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Background Group B Streptococcus (GBS), also referred as Streptococcus agalactiae, is one of the leading causes of life-threatening invasive diseases such as bacteremia, meningitis, pneumonia and urinary tract infection in pregnant women and neonates. Rates of GBS colonization vary by regions, but large-sample studies on maternal GBS status are limited in southern China. As a result, the prevalence of GBS among pregnant women and its associated risk factors and the efficacy of intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) intervention in preventing adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes remain poorly understood in southern China. Methods To fill this gap, we retrospectively analyzed demographic and obstetrical data of pregnant women who have undergone GBS screening and delivered between 2016 and 2018 in Xiamen, China. A total of 43,822 pregnant women were enrolled and only a few GBS-positive women did not receive IAP administration. Possible risk factors for GBS colonization were assayed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Generalized linear regression model was applicated to analyze whether IAP is one of the impact factors of the hospital length of stay of the target women. Results The overall GBS colonization rate was 13.47% (5902/43,822). Although women > 35 years old (P = 0.0363) and women with diabetes mellitus (DM, P = 0.001) had a higher prevalence of GBS colonization, the interaction between ages and GBS colonization was not statistically significant in Logistic Regression analysis (adjusted OR = 1.0014; 95% CI, 0.9950, 1.0077). The rate of multiple births was significantly dropped in GBS-positive group than that of GBS-negative group (P = 0.0145), with no significant difference in the rate of fetal reduction (P = 0.3304). Additionally, the modes of delivery and the incidences of abortion, premature delivery, premature rupture of membranes, abnormal amniotic fluid and puerperal infection were not significantly different between the two groups. The hospitalization stays of the subjects were not influenced by GBS infection. As for neonatal outcomes, the cases of fetal death in maternal GBS-positive group did not statistically differ from that in maternal GBS-negative group. Conclusion Our data identified that pregnant women with DM are at high risk of GBS infection and IAP is highly effective in prevention of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. This stressed the necessity of universal screening of maternal GBS status and IAP administration to the target population in China, and women with DM should be considered as priorities.

Mixed-mode I–II crack-based fatigue crack propagation (FCPI–II) usually occurs in engineering structures; however, no theoretical formula or effective compliance test methods have been established for FCPI–II to date. For mixed-mode I–II flawed components, based on the principle of mean-value energy equivalence, we propose a theoretical method to describe the relationship between material elastic parameters, geometrical dimensions, load (or displacement), and energy. Based on the maximum circumferential stress criterion, we propose a uniform compliance model for compact tensile shear (CTS) specimens with horizontal cracks deflecting and propagating (flat-folding propagation) under different loading angles, geometries, and materials. Along with an innovative design of the fixture of CTS specimens used for FCPI–II tests, we develop a new compliance-based testing method for FCPI–II. For the 30Cr2Ni4MoV rotor steel, the FCP rates of mode I, mode II, and mixed-mode I–II cracks were obtained via FCP tests using compact tension, Arcan, and CTS specimens, respectively. The obtained da/dN versus ΔJ curves of the FCP rates are close. The loading angle α and dimensionless initial crack length a0/W demonstrated negligible effects on the FCP rates. Hence, the FCP rates of mode I crack can be used to predict the residual life of structural crack propagation.

Pervious pavement showed lower inhibition on tree growth and biomass than impervious pavement and ash is more tolerant and more suitable to be planted on pavement than pine and maple. Trees are widely planted on paved soil in urban environments. However, little is known about the effects of altered microenvironments on the growth and biomass of trees. In this study, seedlings of three common urban trees, pine (Pinus tabuliformis Carr.), ash (Fraxinus chinensis Roxb.), and maple (Acer truncatum Bunge) were planted on pervious and impervious pavements for over 6 years. Unpaved soil was used as a control. Pavement significantly increased surface and soil temperatures, and altered soil moisture. Pervious pavement had higher surface and soil temperatures and soil moisture than impervious pavement. Compared with the control, tree biomass significantly decreased by 27.1–40.7% for all the three species under impervious pavement, while tree biomass significantly decreased by 28.6% only for maple under pervious pavement. Tree biomass was negatively related to soil temperature and positively to soil moisture. Heat stress caused by pavement could be alleviated as trees grow because of the progressive shading of tree canopy. Management practices such as prevention of heat and drought stresses, selection of tolerant species and use of pervious pavement should be advocated for promoting urban greening.

