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The issue of categorizing imbalanced data is becoming increasingly prevalent. While existing methodologies have demonstrated notable advancements in handling imbalanced data, the challenges of extensive data size and low-quality data in the dataset persist. We propose an innovative hybrid approach that combines game mixed sampling and improved genetic algorithms to address the issues of excessive dataset size and low data quality in imbalanced data classification problems. Specifically, in the game hybrid sampling module, we identify the optimal hybrid sampling method and sampling ratio for the current dataset through the game idea, intending to obtain a diverse dataset to ensure comprehensive coverage of the dataset. Additionally, in the module on improving genetic algorithms, we integrate the classifier group, encode the performance metrics of the sampled data, and perform a comprehensive evaluation of the fitness of each data point. Preserve population data of many excellent individuals through selection operations. The population data is subjected to crossover and mutation operations to explore the search space, and the minimum stable population size is determined by sliding standard deviation. In the real world, where credit card fraud data are highly imbalanced, our combined approach achieves small dataset sizes and high evaluation indices, outperforms existing methods, and demonstrates the effectiveness of game mixed sampling and improved genetic algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Atherosclerosis remains the pathological basis of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Early and accurate identification of plauqes is crucial to improve clinical outcomes of atherosclerosis patients. Our study aims to evaluate the potential value of fibroblast activation protein inhibitor (FAPI)-04 PET/CT in identifying plaques via a preclinical rabbit model of atherosclerosis. Methods: New Zealand white rabbits were fed high-fat diet (HFD), and randomly divided into the model group injured by the balloon, and the sham group only with incisions. Ultrasound was performed to detect plaques, and FAPI-avid was determined through Al18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT. Mean standardized uptake values (SUVmean) in lesions were compared, and biodistribution of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 and target-to-background ratios (TBRs) were calculated. Histological staining was performed to display arterial plaques, and autoradiography (ARG) was employed to measure the in vitro intensity of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI-04. At last, the correlation among FAP levels, plaque area, SUVmean values and fibrous cap thickness was assessed. Results: The rabbit carotid and abdominal atherosclerosis model was established. Al18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 showed a higher uptake in carotid plaques (SUVmean 1.32 ± 0.11) and abdominal plaques (SUVmean 0.73 ± 0.13) compared to corresponding controls (SUVmean 1.07 ± 0.06; 0.46 ± 0.03) (P < 0.05). Biodistribution analysis of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 revealed that the bigger plaques were delineated with higher TBRs. Pathological staining showed the formation of arterial plaques, and ARG staining exhibited a higher intensity of Al18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 in the bigger plaques. Lastly, plaque area was found to be positively correlated to FAP expression and SUVmean, while FAP expression was negatively correlated to fibrous cap thickness of plaques. Conclusions: We successfully achieve molecular imaging of fibroblast activation in atherosclerotic lesions of rabbits, suggesting Al18F-NOTA-FAPI-04 PET/CT may be a potentially valuable tool to identify plaques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have initially reported accompanying elevated 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]F-FDG) inflammatory activity in the remote area and its prognostic value after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Non-invasive characterization of the accompanying inflammation in the remote myocardium may be of potency in guiding future targeted theranostics. [68Ga]Ga-Pentixafor targeting chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) on the surface of inflammatory cells is currently one of the promising inflammatory imaging agents. In this study, we sought to focus on the longitudinal evolution of [68Ga]Ga-Pentixafor activities in the remote myocardium following AMI and its association with cardiac function. Methods: Twelve AMI rats and six Sham rats serially underwent [68Ga]Ga-Pentixafor imaging at pre-operation, and 5, 7, 14 days post-operation. Maximum and mean standard uptake value (SUV) and target-to-background ratio (TBR) were assessed to indicate the uptake intensity. Gated [18F]F-FDG imaging and immunofluorescent staining were performed to obtain cardiac function and responses of pro-inflammatory and reparative macrophages, respectively. Results: The uptake of [68Ga]Ga-Pentixafor in the infarcted myocardium peaked at day 5 (all P = 0.003), retained at day 7 (all P = 0.011), and recovered at day 14 after AMI (P > 0.05), paralleling with the rise-fall pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages (P < 0.05). Correlated with the peak activity in the infarct territory, [68Ga]Ga-Pentixafor uptake in the remote myocardium on day 5 early after AMI significantly increased (AMI vs. Sham: SUVmean, SUVmax, and TBRmean: all P < 0.05), and strongly correlated with contemporaneous EDV and/or ESV (SUVmean and TBRmean: both P < 0.05). The transitory remote activity recovered as of day 7 post-AMI (AMI vs. Sham: P > 0.05). Conclusions: Corresponding with the peaked [68Ga]Ga-Pentixafor activity in the infarcted myocardium, the activity in the remote region elevated accordingly and led to contemporaneous left ventricular remodelling early after AMI. Further studies are warranted to clarify its clinical application potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mo2C/AC-x converters were prepared using nitric acid pretreated activated carbon (AC) as a carrier, with x representing the carbonization time. The performance of the converter in converting NO2 to NO was evaluated in a fixed bed reactor. The Mo2C/AC-x converters were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), N2 physisorption and desorption, H2 programmed temperature reduction (H2-TPR) and NO2 temperature-programmed desorption–mass spectrometry (NO2 TPD-MS). The NO2 to NO conversion rate decreases in the following order: Mo2C/AC-4 > Mo2C/AC-2 > Mo2C/AC-6 > Mo2C/AC-0.5. Short carbonization times, like 0.5 h, led to incomplete carbonization of MoO2 to β-Mo2C. Conversely, long carbonization times, like 6 h, resulted in the formation of carbon deposits that can block pores or cover active sites, leading to decreased catalytic performance. Mo2C/AC-4 has the highest specific surface area and pore volume. The NO2 conversion rate of Mo2C/AC-4 reached 98.9% at 150°C, demonstrating direct efficient conversion of NO2 to NO at a lower temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polypeptide N-Acetylgalactosaminyltransferase (GALNTs) are critical enzymes that initiate mucin type-O glycosylation, and are closely associated with the occurrence and development of multiple cancers. However, the significance of GALNT2 in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) progression remains largely undetermined. Based on public multi-omics analysis, GALNT2 was strongly elevated in ccRCC versus adjoining nontumor tissues, and it displayed a relationship with poor overall survival (OS) of ccRCC patients. In addition, GALNT2 over-expression accelerated proliferation of renal cancer cell (RCC) lines. In contrast, GALNT2 knockdown using shRNAs suppressed cell proliferation, and this was rescued by LATS2 knockdown. Similarly, GALNT2 deficiency enhanced p-LATS2/LATS2 expression. LATS2 is activated by phosphorylation (p-LATS2) and, in turn, phosphorylate the downstream substrate protein YAP. Phosphorylated YAP (p-YAP) stimulated its degradation and cytoplasmic retention, as it was unable to translocate to the nucleus. This resulted in reduced cell proliferation. Subsequently, we explored the upstream miRNAs of GALNT2. Using dual