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Three-dimensional (3-D) stereo images can be generated via computer-based image processing of CORONA stereo pairs. To a certain extent, important terrain and surface feature data extracted from these stereo images can improve the survey of archaeological sites and the identification and mapping of major landscapes. In this study, we focused on the identification of the archaeological ruins of Liangzhu City. An optical stereo model (red/blue stereo image) of the Liangzhu site was created through computer-based mosaicking and processing of CORONA remote-sensing stereo pairs taken in the 1960s and 1970s. By importing the optical stereo model into mobile phones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices, the research team undertook real-time locating of ruins via human observation, on-site investigation, and image overlay during a field survey and identified several Liangzhu-period dams, some of which have been confirmed via archaeological field investigations. The research team later applied the same method to the identification of tombs at the site of the mausoleums of the six emperors of the Southern Song dynasty. The results further prove that this method is feasible and reliable and can be widely promoted and used for the identification of archaeological ruins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The assessment of mutagenicity is essential in drug discovery, as it may lead to cancer and germ cells damage. Although in silico methods have been proposed for mutagenicity prediction, their performance is hindered by the scarcity of labeled molecules. However, experimental mutagenicity testing can be time-consuming and costly. One solution to reduce the annotation cost is active learning, where the algorithm actively selects the most valuable molecules from a vast chemical space and presents them to the oracle (e.g., a human expert) for annotation, thereby rapidly improving the model's predictive performance with a smaller annotation cost. In this paper, we propose muTOX-AL, a deep active learning framework, which can actively explore the chemical space and identify the most valuable molecules, resulting in competitive performance with a small number of labeled samples. The experimental results show that, compared to the random sampling strategy, muTOX-AL can reduce the number of training molecules by about 57%. Additionally, muTOX-AL exhibits outstanding molecular structural discriminability, allowing it to pick molecules with high structural similarity but opposite properties. An active learning model, muTOX-AL, has been proposed for the task of molecular mutagenicity prediction. muTOX-AL is capable of rapidly enhancing its performance with a small number of labeled samples, thereby reducing experimental costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is one of the most malignant tumors in the digestive system. To make thing worse, the scarcity of treatment options is disheartening. However, if detected early, there is a possibility of reversing the condition. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of relevant early screening methods. Considering that Barrett's esophagus (BE), a precursor lesion of EAC, has been confirmed as the only known precursor of EAC. Analyzing which BE cases will progress to EAC and understanding the processes and mechanisms involved is of great significance for early screening of such patients. Considering the significant alterations in the gut microbiota of patients with BE and its potential role in the progression to EAC, this study aims to analyze the relationship between BE, EAC, and GM to identify potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. This study utilized comprehensive statistical data on gut microbiota from a large-scale genome-wide association meta-analysis conducted by the MiBioGen consortium (n = 18,340). Subsequently, we selected a set of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that fell below the genome-wide significance threshold (1 × 10–5) as instrumental variables. To investigate the causal relationship between gut microbiota and BE and EAC, we employed various MR analysis methods, including Inverse Variance Weighting (IVW), MR-Egger regression, weighted median (WM), and weighted mean. Additionally, we assessed the level of pleiotropy, heterogeneity, and stability of genetic variations through MR-Egger intercept test, MR-PRESSO, Cochran's Q test, and "leave-one-out" sensitivity analysis. Furthermore, we conducted reverse MR analysis to identify the causal relationships between gut microbiota and BE and EAC. The results from the Inverse Variance-Weighted (IVW) analysis indicate that Alistipes (P = 4.86 × 10−2), Lactobacillus (P = 2.11 × 10−2), Prevotella 7 (P = 4.28 × 10−2), and RuminococcaceaeUCG004 (P = 4.34 × 10−2) are risk factors for Barrett's esophagus (BE), while Flavonifractor (P = 8.81 × 10−3) and RuminococcaceaeUCG004 (P = 4.99 × 10−2) are risk factors for esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). On the other hand, certain gut microbiota genera appear to have a protective effect against both BE and EAC. These include Eubacterium (nodatum group) (P = 4.51 × 10−2), Holdemania (P = 1.22 × 10−2), and Lactococcus (P = 3.39 × 10−2) in the BE cohort, as well as Eubacterium (hallii group) (P = 4.07 × 10−2) and Actinomyces (P = 3.62 × 10−3) in the EAC cohort. According to the results of reverse MR analysis, no significant causal effects of BE and EAC on gut microbiota were observed. Furthermore, no significant heterogeneity or pleiotropy was detected in the instrumental variables. We have established a causal relationship between the gut microbiota and BE and EAC. This study holds profound significance for screening BE patients who may be at risk of deterioration, as it can provide them with timely medical interventions to reverse the condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A statistical linearization method is proposed for determining the response of the chain-like multi-degree-of-freedom (MDOF) hysteretic system endowed with fractional derivative elements and subjected to combined periodic and stochastic excitation. The method is developed based on representing the system response into a combination as a deterministic and a zero-mean stochastic component. Specifically, first, the equation of motion can be transformed into two sets of coupled nonlinear differential equations for the deterministic and the stochastic response components, respectively. Next, the deterministic and the stochastic differential equations are treated by the harmonic balance method and the statistical linearization method, respectively, yielding two sets of coupled nonlinear algebraic equations, which can be solved simultaneously via standard numerical methods for the deterministic response time history and the stochastic response second moment. Pertinent numerical examples demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects and mechanisms of the different types of biochar on heavy metal passivation are still not fully understood. This study compared the effects of three types of biochar on heavy metal passivation during sludge composting. Compared with composting without biochar, rice husk biochar was most effective for the passivation of Zn and Pb, with increased passivation rates of 1.90% and 20.43%, respectively. In contrast, sludge biochar was the most effective for the passivation of Cr and Hg, with increased passivation rates of 28.30% and 3.09%, respectively. Coconut shell biochar showed the best performance for the passivation of Cu, Ni, As, and Cd, and was enriched with micropore structures, which possibly led to the adsorption and reaction of heavy metals, organic matter, and microorganisms. The improved passivation effect of the rice husk and sludge biochar on heavy metals can be attributed to the improved humification of organic matter. This study suggests that specific types of biochar should be considered for the passivation of different types of heavy metals for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem services (ESs) refer to the continuous provisioning of ecosystem goods and services that benefit human beings. Over recent decades, rapid urbanization has exerted significant pressure on coastal ecosystems, resulting in