable CEIs are crucial for high-performance SIBs. This work reports localized high-concentration electrolyte by incorporating a highly oxidation-resistant sulfolane solvent with non-solvent diluent 1H, 1H, 5H-octafluoropentyl-1, 1, 2, 2-tetrafluoroethyl ether, which exhibited excellent oxidative stability and was able to form thin, dense and homogeneous CEI. The excellent CEI enabled the O3-type layered oxide cathode NaNi1/3Mn1/3Fe1/3O2 (NaNMF) to achieve stable cycling, with a capacity retention of 79.48% after 300 cycles at 1 C and 81.15% after 400 cycles at 2 C with a high charging voltage of 4.2 V. In addition, its nonflammable nature enhances the safety of SIBs. This work provides a viable pathway for the application of sulfolane-based electrolytes on SIBs and the design of next-generation high-voltage electrolytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the failure behavior and mechanism of conductive and corrosion-resistant film on magnesium alloy under "double 85" test conditions. The surface morphology, microstructure, and composition of ITO composite conversion film (ITO film) at different damp-heat test times were analyzed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and the corrosion resistance was investigated using an electrochemical workstation in contact with a 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution. The electrical contact resistance (ECR) was measured using the four-wire Kelvin detection technique, and the bandgap was determined using an ultraviolet diffuse reflectance spectrometer. The results demonstrated that the ECR of the ITO film increased from 10−1 Ω in−2 to 106 Ω in−2, and the bandgap increased from 2.363 to 2.777 eV after the damp-heat test. In addition, the impedance arc radius of the film decreased to approximately one-fifth of its original value, and the impedance modulus value decreased to less than 104. These findings indicated that exposure to a damp-heat environment resulted in an increase in the electrochemically active points within the film participating in the electrochemical reactions and expansion of the electrochemical reaction area. This exacerbated the corrosion of the magnesium substrate because it resulted in the destruction of the film, leading to an increase in the number of pores and defects, which heightened the exposure of the substrate to corrosive media. Furthermore, Cl− ions could easily penetrate through cracks in the film, which promoted charge transfer processes and accelerated the electrochemical corrosion reactions. In summary, these factors collectively resulted in the failure of the film's conductivity and corrosion resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing farmers' adoption of agricultural green production technology (AGPT) is crucial for the green transformation of the agricultural sector. Obtaining additional income is the primary motivation for farmers to adopt AGPTs. Therefore, clarifying the relationship between AGPTs' adoption degree and income will facilitate the possibility of farmers' adoption of AGPTs. Based on research data obtained from 805 citrus farmers in Sichuan Province, this study examines the impact of the degree of AGPT adoption on farmers' income and its mechanisms using the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) model. These findings indicate: (1) The greater the degree of adoption of AGPTs by farmers, the more pronounced the impact on income increase. Using 1, 2, and 3 AGTs can increase farmers' income from citrus sales by 7.1, 10.5, and 19.8 percentage points, respectively. (2) The adoption of AGPTs leads to increased income through higher yields and sales prices, which offset the incurred costs. (3) Market channels and farmers' operating scales can affect the revenue effect of AGPT adoption. (4) Factors (i.e., education level, physical health status, and cultivation area) can affect farmers' adoption of AGPTs. This study presents policy recommendations based on the above conclusions, aiming to guide the government in promoting AGPTs and advancing agricultural green transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to assess long-term disease progression in patients with severe keratoconus (KC). Clinical records of 125 patients (201 eyes) with severe KC followed-up for > 12 months were retrospectively analyzed. From these, 28 patients (31 eyes) were included. Corneal topography parameters evaluated included thinnest corneal thickness (TCT), maximum keratometry (Kmax), anterior and posterior mean corneal radii of 3 mm (aKM, pKM), steep keratometry, and KC screening indices. All patients wore rigid gas permeable contact lenses (RGPCLs) for an extended period. The median patient age and follow-up period were 20 (interquartile range [IQR] 17–22) years and 25 (15–38) months, respectively. Compared to baseline, the aKM, Kmax, and KC screening indices on the anterior corneal surface were reduced at the final follow-up (P < 0.05). No changes were observed in RGP-corrected visual acuity, TCT, pKM, or KC screening indices on the posterior corneal surface. The higher the baseline value, the greater the reduction in aKM and Kmax. Five patients (16%) experienced disease progression during follow-up. Patients with severe KC showed reduced anterior corneal surface curvature and no change in corneal thickness during an average follow-up period of 2–3 years while wearing RGPCLs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface plasmons possess the capability to overcome the diffraction limit, making them highly promising for a wide range of applications in the field of nanophotonics. Here we design a sodium-based hybrid plasmonic waveguide consisting of an elliptical Si nanowire separated from the Na film by a low-index SiO2 layer. The modal properties of the proposed waveguide are thoroughly investigated by using the finite element method with a focus on parameters such as effective mode index, propagation length, normalized mode area, and figure of merit. The results show that