luciferase reporter assay, we revealed that miR-139-5p interacted with the 3ʹ UTR of GALNT2. Low miR-139-5p expression was associated with worse ccRCC patient outcome. Based on our experiments, miR-139-5p overexpression inhibited RCC proliferation, and this phenotype was rescued by GALNT2 overexpression. Given these evidences, the miR-139-5p-GALNT2-LATS2 axis is critical for RCC proliferation, and it is an excellent candidate for a new therapeutic target in ccRCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper ionophore NSC319726 has attracted researchers' attention in treating diseases, particularly cancers. However, its potential effects on male reproduction during medication are unclear. This study aimed to determine whether NSC319726 exposure affected the male reproductive system. The reproductive toxicity of NSC319726 was evaluated in male mice following a continuous exposure period of 5 weeks. The result showed that NSC319726 exposure caused testis index reduction, spermatogenesis dysfunction, and architectural damage in the testis and epididymis. The exposure interfered with spermatogonia proliferation, meiosis initiation, sperm count, and sperm morphology. The exposure also disturbed androgen synthesis and blood testis barrier integrity. NSC319726 treatment could elevate the copper ions in the testis to induce cuproptosis in the testis. Copper chelator rescued the elevated copper ions in the testis and partly restored the spermatogenesis dysfunction caused by NSC319726. NSC319726 treatment also decreased the level of retinol dehydrogenase 10 (RDH10), thereby inhibiting the conversion of retinol to retinoic acid, causing the inability to initiate meiosis. Retinoic acid treatment could rescue the meiotic initiation and spermatogenesis while not affecting the intracellular copper ion levels. The study provided an insight into the bio-safety of NSC319726. Retinoic acid could be a potential therapy for spermatogenesis impairment in patients undergoing treatment with NSC319726. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Fondaparinux is a synthetic anticoagulant that inhibits thrombosis by suppressing factor Xa. The efficacy of fondaparinux for orthopedic surgeries has been revealed by several foreign studies; however, relevant evidence in Chinese patients is lacking. This study intended to investigate the occurrence rate and risk factors of in-hospital venous thromboembolism (VTE), major bleeding, and death in patients receiving fondaparinux after orthopedic surgery or trauma surgery. Methods: Totally, 1258 patients who received fondaparinux after orthopedic surgery or trauma surgery were retrospectively enrolled. Meanwhile, in-hospital VTE, major bleeding, and death were obtained for assessment. Besides, adverse events were recorded. Results: The occurrence rates of in-hospital VTE, major bleeding, and death were 2.5%, 21.8%, and 0.0%, respectively. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that only age (> 60 years vs. ≤ 60 years) (odd ratios (OR) = 3.380, P = 0.013) was independently correlated with increased risk of in-hospital VTE. Additionally, osteoarthritis diagnosis (OR = 3.826, P < 0.001), femoral head necrosis diagnosis (OR = 1.809, P = 0.034), hip replacement (vs. internal fracture fixation) (OR = 2.199, P = 0.007), knee replacement (vs. internal fracture fixation) (OR = 2.781, P = 0.002), and serum creatinine (abnormal vs. normal) (OR = 1.677, P = 0.012) were independently linked to a higher risk of in-hospital major bleeding. Moreover, the common adverse events included pain (56.6%), wound bleeding (23.0%), increased drainage (5.2%), etc. Conclusion: Fondaparinux realizes low occurrence rates of in-hospital VTE and major bleeding with tolerable adverse events in patients receiving orthopedic surgery or trauma surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deploying AI models on resource-constrained devices is indeed a challenging task. It requires models to have a small parameter while maintaining high performance. Achieving a balance between model size and performance is essential to ensuring the efficient and effective deployment of AI models in such environments. Knowledge distillation (KD) is an important model compression technique that aims to have a small model learn from a larger model by leveraging the high-performance features of the larger model to enhance the performance of the smaller model, ultimately achieving or surpassing the performance of the larger models. This paper presents a pipeline-based knowledge distillation method that improves model performance through non-linear feature alignment (FA) after the feature extraction stage. We conducted experiments on both single-teacher distillation and multi-teacher distillation and through extensive experimentation, we demonstrated that our method can improve the accuracy of knowledge distillation on the existing KD loss function and further improve the performance of small models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ornithine metabolism plays a vital role in tumorigenesis. For cancer cells, ornithine is mainly used as a substrate for ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) for the synthesis of polyamines. The ODC as a key enzyme of polyamine metabolism has become an important target for cancer diagnosis and treatment. To non-invasively detect the levels of ODC expression in malignant tumors, we have synthesized a novel 68Ga-labeled ornithine derivative ([68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn). The synthesis time of [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn was about 30 min with a radiochemical yield of 45–50% (uncorrected), and the radiochemical purity was > 98%. [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn was stable in saline and rat serum. Cellular uptake and competitive inhibition assays using DU145 and AR42J cells demonstrated that the transport pathway of [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn was similar to that of l-ornithine, and it could interact with the ODC after transporting into the cell. Biodistribution and micro-positron emission tomography (Micro-PET) imaging studies showed that [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn exhibited rapid tumor uptake and was rapidly excreted through the urinary system. All above results suggested that [68Ga]Ga-NOTA-Orn is a novel amino acid metabolic imaging agent with great potential of tumor diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The IQ-SPECT system is equipped with multifocal collimators and uses ordered-subset conjugate gradient minimization (OSCGM) as its reconstruction algorithm, achieving a shorter acquisition time than conventional SPECT. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is overestimated by conventional SPECT in patients with small heart size. In this study, we compared IQ-SPECT with conventional SPECT and cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for the estimation of LVEF in patients with small hearts (males: EDV ≤ 60 ml, ESV ≤ 25 ml; females: EDV ≤ 45 ml, ESV ≤ 20 ml). Methods: The study consisted of 49 consecutive patients (20 normal and 29 with small heart size) undergoing gated myocardial perfusion imaging (GMPI) with a 99mTc-labelled agent during stress or rest to assess the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). The data were reconstructed using filtered back-projection (FBP) for conventional SPECT and OSCGM for IQ-SPECT. ESV, EDV, and LVEF were calculated using quantitative gated SPECT (QGS). To determine the optimal ordered-subset reconstruction parameters, we compared the LVEF from SPECT to the corresponding measurement from CMR. Results: EDV, ESV, and LVEF values obtained from IQ-SPECT and conventional SPECT showed that the results of these two forms of SPECT were significantly correlated, although the EDV and ESV obtained by IQ-SPECT were higher than those obtained by conventional SPECT. IQ-SPECT yielded lower LVEF measurements than conventional SPECT (normal heart size: 50.6 ± 4.3% vs. 73.4 ± 8.4%, P = 0.002; small heart size: 62.1 ± 7.8% vs. 75.0 ± 11.4%, P < 0.001). There were no significant differences in LVEF measurements made by IQ-SPECT and CMR (normal heart size: 50.6 ± 4.3% vs. 53.2 ± 5.8%, P > 0.05; small heart size: 62.1 ± 7.8% vs. 64.6 ± 8.8%, P > 0.05). Five subsets (S) and 12 iterations (I) did not