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To evaluate the influence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) induced by high fat diet (HFD) on prostate tissue and local inflammatory factors in rats model, and the protective efficacy of statins against pathological changes of prostate.40 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 subgroups of normal diet (ND), HFD blank, HFD + saline and HFD + simvastatin. After the establishment of models, all subjects were killed to obtain body weight serum lipid, FBG level, FINS and HOMA-IR level. Hyperplasia level of prostate, as well as expression level of interleukin 6 (IL-6), insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), interleukin 10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were also measured.Models have been successfully established. Level of serum lipid, prostatic weight, hyperplasia as well as expressions of IL-6, TNF-α and IGF-1 in the blank and saline subgroups of HFD group were higher than that of ND group (P 0.05). While simvastatin has significantly resisted the former effects of HFD on serum lipid and prostate (P 0.05). No significant difference in serum FBG level was found between groups and subunits. FINS levels of ND group was lower than other groups (P 0.05). In addition, There is no significant difference in FPG and HOMA-IR levels in blank control subunit, saline control subunit, simvastatin subunit (P 0.05).MetS induced by HFD is an important factor in the induction of BPH. Simvastatin can alleviate the hyperplasia of prostate through the relief of local inflammation in prostatic tissue.

Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) has been used to prevent maternal transmission of disease-causing mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). However, because MRT requires nuclear transfer, it carries the risk of mtDNA carryover and hence of the reversion of mtDNA to pathogenic levels owing to selective replication and genetic drift. Here we show in HeLa cells, mouse embryos and human embryos that mtDNA heteroplasmy can be reduced by pre-labelling the mitochondrial outer membrane of a donor zygote via microinjection with an mRNA coding for a transmembrane peptide fused to an autophagy receptor, to induce the degradation of the labelled mitochondria via forced mitophagy. Forced mitophagy reduced mtDNA carryover in newly reconstructed embryos after MRT, and had negligible effects on the growth curve, reproduction, exercise capacity and other behavioural characteristics of the offspring mice. The induction of forced mitophagy to degrade undesired donor mtDNA may increase the clinical feasibility of MRT and could be extended to other nuclear transfer techniques.

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently mutated in human cancer(1,2), and is an important therapeutic target. EGFR inhibitors have been successful in lung cancer, where intracellular tyrosine kinase domain mutations activate the receptor(1), but not in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)(3) – where mutations occur exclusively in the extracellular region. Here, we show that common extracellular GBM mutations prevent EGFR from discriminating between its activating ligands(4). Different growth factor ligands stabilise distinct EGFR dimer structures(5) that signal with different kinetics to specify or bias outcome(5,6). EGF itself induces strong symmetric dimers that signal transiently to promote proliferation. Epiregulin (EREG) induces much weaker asymmetric dimers that drive sustained signalling and differentiation(5). GBM mutations reduce the ability of EGFR to distinguish EREG from EGF in cellular assays, and allow EGFR to form strong (EGF-like) dimers in response to EREG and other low-affinity ligands. Using X-ray crystallography, we further show that the R84K GBM mutation symmetrises EREG-driven extracellular dimers so that they resemble dimers normally seen with EGF. A second GBM mutation, A265V, instead remodels key dimerisation contacts to strengthen asymmetric EREG-driven dimers. Our results argue for an important role in GBM of altered ligand discrimination by EGFR, with potential implications for therapeutic targeting.

Background Lamb-Shaffer syndrome (LAMSHF, MIM 616,803) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder due to haploinsufficiency of SOX5. Furthermore, studies about the clinical features of LAMSHF patients with same allele of c.1477C > T (p. R493*) are very limited. Case presentation We analyzed the phenotypes of one of our cases and two previously reported cases with c.1477C > T (p. R493*), and reviewed the correlating literature. A de novo heterozygous variation c.1477C > T (p. R493*) in SOX5 was identified in a 4 years and 2 months old boy with global development delay by trio-based whole exome sequencing. We compared our case and previously 2 cases reported with recurrent variation, the overlapping clinical features are global developmental delay or intellectual disability, language delay and scoliosis, but their other clinical characteristics are different. Conclusions This study suggests that the clinical features of LAMSHF patients with recurrent variations in the SOX5 gene are different. It is suggested that the LAMSHF-related SOX5 gene should be screened and included as one of the candidate genes for neurodevelopmental disorders of unknown etiology.