the hybrid modes exhibit ultra-low loss with propagation length in the millimeter range as well as high figure of merit over 103. Besides, the hybrid plasmonic waveguide with a vertical elliptical nanowire provides a stronger energy constrain ability compared with that with a horizontal elliptical nanowire. The proposed waveguide may contribute to the development of nanoscale devices in photonic integration circuits, such as lasers, sensors, and modulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next-item recommendation can extract critical information from the historical sequence and predict the next actions of users. To better extract users' interests, some sequential recommender methods propose position-aware attention networks to obtain users' general intentions. Nonetheless, although these methods have achieved superior performances, they cannot effectively extract core information from historical behavior sequences such as position weights, the dynamic categories of users, and the dynamic preferences of users. The position information in the historical sequence can assist in the modeling of user interest, and the dynamic category of users can help us ensure the major intention of users. Moreover, capturing the dynamic preference of users can help the model learn the evolution tendency of user interest and make better recommendations. Therefore, this paper proposes a Position-category-aware Attention Network (PCAN) to consider the above three factors. First, this model obtains the dynamic category of the user in the data preprocessing stage. Then, a long-term attention module is constructed to get the interaction between users and items in the long-term sequential behavior, to better capture the users' long-term preference representation. Meanwhile, the model utilizes the self-attention method to extract users' short-term interest features. Finally, two kinds of preference representation are adaptively fused through an attention-based method. On five kinds of Amazon public datasets, the experimental results indicate that our proposed model PCAN achieves better performances on A U C , P r e c i s i o n , and Recall , which demonstrates the superior performance of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artery-to-artery embolism (AAE) is a common stroke mechanism in intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD), associated with a considerable risk of recurrent stroke. We aimed to investigate cerebral hemodynamic features associated with AAE in symptomatic ICAD. Patients with anterior-circulation, symptomatic ICAD confirmed in CT angiography (CTA) were recruited. We classified probable stroke mechanisms as isolated parent artery atherosclerosis occluding penetrating artery, AAE, hypoperfusion, and mixed mechanisms, largely based on infarct topography. CTA-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were built to simulate blood flow across culprit ICAD lesions. Translesional pressure ratio (PR = Pressurepost-stenotic/Pressurepre-stenotic) and wall shear stress ratio (WSSR = WSSstenotic-throat/WSSpre-stenotic) were calculated, to reflect the relative, translesional changes of the two hemodynamic metrics. Low PR (PR ≤ median) and high WSSR (WSSR ≥ 4th quartile) respectively indicated large translesional pressure and elevated WSS upon the lesion. Among 99 symptomatic ICAD patients, 44 had AAE as a probable stroke mechanism, 13 with AAE alone and 31 with coexisting hypoperfusion. High WSSR was independently associated with AAE (adjusted OR = 3.90; P = 0.022) in multivariate logistic regression. There was significant WSSR-PR interaction on the presence of AAE (P for interaction = 0.013): high WSSR was more likely to associate with AAE in those with low PR (P = 0.075), but not in those with normal PR (P = 0.959). Excessively elevated WSS in ICAD might increase the risk of AAE. Such association was more prominent in those with large translesional pressure gradient. Hypoperfusion, commonly coexisting with AAE, might be a therapeutic indicator for secondary stroke prevention in symptomatic ICAD with AAE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of biomarkers in blood macrophages is a new non-invasive cancer screening method, but its performance in early stage lung cancer screening remains undetermined. We evaluated the Apo10 and TKTL1 levels in blood macrophages of 156 early-stage lung cancer patients and 153 controls. APT (combination of Apo10 and TKTL1) level was significantly higher in the lung cancer group than that in the control group (P < 0.001). AUROC analysis showed that APT has high diagnostic value in differentiating early-stage lung cancer (AUC = 0.9132) and can be considered a biomarker for screening lung cancer patients from individuals with lung nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (DSM 17938) prolongs the survival of Treg-deficient scurfy (SF) mice and reduces multiorgan inflammation by a process requiring adenosine receptor 2A (A2A) on T cells. We hypothesized that L. reuteri-derived ecto-5'-nucleotidase (ecto-5'NT) activity acts to generate adenosine, which may be a central mediator for L. reuteri protection in SF mice. We evaluated DSM 17938–5'NT activity and the associated adenosine and inosine levels in plasma, gut, and liver of SF mice. We examined orally fed DSM 17938, DSM 17938Δ5NT (with a deleted 5'NT gene), and DSM 32846 (BG-R46) (a naturally selected strain derived from DSM 17938). Results showed that DSM 17938 and BG-R46 produced adenosine while "exhausting" AMP, whereas DSM 17938∆5NT did not generate adenosine in culture. Plasma 5'NT activity was increased by DSM 17938 or BG-R46, but not by DSM 17938Δ5NT in SF mice. BG-R46 increased both adenosine and inosine levels in the cecum of SF mice. DSM 17938 increased adenosine levels, whereas BG-R46 increased inosine levels in the liver. DSM 17938Δ5NT did not significantly change the levels of adenosine or inosine in the GI tract or the liver of SF mice. Although regulatory CD73+CD8+ T cells were