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Abstract As an important immune stimulator and modulator, IFNγ is crucial for gut homeostasis and its dysregulation links to diverse colon pathologies, such as colitis and colorectal cancer (CRC). Here, we demonstrated that the epigenetic regulator, CBX3 (also known as HP1γ) antagonizes IFNγ signaling in the colon epithelium by transcriptionally repressing two critical IFNγ-responsive genes: STAT1 and CD274 (encoding Programmed death-ligand 1, PD-L1). Accordingly, CBX3 deletion resulted in chronic mouse colon inflammation, accompanied by upregulated STAT1 and CD274 expressions. Chromatin immunoprecipitation indicated that CBX3 tethers to STAT1 and CD274 promoters to inhibit their expression. Reversely, IFNγ significantly reduces CBX3 binding to these promoters and primes gene expression. This antagonist effect between CBX3 and IFNγ on STAT1/PD-L1 expression was also observed in CRC. Strikingly, CBX3 deletion heightened CRC cells sensitivity to IFNγ, which ultimately enhanced their chemosensitivity under IFNγ stimulation in vitro with CRC cells and in vivo with a syngeneic mouse tumor model. Overall, this work reveals that by negatively tuning IFNγ-stimulated immune genes’ transcription, CBX3 participates in modulating colon inflammatory response and CRC chemo-resistance.

Moving beyond the current emphasis on the frequency of helping, this study aims to emphasize the importance of help quality. Utilizing a social network design, this study incorporates both the help provider's and recipient's perspectives and develops a multilevel model to demonstrate the incremental validity of help quality over frequency in the prediction of key organizational outcomes (i.e., satisfaction and performance at both individual and team levels). We further identify servant leadership as a crucial predictor of help quality, more so than help frequency, at both levels. Data were collected from 416 nurses and 42 supervisors from a large hospital in Beijing, China. Results show that help quality significantly predicted the supervisor-rated performance of the help provider, the job satisfaction of the help recipient, and team satisfaction, after controlling for the effects of help frequency. Contrary to our expectations, help quality did not significantly predict team performance. Moreover, servant leadership was a stronger predictor of help quality than of help frequency at both individual and team levels. Our results suggest that organizations and managers should aim to cultivate employee helpfulness, instead of merely encouraging more helping behavior. Avenues for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), this paper aims to investigate a complete dual process model of the recruiter effect and the initiated role of recruiters' social skills. Recruiters' informativeness and affective delivery are two processing cues used separately by applicants in central and peripheral processing mechanisms, and hypothesized as the mechanisms underlying the recruiter effect. Two studies using higher education institutions' recruitment populations were conducted to test three hypotheses. Outcomes from different recruitment stages were used separately in the two studies – informative usability and applicants' satisfaction from the early stage (Study 1) and pursuit intention from the later stage (Study 2). Multilevel modeling was used for both studies. The results support three hypotheses. Specifically, recruiters with strong social skills demonstrate greater informativeness and affect, shown as higher recruiters' informativeness and affective delivery. Applicants thus perceive the information provided to be usable, are satisfied with recruiters (Study 1), and have increased intentions to pursue the applied-for job (Study 2). This paper focuses on recruiters' informativeness as the central cue and tests the possibility of multi-channel processing, making it the first investigation about ELM in recruitment after multi-channel processing was proposed. By thoroughly testing and extending ELM, the paper highlights the dual process model underlying the recruiter effect and the role of recruiters' social skills. The investigation elucidates the factors initiating the recruiter effect and the corresponding influencing mechanism. Practical implications for organizations are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electric field driven acceleration of plasma ions is an intrinsic effect in laser-induced plasma plumes and is responsible for the generation of high-energy ions. At high laser fluences (≥ 2 J/cm2), multiply charged ions are formed and affect the plume expansion dynamics. In this paper, we used kinetic energy-resolved mass spectrometry to investigate the relative abundance and kinetic energy distributions of singly- and doubly-charged ions produced by KrF-laser ablation of nine different oxide targets. The doubly charged metal ions with a lower mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio show narrow energy distributions at high average kinetic energies coinciding with the cutoff energies for the singly-charged ion distributions. The observation suggests that the recombination of higher charged ions plays a prominent role in the formation of the high-energy tail for singly-charged ions. The results are discussed in terms of component volatility and a dynamic double layer, where ions with different m/z values experience different accelerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety climate evolves in reflection of the effectiveness of organizational safety management efforts. The present study identified patterns of safety climate change over time and examined the role of error disclosure climate and counterfactual sharing in relation to safety climate change patterns. Online surveys were administered in a Chinese hospital three times at approximately 1-month intervals; the final sample included 451 healthcare workers nested within 62 teams. A latent growth mixture modeling approach was adopted to identify representative patterns of safety climate change at both individual and team levels and the predictors of those patterns. Three patterns of safety climate trajectories, declining (16%), improving (39%), and maintaining (45%), were identified at the individual level. Positive error disclosure climate and counterfactual sharing were significantly associated with increased probability of membership in the improving and maintaining trajectories compared to the declining trajectories. Counterfactual sharing mediated the relation between error disclosure climate and membership of safety climate trajectories. At the team level, two patterns of safety climate change, declining (15%) and improving (85%), were identified. Team counterfactual sharing was significantly associated with increased probability of membership in the improving trajectories compared to the declining trajectories. The current study demonstrated that an open and non-judgmental culture and the practice of sharing errors can contribute to improving safety climate over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, great breakthroughs have been made in basic research and clinical applications of stem cells in regenerative medicine and other fields, which continue to inspire people to explore the field of stem cells. With nearly unlimited self-renewal ability, stem cells can generate at least one type of highly differentiated daughter cell, which provides broad development prospects for the treatment of human organ damage and other diseases. In the field of stem cell research, related technologies for inducing or isolating stem cells are