This study aimed to investigate the value and feasibility of combining fractional anisotropy (FA) values from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and total kidney volume (TKV) for the assessment of kidney function in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Fifty-one patients were included in this study. All MRI examinations were performed with a 3.0 T scanner. DTI was used to measure FA values, and TKV was obtained from DTI and T2-weighted imaging (T2WI). Patients were divided into three groups (mild, moderate, severe) according to eGFR, which was calculated with serum creatinine. Differences in the FA values of the cortex and medulla were analysed among the three groups, and the relationships of FA values, TKV, and the product of the FA values and TKV with eGFR were analysed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to compare the diagnostic efficiency of the FA values, TKV, and the product of the FA values and TKV for kidney function in different CKD stages. Medullary FA values (m-FA), TKV, and the product of the m-FA values and TKV (m-FA-TKV) were significantly correlated with eGFR (r = 0.653, 0.685, and 0.797, respectively; all P

Passive acoustic monitoring technology can depict underwater soundscapes, yet phenological and seasonal patterns and shifts in soundscapes are still poorly understood. Here we analyse the seasonal soundscape in the Eastern Taiwan Strait in 2017 using nonlinear dynamical complexity modelling. We find an annual phenology of fish chorusing that begins in spring, and peaks in summer before beginning to subside in autumn and becoming silent in winter. During spring and summer, the soundscape exhibited significantly higher complexity and predictability than in autumn and winter, due to the presence of regular fish chorusing. Soundscape dynamics shifted from being nonlinear in spring and summer to being linear and stochastic in autumn and winter. Our findings suggest that soundscapes could be used to measure phenological patterns and seasonal shifts in marine species behaviour. We propose that monitoring soundscapes could help assess the long-term health of marine ecosystems under environmental and climatic change.

The goal of this paper is threefold. First, we survey the existing results on Hunt’s hypothesis (H) for Markov processes and Getoor’s conjecture for Levy processes. Second, we investigate (H) for multidimensional Levy processes from the viewpoint of projections. Third, we present a few open questions for further study.

In this study, the plasma oxidation effect in tin-oxide (SnOx) thin film was investigated. And on this basis, we fabricated n-type thin-film transistors (TFTs) using the SnOx thin film with the plasma oxidation by experiments. By adjusting the processing time of the oxygen plasma treatment (OPT), the optimized SnOx TFT device exhibited an extremely high field-effect mobility of 87.6 cm2 V−1 s−1, a desirable on-to-off current ratio of 1.9 × 104 and a threshold voltage of − 0.9 V. Furthermore, we investigated the origin of the performance enhancements in the n-type SnOx TFTs with the optimized OPT by introducing the density of states (DOS) modeling in TCAD simulation. The numerical simulation indicated that the attributes of donor-like Gaussian defect states (oxygen vacancies) were modified in overall DOS due to the plasma oxidation effect. These present results show that the SnOx TFT treated by oxygen plasma has great promise in the future high-performance flat panel display industries.

Cooling shock can be considered a potential method of causing the high-temperature rocks to crack and achieve the most efficient exploitation and utilization of geo-thermal energy in the future. However, it is important to accurately recognize the thermal cracking effect and the corresponding typical characteristics of cooling shock. Therefore, in this study, we conducted a systematic experiment on the effects of cooling shocks with different temperature gradients on the cracking of high-temperature granite. The granite samples were heated to 150, 350, 550, and 750 °C, and then injected with three kinds of refrigerants of 20, 0 and − 20 °C into the granite boreholes. Furthermore, the cracking characteristics of granite were compared by means of optical microscope. According to the experimental analysis, several conclusions could be obtained: (1) Compared with natural cooling conditions, cooling shocks of 20, 0, and − 20 °C resulted in no evident open cracks on the granite at 150 and 350 °C; however, the distribution of the micro-crack networks became denser with a decrease in the refrigerant temperature. (2) For the high-temperature granite samples at 550 and 750 °C, the effect of the cooling shock was significant, and localized open cracks could be observed; however, several differences were evident in the effect of granite cracking under different combinations of cooling shocks and high temperatures. For granite with the same temperature gradient, with the decrease in the refrigerant temperature, the number of inter-granular and trans-granular cracks increased, and the cooling shock enhanced the cracking effect. (3) The main factor of granite cracking was the anisotropy of the mineral particles affected by the temperature difference, in which a large amount of quartz was contained in the granite, and the effect of repeated phase transformation near 573 °C was remarkable. Moreover, with the temperature difference between the refrigerant and the heated samples increasing, the generated tensile forces in the outer edge of samples would increase rapidly, causing amounts of trans-granular cracks and leading to the denser micro-crack networks. This work can provide an experimental reference for understanding the effect of cooling shock on mechanical properties and cracking of high-temperature rocks.

