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Unsupervised video prediction is widely applied in intelligent decision-making scenarios due to its capability to model unknown scenes. Traditional video prediction models based on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Gate Recurrent Unit (GRU) consume large amounts of computational resources while constantly losing the original picture information. This paper addresses the challenges discussed and introduces PSRUNet, a novel model featuring the lightweight ParallelSRU unit. By prioritizing global spatiotemporal features and minimizing redundancy, PSRUNet effectively enhances the model’s early perception of complex spatiotemporal changes. The addition of an encoder-decoder architecture captures high-dimensional image information, and information recall is introduced to mitigate gradient vanishing during deep network training. We evaluated the performance of PSRUNet and analyzed the capabilities of ParallelSRU in real-world applications, including short-term precipitation forecasting, traffic flow prediction, and human behavior prediction. Experimental results across multiple video prediction benchmarks demonstrate that PSRUNet achieves remarkably efficient and cost-effective predictions, making it a promising solution for meeting the real-time and accuracy requirements of practical business scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequential immunotherapy has shown certain advantages in malignancy. Here, we aim to evaluate the efficacy of sequential anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 treatment for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients (R/M NPC). We retrospectively analysis 2 phase I trial of ipilimumab and camrelizumab in Chinese R/M NPC patients. These patients were initially treated with ipilimumab, a CTLA4 blockade, followed by anti-PD-1 treatment. We observed a durable tumor remission in these patients (mPFS: 12.3 months; mDoR: 20.9 months). Multimodal investigations of biopsy samples disclosed remodeling of tumor-immune microenvironment triggered by ipilimumab. In responders, we found increased tumoral PD-L1/PD-L2 expression and T-cell infiltration after ipilimumab treatment, accompanied by reduced stroma and malignant cell components. In contrast, non-responders exhibited increased B-cell infiltration and increased peripheral CD19 + B cells, suggesting a defective transition from memory B cells to plasma cells. This study proposes that sequential therapy can potentially enhance treatment efficacy in chemotherapy-resistant NPC patients and provides insights into how preexisting anti-CTLA4 blockade can influence subsequent anti-PD-1 efficacy by remodeling the TME. Additionally, our results highlight the need for therapeutic strategies targeting naïve/memory B cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reinforcement learning (RL) interacts with the environment to solve sequential decision-making problems via a trial-and-error approach. Errors are always undesirable in real-world applications, even though RL excels at playing complex video games that permit several trial-and-error attempts. To improve sample efficiency and thus reduce errors, model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) is believed to be a promising direction, as it constructs environment models in which trial-and-errors can occur without incurring actual costs. In this survey, we investigate MBRL with a particular focus on the recent advancements in deep RL. There is a generalization error between the learned model of a non-tabular environment and the actual environment. Consequently, it is crucial to analyze the disparity between policy training in the environment model and that in the actual environment, guiding algorithm design for improved model learning, model utilization, and policy training. In addition, we discuss the recent developments of model-based techniques in other forms of RL, such as offline RL, goal-conditioned RL, multi-agent RL, and meta-RL. Furthermore, we discuss the applicability and benefits of MBRL for real-world tasks. Finally, this survey concludes with a discussion of the promising future development prospects for MBRL. We believe that MBRL has great unrealized potential and benefits in real-world applications, and we hope this survey will encourage additional research on MBRL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the effects of centralized health management based on hot spring resorts on the physical examination index and sleep quality of people at high risk of chronic diseases. We recruited 114 volunteers at high risk of chronic diseases. We then divided them into 57 in the intervention group and 57 in the control group. The intervention group collectively received 4 weeks (28 days) of comprehensive health management interventions at Tongjing Hotspring Resort, including regular schedules, balanced diet, appropriate exercise, targeted health education, etc. The main outcomes are physical examination indicators (height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, lipids, and glucose) and sleep quality. Both groups underwent a questionnaire and physical examination at baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks. Intragroup comparisons grouped by exposure criteria showed decreases in BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides, total cholesterol, and blood glucose in the intervention group at both 2 and 4 weeks (all P < 0.05); however, in the control group, only triglycerides decreased at 4 weeks (P < 0.05). Intergroup comparisons showed BMI and waist circumference were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group at 4 weeks (all P < 0.05). Intragroup comparisons of insomnia severity index (ISI) scores showed a significant decrease in the intervention group at both 2 and 4 weeks (all P < 0.001) with no significant change in the control group (P > 0.05). Intergroup comparisons showed that the insomnia severity index (ISI) scores were significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group at baseline (P = 0.006) but became significantly lower than the control group at 2 and 4 weeks (all P < 0.001). Thus, this pattern significantly improved BMI, waist circumference, triglycerides, and sleep in the intervention