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Single-atom nanozyme (SAzyme) is the hot topic of the current nanozyme research. Its intrinsic properties, such as high activity, stability, and low cost, present great substitutes to natural enzymes. Moreover, its fundamental characteristics, i.e., maximized atom utilizations and well-defined geometric and electronic structures, lead to higher catalytic activities and specificity than traditional nanozymes. SAzymes have been applied in many biomedical areas, such as anti-tumor therapy, biosensing, antibiosis, and anti-oxidation therapy. Here, we will discuss a series of representative examples of SAzymes categorized by their biomedical applications in this review. In the end, we will address the future opportunities and challenges SAzymes facing in their designs and applications.

To evaluate the clinical performance of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based motion correction (MC) reconstruction algorithm for cerebral CT.A total of 53 cases, where motion artifacts were found in the first scan so that an immediate rescan was taken, were retrospectively enrolled. While the rescanned images were reconstructed with a hybrid iterative reconstruction (IR) algorithm (reference group), images of the first scan were reconstructed with both the hybrid IR (motion group) and the MC algorithm (MC group). Image quality was compared in terms of standard deviation (SD), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), the mean squared error (MSE), peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM), and mutual information (MI), as well as subjective scores. The diagnostic performance for each case was evaluated accordingly by lesion detectability or the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) assessment.Compared with the motion group, the SNR and CNR of the MC group were significantly increased. The MSE, PSNR, SSIM, and MI with respect to the reference group were improved by 44.1%, 15.8%, 7.4%, and 18.3%, respectively (all p0.001). Subjective image quality indicators were scored higher for the MC than the motion group (p0.05). Improved lesion detectability and higher AUC (0.817 vs 0.614) in the ASPECTS assessment were found for the MC to the motion group.The AI-based MC reconstruction algorithm has been clinically validated for reducing motion artifacts and improving diagnostic performance of cerebral CT.• An artificial intelligence-based motion correction (MC) reconstruction algorithm has been clinically validated in both qualitative and quantitative manner. • The MC algorithm reduces motion artifacts in cerebral CT and increases the diagnostic confidence for brain lesions. • The MC algorithm can help avoiding rescans caused by motion and improving the efficiency of cerebral CT in the emergency department.

To investigate the therapeutic effect of Yixin Ningshen Tablet (YXNS) on comorbidity of myocardial infarction (MI) and depression in rats and explore the underlying mechanism.The Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups with 7 rats in each group according to their weights, including control, model, fluoxetine (FLXT, 10 mg/kg), low-dose YXNS (LYXNS, 100 mg/kg), and high-dose YXNS (HYXNS, 300 mg/kg) groups. All rats were pretreated with corresponding drugs for 12 weeks. The rat model of MI and depression was constructed by ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery and chronic mild stress stimulation. The echocardiography, sucrose preference test, open field test, and forced swim test were performed. Myocardial infarction (MI) area and myocardial apoptosis was also detected. Serum levels of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), corticosterone (CORT), and norepinephrine (NE) were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The proteins of adenosine 5'-monophosphate -activated protein kinase (AMPK), p-AMPK, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC-1α), and nuclear respiratory factor 1 (NRF1) in heart were detected by Western blot analysis. The expression levels of TNF-α, IL-6, indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO1), kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), and kynureninase (KYNU) in hippocampus were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.Compared with the model group, the cardiac function of rats treated with YXNS improved significantly (P0.01). Meanwhile, YXNS effectively reduced MI size and cardiomyocytes apoptosis of rats (P0.01 or P0.05), promoted AMPK phosphorylation, and increased PGC-1α protein expression (P0.01 or P0.05). HYXNS significantly increased locomotor activity of rats, decreased the levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β, and increased the serum levels of 5-HT, NE, ACTH, and CORT (all P0.05). Moreover, HYXNS decreased the mRNA expressions of IDO1, KMO and KYNU (P0.05).YXNS can relieve MI by enhancing myocardial energy metabolism. Meanwhile, YXNS can alleviate depression by resisting inflammation and increasing availability of monoamine neurotransmitters. It may be used as a potential drug to treat comorbidity of MI and depression.

It is critical to understand factors associated with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) metastasis. To track the evolutionary route of metastasis, here we perform an integrative genomic analysis of 163 matched blood and primary, regional lymph node metastasis and distant metastasis tumour samples, combined with single-cell RNA-seq on 11 samples from two patients. The mutation burden, gene mutation frequency, mutation signature, and copy number frequency are similar between metastatic tumours and primary and regional lymph node tumours. There are two distinct evolutionary routes of metastasis, including metastases evolved from regional lymph nodes (lymphatic route, 61.5%, 8/13) and from primary tumours (hematogenous route, 38.5%, 5/13). The hematogenous route is characterised by higher IFN-γ response gene expression and a higher fraction of exhausted CD8+ T cells. Based on a radiomics model, we find that the hematogenous group has significantly better progression-free survival and PD-1 immunotherapy response, while the lymphatic group has a better response to locoregional radiotherapy.