decreased in spleen and blood of SF mice, these regulatory T cells could be increased by orally feeding DSM 17938 or BG-R46, but not DSM 17938Δ5NT. In conclusion, probiotic-5'NT may be a central mediator of DSM 17938 protection against autoimmunity. Optimal 5'NT activity from various probiotic strains could be beneficial in treating Treg-associated immune disorders in humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building reduced-order models (ROMs) is essential for efficient forecasting and control of complex dynamical systems. Recently, autoencoder-based methods for building such models have gained significant traction, but their demand for data limits their use when the data is scarce and expensive. We propose aiding a model's training with the knowledge of physics using a collocation-based physics-informed loss term. Our innovation builds on ideas from classical collocation methods of numerical analysis to embed knowledge from a known equation into the latent-space dynamics of a ROM. We show that the addition of our physics-informed loss allows for exceptional data supply strategies that improves the performance of ROMs in data-scarce settings, where training high-quality data-driven models is impossible. Namely, for a problem of modeling a high-dimensional nonlinear PDE, our experiments show × 5 performance gains, measured by prediction error, in a low-data regime, × 10 performance gains in tasks of high-noise learning, × 100 gains in the efficiency of utilizing the latent-space dimension, and × 200 gains in tasks of far-out out-of-distribution forecasting relative to purely data-driven models. These improvements pave the way for broader adoption of network-based physics-informed ROMs in compressive sensing and control applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential diagnosis of pulmonary nodules detected by computed tomography (CT) remains a challenge in clinical practice. Here, we characterize the global metabolomes of 480 serum samples including healthy controls, benign pulmonary nodules, and stage I lung adenocarcinoma. The adenocarcinoma demonstrates a distinct metabolomic signature, whereas benign nodules and healthy controls share major similarities in metabolomic profiles. A panel of 27 metabolites is identified in the discovery cohort (n = 306) to distinguish between benign and malignant nodules. The discriminant model achieves an AUC of 0.915 and 0.945 in the internal validation (n = 104) and external validation cohort (n = 111), respectively. Pathway analysis reveals elevation in glycolytic metabolites associated with decreased tryptophan in serum of lung adenocarcinoma vs benign nodules and healthy controls, and demonstrates that uptake of tryptophan promotes glycolysis in lung cancer cells. Our study highlights the value of the serum metabolite biomarkers in risk assessment of pulmonary nodules detected by CT screening. Detection of lung adenocarcinoma through serum sampling could be an alternative to CT scanning. Here, the authors use global metabolomics to create a 27 metabolite signature, which showed accuracy in detection in an external validation cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution by heavy metals is threatening the environment and human health, yet there is a lack of a rapid methods to detect multiple metal ions. Here, we built a fluorescence sensor array based on carbon quantum dots to detect Cr6+, Fe3+, Fe2+, and Hg2+ in environmental samples. We added xylenol orange as the receptor to construct the sensor array under pH regulation. We also designed a SX-model by combining stepwise prediction and machine learning to assist the fluorescence sensor array in detecting single and mixed heavy metal ions in deionized water and real samples. Results show that the sensor array detects four heavy metal ions within a concentration range of 1–50 μM with an accuracy of 95%, and the sensor identifies binary mixed samples with an accuracy of 95%. In addition, metal ions occurring in 144 lake water samples were discriminated with 100% accuracy. Overall, the SX-model-assisted fluorescence sensor array is an efficient method for detecting heavy metal ions in environmental samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the influence maximization problem is to identify a seed set that maximizes the number of users who will be impacted. This issue is critical to the spread of information in social networks. The greedy and heuristic algorithms are two prominent algorithms for this problem. The greedy algorithms are usually effective but they have high computational complexity. The heuristic algorithms are tendly efficient while the accuracy is low. The major goal of this study is to strike a compromise between efficacy and efficiency in selecting k influential nodes to maximize influence propagation while keeping the expense of doing so to a minimal. This paper proposes an improved heuristic algorithm, called the Best Hop for Independent Cascade Model (BHICM). This approach presents a dynamic relationship strategy between propagation probability and hop count that avoids processing the seed node's neighbors. Afterwards, the proposed algorithm defines the diffusion score as the criterion for selecting seed nodes, which ensures its accuracy and efficiency. According to experimental results on four genuine social networks, the proposed approach exceeds all comparison algorithms in terms of accuracy while maintaining an acceptable running time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In ecology, the relationship between prey and predator plays an important role in ecosystem structure and ecological balance. In this paper, a predator–prey system with Allee effect and gestation delay is established. In the absence of Allee effect, we first discuss the existence of the equilibrium points of the system and obtain the sufficient conditions for the local asymptotic stability of the equilibrium points, respectively. Then, we find that when the birth rate of prey is