differ significantly in LVEF between CMR and IQ-SPECT for patients with small hearts (64.6 ± 8.8% vs. 62.1 ± 7.8%, P = 0.120), while 3 S and 10 I were the best parameters for patients with normal heart size (50.6 ± 4.3% vs. 53.1 ± 5.8%, P = 0.117). Conclusion: With CMR as the standard, IQ-SPECT yields more reliable LVEF values than conventional SPECT for populations with small heart size. The best reconstruction parameters from IQ-SPECT were 5 S and 12 I for patients with small hearts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies and measures to control pandemics are often failing. While biological factors controlling transmission are usually well explored, little is known about the environmental drivers of transmission and infection. For instance, respiratory droplets and aerosol particles are crucial vectors for the airborne transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, the causation agent of the coronavirus 2019 pandemic (COVID-19). Once expectorated, respiratory droplets interact with atmospheric particulates that influence the viability and transmission of the novel coronavirus, yet there is little knowledge on this process or its consequences on virus transmission and infection. Here we review the effects of atmospheric particulate properties, vortex zones, and air pollution on virus survivability and transmission. We found that particle size, chemical constituents, electrostatic charges, and the moisture content of airborne particles can have notable effects on virus transmission, with higher survival generally associated with larger particles, yet some viruses are better preserved on small particles. Some chemical constituents and surface-adsorbed chemical species may damage peptide bonds in viral proteins and impair virus stability. Electrostatic charges and water content of atmospheric particulates may affect the adherence of virion particles and possibly their viability. In addition, vortex zones and human thermal plumes are major environmental factors altering the aerodynamics of buoyant particles in air, which can strongly influence the transport of airborne particles and the transmission of associated viruses. Insights into these factors may provide explanations for the widely observed positive correlations between COVID-19 infection and mortality with air pollution, of which particulate matter is a common constituent that may have a central role in the airborne transmission of the novel coronavirus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism has been a longstanding challenge in condensed matter physics. Here we report high pressure studies on the C-type antiferromagnetic semiconductor EuTe2 up to 36.0 GPa. A structural transition from the I4/mcm to the C2/m space group is identified at ~16 GPa. Superconductivity is observed above ~5 GPa in both structures. In the low-pressure phase, magnetoresistance measurements reveal strong couplings between the local moments of Eu2+ and the conduction electrons of Te 5p orbits. The upper critical field of superconductivity is well above the Pauli limit. While EuTe2 becomes nonmagnetic in the high-pressure phase and the upper critical field drops below the Pauli limit. Our results demonstrate that the high upper critical field of EuTe2 in the low-pressure phase is due to the exchange field compensation effect of Eu2+ and the superconductivity in both structures may arise in the framework of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory. Understanding the interplay between superconductivity and magnetism has been a longstanding challenge in condensed matter physics. Here, the authors uncover a sensitive coupling between the two within the pressure-tuned phase diagram of EuTe2 and find that certain magnetic orders can stabilize conventional superconductivity far exceeding the Pauli limit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) is a significant public health issue, and non-coding RNAs are of vital importance in this process. In this study, we find that the long non-coding RNA potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 1 overlapping transcript 1 (lncRNA KCNQ1OT1) can alleviate the ovariectomy-induced (OVX) PMOP in vivo. We determined that over-expression of KCNQ1OT1 could enhance functions of MC3T3-E1 cells, whereas an opposite trend was observed when KCNQ1OT1 was knocked down. Subsequently, miR-421-3p targeting KCNQ1OT1 was detected through a database search, and RNA fluorescent in situ hybridization, RNA immunoprecipitation, dual luciferase reporter assays all verified this relationship. Notably, KCNQ1OT1 stifled the miR-421-3p expression. The inhibition of proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation caused by KCNQ1OT1 knock-down were reversed by an miR-421-3p inhibitor, further confirming the above findings. We verified that miR-421-3p specifically targeted the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and miR-421-3p inhibitor could reverse the negative effects of small interfering RNA of mTOR (si-mTOR) on MC3T3-E1 cells. Finally, osteoblasts isolated and cultured from OVX mice model and control mice also confirmed the observed trend. In combination, results mentioned above reveal that KCNQ1OT1 regulates MC3T3-E1 cell functions by regulating the miR-421-3p/mTOR axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) has been the most common form of secondary osteoporosis. Glucocorticoids (GCs) can induce osteocyte and osteoblast apoptosis. Plenty of research has verified that silicon intake would positively affect bone. However, the effects of silicon on GIOP are not investigated. In this study, we assessed the impact of ortho-silicic acid (OSA) on Dex-induced apoptosis of osteocytes by cell apoptosis assays. The apoptosis-related genes, cleaved-caspase-3, Bcl-2, and Bax, were detected by western blotting. Then, we evaluated the possible role of OSA on osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis with Dex using Alizarin red staining and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining. We also detected the related genes by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and western blotting. We then established the GIOP mouse model to evaluate the potential role of OSA in vivo. We found that OSA showed no cytotoxic on osteocytes below 50 μM and prevented MLO-Y4 from Dex-induced apoptosis. We also found that OSA promoted osteogenesis and inhibited osteoclastogenesis with Dex. OSA had a protective effect on GIOP mice via the Akt signal pathway in vivo. In the end, we verified the Akt/Bad signal pathway in vitro, which showed the same results. Our finding demonstrated that OSA could protect osteocytes from apoptosis induced by GCs both in vitro and in vivo. Also, it promoted osteogenesis and inhibited osteoclastogenesis with the exitance of Dex. In conclusion, OSA has the potential value as a therapeutic agent for GIOP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most common commercial oils in the Chinese market are two petrol types with octane levels of 93 and 97. To determine the source spectrum of air pollutant emissions, we herein investigated the specific emission sizes of the total suspended particles (TSP), total carbon (TC), elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from a petrol engine fueled with 93# and 97# petrol in 2016 (based on Chinese national IV gasoline standard). We found that while 93# emitted a higher TSP content, 97# emitted greater TC, EC, OC, and PAHs. The highest carbon contents were found in the < 0.25 µm and 0.44–1.0 µm size fractions for the 93# and 97# petrol, respectively. OC content showed a significant positive correlation with EC, and EC2 (at 740 ℃) was the main carbon fragment in both petrol exhausts. The highest PAH content occurred in the 0.25–0.44 µm size-bin, differing from the results for TC, EC, and OC, and medium molecular weight (4 rings) PAHs were the primary component in the emissions. These results indicate that fuel composition and octane sensitivity have a prominent effect on the size distributions of TC (including EC, OC, and PAHs). Thus, more studies on the carbon content at specific emission sizes in petrol exhaust should be conducted to clarify the main factors impacting these variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to investigate the effect and significance of the rotation method with variable-angle