Background In 2021, a once-in-a-century heavy rainstorm suddenly attacked Zhengzhou, an important inland city in northern China. However, there have been no studies on the psychological health of disaster-stricken residents. This study is the first to comprehensively report on the mental health status and related factors of local ordinary residents after the heavy rainstorm. Objective The purpose of this study is to investigate the mental health status and related influencing factors of local ordinary residents after the flood disaster, and to provide reference for government departments to formulate disaster psychological intervention countermeasures based on evidence-driven strategies. Methods The snowball sampling technique was used in this study, and measurement tools of Rainstorm Exposure Questionnaire, Subjective Perception of Rainstorm, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-Civilian version (PCL-C), Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DAS-21) and Chinese version of Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) were used to evaluate the rainstorm exposure, subjective perception of the rainstorm, psychological symptoms and social support of the disaster-stricken residents within a week after the rainstorm. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the psychological status and related factors of local residents after the rainstorm disaster. Results A total of 469 valid samples were obtained in this study. All the subjects were in the disaster area and experienced the rainstorm personally, with normal intelligence. The statistical results showed that 25.37% people had experienced at least three rainstorm-related stresses, nearly 20.26% people had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and 39.3%, 53.92% and 65.83% people had depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that female (all p p p p p p p p p p p p p p Conclusions Rainstorm could cause local residents to have various degrees of psychological symptoms. This study identified factors associated with the psychological health of disaster-stricken residents, which could be used to develop psychological interventions in improving psychological health of local residents.

Under consideration is a $$(2+1)$$ ( 2 + 1 ) -dimensional spin nonisospectral Myrzakulov-Lakshmanan-IV (ML-IV) equation, which has close relation with the celebrated nonlinear Schrödinger equation. In the first place we study the modulational instability (MI) for this equation and deduce its formation mechanism for diverse localized waves from the plane wave background. Secondly, in view of the known nonisospectral Lax pair of this equation, we first successfully extend the generalized $$(n, N-n)$$ ( n , N - n ) -fold Darboux Transformation (DT) from $$(1+1)$$ ( 1 + 1 ) -dimensional equation to this $$(2+1)$$ ( 2 + 1 ) -dimensional equation. As an application of the resulting DT, we derive some location controllable dark and bright lump, periodic wave and mixed breather-lump solutions, it is shown that the position of these localized waves can be controlled by some special parameters, so that we can move them to the positions we want. Especially, the dynamical behaviors of these localized waves are illustrated graphically. These results may have potential value for the study of applied ferromagnetism and nano magnetism.

Developing artificial enzymes with the excellent catalytic performance of natural enzymes has been a long-standing goal for chemists. Single-atom catalysts with well-defined atomic structure and electronic coordination environments can effectively mimic natural enzymes. Here, we report an engineered FeN3P-centred single-atom nanozyme (FeN3P-SAzyme) that exhibits comparable peroxidase-like catalytic activity and kinetics to natural enzymes, by controlling the electronic structure of the single-atom iron active centre through the precise coordination of phosphorus and nitrogen. In particular, the engineered FeN3P-SAzyme, with well-defined geometric and electronic structures, displays catalytic performance that is consistent with Michaelis–Menten kinetics. We rationalize the origin of the high enzyme-like activity using density functional theory calculations. Finally, we demonstrate that the developed FeN3P-SAzyme with superior peroxidase-like activity can be used as an effective therapeutic strategy for inhibiting tumour cell growth in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, SAzymes show promising potential for developing artificial enzymes that have the catalytic kinetics of natural enzymes. Nanozymes can provide cost and stability advantages over natural enzymes, but they usually display low catalytic activity and inferior kinetics. Now, a highly active nanozyme is developed that shows comparable kinetics to horseradish peroxidase in the oxidation of a commonly used artificial substrate.

In this work, an effective hybrid strategy was developed for tandem conversion of biomass to furfurylamine with tin-based solid acid Sn-Maifanitum stone and recombinant Escherichia coli whole cells harboring ω-transaminase. 90.3 mM furfural was obtained from corncob (75 g/L) at 170 °C for 0.5 h over Sn-Maifanitum stone catalyst (3.5 wt%) in the aqueous media (pH 1.0), which could be further bioconverted into furfurylamine at 74.0% yield (based on biomass-derived furfural) within 20.5 h. Finally, an efficient recycling and reuse of Sn-Maifanitum stone catalyst and immobilized Escherichia coli AT2018 whole-cell biocatalyst was developed for the synthesis of furfurylamine from biomass in the one-pot reaction system.