The influence of a magnetic field on the Rashba spin–orbit interaction in an anisotropic quantum dot is theoretically studied, and the expression of the ground state energy of a magnetopolaron is obtained with the Pekar variational method. The ground state energy of the magnetopolaron splits into two branches due to the Rashba effect, and the splitting appears saturated phenomenon with increasing the transverse and longitudinal effective confinement lengths. Because the contribution of the magnetic field cyclotron resonance frequency to the Rashba spin–orbit splitting is a positive value, the energy spacing becomes larger as the magnetic field cyclotron resonance frequency increases. Due to the spin–orbit coupling interaction, the energy splits at zero magnetic field. The total energy is reduced due to the presence of phonons. Therefore, the polaron state is more stable than the bare electron state, and the polaron energy splitting is more stable.

In order to provide more alternative epoxide hydrolases for industrial production, a novel cDNA gene Rpeh-encoding epoxide hydrolase (RpEH) of Rhodotorula paludigena JNU001 identified by 26S rDNA sequence analysis was amplified by RT-PCR. The open-reading frame (ORF) of Rpeh was 1236 bp encoding RpEH of 411 amino acids and was heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). The substrate spectrum of expressed RpEH showed that the transformant E. coli/Rpeh had excellent enantioselectivity to 2a, 3a, and 5a–10a, among which E. coli/Rpeh had the highest activity (2473 U/g wet cells) and wonderful enantioselectivity (E = 101) for 8a, and its regioselectivity coefficients, αR and βS, toward (R)- and (S)-8a were 99.7 and 83.2%, respectively. Using only 10 mg wet cells/mL of E. coli/Rpeh, the near-perfect kinetic resolution of rac-8a at a high concentration (1000 mM) was achieved within 2.5 h, giving (R)-8a with more than 99% enantiomeric excess (ees) and 46.7% yield and producing (S)-8b with 93.2% eep and 51.4% yield with high space-time yield (STY) for (R)-8a and (S)-8b were 30.6 and 37.3 g/L/h.

The diaryl ureas are very important fragments in medicinal chemistry. By means of computer-aided design, 1-aryl-3-[4-(pyridin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl]urea derivatives were designed and synthesized, and evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against A549, HCT-116, PC-3 cancer cell lines, and HL7702 human normal liver cell lines in vitro by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. Most of the target compounds demonstrate significant antiproliferative effects on all the selective cancer cell lines. The calculated IC50 values were reported. The target compound 1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-{4-{[3-methyl-4-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)pyridin-2-yl]methoxy}phenyl}urea (7u) demonstrated the most potent inhibitory activity (IC50 = 2.39 ± 0.10 μM for A549 and IC50 = 3.90 ± 0.33 μM for HCT-116), comparable to the positive-control sorafenib (IC50 = 2.12 ± 0.18 μM for A549 and IC50 = 2.25 ± 0.71 μM for HCT-116). Conclusively, 1-aryl-3-[4-(pyridin-2-ylmethoxy)phenyl]urea derivatives as the new anticancer agents were discovered, and could be used as the potential BRAF inhibitors for further research.

Hunt’s hypothesis (H) and the related Getoor’s conjecture is one of the most important problems in the basic theory of Markov processes. In this paper, we investigate the invariance of Hunt’s hypothesis (H) for Markov processes under two classes of transformations, which are change of measure and subordination. Our first theorem shows that for two standard processes (Xt) and (Yt), if (Xt) satisfies (H) and (Yt) is locally absolutely continuous with respect to (Xt), then (Yt) satisfies (H). Our second theorem shows that a standard process (Xt) satisfies (H) if and only if $(X_{\tau _{t}})$ satisfies (H) for some (and hence any) subordinator (τt) which is independent of (Xt) and has a positive drift coefficient. Applications of the two theorems are given.