group. Trial registration number: Chinese Clinical Trials Registry: ChiCTR2100053201, registered 14 Nov 2021. (Retroactive Registration) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a serious mood disorder that tends to occur after the delivery, which may bring lifelong consequences to women and their families in terms of family relationships, social relationships, and mental health. Currently, various risk factors including environmental factors and genetic factors that may induce postpartum depression have been extensively studied. In this review, we suggest that postpartum women's susceptibility to postpartum depression may be the result of the interaction between the genes associated with postpartum depression as well as the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. We reviewed the genes that have been studied in postpartum depression, including genes related to the synthesis, metabolism, and transport of monoamine neurotransmitters, key molecules of the HPA axis, and the kynurenine pathway. These studies have found more or less gene-gene and gene-environment interactions, so we will discuss these issues in more detail. However, so far, the conclusions of these risk factors, especially genetic factors, are not completely consistent in the occurrence and exacerbation of symptoms in postpartum depression, and it is not clear how these risk factors specifically participate in the pathological mechanism of the disease and play a role. We conclude that the role of genetic polymorphisms, including genetic and epigenetic processes, in the occurrence and development of postpartum depression, is complex and ambiguous. We also note that interactions between multiple candidate genes and the environment have been suggested as causes of depression, suggesting that more definitive research is needed to understand the heritability and susceptibility of PPD. Overall, our work supports the hypothesis that postpartum depression is more likely to be caused by a combination of multiple genetic and environmental factors than by a single genetic or environmental influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we establish several explicit formulas involving Arakawa–Kaneko zeta values and Kaneko–Tsumura η -values. In particular, we prove a more general duality theorem involving Kaneko–Tsumura η -values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An efficient bio-conditioning of the nanomaterial for microbial inhibition and catalytic degradation has been recognized as a promising solution to protect public health and environmental safety. Herein, a bio-conditioned poly-dihydromyricetin-fused zinc nanoparticles (PDMY-Zn NPs) were designed and constructed based on a green tonic approach, which displays excellent processing efficiency against Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) as well as three dye effluents. Irregular-shaped PDMY-Zn NPs of size range 300–400 nm were formed by the undirected aggregation between Zn2+ and dihydromyricetin (DMY) isolated from Ampelopsis grossedentata, contributing to the controlled release of Zn2+ in gastrointestinal fluid. Such bio-conditioned nanomaterial relied on the stable and strong interaction between the bacterial membrane and carbohydrate polymeric DMY chain in PDMY-Zn NPs achieves a large amount of adhesion to both E. coli and S. aureus, which allows the targeted detachment of Zn2+ from nanoparticles and accurate penetration into the pathogens, thereby achieving the nontoxicity to normal cells and minimizing drug-resistant bacteria. The division and spread of E. coli and S. aureus treated with PDMY-Zn NPs were effectively restricted and halted owing to multidimensional antibacterial behaviors of bacteriostatic agents, which are reflected in membrane damage, high cellular leakages and destroying intracellular ATP. Moreover, the designed PDMY-Zn NPs exhibit an efficient generation of hydroxyl (OH) and excess superoxide, which support it as a promising catalyst for photodegradation of methyl blue (93.02%), methyl orange (93.02%) and safranine (88.3%). Thus, this novel bio-conditioned nanomaterial provides a stable, nontoxic and advanced strategy to address drug-resistant bacteria infections as well as degradation of toxic dye effluents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the deep integration of wireless communication technology and automobile industry, vehicular communication has become one of the key technologies supporting the development of Internet-of-vehicle. Due to the high-speed mobility of vehicles and the rapid change of the propagation environments, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) wireless communication channels are generally non-stationary. Meanwhile, the variability of V2V channel characteristics is obvious in different scattering environments. Focusing on these research points, this paper presents the analysis and comparison of V2V channel characteristics for different scattering scenarios based on a series of 5.9 GHz channel measurements. The measurement data are collected from the iron bridge, the soundproof wall, and the road lamp scenarios. The stationary time and frequency are investigated on the basis of method of local scattering functions. The classical channel characteristics, including power delay profile, Ricean K-factor, root means square (RMS) delay spread and RMS Doppler spread are extracted following the propagation principle. Furthermore, considering the source and birth-death process of multi-path components (MPCs) in different scattering propagation environments, cluster identification and statistical results are presented and compared. The different values of the channel parameters and the different performance of the channel under different scattering environments can help us understand the V2V channel deeply. The research results can be used for the design and optimization of vehicular communication systems in different scattering environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imitation learning aims at recovering expert policies from limited demonstration data. Generative Adversarial Imitation Learning (GAIL) employs the generative adversarial learning framework for imitation learning and has shown great potentials. GAIL and its variants, however, are found highly sensitive