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Over a decade ago, deep eutectic solvents (DES) were introduced and have since found diverse applications due to their unique chemical and physical properties. Recently, they have gained considerable attention, especially in nanotechnology, being hailed as "new green solvents." In this study, we explore choline chloride (CC) as a DES due to its non-toxic and cost-effective nature, as well as its ability to enhance color yield properties of disperse dyes on nanofibers. Cellulose acetate nanofibers (CANF) were electrospun and subsequently dyed with CI Disperse Red 277, CI Disperse Blue 165:1, and CI Yellow 211 using the high-temperature exhaust method in two different media: choline chloride:ethylene glycol (CC:EG) and choline chloride:urea (CC:urea). The results revealed that CANF dyeing through the CC:EG media exhibited superior color fixation properties compared to the CC:urea media. Characterization of the dyed samples was conducted through Fourier transmission infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while the thermodynamic, standard affinities, and kinetic parameters were also analyzed. The novel method of dyeing cellulose nanofibers (CANF) with deep eutectic solvents (DES) not only demonstrated outstanding calorimetric properties but also required a significantly shorter duration compared to traditional dyeing processes. This breakthrough in dyeing technology brings forth numerous benefits. First, the dyeing of nanofibers in DES has proven to be environmentally friendly. Using DES as a dyeing medium, it offers a promising alternative to water, and auxiliary chemicals typically used in traditional dyeing methods. This reduces the overall negative environmental impact, making it a more sustainable choice. Additionally, the use of DES in dyeing CANF results in enhanced calorimetric properties, thereby improving the overall quality of the dyed fibers. Furthermore, the shorter duration required for dyeing with DES saves time and energy, making the process more efficient. Overall, this innovative approach to dyeing CANF with DES brings together environmental sustainability, improved product quality, and increased efficiency, making it a game-changer in the textile industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connection of ZGMn13Mo/A514 dissimilar steel is commonly used in mining equipment. In this study, the ER309L stainless steel welding wire was used to conduct multi-pass gas metal arc welding of 25-mm-thick ZGMn13Mo/A514 dissimilar steel. The microstructure evolution of the processed samples was studied, and the tensile properties and microhardness were tested. The results showed that the weak links in the welded joint occur at the fusion boundary of ZGMn13Mo high manganese steel, and the large residual stress leads to the generation of hot cracks. Due to the secondary heating effect of the previous weld pass on the subsequent weld pass, the weld root and middle are strengthened, so the strength and hardness are improved, and the fracture occurs at the base material. This welding process has achieved good connection of ZGMn13Mo/A514 dissimilar steel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some cases of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) require surgical treatment and postoperative nasal packing, but bleeding and adhesion are common complications after nasal surgery. Biodegradable drug-loaded implants hold great therapeutic options for the treatment of CRS, but little data are available regarding the properties and effects of a novel drug-loaded haemostatic sponge (DLHS) in the nasal cavity and sinus. In this study, in vitro and in vivo experiments were used to test the physicochemical properties and investigate the biocompatibility and effectiveness of DLHS. The results showed that DLHSs present outstanding porosity and liquid absorption capacity, which might enhance their haemostatic ability, and they possess sustained-release ability for drugs. Further clinical trials confirmed their clinical efficacy and safety, and there was no evidence of adrenal cortical suppression. This study demonstrates the safety and efficacy of a novel biodegradable drug-loaded sponge with the possibility of being used in CRS patients, and it may reduce inflammation and minimize adhesions via controlled local drug delivery without measurable systemic exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) provides a promise process to additively manufacture the Invar 36 alloy, while inevitably generating defects, which significantly weaken the mechanical performances, especially the fatigue resistance. Herein, the Invar 36 alloy was fabricated by LPBF at different process parameters, and the defects, microstructure, mechanical, especially low cycle fatigue (LCF) behavior were systematically characterized and analyzed. Specifically, the insufficient laser energy density leads to solely a slight overlapping between adjacent molten pools, generating a large number of defects. Consequently, the Invar 36 alloy exhibits a poor LCF life (2732cycles), since it fails due to the multiple crack initiation and rapid accumulation of the defects. Besides, the numerous defects lead to a more susceptibility to the plastic strain, inducing the cyclic softening. In contrast, the adequate laser energy density ensures the sufficient overlapping and stable molten pools, resulting in only few pores and favorable microstructures. Accordingly, the fabricated Invar 36 alloy demonstrates the superior LCF life (122777cycles), benefiting from the single crack initiation and stable crack propagation. In addition, the cyclic deformation response shows the cyclic hardening followed by the cyclic softening, due to the formation of the dislocation blocking bands, subsequent dislocation rearrangement as well as the microcrack initiation and propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achieving the goals of "carbon peaking" and "carbon neutrality" becomes one of the important elements of the ecological civilization strategy in China. Based on the strong balanced panel data of 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2019, we investigate the impact of Low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCP policy) on FDI inflows by using the multi-period DID model and intermediary model. After that, we discuss the heterogenous impact in terms of both policy tools and geographic locations. Furthermore, we investigate the spillover effects of the LCCP policy on the FDI inflows of surrounding cities using the Spatial Dubin DID model. The results show that (1) the LCCP policy can significantly attract FDI through reducing compliance costs and promoting technological innovation, and the Bacon decomposition and the placebo test show that the estimation error is small and the regression result is relatively stable; (2) command-mandatory tools have negative effects on FDI, while market-oriented tools can effectively attract FDI in pilot cities, but voluntary tools have no significant effect on FDI in pilot cities; (3) the LCCP policy can significantly promote the inflows of FDI in the eastern and western regions, but it does not significantly promote the FDI in central regions; (4) there is a positive spillover effect on FDI inflows to surrounding cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidation stability of soil organic matter (SOM) plays an important role in the environmental chemical behavior of heavy metals (HMs). In this study, the oxidation stability of SOM and soil dissolved organic matter (DOM) for four soils around the mining area in Western China, including grassland (GR), forest land (FR), farmland soil (FA), and mining area soil (MA), was investigated. The oxidation effect of fluorescent DOM (FDOM) was determined by using synchronous fluorescence spectroscopy (SFS). The results showed that the oxidation stability of SOM for four soils follows the order: MA > GR > FR > FA. Protein-like fluorescence (A2) is dominant in soil DOM, more than 96% of which were more easily degraded. As the wavelength increases, FDOM components become more difficult to oxidize. Second derivative, two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) and 1/n power transformation can identify more FDOM components, protein-like materials can be preferential removal by the oxidation process, followed by humic-like substances. The oxidation process increased the release of Cr, Cu, Zn, Pb and Fe in FA soil. Therefore, the oxidation stability of SOM and FDOM can affect the immobilization and release of HMs, and this work provides scientific guidance for remediation of soil HMs around abandoned mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: Transcriptomics and methylomics were used to identify the potential effects resulting from GM rice breeding stacks, which provided scientific data for the safety assessment strategy of stacked GM crops in China. Gene interaction is one of the main concerns for stacked genetically modified crop safety. With the development of technology, the combination of omics and