Steroid estrogens have received worldwide attention and given rise to great challenges of aquatic ecosystems security, posing potential adverse effects on aquatic organisms and human health even at low levels (ng/L). The present study focused on understanding the mobility and abiotic transformation of estrone (E1) and estrone-3-sulfate (E1-3S) over spatial and time scales during soil transport. Column transport experiments showed that the migration capacity of E1-3S was far stronger than E1 in soil. The calculated groundwater ubiquity score and leachability index values also indicated the high leaching mobility of E1-3S. The hydrolysis of E1-3S and abiotic transformation into estradiol and estriol was observed in the sterilized soil. Furthermore, possible transformation products (e.g., SE239, E2378, E1 dimer538, E1-E2 dimer541) of E1 and E1-3S in soil were analyzed and identified after the column transport experiments. The estrogenic activity was estimated by 17β-estradiol equivalency values during the transport process in aqueous and soil phases. Additionally, the potential leaching transport to groundwater of E1-3S requires further critical concern.

The honeycomb sandwich structure has been widely used in the field of aerospace owing to extremely high specific strength and specific rigidity. However, the honeycomb core has anisotropic mechanical characteristics and in-plane weak rigidity, which brings new challenges to the cutting process. In this paper, a three-way equivalent heat conduction model including heat conduction and heat convection in the cutting process was established based on the structural characteristics of the honeycomb core. As for the milling cutter combined with the crushing blade and circular blade specified for aluminum honeycomb core, the moving surface heat source of the crushing blade and the moving line heat source of the circular blade during the milling process were proposed. A prediction model of temperature distribution in the milling of aluminum honeycomb core based on the two heat moving sources was established and verified by the milling experiments. Finally, the temperature distribution law and heat affected area of the honeycomb core during the milling process were studied. It was found that the milling temperature of the honeycomb core maintained a high temperature in the contact area, but fell sharply outside the contact area. Moreover, the heat affected area of the milling heat does not exceed three honeycomb cores.

Speech enhancement is a fundamental way to improve speech perception quality in adverse environment where the received speech is seriously corrupted by noise. In this paper, we propose a cognitive computing based speech enhancement model termed SETransformer which can improve the speech quality in unkown noisy environments. The proposed SETransformer takes advantages of LSTM and multi-head attention mechanism, both of which are inspired by the auditory perception principle of human beings. Specifically, the SETransformer pocesses the ability of characterizing the local structure implicated in the speech spectrum and has more lower computation complexity due to its distinctive parallelization perfermance. Experimental results show that, compared with the standard Transformer and the LSTM model, the proposed SETransformer model can consistently achieve better denoising performance in terms of speech quality (PESQ) and speech intelligibility (STOI) under unseen noise conditions.

Al–Cr–Fe–Ni dual-phase high entropy alloys (HEAs) were prepared by arc melting, and the microstructure and wear behavior of HEAs were investigated. The results show that HEAs were consisted by face-centered cubic (FCC) phase and body-centered cubic (BCC) phase, which is consistent with the design. As the BCC phase volume fraction increases, the hardness increases from 183 HV (X-10) to 433 HV (X-90), since that the hardness of BCC phase is higher compared with the FCC phase. The average friction coefficient decreases from 0.409 to 0.111 and the wear depth of alloys decrease from 7.629 to 0.973 μm, which inadicate that the wear resistance of Al–Cr–Fe–Ni dual-phase HEAs are improved with the increase in BCC phase volume fraction. The volume fraction of BCC phase is the main factor affecting the wear behavior of alloys.