Aiming to develop an effective catalytic process for utilizing biomass, conversion of corncob into furfural was firstly performed using tin-loaded bentonite (Sn-BTN) as solid acid catalyst. Corncob was pretreated with Sn-BTN (3.5 wt%) for producing furfural at 53.3% yield in methyl isobutyl ketone-water (5:5, v:v; pH 1.0) biphasic media within 0.5 h at 170 °C. Furthermore, an efficient Sn-BTN recycling was achieved after 5 cycles of repeated use. Finally, furoic acid was obtained at 53.3% yield from corncob via sequential catalysis with solid acid Sn-BTN and Brevibacterium lutescens whole cells harboring furfural-oxidizing activity in methyl isobutyl ketone-H2O (5:5, v:v) media was developed under the relatively mild conditions. Clearly, this hybrid strategy for the synthesis of furoic acid from biomass was successfully developed via tandem catalysis of corncob with Tin-loaded bentonite and Brevibacterium lutescens whole-cell.

We have performed sound velocity and unit cell volume measurements of three synthetic, ultrafine micro/nanocrystalline grossular samples up to 50 GPa using Brillouin spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction. The samples are characterized by average grain sizes of 90 nm, 93 nm and 179 nm (hereinafter referred to as samples Gr90, Gr93, and Gr179, respectively). The experimentally determined sound velocities and elastic properties of Gr179 sample are comparable with previous measurements, but slightly higher than those of Gr90 and Gr93 under ambient conditions. However, the differences diminish with increasing pressure, and the velocity crossover eventually takes place at approximately 20–30 GPa. The X-ray diffraction peaks of the ultrafine micro/nanocrystalline grossular samples significantly broaden between 15–40 GPa, especially for Gr179. The velocity or elasticity crossover observed at pressures over 30 GPa might be explained by different grain size reduction and/or inhomogeneous strain within the individual grains for the three grossular samples, which is supported by both the pressure-induced peak broadening observed in the X-ray diffraction experiments and transmission electron microscopy observations. The elastic behavior of ultrafine micro/nanocrystalline silicates, in this case, grossular, is both grain size and pressure dependent.

The neutron capture cross section of $$^{197}\hbox {Au}$$ was measured using the time-of-flight (TOF) technique at the Back-n facility of the China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) in the 1 eV to 100 keV range. Prompt $$\gamma $$ -rays originating from neutron-induced capture events were detected by four C $$_{6}$$ D $$_{6}$$ liquid scintillator detectors. Pulse height weighting technology (PHWT) was used to analyze the data. The results are in good agreement with ENDF/B-VIII.0, CENDL-3.1, and other evaluated libraries in the resonance region, and in agreement with both n $$\_$$ TOF and GELINA experimental data in the 5–100 keV range. Finally, the resonance peaks in the energy range from 1 eV to 1 keV were fitted by the SAMMY R-matrix code.

The practical application of solid polymer electrolytes in high-energy Li metal batteries is hindered by Li dendrites, electrochemical instability and insufficient ion conductance. To address these issues, flexible composite polymer electrolyte (CPE) membranes with three dimensional (3D) aramid nanofiber (ANF) frameworks are facilely fabricated by filling polyethylene oxide (PEO)-lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulphonyl)imide (LiTFSI) electrolyte into 3D ANF scaffolds. Because of the unique composite structure design and the continuous ion conduction at the 3D ANF framework/PEO-LiTFSI interfaces, the CPE membranes show higher mechanical strength (10.0 MPa), thermostability, electrochemical stability (4.6 V at 60°C) and ionic conductivity than the pristine PEO-LiTFSI electrolyte. Thus, the CPEs display greatly improved interfacial stability against Li dendrites (≥1000 h at 30°C under 0.10 mA cm−2 ), compared with the pristine electrolyte (short circuit in 13 h). The CPE-based all-solid-state LiFePO4/Li cells also exhibit superior cycling performance (e.g., 130 mA h g−1 with 93% retention after 100 cycles at 0.4 C) than the ANF-free cells (e.g., 82 mA h g−1 with 66% retention). This work offers a simple and effective way to achieve high-performance composite electrolyte membranes with 3D nanofiller framework for promising solid-state Li metal battery applications.

Spectral classification and particular spectra identification are primary tasks for celestial object study in astronomy. With the developing of large spectrographic surveys, huge volumes of spectral data can be easily obtained and various data mining methods have been widely applied to assist astronomers for automatic spectral analysis. In this paper, we review these methods in detail and analyze their advantages as well as disadvantages. Moreover, experimental results of the representative methods are reported and discussed from different perspectives, including number of training and testing samples, feature extraction scheme, classifier selection and performance evaluation. Finally, we point out the existing problems and the potential research trend.