bioinformatics has become a useful tool to evaluate the unintended effects of genetically modified crops. In this study, transcriptomics and methylomics were used as molecular profiling techniques to identify the potential effects of stack through breeding. Stacked transgenic rice En-12 × Ec-26 was used as material, which was obtained through hybridization using parents En-12 and Ec-26, in which the foreign protein can form functional EPSPS protein by intein-mediated trans-splitting. Differentially methylated region (DMR) analysis showed that the effect of stacking breeding on methylation was less than that of genetic transformation at the methylome level. Differentially expressed gene (DEG) analysis showed that the DEGs between En-12 × Ec-26 and its parents were far fewer than those between transgenic rice and Zhonghua 11 (ZH11), and no unintended new genes were found in En-12 × Ec-26. Statistical analysis of gene expression and methylation involved in shikimic acid metabolism showed that there was no difference in gene expression, although there were 16 and 10 DMR genes between En-12 × Ec-26 and its parents (En and Ec) in methylation, respectively. The results indicated that the effect of stacking breeding on gene expression and DNA methylation was less than the effect of genetic transformation. This study provides scientific data supporting safety assessments of stacked GM crops in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is the main manifestation of pathological pregnancy in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) women. The immune state plays a significant role in the occurrence/development of APS and RPL susceptibility, but there is little research on genetic factors. Method: Previous studies have described the important role of APOH and NCF1 in APS and pregnancy. To explore the association of APOH and NCF1 gene variants with RPL susceptibility in APS patients, we collected and analyzed 871 controls, 182 APS and RPL, and 231 RPL patients. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs1801690, rs52797880, and rs8178847 of APOH and rs201802880 of NCF1) were selected and genotyped. Results: We found rs1801690 (p = 0.001, p = 0.003), rs52797880 (p = 8.73e-04, p = 0.001), and rs8178847 (p = 0.001, p = 0.001) of APOH and rs201802880 (p = 3.77e-26, p = 1.31e-26) of NCF1 showed significant differences between APS and RPL patients and controls in allelic and genotype frequencies respectively. Moreover, rs1801690, rs52797880, and rs8178847 showed strong linkage disequilibrium. Especially, our results revealed a complete linkage disequilibrium (D' = 1) between rs52797880 and rs8178847. Furthermore, higher serum TP (total protein) level was described in APOH rs1801690 CG/GG (p = 0.007), rs52797880 AG/GG (p = 0.033), and rs8178847 CT/TT (p = 0.033), while the higher frequency of positive serum ACA-IgM was found in NCF1 rs201802880 GA (p = 0.017) in APS and RPL patients. Conclusion: Rs1801690, rs52797880, and rs8178847 of APOH and rs201802880 of NCF1 were associated with RPL susceptibility in APS patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorine-free slippery antifouling coatings which can be used in various special areas, such as cleaning of the high-rise surfaces, corrosion protection of industrial facilities and anti-microbial protection of biomedical instruments have been in high demand. However, the preparation of these coatings with excellent liquid repellency, anti-microorganism, bond strength, and mechanical strength (e.g., flexibility and scratch resistance) remains a challenge. Herein, a multifunctional fluorine-free slippery coating is reported, utilizing polydimethylsiloxane for self-cleaning function, methyl anthranilate as an anti-microbial agent, and bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and 1,3-Bis(3-aminopropyl)tetramethyldisiloxane to improve mechanical strength. The self-cleaning assessment results demonstrate that the presence of methylene blue and dirt on the coating surface can be effortlessly eliminated by flowing water. Moreover, the anti-microbial experiment indicates that the antifouling coatings possess a remarkable growth inhibition effect on pathogenic microorganisms such as E. coli, S. aureus, and Penicillium with corresponding percentages of 96.2%, 92.5%, and 96.5%, respectively. Furthermore, the prepared coatings possess various excellent mechanical properties such as abrasion resistance, bending resistance and bond fastness. In addition, the coating can impart excellent chemical, thermal and UV resistance abilities to the substrate. Considering its solvent-free character and excellent antifouling behavior, this work would provide insights into the design of the next-generation of the eco-friendly and sustainable antifouling coating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CNN is inspired from Primary Visual (V1) neurons. It is a typical deep learning technique and can help teach machine how to see and identify objects. In the most recent decade, deep learning develops rapidly and has been well used in various fields of expertise such as computer vision and natural language processing. As the representative algorithm of deep learning, Convolution Neural Network (CNN) has been regarded as a breakthrough of historic significance in image processing and visual recognition tasks since the astonishing results achieved on ImageNet Large Scale Visual Recognition Competition (ILSVRC) Unlike methods based on handcrafted features, CNN models can build high-level features from low-level ones in a data-driven fashion and have displayed great potential in medical image analysis among the aspects of segmentation of histological images identification, lesion detection, tissue classification, etc. This paper provides a review on CNN from the perspectives of its basic mechanism introduction, structure, typical architecture and main application in medical image analysis through analyzing over 100 references from Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science and various sources published from 1958 to 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L-ribulose, a kind of high-value rare sugar, could be utilized to manufacture L-form sugars and antiviral drugs, generally produced from L-arabinose as a substrate. However, the production of L-ribulose from L-arabinose is limited by the equilibrium ratio of the catalytic reaction, hence, it is necessary to explore a new biological enzymatic method to produce L-ribulose. Ribose-5-phosphate isomerase (Rpi) is an enzyme that can catalyze the reversible isomerization between L-ribose and L-ribulose, which is of great significance for the preparation of L-ribulose. In order to obtain highly active ribose-5-phosphate isomerase to manufacture L-ribulose, ribose-5-phosphate isomerase A (OsRpiA) from Ochrobactrum sp. CSL1 was engineered based on structural and sequence analyses. Through a rational design strategy, a triple-mutant strain A10T/T32S/G101N with 160% activity was acquired. The enzymatic properties of the mutant were systematically investigated, and the optimum conditions were characterized to achieve the maximum yield of L-ribulose. Kinetic analysis clarified that the A10T/T32S/G101N mutant had a stronger affinity for the substrate and increased catalytic efficiency. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulations indicated that the binding of the substrate to A10T/T32S/G101N was more stable than that of wild type. The shorter distance between the catalytic residues of A10T/T32S/G101N and L-ribose illuminated the increased activity. Overall, the present study provided a solid basis for demonstrating the complex functions of crucial residues in RpiAs as well as in rare sugar preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passive radiation cooling technology reflects sunlight and emits infrared thermal radiation into the cold outer space through the transparent window of the atmosphere (8–13 μ m ) without consuming any energy to cool objects. Therefore, it has potential application prospects in many fields and has attracted the wide attention of researchers. In recent years, photonic radiators and metamaterials have been studied in passive radiative cooling. However, they are usually not flexible, low ductility, complex shape and demand a high level of precision, which severely restricts large-scale manufacturing and limits their practical application. A simple and high-efficient electrospinning method with inexpensive raw materials is demonstrated for fabricating a high-performance fibrous and stretchable polymer nanofiber for daytime passive radiation cooling that consists of polyvinylidene fluoride and polydisperse silicon dioxide (SiO2) microspheres. For effective scattering by nanofiber structures and silica microspheres, the membrane exhibits an average solar reflectivity of 92.3%. The molecular vibration of polyvinylidene fluoride and phonon polarization resonance of silica microspheres result in an average atmospheric window transmissivity of 0.86. The daytime cooling performance has experimentally demonstrated a