anterior probe corrected for the depth of two kidneys on the determination of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in total and single kidneys by the renal dynamic imaging Gates method. Methods: Seventy-two patients who underwent dynamic renal imaging by the rotation method and abdominal CT in our hospital were collected in the present study. CT scanning, rotation method, Tonnesen's formula, and Li-Qian's formula were compared in terms of the depth of two kidneys, the depth difference between the two kidneys, and the total renal and single GFR obtained by substituting the renal depth values into Gates' formula. Results: ①The depth of kidneys and GFR: Compared to CT, Tonnesen's formula significantly underestimated the depth of both kidneys and the total and single renal GFR (P < 0.05). No significant differences were found in the depth of both kidneys and the total and single renal GFR between Li-Qian's formula and the rotation method (P > 0.05), with a strong agreement and with the least bias in the values measured by the rotation method. ②Renal depth difference: Compared to CT, Tonnesen's formula and Li-Qian's formula underestimated the difference in depth between the two kidneys (P < 0.05). None of the differences were statistically significant based on the rotation method (P > 0.05). The depth difference was positively correlated with the resulting changes in single renal function (|R(CT)-R(Li-Qian)|) and (|R(Rotation)-R(Li-Qian)|) (r = 0.881, 0.641, P < 0.001). As the depth difference increased, Li-Qian's formula could not visualize changes in single renal function accurately. In contrast, the accuracy of the rotation method in assessing single renal function remains unaffected. Conclusion: The rotation method obtains an accurate depth and depth difference between the two kidneys without additional CT radiation, enhancing the accuracy of the Gates method for determining total and single renal GFR. Trial registration Medical Ethics Committee of First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, 2021BAL0146. Registered 12 January 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gliomas are the most common and fatal brain tumors worldwide. Abnormal DNA promoter methylation is an important mechanism for gene loss of tumor suppressors. A long non-coding RNA colorectal adenocarcinoma hypermethylated (CAHM) has been reported to be nearly deleted in glioblastomas (GBMs). Nevertheless, the roles of CAHM in gliomas remain unknown up to now. In the present study, 969 glioma samples downloaded from the CGGA and Gravendeel databases were included. We found that CAHM expression was correlated with glioma grades, molecular subtype, IDH mutation status, and 1q/19p codel status. In glioma cells, CAHM is hypermethylated by DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1) and the loss of CAHM expression could be reversed by 5-Aza-2′-deoxycytidine (5-Aza), a specific inhibitor of DNA methyltransferases. Besides, the expression of CAHM was negatively associated with overall survival in both primary and recurrent gliomas. Moreover, the result of Gene Ontology (GO) analysis suggested that CAHM participated in negatively regulating cell development, nervous system development, neurogenesis, and integrin-mediated signaling pathway. Overexpression of CAHM inhibited glioma cell proliferation, clone formation, and invasion. Further exploring results showed that CAHM overexpression suppressed glioma migration and invasion through SPAK/MAPK pathway. Collectively, this study disclosed that CAHM might be a suppressor in gliomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glutathione (GSH) is the most abundant mercaptan which is closely related to many clinical diseases in cells. In this study, we rationally designed a near-infrared fluorescent probe FOD to detect intracellular GSH based on the ICT mechanism. The structure of FOD was characterized by 1H, 13C NMR, FT-IR and HR-MS. FOD was constructed by using dicyanoisophorone as the push–pull fluorophore and 2, 4-dinitrobenzenesulfonyl moiety as the response group. Upon addition of GSH, FOD displayed noticeable color change from colorless to yellow with a sharp fluorescence enhancement (9.5-fold) at 586 nm and the absolute quantum yield of FOD increased to 4.6. Furthermore, FOD exhibited an excellent linear relationship with the concentration of GSH in the range of 0.2–1.8 μM and the detection limit of the probe was as low as 12.4 nM. FOD also can specifically toward GSH than other analytes. More importantly, FOD was successfully employed to detect endogenous GSH in living cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Recently, a "U" hazard ratio curve between resting left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and prognosis has been observed in patients referred for routine clinical echocardiograms. The present study sought to explore whether a similar "U" curve existed between resting LVEF and coronary flow reserve (CFR) in patients without severe cardiovascular disease (CVD) and whether impaired CFR played a role in the adverse outcome of patients with supra-normal LVEF (snLVEF, LVEF ≥ 65%). Methods: Two hundred ten consecutive patients (mean age 52.3 ± 9.3 years, 104 women) without severe CVD underwent clinically indicated rest/dipyridamole stress electrocardiography (ECG)-gated 13 N-ammonia positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT). Major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were followed up for 27.3 ± 9.5 months, including heart failure, late revascularization, re-hospitalization, and re-coronary angiography for any cardiac reason. Clinical characteristics, corrected CFR (cCFR), and MACE were compared among the three groups categorized by resting LVEF detected by PET/CT. Dose–response analyses using restricted cubic spline (RCS) functions, multivariate logistic regression, and Kaplan–Meier survival analysis were conducted to evaluate the relationship between resting LVEF and CFR/outcome. Results: An inverted "U" curve existed between resting LVEF and cCFR (p = 0.06). Both patients with snLVEF (n = 38) and with reduced LVEF (rLVEF, LVEF < 55%) (n = 66) displayed a higher incidence of reduced cCFR than those with normal LVEF (nLVEF, 55% ≤ LVEF < 65%) (n = 106) (57.9% vs 54.5% vs 34.3%, p < 0.01, respectively). Both snLVEF (p < 0.01) and rLVEF (p < 0.05) remained independent predictors for reduced cCFR after multivariable adjustment. Patients with snLVEF encountered more MACE than those with nLVEF (10.5% vs 0.9%, log-rank p = 0.01). Conclusions: Patients with snLVEF are prone to impaired cCFR, which may be related to the adverse prognosis. Further investigations are warranted to explore its underlying pathological mechanism and clinical significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbonaceous nanomaterials have exhibited huge practical prospects as conductive sensitizers for the modification of electrodes. In this work, the nanocomposite of graphitized multi-walled carbon nanotubes@Super P Li carbon nanoparticles (GCNTs@SP-Li) was designed via a simple ultrasonication-assisted strategy, and then the GCNTs@SP-Li/GCE sensor based on the synthesized GCNTs@SP-Li nanocomposite decorating glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was successfully applied in the sensitive detection of isoproturon (ISO). For the GCNTs@SP-Li nanocomposite, GCNTs with porous structure presented excellent adsorption property, which contributed to the preconcentration of ISO and facilitated the electrolyte penetration. Additionally, GCNTs possessed good electrical conductivity owing its higher graphitization degree. More importantly, the interconnected dot-line-like structure of GCNTs@SP-Li nanocomposite acted as conductive "highways" to remarkably reduce the electron transport distance, which could significantly accelerate the process of redox reaction. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of GCNTs and SP-Li, the optimized GCNTs@SP-Li/GCE sensor showed a low detection limit of 0.1653 μM in the linear concentration of 0.7–30 μM. Additionally, the proposed sensor exhibited satisfactory recoveries from 97.2 to 101.6% towards the determination of ISO in river water and tap water. This work offers a feasible and cost-effective idea in developing the high-performance ISO electrochemical sensor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A dual-fluorescence lab-on-fiber biosensor was developed for the rapid and simultaneous on-site determination of acetamiprid and fipronil, based on time-resolved effect and indirect competitive immunoassay principle. The optical fiber modified with two hapten-protein conjugates serves as a bifunctional bio-probe. The dual-color fluorescent reporters were prepared via labeling acetamiprid and fipronil antibodies with Cy5.5 and Alexa Fluor 555, which were excited at 635-nm and 520-nm laser wavelengths, respectively. In the presence of targets, the binding sites of corresponding antibodies were occupied and less antibodies were connected to the probe surface, resulting in the reduction of fluorescence signal. The concentration of acetamiprid and fipronil was determined by measuring the fluorescence signals at 568 nm and 702 nm (emission wavelengths), respectively. Under optimal conditions, the linear response range was 14.2–225.4 ng/L for acetamiprid and 25.1–162.8 ng/L for fipronil, and the limit of detection was 6.51 ng/L and 17.8 ng/L for acetamiprid and fipronil, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the simultaneous detection of acetamiprid and fipronil in three environmental samples, and the recoveries were between 90 and 128%. The dual-fluorescence lab-on-fiber biosensor provides a feasible platform for simultaneous and rapid detection of multiple pesticide residues. A dual-fluorescence lab-on-fiber biosensor was developed for the rapid and simultaneous on-site determination of acetamiprid and fipronil. A bifunctional bio-probe was prepared from the optical fiber modified with two hapten-protein conjugates. Acetamiprid and fipronil antibodies were labeled with different fluorophores and used as dual-color fluorescent reporters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional torque sharing function (TSF) strategy can lead to large torque ripple and copper consumption in switched reluctance motors (SRMs) due to the limitation of the voltage in the phase change interval. In this paper, an improvement scheme is proposed to address this problem. First, a segmented non-linear correction TSF (SN-TSF) is proposed. Then with the torque ripple and copper consumption of the SRM as optimization objectives, the proposed SN-TSF values are optimized using the velocity control particle swarm optimization (VCPSO) algorithm based on the particle velocity–boundary relationship. The optimal parameters are used to obtain the optimal SN-TSF curves with different loading torques and speeds. Experimental results show that the proposed SN-TSF strategy reduces the torque ripple by 40.17% and 66.5%, and the peak phase currents by 5.058 A and 5.371 A under two different operating conditions, which demonstrates the effectiveness of this strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low-frequency component of seismic data is an inevitable part to obtain absolute P-impedance ( I p ) and V p / V s ratio of the subsurface, especially for the reservoir sweet spot. In this work, we train the deep feedforward neural network (DFNN) with band-pass seismic data and well log data to obtain favorable low-frequency components. Specifically, the Bayesian inference strategy is first applied to the pre-stack constrained sparse spike inversion process, obtaining an "initial" inverted band-pass parameters, which are subsequently used as input when applying the DFNN algorithm to predict low- and band-pass parameters. Moreover, the high linear correlation coefficient between the DFNN-based inversion results and the realistic well logging curves of the blind wells demonstrates that the DFNN-based inversion scheme exhibits strong robustness and good generalization ability. Ultimately, we apply the proposed DFNN-based inversion strategy to a tight sandstone reservoir located at the Sichuan basin field from onshore China. Both low- and band-pass I p and V p / V s inverted for the clastic formation of the Sichuan basin show a strong correlation with the corresponding I p and V p / V s logs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ramulus Mori alkaloids, also known as SangZhi alkaloids (SZ-A), is a natural medicine used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus in China. SZ-A is extracted from Morus alba L., which grows in the natural environment and may be contaminated by heavy metals and harmful elements. These contaminants can enter SZ-A products during the extraction of M. alba, thereby posing a threat to patient health. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate scientific and reasonable limits to ensure patient safety. For this purpose, in this study, we used the extraction process of SZ-A as the object of investigation and determined the content of five harmful elements: Cd, Pb, As, Hg, and Cu in the herb raw material, SZ-A product, and its intermediates obtained in different extraction steps. Next, the transfer rate of harmful elements in the extraction process was used as an indicator to evaluate the ability of different operations to remove harmful elements. Subsequently, the health risks of heavy metals and harmful elements in SZ-A were assessed. Our results demonstrated that M. alba has little risk of contamination by Hg. The cation and anion resin refining processes are the best effective method to remove Cd, Pb, and Cu from the products. However, As is not easily eliminated during the water extraction. There is as much as 87% of As transferred from the herb raw material to the water-extracted intermediate, while Cd, Pb, and Cu are rarely transferred (6% to 17%) under the same conditions. Overall, the results indicate that the regulatory standard limits for Cd, Pb, As, Hg, and Cu contained in natural medicine Ramulus Mori alkaloids are set to 1, 5, 2, 0.2, and 20 μg/g, respectively, which is the most scientific and it can guarantee the safety of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numb (Nb) and Numb-like (Nbl) are functionally redundant adaptor proteins that critically regulate cell fate and morphogenesis in a variety of organs. We selectively deleted Nb and Nbl in testicular germ cells by breeding Nb/Nbl floxed mice with a transgenic mouse line Tex101-Cre. The mutant mice developed unilateral or bilateral cystic dilation in the rete testis (RT). Dye trace indicated partial blockages in the testicular hilum. Morphological and immunohistochemical evaluations revealed that the lining epithelium of the cysts possessed similar characteristics of RT epithelium, suggesting that the cyst originated from dilation of the RT lumen. Spermatogenesis and the efferent ducts were unaffected. In comparisons of isolated germ cells from mutants to control mice, the Notch activity considerably increased and the expression of Notch target gene Hey1 significantly elevated. Further studies identified that germ cell Fgf4 expression negatively correlated the Notch activity and demonstrated that blockade of FGF receptors mediated FGF4 signaling induced enlargement of the RT lumen in vitro. The crucial role of the FGF4 signaling in modulation of RT development was verified by the selective germ cell Fgf4 ablation, which displayed a phenotype similar to that of germ cell Nb/Nbl null mutant males. These findings indicate that aberrant over-activation of the Notch signaling in germ cells due to Nb/Nbl abrogation impairs the RT development, which is through the suppressing germ cell Fgf4 expression. The present study uncovers the presence of a lumicrine signal pathway in which secreted/diffusible protein FGF4 produced by germ cells is essential for normal RT development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significant fluorescence enhancement of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) induced by Hg2+ was observed for the first time based on a CdSe/ZnS QD-modified fiber nanoprobe. The fluorescence enhancement mechanism contributed to the Zn-to-Hg cation exchange in the ZnS shell, which allowed to form a HgxZn1-xS/CdSe heterojunction and increase the separation of electrons and holes and reduce the recombination rate. High concentrations of Hg2+ accelerated the generation of the fluorescence signal and lead to higher fluorescence intensity. The maximum fluorescence intensity increased more than eight times when Hg2+ concentration was 1 µM. The characteristic time (θc), i.e., the rising time to achieve the