Background Older adults are at a higher risk from COVID-19. Individual preventive behaviors including frequent hand washing, mask wearing, and social distancing play important roles in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in the community. This study aimed to identify the determinants of three preventive behaviors of older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic by using an Integrated Social Cognition Model. Methods Using a prospective study design, 516 Chinese older adults from Hubei province of China (mean age = 67.55 years, SD = 6.60, 57.9% females) completed two online questionnaire surveys. The demographics, social cognition constructs (motivational self-efficacy, risk perception, attitude, subjective norm, health knowledge, intention, volitional self-efficacy, planning, action control) and three preventive behaviors were measured during the first-wave online survey from 18 May 2020 to 7 June 2020. One month later, three preventive behaviors were measured again during the second-wave online survey. Data were analyzed by structural equation modelling. Results Models showed attitude, motivational self-efficacy and subjective norm were consistent predictors of intention, motivational self-efficacy was a consistent predictor of volitional self-efficacy, planning and volitional self-efficacy were consistent predictors of action control, and health knowledge was a consistent predictor of behaviors across all three preventive behaviors. In addition, mediating relationships were found in the model of hand washing behavior. In particular, planning (β = .109, p = .042) and action control (β = .056, p = .047) mediated between volitional self-efficacy and hand washing respectively. Action control also mediated between planning and hand washing (β = .087, p = .044). Moreover, the inclusion of past behaviors in three models attenuated most of the structural relations. Conclusions The current study’s findings basically supported the Integrated Social Cognition Model and identified key modifiable determinants of preventive behaviors. Based on this model, future interventions aiming to promote COVID-19 preventive behaviors among older adults are warranted.

The prevalence of asymptomatic HUA is increasing year after year. HUA is a risk factor for the occurrence and development of renal diseases. However, the role of urate-lowering therapy in asymptomatic HUA complicated by renal damage is still controversial. In some experiments, the treatment of asymptomatic HUA complicated by renal damage may delay the progression of kidney damage. In addition, there is increasing evidence, suggesting that elevated serum uric acid is an independent risk factor for kidney disease. However, in other studies, uric acid-lowering therapy did not improve renal function, and uric acid levels could not be used as an independent predictor for CKD development. Further experimental studies are needed to determine the starting threshold and target value of asymptomatic HUA complicated by renal damage. At the same time, confirmation of the benefits of urate-lowering therapy for kidneys requires studies with larger samples and high-quality RCTs.

Using Pekar variational method, we studied the influence of Rashba effect on the bound magnetopolaron in an anisotropic quantum dot. The expression of the ground state energy of the bound magnetopolaron is obtained by theoretical derivation. Due to the influence of the Rashba effect, the ground state energy of the bound magnetopolaron splits into two branches. This phenomenon fully demonstrates that the influence of orbit and spin interaction in different directions on the energy of the polaron is not negligible. Because the contribution of the magnetic field cyclotron resonance frequency to the Rashba spin-orbit splitting is a positive value, the energy spacing becomes larger as the magnetic field cyclotron resonance frequency increases. Due to the presence of phonons and impurities, the polaron is more stable than the bare electron state, and the energy splitting is more stable.

Protein-energy wasting (PEW) is highly prevalent in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with inflammation who are on haemodialysis treatment. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is an important pro-inflammatory cytokine that is significantly elevated in ESRD patients. However, the relationship between PEW and IL-18 is unclear. We therefore performed a cross-sectional study on 100 ESRD patients undergoing haemodialysis to clarify this. PEW was defined according to the diagnostic criteria of the International Society of Renal Nutrition and Metabolism. Inflammation was assessed based on the serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-18. We analysed the association between PEW and IL-18 by using logistic analysis and linear regression after adjustment for basic characteristics, comorbidities and laboratory findings. Among the 100 haemodialysis patients who were recruited, 56 had PEW. Even though there was no difference between the PEW group and non-PEW group with regard to disease causes, age, gender, cholesterol, ferritin, and haemoglobin, the levels of inflammation indicators such as CRP, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β were significantly higher in the PEW group. Moreover, IL-18 was found to contribute to PEW, but was negatively correlated with pre-albumin after adjustment for possible confounding factors. Thus, the findings indicate that IL-18 is associated with PEW in ESRD patients on haemodialysis, which suggests that IL-18 may be involved in the pathogenesis of PEW in this setting.