relatively mature, and a variety of stable stem cell lines have been successfully constructed. To realize the full clinical application of stem cells as soon as possible, it is more and more important to further optimize each stage of stem cell research while conforming to Current Good Manufacture Practices (cGMP) standards. Here, we synthesized recent developments in stem cell research and focus on the introduction of xenogenicity in the preclinical research process and the remaining problems of various cell bioreactors. Our goal is to promote the development of technologies for xeno-free culture and clinical expansion of stem cells through in-depth discussion of current research. This review will provide new insight into stem cell research protocols and will contribute to the creation of efficient and stable stem cell expansion systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High tibial osteotomy (HTO) is used as an alternative to total knee arthroplasty in young patients with knee osteoarthritis. In the conventional HTO, if the distraction distance is large, the osteotomy section will be significantly separated, forming a large bone defect gap, which may lead to delayed healing or even nonunion. We treated a series of 10 patients with medial knee osteoarthritis by a novel M-shaped high tibial osteotomy. This helped to improve greater contact of cortical sections and rapid healing of the osteotomy break. Over a mean follow-up period of 8.5 months (range, 6.0–12.0 months), all patients achieved bone union. None of the patients showed complications such as nonunion or infection. The novel M-shaped HTO procedure can reduce the probability of delayed union/nonunion and avoid the complications associated with bone grafting. Hence, this technique may be an effective alternative for the HTO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese universities are undergoing a decentralization reform that academic schools take the responsibility for its own running. Under the framework of the financial management system of "Unified Leadership, Two-level Management, and Centralized Accounting," this decentralization reform primarily targets to establish a cost accounting and settlement system for various undertakings with schools as the main body; build a multi-level economic responsibility system centered at the school; and establish and improve efficient system restraint mechanism, supervision and management mechanism, accountability mechanism, and performance evaluation mechanism. The main purpose of this study is to introduce a case of a Chinese university concentrating on this reform. The primary contents of the reform will be introduced, followed by a discussion about some responses and introspections to the reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, dissolving pulp was prepared from corncob via alkali extraction, kraft cooking, metal ion removal, and H2O2 bleaching. Two cooking schemes were used to prepare unbleached corncob pulp samples with degrees of polymerization of 735 and 565. Employing an acid treatment with sodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate (EDTA) and sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) effectively reduced the ash and iron contents of the pulp; the optimal treatment conditions were pH 1.5, 0.4 wt% EDTA, and 0.4 wt% SHMP, which afforded pulp with iron and ash contents of 8.5 ppm and 0.02 wt%, respectively. A single-factor experiment was used to study the effects of H2O2 dosage and bleaching time on the brightness of the obtained pulp. The optimal bleaching parameters were determined as an H2O2 dosage of 3 wt% and a bleaching time of 70 min, which led to a brightness value greater than 82%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy results confirmed that the main component of corncob pulp was cellulose, and the fiber adopted twine-like morphologies with numerous spiral folds on the surface. The wet corncob pulp was used directly as the raw material for spinning lyocell fibers, and the results indicated that the corncob pulp had good spinnability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane electrode assembly reactor offers great promise toward practical CO2 electrolysis. Unfortunately, traditional proton exchange membrane possesses strong acidic chemical environment, which facilitates undesired hydrogen evolution reaction. Here we report a proton antagonist strategy, through which the proton diffusion pathways have been severely impeded by Na+ cation to produce an alkaline-rich environment. With this new membrane electrode assembly, we can significantly suppress the hydrogen evolution and achieve a Faradaic efficiency of 95.7% for CO with 51.5% energy efficiency. In addition, our proton antagonist membrane outperforms the commercial anion exchange membrane in both conductivity and oxidation resistance lifetime, which are crucial for large scale electrolysis of carbon neutral chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Businesses are gradually reopening as lockdown measures for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic are being relieved in many places across the globe. It is challenging but imperative for businesses to manage the risk of infection in the workplace and reopen safely. Drawing on risky decision-making theory and the job demands-resource model of workplace safety, we examined the influences of employees' COVID-19 risk perception on their safety performance at work. On the one hand, COVID-19 risk perception motivates employees to perform safely; on the other hand, COVID-19 risk perception could also undermine safety performance through triggering anxiety. In an effort to find ways that alleviate the negative implications of risk perception, we also tested a cross-level interaction model where the risk perception–anxiety relation is weakened with a favorable team safety climate as well as low abusive supervision. Our data were collected from car dealership employees located in China in March 2020, when businesses just started to reopen in locations where these data were collected. Results showed that COVID-19 risk perception was positively related to anxiety, which in turn undermined safety performance. This negative effect canceled out the direct positive effects of COVID-19 risk perception on safety performance. In addition, cross-level interaction results showed that the buffering effect of team safety climate on the risk perception–anxiety relation was diminished with an abusive supervisor. Our findings provide valuable and timely implications on risk management and workplace safety during a public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain calcification is a critical aging-associated pathology and can cause multifaceted neurological symptoms. Cerebral phosphate homeostasis dysregulation, blood-brain barrier defects, and immune dysregulation have been implicated as major pathological processes in familial brain calcification (FBC). Here, we analyzed two brain calcification families and identified calcification co-segregated biallelic variants in the CMPK2 gene that disrupt mitochondrial functions. Transcriptome analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from these patients showed impaired mitochondria-associated metabolism pathways. In situ hybridization and single-cell RNA sequencing revealed robust Cmpk2 expression in neurons and vascular endothelial cells (vECs), two cell types with high energy expenditure in the brain. The neurons in Cmpk2-knockout (KO) mice have fewer mitochondrial DNA copies, down-regulated mitochondrial proteins, reduced ATP production, and elevated intracellular inorganic phosphate (Pi) level, recapitulating the mitochondrial dysfunction observed in the PBMCs isolated from the FBC patients. Morphologically, the cristae architecture of the Cmpk2-KO murine neurons was also impaired. Notably, calcification developed in a progressive manner in the homozygous Cmpk2-KO mice thalamus region as well as in the Cmpk2-knock-in mice bearing the patient mutation, thus phenocopying the calcification pathology observed in the patients. Together, our study identifies biallelic variants of CMPK2 as novel genetic factors for FBC; and demonstrates how CMPK2 deficiency alters mitochondrial structures and functions, thereby highlighting the mitochondria dysregulation as a critical pathogenic mechanism underlying brain calcification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was aimed at analyzing the incidence and characteristics of hyperextension tibial plateau fractures (HTPFs) by using a computed tomography (CT)-based "four-column and nine-segment" classification.Methods: In the coronal plane, HTPFs are divided into four types: pure hyperextension, hyperextension-varus, hyperextension-valgus, and hyperextension-bicondylar. Fractures in the sagittal plane were divided into three types: type 1, pure depression; type 2, cleavage extending to the posterior cortex with no displacement; and type 3, cleavage extending to the posterior cortex with a significant displacement. A retrospective analysis of CT images of the tibial plateau fractures from December 2007 to December 2021 was conducted. Fracture mapping was analyzed and drawn using the new classification system.Results: A total of 136 (10.9%, 136/1253) fractures fulfilled the radiographic criteria for HTPF pattern in 136 knees (53.5 ± 13.3 years). There were 11 knees with pure hyperextension fracture (8.1%), 23 with hyperextension-varus fracture (16.9%), 46 with hyperextension-valgus fracture (33.8%), and 56 with hyperextension-bicondylar fracture (41.2%) in the coronal plane. Furthermore, there were 64 (47.1%), 47 (34.6%), and 25 (18.4%) cases of type 1, type 2, and type 3 fractures, respectively, in the sagittal plane. In the three-dimensional heat map, the fracture lines were mainly located at the anterior rim of the tibial plateau, while the posterior articular surface was rarely involved.Conclusions: The main manifestations of HTPF are anterior compression and posterior avulsion injury. The CT-based four-column and nine-segment classification system could be used to categorize the injury characteristics of HTPF in the coronal and sagittal planes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the value of combining amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations-based radiomics and the support vector machine classifier method in distinguishing patients with Parkinson's disease from healthy controls. A total of 123 patients with Parkinson's disease and 90 healthy controls from three centers with functional and structural MRI images were included in this study. We extracted radiomics features using the Brainnetome 246 atlas from the mean amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations maps. Two-sample t-tests and recursive feature elimination combined with support vector machine method were applied for feature selection and dimensionality reduction. We used support vector machine classifier to construct model and identify the discriminative features. The automated anatomical labeling 90 atlas and fivefold cross-validation were used to evaluate the robustness and generalization of the classifier. We found our model obtained a high classification performance with an accuracy of 78.07%, and AUC, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.8597, 78.80%, and 76.08%, respectively. We detected 7 discriminative brain subregions. The fivefold cross-validation and automated anatomical labeling 90 atlas also got high classification accuracy, and we found Brainnetome 246 atlas achieved a higher classification performance than the automated anatomical labeling 90 atlas both with tenfold and fivefold cross-validation. Our findings may help the early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease and provide support for research on Parkinson's disease mechanisms and clinical evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is currently unclear whether the mechanism of endophytic fungi improving the alkali tolerance of Hordeum bogdanii affects secondary metabolites. Unveiling this knowledge is crucial for understanding the tolerance mechanism of H. bogdanii to alkaline stress. The aim of this study was to investigate how endophytic fungi affect secondary metabolites of H. bogdanii under alkaline stress at different concentrations. Endophyte-infected (E +) and endophyte-free (E−) individuals of H. bogdanii were used as materials in this study. The method of indoor vermiculite aseptic planting was adopted. After mixed alkali stress treatment, the roots, stems, and leaves of the plants were collected to measure the indicators related to secondary metabolites. The results showed that endophytic fungi improved the alkali resistance of H. bogdanii by improving the related indicators of secondary metabolites. endophytic fungi significantly increased the contents of phosphorus, polyphenols, and alkaloids, and the activities of polyphenol oxidase and acid phosphatase, and significantly reduced flavonoid content. The content of polyphenols and alkaloids in stems, polyphenol oxidase activity in stems and leaves, and acid phosphatase activity in leaves were significantly affected. The findings of this study may aid in amplifying the alkali resistance mechanism of endophytic fungi to H. bogdanii as well as provide insights into improving the alkali resistance of other plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a hierarchical nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) algorithm for the cooperative control of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) networks. In the hierarchical algorithm, an estimator is proposed as a single layer, namely, the estimated layer for generating sub-targets with local physical constraints. Then, based on an augmented simplified vehicle model, a nonlinear MPC technique is newly presented in the local layer for planning the desired trajectory with its optimization solved by a continuation/generalized minimal residual (C/GMRES) method. Note that, by considering the error components between the planned trajectory and the measured positions, a controller with a two-loop structure is adopted to improve tracking performances. Therefore, the control objective is obtained, namely, the vehicle platoon in the desired path is generated and the collisions among vehicles are avoided. The simulation results with comparisons are finally given to illustrate the effectiveness of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought stress affects plant growth and development. Cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea) was formed by a cross between A. duranensis and A. ipaensis. The drought tolerance of A. duranensis and A. ipaensis is reportedly stronger than that of cultivated peanut. However, there has been little study of drought tolerance genes in Arachis. In this study, we compared drought tolerance genes between A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner and its diploid donors. We have observed that polyploidization does not generate more drought tolerance genes in A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner but promotes the loss of many ancient drought tolerance genes. Although putative drought tolerance genes occurred on gene duplication events in