to hyperparameters and hard to converge well in practice. One key issue is that the supervised learning discriminator has a much faster learning speed than the reinforcement learning generator, making the generator gradient vanishing. Although GAIL is formulated as a zero-sum adversarial game, the ultimate goal of GAIL is to learn the generator, thus the discriminator should play the role more like a teacher rather than a real opponent. Therefore, the learning of the discriminator should consider how the generator could learn. In this paper, we disclose that enhancing the gradient of the generator training is equivalent to increase the variance of the fake reward provided by the discriminator output. We thus propose an improved version of GAIL, GAIL-VR, in which the discriminator also learns to avoid generator gradient vanishing through regularization of the fake rewards variance. Experiments in various tasks, including locomotion tasks and Atari games, indicate that GAIL-VR can improve the training stability and imitation scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immunotherapy plays a compelling role in cancer treatment and has already made remarkable progress. However, many patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors fail to achieve clinical benefits, and the response rates vary among tumor types. New approaches that promote anti-tumor immunity have recently been developed, such as small molecules, bispecific antibodies, chimeric antigen receptor T cell products, and cancer vaccines. Small molecule drugs include agonists and inhibitors that can reach the intracellular or extracellular targets of immune cells participating in innate or adaptive immune pathways. Bispecific antibodies, which bind two different antigens or one antigen with two different epitopes, are of great interest. Chimeric antigen receptor T cell products and cancer vaccines have also been investigated. This review explores the recent progress and challenges of different forms of immunotherapy agents and provides an insight into future immunotherapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to study the impact of large petrochemical plants and mining operations on the accumulation of heavy metals in farmland and rice, as well as assess their potential risks on human health. The contents of seven heavy metals, Cd, Pb, Cr, Ni, Co, Cu, and Mn, were monitored in a typical polluted paddy soil-rice system near a petrochemical plant and mining area in Maoming, China. The results showed that the content of Cd in the soil exceeds the standard rate by 100%, and the single factor pollution index of Cd was 5.12, which is considered heavy pollution. Excessive heavy metals can inhibit and poison the growth of rice plants. Rice plants can maintain a certain level of heavy metal content by reducing the absorption or interception in the root cells, leading to great differences in the distribution of different heavy metals in plant tissues. Cadmium, Cu, Co, and Mn are easily absorbed from the soil by rice roots, while other heavy metals are relatively difficult to absorb by rice roots. Cuprum, Cd, Co, Pb, and Cr were mainly accumulated in the root of rice, but Mn and Ni migrate to the above ground plant tissues quickly. The brown rice produced in the paddy fields in the study area was seriously polluted. The concentration of Cd, Pb, and Ni in brown rice exceeded the standard by 100%, and Cr in brown rice also exceeded the standard by 80%. If residents consume rice from the study area, their daily intake of Cr and Cd will be 1.02 and 3.24 times higher, respectively, than the standard limit recommended by the FAO/WHO. The irrigation streams were polluted due to the discharge of petrochemical plants and mining wastewater, causing the serious pollution of heavy metals in the surrounding paddy fields. The rice produced in this area poses a serious risk to consumers, and so this problem of pollution should be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the industrial preparation of MnZn ferrite with high magnetic permeability and low magnetic loss, three-phase asynchronous machine was used to extrude MnZn ferrite magnet with large aspect ratio, and the final high-performance MnZn ferrite was obtained via subsequent tube furnace high-temperature sintering method. The effects of sintering temperature and oxygen partial pressure on the evolution of microstructure, and the electromagnetic and thermal properties for the MnZn ferrites were discussed systematically. The results showed that with the increase of the sintering temperature and oxygen partial pressure, both the effective permeability and quality factor show a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, and the highest values of them were obtained when the sintering temperature and oxygen partial pressure were 1260 °C and 3% oxygen partial pressure, respectively. The thermal conductivity exhibited a parabolic shaped trend with the increase of the oxygen partial pressure, and achieved maximum value at 3% oxygen partial pressure, while it decreased as the temperature increases further. The total magnetic loss of MnZn ferrite had a valley bottom temperature. As the oxygen partial pressure increased, the valley bottom temperature shifted to a higher temperature. The MnZn ferrite prepared with 3% oxygen partial pressure had the lowest total loss at 90 °C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation is of crucial importance for shale gas target reservoirs in western Hubei, China; however, little work has been done in this field, and its shale gas accumulation and enrichment mechanism are still unclear. Based on survey wells, outcrop data, and large numbers of tests, the geological conditions of shale gas accumulation were studied; moreover, the factors that influence the gas content were thoroughly discussed. The results show that the Niutitang Formation (Є1n) can be divided into three sections: the first section (Є1n1), the second section (Є1n2), and the third section (Є1n3). The Є1n2 is the main shale gas reservoir. The deep shelf facies is the main sedimentary facies and can be divided into three main lithofacies: argillaceous siltstone, carbonaceous shale and carbonaceous siliceous rock. The total organic carbon (TOC) content shows gentle growth trends until