Chlorpheniramine is a pharmaceutical pollutant and a precursor of carcinogenic nitrosamines during disinfection/oxidation. In our previous study, graphene oxide coated with magnetite (GO-Fe3O4) was capable of removing chlorpheniramine in deionized water by adsorption. This study investigated the removal of chlorpheniramine and its nitrosamine formation potentials (FPs) by adsorption onto magnetic GO-Fe3O4, with respect to the influence by using real municipal wastewaters as the background. In the results, the adsorption performances of chlorpheniramine in wastewaters decreased in the order: GO-Fe3O4 suspension > GO-Fe3O4 particles > activated carbon. Chlorpheniramine adsorptions on GO-Fe3O4 particles and activated carbon were reduced by using real wastewaters as the background, whereas chlorpheniramine adsorption on GO-Fe3O4 suspension was enhanced due to the effects of surface charge on GO-Fe3O4 and ionic strength variation in water. The fittings of adsorption isotherms indicated that the wastewater background reduced the surface heterogeneity of GO-Fe3O4 suspension and improved the adsorption performance. Appreciable removal efficiencies of NDMA and other nitrosamine FPs were observed when GO-Fe3O4 particles were added in real wastewaters. However, when chlorpheniramine was present in wastewaters, chlorpheniramine adsorption and degradation reaction simultaneously occurred on the surface of GO-Fe3O4, increasing NDMA and other nitrosamine FPs in wastewaters after GO-Fe3O4 addition for chlorpheniramine adsorption. The assumption was further demonstrated by observing the NDMA-FP increase during chlorpheniramine adsorption on GO-Fe3O4 in deionized water. GO-Fe3O4 is a potential adsorbent for chlorpheniramine removal. Nevertheless, the low treatment efficiencies at high doses limit its application for nitrosamine FP adsorptions in real wastewaters.

Small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting at epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in recent years have made great progress in the treatment of advanced non-small cell cancer (NSCLC). Although as the first-line treatment for sensitizing EGFR mutation-positive metastatic NSCLC, gefitinib has also behaved quite a lot of side effect and EGFR tolerance. Herein, a novel series of 7-bromo-1,4-dihydrothieno[3’,2’:5,6]thiopyrano[4,3-c]pyrazole-3-carboxamide derivatives were designed and synthesized, and screened for their inhibitory activity on the EGFR high-expressing human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549 and human large cell lung cancer cell line NCI-H460 by using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide colorimetric assay. The calculated IC50 values were reported. Compound 8h demonstrated the most potent inhibitory activity (IC50 = 9.57 ± 2.20 μmol L–1 for A549 and IC50 = 13.04 ± 1.21 μmol L–1 for NCI-H460), comparable to the positive-control gefitinib (IC50 = 8.58 ± 1.65 μmol L–1 for A549 and IC50 = 18.66 ± 5.01 μmol L–1 for NCI-H460). Conclusively, 7-bromo- 1,4-dihydrothieno[3’,2’:5,6]thiopyrano[4,3-c]pyrazole-3-carboxamide derivatives as the EGFR–TKIs were discovered, and could be used as potential leading compounds for further research.

A powerful technique to detect bone biomarkers has been developed for assessment of osteoporosis at the early stage. Two-dimensional multilayered gold-nanoparticle thin film (MTF-AuNPs) was demonstrated as a promising test platform for detection of bone biomarker, hydroxyproline (HYP), measured by surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS). With strong surface plasmon resonance and excellent homogeneity, facilely prepared, highly ordered, and large-scale MTF-AuNPs revealed high sensitivity of HYP in the SALDI-MS measurement without additional matrixes, such as α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamic acid (CHCA) and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB). Furthermore, the mass spectrum of HYP with MTF-AuNPs was significantly improved in signal intensity enhancement, background noise reduction, and signal-to-noise ratio amplification. The excellent reproducibility of HYP spectra with only 9.3% relative signal variation could be attributed to MTF-AuNPs’ high absorbance at a wavelength of 337 nm, low heat capacity, superior thermal conductivity, and outstanding homogeneity. The calibration curve showed high linear correlation between mass spectrum intensity and HYP concentration in the range of 1 to 100 μM, covering the whole level in healthy people and osteoporosis patients. In particular, the serum sample was directly deposited onto the MTF-AuNP sample substrate without any pretreatment and its HYP concentration was then successfully determined. We believe that the combination of SALDI-MS and MTF-AuNP sample substrates would be a potential approach for bone biomarker detection in the osteoporosis risk assessment.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is a global public health concern. Although inflammasome and the toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) genes play an important role in host defense against Mtb, the associations of polymorphisms in these genes with TB risk are incompletely understood. A total of 230 TB patients and 213 individuals without TB were enrolled in this study. A significant difference in the frequencies of different AIM2 rs2276405 genotypes between the non-TB and TB groups was detected. When the patients were stratified by gender or age, significant differences in genotype frequencies at NLRP3 rs34298354 in men and in non-aged (≤65-year-old) subjects and at IFI16 rs1772408 in women were found. OR analysis showed that the TC rs34298354 genotype in NLRP3 was associated with reduced risk of TB. In women, the AG rs1772408 genotype in IFI16 was associated with decreased TB risk. Haplotype analysis showed that, in comparison with the most common haplotype (T-T) of rs3804099-rs3804100 in the TLR2 gene, the C-T haplotype was associated with an increased risk for TB. Our study indicates that rs34298354 in NLRP3 and rs1772408 in IFI16 protect individuals from TB, and that the less common TLR2 haplotype is associated with increased TB susceptibility.