A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner, most copies lacked drought tolerance. These findings suggest that the loss of drought tolerance genes in A. hypogaea cv. Tifrunner could possibly result in weaker drought tolerance. In addition, we have observed that the three Arachis species stochastically lost putative drought tolerance genes. The evolution of drought tolerance genes could possibly have correlated with environmental changes. Our results enhance the current understanding of drought tolerance and polyploidy evolution in Arachis species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To prospectively investigate the capability of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) and conventional diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to identify early kidney function injury in type 2 diabetes.Methods: Forty-one diabetes patients (normoalbuminuria: n = 27; microalbuminuria: n = 14) and 28 volunteers were recruited. All participants were examined using DTI and IVIM with 3.0-T MRI. DTI parameters (mean diffusivity [MD], fractional anisotropy [FA]), and IVIM parameters (true diffusion coefficient [D], pseudo-diffusion coefficient [D*], and pseudo-diffusion component fraction [f]) were measured in the renal parenchyma (cortex and medulla) by two experienced radiologists independently. Image features were compared among the groups using separate one-way analyses of variance. Diagnostic performances of various diffusion parameters for predicting diabetic renal damage were compared.Results: The medullary D and FA values were significantly different among the microalbuminuria subgroup, normoalbuminuria subgroup, and control group (all p < 0.001). In medulla, area under the curve (AUC) values for combined FA and D were significantly higher than single FA (AUC = 0.938, 0.769, respectively; p = 0.003), and the combined AUC of FA and D was numerically higher than that of single D (0.938 vs 0.878, p > 0.05). AUC of combined FA and D was 0.985, not significantly different from individual AUC for FA and D (AUC = 0.909 and 0.952, respectively; all p > 0.05) in differentiating the microalbuminuria subgroup from the control group.Conclusion: IVIM-derived D and DTI-derived FA values were better than other parameters for evaluating early kidney impairment of diabetes. The single indicator FA and D performed as well as the combined diagnostic indicator in the medulla for differentiating the microalbuminuria subgroup from the control group.Key Points: • We speculated that early renal progression in type 2 diabetes result from restricted tubular flow and kidney tubule dysregulation may precede or at least accompany abnormal glomerular changes. • In medulla, the AUC values of FA and D and the combination of FA and D obtained by comparing the microalbuminuria subgroup with the control group were 0.909, 0.952, and 0.985, respectively. • IVIM-derived D and DTI-derived FA are effective MR biomarkers to evaluate early alterations of the renal function in patients with diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neurogenetic diseases are neurological conditions with a genetic cause (s). There are thousands of neurogenetic diseases, and most of them are incurable. The development of bioinformatics and elucidation of the mechanism of pathogenesis have allowed the development of gene therapy approaches, which show great potential in treating neurogenetic diseases. Viral vectors delivery, antisense oligonucleotides, gene editing, RNA interference, and burgeoning viroid delivery technique are promising gene therapy strategies, and commendable therapeutic effects in the treatment of neurogenetic diseases have been achieved (Fig. 1). This review highlights a sampling of advances in gene therapies for neurogenetic disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the distributed fixed-time formation-containment (DFTFC) problem of multiple Euler-Lagrange systems with parametric uncertainties and input disturbances is studied under directed graphs. First, a distributed fixed-time sliding-mode estimator is constructed to estimate the desired states of each robot with that only parts of followers can access the information of leaders. Next, based on the estimator, a distributed fixed-time formation control algorithm is developed to drive leaders to achieve a specified formation. Then, the distributed fixed-time containment control algorithm is proposed for followers with its estimated states being tracked in a fixed time. Note that an explicit upper bound of the convergence time of DFTFC control algorithm is obtained independent of initial conditions. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to show the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel biomaterial ink consisting of regenerated silk fibroin (SF) and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized bacterial cellulose (OBC) nanofibrils was developed for 3D printing lung tissue scaffold. Silk fibroin backbones were cross-linked using horseradish peroxide/H2O2 to form printed hydrogel scaffolds. OBC with a concentration of 7wt% increased the viscosity of inks during the printing process and further improved the shape fidelity of the scaffolds. Rheological measurements and image analyses were performed to evaluate inks printability and print shape fidelity. Three-dimensional construct with ten layers could be printed with ink of 1SF-2OBC (SF/OBC = 1/2, w/w). The composite hydrogel of 1SF-1OBC (SF/OBC = 1/1, w/w) printed at 25 °C exhibited a significantly improved compressive strength of 267 ± 13 kPa and a compressive stiffness of 325 ± 14 kPa at 30% strain, respectively. The optimized printing parameters for 1SF-1OBC were 0.3 bar of printing pressure, 45 mm/s of printing speed and 410 μm of nozzle diameter. Furthermore, OBC nanofibrils could be induced to align along the print lines over 60% degree of orientation, which were analyzed by SEM and X-ray diffraction. The orientation of OBC nanofibrils along print lines provided physical cues for guiding the orientation of lung epithelial stem cells, which maintained the ability to proliferate and kept epithelial phenotype after 7 days' culture. The 3D printed SF-OBC scaffolds are promising for applications in lung tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various computing environments are constantly emerging which are using different technology platforms and security mechanisms from each other. The development of network technology makes cross-domain access between various systems necessary, which requires seamless information sharing and data exchange between systems, thus eliminating the phenomenon of information islands. With its unique consensus mechanism and compatible encryption algorithms, it has gradually attracted attention in various fields. Many people believe that blockchain technology is a revolution in Internet technology in the future, which is a huge innovation in information infrastructure technology as well. In order to ensure a high QoS of the data grid, the system needs to overcome many unstable factors of the network and the grid nodes. Resource (capability) reservation, copy deployment, buffer mechanism, parallel data transfer, and data storage and recovery are the main means to solve such problems. Above all, this paper proposed a QoS optimization system for complex data cross-domain request based on neural blockchain structure. Experimental results show that the proposed method has higher robustness and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the epidemiology and molecular characteristics of enteroviruses associated with severe hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) in