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture results in thrombus formation and vessel occlusion, and is the leading cause of death worldwide. There is a pressing need to identify plaque vulnerability for the treatment of carotid and coronary artery diseases. Nanomaterials with enzyme-like properties have attracted significant interest by providing biological, diagnostic and prognostic information about the diseases. Here we showed that bioengineered magnetoferritin nanoparticles (M-HFn NPs) functionally mimic peroxidase enzyme and can intrinsically recognize plaque-infiltrated active macrophages, which drive atherosclerotic plaque progression and rupture and are significantly associated with the plaque vulnerability. The M-HFn nanozymes catalyze the oxidation of colorimetric substrates to give a color reaction that visualizes the recognized active macrophages for one-step pathological identification of plaque vulnerability. We examined 50 carotid endarterectomy specimens from patients with symptomatic carotid disease and demonstrated that the M-HFn nanozymes could distinguish active macrophage infiltration in ruptured and high-risk plaque tissues, and M-HFn staining displayed a significant correlation with plaque vulnerability (r = 0.89, P < 0.0001).

Porphyrin, as a planar macrocyclic molecule, extensively exists naturally in plants and animals and plays an important role in life activities. Normally, porphyrin exists in the form of nanostructures/aggregations through molecular self-assembly. Thus, it is of great interest for tuning nanostructures, understanding mechanisms, and exploring the diverse applications. In this issue, we present articles covering the synthesis and formation mechanisms of porphyrin nanostructures by self-assembly methods and their applications in solar-energy harvesting, water splitting, environmental pollutant reduction, and nanomedicine for tumor therapy. These articles present the recent developments and potential research directions of this field, and we hope they will interest and inspire readers to enter this growing field.

In this paper, the effects of vanadium addition on the mechanical properties of Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr amorphous ribbons with high spinning speed were studied. It was found that the mechanical properties of samples were obvious promoted by adding vanadium into Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr amorphous alloys. The rapidly solidified Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr (V = 0, V = 0.1) ribbons at a speed of 45 m/s is an amorphous structure. But the amorphous structure of Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr-V alloys is even more uniform than that of the V-free alloys samples. In particular, Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr-V amorphous ribbons showed better mechanical properties that the tensile strength ( $$\sigma_{b}$$ ) of the amorphous ribbons samples that had been significantly increased from 542 MPa for V = 0–675 MPa for V = 0.1. The elongation (δ) exhibited a tiny increase from 1.1% for V = 0–1.29% for V = 0.1. The fractured surface of amorphous ribbons for V = 0 showed more cleavage features, it was the obviously brittle fracture. The fracture surface for amorphous ribbons for V = 0 were more vein-like patterns, they are attributed to a local change of viscosity. It’s likely that adding V into Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr amorphous alloys is beneficial to enhance rheological units and massive accumulation of free volume in ribbons. It contributes to mechanical properties, especially for the tensile strength and the plastic deformation of the amorphous ribbons.

Nanozymes are nanomaterials exhibiting intrinsic enzyme-like characteristics that have increasingly attracted attention, owing to their high catalytic activity, low cost and high stability. This combination of properties has enabled a broad spectrum of applications, ranging from biological detection assays to disease diagnosis and biomedicine development. Since the intrinsic peroxidase activity of Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) was first reported in 2007, >40 types of nanozymes have been reported that possess peroxidase-, oxidase-, haloperoxidase- or superoxide dismutase-like catalytic activities. Given the complex interdependence of the physicochemical properties and catalytic characteristics of nanozymes, it is important to establish a standard by which the catalytic activities and kinetics of various nanozymes can be quantitatively compared and that will benefit the development of nanozyme-based detection and diagnostic technologies. Here, we first present a protocol for measuring and defining the catalytic activity units and kinetics for peroxidase nanozymes, the most widely used type of nanozyme. In addition, we describe the detailed experimental procedures for a typical nanozyme strip-based biological detection test and demonstrate that nanozyme-based detection is repeatable and reliable when guided by the presented nanozyme catalytic standard. The catalytic activity and kinetics assays for a nanozyme can be performed within 4 h.

In the present paper, we introduce Stancu type Bernstein–Schurer polynomials and their Kantorovich variants. The exact order of simultaneous approximation and Voronovaskaja-type results with quantitative estimate for analytic functions in compact disks are obtained. Our results improve those of Anastassiou and Gal (Comput Math Appl 58:734–743, 2009).