Research on the machinability of particle-reinforced Al matrix composites (PRAMCs) is significant to their industrial applications. In the present article, the side milling process of two in situ TiB2/Al composites (in situ 6% TiB2/2024 Al composite and in situ 4% TiB2/7075 Al composite) and the corresponding Al alloys (2024 Al alloy and 7075 Al alloy) were investigated. Cutting responses, including milling force and temperature, were monitored and analyzed. Surface integrity, including roughness, topology, morphology, microstructure, and residual stress of the machined samples, was comprehensively characterized and analyzed. Results showed that, by adjusting the process parameters in appropriate ranges, the milling force and temperature of in situ TiB2/Al composites can be controlled at almost the same level of those of conventional Al alloys. Besides, in situ TiB2/Al composites showed better surface finish and larger process window than conventional Al alloys, which can be helpful for the side milling of precision parts, especially for ensuring the high surface quality of the workpiece without special setting of the process parameters. It is worthy to be noticed that side milling can make the TiB2 particles distribute more evenly on the sample surface, which can be beneficial to the comprehensive surface mechanical properties of the in situ TiB2/Al composites.

Although TiB2 particles improve the wear resistance and hardness of in situ TiB2/Al composites, TiB2 particles bring challenges for machining TiB2/Al composites. In order to study the difference between the cutting performance of aluminum alloys and TiB2/Al composites, the milling experiment of 2024 aluminum alloys, 7075 aluminum alloys, TiB2/2024 composites, and TiB2/7075 composites was conducted. The cutting specific energy, the milling force coefficient, and machined surface roughness are analyzed. The results show that the cutting specific energy and cutting force coefficient of TiB2/Al composites are higher than those of the conventional aluminum alloys. In addition, the machined surface profile and its spectrum are analyzed. The results indicate tool vibration is the main reason for the abnormal high surface roughness, especially for conventional aluminum alloys. The cutting stability of TiB2/Al composites is better than that of conventional aluminum alloys. TiB2 particles hinder the plastic deformation of the matrix alloy, reducing the tool feed marks, which makes the surface roughness of TiB2/Al composites lower.

In the present work, a phenanthroline derivative (2-(2-methoxyphenyl)-4-phenyl-1,10-phenanthroline, MPP), as a fluorescent probe, was synthesized to realize a rapid, simple and sensitive detection of silver(I). The detection conditions of Ag+ were optimized. This fluorescent probe has the advantages of a fast reaction time, a wide pH applicable range, and a low detection limit, exhibiting a good linear response between the fluorescence intensity and the concentration in the range of 0.05 - 1.5 μmol/L for Ag+. The detection limit is as low as 3.38 × 10-8 mol/L (S/N = 3). This probe had been used to detect Ag+ in real samples, and the recovery efficiency of spiked Ag+ had been also tested. The recovery efficiency is satisfactory, ranging from 92.0 to 105.4%. Therefore, this fluorescent probe should provide a new choice for the quantitative detection of silver ions in environmental water samples.

A series of uniaxial monotonic tensile tests were first conducted on the piping specimens of Z2CN18.10 stainless steel within the temperature range from 20°C to 350°C at different strain rates. The results show an interesting characteristic of the material: it exhibited obvious rate-dependence at room temperature, whereas at 350°C no such significant dependence was observed. Then some tests were performed within the same temperature range to explore the effect of this property on the uniaxial ratcheting behavior of Z2CN18.10 steel. The results reveal that with increasing temperature the ratcheting behavior of the material tended toward shaking-down and became less sensitive to loading rates and peak dwell time. Such temperature-dependent viscoplasticity of the material can presumably be attributed to the dynamic strain aging (DSA) effect, which results in more loss of viscosity of the material as temperature increases.

It is of great significance to investigate effect of multiple heat treatments on fracture property of centrifugal casting stainless steels Z3CN20.09M cut from pump casing with long-term thermal aging degradation for nuclear power plants to consider actual operation of nuclear power plants. Both multiple heat treatments and accelerated thermal aging experiment at the same temperature of 400 °C for different time were successively carried out on centrifugal casting stainless steels Z3CN20.09M in order to examine the metallographic modification and impact properties. Finally, an additional investigation on the related fracture properties was carried out, in which the critical initial fracture toughness Ji was determined by stretch zone width and 0.2 mm offset line methods. These results indicated that the multiple heat treatments led to the dispersed distribution of ferrite phases in austenite matrix and thus microhardness increased, but impact energy exhibited a decreasing tendency significantly. After long-term aging, the metallographic structure remained almost unchanged, but the size of ferrite phases showed a slight increasing trend because of spinodal decomposition in ferrite phases and G-phase precipitation. In addition, centrifugal casting stainless steels Z3CN20.09M with multiple heat treatments exhibited the higher microhardness, Charpy impact toughness, critical initial fracture toughness JIC (J-integral determined by 0.2 mm offset line method), and JSZW (J-integral determined by stretch zone width method) than those with primary heat treatment, while the specific number of the heat treatment had a low influence on fracture toughness.