biodiversity and habitat loss, environmental pollution, and the depletion of natural resources. In response to these environmental challenges, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were proposed. Given the pressing need to address these issues, understanding the changes in ESs under the SDGs is crucial for formulating specific ecological strategies. In this study, we first analyzed land use and cover change in the Zhejiang coasts of China during 2000–2020. Then, we investigated the spatiotemporal configuration of ESs by integrating carbon storage (CS), soil retention (SR), habitat quality (HQ) and water yield (WY) using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. The driving mechanisms of ESs, which varied by space and time, were also explored using the Geo-detector method. The results revealed that, over the past two decades: 1) the Zhejiang coasts have experienced a significant increase of 2783.72 km2 in built-up land areas and a continuous decrease in farmland areas due to rapid urbanization; 2) owing to higher precipitation, extensive vegetation cover, and reduced anthropogenic disturbances, forests emerge as a crucial land use type for maintaining ecosystem services such as HQ, CS, WY, and SR; 3) ESs have generally declined across the entire Zhejiang coasts, with a significant decrease observed in the northern areas and an increase in the southern areas spatially; 4) the expansion of built-up land areas emerged as the primary factor affecting ecosystem services, while the vegetation factor has been increasingly significant and is expected to become predominant in the near future. Our study provides insights of understanding of ecosystem service theory and emphasizing the importance of preserving biodiversity for long-term sustainable development, and valuable scientific references to support the ecological management decision-making for local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gasification fine slag (GS) is a kind of solid waste produced in the process of coal gasification. Due to its high annual production and large accumulation, it is potentially harmful to air quality and groundwater, and has certain impact on human health, so resource utilization of coal gasification slag is an urgent problem at present. Combustion is considered as a cost-effective way for GS utilization. In this paper, the combustion characteristics and fuel matching of GS mixed with different coalification degree coal (lignite, bituminous coal, anthracite) were studied. The combustion of three kinds of mixed fuels was analyzed by thermogravimetric data, conventional combustion characteristic parameters, activation energy and statistical principal component analysis (PCA). The kinetic analysis shows that the co-combustion with coal effectively reduces the activation energy of GS, and the activation energy increases with the increase of coalification degree. The results of PCA analysis show that with the increase of coalification degree, the matching of mixed fuel is improved, and the low rank coal is mainly affected by the addition ratio, while the influence of the heating rate of high rank coal is more significant. The results of this study can provide some guidance for the co-combustion of GS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parameter optimization (PO) methods to determine the ionic current composition of experimental cardiac action potential (AP) waveform have been developed using a computer model of cardiac membrane excitation. However, it was suggested that fitting a single AP record in the PO method was not always successful in providing a unique answer because of a shortage of information. We found that the PO method worked perfectly if the PO method was applied to a pair of a control AP and a model output AP in which a single ionic current out of six current species, such as IKr, ICaL, INa, IKs, IKur or IbNSC was partially blocked in silico. When the target was replaced by a pair of experimental control and IKr-blocked records of APs generated spontaneously in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), the simultaneous fitting of the two waveforms by the PO method was hampered to some extent by the irregular slow fluctuations in the Vm recording and/or sporadic alteration in AP configurations in the hiPSC-CMs. This technical problem was largely removed by selecting stable segments of the records for the PO method. Moreover, the PO method was made fail-proof by running iteratively in identifying the optimized parameter set to reconstruct both the control and the IKr-blocked AP waveforms. In the lead potential analysis, the quantitative ionic mechanisms deduced from the optimized parameter set were totally consistent with the qualitative view of ionic mechanisms of AP so far described in physiological literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main conclusion: S. plumbizincicola genetic transformation was optimized using a self-excision molecular-assisted transformation system by integrating the SpGRF4/SpGIF1 gene with XVE and Cre/loxP. Sedum plumbizincicola, despite being an excellent hyperaccumulator of cadmium and zinc with significant potential for soil pollution phytoremediation on farmland, has nonetheless trailed behind other major model plants in genetic transformation technology. In this study, different explants and SpGRF4–SpGIF1 genes were used to optimize the genetic transformation of S. plumbizincicola. We found that petiole and stem segments had higher genetic transformation efficiency than cluster buds. Overexpression of SpGRF4–SpGIF1 could significantly improve the genetic transformation efficiency and shorten the period of obtaining regenerated buds. However, molecular assistance with overexpression of SpGRF4–SpGIF1 leads to abnormal morphology, resulting in plant tissue enlargement and abnormal growth. Therefore, we combined SpGRF4–SpGIF1 with XVE and Cre/loxP to obtain DNA autocleavage transgenic plants induced by estradiol, thereby ensuring normal growth in transgenic plants. This study optimized the S. plumbizincicola genetic transformation system, improved the efficiency of genetic transformation, and established a self-excision molecular-assisted transformation system. This work also established the basis for studying S. plumbizincicola gene function, and for S. plumbizincicola breeding and germplasm innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The psychological factors of experts play a special role in the process of decision-making, especially in some situations that experts are not completely rational. Traditional decision-making methods always just focus on the aggregation of positive preference information, which do not take the negative attribute information into account at the same time. The probabilistic dual hesitant fuzzy set (PDHFS) is one of the latest fuzzy sets, which can depict experts' positive and negative preference information with the corresponding probability at the same time. Therefore, to manage the applications with incomplete rationality and two opposite kinds of uncertain preference information, this paper considers the influence of psychological behavior on decision-making results and introduces an interactive method based on the prospect theory. Taking the advantages of PDHFSs in group decision-making problems, we propose the distance measure of PDHFSs, based on which an improved TODIM (TOmada deDecisão Iterativa Multicritério) method under the probabilistic dual hesitant fuzzy environment is also developed. Meanwhile, we provide the specific implementation process of the proposed method. The proposed improved TODIM is applied to the risk evaluation of Arctic geopolitics. We also make a comparison with the traditional aggregation method of PDHFSs. The difference among alternatives obtained by the proposed TODIM method with prospect theory is much greater than the traditional aggregation methods without prospect theory. This paper highlights the benefits and advantages of the proposed TODIM method that is developed based on the prospect theory and probabilistic dual hesitant fuzzy distance measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations in a Plasmodium de-ubiquitinase UBP1 have been linked to antimalarial drug resistance. However, the UBP1-mediated drug-resistant mechanism remains unknown. Through