selected as the bifurcation parameter, the system undergoes a saddle-node bifurcation at the predator-free equilibrium point. Furthermore, when the weak Allee effect constant is selected as the bifurcation parameter, the system undergoes a Hopf bifurcation around the positive equilibrium point. In order to determine the stability of the limit cycle generated by the Hopf bifurcation, the first Lyapunov number is calculated in detail. In addition, we discuss that when the gestation delay exists, the gestation delay will also cause the system to produce limit cycle around the positive equilibrium point. Finally, we verify the feasibility of the results by numerical simulation and give a brief conclusion to generalize that the Allee effect and gestation delay can cause unexpected dynamic predictions for interacting populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the effect of feeding a single probiotic Limosilactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 (LR 17938) on the luminal and plasma levels of amino acids and their derivatives in the suckling newborn mouse, using gas chromatography and high-performance liquid chromatography. We found that LR 17938 increased the relative abundance of many amino acids and their derivatives in stool, while it simultaneously significantly reduced the plasma levels of three amino acids (serine, citrulline, and taurine). Many peptides and dipeptides were increased in stool and plasma, notably gamma-glutamyl derivatives of amino acids, following ingestion of the LR 17938. Gamma-glutamyl transformation of amino acids facilitates their absorption. LR 17938 significantly upregulated N-acetylated amino acids, the levels of which could be useful biomarkers in plasma and warrant further investigation. Specific fecal microbiota were associated with higher levels of fecal amino acids and their derivatives. Changes in luminal and circulating levels of amino acid derivatives, polyamines, and tryptophan metabolites may be mechanistically related to probiotic efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of unidirectional moisture conductivity is affected by the structure of the selected yarn. A weft-knitted fabric with unidirectional moisture conductivity was produced on Mach2X 153 computerized flat knitting machine using water blocking yarn and polypropylene fiber with special structure as raw materials. The moisture conductivity of the selected yarn, the unidirectional moisture conductivity and air permeability of the fabric were tested. The results show that the inner polypropylene yarn is hydrophobic and has obvious moisture diffusion effect, while the outer polypropylene yarn is hydrophilic and has obvious moisture control effect. The results also can provide a new inspiration for us to control moisture absorption by using different yarn structures and properties when producing unidirectional moisture conducting fabrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect olfaction system plays a key role in the foraging food, pollination, mating, oviposition, reproduction and other insect physiological behavior. Odorant binding protein are widely found in the various olfactory sensilla of different insect antennae and involved in chemical signals discrimination from natural environment. In this study, a novel OBP gene, MvitOBP3 is identified from the legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata, which it mainly harms important legume vegetables including cowpea, soybean and lablab bean. Real-time PCR results demonstrated that MvitOBP3 gene was abundantly expressed in the antennal tissue of M. vitrata, while low levels were distributed in the head, thorax, abdomen, leg and wing of adult moths. The recombinant OBP3 protein was purified using the prokaryotic expression and affinity chromatography system. Fluorescence competitive binding experiments indicated that that MvitOBP3 protein exhibited greater binding affinities with host-plant flower volatiles including Butanoic acid butyl ester, Limonene, 1H-indol-4-ol and 2-methyl-3-phenylpropanal, highlighting they may have attractant activities for the oviposition of female moths on the legume vegetables. Moreover, protein homology modeling and molecular docking analysis revealed that there are six amino acid sites of MvitOBP3 involved in the binding of the host-plant volatiles. These findings will further promote to understand the key role of odorant binding protein during host perception and oviposition of M. vitrata moths, which improve the efficiency of semiochemical-based prevention and monitoring for this pest in the legume vegetables field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gnathopogon herzensteini is a small-sized fish endemic to the upper reaches of the Jialing River and the Han River. Wild populations of G. herzensteini have declined sharply during the past few decades and the phylogeny of this species has not yet fully resolved. Notably, the relationship between Gnathopogon and Gobiocypris genera still remains controversial. Scientific progress is hampered by the scarcity of molecular data for G. herzensteini. To address this problem, the complete mitochondrial genome of G. herzensteini were sequenced and characterised, and used to analyse its phylogenetic position within the subfamily Gobioninae. The genome is a circular molecule of 16,597 bases, consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a control region (D-loop). The nucleotide composition exhibited A/T bias: A 30.0%, T 27.0%, G 17.2%, and C 25.8%. Phylogenetic tree revealed that Gobiocypris clustered within the genus Gnathopogon, thus rendering it paraphyletic. The clade of genus Gnathopogon was closely related to Coreoleuciscus, with strong statistical support. These data are a stepping stone towards the understanding of genetics and phylogeny of G. herzensteini. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellular mechanics, a major regulating factor of cellular architecture and biological functions, responds to intrinsic stresses and extrinsic forces exerted by other cells and the extracellular matrix in the microenvironment. Cellular mechanics also acts as a fundamental mediator in complicated immune responses, such as cell migration, immune cell activation, and pathogen clearance. The principle of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and its three running modes are introduced for the mechanical characterization of living cells. The peak force tapping mode provides the most delicate and desirable virtues to collect high-resolution images of morphology and force curves. For a concrete description of AFM capabilities, three AFM applications are discussed. These applications include the dynamic progress of a neutrophil-extracellular-trap release by neutrophils, the immunological functions of macrophages, and the membrane pore formation mediated by perforin, streptolysin O, gasdermin D, or membrane attack complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Levels of intestinal toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) impact inflammation in the neonatal gastrointestinal tract. While surfactant protein A (SP-A) is known to regulate TLR4 in the lung, it also reduces intestinal damage, TLR4 and inflammation in an experimental model of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in neonatal rats. We hypothesized that SP-A-deficient (SP-A−/−) mice have increased ileal TLR4 and inflammatory cytokine levels compared to wild type mice, impacting intestinal physiology. We found that ileal TLR4 and proinflammatory cytokine levels were significantly higher in infant SP-A−/− mice compared to wild type mice. Gavage of neonatal SP-A−/− mice with purified SP-A reduced ileal TLR4 protein levels. SP-A reduced expression of TLR4 and proinflammatory cytokines in normal human intestinal epithelial cells (FHs74int), suggesting a direct effect. However, incubation of gastrointestinal cell lines with proteasome inhibitors did not abrogate the effect of SP-A on TLR4 protein levels, suggesting that proteasomal degradation is not involved. In a mouse model of experimental NEC, SP-A−/− mice were more susceptible to intestinal stress resembling NEC, while gavage with SP-A significantly decreased ileal damage, TLR4 and proinflammatory cytokine mRNA levels. Our data suggests that SP-A has an extrapulmonary role in the intestinal health of neonatal mice by modulating TLR4 and proinflammatory cytokines mRNA expression in intestinal epithelium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to knit a warp-knitted fabric with unidirectional wettability property, polyester multifilament and cotton yarn were used as raw materials, and samples were produced on an RD6 EL warp-knitting machine. The unidirectional wettability property of the fabric was tested by measuring the length of artificial sweat absorbed in the fabric. And the unidirectional wettability of the fabric primarily depends on the structure and twist of the yarn, especially the twist. The moisture absorption capacity of the yarn decreases with the yarn twist increasing. When the twist reaches a certain value, it will prevent the entry of moisture. This provides us with an inspiration for controlling the moisture absorption of fabric by the twist of the yarn when knitting the unidirectional wettability fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optimized Back-Propagation network (BP network) based on Genetic Algorithm (GA) was introduced to construct bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model. To verify the performance of GA-BP network, two different kinds of space target materials were used for experiment. Based on the experimental data, we used GA to simulate the undetermined parameters of a five-parameter BRDF model, and used GA-BP network and BP network to construct a new BRDF model respectively. The fitting results manifest that the GA-BP network is suitable for construct a new BRDF model and outperforms the five-parameter BRDF model in speed and accuracy under the same condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our current understanding of how sugar metabolism affects inflammatory pathways in macrophages is incomplete. Here, we show that glycogen metabolism is an important event that controls macrophage-mediated inflammatory responses. IFN-γ/LPS treatment stimulates macrophages to synthesize glycogen, which is then channeled through glycogenolysis to generate G6P and further through the pentose phosphate pathway to yield abundant NADPH, ensuring high levels of reduced glutathione for inflammatory macrophage survival. Meanwhile, glycogen metabolism also increases UDPG levels and the receptor P2Y14 in macrophages. The UDPG/P2Y14 signaling pathway not only upregulates the expression of STAT1 via activating RARβ but also promotes STAT1 phosphorylation by downregulating phosphatase TC45. Blockade of this glycogen metabolic pathway disrupts acute inflammatory responses in multiple mouse models. Glycogen metabolism also regulates inflammatory responses in patients with sepsis. These findings show that glycogen metabolism in macrophages is an important regulator and indicate strategies that might be used to treat acute inflammatory diseases. Glycogen can be metabolized via glycogenolysis and the pentose phosphate pathway as well as into the production of UDP glucose, which when secreted can bind the P2Y14 receptor. Here the authors show how these glycogen metabolism pathways contribute to proinflammatory macrophage activation and susceptibility to sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recognition of chemical signal including volatile odorants and pheromones is very important in the olfactory physiological behaviors of insects, such as avoiding predators, seeking food and mating partners. The sugarcane borer, Tryporyza intacta is the most harmful insect in sugarcane region in Southeast Asia and Southern China, however, the study of their molecular biology and physiology was limited. Here we demonstrated that the