A study was undertaken to determine the effects of several key geometry influencing factors on the impact response and energy absorption behavior of the glass fibre reinforced epoxy composites at low and intermediate energies. The energy-balance model was employed for characterising the energy absorption behavior and it depends strongly on the plate diameter and thickness. In addition, the damage vs. energy and force maps is effective in monitoring damage growth within the composite panel. The response of the composite laminate configurations characterized by different stacking sequences subjected to low velocity impacts with different impact energies have also been studied to estimate the damage initiation of composites.

The atomic-scale structural evolution and crystallization mechanism of Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr amorphous ribbons subjected to hydrogen absorption have been studied. The atomic degree of order and amount of one-dimensional (1D), two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) ordered atomic packing structure of Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr amorphous ribbons were found to increase in the process of hydrogen absorption, resulting in excellent mechanical and hydrogen absorption properties. When the hydrogen absorption capacity reached 22.4 mL/g, crystallization occurred on the basis of 1D, 2D or 3D ordered atomic packing structure. Hydrogen atom induced Ti-Zr-Ni-Cr amorphous ribbons to crystallize into ZrH2, TiH2 hydride and (ZrTi)2Ni7 phases during the process of hydrogen absorption. When the samples absorbed hydrogen for a long time, formation of crystalline phases of ZrH2, TiH2 hydride and (ZrTi)2Ni7 led to degraded mechanical properties.

In the present paper, we introduce two kinds of complex Bernstein–Stancu polynomials and complex Kantorovich–Stancu polynomials in movable compact disks. Their approximation properties for analytic functions in the movable compact disks are considered.

An error appeared in our paper entitled “Enhanced Biosynthesis of Furoic Acid via the Effective Pretreatment of Corncob into Furfural in the Biphasic Media” published in Catalysis Letters. Unfortunately, there are some mistakes in the values and equation in the Sect. 2.3 Conversion of Corncob to FAL and in Table 2.

A novel micro-vibration sensitive-type high-damping Al matrix composites reinforced with Li7-xLa3Zr2-xNbxO12 (LLZNO, x = 0.25) was designed and prepared using an advanced spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The damping capacity and mechanical properties of LLZNO/Al composites (LLZNO content: 0-40 wt.%) were found to be greatly improved by the LLZNO addition. The maximum damping capacity and the ultimate tensile strength (UTS) of LLZNO/Al composite can be respectively up to 0.033 and 101.2 MPa in the case of 20 wt.% LLZNO addition. The enhancement of damping and mechanical properties of the composites was ascribed to the intrinsic high-damping capacity and strengthening effects of hard LLZNO particulate. This investigation provides a new insight to sensitively suppress micro-vibration of payloads in the aerospace environment.

In the present paper, we introduce a kind of complex Durrmeyer type Bernstein–Stancu polynomials in movable disks. Approximation properties by the new polynomials for analytic functions in the movable compact disks are considered.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and is the second leading cause of cancer mortality in women worldwide. Novel therapies and chemo-therapeutic drugs are urgently needed to be developed for the treatment of breast cancer. Increasing evidence suggests that fatty acid synthase (FAS) plays an important role in breast cancer, for the expression of FAS is significantly higher in human breast cancer cells than in normal cells. Tannic acid (TA), a natural polyphenol, possesses significant biological functions, including bacteriostasis, hemostasis, and anti-oxidant. Our previous studies demonstrated that TA is a natural FAS inhibitor whose inhibitory activity is stronger than that of classical FAS inhibitors, such as C75 and cerulenin. This study further assessed the effect and therapeutic potential of TA on FAS over-expressed breast cancer cells, and as a result, TA had been proven to possess the functions of inhibiting intracellular FAS activity, down-regulating FAS expression in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 cells, and inducing cancer cell apoptosis. Since high-expressed FAS is recognized as a molecular marker for breast cancer and plays an important role in cancer prognosis, these findings suggest that TA is a potential drug candidate for treatment of breast cancer.

Analytical spatiotemporal soliton solutions of the coupled nonlinear Schrodinger equation are derived in the (3 $$+$$ 1)-dimensional inhomogeneous $$\mathcal {PT}$$ -symmetric nonlinear couplers by means of the Hirota bilinear method. Based on these analytical solutions, we construct abundant spatiotemporal soliton structures and discuss the expansion and compression behaviors of spatiotemporal soliton structures in a periodic modulation system.