drug selection, genetic mapping, allelic exchange, and functional characterization, here we show that simultaneous mutations of two amino acids (I1560N and P2874T) in the Plasmodium yoelii UBP1 can mediate high-level resistance to mefloquine, lumefantrine, and piperaquine. Mechanistically, the double mutations are shown to impair UBP1 cytoplasmic aggregation and de-ubiquitinating activity, leading to increased ubiquitination levels and altered protein localization, from the parasite digestive vacuole to the plasma membrane, of the P. yoelii multidrug resistance transporter 1 (MDR1). The MDR1 on the plasma membrane enhances the efflux of substrates/drugs out of the parasite cytoplasm to confer multidrug resistance, which can be reversed by inhibition of MDR1 transport. This study reveals a previously unknown drug-resistant mechanism mediated by UBP1 through altered MDR1 localization and substrate transport direction in a mouse model, providing a new malaria treatment strategy. Here, the authors show that two mutations in the Plasmodium de-ubiquitinase UBP1 alter the ubiquitination level, membrane localization, and ligand transport direction of multidrug resistance transporter 1 (MDR1), leading to multiple drug resistances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contractile rings are formed from cytoskeletal filaments during cell division. Ring formation is induced by specific crosslinkers, while contraction is typically associated with motor protein activity. Here, we engineer DNA nanotubes and peptide-functionalized starPEG constructs as synthetic crosslinkers to mimic this process. The crosslinker induces bundling of ten to hundred DNA nanotubes into closed micron-scale rings in a one-pot self-assembly process yielding several thousand rings per microliter. Molecular dynamics simulations reproduce the detailed architectural properties of the DNA rings observed in electron microscopy. Theory and simulations predict DNA ring contraction – without motor proteins – providing mechanistic insights into the parameter space relevant for efficient nanotube sliding. In agreement between simulation and experiment, we obtain ring contraction to less than half of the initial ring diameter. DNA-based contractile rings hold promise for an artificial division machinery or contractile muscle-like materials.Contractile rings are formed from cytoskeletal filaments, specific crosslinkers and motor proteins during cell division. Here, authors form micron-scale contractile DNA rings from DNA nanotubes and synthetic crosslinkers, with both simulations and experiments showing ring contraction without motor proteins, offering a potential first step towards synthetic cell division machinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal carries unique social and cultural significance as a world cultural heritage, but with the acceleration of global urbanization, it has potentially severe environmental risks under continuous anthropogenic disturbances. Therefore, to protect the ecological and cultural values of the Grand Canal, it is necessary to assess the corresponding relationship of water quality to land use and the perception of ecosystem services that focus on cultural ecosystem services (CES). This study aims to analyze the water quality response to land use in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, describe the land use types closely related to water quality, and propose corresponding management strategies for enhancing CES. This study investigated the impacts of land use structure and landscape pattern on water quality by calculating the correlation between land use structure and landscape pattern indices and water quality in buffer zones of different distances on both sides of the canal. The results show that green land dominates the land use structure and can effectively reduce water pollution in the canal. On the other hand, urban impervious surfaces showed a significant positive correlation with pollution contributing to low water quality. We accessed the impact of water quality on the perception of CES in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and proposed optimization strategies for promoting CES. Both content analysis and thematic analysis were applied to analyze the impact of the water environment quality of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal on the perception of CES. We found that the perceptions of CES along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal are associated with the public's opinions on its cultural heritage services and artistic inspiration services. The perceptions of CES are closely related to the quality of the water environment and riparian greenness, which affect the values of cultural heritage and conservation of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer (GC) is the one of the most commonly solid cancer worldwide. Although under the aggressive treatment, the poor clinical outcomes of patients with GCs have not been improved. Current studies emphasized that targeting therapies or immune response-based therapeutic strategy may be a potential approach to improve the clinical outcomes. Moreover, accumulative evidence has reported the increasing expression of PD-L1 expression in GC cells and highlighted its role in the tumor progression. Currently, great development has been established in the immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and further changed the clinical practice of GC treatment and prognosis. In addition, the combination therapies with targeting therapy or traditional therapies are expected to push the development of immunotherapies. In our present review, we predominantly focus on the biomarkers and molecular profiles for immunotherapies in GCs and highlight the role and administration of ICIs-based immunotherapeutic strategies against the GCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aqueous zinc (Zn)-ion batteries (AZIBs) present safe and environmentally friendly features thereby emerging as an attractive energy storage device. The V2O5-based cathodes are promising because of their high theoretical capacity and energy density. However, insufficient interlayer distance, easy dissolution and structural collapse due to irreversible crystalline phase transition limit the development of V2O5 cathodes in AZIBs. Herein, doubly modified V2O5-based cathode which was in-situ intercalated by polyaniline (PANI) and composited with MXene (Ti3C2Tx) (denoted PVM) were synthesized by one-step method for the first time. The in situ intercalation of PANI provides a channel for the rapid diffusion of Zn2+ and the heterogeneous structures effectively promote charge transfer and enable structural integrity of cathode during cycling. Meanwhile, the conductivity of PVM electrode is greatly improved. Specifically, the PVM electrode shows a superior rate performance of 82 mAh·g−1 after 2000 cycles at 10 A·g−1. And it shows high pseudocapacitance behavior (80.23% capacitor contribution ratio at 0.1 mV·s−1). A novel method of intercalation composite modification for the cathode is proposed, which provides fundamental guidance for the development of high-performance cathodes for AZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prior clinical studies suggest a shared mechanism between vestibular symptoms and migraine headache. However, the specific neuroanatomical substrate connecting vestibular symptoms with migraine remains to be largely unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to further investigate the mechanisms that whether and how trigeminovestibular neurons produce effects on neuronal activation in vestibular nucleus (VN). Methods: A chronic-NTG rat model was established by recurrent intermittent administration of nitroglycerin (NTG). Pain- and vestibular-related behaviors were assessed. To selectively inhibit the glutamatergic neurons and trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) to VN projection neurons, the AAVs encoding engineered Gi-coupled hM4D receptor were administered in the TNC or VN area. Results: We identify a glutamatergic projection from TNC to VN that mediates vestibular dysfunction in a chronic-NTG rat model. Inhibition of the GlutamateTNC neurons alleviates vestibular dysfunction in the chronic-NTG rat. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-expressing neurons in the VN received glutamatergic projections from TNC neurons. Silencing the glutamatergic TNC-VN projection neurons attenuates vestibular dysfunction in the chronic-NTG rat. Conclusions: Together, we reveal a modulatory role of glutamatergic TNC-VN projection neurons in vestibular dysfunction of migraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The normal wiggly hesitant fuzzy set (NWHFS) is one of the latest extensions of hesitant fuzzy set (HFS). It can depict experts' preference information consisting of several possible values and the potential information dug in the traditional hesitant fuzzy set (HFS) at the same time. However, traditional aggregation operators of NWHFSs always ignore the influence of psychological behaviors. Therefore, to make use of the potential information and manage the applications with incomplete rationality, this paper combines the advantages of TODIM (TOmada deDecisão Iterativa Multicritério) method and NWHFSs. Considering the structures and characteristics of NWHFSs, we also provide the definition of distance measure of NWHFSs. Based on this, we develop an improved TODIM method. The specific implementation process is also provided. Finally, we apply the improved TODIM method to the environmental quality evaluation. The comparison result with traditional aggregation operators indicates that the proposed method can enlarge the competitive relationship better. It also demonstrates the rationality and accuracy of our method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is to study the existence and uniqueness of solutions for fractional differential system with four-point coupled boundary conditions of the type: D 0 + α 1 u 1 (t) + f 1 (t , u 1 (t) , u 2 (t)) = 0 , u 1 (0) = u 1 ′ (0) = 0 , u 1 (1) = a 1 u 2 (ξ 1) , D 0 + α 2 u 2 (t) + f 2 (t , u 1 (t) , u 2 (t)) = 0 , u 2 (0) = u 2 ′ (0) = 0 , u 2 (1) = a 2 u 1 (ξ 2). Our hypotheses on the nonlinearities f 1 and f 2 are formulated with a mild Lipschitz assumption. The main tools used are spectral analysis of matrices and Perov's fixed point theorem. An example is also given to illustrate the applicability of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbes contribute to the organic matter decomposition (OMD) in river ecosystems. This study considers two aspects of OMD in river ecosystems which have not been examined in scientific studies previously, and these are the microbial interactions in OMD and the influence of environmental factors on microbial interactions. Cotton strip (CS), as a substitute for organic matter, was introduced to Luanhe River Basin in China. The results of CS assay, microbial sequencing, and redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that CS selectively enriched bacterial and fungal groups related to cellulose decomposition, achieving cotton strip decomposition (CSD). Bacterial phylum Proteobacteria and fungal phyla Rozellomycota and Ascomycota were the dominant groups associated with CSD. Network analysis and Mantel test results indicated that bacteria and fungi on CS cooperatively formed an interaction network to achieve the CSD. In the network, modules 2 and 4 were significantly positively associated with CSD, which were considered as the key modules in this study. The key modules were mainly composed of phyla Proteobacteria and Ascomycota, indicating that microbes in key modules were the effective decomposers of CS. Although keystone taxa were not directly associated with CSD, they may regulate the genera in key modules to achieve the CSD, since some keystone taxa were linked with the microbial genera associated with CSD in the key modules. Total nitrogen (TN) and temperature in water were the dominant environmental factors positively influenced CSD. The key modules 2 and 4 were positively influenced by water temperature and TN in water, respectively, and two keystone taxa were positively associated with TN. This profoundly revealed that water temperature and TN influenced the OMD through acting on the keystone taxa and key modules in microbial interactions. The research findings help us to understand the microbial interactions influenced by environmental factors in OMD in river ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) exert regulatory roles in cerebrovascular disease. Human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMECs) participated in brain vascular dysfunction in ischemic stroke. Herein, the functions of circ_0000566 in oxygen–glucose deprivation and reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced HBMECs were investigated. The expression of circ_0000566, miR-18a-5p, and Activin receptor type 2B (ACVR2B) was measured via quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and flow cytometry assays were utilized to detect cell viability and cell apoptosis. Western blot assay was employed to measure the levels of apoptotic-related proteins and ACVR2B. The secretion of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α was detected via corresponding kits. The relationship between miR-18a-5p and circ_0000566 or ACVR2B was examined via dual-luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) assay. Circ_0000566 and ACVR2B were highly expressed, while miR-18a-5p was down-regulated in OGD/R-treated HBMECs. OGD/R treatment promoted HBMECs apoptosis and inflammation and suppressed cell viability, which could be attenuated by silencing of circ_0000566. Circ_0000566 acted as a miR-18a-5p sponge to contribute to OGD/R-induced HBMECs injury. ACVR2B served as a direct target of miR-18a-5p, and ACVR2B overexpression might abolish the inhibitory role of miR-18a-5p on OGD/R-treated HBMEC injury. Circ_0000566 sponged miR-18a-5p to regulate OGD/R-induced HBMECs injury via regulating ACVR2B expression. Highlights: • The expression of circ_0000566 was elevated in OGD/R-induced human brain microvascular endothelial cell injury. • Knockdown of circ_0000566 attenuated OGD/R-induced human brain microvascular endothelial cells injury via sponging miR-18a-5p. • MiR-18a-5p regulated ACVR2B expression to alleviate OGD/R-induced human brain microvascular endothelial cell injury. • Circ_0000566 regulated OGD/R-induced human brain microvascular endothelial cell injury via targeting the miR-18a-5p/ACVR2B. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macrophages are involved mainly in the balance between inflammation and tenogenesis during the healing process of tendinopathy. However, etiological therapeutic strategies to efficiently treat tendinopathy by modulating macrophage state are still lacking. In this study, we find that a small molecule compound Parishin-A (PA) isolated from Gastrodia elata could promote anti-inflammatory M2 macrophage polarization by inhibiting gene transcription and protein phosphorylation of signal transducers and activators of transcription 1. Local injection or sustained delivery of PA by mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) could almost recover the native tendon's dense parallel-aligned collagen matrix in collagenase-induced tendinopathy by modulating macrophage-mediated immune microenvironment and preventing heterotopic ossification. Especially, MSNs decrease doses of PA, frequency of injection and yield preferable therapeutic effects. Mechanistically, intervention with PA could indirectly inhibit activation of mammalian target of rapamycin to repress chondrogenic and osteogenic differentiation of tendon stem/progenitor cells by influencing macrophage inflammatory cytokine secretion. Together, pharmacological intervention with a natural small-molecule compound to modulate macrophage status appears to be a promising strategy for tendinopathy treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Encapsulation engineering is an effective strategy to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells. However, current encapsulation materials are not suitable for lead-based devices because of their complex encapsulation processes, poor thermal management, and inefficient lead leakage suppression. In this work, we design a self-crosslinked fluorosilicone polymer gel, achieving nondestructive encapsulation at room temperature. Moreover, the proposed encapsulation strategy effectively promotes heat transfer and mitigates the potential impact of heat accumulation. As a result, the encapsulated devices maintain 98% of the normalized