sex pheromone (E11-16:Ald: Z11-16:Ald = 7:3) were most effective to T. intacta. In addition, compared the traditional rubber lure, a new microsphere formulation lure can optimize the trapping effect and might be widely used in the sugarcane growing area. To obtain a better understanding of the olfactory molecular mechanism of pheromone-based mate recognition system, we have cloned the full-length gene of the TintPBP4 and expressed in Escherichia coli. Our phylogenetic analysis highlighted that the TintPBP4 was highly conserved among diverse species of Lepidoptera. Furthermore, the results of QRT-PCR demonstrated that TintPBP4 transcripts were abundantly expressed in the antennae of T. intacta, especially in the male adults. The fluorescence binding experiments showed the TintPBP4 exhibited strong binding capacities to the sex pheromone components. These results will not only provide more understanding for the functional analysis of olfactory proteins from T. intacta, but also assist in the exploitation and development of sex pheromones in the integrated biological control of this pest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: As a vital polysaccharide related to mechanisms of plant resistance to trace metal in the root cell wall, the role of hemicellulose in cadmium (Cd) accumulation in hyperaccumulators is still unknown. We investigated hemicellulose modification in response to Cd in two populations of Sedum alfredii. Methods: Nonhyperaccumulating population (NHP) and hyperaccumulating population (HP) of S. alfredii were grown in nutrient solutions with or without 25 μM Cd for 15 d. Monosaccharide composition of root cell wall hemicellulose and its remolding mechanisms (e.g. enzyme activity and gene expression) were analyzed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS), fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and quantitative real-time PCR techniques. Results: In 25 μM Cd treatment, root cell wall hemicellulose in the NHP significantly (P < 0.05) increased and its hemicellulose-bound Cd was nearly 2.5-fold higher than that of HP. In the presence of Cd, xylose and glucose, proved to be the main component of hemicellulose, were higher in the NHP than in the HP owing to the up-regulation of XET/XEH and encoding gene (XTH 31). 113Cd-NMR and FTIR results indicated that hemicellulose with hydroxyl and carboxyl groups of HP retained less Cd than that of NHP. Conclusion: Hemicellulose modification decreased the Cd-binding capacity of the root cell wall and increased the entry of Cd in the shoot of HP S. alfredii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a general piecewise deterministic Markov process (PDMP) X = {Xt}t⩾0 with a measure-valued generator A, for which the conditional distribution function of the inter-occurrence time is not necessarily absolutely continuous. A general form of the exponential martingales that are associated with X is given by Mtf=f(Xt)f(X0)[Sexp(∫(0,t]dL(Af)gf(Xg−))]−1. By considering this exponential martingale to be a likelihood-ratio process, we define a new probability measure and show that the process X is still a general PDMP under the new probability measure. We additionally find the new measure-valued generator and its domain. To illustrate our results, we investigate the continuous-time compound binomial model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in Daliao River system were simultaneously determined by UPLC-MS/MS coupled with SPE for water samples and with ultrasonication extraction for sediments. All samples were collected from the mainstreams of Hun River (HR) and Daliao River (DLR), as well as urban canal Xi River (XR) in Shenyang City, located in northeast China. Under the optimal conditions, the recoveries of most selected PFAAs were 61-131 % with RSD below 30 % for spiked water and sediment samples. The total average concentrations of PFAAs in surface water were 1.76-9.47 ng/L in the HR, 9.54-13.0 ng/L in the DLR and 33.5-50.7 ng/L in the XR. As the dominant PFAAs, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was detected at levels from 1.52 to 7.12 ng/L in the HR and DLR. PFOA, perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) were the most abundant compounds detected in the XR with concentration ranges of 6.71-18.1, 9.7-26 and 0.81-13 ng/L, respectively. The average concentration of PFAAs in the sediments followed the sequence of the XR > DLR > HR. Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFHxA) was the dominant PFAA detected in 76.5 % of the sediment samples from the three rivers, with the concentrations of 0.07-0.49 ng/g dry mass. Both PFOS and PFOA were measurable in the sediments on very few occasions, with the concentration up to 0.84 ng/g dry mass. The calculated average partition coefficients (Log K, L/kg) of PFOA and PFOS between the sediment and water were 1.18 and 2.21, respectively. Given their exposure levels and risk quotient (RQ) values, PFOS and PFOA had no significant risk to aquatic organisms in the DLR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(γ-benzyl l-glutamate)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) blend films were prepared by a solution casting method. Surface morphologies of the polymer blend films were investigated by atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Thermal, mechanical, and physical properties of the polymer blend films were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, tensile tests, and contact angle tests. It was revealed that the introduction of PVA could exert pronounced effects on the morphologies and the properties of the polypeptide films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of poly(lactic acid- co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/poly( γ-benzyl l-glutamate) (PBLG) blend films were prepared by casting the polymer blend solution in chloroform. Surface morphologies of the PLGA/PBLG blend films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties of PLGA/PBLG blend films