Gas sensors with high performance and low energy consumption are necessary for system integration in the environment monitoring of explosives. High-performance room-temperature hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas sensors were fabricated based on the hybrids of tungsten oxide (WO3)/reduced graphene oxide (rGO). WO3 nanocubes modified with different contents of rGO were synthesized by acid-based hydrothermal method. The optimal amount of rGO in the composite is 5 wt%, at which the room-temperature operating sensor presents the highest sensitivity of approximately 32.7 to 500 ppb H2S, a fast recovery time of ~ 180 s, as well as an excellent sensing selectivity. The overall improvement in sensing performances demonstrated an important progress made in H2S sensor fabrication for portable and real-time gas detection. The improved gas-sensing performance is attributed to the large specific surface area of the WO3 nanocubes, the formation of WO3/rGO heterojunctions, and the enhanced electron transfer efficiency.

Anthropogenic disturbance of coastal ecosystems has increased the need for comprehensive methods and indicators to assess the health status of marine ecosystems. Biotic indices are important as they indicate different ecological states. In this study, Eco-Exergy-based indices (Exergy and Structural Exergy) and diversity indices (Shannon-Wiener index and Margalef index) were applied in the seas around the Zhoushan archipelago, and correlation analysis between biotic indices and environmental factors was used to test the robustness of these indices in capturing the environment changes, aimed to provide reference in selecting the indices for assessing marine eco-environment quality. Results showed that the benthic indices of Exergy, Shannon-Wiener, and Margalef increased with the distance from the mainland. The Eco-Exergy-based indices and Margalef index were significantly, negatively correlated with dissolved inorganic nitrogen and reactive phosphate, and significantly, positively correlated with the salinity of seawater. Overall, the marine ecosystem was more stable further away from the coast, where salinity was higher, and pollutants such as nutrients in seawater were lower. In addition, biodiversity and Eco-Exergy was also higher. Generally, Eco-Exergy-based indices were observed to be good indicators for detecting the environment changes in the study area.

Malus niedzwetzkyana (Dieck) Langenf is a special germplasm in which all tissues are rich in anthocyanins. In recent years, M. niedzwetzkyana has gained popularity among consumers because of its healthy pulp composition and beautiful fruit color. Despite its valuable features, many functionally transcribed genes involved in anthocyanin biosynthesis have not been comprehensively explored. In addition, the genetic similarity research of M. niedzwetzkyana was also inconclusive. Over many years, our group has collected 153 Malus samples at home and abroad; therefore, we carried anthocyanin synthesis research using -omics and genetic similarity analysis with simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Transcriptome sequencing provided more specific sequences for SSR analysis. The results showed that M. niedzwetzkyana had higher similarity to M. sieversii (Ledeb) Roem in China than in other countries. In addition, we identified 83 unigenes involved in anthocyanin synthesis, which could be used in the early identification of red apple breeding seedlings, and to speed up the breeding of cultivated red apples.

Versican has been reported to participate in carcinogenesis in several malignant tumors. However, the accurate role of VersicanV1, a predominant isoform of Versican in liver, remains an enigma in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The expression of VersicanV1 in HCC tissues and adjacent tissues was detected by Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR), Western Blot (WB) and inmumohistochemistry (IHC). Gain and loss of function assays were performed to examine the role of VersicanV1 in proliferation and metastasis of HCC. Measurement of oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and extracellular acidification rate (ECAR) in vitro and PET-CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) analysis in vivo were applied to evaluate the effects of VersicanV1 on glycolysis. RNA sequencing, Co-IP (Co-immunoprecipitation) and MS (mass spectrometry) were utilized to investigate the molecular mechanisms. Our current study reveals that VersicanV1, regulated by direct interaction with Linc01225, is significantly upregulated in HCC tissues and correlates with poor prognosis. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments show that knockdown of VersicanV1 in HCC cells attenuates cancer cells malignancy. Further studies identify the positive role of VersicanV1 in aerobic glycolysis. Mechanistic investigation discovers the activation of EGFR-PI3K-AKT pathway in HCC cells expressing high VersicanV1. Moreover, EGF-like motif is indispensable for VersicanV1 to promote Warburg effect of HCC cells and subsequently, proliferation, invasion, and metastasis ability via activation of EGFR-PI3K-AKT axis. In sum, our research highlights a novel role of VersicanV1 in the progression of HCC, suggesting that VersicanV1 is an indicator for prognosis and a potential therapeutic target of HCC.