power conversion efficiency after 1000 h in the damp heat test and retain 95% of the normalized efficiency after 220 cycles in the thermal cycling test, satisfying the requirements of the International Electrotechnical Commission 61215 standard. The encapsulated devices also exhibit excellent lead leakage inhibition rates, 99% in the rain test and 98% in the immersion test, owing to excellent glass protection and strong coordination interaction. Our strategy provides a universal and integrated solution for achieving efficient, stable, and sustainable perovskite photovoltaics. Encapsulation engineering is an effective strategy to improve the stability of perovskite solar cells. Here, authors design and synthesize self-crosslinked fluorosilicone polymer gel for nondestructive encapsulation at room temperature, and maintain 98% of efficiency after 1000 h in damp heat test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteoarthritis (OA) has been regarded as a lubrication deficiency related joint disease. Combination of both joint lubrication and drug intervention may provide a promising nonsurgical strategy for treatment of OA. Developing novel and simple approaches to fabricate superlubricating nanoparticles with drug release property is highly required. Herein, dopamine triggered one-step polymerization method was employed to fabricate polydopamine/poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) (PDA—PSPMA) conjugate coating on hollow silica (h-SiO2) nanosphere surfaces to engineer functional nanoparticles (h-SiO2/PDA—PSPMA). The as-prepared h-SiO2/PDA—PSPMA exhibits excellent aqueous lubrication performance on biomaterial substrates as well as natural bovine articular cartilage based on hydration effect of negatively charged PDA—PSPMA coating and "rolling" effect of h-SiO2 nanospheres. In vitro drug loading-release experiments demonstrate that PDA—PSPMA coating functionalized h-SiO2 nanospheres show high drug-loading and sustained-release capability of an anti-inflammatory drug, diclofenac sodium (DS). Such h-SiO2/PDA—PSPMA nanospheres can be potentially used as a synergistic therapy agent for OA treatment combining by simultaneous joint lubrication and drug release. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The wellbore instability caused by complex strata is a common problem in drilling engineering, which not only causes economic losses, but also reduces the field drilling efficiency. This paper has taken Block A of Junggar Basin as an example to explore the causes of wellbore instability in complex strata and establish corresponding solutions. Studying the core samples in this area and analyzing the logging data, it is concluded that the micro-fractures developed in the rock layer of the block provide natural channels for the entry of filtrate. At the same time, the water-sensitive clay minerals in the formation have hydration after encountering the filtrate. By optimizing the composition, the corresponding nano-strong inhibition and strong plugging potassium amine polysulfonate drilling fluid system (NPAP-2) was established. The overall use of asphalt anti-sloughing agent, nano-and micro-scale cracks (gaps) for physical plugging, wetting inversion control surface water absorption, chemical inhibition of internal hydration. The performance test shows that the HTHP water loss of the drilling fluid system is less than 10 mL, the recovery rate of rock sample is more than 86%, the viscosity is reasonable, the expansion rate is more than 89%, and the filtration loss is reduced from 8.0 to 5.0 mL. The results show that the NPAP-2 can reduce the liquid activity to enhance the inhibition, effectively improve the settlement stability of drilling fluid, reduce the filtration and ensure the wellbore stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-read sequencing has demonstrated great potential for characterizing all types of structural variations (SVs). However, existing algorithms have insufficient sensitivity and precision. To address these limitations, we present DeBreak, a computational method for comprehensive and accurate SV discovery. Based on alignment results, DeBreak employs a density-based approach for clustering SV candidates together with a local de novo assembly approach for reconstructing long insertions. A partial order alignment algorithm ensures precise SV breakpoints with single base-pair resolution, and a k-means clustering method can report multi-allele SV events. DeBreak outperforms existing tools on both simulated and real long-read sequencing data from both PacBio and Nanopore platforms. An important application of DeBreak is analyzing cancer genomes for potentially tumor-driving SVs. DeBreak can also be used for supplementing whole-genome assembly-based SV discovery. Long-read sequencing is promising for the detection of structural variants (SVs), which requires algorithms with high sensitivity and precision. Here, the authors develop DeBreak, an algorithm for comprehensive and accurate SV detection in long-read sequencing data across different platforms, which outperforms other SV callers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acinetobacter baumannii has become one of the most challenging conditional pathogens in health facilities. It causes various infectious diseases in humans, such as wound or urinary tract infections and pneumonia. Phage therapy has been used as an alternative strategy for antibiotic-resistant A. baumannii infections and has been approved by several governments. Previously, we have reported two potential phage therapy candidates, Abp1 and Abp9, both of which are narrow-host-range phages. In the present study, we screened and isolated 22 A. baumannii bacteriophages from hospital sewage water and determined that Abp95 has a wide host range (29%; 58/200). The biological and genomic characteristics and anti-infection potential of Abp95 were also investigated. Abp95 belongs to the Myoviridae family, with a G+C content of 37.85% and a genome size of 43,176 bp. Its genome encodes 77 putative genes, none of which are virulence, lysogeny, or antibiotic resistance genes. Abp95 was found to accelerate wound healing in a diabetic mouse wound infection model by clearing local infections of multidrug-resistant A. baumannii. In conclusion, the lytic phage Abp95, which has a wide host range, demonstrates potential as a candidate for phage therapy against multiple sequence types of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a hybrid metamaterial whose unit cell is consisted of a silicon ring and a silver T-shaped antenna. We use finite-difference time-domain to simulate the electromagnetically-induced transparency (EIT)-like effect and slow-light performance of the metamaterial. Then, we also study the influence of different parameters, and finally achieve a group refractive index of 2253 slow-light effect based on an EIT-like effect. Moreover, we use two-dimensional material WS2 to tune the slow-light effect. This tuning method brings forward a research idea for the slow-light tuning of active metamaterials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi band, high spatial resolution and information redundancy are the most significant characteristics of hyperspectral image. These remarkable characteristics are mainly caused by the high-dimensional image data. In view of these characteristics, feature extraction of hyperspectral image has naturally become one of the research hotspots in this field. However, it is impossible to fully describe the intrinsic geometric structure of hyperspectral image only by using spectral information. To improve the subsequent forecasting accuracy, spatial information should be mined to further describe the geometric structure of hyperspectral image. Therefore, an effective feature extraction method (SSF_HM) was proposed via using harmonic mean and spectral-spatial filter. This investigation divides the SSF_HM into three steps. First, the pi principal components were extracted by using principal components analysis (PCA) skill and subsequent the pi spatial filtering features were obtained via using area median filter (AMF) method. Then, the original spectral features and extracted spatial filtering features combine to form the fusion feature matrix, and then the scatter matrix S b H M (based on harmonic mean (HM) spectral-spatial