Triggered by global water quality safety issues, the research on wastewater treatment and water purification technology has been greatly developed in recent years. The Fenton technology is particularly powerful due to the rapid attack on pollutants by the generated hydroxyl radicals (•OH). However, both heterogeneous and homogeneous Fenton/Fenton-like technologies follow the classical reaction mechanism, which depends on the oxidation and reduction of the transition metal ions at single sites. So even after a century of development, this reaction still suffers from its inherent bottlenecks in practical application. In recent years, our group has been focusing on studying a novel heterogeneous Fenton catalytic process, and we developed the dual-reaction-center (DRC) system for the first time. In the DRC system, H2O2 and O2 can be efficiently reduced to reactive oxygen species (ROS) in electron-rich centers, while pollutants are captured and oxidized by the electron-deficient centers. The obtained electrons from pollutants are diverted to the electron-rich centers through bonding bridges. This process breaks through the classic Fenton mechanism, and improves the performance and efficiency of pollutant removal in a wide pH range. Here, we provide a brief overview of Fenton’s story and focus on combing the discovery and development of the DRC technology and mechanism in recent years. The construction of the DRC and its performance in the pollutant degradation and interfacial reaction process are described in detail.We look forward to bringing a new perspective to continue Fenton’s story through research and development of DRC technology.

In this paper, we employ the powerful sine-Gordon expansion method in investigating the solitary wave solutions of the fifth-order nonlinear equation and the Date–Jimbo–Kashiwara–Miwa equation with symbolic computation. We obtain the hyperbolic, trigonometric and complex solutions and the corresponding plots of the solitary wave solutions are given out analytically and graphically.

Which Levy processes satisfy Hunt's hypothesis (H) is a long-standing open problem in probabilistic potential theory. The study of this problem for one-dimensional Levy processes suggests us to consider (H) from the point of view of the sum of Levy processes. In this paper, we present theorems and examples on the validity of (H) for the sum of two independent Levy processes. We also give a novel condition on the Levy measure which implies (H) for a large class of one-dimensional Levy processes.

Harmonizing the style of all the furniture placed within a constrained space/scene is an important principle for interior design. In this paper, we propose a furniture style compatibility recommendation approach for users to create a harmonic 3D virtual scene based on 2D furniture photos. Most previous works of 3D model style analysis measure the style similarity or compatibility based on predefined geometric features extracted from 3D models. However, “style” is a high-level semantic concept, which is difficult to be described explicitly by hand-crafted geometric features. Moreover, analyzing the style compatibility between two or more furniture belonging to different classes (e.g., table and lamp) is much more challenging since the given furniture may have very distinctive structures or geometric elements. Recently, deep neural network has been claimed to have more powerful ability to mimic the perception of human visual cortex, and therefore we propose to analyze style compatibility between 3D furniture models of different classes based on a Cross-Class Triplet Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). We conducted experiments based on a collected dataset containing 420 textured 3D furniture models. A group of raters were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT) to evaluate the comparative suitability of paired models within the dataset. The experimental results reveal that the proposed furniture style compatibility method based on deep learning performs better than the state-of-the-art method and can be used to efficiently generate harmonic virtual scenes.

In this study, an inkjet-printed dielectric film that used a polymer-based SU-8 ink was fabricated for use in a metal–insulator–metal (MIM) capacitor. Thermal treatment of the inkjet-printed SU-8 polymer film affected its surface morphology, chemical structure, and surface wettability. A 20-min soft-bake at 60°C was applied to eliminate inkjet-printed bubbles and ripples. The ultraviolet-exposed SU-8 polymer film was crosslinked at temperatures between 120°C and 220°C and became disordered at 270°C, demonstrated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. A maximum SU-8 polymer film hard-bake temperature of 120°C was identified, and a printing process was subsequently employed because the appropriate water contact angle of the printed film was 79°. Under the appropriate inkjet printing conditions, the two-transmission-line method was used to extract the dielectric and electrical properties of the SU-8 polymer film, and the electrical behavior of the fabricated MIM capacitor was also characterized.