Drought is an important environmental factor that can severely affect plant growth and reproduction. Although many genes related to drought tolerance have been studied in economically important crops, very few genes have been functionally identified in Malus sieversii. In this study, we isolated a new gene based on throughput RNA sequencing analysis and constructed genetic expression vectors and transformed in Arabidopsis thaliana for functional verification. The results showed that MsUspA ectopic expression driven by constitutive (CaMV 35S) promoter gave rise to substantial improvements in ability of transgenic A. thaliana plants to survive under extreme drought conditions. Improved drought resistance mainly depends on more compact cellular structure, longer roots, strong resilience and low-level ROS. Molecular expression analysis showed that MsUspA may be involved in hormone and secondary metabolite synthesis regulation to improve drought resistance.

The value of adjuvant therapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has been controversial, at least partially due to the lack of efficient criteria for selecting suitable patients. This study aimed to explore the existence of parameters related to lymph node (LN) status that can predict the value of adjuvant therapy in ESCC. The study included 298 patients with ESCC who had undergone radical esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy. Adjuvant therapy was defined as reception of adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or chemoradiotherapy. For the study, LN ratio (LNR), total number of resected LNs (TLNs), and pN stage were selected for Cox regression analyses, including their correlations and prognostic values for survival. Log-rank tests were used to compare the survival rates of the patients with and without adjuvant therapy stratified by pN stage, TLNs, LNR, or their combinations. The independent prognostic factors for survival were TLNs, LNR, and pN stage. Whereas pN stage was significantly related to TLNs and LNR, TLNs were not correlated with LNR. The survival rates between the patients with and those without adjuvant therapy stratified by pN stage, TLNs, or LNR did not differ significantly. We used the median values of TLNs and LNR to group the patients into four groups. The patients in the group with fewer TLNs and higher LNR who had undergone adjuvant therapy showed a significantly better survival than those without adjuvant therapy (p = 0.030). In contrast to TLNs, LNR, and pN stage as single factors, the combination of TLNs and LNR can predict the value of adjuvant therapy.

Natural steroid estrogens (NSEs), including free estrogens (FEs) and conjugated estrogens (CEs), are of emerging concern globally among public and scientific community due to their recognized adverse effects on human and wildlife endocrine systems in recent years. In this review, the properties, occurrence, sorption process, and transformation pathways of NSEs are clarified in the environment. The work comprehensively summarizes the occurrence of both free and conjugated estrogens in different natural and built environments (e.g., river, WWTPs, CAFOs, soil, and sediment). The sorption process of NSEs can be impacted by organic compounds, colloids, composition of clay minerals, specific surface area (SSA), cation exchange capacity (CEC), and pH value. The degradation and transformation of free and conjugated estrogens in the environment primarily involves oxidation, reduction, deconjugation, and esterification reactions. Elaboration about the major, subordinate, and minor transformation pathways of both biotic and abiotic processes among NSEs is highlighted. The moiety types and binding sites also would affect deconjugation degree and preferential transformation pathways of CEs. Notably, some intermediate products of NSEs still remain estrogenic potency during transformation process; the elimination of total estrogenic activity needs to be addressed in further studies. The in-depth researches regarding the behavior of both free and conjugated estrogens are further required to tackle their contamination problem in the ecosystem. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Background Postoperative radiation therapy for soft tissue sarcomas demonstrated good local recurrence-free survival rates and survival outcomes. However, the results remained controversial. This study aimed to evaluate the role of preoperative and postoperative radiation therapy for the treatment of resectable soft tissue sarcomas. Methods The electronic database PubMed, MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE were performed from inception till 30 November, 2019. The effect of preoperative versus postoperative radiation therapy on resectable soft tissue sarcomas was compared and then assessed. Results A total of 15 studies with 12,813 patients were included, and most of these had acceptable quality scores. Of these, 10 studies reported data on local recurrence. The pooled results indicated no significant differences between preoperative radiotherapy and postoperative radiotherapy groups for local recurrence, with a risk ratio (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.84 (95%CI = 0.58–1.21). No difference was observed in the overall survival and distant metastasis between the two groups. According to the pooled results, preoperative radiotherapy group showed a significant risk for complications (RR = 2.11, 95%CI = 1.36–3.27). Conclusions The postoperative radiation therapy does not increase the local recurrence, overall survival, and distant metastasis, but might result in lowering complications.