Long-acting somatostatin analogs (SSAs) are most widely used to treat growth hormone (GH)-secreting pituitary adenoma. However, approximately 30 % of treated patients show resistance to SSAs, which may be associated with the reduction of somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2) mRNA and protein expression. The present study used immunohistochemistry to detect the expression of SSTR2 and SSTR5 in twenty human GH-secreting adenoma samples treated with SSAs and seven normal pituitary samples. The staining intensities of SSTR2 and SSTR5 were stronger in most adenoma samples than in normal pituitary. The expression of SSTR2 tended to be lower in the SSA non-responder group than in responders. A search of the Bioinformatics data bank and the miRCURY™ LNA array confirmed miR-185 as the putative mircoRNA (miRNA) regulating the expression of SSTR2. An in vitro study using Dual Luciferase reporter assay demonstrated that miR-185 likely targets the 3′-UTR of SSTR2 mRNA in the rat pituitary adenoma GH3 cell line. MiR-185 also downregulated or upregulated the expression of SSTR2 mRNA and SSTR2 protein, following transfection with miR-185 mimics or inhibitors, respectively. MiR-185 enhanced the cell proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of GH3 cells.

Dietary spices have been adopted in cooking since ancient times to enhance flavor and also as food preservatives and disease remedies. In China, the use of spices and other aromatic plants as food flavoring is an integral part of dietary behavior, but relatively little is known about their functions. Fatty acid synthase (FAS) has been recognized as a remedy target, and its inhibitors might be applied in disease treatment. The present work was designed to assess the inhibitory activities on FAS of spices extracts in Chinese menu. The in vitro inhibitory activities on FAS of 22 extracts of spices were assessed by spectrophotometrically monitoring oxidation of NADPH at 340 nm. Results showed that 20 spices extracts (90.9 %) exhibited inhibitory activities on FAS, with half inhibition concentration (IC(50)) values ranging from 1.72 to 810.7 μg/ml. Among them, seven spices showed strong inhibitory effect with IC(50) values lower than 10 μg/ml. These findings suggest that a large proportion of the dietary spices studied possess promising inhibitory activities on FAS, and subsequently might be applied in the treatment of obesity and obesity-related human diseases.

SOX9 gene encodes a transcription factor essential for a central role in the development and differentiation of multiple cell lineages, such as in neurogenesis, neural crest development, etc. Recent study reported that overexpression of SOX9 mRNA is closely associated with poor clinical outcome of patients with malignant gliomas. In the present study, we have explored the regulatory role of SOX9 in glioma metastasis. To investigate the role of SOX9 in glioma metastasis, SOX9 overexpressed in human glioma cell line U251 on cell migration and invasion was evaluated via wound scratch, Transwell assay without or with Matrigel. SOX9-induced changes in EMT process were evaluated by Western blot. Furthermore, the role of β-catenin in the regulatory effect of SOX9 on cell migration and invasion, and EMT process was explored by suppressing β-catenin expression in SOX9-overexpressed U251 cells. SOX9 overexpression in U251 cells resulted in a significant increase in cell migration and invasion. SOX9 overexpression also markedly promoted the EMT process. More importantly, our results revealed that SOX9 stimulated metastasis through activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling. In summary, this study indicated that the promoting effect of SOX9 on glioma metastasis was, at least in part, through Wnt/β-catenin signaling. The findings in this study highlight the effectiveness and therapeutic potential to utilize SOX9 targeted strategies in the treatment of glioma.

Selection for maintainer lines using molecular markers that distinguish genotypes at the male restorer-of-fertility (Ms) locus would improve the efficiency of breeding F1 hybrids. Here, we developed a multiplex PCR-based co-dominant marker (AcSKP1) in complete linkage disequilibrium with the Ms locus in onion through allele mining and demonstrated its robustness and utility in marker-assisted selection. F1890, the 5′ flanking sequence of F1527, was obtained from male-fertility-restored line 12–12 by genome walking. S1887, homologous sequence of F1890, was acquired from male-sterile line 118. The coding sequences of F1890 and S1887 were predicted by FGENESH and BLASTP to encode putative S-phase kinase-associated protein 1 (SKP1). These were designated as AcSKP1 and have been deposited in GenBank (KM065384 and KM065385). On the basis of the alignment results for the AcSKP1 gene between F1890 and S1887, four compatible primers (FU898, FD898, SU628, and SD628) were selected to develop a multiplex PCR-based co-dominant marker, AcSKP1, which was established in 25 breeding lines, seven hybrid cultivars, one F2 population, two BC1 populations, and four open-pollinated (OP) populations. Linkage disequilibrium among the Ms locus and AcSKP1 and jnurf05 markers was evaluated using the F2 population. There was no recombination between the Ms locus and AcSKP1, and only 0.049 % recombination between AcSKP1 and jnurf05. Subsequently, the AcSKP1 marker was applied to directly select maintainer individuals from four OP populations with different genetic backgrounds. The results detected by the AcSKP1 marker perfectly predicted the genotypes at the Ms locus in the four OP populations according to the phenotypes of testcross progenies.