maximum fluorescence intensity, was linearly dependent on initial concentration of Hg2+ solution in accordance with our proposed theory. When the evanescent wave optofluidic fluorescence platform was used, the linear detection range and detection limit of Hg2+ were 5.0–1000 nM and 0.80 nM, respectively. The fiber nanoprobe can be applied to the rapid, sensitive, and accurate on-site detection of Hg2+ in real water samples without significant matrix effect. Our work paves a novel way to develop a simple and reliable nanoprobe for mercuric pollution control, and achieve the high quantum efficiency of QDs by limiting the diffusion of Hg2+ in the ZnS shell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous experiments in vitro and in vivo have shown that an appropriate increase intake of silicon can facilitate the synthesis of collagen and its stabilization and promote the differentiation and mineralization of osteoblasts. In this study, we examined whether ortho-silicic acid restrains the differentiation of osteoclast through the receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL)/receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) signaling pathway by investigating its effect in vitro and in vivo. Bone marrow macrophage (BMM) cells were isolated and cultured with or without ortho-silicic acid, and then TRAP staining and immunofluorescence were performed to detect the differentiation of osteoclast. The RANKL-induced osteoclast marker gene and protein expression including c-Fos, nuclear factor of activated T cells cl (NFATcl), tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6), nuclear factor kappa B P50 (NF-κB P50), NF-κB P52, RANK, integrin β3, cathepsin K (CTSK), DC-STAMP, and TRAP were quantitatively detected by western blot and RT-PCR. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats were injected with ortho-silicic acid (OVX+Si group) and normal saline (OVX group), and sham-operated rats were injected with normal saline (Sham group). And micro-CT, H&E, and TRAP staining, ELISA, and western blot were performed. Ortho-silicic acid could inhibit the differentiation of osteoclast, and the marker genes and proteins were decreased. The OVX-induced bone loss could be reversed by ortho-silicic acid. Our finding demonstrated that ortho-silicic acid suppresses RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis and has potential value as a therapeutic agent for OVX-induced bone loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial sigma (σ) factor, along with RNA polymerase core enzyme, initiates gene transcription from specific promoter regions and therefore regulates clusters of genes in response to a particular situation. The extracytoplasmic function (ECF) σ factors are a class of alternative σ factors that are often associated with environmental signal transduction across the bacterial membrane, in which external signal triggers the release of active σ from the membrane-anchored anti-σ factor. Gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) has seven ECF σ factors: σM, σV, σX, σW, σY, σZ and σYlaC. Although all these ECF σ factors were found to be involved in B. subtilis antibiotic resistance, σW is among the most studied and considered to play a pivotal role in responding to antimicrobial stresses. σW is under tight control and remains deactivated until exposure to external stimuli, after which proteases PrsW and RasP cleave the specific anti-sigma factor—RsiW to release and activate σW. Membrane anchored protein YsdB is a negative regulator of this activation, possibly via its direct interaction with PrsW and/or RsiW. Importantly, YsdB is well conserved among Bacilli, including pathogenic bacteria like Bacillus cereus. In this study, we describe the chemical shift assignments of the cytoplasmic domain of YsdB (29-130) of B. subtilis in solution as a basis for further interaction studies and structure determination. The near-complete assignment and the solution structure that will follow could provide a further understanding in σW regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This prospective, stratified, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled multicentre study investigated the safety and effectiveness of reducing blood loss and preventing venous thromboembolism (VTE) during posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in patients with stenosis or spondylolisthesis using the combination of tranexamic acid (TXA) and rivaroxaban. Methods: The Autar score was evaluated in patients after admission. Patients with an Autar score ≤ 10 were randomized to group A or B. Group A was the placebo-controlled group. Patients in group B were treated with 1 g TXA via intravenous injection and 1 g TXA for external use. Patients with an Autar score > 10 were randomized to group C or D. Patients in group C were treated with 10-mg rivaroxaban qd for 35 days after surgery. Patients in group D received the same treatment as those in group B intra-operatively and as those in group C post-operatively. Results: A total of 599 patients from eight hospitals participated in this clinical trial. The total blood loss, intra-operative blood loss, and drainage volume were reduced by the administration of TXA (group A vs group B, P < 0.01; group C vs group D, P < 0.01), and the blood transfusion rate was also decreased (group A vs group B, P < 0.01; group C vs group D, P < 0.01). There were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the VTE incidence rates among group A and group B. In patients with high-risk thrombosis, the number of patients with VTE was only three and seven after the application of rivaroxaban. Epidural haematoma was not discovered in any patients in our trial. Conclusion: The combined application of tranexamic acid and rivaroxaban significantly reduced the amount of blood loss and the transfusion rate during PLIF surgery and avoided an increase in the probability of thrombosis and the occurrence of epidural haematoma. Trial registration number and date of registration: ChiCTR-1800016430 2018-06-01 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer-related deaths did not apparently decrease in the past decades despite aggressive treatments. It's reported that cancer will become the leading cause of death worldwide in the twenty-first century. Increasing evidence has revealed that lncRNAs will emerge as promising cancer biomarkers or therapeutic targets in cancer treatment. LncRNA-ATB, a long noncoding RNA activated by TGF-β, was found to be abnormally expressed in certain cancers and participate in the development and progression of tumors. In addition, aberrant lncRNA-ATB expression was also associated with clinical characteristics of tumors. The purpose of this review is to summarize functions and underlying mechanisms of lncRNA-ATB in tumors, and discuss whether lncRNA-ATB can be a biomarker and therapeutic target in cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices have attracted much attention in the field of mobile communication, such as filters and duplexers. With the upgrading of mobile networks, the requirements for the working frequency of SAW devices are gradually increasing. Traditional single-layer piezoelectric SAW devices can not meet the requirements of today's performance. However, a new type of layered structure not only meets various performance requirements, but also provides a new direction for the development of SAW devices. In this paper, a layered structure of AlN/diamond/Si SAW resonator is designed. A two-dimensional unit structure model is established. Modal analysis and admittance characteristic analysis are carried out. The optimal design structure is obtained by choosing form the thickness of different electrodes and piezoelectric layers. Following this, the transient analysis of the two-dimensional complete resonator structure is carried out. Next, the propagation characteristics are obtained, and finally the input and output signals are compared. Compared with the single piezoelectric layer structure, the phase velocity and electromechanical coupling coefficient are increased by 32.2% and 49.6% respectively. The work in this paper lays a good foundation for the fabrication of high frequency layered SAW resonators above GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent applications of phage therapy in localized wound and