Recent studies have highlighted the valuable role played by mangrove forests in carbon sequestration and storage. Although Indonesia accounts for a large proportion of global mangrove area, knowledge on the carbon stock and sources in the Indonesian mangrove is still limited. In this study, we quantified the ecosystem organic carbon (OC) stock and its spatial variation at an oceanic mangrove in Wori, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. The sources of soil OC were also investigated. The results showed that the mangrove soil had a substantial OC stock containing 15.4 kg/m2 (calculated by carbon) in the top 50 cm soil, and represented the majority of the ecosystem OC stock at the Wori mangrove. The mangrove biomass and ecosystem OC stock were 8.3 kg/m2 and 23.7 kg/m2, respectively. There was no significantly difference in the soil OC stock among the stations with difference distances offshore, while the highest mangrove biomass OC stock was found at the seaward station. Isotope mixing calculations showed that the rich OC in mangrove soils was attributed to the accumulated autochthonous mangrove source while the suspended organic matter in tidal water and the mangrove-adjacent seagrass contributed less than 20% to the soil OC. The results further demonstrated the importances of the oceanic mangrove in carbon storage and the mangrove plants in contributing OC to their soils.

While estrogen receptor β (ERβ) may impact the progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), its linkage to alteration of the vasculogenic mimicry (VM) formation to influence the NSCLC cell invasion remains unclear. Here, we analyzed immunohistochemistry data from NSCLC tissues and found that ERβ-positive NSCLC female patients had worse survival outcomes than those of ERβ-negative NSCLC female patients. In vitro studies using multiple NSCLC cell lines also revealed that ERβ could increase the VM formation and cell invasion. Molecular mechanism dissection suggested that ERβ could increase the lncRNA-MALAT1 (MALAT1) expression via directly binding to the estrogen response elements (EREs) located on the promoter of MALAT1, which could then lead to (i) suppressing the miR145-5p and (ii) increasing the NEDD9 protein expression as miR145-5p can directly target the 3ʹ-UTR of NEDD9-mRNA. A preclinical study using the in vivo mouse model further confirmed the in vitro cell lines data. Together, results from the above studies demonstrated that ERβ can promote NSCLC VM formation and cell invasion via altering the ERβ/MALAT1/miR145-5p/NEDD9 signaling. Targeting this newly identified signaling pathway with small molecules may help the development of novel therapies to better suppress the NSCLC metastasis.

A liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the determination of dioctyldiethylenetriamine acetate in soil and tobacco. The separation was performed on a Restek Ultra AQ C18 column (2.1 × 100 mm i.d., particle size 3 µm) at 40 °C with a gradient elution. Methanol and trifluoroacetic acid (0.1%) were used as mobile phase, and the flow rate was set at 0.3 mL min−1. A modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) method was used for sample extraction and cleanup pretreatment. The recovery was tested in the real samples and calculated to be 86.3–97.4%, the relative standard deviations were 1.1–11.9%. The limits of detection and quantitation were 3.3–16.7 and 10–50 µg kg−1, respectively. The method was demonstrated to be reliable for the routine monitoring of dioctyldiethylenetriamine acetate in tobacco samples.