were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, tensile tests, and surface contact angle tests. The results displayed that when PBLG mole content is 4 %, the tensile strength and the maximum decomposition temperature of the polymer blend film are 20.2 MPa and 359 °C, respectively, suggesting that the polymer blend film holds both a better mechanical property and a better thermal property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of poly( l-lactic acid) (PLLA)/poly( γ-benzyl l-glutamate)- graft-poly(ethylene glycol) (PBLG- graft-PEG) blend films were prepared by casting the polymer blend solution in chloroform. Surface morphologies of the PLLA/PBLG- graft-PEG blend films were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. Thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties of PLLA/PBLG- graft-PEG blend films were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, tensile tests, and surface contact angle tests. It was indicated that, when PBLG- graft-PEG mole content is 5 %, the tensile strength and the surface contact angle of the polymer blend film are 21.2 MPa and 63.2°, respectively, suggesting that the polymer blend film has both good mechanical and good chemical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of poly(vinyl alcohol)/poly(butyl acrylate- co-methyl methacrylate) [PVA/P(BA- co-MMA)] blend films with different P(BA- co-MMA) content were prepared by the solution casting method. Surface morphologies of the PVA/P(BA- co-MMA) blend films were studied by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Thermal, mechanical, and chemical properties of PVA/P(BA- co-MMA) blend films were investigated by differential scanning calorimeter, thermogravimetric analysis, tensile tests, and surface contact angle tests. It was revealed that the introduction of P(BA- co-MMA) could affect the properties of the PVA films. The results also showed that, when P(BA- co-MMA) mole content is 3 %, the tensile strength and the surface contact angle of the polymer blend film are 20.4 MPa and 43.5°, respectively, suggesting that the polymer blend film holds both a better mechanical property and a better chemical property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Boron-doped diamond has been synthesized from graphite mixed with different ratio of BC at high pressure high temperature (HPHT) using laser heated diamond anvil cell. The starting composition was transformed to diamond compound at pressure ∼9 GPa, 2300-2400 K as indicated by the in-situ X-ray diffraction pattern with synchrotron radiation source. Raman spectrum of the recovered specimen from HPHT state confirmed that boron has been doped into diamond lattice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular combing is a powerful and simple method for aligning DNA molecules onto a surface. Using this technique combined with fluorescence microscopy, DNA-histone complexes are stretched on a hydrophobic polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) surface and observed directly. We have developed a new method to stretch single DNA-histone complexes, termed spin-stretching. The results show that the histones markedly enhance DNA binding to the PMMA surface. DNA winds around the histones and therefore decreases in length. The number of histones that bind to each DNA molecule is found to correlate with the histone concentration. The combed DNA-histone complexes are found to depend on two factors: the binding force on the surface and the centrifugal force at its local position. Na+ ions should compete with histones for binding to DNA; however, the observed competitive binding effect of Na+ ions at low concentrations was negligible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binding of cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Mn2+ ) and histones to DNA can be studied using fluorescence assays. Here, we measured the fluorescence intensity and fluorescence anisotropy of DNA and DNA-histone complexes in the presence of cations. We demonstrate that when different cations are added into a DNA solution, the fluorescence intensities of the stained DNA are reduced by different amounts. Compared with divalent cations, monovalent cations had a weaker effect on fluorescence intensity and fluorescence anisotropy. Divalent (Mn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+ ) cations markedly enhanced the fluorescence anisotropy of DNA. The binding modes of monovalent and divalent cations to DNA may be different. Divalent cations can change the structure of DNA molecules, or promote the assembly of DNA strands. The addition of histones causes DNA condensation, which mostly occurs during the first few seconds. Cation binding to DNA is abrupt, and is much faster than that of histones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the joint-observations of the radio broadband spectral emissions of the solar eclipse on August 1, 2008 at Jiuquan (total eclipse) and Huairou (partial eclipse) at the frequencies of 2.00–5.60 GHz (Jiuquan), 2.60–3.80 GHZ (Chinese solar broadband radiospectrometer, SBRS/Huairou), and 5.20–7.60 GHz (SBRS/Huairou), the authors assemble a successive series of broadband spectra with a frequency of 2.60–7.60 GHz to observe the solar eclipse synchronously. This is the first attempt to analyze the solar eclipse radio emission under the two telescopes located at different places with broadband frequencies in the periods of total and partial eclipses. With these analyses, the authorsmade a semiempirical model of the coronal plasma density of the quiet Sun, which can be expressed as n e ≃ 1.42×109( r−2+1.93 r−5) (cm−3), in the space range of r=1.039–1.212 R⊙, and made a comparison with the classic model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple and sensitive spectrophotometric method was described for the determination of cerium(IV) based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of naphthol green B by potassium periodate in the medium of sulfuric acid. The influences of