bottom of the Є1n2 and then decreases rapidly within the Є1n1, and the TOC content mainly ranges from 2% to 4% horizontally. The calcite and dolomite dissolution pores, clay intergranular pores and organic pores are the main pore types and the micropore types are clearly related to the mineral compositions and the TOC content. Vertically, the gas content is mainly affected by the TOC content. Horizontally, wells with high gas contents are distributed only southeast of the Huangling anticline, and the combination of structural styles, fault and fracture development, and the distribution of the regional unconformity boundary between the upper Sinian Dengying Formation (Z2d) and the Є1n2 are the three most important factors affecting the gas content. The favorable areas must meet the following conditions: a deep shelf environment, the presence of the Є1n1, wide and gentle folds, far from large normal faults that are more than 5 km, moderate thermal evolution, and greater than 500 m burial depth; this includes the block with the YD2-ZD2 wells, and the block with the Y1 and YD4 wells, which are distributed in the southern portion of the Huangling anticline and northern portion of the Xiannvshan fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biphenanthrene compound, 4, 8, 4′, 8′-tetramethoxy (1, 1′-biphenanthrene)—2, 7, 2′, 7′-tetrol (LF05), recently isolated from fibrous roots of Bletilla striata, exhibits antibacterial activity against several Gram-positive bacteria. In this study, we investigated the antibacterial properties, potential mode of action and cytotoxicity. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) tests showed LF05 was active against all tested Gram-positive strains, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and staphylococcal clinical isolates. Minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) tests demonstrated LF05 was bactericidal against S. aureus ATCC 29213 and Bacillus subtilis 168 whereas bacteriostatic against S. aureus ATCC 43300, WX 0002, and other strains of S. aureus. Time-kill assays further confirmed these observations. The flow cytometric assay indicated that LF05 damaged the cell membrane of S. aureus ATCC 29213 and B. subtilis 168. Consistent with this finding, 4 × MIC of LF05 caused release of ATP in B. subtilis 168 within 10 min. Checkerboard test demonstrated LF05 exhibited additive effect when combined with vancomycin, erythromycin and berberine. The addition of rat plasma or bovine serum albumin to bacterial cultures caused significantly loss in antibacterial activity of LF05. Interestingly, LF05 was highly toxic to several tumor cells. Results of these studies indicate that LF05 is bactericidal against some Gram-positive bacteria and acts as a membrane structure disruptor. The application of biphenanthrene in the treatment of S. aureus infection, especially local infection, deserves further study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We studied the profitable phytoremediation method with commercial chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum indicum L.) in order to remediate the soils contaminated with heavy metals and generate economy income from the contaminated sites. Materials and methods: A field experiment was carried out to remediate the contaminated soil through growing the commercial chrysanthemum plants in a farmland polluted with heavy metals of Cd and Zn due to application of creek sediments in the western suburb of Shanghai, Southeast China, since June 2013. Results and discussion: After the consecutive 3 years of phytoremediation, Cd and Zn contents in the soil were reduced by 78.1% and 28.4%, respectively. We also found that the rice grain growing on the 3-year phytoremediated soil met the requirements of dietary safety, so did the vegetable growing on the 5-year phytoremediated soil. Conclusions: Growing chrysanthemum plants as a method of phytoremediation can not only remove a large amount of toxic heavy metals from the contaminated soil but also be highly profitable from the sales of chrysanthemum flowers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tianbao reservoir in southern China (surrounded by Eucalyptus plantation) serves as a source of drinking water for the inhabitants. However, the reservoir water experiences black water (BW) of which the cause remains unclear. In this study, field observation and simulated laboratory experiment were conducted to understand the cause of the BW. The diffusive gradient in thin-film (DGT) device monitored the spatial changes in concentration of iron (Fe2+), manganese (Mn2+), sulfide (S2−), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at the SWI. The planar optode (PO) showed that hypoxia contributed immensely to the high positive fluxes Fe2+, Mn2+, and S2− measured, which co-precipitated to form black materials (FeS and MnS) at the SWI. The co-precipitation between Fe–S and Mn–S was supported by their significant positive correlation (Fe–S: r > 0.05, p < 0.05, Mn–S: r > 0.2, p < 0.05). Significant reduction (p < 0.05) in tannins concentration from November (strong thermal stratification) to December (weak thermal stratification) indicated that Fe2+ and tannins reacted during the mixing of reservoir water in December due to weak stratification. The simulated experiment confirmed that fresh Eucalyptus leaves produces a significant (p < 0.05) amount of tannins during hypoxia and reacts with Fe2+ to produce black water. A high positive correlation (r > 0.8) between Fe2+ and DOC demonstrated that Fe2+ and DOC combined and contributed to the reservoir water blackening. The study provides a better understanding on the impact of Eucalyptus plantation on water quality and provide guidance for scientific planting of Eucalyptus plantation in reservoir basins in southern China to ensure safe drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Through decorating commercial Pt/C catalyst with a binary oxide of silicon and tin, a catalyst with significantly enhanced self-humidification capacity and ultra-high stability has been successfully prepared. After 5000 cycles, ECSA and ORR activity decay by only 30% and 28.4%, respectively, for our optimal decorated catalyst, compared with 75% and 99.9% for undecorated Pt/C under the same conditions. We attribute this