Accelerated thermal aging tests were performed at 400 °C for nearly 18,000 h on Z3CN20.09M cast stainless steel which was used for primary coolant pipes of nuclear power plants. A series of Charpy impact tests were conducted on Z3CN20.09M after different long-term thermal aging time. The test results indicated that the Charpy impact energy of Z3CN20.09M cast stainless steel decreased rapidly at an early stage and then almost saturated after thermal aging of 10,000 h. Furthermore, J-resistance curves were measured for CT specimens of longitudinal and circumferential pipe orientations. It showed that there was no obvious difference in the fracture characteristics of Z3CN20.09M in different sampling directions. In addition, the observed stretch zone width (SZW) revealed that the value of initiation fracture toughness J SZW was significantly lower than that of fracture toughness J IC, indicating a low actual crack initiation energy due to long-term thermal aging.

The role of B7-DC in T-cell responses remains controversial because both coinhibitory and costimulatory functions have been reported in various experimental systems in vitro and in vivo. In addition to interacting with the coinhibitory receptor PD-1, B7-DC has also been shown to bind repulsive guidance molecule b (RGMb). The functional consequences of the B7-DC/RGMb interaction, however, remain unclear. More than a decade ago, we reported that replacement of a murine B7-DC mutant lysine with serine (K113S) at positive 113 resulted in a loss of binding capacity to PD-1. Nevertheless, K113S remained costimulatory for T cells in vitro, implicating a dual functionality for B7-DC in T-cell responses. Here we show that recombinant K113S protein interacts with RGMb with a similar affinity to wild-type B7-DC. More importantly, K113S costimulates CD4+ T-cell responses via RGMb and promotes Th1 polarization. RGMb is expressed on the surface of naive mouse T cells, macrophages, neutrophils and dendritic cells. Finally, K113S/RGMb costimulation suppresses Th2-mediated asthma and ameliorates small airway inflammation and lung pathology in an experimental mouse model. Our findings indicate that RGMb is a costimulatory receptor for B7-DC. These findings from the K113S variant provide not only a possible explanation for the B7-DC-triggered contradictory effects on T-cell responses, but also a novel approach to investigate the B7-DC/PD-1/RGMb axis. Recombinant K113S or its derivatives could potentially be developed as an agonist for RGMb to costimulate the Th1 response without triggering PD-1-mediated T-cell inhibition.

Thin-multilayer Ti/Al laminates were prepared by one-step explosive bonding method to investigate the interface bonding and mechanical properties owing to their potential application in aerospace and auto industry. It was found that Ti/Al laminates prepared at the detonation velocity of 2100 m/s exhibited superior surface quality without any defects in comparison with other detonation velocities owing to the optimum explosive pressure and impact velocity. The interface morphologies and element distribution of Ti/Al laminates prepared at the detonation velocity of 2100 m/s were characterized by means of SEM and EDS. The results indicated that the linear and wavy bonding interface coexisted and element diffusion occurred in the interfacial zone. Furthermore, thin-multilayer Ti/Al laminates possessed high microhardness, excellent interlaminar shear and tensile properties.

As an alternative class of antimicrobial agents used to overcome drug-resistant infections, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have recently gained significant attention. In this study, we designed an improved antimicrobial peptide, K1K8, based on the molecular template of Hp1404. Compared to the wild-type Hp1404, K1K8 showed an improved antibacterial spectrum in vitro, a lower hemolytic activity, and an enhanced serum stability. Importantly, K1K8 also decreased methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterial counts in the wounded region in a mouse skin infection model. Interestingly, K1K8 did not induce bacterial resistance or non-specific immune response reactions. Moreover, the peptide killed bacterial cells mainly by disrupting the bacterial membrane. In summary, K1K8 has the potential to be used as an improved anti-infection agent for topical use, which opens an avenue that potential anti-infection drugs may be designed and developed from the molecular templates of AMPs.