Nociception is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to encode and process harmful environmental stimuli. Like most animals, Drosophila melanogaster larvae respond to a variety of nociceptive stimuli, including noxious touch and temperature, with stereotyped escape responses through activation of multimodal nociceptors. How behavioral responses to these different modalities are processed and integrated by the downstream network remains poorly understood. By combining trans-synaptic labeling, ultrastructural analysis, calcium imaging, optogenetics and behavioral analyses, we uncovered a circuit specific for mechanonociception but not thermonociception. Notably, integration of mechanosensory input from innocuous and nociceptive sensory neurons is required for robust mechanonociceptive responses. We further show that neurons integrating mechanosensory input facilitate primary nociceptive output by releasing short neuropeptide F, the Drosophila neuropeptide Y homolog. Our findings unveil how integration of somatosensory input and neuropeptide-mediated modulation can produce robust modality-specific escape behavior.

To observe the effect of moxibustion on the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-κB) proteins in ankle joints of rats with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to explore the anti-inflammatory mechanism of moxibustion in the treatment of RA. Adjuvant arthritis (AA) rat models were induced and used as rat models of RA. Rats were randomly divided into a normal group, a model group, a moxibustion group and a saline group. Rats in the normal and model groups were not treated; rats in the moxibustion group accepted treatment by moxibustion at Zusanli (ST 36) and Shenshu (BL 23) after modeling; rats in the saline group were injected with 0.15 mL saline to the bottom of the left hind paw and had no other treatments. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining was used to observe the histopathological changes of rats’ ankle joints under light microscope. Immunohistochemistry was used to observe the expressions of TNF-α and NF-κB in ankle joints of rats. Compared with the normal group, the rats’ ankle joints in the model group showed disorganization, joint surface defect, and significantly increased mean optical density (MOD) of TNF-α and NF-κB (all P

A novel series of benzo[d]thiazole-2-carboxamide derivatives have been de novo designed based on virtual screening methods. The target compounds were synthesized and evaluated for the cytotoxicity against epidermal growth factor receptor high-expressed cancer cell lines (A549, HeLa, and SW480), epidermal growth factor receptor low-expressed cell line (HepG2) and human liver normal cell line (HL7702). Several target compounds have showed moderate to excellent potency against A549, HeLa, and SW480 and weak cytotoxic effects against HepG2, which implies they are probably epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors. And scarcely did they exhibit any activities against HL7702, which signifies they are likely to overcome the nonspecific toxicity against normal cells. Especially, the compound 6-[2-(diethylamino)-2-oxoethoxy]-N-(furan-2-ylmethyl)benzo[d]thiazole-2-carboxamide (6i) was identified as a promising agent, exhibiting the most potent cytotoxic activities with IC50 values of 4.05, 12.17, 6.76 μM against the A549, HeLa, and SW480 cell lines, respectively.

The Brønsted acidity of graphene oxide (GO) materials has shown promising activity in organic synthesis. However, roles and functionality of Lewis acid sites remain elusive. Herein, we reported a carbocatalytic approach utilizing both Brønsted and Lewis acid sites in GOs as heterogeneous promoters in a series of multicomponent synthesis of triazoloquinazolinone compounds. The GOs possessing the highest degree of oxidation, also having the highest amounts of Lewis acid sites, enable optimal yields (up to 95%) under mild and non-toxic reaction conditions (85 °C in EtOH). The results of FT-IR spectroscopy, temperature-programed decomposition mass spectrometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy identified that the apparent Lewis acidity via basal plane epoxide ring opening, on top of the saturated Brønsted acidic carboxylic groups, is responsible for the enhanced carbocatalytic activities involving Knoevenagel condensation pathway. Recycled GO can be effectively regenerated to reach 97% activity of fresh GO, supporting the recognition of GO as pseudocatalyst in organic synthesis.