maximum temperature decrease up to 5.8 °C under an average solar intensity of 700.8 W/m2. This work provides a promising method for the scale-up production of radiative coolers with high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyamidamine (PAMAM) dendrimer-functionalized hydrothermal nanosized carbonaceous spheres (HNCSs) were prepared and utilized as latexes for agglomerated anion exchange chromatography (AEC) stationary phase. The high-concentration and scalable production of monodisperse HNCSs (73–98 nm) was accomplished via the polyquaternium-7-assisted hydrothermal carbonization of fructose. The novel PAMAM-based quaternizations of HNCSs were designed by the amidation with PAMAM and epoxy-amine addition reaction with glycidol in aqueous solution. The mild functionalization condition leads to well-kept morphology of HNCSs, which forms one even latex layer on the sulfonated surface of polystyrene-divinylbenzene microbeads for the construction of AEC packing. Under isocratic elution, seven common inorganic anions and five organic acids were baseline separated in 9 min on prepared packing with efficiencies of 54,000–79,800 plates m−1 and asymmetry factor (As) of 1.02–1.12. The obtained separation efficiency, peak symmetry, and analysis time were superior to reported or typical commercial counterparts. The quick separation of polarizable anions in 7 min and carbohydrates in 5 min could also be carried out with symmetrical peaks (As: 1.00–1.18) and high efficiencies (49,700–62,100 N/m). Favorable stability and reproducibility were proved by continuous flushing and injection. The constructed packings were further applied to the determination of thiosulfate and sulfate in water reducer, galacturonic acid in Angelica polysaccharide hydrolysate, and fluoride samples in 4 min. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We aimed to explore the association between the number of primary healthcare workers and infectious diarrhea morbidity at community levels and to provide evidence-based implications for optimizing primary healthcare manpower resource allocations. We collected annual infectious diarrhea morbidity and relevant data of 4321 communities in Sichuan Province, China, from 2017 to 2019. Global and local Moran's I were calculated to detect the spatial clustering of infectious diarrhea morbidity and to identify areas where increased primary healthcare manpower resources should be allocated. The spatial lag fixed effects panel data model was adopted to explore the association between the number of primary healthcare workers per 1000 residents and infectious diarrhea morbidity. Significantly high–high and low–low clusters of infectious diarrhea cases were found to be mainly distributed in underdeveloped and developed areas during the studied period years, respectively. The infectious diarrhea morbidity was found to be statistically negatively associated with the number of primary healthcare workers per 1000 residents with a coefficient of − 0.172, indicating that a 0.172 reduction of infectious diarrhea morbidity (1/10,000) was associated with doubled amounts of primary healthcare workers per 1000 residents. Our findings highlighted the role of primary healthcare in the process of infectious diarrhea prevention and control, and implied that constant efforts should be addressed to facilitate infectious diarrhea prevention and control, especially in the underdeveloped areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to optimize the fabrication quality, an external longitudinal alternating magnetic field is introduced into the wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) system of aluminum alloy in this investigation. The arc behavior, metal transfer, deposit morphology, microstructure, and mechanical properties of WAAM of Al-5%Mg alloy with and without external magnetic field (EMF) are investigated comprehensively and comparatively. Results indicate that the increase of excitation current promotes the dilatation of arc plasma to reduce the heat flux density, broadens the bead width, and decreases the bead height and penetration depth, while the increase of excitation frequency has the opposite effect on those. Furtherly, the spray transfer process which occurs at the beginning of each welding wire motion cycle can be restricted under appropriate excitation current and excitation frequency. Compared with that without EMF, the surface accuracy of thin-wall parts deposited with the EMF of excitation current 2 A and excitation frequency 70 Hz is remarkably improved, whose surface waviness is decreased by 34%. Simultaneously, the secondary phase of Al 3 Mg 2 is distributed more uniformly, and the number and dimension of pores of deposit are greatly reduced. The microstructures in the bottom layer and top layer of deposit with EMF get furtherly refined by the electromagnetic stirring, but those in the middle layers and final tensile properties of the deposit are not obviously optimized, which are mainly caused by severe heat accumulation and repeated heating from subsequent deposition, and the nature of non-heat treatment strengthening of Al–Mg alloy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is an important natural fiber crop and economic crop worldwide. The quality of cotton fiber directly determines the quality of cotton textiles. Identifying cotton fiber development-related genes and exploring their biological functions will not only help to better understand the elongation and development mechanisms of cotton fibers but also provide a theoretical basis for the cultivation of new cotton varieties with excellent fiber quality. In this study, RNA sequencing technology was used to construct transcriptome databases for different nonfiber tissues (root, leaf, anther and stigma) and fiber developmental stages (7 days post-anthesis (DPA), 14 DPA, and 26 DPA) of upland cotton Coker 312. The sizes of the seven transcriptome databases constructed ranged from 4.43 to 5.20 Gb, corresponding to approximately twice the genome size of Gossypium hirsutum (2.5 Gb). Among the obtained clean reads, 83.32% to 88.22% could be compared to the upland cotton TM-1 reference genome. By analyzing the differential gene expression profiles of the transcriptome libraries of fiber and nonfiber tissues, we obtained 1205, 1135 and 937 genes with significantly upregulated expression at 7 DPA, 14 DPA and 26 DPA, respectively, and 124, 179 and 213 genes with significantly downregulated expression. Subsequently, Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathway analyses were performed, which revealed that these genes were mainly involved in catalytic activity, carbohydrate metabolism, the cell membrane and organelles, signal transduction and other functions and metabolic pathways. Through gene annotation analysis, many transcription factors and genes related to fiber development were screened. Thirty-six genes were randomly selected from the significantly upregulated genes in fiber, and expression profile analysis was performed using qRT-PCR. The results were highly consistent with the gene expression profile analyzed by RNA-seq, and all of the genes were specifically or predominantly expressed in fiber. Therefore, our RNA sequencing-based comparative transcriptome analysis will lay a foundation for future research to provide new genetic resources for the genetic engineering of improved cotton fiber quality and for cultivating new transgenic cotton germplasms for fiber quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chatter as a common and thorny problem occurs easily during robotic milling process, leading to the instability, severe tool wear and poor surface finish. In this work, an acoustic emission technique was employed to analyze a chatter phenomenon using root mean square (RMS) value and fast Fourier transform method during high-speed robotic milling of aluminum alloys (with cutting speed up to 678 m/min). A stability lobe diagram was proposed to predict the occurrence of chatter with various spindle speeds, which was considered as the most effective tool for chatter analysis. The underline mechanism and theoretical analysis were also presented to provide physical understanding of chatter stability. The cutting force model and robot structure model were firstly established to study chatter mechanism. The stability of a robotic milling system was then analyzed using a zero-order approximation method. Results showed that fast Fourier transform and the time-domain root mean square (RMS) value of acoustic emission signals could be effectively used for detection and verification of chatter in the robotic milling process. The stable cutting zone in the stability lobe diagram was in agreement with experimental results, which can help for the selection of reasonable cutting parameters to avoid chatter and improve efficiency during the high-speed robotic milling process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the mechanism of miR-202-5p targeting the expression of PIK3CA and mediating the activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway on the