filter inter-class) and scatter matrix S w H M (based on harmonic mean (HM) spectral-spatial filter intra-class) can be established in the fusion feature space, respectively. Finally, combining the Fisher discriminant analysis model and regularization technique, a new feature extraction method SSF_HM is developed. The proposed SSF_HM method combines spectral information and spatial information. At the same time, the range of feature extraction is expanded from spectral space to spectral-spatial fusion space. The experimental results on three real-world hyperspectral image data sets show the better performance of SSF_HM in comparison with other feature extraction methods in small sample size situation by using maximum likelihood classifier (MLC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phosphorylation process of DNA by T4 polynucleotide kinase (T4 PNK) plays a crucial role in DNA recombination, DNA replication, and DNA repair. Traditional monomeric G-quadruplex (G4) systems are always activated by single cation such as K+ or Na+. The conformation transformation caused by the coexistence of multiple cations may interfere with the signal readout and limit their applications in physiological system. In view of the stability of dimeric G4 in multiple cation solution, we reported a label-free T4 PNK fluorescence sensor based on split dimeric G4 and ligation-induced dimeric G4/thioflavin T (ThT) conformation. The dimeric G4 was divided into two independent pieces of one normal monomeric G4 and the other monomeric G4 fragment phosphorylated by T4 PNK in order to decrease the background signal. With the introduction of template DNA, DNA ligase, and invasive DNA, the dimeric G4 could be generated and liberated to combine with ThT to show obvious fluorescence signal. Using our strategy, the linear range from 0.005 to 0.5 U mL−1, and the detection limit of 0.0021 U mL−1 could be achieved without the consideration of interference caused by the coexistence of multiple cations. Additionally, research in real sample determination and inhibition effect investigations indicated its further potential application value in biochemical process research and clinic diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premature cardiac myocytes derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC-CMs) show heterogeneous action potentials (APs), probably due to different expression patterns of membrane ionic currents. We developed a method for determining expression patterns of functional channels in terms of whole-cell ionic conductance (Gx) using individual spontaneous AP configurations. It has been suggested that apparently identical AP configurations can be obtained using different sets of ionic currents in mathematical models of cardiac membrane excitation. If so, the inverse problem of Gx estimation might not be solved. We computationally tested the feasibility of the gradient-based optimization method. For a realistic examination, conventional 'cell-specific models' were prepared by superimposing the model output of AP on each experimental AP recorded by conventional manual adjustment of Gxs of the baseline model. Gxs of 4–6 major ionic currents of the 'cell-specific models' were randomized within a range of ± 5–15% and used as an initial parameter set for the gradient-based automatic Gxs recovery by decreasing the mean square error (MSE) between the target and model output. Plotting all data points of the MSE–Gx relationship during optimization revealed progressive convergence of the randomized population of Gxs to the original value of the cell-specific model with decreasing MSE. The absence of any other local minimum in the global search space was confirmed by mapping the MSE by randomizing Gxs over a range of 0.1–10 times the control. No additional local minimum MSE was obvious in the whole parameter space, in addition to the global minimum of MSE at the default model parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is an emerging therapeutic strategy for hypertrophic scars (HS), which is heavily dependent on reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. However, the unsatisfactory delivery and excitation of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA, a commercial photosensitizer in dermatology) result in an insufficient ROS generation, and thus limit the clinical application of PDT treating HS (HS-PDT). Consequently, sophisticated transdermal co-delivery nanoethosomes (named A/A-ES) with ALA and Au nanotriangles (AuNTs) in cores are prepared via an in-situ seed-mediated growth method, and then applied to improve HS-PDT through localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)-enhanced ROS generation. A/A-ES display a satisfactory performance in co-delivery in HS tissue with sufficient protoporphyrin IX production and LSPR effect in cytoplasm, which is beneficial for ALA excitation as well as ROS generation. In vitro/vivo studies reveal that A/A-ES significantly improve HS-PDT in promoting to fibroblast apoptosis and collagen remodeling through LSPR-enhanced ROS generation. Therefore, this study provides a feasible strategy that integrates transdermal delivery and LSPR to enable the beneficial effects of HS-PDT through boosting the delivery and excitation of ALA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data are not always real numbers due to the complexity and uncertainty of the real-world decision environment. This requires us to use probability-based expressions to describe the complex decision-making data in reality. In order to understand the probability-based decision-making information more comprehensively, this paper reviews and summarizes the current development of probability-based decision-making information. First, the number and the distribution of publications related to the probability-based decision-making information are analyzed. Then, based on presenting literature related to different concepts, all the existing different concepts are reviewed and discussed. Considering different forms of decision-making information, this paper summarizes decision-making methods from two aspects: the decision-making methods based on decision matrix and the decision-making methods based on preference information. We also summarize the existing literature from the perspective of application. In addition, based on current developments and the discussions above, some challenges concerning probability-based expressions are listed, which can be regarded as future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of remote sensing technology, hyperspectral sensors can record reflectance of ground objects in hundreds of bands, which undoubtedly brings great benefits for hyperspectral remote sensing image that contains abundant information of the land covers. At present, some hyperspectral images are contaminated by the noise and a lack of spatial information, this phenomenon hinders the improvement of classification accuracy. To further mine the spatial features of hyperspectral image, we propose an effective feature extraction method based on Spectral-Gabor space discriminant analysis (SGDA). The framework of SGDA is roughly divided into four steps: firstly, we obtain p i { p i | 1 ≤ i < d } principal components by PCA, where d denotes the number of features; secondly, we filter the p i principal components with Gabor filter on five different scales and eight different orientations and obtain Gabor spatial features; thirdly, incorporating the spectral features of original hyperspectral data into the Gabor spatial features to form the Spectral-Gabor space features F; finally, we project the fusion features to a low-dimensional subspace, and then maximize the Spectral-Gabor space between-class scatter matrix ( S b SG ) and minimize the Spectral-Gabor space within-class scatter matrix ( S w SG ) at the same time inspired by the idea of Fisher line discriminant analysis. Also, in the above fusion process, the proportion of spectral and spatial information can be controlled by using a penalty factor α . Experimental results on three hyperspectral datasets show the better classification performance of the SGDA method than the state-of-art methods on the condition of small sample size by Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vestibular symptoms are frequently reported in patients with chronic migraine (CM). However, whether vestibular symptoms arise through overlapping neurobiology of migraine remains to be elucidated. The neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and CGRP1 receptor play important pathological roles in facilitating central sensitization in CM. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether CGRP1 receptor contributes to vestibular dysfunction after CM by improving synaptic transmission in the vestibular nucleus (VN). Methods: A CM rat model was established by recurrent intermittent administration of nitroglycerin (NTG). Migraine- and vestibular-related behaviors were assessed. CGRP1 receptor specific antagonist, BIBN4096BS, and protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor chelerythrine chloride (CHE) were administered intracerebroventricularly. The expressions of CGRP and CGRP1 receptor components, calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR) and receptor activity modifying protein 1 (RAMP1) were evaluated by western blot, immunofluorescent staining and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in the vestibular nucleus (VN). Synaptic associated proteins and synaptic morphological characteristics were explored by western blot, transmission electron microscope, and Golgi-cox staining. The expressions of PKC, phosphorylated extracellular signal regulated kinase (p-ERK), phosphorylated cAMP response element-binding protein at serine 133 site (p-CREB-S133) and c-Fos were detected using western blot or immunofluorescent staining. Results: The expressions of CGRP, CLR and RAMP1 were significantly upregulated in CM rats. CLR and RAMP1 were expressed mainly in neurons. BIBN4096BS treatment and PKC inhibition alleviated mechanical allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia and vestibular dysfunction in CM rats. Additionally, BIBN4096BS treatment and PKC inhibition markedly inhibited the overexpression of synaptic associated proteins and restored the abnormal synaptic structure in VN after CM. Furthermore, BIBN4096BS treatment dysregulated the expression levels of PKC, p-ERK and p-CREB-S133, and attenuated neuronal activation in VN after CM. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that CGRP1 receptor inhibition improved vestibular function after CM by reversing the aberrant synaptic transmission via downregulating PKC/ERK/CREB signaling pathway. Therapeutic interventions by inhibiting CGRP/CGRP1 signaling may be a new target for the treatment of vestibular symptoms in CM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the emergence of outsourcing logistics and the rapid development of the e-commerce business, Third Party Logistics (TPL) plays an indispensable role in modern business. In the TPL provider selection process, uncertain information brings more challenges to decision makers. This paper uses probabilistic linguistic term sets (PLTSs) to describe uncertain decision making information. Firstly, we propose an improved Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory method, which allows a certain relationship between decision criteria and calculates criteria weights in multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problems. Then, in order to make full use of uncertain TPL provider information and maximize the values of data, the probabilistic linguistic complex proportional assessment method is proposed and applied to solve the MCDM problems under probabilistic linguistic environment, which needs much less computation than other MCDM methods. Finally, an application example of TPL provider selection is presented to demonstrate the proposed method. A comparative analysis is further conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum aldosterone is associated with cardiac remodeling, which contributes to morbidity and mortality in heart failure (HF); however, the prognostic value of aldosterone in HF with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is unclear. We used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to quantify serum aldosterone in 873 patients with HFpEF in a Registry Study of Biomarkers for HF. The retrospective study was conducted at Beijing Anzhen Hospital from May 2017 to October 2019. The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause mortality and rehospitalization for HF. Aldosterone concentrations in patients with and without events were 124.22 pmol L−1 (interquartile range (IQR): 48.62–256.20) and 96.33 pmol L−1 (IQR: 37.33–215.76), respectively (P=0.023). Aldosterone independently predicted all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio (aHR), 1.55; 95% confidence interval (95%CI), 1.06–2.27; P=0.024) and the primary endpoint (aHR, 1.43; 95%CI, 1.11–1.85; P=0.006). Patients with high aldosterone concentrations were at higher risk of concentric remodeling (adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 1.45; 95% CI, 1.03–2.04; P=0.034). Patients with high aldosterone and B-type natriuretic peptide concentrations were at a higher risk of the primary endpoint (hazard ratio (HR), 1.85; 95%CI, 1.29–2.66; P=0.001). We conclude that elevated aldosterone is associated with a risk of rehospitalization with HF and all-cause mortality in patients with HFpEF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central sensitization is an important pathophysiological mechanism of chronic migraine (CM), and microglia activation in trigeminocervical complex (TCC) contributes to the development of central sensitization. Emerging evidence implicates that blocking sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) can relieve the development of chronic pain and inhibit the activation of microglia. However, it is unclear whether S1PR1 is involved in the central sensitization of CM. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the role of S1PR1 and its downstream signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway in the CM, mainly in inflammation. Methods: Chronic intermittent intraperitoneal injection of nitroglycerin (NTG) established a mouse model of CM. First, we observed the changes and subcellular localization of S1PR1 in the trigeminocervical complex (TCC). Then, W146, a S1PR1 antagonist; SEW2871, a S1PR1 agonist; AG490, a STAT3 inhibitor were applied by intraperitoneal injection to investigate the related molecular mechanism. The changes in the number of microglia and the expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and c-fos in the TCC site were explored by immunofluorescence. In addition, we studied the effect of S1PR1 inhibitors on STAT3 in lipopolysaccharide-treated BV-2 microglia. Results: Our results showed that the expression of S1PR1 was increased after NTG injection and S1PR1 was colocalized with in neurons and glial cells in the TCC. The S1PR1 antagonist W146 alleviated NTG-induced hyperalgesia and suppressed the upregulation of CGRP, c-fos and pSTAT3 in the TCC. Importantly, blocking S1PR1 reduced activation of microglia. In addition, we found that inhibiting STAT3 signal also attenuated NTG-induced basal mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia. Conclusions: Our results indicate that inhibiting S1PR1 signal could alleviate central sensitization and inhibit microglia activity caused by chronic NTG administration via STAT3 signal pathway, which provide a new clue for the clinical treatment of CM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diamond films with different grain sizes in the range of ~ 9 nm to ~ 50 μm have been deposited on silicon substrates using a homemade microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition reactor by varying the deposition parameters. The surface morphologies have been examined by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope, which show the secondary nucleation intensity and surface defects of the diamond films increase with the decrease of the diamond grain size. Although X-ray diffraction spectra show the absence of graphitic carbon features, the Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show the sp2/sp3-bonded carbon ratios increase with the decrease of the diamond grains. The CH4 percentage in plasma during deposition plays a crucial role in the formation of diamond films with different grain sizes and sp2 contents, which in turn determines the electron field emission behavior of the corresponding