Shenzhen, China, during 2014-2018. A total of 137 fecal specimens from patients with severe HFMD were collected. Enterovirus (EV) types were determined using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), RT nested PCR, and sequencing. Sequences were analyzed using bioinformatics programs. Of 137 specimens tested, 97 (70.8%), 12 (8.8%), and 10 (7.3%) were positive for EV-A71, coxsackievirus A6 (CVA6), and CVA16, respectively. Other pathogens detected included CVA2 (2.9%, 4/137), CVA10 (2.9%, 4/137), CVA5 (0.7%, 1/137), echovirus 6 (E6) (0.7%, 1/137) and E18 (0.7%, 1/137). The most frequent complication in patients with proven EV infections was myoclonic jerk, followed by aseptic encephalitis, tachypnea, and vomiting. The frequencies of vomiting and abnormal eye movements were higher in EV-A71-infected patients than that in CVA6-infected or CVA16-infected patients. Molecular phylogeny based on the complete VP1 gene revealed no association between the subgenotype of the virus and disease severity. Nevertheless, 12 significant mutations that were likely to be associated with virulence or the clinical phenotype were observed in the 5'UTR, 2Apro, 2C, 3A, 3Dpol and 3'UTR of CVA6. Eight significant mutations were observed in the 5'UTR, 2B, 3A, 3Dpol and 3'UTR of CVA16, and 10 significant mutations were observed in the 5'UTR, VP1, 3A and 3Cpro of CVA10. In conclusion, EV-A71 is still the main pathogen causing severe HFMD, although other EV types can also cause severe complications. Potential virulence or phenotype-associated sites were identified in the genomes of CVA6, CVA16, and CVA10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Responding to calls for studies to examine the cross-level influence of team personality composition, we hypothesized a cross-level mediation model of the effects of different operationalizations of team conscientiousness (i.e., mean, minimum, maximum, and variance) on individual safety performance through team safety climate. We tested our model using a three-wave longitudinal design with a sample of 451 employees and 70 supervisors nested within 70 teams from two branches of one hospital. The results of our multilevel path analyses indicated that the mean, minimum, and variance—but not maximum—operationalizations of team conscientiousness at time 1 were significantly related to team safety climate at time 2. Further, team conscientiousness (i.e., mean, minimum, and variance) at time 1 exerted a top-down influence on both self-ratings and supervisor ratings of individual safety compliance and safety participation at time 3 through team safety climate at time 2, suggesting that team personality composition can influence outcomes at different levels of analyses. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glioma is the most common primary brain tumor and the most malignant type of glioma is glioblastoma with the character of high mortality, high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. MicroRNAs act as an important component in glioma development and thus may be a potential target for the treatment of glioma. There were some researches indicated that miR-210-3p played a role in glioma development, but if it can inhibit glioma growth, as well as the underlying mechanism, is still uncertain. In the present study, we investigated the effects of miR-210-3p and its potential target gene Iscu on glioma (C6) cells proliferation and migration in vitro as well as the influence of miR-210-3p on glioma growth in vivo. The results showed that miR-210-3p inhibited the proliferation and migration of C6 cells by regulating the expression of its target gene Iscu in vitro. We also demonstrated that glioma growth was suppressed in immunodeficient mice when they were implanted with C6 cells overexpressing miR-210-3p. Our data indicated that miR-210-3p played an important role in the prevention of glioma growth by targeting Iscu and so miR-210-3p/Iscu axis might be a potential target for the treatment of glioma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Low nutrient soil is a major limiting factor for normal growth and high yield of plants. Epichloë endophyte infection has been shown to increase host growth, nutrient uptake and balance. This study was done to determine the impact of Epichloë endophyte on growth, survival and elemental nutrient content of perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) under low fertility conditions. Methods: endophyte-infected and endophyte-free plants of L. perenne were grown without fertilization in a greenhouse environment. Plant survival rate, dry weight of leaves and roots, root metabolic activity and nutrient element (C, N, P, Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn) contents were determined after 0 d, 45 d, 90 d, 135 d and 180 d. Results: The presence of Epichloë endophyte relieved the withering and yellowing of plants in the short term (0 to 90 d). The possible mechanisms by which E. festucae var. lolii infection enhances survival of plants includes improved root growth and metabolic activity (i.e., cellular metabolism), increased biomass production, and increased concentration of many nutrient elements in leaves and roots. The endophyte had positive direct and indirect effects on plants in multiple ways, including: increased organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and Mn content in leaves, increased K content in leaves and roots, and improved root growth and activity. Conclusions: The presence of endophyte E. festucae var. lolii played a key role in improving the survival of L. perenne plants by increasing root growth and metabolic activity, promoting plant biomass and altering nutrient content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: In many grasslands under grazing pressure, unpalatable plants have become abundant and these areas are refuges for plant diversity. We hypothesize that unpalatable plants may also serve as refuges for soil microbes. Methods: We tested this hypothesis by investigating soil fungal diversity and community composition, soil properties, and plant parameters in areas dominated by the unpalatable drunken horse grass (Achnatherum inebrians), and areas without this toxic grass, in three types of natural rangelands in northern China. Results: Our results showed that the areas dominated by A. inebrians had a higher fungal diversity, higher microbial biomass, higher abundance of plant pathogens in soil, and higher plant biomass than areas that did not contain A. inebrians. Soil fungal community composition was positively correlated with plant community composition across the three study sites. Fungal diversity and microbial biomass were positively correlated with higher plant biomass. Abundance of soil plant pathogens was positively correlated with coverage of A. inebrians. Conclusions: The results indicated that plant community composition significantly correlated with soil fungal community composition, and refuge effects of A. inebrians drive higher fungal diversity, microbial biomass and abundance of plant pathogens in the soil. Increased abundance of A. inebrians potentially has considerable effects on the soil fungal community in grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2,5-Diethyl-1,4-benzenedinitrile N-oxide was designed and synthesized to achieve room temperature curing of hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene binders. The structures and properties of the four cured elastomers having different content of curing agent were investigated. The results showed that the isoxazoline rings from the reaction of nitrile N-oxide with cis-alkene are observed in the four