proliferation, invasion, and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) of cervical cancer. The objects of study were 105 cases of cervical cancer and their corresponding normal tissues. qRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-202-5p and PIK3CA in adjacent normal tissue and cervical cancer tissue. Dual luciferase reporter assay was used to verify the targeting relationship between miR-202-5p and PIK3CA gene. Human cervical cancer cell lines HPV-16E6, SiHa, HeLa, and CaSki were purchased for our cell experiments. The expression levels of PIK3CA in the cells were detected by qRT-PCR. The cell line with higher expression levels was selected to complete the follow-up experiment. The cultured cells were transfected and divided into the miR-202-5p mimic NC group, miR-202-5p mimic group, miR-202-5p inhibitor NC group, miR-202-5p inhibitor group, siRNA-PIK3CA NC group, siRNA-PIK3CA group, miR-202-5p inhibitor NC + siRNA-PIK3CA NC group, miR-202-5p inhibitor + siRNA-PIK3CA NC group, and miR-202-5p inhibitor + siRNA-PIK3CA group. QRT-PCR was used to detect the expression of miR-202-5p. Western blot and qRT-PCR were applied to detect the mRNA and protein expression levels of related pathway proteins (PIK3CA, PI3K, PTEN, p-Akt1, and p-mTOR) and epithelial–mesenchymal transition-related factors (N-cadherin, E-cadherin, and vimentin). Cell proliferation was detected by plate colony formation assay. Transwell assay was used to detect the invasion ability of each group. When compared with the adjacent tissues, PIK3CA mRNA expression level was significantly increased and miR-202-5p expression level was significantly decreased in cervical cancer tissues (all P < 0.05). PIK3CA was a target gene of miR-202-5p. The mRNA expression level of PIK3CA in SiHa cervical cancer cells was significantly higher than that in CaSki, HeLa, and HPV-16E6 cells (all P < 0.05), and SiHa cervical cancer cells were selected to complete the follow-up experiments. When compared with the corresponding NC group, the expression of miR-202-5p in miR-202-5p mimic group was increased. In addition, the mRNA and protein expression levels of E-cadherin and PTEN in miR-202-5p mimic and siRNA-PIK3CA groups were increased, and the protein expression of p-Akt1 and p-mTOR was decreased, and also, the mRNA and protein expression levels of PIK3CA, PI3K, N-cadherin, and vimentin were decreased (all P < 0.05); in miR-202-5p inhibitor group, the expression levels of miR-202-5p, E-cadherin, and PTEN decreased, the protein expression of p-Akt1 and p-mTOR increased, and the mRNA and protein expression of PIK3CA, PI3K, N-cadherin, and vimentin increased in miR-202-5p inhibitor group (all P < 0.05); in miR-202-5p inhibitor + siRNA-PIK3CA group, the expression of miR-202-5p decreased (P < 0.05), but the mRNA and protein expression of PIK3CA, PI3K, p-Akt1, p-mTOR, N-cadherin, E-cadherin, and vimentin had no significant changes (all P > 0.05). When compared with the corresponding NC group, the number of cell clones in miR-202-5p mimic group and siRNA-PIK3CA group was decreased, and the invasion ability of miR-202-5p inhibitor group was increased, and the invasion ability was enhanced (all P < 0.05); miR-202-5p inhibitor + siRNA-PIK3CA group showed no significant change in the number of cell clones and the rate of invasion (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the overexpression of miR-202-5p can suppress PIK3CA gene expression and the activation of PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway to suppress the proliferation, invasion, and EMT of cervical cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multi-system disease featured by movement disorder. Studies on ALS using static neuroimaging indexes demonstrated inconsistent results. However, recent work indicated that the intrinsic brain activity was time-varying, and the abnormal temporal dynamics of brain activity in ALS remains unknown. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were first obtained from 54 patients with ALS and 54 healthy controls (HCs). Then the dynamic regional homogeneity (d-ReHo) was calculated and compared between the two groups. Correlation analyses between altered d-ReHo and clinical scores were further performed. Compared with HCs, ALS patients showed higher d-ReHo in the left lingual gyrus while lower d-ReHo in the left rectus gyrus and left parahippocampal gyrus. Moreover, the d-ReHo in the left lingual gyrus exhibited correlation with disease progression rate in ALS at a trend level. Our findings suggested that altered dynamics in intrinsic brain activity might be a potential biomarker for diagnosing of ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fluorescent components of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in biogas slurry can react with heavy metals (HMs) and affect the migration, transformation, toxicity, and bioavailability of HMs in soil. Fluorescence quenching titration combined with two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) can reveal the binding mechanism between HMs and different fluorescent components of biogas slurry DOM. The logarithmic-transformed (log-transformed) 2D-COS can be used to decrease the difference in the fluorescence intensity between low-intensity and high-intensity fluorophores that provides a better insight into the binding mechanism between biogas slurry DOM and HMs. Synchronous maps suggest that protein-like substances are more susceptive to the variation of the concentration of metal ions than fulvic-like substances. Asynchronous maps show that the preferential bonding of Cu(II) and Cr(III) to humic-like substances can be found in the biogas slurry DOM, as well as Fe(III) and Pb(II) to protein-like materials. DOM-Cu(II) may lead to an increasing risk of the migration of Cu(II) from soil to water environment due to the low log K values in the range from 2.93 to 3.46. Protein-like substances can also increase the environmental risk of HMs when these low-stable complexes occur migration and transformation. The potential environmental risk of protein-like with HMs follows the order: Pb(II) > Cu(II) > Cr(III). Here we demonstrate that the log-transformed 2D-COS can also identify fluorescence components at longer wavelength with relatively low content and reveals their preferential binding sequence and the number of binding sites. The study on the complexation between biogas slurry DOM and HMs provides a scientific basis for the environmental chemical behavior of HMs after the application of biogas slurry in agricultural soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abrasive waterjet machining was an effective method for cutting CFRP materials in various industries, while machining defects are inevitably observed especially for thick CFRP laminates due to the inherent characteristics of waterjet. In this work, a full factorial experimental array was employed totally involving 18 trials when using abrasive waterjet to cut CFRP laminate up to 10.0 mm thick. The influence of process parameters including hydraulic pressure, traverse speed, and stand-off distance on jet energy was deeply analyzed and the power-to-speed ratio (Ė/u) parameter was obtained, which was combined with the physical energy model of abrasive waterjet based on the energy method. The influence of process parameters on kerf characteristics/surface integrity and the mechanism of defects were further analyzed. Various surface defects along thickness direction were observed and corresponding mechanisms were investigated. Results showed that higher hydraulic pressure, lower traverse speed, and stand-off distance within in the selected range were preferred to obtain better surface quality. From the perspective of power-to-speed ratio (Ė/u), the surface roughness decreased rapidly up to ~ 68% with Ė/u increased from 20,000 to 40,000 J/m. When it exceeded 40,000 J/m, the downward trend gradually reduced and even became stable in the case of high stand-off distance. The level of kerf width generally increased with the increase of Ė/u irrespective of stand-off distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of abrasive waterjet to cut CFRP laminates has been proved to be feasible with several advantages compared with traditional machining methods, while relatively poor surface quality and kerf taper impede its application in automotive industry. In this work, the influence of various process parameters including hydraulic pressure, cutting speed and stand-off distance on surface integrity and kerf characteristics was comprehensively studied. A statistical model was further developed using response surface method involving 17 trials. Statistical analysis found that higher level of cutting speed led to the decrease of kerf width and the increase of surface roughness. Based on optimizing the expected function of responses, the minimum taper error of 0.058 mm and superior surface roughness (Ra) of 3.58 μm were obtained. Furthermore, hybrid machining strategy integrating AWJ and CNC milling processes was proposed to cut CFRP laminate in order to obtain both high