acidity, concentration of reactants, reaction time, reaction temperature, and foreign ions were discussed, and the optimum reaction conditions were established. The reaction was monitored spectrophotometrically by measuring the decrease in absorbance of naphthol green B at 710 nm after a fixed time (8 min). The proposed method allowed the determination of cerium(IV) in the range of 0.08−2.4 μg·mL−1 with good precision and accuracy, and the detection limit was 0.012 μg·mL−1. The method was applied successfully for the determination of trace cerium in hair samples without previous separation. Recovery experiments were also performed, and the recovery was between 95.7%–111.0%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the fact that lytic therapy of thromboembolic disorder has been achieved, reocclusion of the damaged vessels and bleeding complication frequently reduce the therapeutic effect. In order to prevent the vessel reocclusion and enhance the therapeutic effect, combining the anticoagulant with the thrombolytic was assumed. Herein, we propose that restraining but locally releasing anticoagulant activity in the vicinity of thrombus is a way to alleviate the bleeding risk. A bifunctional fusion protein, termed as SFH (Staphylokinase (SAK) linked by FXa recognition peptide at N-terminus of Hirudin (HV)), was designed. SFH retained thrombolytic activity but no anticoagulant activity in thrombus-free blood due to the extension of the N-terminus of HV. However, it could locally liberate intact HV and exhibit anticoagulant activity when FXa or fresh thrombus was present. At equimolar dose, both improved antithrombotic and thrombolytic effects of SFH were observed in kappa-carrageenin inducing mouse-tail thrombosis model and rat inferior vena cava thrombosis model, respectively. Moreover, we observed significantly lower bleeding risk in mice and rats treated with SFH than with the mixture of SAK and HV with monitoring TT ( P < 0.01), aPTT ( P < 0.05) and PT ( P < 0.05), and bleeding time ( P < 0.05). In conclusion, SFH is a promising bifunctional therapeutic candidate with lower bleeding risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of divalent ions (Mn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+) on the interaction between DNA and histone are studied using a fluorescence anisotropy assay. Fluorescence anisotropies of DNA and DNA-histone in the presence of divalent ions (Mn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+) are measured. The results indicate that histone reduces the fluorescence anisotropy of lambda DNA while the divalent ions (Mn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+) significantly enhance the fluorescence anisotropy. Compared to the case of DNA incubated with histone alone, there are more histones binding to DNA when divalent ion, histone and DNA are incubated together. We also find that Mn2+ makes the DNA-histone complexes more condensed than the other ions do. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A temperature measurement model of radiation thermometry for the surface covered by participating media was developed. The model was based on the radiation heat transfer of participating media and principles of radiation pyrometers, and solved by integral formulation of discrete ordinate method on spectral waveband. The influence of water mist on the indicated temperature of Raytek MR1SB one/two color pyrometer was discussed. Mie theory was used to calculate the radiative properties of water mist. In order to verify the model, a laboratory temperature measurement experiment was executed. The result shows that temperature of radiation thermometry is sensitive to the spectral response wavelength of pyrometer, and the simulated temperature of pyrometer agrees well with the experimental measurements on a suitable wavelength. The simulated temperature was lower than the real temperature of surface for one-color pyrometer, and it could be higher or lower than the real one for two-color pyrometer with the influence of participating media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of monovalent (Na+, K+) and divalent (Mg2+, Ca2+, Mn2+) ions on the interaction between DNA and histone are studied using the molecular combing technique, k-DNA molecules and DNA-histone complexes incubated with metal cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Mn2+) are stretched on hydrophobic surfaces, and directly observed by fluorescence microscopy. The results indicate that when these cations are added into the DNA solution, the fluorescence intensities of the stained DNA are reduced differently. The monovalent cations (Na+, K+) inhibit binding d histone to DNA. The divalent cations (Mg2+, Ca2+, Mn2+) enhance significantly the binding of histone to DNA and the binding of the DNA-histone complex to the hydrophobic surface. Mn2+ also induces condensation and aggregation of the DNA- histone complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies the inhibitory effect of the adenovirus type 5 E1A protein expressed in the yeast sytem on the human tumor cell growth. Limitations of E1A gene therapy; Transformation of pichia pastoris yeast cells.

On the basis of a wide range survey of various models or treatment methods for the calculation of radiative properties of gases, box model, which is similar to the gray band approximation of spectral band model, was applied to evaluate the gas properties in this paper. In order to compare the accuracy of box model with that of gray band approximation of spectral band models, a typical one-dimensional gas radiation problem was analyzed using discrete ordinate method. Comparing with the widely used gray band approximation of narrow band model or exponential wide band model, box model can well evaluate the radiation source term of the radiative problem. It also has the advantages of simplicity and easy to code, so it is practicable and useful for some complex engineering problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]