drug-resistant bacterial infection have brought bacteriophage back to the spotlight. While these works demonstrated the safety and effectiveness of engineered bacteriophages in human patients, the exact molecular machinery behind the bacteria killing remains largely uncharacterized. This is particularly noticable outside Escherichia coli phages, as most studies are based on bacteriophages of this Gram-negative model bacterium. In the attempt to extent our understanding to the bacteriophage of Gram-positive bacteria, we chose the host hijacking module of Bacillus subtilis phage SPO1 for systemic functional and structural studies. Gp49, an acidic protein located within operon 4 of this module, is believed to have a role during the host takeover event. Here we describe the complete resonance assignment of Gp49, which shares no sequence homology with any known protein, as the basis for the structure determination and further mechanism study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phage study draws more attention recently as the bacterial antibiotic resistances become a major threat for global health. Bacteriophage T4 is one of the most studied the phages and the representative of Tevenvirinae subfamily. Since 1950s, T4 phage has been studied more intensively than any other large lytic phages and its biological studies have provided basis for current phage biology as well as other applications. However, among approximately 300 T4 genes, 130 of them still remain uncharacterized. Coded by y04L gene in pin-nrdC intergenic region, Y04L is an example of such proteins whose biological function and mechanism are yet to be addressed. While Pin blocks bacterial Lon protease and thus inhibits bacterial toxin–antitoxin system, NrdC or Glutaredoxin is a specific reducing agent for the phage-induced ribonucleotide reductase. With two interesting neighbouring genes, this 11.9 kDa protein may be functionally related to Pin or NrdC. Here, using solution-state NMR, our near-complete resonance assignment of Y04L provides a basis for future structure determination and further mechanism study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposed a novel method for the rapid fabrication of paper-based microfluidic devices using a roll-to-roll wax transfer method. In this approach, a custom-made device was designed and fabricated for the direct roll-to-roll wax transfer from commercially available wax ribbon to the surface of paper substrate. After wax transfer, a thermal reflow process was conducted to enable the melt wax penetration through the whole thickness of the hydrophilic paper substrate to form hydrophobic wax barriers. Compared with the conventional approaches for paper-based microfluidics (wax printing, photolithography, and inkjet printing), the proposed fabrication technique for paper-based microfluidic devices is suitable for the batch fabrication of paper-based microfluidic chips at high production speed. Additional advantages including simple fabrication process, low material and fabrication cost, low-energy consumption, and without the requirement of cleanroom environment or facilities. The paper-based microfluidics fabricated with the proposed roll-to-roll wax transfer method is widely adaptable for microfluidic applications in biological and chemical fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioma is the most aggressive primary brain tumor. We have previously provided evidence that IFITM3 promoted glioma cells migration. However, the mechanism of how IFITM3 regulates glioma cells invasion and whether IFITM3 participates in TGF-β-mediated glioma invasion are still unknown. In this paper, we proved that IFITM3 was notably up-regulated in glioma tissues. Knockdown of IFITM3 suppressed STAT3 phosphorylation in vitro, and a specific STAT3 inhibitor AG490 reversed IFITM3-induced invasion of glioma cells. Furthermore, IFITM3 expression was induced by TGF-β in glioma and IFITM3 knockdown abolished TGF-β-mediated glioma cells invasion. Collectively, the results indicate that IFITM3/STAT3 axis may promote TGF-β-induced glioma cells invasion. This study provided some suggestions for the clinical treatment of the brain tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shear assisted processing and extrusion (ShAPE) process can consolidate powdered materials and simultaneously extrude wire or tube with improved properties. We successfully produced copper wire extrusions from powder and solid materials for the first time. The extrusion pressure in the ShAPE process is at least ten times less than that required for conventional extrusion. We used optical microscopy to inspect and validate the integrity of extrudates, revealing that the microstructure was refined and dynamically recrystallized to equiaxial grains. Compared with annealed copper wire, ShAPE-processed wire showed 80% higher yield strength, 15% higher ultimate tensile strength, and 20% higher ductility. These results were correlated with refined grain size and substructuring observed via electron backscatter diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon is one of the essential trace elements in the human body; the deficiency of which may lead to bone diseases. Numerous animal experiments have shown that an appropriate increase in the intake of silicon is beneficial to enhancing bone density and toughness to prevent osteoporosis. However, the molecular mechanisms of the silicon-mediated osteogenesis process have not been sufficiently clarified. In this study, we determined the possible osteogenesis-related mechanisms of orthosilicic acid at a molecular level. We detected the relevant pathway and osteogenic indicators by immunofluorescence (IF), Western blot, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining (using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate/nitro blue tetrazolium [BCIP/NBT]), ALP enzyme labeling method, osteocalcin (OCN), and N-terminal propeptide of type 1 procollagen (P1NP) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We found that orthosilicic acid is capable of enhancing the expression of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase (PI3K), phospho-protein kinase B (P-Akt), phospho-mammalian target of rapamycin (P-mTOR), and related osteogenic markers (runt-related transcription factor 2 [RUNX2], type I collagen [COL1], ALP, OCN, and P1NP). However, with the addition of PI3K–Akt–mTOR pathway-specific inhibitor LY294002, the expression of PI3K, P-Akt, P-mTOR, RUNX2, COL1, ALP, OCN, and P1NP decreased. The results indicated that the PI3K–Akt–mTOR pathway played a positive regulatory role in the process of orthosilicic acid–mediated osteogenesis in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method to improve the passing performance of monorail train driving on a curve by adjusting the width of monorail beams is proposed. Equations for deformation of steering wheel and stabilizing wheel with respect to the contact relationship between monorail beams and trains are derived by geometric analysis. Then two kinds of adjustment schemes are proposed, equal width adjustment method and unequal width adjustment method. A curved guide way of radius 100 m is taken for the example to verify the validity of the improved method by comparing the tire deformation of monorail train driving on the beams before and after the adjustment of width. The results show that the improved adjustment method for the width of monorail beam is efficient to reduce tire deformation when the monorail train travels on a curve. For the guide way of radius 100 m, width of the beams should be reduced by 7 mm when the equal width adjustment method is adopted. When the unequal width adjustment method is adopted, the width of monorail beams at the position of steering wheel carriageway and stabilizing wheel carriageway should be reduced by 10 mm and 5 mm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CMUT based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology has a broad application prospects and has become the mainstream transducer for the new generation of ultrasound imaging systems. In this paper, based on the 16-element linear CMUT array chip that has been manufactured, an experimental system was built to investigate the radiation characteristic of CMUT. The influence of the parameters such as the DC bias voltage, the amplitude and period number