improvement to the prevention of Pt nanoparticle aggregation and the synergistic effects between the Pt active component and the binary oxide. The decorated catalyst also exhibits excellent self-humidification. Under non-humidified operating conditions, a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with a decorated Pt/C catalyst anode is discharged at 0.6 V for 8 h with only slight current density decay, whereas serious decay is observed for an MEA with a non-decorated Pt/C anode. The catalysts are characterized using XRD, SEM/TEM, XPS, and contacted angle measurement. We find that the dissolution, migration, and aggregation of Pt nanoparticles can be effectively prevented by decoration with the binary oxide, and that the contact angle is decreased by 56°, indicating great improvement in the catalyst’s wettability. The interactions between Pt and oxide, Sn and Si are revealed by XPS analysis. This work may provide a facile and effective way to address the durability and humidification issues of PEM fuel cells.Graphical Abstract: An oxide modified Pt/C catalyst was prepared by decorating the commercial Tanaka Pt/C catalyst with a binary oxide of Sn and Si, the catalyst exhibited significantly enhanced stability/durability, slightly enhanced activity and excellent self-humidification property. The catalysts were characterized with HRTEM, XPS etc. The enhancements should be attributed to the prevention of the coated binary oxide to the aggregation of Pt, the corrosion of carbon support. And self-humidification may be resulted from the wettability of the silicon oxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization and industrialization increase the concentrations of heavy metals in soils, which affect human health. A total of 127 topsoil samples were collected from the massively urbanized and industrialized district of Shanghai: Baoshan District. The sampling sites were isolated based on the land-use practice: industrial area, roadside area, residential area, and agricultural area. The absolute concentrations of heavy metals (Zn, Cr, Ni, Mn, Cu, Pb, and Cd) were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry and compared with Shanghai and the National soil background values. The geoaccumulation index (Igeo) and Nemerow pollution index were used to determine the existence and severity of the pollution of heavy metals. Enrichment factor (EF) analysis, spatial variability of pollution, and multivariate statistical analyses also were employed to determine the anthropogenic loading of heavy metals, their spatial dependency, and correlation among their sources, respectively. Moreover, potential ecological risk and human health risk [carcinogenic risk (RI) and noncarcinogenic hazard (HI)] were evaluated. The average concentration of all the metals (accounted as 229, 128, 56, 719, 55, 119, and 0.3 mg kg for Zn, Cr, Ni, Mn, Cu, Pb, and Cd, respectively) was many folds higher than the background values. The indices depicted that the pollution exists in all the sites and severity decreases in the following order: industrial soils > roadside soil > residential soils > agricultural soils. However, Zn, Pb, and Cd showed high levels of pollution in all the soils. The EF values suggested that the majority of heavy metals are anthropogenically loaded; spatial variability showed that the pollution is more concentrated in Songnan town; Pearson's correlation, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis suggested different sources of origin for the majority of the heavy metals. RI of Cr and Pb ranged between 2.8E−04 and 2.7E−07. However, HI was site-specific (only for Cr, Pb, Mn), and most of the sites were in Songnan town. This study could be used as a significant piece of information for management purposes to prevent heavy metal pollution and to protect human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic load characteristics of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) with a dead-ended anode were studied. In a 70 h experiment, the effects of anode pressure, operating temperature, and relative humidity of the cathode on the performances of the fuel cell were investigated. The obtained results show that, with different relative humidity of the cathode at 65 °C, dynamic loading has little effect on the performances of fuel cell and the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA). However, the fuel cell operating under dynamic load is unstable when the relative humidity is 50%, and at 50 °C with 100% relative humidity, applying a dynamic load has a significant influence on the fuel cell performances. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that both the upstream and middle catalyst layers of the cell were unchanged, whereas the down-stream cathode catalyst layer thinned as a response to dynamic load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A MEMS based vacuum packaging method is developed for uncooled optically readable infrared focal plane array (OR-IRFPA). The vacuum packaging structure is made up of three layers: a glass visible window, a silicon spacer, and a silicon infrared window. The silicon spacer is bonded with the glass visible window to form two cavities: one cavity for getter and another one for OR-IRFPA. The isolation wall with micrometer scale pores is designed to ensure air's free flow between two cavities and prevent getter powder from harming pixels of OR-IRFPA. The infrared window is used as cover board and selectively transmitting 8-14 μm infrared radiation. Infrared images of human body are gotten by using the vacuum packaged OR-IRFPA, which shows the vacuum packaging method is feasible and useful for OR-IRFPA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to study the ecological effects of rice-duck integrated farming on soil fertility and weed and pest control. Materials and methods: A field experiment was carried out in the suburb of Shanghai in 2014, which included a rice-duck integrated treatment and non-duck treatment (CK) under organic management. Each treatment was in triplicate, and the experiment included six plots in total, with each plot 667 m in area. Results and discussion: (1) The number of weeds in the plots with the duck treatment was significantly lower than that with CK ( p < 0.01). (2) The incidence of stem borers ( Chilo