efficiency and superior surface quality. The depth of cut for post-milling process was set down to 0.1 mm. It was found that kerf taper was completely removed with relatively flat surface, and surface roughness (Ra ~ 1.20 μm) was reduced by up to 5.61 μm with an overall decrease of about 80%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine how flows of immigration and emigration to and from Australia over the past 35 years have evolved across settlement areas. This is achieved by studying the changes to the sources of immigration, measured by country or region of birth, the relative propensities of immigrants to remain in Australia, and the differences exhibited by females and males. The analyses utilise a unique set of data on immigration and emigration flows that have been recently harmonised across various sources of existing data, both over time and across geographic units. Specifically, we show how the patterns have evolved for 18 different immigrant groups and the Australia-born population since 1981. This research provides new insights into the patterns of international migration that are greatly influencing population and ethnic change across Australia. We show how the diversity of immigration has increased between 1981 and 2016 and the significance of China and India as new sources of immigration. The increasing diversity is found across all 47 geographic areas that we examine, albeit with variations in the levels and sources of immigration. We also find that retention of immigrants and ratios of returning Australia-born persons have been declining over time. Finally, we show how most immigrant groups exhibit distinct patterns of immigration and emigration by sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this report, the morpho-structural peculiarities and the crystallization mechanisms in solution-processed, solvent vapor annealed (SVA) thin films of rubrene (5,6,11,12-tetraphenylnaphthacene) on different substrates were investigated. The high-quality rubrene crystal films with a triclinic crystal structure were successfully prepared on the FTO substrates (glass slide coated with fluorine-tin-oxide) modified by PLA (polylactic acid) for the first time. The area coverage of rubrene crystal and the sizes of rubrene dendritic crystals increased with increasing thickness of PLA film and concentration of rubrene solution. For rubrene molecules, FTO wafers with rough surface provided the possibility of heterogeneous nucleation. During the SVA process, there were two kinds of forces acting on the diffusion of rubrene molecules: one force was provided by the residual chloroform solvent, which was perpendicular to the substrate, and the other force was provided by gaseous dichloromethane, which was parallel to the substrate. The synergy of these two forces was proposed to explain the nucleation and the crystallization processes of rubrene films. The higher nucleus of PLA/rubrene dendrites and the layer-by-layer stacking of needle-shaped nanocrystalline PLA/rubrene were important for exploring their kinetic formation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The size and composition of the Australian population has shifted since the dismantling of the discriminatory White Australia Policy during the 1970s, yet its immigration system and border control remain highly regulated. Despite this, detailed information about the specific locations that immigrants arrive to or depart from within Australia are not available. The picture is further compounded by inconsistencies in the measurement of flows and geographic boundaries over time. To address these issues, we obtained available immigration and emigration flow data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics at the state and territory level, and developed methods to harmonise the available data, estimate missing elements and disaggregate to a sub-state geography. The methods are applied to 19 birthplace-specific populations across 47 areas in Australia for annual time periods from 1981 to 2016. This research addresses the need for more detailed estimates of demographic events so that a better understanding of the mechanisms and differences underlying regional population change may be provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abrasive waterjet (AWJ) technology has been demonstrated to be a feasible manufacturing process for machining composite and titanium alloys to its specific advantages. However, AWJ cutting of composite/metallic hybrid stacks possesses several challenges. In this work, experimental results were analyzed including hole quality and surface morphology/integrity during abrasive waterjet drilling of Ti6Al4V/CFRP stacks with different operating conditions. The influence of some key parameters involving traverse speed, hydraulic pressure, stand-off distance, and stack layup on hole quality was studied. Experimental array having 16 trials was designed based on full-factorial statistical analysis. Results showed that hole edge rounding was prevalent at the entrance irrespective of processing parameters due to erosion effect of abrasive particles. Ti6Al4V/CFRP layup configuration was preferred to obtain better geometrical consistency in terms of hole diameter. The variation of hole roundness was relatively high (up to 0.57 mm) when drilling hybrid stacks with Ti6Al4V/CFRP configuration. Ridges, fractured fibers, and small voids were generally observed on CFRP surface, while wear tracks and embedded fractured particles were typically found on titanium surface due to various material removal mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current studies on crystallization kinetics for glass fiber-reinforced poly(ether ether ketone) mainly focused on short glass fiber-reinforced composites and their isothermal crystallization. It is worth noting that continuous glass fiber-reinforced poly(ether ether ketone) composite (CGF/PEEK) possesses relatively higher mechanical performance than short fiber-reinforced PEEK under high temperature. Here, for the first time, we investigate the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics and melting behavior of CGF/PEEK by differential scanning calorimetry at four different cooling rates. By evaluating the crystallite size of CGF/PEEK using X-ray diffraction, it is found that with the decreasing cooling rate, the crystallite size distribution evolves more uniform, and the size of crystallites enlarges. Besides, by systematical analysis, we find the modified Avrami equation can well describe crystallization behavior of the CGF/PEEK. The higher Avrami value of CGF/PEEK than pure PEEK indicates that CGF could introduce a more complex geometry effect on the crystallization. The addition of CGF greatly reduces the absolute value of crystallization activation energy of PEEK, suggesting that CGF can reduce the nucleation energy barrier. The obtained results illustrate that CGF can accelerate the nucleation rate due to heterogeneous nucleation while reduce the growth rate due to retarded polymer chain mobility. And the cooling conditions can influence crystal growth and morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sepsis is a leading cause of death in intensive care units that can result in acute hepatic damage. Animal experiments and clinical trials have shown that mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy has some beneficial in several liver diseases. However, the protective effects of MSC therapy on sepsis-induced hepatic damage and associated mechanisms are not completely understood. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of MSCs on sepsis-induced liver injury and underlying mechanisms. A rat model of sepsis-induced liver injury was established by cecal ligation and puncture, and serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase activities as well as liver histological changes were measured. Inflammatory cytokines, Kupffer cell M1 phenotype markers, and associated signal molecules were also determined in septic rats and in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated Kupffer cells. Our results showed that injection of MSCs attenuated sepsis-induced liver injury. Treatment with MSCs inhibited activation of Kupffer cells towards M1 phenotype, attenuated TNF-α and IL-6 expression, and promoted IL-4 and IL-10 expression in septic rats and LPS-treated Kupffer cells. Furthermore, MSCs also inhibited the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappa B in LPS-challenged Kupffer cells and the liver of septic rats. These results indicated that MSCs attenuated sepsis-induced liver injury through suppressing M1 polarization of Kupffer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental data is presented relating to heat-affected zone (HAZ) and surface quality when using continuous wave (CW) fiber laser cutting carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) with varying configurations including + 45°/− 45°, 0°/90°, and plain woven. The effect of typical cutting parameters including laser power, cutting speed, and assist gas pressure on laser cutting quality