diamond films. The smaller the grain size of the diamond, the higher is the grain boundary density, which can provide more electron emission sites and form conductive networks for electron transport. The ultra-nanocrystalline diamond film shows needle-like cluster structures and optimum electrical performance. The corresponding electron field emission behavior can be turned on at a field of 6.71 V/μm and attain a current density of 16.28 μA/cm2 at an applied field of 11.31 V/μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the biodiversity of freshwater environments has decreased sharply due to anthropogenic disturbances that damaged ecosystem structures and functions. Habitat restoration has emerged as an important method to mitigate the degradation of river ecosystems. Although in many cases a post-project monitoring has been promoted to access the restoration progress, it is still unclear how aquatic community changes following river habitat restoration in China. Macroinvertebrate communities intermediately positioned within ecosystem food webs play a key role in ecosystem processes within river ecosystem, driving energy flow and nutrient cycling. Here, benthic macroinvertebrates are used as bio-indicators to assess the ecosystem health of degraded urban rivers, restored urban rivers, and undisturbed rivers. This study aims to determine (i) how habitat restoration influences macroinvertebrates diversity and how this compared to degraded and reference conditions; (ii) how did macroinvertebrate community compositions differ in restored, degraded, and reference sites; and (iii) the environmental factors shaping macroinvertebrate communities. Habitat restoration significantly increased the diversity and richness of macroinvertebrate community and intolerant species and shifted the community composition towards reference status. Habitat characteristics and water chemistry, including substrate diversity, water velocity, and both nutrients (TN) and organic pollutants (TOC), appeared to shape the turnover of these communities. Habitat characteristics contributed to most of the variation of the entire macroinvertebrate community. Our research indicates that habitat restoration is an efficient approach to restore the aquatic community and hence improve river ecosystem health for freshwater conservation and sustainable management in Zhejiang province. This study strengthens our understanding of the changes of macroinvertebrate community after habitat restoration and important controlling variables that attribute to these changes, which provides an important guidance for future freshwater management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distributions of tripartite quantum information (including entanglement, discord-like correlation and coherence) with orbital angular momentum states in non-Kolmogorov turbulent atmosphere are investigated. We introduce two exactly computable measures for tripartite discord-like correlation and tripartite coherence by consider the geometric mean of bipartite quantities. For illustration, we consider Laguerre–Gaussian beams to explore the propagations of typical tripartite states (the W state and GHZ state) and find that the decay of tripartite quantum information is qualitatively distinct from that of bipartite quantum information. It also shown that tripartite quantum information is almost insensitive to the outer scale parameter while the decay can be slowed down with a larger inner scale parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central sensitization is one of the characters of chronic migraine (CM). Aberrant synaptic plasticity can induce central sensitization. Oxytocin (OT), which is a hypothalamic hormone, plays an important antinociceptive role. However, the antinociceptive effect of OT and the underlying mechanism in CM remains unclear. Therefore, we explored the effect of OT on central sensitization in CM and its implying mechanism, focusing on synaptic plasticity. Methods: A CM mouse model was established by repeated intraperitoneal injection of nitroglycerin (NTG). Von Frey filaments and radiant heat were used to measure the nociceptive threshold. Repeated intranasal OT and intraperitoneal L368,899, an oxytocin receptor (OTR) antagonist, were administered to investigate the effect of OT and the role of OTR. The expression of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and c-fos were measured to assess central sensitization. N-methyl D-aspartate receptor subtype 2B (NR2B)-regulated synaptic-associated proteins and synaptic plasticity were explored by western blot (WB), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and Golgi-Cox staining. Results: Our results showed that the OTR expression in the trigeminal nucleus caudalis (TNC) of CM mouse was significantly increased, and OTR was colocalized with the postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD-95) in neurons. Repeated intranasal OT alleviated the NTG-induced hyperalgesia and prevented central sensitization in CM mouse. Additionally, the OT treatment inhibited the overexpression of phosphorylated NR2B and synaptic-associated proteins including PSD-95, synaptophysin-1 (syt-1), and synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (snap25) in the TNC of CM mouse and restored the abnormal synaptic structure. The protective effect of OT was prevented by L368,899. Furthermore, the expression of adenylyl cyclase 1 (AC1)/ protein kinase A (PKA)/ phosphorylation of cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein (pCREB) pathway was depressed by OT and restored by L368,899. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate that repeated intranasal OT eliminates central sensitization by regulating synaptic plasticity via OTR in CM. The effect of OT has closely associated with the down-regulation of AC1/PKA/pCREB signaling pathway, which is activated in CM model. Repeated intranasal OT may be a potential candidate for CM prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation performance of PDP (policy decision point), especially in large-scale policy sets, is one of the most significant challenges in XACML (eXtensible Access Control Markup Language). With high time-consuming and extensive storage policies, large-scale policy sets are becoming more complicated when their evaluation performance need to be improved. Based on numericalization and batch processing, a new locomotive algorithm is proposed to design and implement a novel policy evaluation engine called XDPNBE that can efficiently deal with large-scale policy sets and make authorization decisions in multiple circumstances. XDPNBE enables efficient decisions within an attributed-based access control framework that has a strong promotion of evaluation performance. By simulating requests, XDPNBE is compared with the Sun PDP, XEngine, HPEngine and SBA-XACML. Experimental results show that if the number of requests reaches 10,000, the evaluation time of XDPNBE on the large-scale policy set with 120,000 rules is approximately 0.21%, 4.69%, 5.67% and 9.66% of that of the Sun PDP, XEngine, HPEngine and SBA-XACML, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coal fly ash produced by gasification is estimated to be over 80 million ton per year in China by 2021. It has mainly been disposed as solid waste by landfill. There is lack of study focused on its utilization. In this paper, the coal fly ash produced by gasification was at first analyzed and then applied to synthesize zeolite as an adsorbent. The effects of synthesis conditions on the cation exchange capacity (CEC) of zeolite were investigated. The results from X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope indicated that the crystallinity of the synthesized zeolite is the most important factor to affect the CEC. When the synthesized zeolite with the highest CEC (275.5 meq/100 g) was used for the adsorption of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution, the maximum adsorption capacity for Cr(VI) was found to be 17.924 mg/g. The effects of pH, contact time and initial concentration on the adsorption of Cr(VI) were also investigated. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms can be well described by the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir isotherm model, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]