suppressalis) with the duck treatment was significantly lower than that with CK ( p < 0.05). The incidences of rice leaf rollers ( Cnaphalocrocis medinalis), rice sheath blight ( Rhizoctonia solani), and planthoppers with the duck treatment were extremely significantly lower than those with CK ( p < 0.01). (3) The contents of NH -N, alkali-hydrolyzable N, available P, and available K in the soils with the duck treatment were higher than those with CK, and the activities of urease, phosphatase, sucrase, and catalase in the soils with the duck treatment were also much higher than those with CK. The grain yield with the duck treatment was 1.9 times that with CK. (4) The number of soil nematodes with the duck treatment was significantly higher than that with CK in the late rice growing stage ( p < 0.01). Conclusions: Raising ducks in the paddy fields not only showed a potential of controlling weed hazards and reducing rice pests and diseases but also raised soil fertility, improved soil biodiversity, and increased grain yield effectively. Implementing the rice-duck integrated farming could highly reduce the amount of pesticides and herbicides and was beneficial to develop the organic rice farming in the suburbs of Shanghai, Southeast China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of virus-encoded microRNAs have been shown to play important roles in virus replication and virus-host interactions, although the expression and function of miR-TAR-3p derived from the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) TAR element remain controversial. In this study, miR-TAR-3p was detected in human peripheral blood monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs) infected by HIV-1. Overexpression of miR-TAR-3p impaired viral replication, while inhibition of miR-TAR-3p enhanced it. Additionally, miR-TAR-3p repressed viral transcription and replication by targeting the TAR element in the HIV-1 5'-LTR in a sequence-specific manner. These results confirm the presence of miR-TAR-3p in HIV-1-infected MDMs and suggest that its function might be used as a mechanism to modulate HIV-1 replication through the expression of a negative regulatory factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to study the influences of introducing frogs in the paddy fields on soil ecology and rice growth. Materials and methods: The 2-year field experiments were conducted in the suburb of Shanghai in 2013 and 2014. No pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers were applied within the rice growing season to prevent the possible poisonous effects of agrochemicals on frogs. Results and discussion: The results indicated that immigrant frogs in the fields could reduce the populations of rice leaf rollers, stem borers, and planthoppers effectively due to frog predation, and could control rice sheath blight indirectly through reducing insects that transmit disease pathogens. The frog treatment could raise soil nutrient status, improve rice growth, and increase the contents of soluble protein, chlorophyll, and soluble sugar in rice leaves to some extent, thus increasing grain yield significantly. Moreover, it also raised soil microbial biomass and enhanced the activities of soil enzymes such as dehydrogenase, catalase, urease, and acid phosphatase. Conclusions: To raise the survival rate of immigrant frogs in the fields, it should be protected from human hunting and chemical poison, and its habitats in the nearby fields should be properly reserved. Introducing frogs in the paddy fields not only showed a potential of pest and disease control but also improved soil fertility and rice growth. Such eco-modified method is beneficial to establish a low-input integrated farming system in the suburb of Shanghai in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arid regions represent nearly 30 % of the Earth's terrestrial surface, but their microbial biodiversity is not yet well characterized. The surface sands of deserts, a subset of arid regions, are generally subjected to large temperature fluctuations plus high UV light exposure and are low in organic matter. We examined surface sand samples from the Taklamaken (China, three samples) and Gobi (Mongolia, two samples) deserts, using pyrosequencing of PCR-amplified 16S V1/V2 rDNA sequences from total extracted DNA in order to gain an assessment of the bacterial population diversity. In total, 4,088 OTUs (using ≥97 % sequence similarity levels), with Chao1 estimates varying from 1,172 to 2,425 OTUs per sample, were discernable. These could be grouped into 102 families belonging to 15 phyla, with OTUs belonging to the Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Actinobacteria phyla being the most abundant. The bacterial population composition was statistically different among the samples, though members from 30 genera were found to be common among the five samples. An increase in phylotype numbers with increasing C/N ratio was noted, suggesting a possible role in the bacterial richness of these desert sand environments. Our results imply an unexpectedly large bacterial diversity residing in the harsh environment of these two Asian deserts, worthy of further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The moisture distribution and thermal drying characteristics of dewatered sludge in anaerobic digestion were investigated by a thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TG) and the isothermal kinetic characteristics during the drying were developed by an unreacted core model. The TG results showed that the bound water was partly converted to the free water with the invariant interstitial water and surface water after anaerobic digestion, which enhanced the drying performance of sludge. The time required for the complete drying of digestate was less than that of the raw sludge in the same temperature. The moisture evaporative efficiency of digestate was related to the vapor diffusion rate of the outer surface, and the drying efficiency of digested sludge cannot be enhanced by increased temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:To investigate the effects of arbidol hydrochloride (ARB), a widely used antiviral agent, on the inflammation induced by influenza virus.Methods:MDCK cells were infected with seasonal influenza A/FM/1/47 (H1N1) or