of different type of workpiece materials was investigated. A full factorial experimental array was employed involving 24 trials. The statistical significance of individual cutting parameters was determined using main effects plot together with ANOVA. Results showed that the fiber laser was feasible for cutting CFRP with very high efficiency. The HAZ level of laser cutting CFRP was highly related to fiber orientation, laser power, and cutting speed based on theoretical and statistical analysis. Thermal model was built to simulate HAZ values recorded on the exit surface. The calculated results were close (within ~ 60 μm) to the experimental results. The lowest HAZ value of 707 μm and surface roughness of 2.43-μm surface roughness were achieved in cutting Type 1 (+ 45°/− 45°) configuration. High-resolution SEM and optical micrographs showed that cracks, cavities, delamination, and matrix decomposition were the typical defects observed in CW fiber laser cutting of CFRP laminates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the main form of new urbanization in China, urban agglomerations are an important platform to support national economic growth, promote coordinated regional development, and participate in international competition and cooperation. However, they have become core areas for air pollution. This study used PM2.5 data from NASA atmospheric remote sensing image inversion from 2000 to 2015 and spatial analysis including a spatial Durbin model to reveal the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and main factors controlling PM2.5 in China's urban agglomerations. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) From 2000 to 2015, the PM2.5 concentrations of China's urban agglomerations showed a growing trend with some volatility. In 2007, there was an inflection point. The number of low-concentration cities decreased, while the number of high-concentration cities increased. (2) The concentrations of PM2.5 in urban agglomerations were high in the west and low in the east, with the "Hu Line" as the boundary. The spatial differences were significant and increasing. The concentration of PM2.5 grew faster in urban agglomerations in the eastern and northeastern regions. (3) The urban agglomeration of PM2.5 had significant spatial concentrations. The hot spots were concentrated to the east of the Hu Line, and the number of hot-spot cities continued to rise. The cold spots were concentrated to the west of the Hu Line, and the number of cold-spot cities continued to decline. (4) There was a significant spatial spillover effect of PM2.5 pollution among cities within urban agglomerations. The main factors controlling PM2.5 pollution in different urban agglomerations had significant differences. Industrialization and energy consumption had a significant positive impact on PM2.5 pollution. Foreign direct investment had a significant negative impact on PM2.5 pollution in the southeast coastal and border urban agglomerations. Population density had a significant positive impact on PM2.5 pollution in a particular region, but this had the opposite effect in neighboring areas. Urbanization rate had a negative impact on PM2.5 pollution in national-level urban agglomerations, but this had the opposite effect in regional and local urban agglomerations. A high degree of industrial structure had a significant negative impact on PM2.5 pollution in a region, but this had an opposite effect in neighboring regions. Technical support level had a significant impact on PM2.5 pollution, but there were lag effects and rebound effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-power fiber laser has been proven to be feasible for cutting carbon fiber reinforced polymers with several advantages including noncontact force, high efficiency and flexibility, while the characteristics of thermal damage and heat conduction in materials are not yet fully understood. Continuous-wave fiber laser was applied in this work to cut 2.0-mm-thick carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates with different layup configurations. The influence of processing parameters including laser power and cutting speed on thermal damage was investigated. The characteristics of various thermal defects on different positions of machined surface were analyzed using high-resolution SEM and mathematical models. Interestingly, swollen fibers were observed and they connected together to form irregular swollen masses. According to further analysis on the initial heat distribution, it showed that cutting speed was the main factor affecting heat accumulation. In addition, modified heat conduction model was developed to analyze heat transfer within unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced polymer laminates in comparison with experimental results, which can be applied to predict heat affect zone during high-power fiber laser cutting composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the effect of Pr addition on the microstructure and properties of Sn-0.5Ag-0.7Cu-0.5Ga lead-free solder was investigated. It was found that the properties of Sn-0.5Ag-0.7Cu-0.5Ga- xPr solder, such as wettability and mechanical properties, could be obviously improved, and the optimal content of Pr was about 0.06 wt.%. The microstructure of Sn-0.5Ag-0.7Cu-0.5Ga-0.06Pr solder showed that the β-Sn matrix and intermetallic compound (IMC) grains were significantly refined, and refinement and homogenization of the microstructure achieved maximum efficiency, which played the role of fine grain strengthening and second phase strengthening. However, as the content of Pr exceeded 0.06 wt.%, some uneven distributed black phases of PrSn were found in the β-Sn matrix, which seriously worsened the microstructure and properties of the solders. As a surface-active element, the segregation of Pr at the molten solder interface could give rise to decreasing the interface tension. Consequently, adding a suitable amount of Pr could play a positive role in improving the properties of the solders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is one of critical factors for a massage robot to find and position the acupuncture point precisely in order to cure the diseases. Based on large amount of sample data offline, Chinese medical empirical knowledge is also introduced to build the prediction model. The massagist prescription and the robot mechanism devise are both considered for robot positioning. Least squares method is of simplicity, easy to use and high efficiency. Its real-time calculation is very effective, too. A modeling method for robot positioning is proposed based on least squares. Knowledge consultation is set for the calculation of acupoint position. The robot needs to get the feature points of a foot to be massaged. The foot contour sampling data are divided into piecewise curve fitting. Qlearning is adopted to optimize the robot positioning for they are model free. CMAC (Cerebellar Model Articulation Controller) cerebellum model is incorporated into the function approximation of Q learning. The learning system is rewarded by referring to the strengths of instrumental signal. By the direct representation, the model of human pelma acupoint is expressed with the vector variables and formal computer language. Through prediction model's calculation, the robot will work out the rough position of acupuncture point. Meanwhile, Q learning does the online adjustment for accurate location. These strategies provide for the robot to automatically search and position the pelma acupoint with little real-time computation and storage. The idea of this paper also prompts a research cue for the development of Chinese medical standardization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Characteristics of physicochemical parameters, dissolved-phase heavy metals, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated for 68 urban snowmelt surface runoff and snowpack samples collected from five different functional areas in Beijing, including a business area (BA), a cultural and educational area (CEA), a garden area (GA), a residential area (RA), and a roadside area (RSA). Both snowmelt surface runoff and snowpack were significantly polluted by organic matter, as indicated by their high concentrations of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total organic carbon (TOC). Among the 11 heavy metals analyzed, Zn was the most enriched in all samples, followed by Mn, Fe, and Cu, whereas the concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cd, As, Ni, Sb, and Co were comparatively low. The results suggested that typical traffic emissions, natural events, industrial practices, and human activities were mainly sources of heavy metals. Low molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs were the dominant sources in snowmelt and snowpack. Anthracene (Ant) and fluorene (Flo) were the most enriched PAHs in both snowmelt surface runoff and snowpack. Coal burning for heating and traffic activities were the most important contributors of PAH pollutants in snowmelt surface runoff and snowpack in Beijing in