Although aggressive therapeutic regimen has been applied in the treatment of Glioblastoma (GBM), the prognosis of patients with GBM remains poor. Preclinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy of Suntinib in GBM both in vitro and in vivo. In this study, we showed that the cytotoxicity was enhanced by transfection with miR-145 mimic. In addition, we suggested that the enhanced cytotoxicity of Sunitinib by miR-145 mimic was mediated by inhibition of both P-gp and Bcrp.

A novel e-HNIW-based explosive formula with low sensitive and high energy was developed by systematically researching the processes of recrystallization, granularity gradation, and coating of e-HNIW and option of energetic deterrents. The grain size and morphology of HNIW crystals were modified by solvent/antisolvent recrystallization. The e-HNIW particles were graded and coated by emulsion polymerization method with 551 glue. The binder reduced the mechanical sensitivity of e-HNIW significantly and showed good compatibility with e-HNIW, but also weakened the decomposition enthalpy. With the purpose of developing new energetic deterrents in insensitive high explosive formulations, novel carbon materials graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were prepared and incorporated in plastic-bonded explosive (PBX) formulations. For comparison, the effects of conventional deterrent flake graphite were also involved. It turned out that the mechanical sensitivities of e-HNIW/551 glue have all reduced to some extent with the incorporation of graphite, GO, and rGO. Flake graphite induced the PBX decompose earlier slightly and weaken the heat output. The addition of GO resulted in noticeable antedating decomposition of e-HNIW/551 glue although remarkably increased the decomposition heat. The formula of e-HNIW/551 glue/rGO provided a moderate growth in decomposition heat and best thermal stability. In slow cook-off tests, the formulas of e-HNIW/551 glue and e-HNIW/551 glue/rGO showed good thermal stability and might be qualified to apply safely under 200 °C. Comprehensively considering the mechanical sensitivity, thermals stability, energy performance, and practical application, e-HNIW/551 glue/rGO is supposed to be an eligible insensitive high-energy PBX formula.

A data set of phytoplankton community and environmental parameters in a hydrological integrity period, i.e. a poor water term, a medium term and a rich water term of North Temperate Zone climate, was analyzed in order to describe seasonal variation of phytoplankton community and its relationship with environmental variables in the Zhalong Wetland of China. The algal population of the Zhalong Wetland was not abundant, with a mean density of 5.08 × 107 cell/L (ranged from 4.54 × 107 cell/L in a poor term to 5.56 × 107 cell/L a medium term). However, its diversity was essentially limited to Cryptophyta, Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Euglenophyta being the group with highest densities. There were considerable seasonal variations in phytoplankton composition. In general, the dominance of Bacillariophyceae was found in a medium term, which was higher than the other period (p

The crack propagation and domain switching process around the indentation on the surface of barium titanate single crystal under the external electric field was investigated by atomic force microscope and polarized light microscope. The evolutions of domain switching and crack propagation were in-situ observed when a 90°a–c domain wall moved across the indentation which was driven by external electric field. The results show that the incompatible strain induced by domain switching in the residual stress zone around the indentation is the driving force of the anisotropic crack propagation. The crack propagation results in the changes of the fine domain stripes around the crack tip.

Properties of the interface between the filler and the matrix of a composite material draw research attention due to their contributions to the overall properties of the material, especially when the filler and the matrix differ significantly from each other. The work reported in this paper investigates the interface between amorphous carbon and a cross-linked synthetic natural rubber. The interface was experimentally simulated with the surfaces of a sputtering-coated carbon on a spherical Al2O3 tip and a flat synthetic natural rubber sample. Step-loading and pull-out tests with a micro-/nano-indentation instrument were conducted. Fully relaxation of the samples occurred during both test procedures. The penetration depth, applied load, and experimental time were recorded during each test. The Johnson–Kendall–Roberts theory was used to analyze the data at the initial point (step-loading) and the final surface separation point (pull-out) to obtain the initial equivalent modulus, infinite equivalent modulus, work of adhesion, and the average normal interfacial strength at separation. It is found that the pull-out force and the work of adhesion depend on the unloading rate, but the infinite equivalent modulus and the average interfacial strength in the normal direction of the carbon–rubber interfaces are independent of the unloading rate in current experimental domain.

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has evolved as an important technique to coat conformal protective thin films on cathode and anode particles of lithium ion batteries to enhance their electrochemical performance. Coating a conformal, conductive and optimal ultrathin film on cathode particles has significantly increased the capacity retention and cycle life as demonstrated in our previous work. In this work, we have unearthed the synergetic effect of electrochemically active iron oxide films coating and partial doping of iron on LiMn1.5Ni0.5O4 (LMNO) particles. The ionic Fe penetrates into the lattice structure of LMNO during the ALD process. After the structural defects were saturated, the iron started participating in formation of ultrathin oxide films on LMNO particle surface. Owing to the conductive nature of iron oxide films, with an optimal film thickness of ~0.6 nm, the initial capacity improved by ~25% at room temperature and by ~26% at an elevated temperature of 55 °C at a 1C cycling rate. The synergy of doping of LMNO with iron combined with the conductive and protective nature of the optimal iron oxide film led to a high capacity retention (~93% at room temperature and ~91% at 55 °C) even after 1,000 cycles at a 1C cycling rate.