pandemic influenza A/Hubei/71/2009 (H1N1). In vitro cytotoxicity and antiviral activity of ARB was determined using MTT assay. BALB/c mice were infected with A/FM/1/47 (H1N1). Four hours later the mice were administered ARB (45, 90, and 180 mg·kg−1·d−1) or the neuraminidase inhibitor oseltamivir (22.5 mg·kg−1·d−1) via oral gavage once a day for 5 d. Body-weight, median survival time, viral titer, and lung index of the mice were measured. The levels of inflammatory cytokines were examined using real-time RT-PCR and ELISA.Results:Both H1N1 stains were equally sensitive to ARB as tested in vitro. In the infected mice, ARB (90 and 180 mg·kg−1·d−1) significantly decreased the mortality, alleviated virus-induced lung lesions and viral titers. Furthermore, ARB suppressed the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α, and elevated the level of IL-10 in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids and lung tissues. However, ARB did not significantly affect the levels of IFN-α and IFN-γ, but reduced the level of IFN-β1 in lung tissues at 5 dpi. In peritoneal macrophages challenged with A/FM/1/47 (H1N1) or poly I:C, ARB (20 μmol/L) suppressed the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, and TNF-α, and elevated the level of IL-10. Oseltamivir produced comparable alleviation of virus-induced lung lesions with more reduction in the viral titers, but less effective modulation of the inflammatory cytokines.Conclusion:ARB efficiently inhibits both H1N1 stains and diminishes both viral replication and acute inflammation through modulating the expression of inflammatory cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to estimate the variation in nuclear genome size in Miscanthus, flow cytometry of nuclei stained by propidium iodide was carried out using 36 populations of three Miscanthus species: M. lutarioriparius, M. sacchariflorus and M. sinensis, which were sampled from cold northern to warm and humid southern and central China, as well as near the sea level in eastern China to mountains in western China. The DNA content of diploid was 4.37 ± 0.02 pg/2C in M. lutarioriparius, 4.37 ± 0.01 pg/2C in M. sacchariflorus, and 5.37 ± 0.03 pg/2C in M. sinensis, respectively. There was no intraspecific variation in the three Miscanthus species at the diploid level, suggesting that the genome size was stable within species and the diverse environments did not induce variation in genome size at the diploid level. However, tetraploid populations were found in M. lutarioriparius and M. sacchariflorus, and their genome sizes were 8.56 and 8.54 pg, respectively, which are lower than expected values (8.74 pg), indicating the genome downsizing after polyploidization in the genus. Our results showed that the plant height of M. lutarioriparius was the highest one among the three species and the species was more closely related to M. sacchariflorus than M. sinensis. The intra-species genomic variation and inter-species differentiation in Miscanthus species provide important genetic and genomic information for the development of Miscanthus, especially for the endemic species, M. lutarioriparius, (together with Miscanthus × giganteus) which are now emerging as a key bio-energy crop because of their high yields and strong adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hantaan viruses cause two severe diseases lacking efficient treatment, yet no effective prophylactic vaccines are available. Continued exploration of alternative antiviral agents to treat hantavirus-related syndromes remains compulsory. The fluorescence-based quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) has become the touchstone for target gene quantification. In the present study, standard curves for Hantaan virus (HTNV), mouse, and human glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were generated by serial 10-fold dilutions of the constructed recombinant plasmid pGEM-T/HTNV, pGEM-T/mouse-GAPDH, and pGEM-T/human-GAPDH, respectively. Comparisons between the indirect immunofluorescence assay and qPCR assay in the detection of HTNV-infected Vero E6 cells showed improved detection limit and sensitivity of latter method. To characterize the inhibitory effect of several conventional antivirals (arbidol and ribavirin) and unconventional antivirals (indomethacin and curcumin) on HTNV, the levels of viral RNAs were measured for 4 days post-treatment of HTNV-infected Vero E6 cells and 18 days post-inoculation of HTNV-infected suckling mice. Our results validated that HTNV was sensitive to ribavirin and arbidol treatment, while indomethacin and curcumin may also be therapeutically effective in treating HTNV infection. As a result, the establishment and application of qPCR may be a useful tool for the evaluation of potential antivirals for Hantaan virus infection in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim:To study whether epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a green tea-derived polyphenol, exerted anti-influenza A virus activity in vitro and in vivo.Methods:Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells were tested. The antiviral activity of EGCG in the cells was determined using hemagglutination assay and qPCR. Time of addition assay was performed to determine the kinetics of inhibition of influenza A by EGCG. The level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were determined with confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. BALB/c mice were treated with EGCG (10, 20 or 40 mg·kg−1·d−1, po) for 5 d. On the 3rd d of the treatment, the mice were infected with influenza A virus. Histopathological changes, lung index and virus titers in the lungs were determined.Results:Treatment of influenza A-infected MDCK cells with EGCG (1.25-100 nmol/L) inhibited influenza A replication in a concentration-dependent manner (the ED50 value was 8.71±1.11 nmol/L). Treatment with EGCG (20 nmol/L) significantly suppressed the increased ROS level in MDCK cells following influenza A infection. In BALB/c mice infected with influenza virus, oral administration of EGCG (40 mg·kg−1·d−1) dramatically improved the survival rate, decreased the mean virus yields and mitigated viral pneumonia in the lungs, which was equivalent to oral administration of oseltamivir (40 mg·kg−1·d−1), a positive control