the winter. Ecological risk assessment demonstrated, however, that heavy metals in snowmelt surface runoff pose little risk to downstream aquatic environments. A middle potential ecological risk could be caused by Ant, Flo, benzo[g, h, i]perylene (BghiP), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waterjet cutting of composites has been proven to be feasible with specific advantages compared with traditional machining techniques, while it still possesses several challenges. Experimental data is presented in this paper relating to hole quality and tensile behavior when using water jet cutting of plain woven CFRP laminates with various processing parameters. The effect of typical parameters including transverse speed, waterjet pressure, and with/without abrasive particles on surface integrity was also studied. A full factorial experimental array was employed involving eight trials. The statistical significance of individual cutting parameters was determined using ANOVA analysis. Results showed that abrasive particles played an important role in workpiece material removal process during waterjet cutting. Typical surface defects including severe entry/exit delamination, uncut fibers, and fiber burrs were observed in CFRP laminates cut by pure waterjet, while marginal damage was recorded when using abrasive waterjet with the same processing parameters. Strip marks together with various defects including craters, uncut fibers, and fiber pull-out were observed on the machined hole surface. Tensile strength of CFRP laminate with open hole cut by waterjet was significantly affected by hole quality, which was increased by up to ~22% (130 MPa) with sample cut by abrasive waterjet than the one processed by pure waterjet with the same cutting parameters. Massive delamination, fiber breakage, and splitting bands were the main tensile failure modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edge structures are highly relevant to the electronic, magnetic, and catalytic properties of two-dimensional (2D) transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and their one-dimensional (1D) counterparts, i.e., nanoribbons, and should be precisely tailored for the desired application. In this work, we report the formation of novel Mo6S6 nanowire (NW)-terminated edges in monolayer molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) via an e-beam irradiation process combined with high temperature heating. The atomic structures of the NW-terminated edges and the dynamic formation process were observed experimentally using scanning transmission electron microscopy. Further analysis showed that the NW-terminated edge could be formed on both the Mo-zigzag (ZZ) edge and S-ZZ edge and could exhibit a stability superior to that of the pristine ZZ and armchair (AC) edges. In addition, analogous edge structures could also be formed in MoS2 nanoribbons and other TMD materials such as MoxW1−xSe2. We believe that these novel edge structures may impart novel properties to the 2D and 1D TMD materials and provide new opportunities for their applications in catalytic, spintronic, and electronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machining carbon fiber reinforced composite (CFRP) is often accompanied with cutting edge defects and surface damage including interlayer delamination, cavities and debonding of fiber-matrix. A detailed understanding of the effect of fiber configuration and cutting parameters on cutting force, burr occurrence/formation and surface integrity is necessary. In this paper, experimental data is presented relating to fiber burrs on entry surface, cutting force, surface roughness and workpiece integrity when slot milling CFRP laminates with varying fiber configurations (0°/90°, 45°/135° and plain woven) at different cutting speed (60 and 120 m/min) and feed rate (0.05 and 0.1 mm/rev). Lateral cutting force is recorded down to 56 N and highly dependent on fiber orientation. The length (up to ~ 5.6 mm) and amount of fiber burrs are highly related to fiber orientation and fiber cutting angle. Surface roughness Ra down to ~ 1.4 μm was recorded when milling type 2 (45°/135°) and type 3 (plain woven) laminates. Various surface defects predominantly occurred due to different cutting conditions and fiber configurations, which are mainly located in the layers with fibers orientated at 45°/135°. The occurrence and propagation of fiber burrs and surface cavities were also investigated based on different fiber fracture mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from patients´ blood is important to assess tumor status; however, it remains a challenge. In the present study, we developed a programmable DNA-responsive microchip for the highly efficient capture and nondestructive release of CTCs via nucleic acid hybridization. Transparent and patternable substrates with hierarchical architectures were integrated into the microchip with herringbone grooves, resulting in greatly enhanced cell-surface interaction via herringbone micromixers, more binding sites, and better matched topographical interactions. In combination with a high-affinity aptamer, target cancer cells were specifically and efficiently captured on the chip. Captured cancer cells were gently released from the chip under physiological conditions using toehold-mediated strand displacement, without any destructive factors for cells or substrates. More importantly, aptamer-containing DNA sequences on the surface of the retrieved cancer cells could be further amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), facilitating the detection of cell surface biomarkers and characterization of the CTCs. Furthermore, this system was extensively applied to the capture and release of CTCs from patients´ blood samples, demonstrating a promising high-performance platform for CTC enrichment, release, and characterization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the element free Galerkin method (EFG) is applied to carry out the topology optimization of continuum structures with displacement constraints. In the EFG method, the matrices in the discretized system equations are assembled based on the quadrature points. In the sense, the relative density at Gauss quadrature point is employed as design variable. Considering the minimization of weight as an objective function, the mathematical formulation of the topology optimization subjected to displacement constraints is developed using the solid isotropic microstructures with penalization interpolation scheme. Moreover, the approximate explicit function expression between topological variables and displacement constraints are derived. Sensitivity of the objective function is derived based on the adjoint method. Three numerical examples are used to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil samples were collected from the areas surrounding Wuliangsuhai Lake in China. Dissolved organic matter (DOM) was extracted from the samples and characterized by fluorescence and UV-Vis spectra. Spectral properties and humification degree of DOM were studied. The results indicated that both humic- and protein-like fluorophores were present in the DOM spectra, and the former was the dominant component. The analysis of humification (HIX) and r (A, C) indices revealed that the maximum humification degree in three agricultural soils (AAF, ASC, and ASW) was presented in the second soil layer (20-40 cm). However, the humification degree of the two Halophytes soils (SSE and GKF) decreased with increasing depth. One index, I, showed that humification degree increased gradually with an increasing proportion of humic-like acid. There was a significant positive correlation between humification degree (HIX) and aromaticity (SUVA), indicating that a higher aromaticity corresponded to a higher humification degree. Land use was an important factor responsible for the major difference of cation exchange capacity (CEC) in different soils, which led to a higher CEC value in the second soil layer for the three agricultural soils. CEC values and humification degree had the same trend for all five soils. The correlation analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between HIX and CEC, and a negative correlation between the r (A, C) index and CEC, indicating that humification degree increases gradually with increasing CEC values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Occupational exposure to carbon disulfide (CS) exhibits central nervous systems toxicity. But the mechanism is unclear. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between the CNS damage and cognitive dysfunction caused by CS, and eventually reveal the possible oxidative-related mechanism of hippocampus pathological changes in CS exposed rats. Male Wistar rats were administrated with CS at dosage of 200, 400 and 600 mg/kg for consecutive 20 days, respectively. Cognitive performances were evaluated by Morris water maze tests. Thionin and immunohistochemical analysis were used to investigate the hippocampal neuron damage, and the expression of apoptosis related proteins (cleaved-caspase 3, Bax and Bcl-2) were detected to explore the possible mechanisms of neuronal loss. Oxidative stress parameters were checked by commercial assay kits. Rats exposed to CS displayed cognitive dysfunction manifested as decreased spatial learning ability and memory lesion. Pathological changes and significant neuron loss were observed in hippocampus, especially in CA1 and CA3 sub-regions. Mitochondria-dependent apoptosis pathway was implicated in the CS-induced neuronal loss which was demonstrated by the up-regulation of cleaved-caspase 3 and Bax accompanied with down-regulation of Bcl-2. Furthermore, extensive oxidative stress induced by CS was also revealed by the measurement of ROS, RNS, MDA, GSH&GSSG and antioxidant enzymes (CAT, T-SOD, and GSH-Px). Our study suggested that oxidative stress mediated hippocampal neuron apoptosis might play an important role in CS induced CNS damage and cognitive dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fiber laser cutting is a promising alternative to the conventional methods in machining CFRP with high efficiency, while the influence of machined quality on strain distribution and mechanical behavior of CFRP laminates is yet not fully understand. The aim of this paper is to study the effect of laser cutting parameters on thermal defects and related mechanical performance. DIC technique was successfully employed to assess full-field strain distribution under tensile loading. The relationship between strain distribution and failure evolution/mode was also investigated. Results showed that various thermal defects including matrix recession, resin decomposition, fiber burrs and delamination were observed on entry and exit surfaces, while microcracks, cavities and striations were prevalent on machined surface. Tensile strength of CFRP laminate with open hole was highly related to applied laser processing parameters. DIC technique indicated that the crack propagation and failure mode were in good agreement with the high level of strains developed around the hole. Matrix-fiber interface cracking, fiber breakage and splitting were the main failure modes at test cessation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) method to investigate low-frequency spontaneous neural activity at the bands of slow-5 (0.01-0.027 Hz) and slow-4 (0.027-0.073 Hz) in 20 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 20 healthy controls. We determined that, at slow-5 band, patients with ALS showed increased fALFF in the right middle frontal gyrus and decreased fALFF in the left middle occipital gyrus. However, compared with healthy controls, patients with ALS exhibited higher fALFF in the right caudate nucleus, left superior frontal gyrus, and right anterior cingulate cortex and lower fALFF in the right inferior occipital gyrus and bilateral middle occipital gyrus at slow-4 band. Furthermore, the fALFF value in the left superior frontal gyrus at slow-4 band was negatively correlated with functional rating scale-revised score. Our results demonstrated that the fALFF changes in ALS were widespread and frequency dependent. These findings may provide a novel way to look into the pathophysiology mechanisms underlying ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photo-catalytic activities of several BiWO with various activated carbon (AC) contents were studied for the photo-catalytic degradation of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) and microcystin-RR (MC-RR) under simulated light. Some characterizations of the materials were carried out. Activated carbon increased the reaction rates in the degradation of MC-LR. A significant improvement in the photo-catalytic activity under simulated light was achieved with the 5 wt% activated carbon content when compared with pristine BiWO or with materials with other content activated carbon additions. Factors besides adsorption capability and surface areas effects may also contribute to the improvement. The kinetics of photo-catalytic degradation of MC-LR and MC-RR by BiWO-activated carbon were explored. The application of the catalyst under sunlight was proven to be better than under simulated light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Die-casting is a typical multidisciplinary system, in which there are many disciplines involved such as hydrodynamics, heat transfer and elastic-plastic mechanics and their coupled relations are intricate. Moreover, there are inherently epistemic uncertainties in die-casting. This paper aims at reliability modeling and optimization of die-casting. Firstly, finite element analysis is applied to simulate the process of die-casting, and the quadratic response surface is used to represent the multidisciplinary optimization model of die-casting, in which the evidence theory is used to represent the epistemic uncertainty. Then, a reliability-based multidisciplinary optimization (RBMDO) procedure for die-casting is proposed. The results show the RBMDO procedure possesses high computational efficiency in optimizing multidisciplinary system with epistemic uncertainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cortical hubs are highly connected nodes in functional brain networks that play vital roles in the efficient transfer of information across brain regions. Although altered functional connectivity has been found in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the changing pattern in functional network hubs in ALS remains unknown. In this study, we applied a voxel-wise method to investigate the changing pattern of cortical hubs in ALS. Through resting-state fMRI, we constructed whole-brain voxel-wise functional networks by measuring the temporal correlations of each pair of brain voxels and identified hubs using the graph theory method. Specifically, a functional connectivity strength (FCS) map was derived from the data on 20 patients with ALS and 20 healthy controls. The brain regions with high FCS values were regarded as functional network hubs. Functional hubs were found mainly in the bilateral precuneus, parietal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, and in several visual regions and temporal areas in both groups. Within the hub regions, the ALS patients exhibited higher FCS in the prefrontal cortex compared with the healthy controls. The FCS value in the significantly abnormal hub regions was correlated with clinical variables. Results indicated the presence of altered cortical hubs in the ALS patients and could therefore shed light on the pathophysiology mechanisms underlying ALS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the element free Galerkin (EFG) method is applied to carry out the topology optimization of the geometrically non-linear continuum structures. In EFG method, the moving least squares shape function is used to approximate the displacements. The 2D geometrically non-linear formulation is presented based on the EFG method. The penalty method is explored to enforce the essential boundary conditions. Considering the relative density of nodes as design variables, the minimization of compliance as an objective function, the mathematical formulation of the topology optimization is developed using the solid isotropic microstructures with penalization interpolation scheme. Sensitivity of the objective function is derived based on the adjoint method. Numerical examples show that the proposed approach is feasible and effective for the topology optimization of the geometrically non-linear continuum structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are characterized by unstable cognitive-emotional and motor system, which is engaged in hyperactivity of limbic regions and sensorimotor area. The insula, which is a part of the limbic system, includes various subregions with some distinct connectivity patterns separately. However, whether these insular subregions show different connectivity patterns respectively in PNES remains largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the functional connectivity (FC) of insular subregions in PNES and extend the understanding of the complex pathophysiological mechanisms of this disease. A resting-state FC based on the insular subregions were conducted in 18 patients and 20 healthy controls. We examined the differences in FC values between PNES patients and controls using two sample t test. Our results showed patients had significantly stronger FC between insular subregions and sensorimotor network, lingual gyrus, superior parietal gyrus and putamen, which suggested a hyperlink pattern of insular subregions involved in abnormal emotion regulation, cognitive processes and motor function in PNES. Pearson correlation analysis between the mean FC values within abnormal regions and the frequency of PNES further indicated PNES exhibited abnormal functional organization whose stressful emotion of patients have great direct influence on their motor functions. The differentially impaired functional connectivity patterns of insular subregions might provide new insights into the complex neurological mechanism of PNES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]