Cytoplasmic genetic male-sterility is used to produce hybrid onion (Allium cepa L.) seeds worldwide. In this paper, we present the results of research aimed toward identifying PCR-based markers linked to the Ms locus through amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). After screening 512 AFLP primer combinations, only one AFLP fragment was identified as being flanking linked to the dominant Ms allele. Subsequently, the AFLP marker was converted into a sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) marker, designated as DNF-566, co-segregated with the dominant Ms allele in first backcross (BC1) segregated populations. Furthermore, we designed another molecular marker (RNS-357) co-segregated with the ms allele to identify different genotypes (i.e., MsMs, Msms, or msms). Both markers could be used for evaluating onion lines with different genetic backgrounds (including male-sterile lines, maintainer lines, male-fertile lines, and commercial based F1 hybrid cultivars). The results of this study indicate that maintainer plants could be directly selected by using these 2 SCAR markers in the onion breeding process, and this may contribute significantly toward breeding onion F1 hybrid cultivars.

In order to optimize formulations of PBX based on Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane (HNIW) and meet the application in mixed explosive, the mold powder of HNIW coated by varied binders was obtained by aqueous suspension technology. Several particle sizes of graphite were added as additive with a 0.5 % mass ratio. The experiment results showed that fluorine resin (FPM) was better than polyurethane and cis-butadiene rubber when the mass percentage of binders was fixed at 4 %. The characteristic height of HNIW/FPM (96/4) mold powder was at 28 cm (2.5 kg hammer), while that of the neat HNIW was at 15 cm merely, and the friction explosion probability fell from 100 to 70 %. The addition of flake graphite with proper grain size would reduce the mechanical sensitivity of HNIW and improved the fluxion property of HNIW-based mold powders. The thermal stability characteristic of HNIW FPM (96/4) and HNIW/FPM/G (96/4/0.5) were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TG) at 10 °C min−1, the peak decomposition temperatures were at 251 and 250 °C, which were closed to that of neat HNIW(249 °C) and also identified superior thermal stability of compound.

We analyzed the genetic differences of 16 poplar clones between genomic-SSR and EST-SSR markers. The statistical results show that the average number of alleles detected by genomic-SSR was 4.1, Shannon’s index 1.0646, observed heterozygosity 0.4427 and expected heterozygosity 0.5523, while for the EST-SSR, the average number of alleles was 2.8, Shannon’s index 0.6985, observed heterozygosity 0.2330 and expected heterozygosity 0.4684. Cluster analysis indicated that the EST-SSR capacity of genotypic identification was more precise than that of genomic-SSR. These results reveal that EST-SSR and genomic-SSR have statistically significant genetic differences in polymorphism detection and genotypic identification. These differences could provide a theoretical basis for the rational use of SSR markers in species diversity and other related research.

Compared with the extensive research on logistics network infrastructures (LNIs) in the developed world, empirical research is still scarce in China. In this paper the theory of LNIs is firstly overviewed. Then a new evaluation index system for LNIs is set up which contains factors that reflect the economic development level, transportation accessibility and turnover volume of freight traffic. An empirical study is carried out by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and principal component analysis (PCA) approach to classify LNIs into 4 clusters for 25 cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China. According to the characteristics of the 4 clusters, suggestions are proposed for improving their LNIs. Finally, after comparing different LNIs of 25 cities in the Yangtze River Delta Region of China, this paper proposes that different LNIs including hub, central distribution center or cross docking center, regional distribution center or distribution center should be built reasonably in order to meet the customer’s requirement in the four different cluster cities.

Based on the environment characteristics of the Beibu Gulf of South China Sea, a quasi-three-dimensional physical model is built. By coupling the bottom boundary layer with the two-dimensional tidal current field near the seabed surface, the quasi-three-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical simulation is carried out. The sand wave migration process is dealt with by coupling the hydrodynamic model with the sediment transport model. The computational results are shown to be in good agreement with the observed data, which indicates that the quasi-three-dimensional physical model can be used to simulate the migration process for small scale sand waves. Then, based on measured data, the evolution of the sand wave migration is investigated. An effective formula is developed to predict the migration rate, in which not only the effects of the environment but also the features of sand waves are considered.