drug.Conclusion:The results provide a molecular basis for development of EGCG as a novel and safe chemopreventive agent for influenza A infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To characterize hantaviruses currently circulating in the hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) epidemic area of Hubei Province, rodents were captured and serum samples were collected from several HFRS patients. The partial S segment of the hantaviruses amplified from two serum samples had a high degree of sequence identity to the corresponding hantavirus strain isolated from Apodemus agrarius (designated as HV004). The complete S, M, and L segment sequences of HV004 were determined. The sequence identities between strain HV004 and other Hantaan viruses (HTNVs) were 83 %-90 % at the nucleotide level and 95 %-99 % at the amino acid level. Phylogenetic analysis showed that HV004 belonged to a new HTNV lineage. These data suggest the presence of a new HTNV subtype, which probably caused the HFRS cases in the endemic area of Hubei Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of halotolerant phosphate solubilizing bacteria as inoculants to convert insoluble phosphorus of salt-affected soils to an accessible form is a promising strategy to improve the phosphorus ingestion of plants in salt-affected agriculture. A total of four aerobic isolates with biggest clear halos on the 10% NaCl NBRIP medium plate containing tricalcium phosphate were isolated from the rhizospheric soils of native plants growing on the wall of Dagong Ancinet Brine Well, located in Sichuan of China. And these four isolates were classified to the same strain, named QW10-11, and closely related to Bacillus megatherium var. phosphaticum DSM 3228 and B. megaterium ATCC 14581 according to their phenotype and 16S rRNA. However, the Molecular evolutionary evidences of 16S-23S rRNA ISR further suggested that QW10-11, DSM 3228 and ATCC 14581 have respectively fall into the different sub-divisions in intra specific phylogeny. Strain QW10-11 has significantly better ability of tricalcium phosphate solubilization than that of lecithin solubilization. When it grows under pH 4.8-8.0, 24-33°C and 5-10% NaCl, it can exhibit the higher values of solubilized tricalcium phosphate between 59.3 and 71.4 μg ml. Furthermore, its tricalcium phosphate solubilizing activity was associated with the release of organic acids. Taken together, our results indicted that QW10-11 from the rhizospheric soils of halobiot of Dagong Ancinet Brine Well is attractive as efficient phosphate solubilizing candidates in the salt-affected agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enzyme, which exists widely in organisms, has high specificity and high catalytic efficiency for its substrates. The absence, the reduced activity, or the overexpression of enzyme are closely related to the occurrence and development of diseases. Therefore, enzyme is often used as markers for disease detection and treatment. To detect enzyme activity and track drug release, aggregation-induced emission (AIE) bioprobes have been developed because of their excellent photostability and high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Among them, peptide-based AIE bioprobes with great biocompatibility and specificity are favored by an increasing number of researchers. Enzymatic hydrolysis of peptide can cause aggregation of AIE molecules and drug release. In this review, enzyme-responsive peptide-based AIE bioprobes used for biomedical application are summarized according to the three aggregation strategies triggered by various reaction between peptide and enzyme, including enzyme-triggered precipitate, enzyme-catalyzed coupling, and enzyme-instructed self-assembly. By giving some representative examples, we discuss how each aggregation strategy detects enzyme activity and treats the diseases under imaging guidance. Finally, we comment on the current problems and future prospects of enzyme-responsive peptide-based AIE bioprobes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The tectonic boundaries and geodynamic evolution of the South China Block are widely debated. While the community largely agrees on the occurrence of the collision between the Yangtze and Cathaysia Blocks, the lack of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks and obscurity of the boundary lead to inconsistencies among the abundant geological and geophysical data. We present three profiles that reveal the geoelectrical structure of eastern South China. Distinct conductive interfaces oriented NE–SW are identified in the geoelectrical lithosphere, which separate the region into six parts. To interpret our observations and resultant model, we develop and propose a mechanism of "microcontinent interaction". Our new model justifies the prior proposed models of 'block collision' and additionally proposes 'multi-terrane accretion-collision' to address the tectonic evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the anaerobic digestion of dewatered sludge, polyacrylamide (PAM), a chemical conditioner, can usually be consumed as a carbon and nitrogen source along with other organic matter (e.g., proteins and carbohydrates in the sludge). However, a significant accumulation of acrylamide monomers (AMs) was observed during the PAM biodegradation process. To improve the anaerobic hydrolysis of PAM, especially the amide hydrolysis process, and to avoid the generation of the intermediate product AM, a new strategy is reported herein that uses an initial pH of 9, 200 mg COD/L of PAM and a fermentation time of 17 d. First, response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize PAM removal in the anaerobic digestion of the sludge. The biological hydrolysis of PAM reached 86.64% under the optimal conditions obtained from the RSM. Then, the mechanisms for the optimized parameters that significantly improved the biological hydrolysis of PAM were investigated by the synergistic effect of the main organic compounds in the sludge, the floc size distribution, and the enzymatic activities. Finally, semi-continuous-flow experiments for a microbial community study were investigated based on the determination of key microorganisms involved in the biological hydrolysis of PAM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]