Background This study aimed to describe the design and present the baseline characteristics of a web-based lifestyle intervention program, which comprises of sequentially and simultaneously delivered intervention modules targeting physical activity (PA) and fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) in Chinese college students. Methods The study adopted a randomized placebo-controlled trial, using the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) and the Compensatory Carry-Over Action Model (CCAM) as the theoretical backdrops. 556 Chinese college students participated in the 8-week web-based lifestyle intervention program. All eligible participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: 1) the PA-first arm which received a 4-week intervention addressing PA followed by a 4-week intervention addressing FVC; 2) the FVC-first arm which received a 4-week intervention addressing FVC followed by a 4-week intervention addressing PA; 3) the PA + FVC simultaneous arm that received an 8-week intervention addressing both PA and FVC at the same time; and 4) the placebo-control arm that received 8 weeks of general health information, which is not relevant for changing actual PA and FVC behaviors. Data collection includes four time-points: at the beginning and end of the intervention, and a 3-month and 12-month follow-up after the intervention. Results At baseline, 41.7% of participants were male and 58.3% were female. 41.0% of the participants did not meet the standard PA-recommendations, while 69.6% did not adhere to the standard FVC-recommendations. In total, only 19.6% of participants met both PA and FVC recommendations. Baseline characteristics across the four groups had no significant differences (all P = .17–.99), indicating successful randomization. Conclusions The preliminary results indicate a high prevalence of unhealthy lifestyles in college students in China, which further supports the need for web-based health intervention programs. This is also the first study that examines the comparative effectiveness of simultaneously and sequentially delivered lifestyle interventions in the Chinese population. These findings may contribute to the creation of future web-based health behavior change interventions. Trial registration ClinicalTrails.gov: NCT03627949, 14 August, 2018. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12889-019-7438-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Photoluminescent zero-dimensional (0D) quantum dots (QDs) derived from transition metal dichalcogenides, particularly molybdenum disulfide, are presently in the spotlight for their advantageous characteristics for optoelectronics, imaging, and sensors. Nevertheless, up to now, little work has been done to synthesize and explore photoluminescent 0D WS2 QDs, especially by a bottom-up strategy without using usual toxic organic solvents. In this work, we report a facile bottom-up strategy to synthesize high-quality water-soluble tungsten disulfide (WS2) QDs through hydrothermal reaction by using sodium tungstate dihydrate and l-cysteine as W and S sources. Besides, hybrid carbon quantum dots/WS2 QDs were further prepared based on this method. Physicochemical and structural analysis of QD hybrid indicated that the graphitic carbon quantum dots with diameters about 5 nm were held onto WS2 QDs via electrostatic attraction forces. The resultant QDs show good water solubility and stable photoluminescence (PL). The excitation-dependent PL can be attributed to the polydispersity of the synthesized QDs. We found that the PL was stable under continuous irradiation of UV light but can be quenched in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The obtained WS2-based QDs were thus adopted as an electrodeless luminescent probe for H2O2 and for enzymatic sensing of glucose. The hybrid QDs were shown to have a more sensitive LOD in the case of glucose sensing. The Raman study implied that H2O2 causes the partial oxidation of QDs, which may lead to oxidation-induced quenching. Overall, the presented strategy provides a general guideline for facile and low-cost synthesis of other water-soluble layered material QDs and relevant hybrids in large quantity. These WS2-based high-quality water-soluble QDs should be promising for a wide range of applications in optoelectronics, environmental monitoring, medical imaging, and photocatalysis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE This work applied a newly developed low-cost sensing (LCS) device (AS-LUNG-P) and a certified medical LCS device (Rooti RX) to assessing PM2.5 impacts on heart rate variability (HRV) and determining important exposure sources, with less inconvenience to subjects. METHODS Observations using AS-LUNG-P were corrected by side-by-side comparison with GRIMM instruments. Thirty-six nonsmoking healthy subjects aged 20-65 years were wearing AS-LUNG-P and Rooti RX for 2-4 days in both Summer and Winter in Taiwan. RESULTS PM2.5 exposures were 12.6 ± 8.9 µg/m3. After adjusting for confounding factors using the general additive mixed model, the standard deviations of all normal to normal intervals reduced by 3.68% (95% confidence level (CI) = 3.06-4.29%) and the ratios of low-frequency power to high-frequency power increased by 3.86% (CI = 2.74-4.99%) for an IQR of 10.7 µg/m3 PM2.5, with impacts lasting for 4.5-5 h. The top three exposure sources were environmental tobacco smoke, incense burning, and cooking, contributing PM2.5 increase of 8.53, 5.85, and 3.52 µg/m3, respectively, during 30-min intervals. SIGNIFICANCE This is a pioneer in demonstrating application of novel LCS devices to assessing close-to-reality PM2.5 exposure and exposure-health relationships. Significant HRV changes were observed in healthy adults even at low PM2.5 levels.