cured elastomers. The results also revealed that the hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene with the lowest content of curing agent showed the lowest cross-linking density and stress at break. The proper activity and steric hindrance of 2,5‑diethyl-1,4-benzenedinitrile N-oxide gave better mechanical properties and hydrophobic properties of the cured elastomers than nitrile N-oxide prepared by our previous work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the multi-target tracking problem of networked heterogeneous collaborative robots with parametric uncertainties and external disturbances in the task space, where each robot can be kinematic redundant or non-redundant. The acceleration of the targets can either belong to L 2 or L ∞ space. A uniform distributed controller–estimator algorithm is designed to solve the aforementioned problem. The sufficient conditions for both zero-error stability and Lagrange stability of the closed-loop system are derived. Finally, simulation examples are illustrated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The open deployment environment and limited resources of the Internet of things (IoT) make it vulnerable to malicious attacks, while the traditional intrusion detection system is difficult to meet the heterogeneous and distributed features of the Internet of things. The security and privacy protection of IoT is directly related to the practical application of IoT. In this paper, We analyze the characteristics of networking security and security problems, and discuss the system framework of Internet security and some key security technologies, including key management, authentication and access control, routing security, privacy protection, intrusion detection and fault tolerance and intrusion etc. This paper introduces the current problems of IoT in network security, and points out the necessity of intrusion detection. Several kinds of intrusion detection technologies are discussed, and its application on IoT architecture is analyzed. We compare the application of different intrusion detection technologies, and make a prospect of the next phase of research. Using data mining and machine learning methods to study network intrusion technology has become a hot issue. A single class feature or a detection model is very difficult to improve the detection rate of network intrusion detection. The performance of the proposed model is validated through the public databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet of Things technology is based on the existing Internet and related transmission network technologies. It analyzes and summarizes the data collected in the sensing layer to ensure the timeliness and security of data transmission. Internet of Things technology will have long-term development in intelligent equipment. The network layer is composed of bottom-level identification or acquisition components such as two-dimensional code, RFID tags, sensors which is responsible for the collection of underlying data and information of the Internet of Things. The sensing layer includes information devices such as communication links and information processing centers, which is responsible for processing and transmitting the collected information. At the application level, the Internet of Things realizes the intelligent application of the Internet of Things by combining industry expertise with data collection. However, multi-protocol gateways have become a bottleneck in network performance due to protocol conversion. Since IPv6 contains a large number of IP addresses, most IoT networks now use IPv6 technology, which eliminates the need for multi-protocol gateways and enables direct interconnection between different types of nodes. In this paper, the complex communication architecture of intelligent city based on soft computing model is proposed. Experimental results show that the proposed method has higher communication efficiency and transmission speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies task-space formation tracking problem of nonlinear heterogeneous robotic systems involving external disturbances, kinematic and dynamic uncertainties, where the cases with both single and multiple time-varying leaders are considered. To solve the aforementioned nonlinear control problem, several novel fully distributed control algorithms, in which no global information is employed, are developed for the nonlinear systems under directed communication topologies. Based on the proposed control algorithms, the control process is classified into two parts, namely the task-space formation tracking of master robots with a single leader and that of slave robots with multiple leaders. By invoking Barbalat's lemma and input-to-state stability theory, the sufficient criteria for the asymptotic convergence of the task-space formation tracking errors are established. In addition, the obtained results are extended to formation-containment and consensus problems in similar nonlinear cases. Finally, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the validity and advantages of the main results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16) of the genotypes B1a and B1b have co-circulated in mainland China in the past decades. From 2013 to 2017, a total of 3,008 specimens from 3,008 patients with mild hand, foot, and mouth disease were collected in the present study. Viral RNA was tested for CV-A16 by a real-time RT-PCR method, and complete VP1 sequences and full-length genome sequences of CV-A16 strains from this study were determined by RT-PCR and sequencing. Sequences were analyzed using a series of bioinformatics programs. The detection rate for CV-A16 was 4.1%, 25.9%, 10.6%, 28.1% and 12.9% in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. Overall, the detection rate for CV-A16 was 16.5% (497/3008) in this 5-year period in Shenzhen, China. One hundred forty-two (142/155, 91.6%) of the 155 genotype B1 strains in the study belonged to subgenotype B1b, and 13 (13/155, 8.4%) strains belonged to subgenotype B1a. Two strains (CVA16/Shenzhen174/CHN/2017 and CVA16/Shenzhen189/CHN/2017) could not be assigned to a known genotype. Phylogenetic analysis of these two strains and other Chinese CV-A16 strains indicated that these two CV-A16 strains clustered independently in a novel clade whose members differed by 8.4%-11.8%, 8.4%-12.1%, and 14.6%-14.8% in their nucleotide sequences from those of Chinese B1a, B1b, and genotype D strains, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis of global CV-A16 strains further indicated that the two novel CV-A16 strains from this study grouped in a previously uncharacterized clade, which was designated as the subgenogroup B3 in present study. Meanwhile, phylogenetic reconstruction revealed two other new genotypes, B1d and B4, which included a Malaysian strain and two American strains, respectively. The complete genome sequences of the two novel CV-A16 strains showed the highest nucleotide sequence identity of 92.3% to the Malaysian strain PM-15765-00 from 2000. Comparative analysis of amino acid sequences of the two novel CV-A16 strains and their relatives suggested that variations in the nonstructural proteins may play an important role in the evolution of modern CV-A16. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Block chain is a decentralized core architecture, which is widely used in emerging digital encryption currencies. It has attracted much attention and has been researched with the gradual acceptance of bitcoin. Block chaining technology has the characteristics of centralization, block data, no tampering and trust, so it is sought after by enterprises, especially financial institutions. This paper expounds the core technology principle of block chain technology, discusses the application of block chain technology, the existing regulatory problems and security problems, so as to provide some help for the related research of block chain technology. Intrusion detection is an important way to protect the security of information systems. It has become the focus of security research in recent years. This paper introduces the history and current situation of intrusion detection system, expounds the classification of intrusion detection system and the framework of general intrusion detection, and discusses all kinds of intrusion detection technology in detail. Intrusion detection technology is a kind of security technology to protect network resources from hacker attack. IDS is a useful supplement to the firewall, which can help the network system to quickly detect attacks and improve the integrity of the information security infrastructure. In this paper, intrusion detection technology is applied to block chain information security model, and the results show that proposed model has higher detection efficiency and fault tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligent transportation systems have seen a very great increase in research contribution especially with the advent of cloud and internet of things for handling big data. With the increasing need to monitor, manage effectively with available set of resources, a majority of concerns have been on a migration pattern towards cloud networks. The proposed research paper has investigated and framed an intelligent cloud based transportation cluster model for effective and efficient delivery of transportation and management data to the server and client. The case study has been taken up for the city of Macau in China which is observed to have a complicated and sophisticated system of transportation with the ever increasing growth of tourism in the country. Vehicular traffic monitoring and management using a fuzzy C means algorithm for effectively reducing the computational overhead in terms of complexity and time has been proposed, implemented and tested with results validated against recent intelligent transportation models found in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the task-space tracking control problem for multi-robot systems in the presence of uncertain kinematics and dynamics. Two classes of control schemes are developed to address the aforementioned problem with nonredundant and redundant kinematics and input disturbances. Particularly, the property of separating of kinematic and dynamic loops is obtained by the proposed controllers, which include a control law, a kinematic parameter adaptive law and a dynamic parameter adaptive law, respectively. Moreover, by using passivity approaches, the system is proved to be passive with the external forces, applied on the end effectors, be the input signals. Consequently, the tracking errors asymptotically converge to the origin under interaction constraints, i.e., the graph is directed, and only a subset of slave robots can access the information of the master robot. Finally, numerous simulations are performed to demonstrate the validity of the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study examines agreeableness and work knowledge as predictors of employees’ popularity above and beyond core self-evaluation (CSE), and the moderating role of these constructs on the CSE-popularity relationship. We also investigate popularity’s effects on supervisor-rated task performance and promotion potential, and the conditional indirect effects of CSE on these outcomes via popularity.Design/Methodology/Approach: Multi-source data were collected from 213 employees, their coworkers, and direct supervisors in a Chinese mine trading company.Findings: Agreeableness predicted popularity above and beyond CSE and moderated the CSE-popularity relationship, although the direct and moderating effects of work knowledge were nonsignificant. Popularity positively influenced performance ratings but not promotion potential. Results also supported conditional indirect effects of CSE on performance ratings via popularity.Implications: The current findings underscore the importance of examining workplace popularity. Discovering agreeableness as an additional predictor of popularity and its moderation effects on the CSE-popularity link suggests that communal qualities are important for employees’ attainment of popularity. The discussion also focuses on expanding the scope of workplace popularity to include performance-related outcomes. Lastly, this study considers how employee characteristics connect to performance ratings through popularity.Originality/Value: Workplace popularity is relatively unexplored but has tremendous organizational implications. This research advances the understanding of how to attain workplace popularity and the boundary conditions for the relationship between CSE and popularity. It also extends consequences associated with workplace popularity beyond interpersonal outcomes and assesses the role of popularity, a construct rooted in collective perception, in explaining links between employee characteristics and performance-related outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the fundamental issues in crowdsourcing is the trade-off between the number of workers needed for high-accuracy aggregation and the budget to pay. To save cost, it is important to ensure high quality of the crowd-sourced labels, hence the total cost on label collection will be reduced. Since the confidence of the workers often has a close relationship with their abilities, a possible way for quality control is to request the workers to return the labels only when they feel confident, by means of providing them with an ‘unsure’ option. On the other hand, allowing workers to choose the unsure option can potentially waste part of the budget. In this work, we conduct an analysis towards understanding when providing the unsure option indeed leads to significant cost reduction, as well as how the confidence threshold might be set. We also propose an online mechanism, which is an alternative for threshold selection when the estimation of the crowd ability distribution is difficult. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new composite, LiMnO·LiNiCoFeO, can be synthesized by a solid-state method and preconditioned with 5 wt% HCl, HSO, or HPO solution to achieve H/Li exchange. The effects of acid treatment on the structure, morphology, and electrochemical properties of LiMnO·LiNiCoFeO cathode materials are analyzed. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns imply that the hexagonal α-NaFeO structure (space group R $$\bar{3}$$ m) of the materials is not changed by the acid treatment. The scanning electron microscope images show that particles become spherical with smooth surfaces after acid treatment, and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis reveals that the specific surface area increases. The charge-discharge test demonstrates that acid-treated LiMnO·LiNiCoFeO cathode materials deliver higher initial coulombic efficiencies than untreated material, owing to the improvement of the catalytic reduction activity of oxygen released during the initial charge process. Furthermore, LiMnO·LiNiCoFeO treated with HCl displays the best electrochemical performance, with the acid treatment improving the initial coulombic efficiency from 66.0 to 82.2%. Thus, acid treatment can effectively improve the electrochemical performance of electrode materials in Li-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary familial brain calcification (PFBC) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by bilateral cerebral calcification with diverse neurologic or psychiatric symptoms. Recently, XPR1 variation has accounted for PFBC as another new causative gene. However, little is known about the distribution and basic function of XPR1 and its interaction with the other three pathogenic genes for PFBC ( SLC20A2, PDGFRB and PDGFB). The aim of this study was to further clarify the role of XPR1 in PFBC brain pathology. As a result, gene expression profiles showed that XPR1 mRNA was widely expressed throughout the mouse brain. Cerebellum and striatum, most commonly affected in PFBC, contained a higher level of XPR1 protein than other brain regions. Additionally, XPR1 deficiency seriously affected Pi efflux and XPR1 mutations seemed to have an effect through haploinsufficiency mechanism. The immunoprecipitation and immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that XPR1 could interact with PDGFRB and might form a complex on the cell membrane. These results suggested that XPR1 played a fundamental role in the maintenance of cellular phosphate balance in the brain. This provided us with a novel perspective on understanding the pathophysiology of PFBC. The expression networks and interaction with the known pathogenic genes could shed new light on additional candidate genes for PFBC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Retraction Note: Soft Computing (2019) 23:2799-2812 b https://doi.org/10.1007/s00500-019-03827- The Editor in Chief and the Publisher have retracted this article. Based on the investigation's findings the Editor in Chief therefore no longer has confidence in the results and conclusions of this article. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this study was to establish a tree shrew metabolic syndrome model and demonstrate the utility of MSCs in treating metabolic syndrome. We used tree shrew umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell (TS-UC-MSC) transplantation for the treatment of metabolic syndrome to demonstrate the clinical application of these stem cells and to provide a theoretical basis and reference methods for this treatment. Tree shrew metabolic syndrome model showed significant insulin resistance, high blood sugar, lipid metabolism disorders, and hypertension, consistent with the diagnostic criteria. TS-UC-MSC transplantation at 16 weeks significantly reduced blood sugar and lipid levels, improved insulin resistance and the regulation of insulin secretion, and reduced the expression levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1 and IL-6 ( P < 0.05). The transplanted TS-UC-MSCs targeted the liver, kidney and pancreas; reduced liver cell degeneration, necrosis, and inflammatory exudation; mitigated bleeding congestion and inflammatory cell infiltration in the kidney; and reduced islet cell degeneration and necrosis. We successfully developed a tree shrew metabolic syndrome model and showed that MSC migrate in diseased organs and can attenuate metabolic syndrome severity in a tree shrew model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims/hypothesis: Insulin resistance (IR) links obesity to type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to explore whether white adipose tissue (WAT) epigenetic dysregulation is associated with systemic IR by genome-wide CG dinucleotide (CpG) methylation and gene expression profiling in WAT from insulin-resistant and insulin-sensitive women. A secondary aim was to determine whether the DNA methylation signature in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) reflects WAT methylation and, if so, can be used as a marker for systemic IR. Methods: From 220 obese women, we selected a total of 80 individuals from either of the extreme ends of the distribution curve of HOMA-IR, an indirect measure of systemic insulin sensitivity. Genome-wide transcriptome and DNA CpG methylation profiling by array was performed on subcutaneous (SAT) and visceral (omental) adipose tissue (VAT). CpG methylation in PBMCs was assayed in the same cohort. Results: There were 647 differentially expressed genes (false discovery rate [FDR] 10%) in SAT, all of which displayed directionally consistent associations in VAT. This suggests that IR is associated with dysregulated expression of a common set of genes in SAT and VAT. The average degree of DNA methylation did not differ between the insulin-resistant and insulin-sensitive group in any of the analysed tissues/cells. There were 223 IR-associated genes in SAT containing a total of 336 nominally significant differentially methylated sites (DMS). The 223 IR-associated genes were over-represented in pathways related to integrin cell surface interactions and insulin signalling and included COL5A1, GAB1, IRS2, PFKFB3 and PTPRJ. In VAT there were a total of 51 differentially expressed genes (FDR 10%); 18 IR-associated genes contained a total of 29 DMS. Conclusions/interpretation: In individuals discordant for insulin sensitivity, the average DNA CpG methylation in SAT and VAT is similar, although specific genes, particularly in SAT, display significantly altered expression and DMS in IR, possibly indicating that epigenetic regulation of these genes influences metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously found that chicken egg white extract could promote cell survival and proliferation. In the present study, we further separated this extract into its components to identify those primarily responsible for promoting cell proliferation. Components of differing molecular weight were separated from chicken egg white extract by ultrafiltration and 293T cell cultures were supplemented with various concentrations. The effects on cell proliferation were subsequently determined by a CellTiter 96 Aqueous One Solution Cell Proliferation Assay kit (Promega). We demonstrate that components from chicken egg white smaller than 3 kDa in size are able to function as active ingredients promoting cellular proliferation. This discovery may identify a new and convenient additive for cell culture media to promote cell growth and proliferation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coxsackievirus A8 (CV-A8), a member of the genus Enterovirus of the family Picornaviridae, can cause a variety of infectious diseases, such as hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), herpangina (HA), encephalitis, paralysis, myelitis, and meningitis. This is a first report of complete genome sequences of CV-A8 strains associated with HFMD/HA since the prototype strain Donovan was identified in 1949. The complete genome sequences of eight new CV-A8 strains showed 19.2 %-20.6 % nucleotide differences when compared to the prototype strain Donovan, and 81.5 %-99.9 % similarity to each other. The topology of a polyphyletic tree based on complete capsid protein gene sequences indicated that the new CV-A8 strains and Donovan are monophyletic. However, seven CV-A8 strains clustered with CV-A10 and CV-A2 in the 5'UTR and P2 region, respectively. In the P3 region, three and four CV-A8 strains grouped with CV-A6 and CV-A2, respectively. Seven CV-A8 strains segregated from Donovan and grouped in a separate lineage in the 3'UTR. The strain CVA8/SZ266/CHN/2014 was most similar to EV71 in the nonstructural proteins regions. Phylogenetic analysis classified worldwide CV-A8 isolates into four distinct clusters, and almost all Chinese and Thai CV-A8 strains evolved independently in their respective lineages, which indicated geographical evolution of CV-A8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]