of the AC excitation signal on the radiation signal is analyzed comprehensively. The experimental results are consistent with the results of the simulation analysis previously obtained by using the state equation-SIMULINK model. These experimental investigation and analysis results provide effective data support and reference for further optimization of design parameters and design of imaging systems, which lay a good application foundation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amnion, which is usually discarded as medical waste, is considered as abundant sources for mesenchymal stem cells. In human and veterinary medicine, the multipotency of mesenchymal stem cells derived from amnion (AMSCs) together with their plasticity, self-renewal, low immunogenicity and nontumorigenicity characteristics make AMSCs a promising candidate cell for cell-based therapies and tissue engineering. However, up till now, the multipotential characteristics and therapeutic potential of AMSCs on preclinical studies remain uncertain. In this work, we successfully obtained AMSCs from Beijing duck embryos in vitro, and also attempted to detect their biological characteristics. The isolated AMSCs were phenotypically identified, the growth kinetics and karyotype were tested. Also, the cells were positive for MSCs-related markers (CD29, CD71, CD105, CD166, Vimentin and Fibronection), while the expression of CD34 and CD45 were undetectable. Additionally, AMSCs also expressed the pluripotent marker gene OCT4. Particularly, when appropriately induced, AMSCs could be induced to trans-differentiate into adipocytes, osteoblasts, chondrocytes and neurocytes in vitro. Together, these results demonstrated that the isolated AMSCs maintained their stemness and proliferation in vitro, which may be useful for future cell therapy in regenerative medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CMUT based on micro-electro-mechanical systems technology has a significant advantage that traditional piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers do not have, and has become the mainstream transducer for the new generation of ultrasound imaging systems. In this paper, the state equation is deduced and the analysis model is established in SIMULINK environment based on the lumped parameter system model of the CMUT micro-unit. Through the state equation-SIMULINK model, the influence of the parameters such as the DC bias voltage, the amplitude, frequency and period number of the AC excitation signal on the radiation characteristics is analyzed comprehensively. These results provide the important theoretical basis and reference for further optimization of structural design and application testing in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxynitrite (ONOO) is a potent and versatile oxidant implicated in a number of pathophysiological processes. The present study was designed to investigate the effect of ONOO on the cultured cochlear hair cells (HCs) of C57BL/6 mice in vitro as well as the possible mechanism underlying the action of such an oxidative stress. The in vitro primary cultured cochlear HCs were subjected to different concentrations of ONOO, then, the cell survival and morphological changes were examined by immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the apoptosis was determined by Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUNT nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, the mRNA expressions of Caspase-3, Caspase-8, Caspase-9, Apaf1, Bcl-2, and Bax were analyzed by RT-PCR, and the protein expressions of Caspase-3 and AIF were assessed by immunofluorescence. This work demonstrated that direct exposure of primary cultured cochlear HCs to ONOO could result in a base-to-apex gradient injury of HCs in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, ONOO led to much more losses of outer hair cells than inner hair cells mainly through the induction of apoptosis of HCs as evidenced by TEM and TUNEL assays. The mRNA expressions of Caspase-8, Caspase-9, Apaf1, and Bax were increased and, meanwhile, the mRNA expression of Bcl-2 was decreased in response to ONOO treatment. Of interesting, the expression of Caspase-3 had no significant change, whereas, the expression alteration of AIF was observed. These results suggested that ONOO can effectively damage the survival of cochlear HCs via triggering the apoptotic pathway. The findings from this work suggest that ONOO-induced apoptosis is mediated, at least in part, via a Caspase-independent pathway in cochlear HCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of microwave heating wheat grains (700 W for 0-60 s) on gluten, farinograph, pasting properties and baking (steamed bread and biscuit) of flour was studied. The lipase (LA) and lipoxygenase (LOX) activities of the microwave-treated wheat were monitored, and the accelerated storage at 35 °C of whole wheat flour was also investigated. The results showed that the gluten, farinograph properties and viscosity were influenced to a small extent when microwave treatment time was less than or equal to 20 s and the temperature of the grains was less than or equal to 56 °C. Texture profile analysis indicated that steamed bread made from wheat treated by microwave for 20 s was softer and of better quality. Microwave treatment for longer periods (≥30 s) increased the temperature ≥68 °C, that damaged the gluten and made wheat unsuitable for making steamed bread; however, suitable for making food with lower gluten requirements, such as biscuits. The results obtained from enzyme activity and accelerated storage experiments demonstrated that microwave treatment could inactivate LA and LOX and extend the shelf-life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analytical procedure of dynamic interaction analysis of the straddle monorail bridge-vehicle coupling system is proposed in this paper based on the finite element method and energy method. The calculation procedure is programmed with VB language for the solution of the governing motion equations of the straddle-type monorail bridge-vehicle coupling system. The effects of speed, three kinds of loads and different radius of curvature on dynamic responses of the monorail bridge-vehicle coupling system are analyzed. The simulation indicates that vertical vibration amplitude of the track beam decreases while the lateral amplitude increases with the increase in the radius of the curvature; the maximum value in lateral and vertical direction is 0.075 and 0.43 mm, respectively; and the maximum amplitude (lateral and vertical) and acceleration (lateral and vertical) are 0.69, 0.046 mm, 0.15 and 0.62 m/s, respectively, at the speed of 80 km/h. The vibration amplitude (lateral and vertical) and vertical acceleration increase with the increasing load, and the maximum values are 0.041, 0.43 mm and 0.44 m/s, respectively. The lateral acceleration is not easily affected by the load conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cenozoic uplift of Qilian Mountains is critical to comprehend the uplift and extension of the Tibet Plateau as well as the formation of the first and second steps in China's topography. This study summarized dynamic stratigraphic realm comprehensively on the basis of stratigraphic correlation of different Cenozoic sedimentary basin regions of the Qilian Mountains and adjacent mountains. This facilitated the re-creation of the tectonic-sedimentary evolutionary process of the Qilian Mountains and their surrounding areas. The results indicate that during the Early Paleogene (Paleocene-Eocene), the Qilian Mountains were part of an uplift realm. During the Oligocene, Guide-Xining-Lanzhou-Linxia sag basin at the northern margin of the West Qinling Mountains came into being and was subjected to sedimentation. The Suli Basin located between the North and South Qilian paleo-uplifts began to form and undergo sedimentation. Intracontinental orogenic extrusion and basin detachment occurred at the Qilian Mountains during the Miocene, which caused successive uplifts of various mountains, including the Laji, South Qinghai, Jishi, Liupan, and South Shule Mountains. Until Pliocene, Qilian Mountains uplifted continuously and resulted in the shrink, extinction and being eroded of the basins, and aeolian red clay started to accumulate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]