It has been demonstrated that preconditioning with 1.5 % isoflurane reduces hypoxia/ischemia (HI)-induced brain loss/injury in neonatal rats. Ca2+ influx mediated by α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptors (AMPARs) is involved in HI-induced neuronal death. Here, we investigated the effective concentrations and time windows for neuroprotection by isoflurane postconditioning in neonatal rats after brain HI and determined whether GluR2-containing AMPARs mediate this neuroprotection. Seven-day-old Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into eight groups (n = 40 in each). The rats underwent left common carotid arterial ligation (brain HI) or sham surgery, followed by exposure to 8 % oxygen for 2 h at 37 °C in a thermoregulated environment. Post-conditioning with 1, 1.5, or 2 % isoflurane for 30 min was performed immediately after brain HI. Others were post-treated with 1.5 % isoflurane for 30 min at 3, 6, and 12 h after brain HI. The weight ratio, neuronal density ratio in the ventral posteromedial thalamic nucleus, and retrosplenial granular cortex of left to right cerebral hemispheres at 7 days after brain HI were evaluated in all groups. Cerebral hemispheres were harvested for Western-blot analysis of GluR2 on the cellular membranes 24 h after HI or sham surgery in neonatal rats from the sham group, the HI group, and the HI + immediate exposure to the 1.5 % isoflurane group. In another experiment, the function of learning and memory were assessed in adolescence (4 weeks) using Morris water maze. Compared with the control (sham) group, brain HI decreased the weight ratio and the neuronal density ratio in the ventral posteromedial thalamic nucleus and the retrosplenial granular cortex of the left to right cerebral hemispheres (p

Atherosclerosis was considered to induce many vascular-related complications, such as acute myocardial infarction and stroke. Abnormal lipid metabolism and its peroxidation inducing blood–brain barrier (BBB) leakage were associated with the pre-clinical stage of stroke. Dapsone (DDS), an anti-inflammation and anti-oxidation drug, has been found to have protective effects on vascular. However, whether DDS has a protective role on brain microvessels during lipid oxidation had yet to be elucidated. We investigated brain microvascular integrity in a high-fat diet (HFD) mouse model. We designed this study to explore whether DDS had protective effects on brain microvessels under lipid oxidation and tried to explain the underlying mechanism. In our live optical study, we found that DDS significantly attenuated brain microvascular leakage through reducing serum oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) in HFD mice (p p p p p

Load-controlled cyclic three-point bending tests were conducted on a 316LN austenitic stainless steel at temperatures ranging from 20 to 450 °C. A fair method based on the concept of equivalent maximum nominal stress (MNS) was proposed to quantitatively characterize the temperature-dependent bending ratcheting behavior of the steel. The equivalent MNS was determined by ensuring consistent residual deflections after the first bending cycle at varied temperatures. Two loading paths, namely simple cycling and dwelling-cycling, were employed under the equivalent MNS. Under the simple cycling path, the ratcheting behavior of the steel tends to shakedown as temperature rises. Under the simple cycling path where a dwelling was introduced at the maximum loading, the ratcheting potential of the steel appears to be exhausted at relatively low temperatures. These facts are presumably attributed to the loss of viscosity induced by the dynamic strain aging effect.

To enhance the recyclability and operability of graphene oxide/TiO2–Bi2O3 (GO–T–B) hybrids photocatalyst in water solution, we studied its photocatalytic activity for degradation of organics pollution and removal of NO gas, respectively, by using the fabricated GO–T–B hybrid coatings. Experimental results showed that the GO–T–B hybrid coating exhibited better photocatalytic activity for RhB and MO than P25 coating, as well as an excellent photocatalytic activity for NO gas, where the removal ratio of NO gas reaches 78.5 % within 60 min. The nanoparticles coating is a simple and valid method to improve the recyclability of nanoparticles. The resultant GO–T–B hybrid coating has great potential for the applications of sewage treatment and air cleaning.

Residues of dinotefuran and its metabolites, 1-methyl-3-(tetrahydro-3-furylmethyl)urea (UF) and 1-methyl-3-(tetrahydro-3-furylmethyl)guanidine (DN), in apple were investigated using a "QuEChERS" (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, safe) pretreatment and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Limits of detection (LODs) and quantification (LOQs) of dinotefuran, UF, and DN in apples were 0.011-0.960 and 0.037-3.200 μg/kg, respectively. The average recoveries of dinotefuran, UF, and DN in apple ranged from 70.0 to 83.6% with relative standard deviations less than 13%. A formulation of 20% water-dispersible dinotefuran granules was sprayed at 1-1.5-fold the recommended dose 3-4 times on apple trees. Total terminal residues of dinotefuran in apple were less than 2 mg/kg, which is the maximum residue limit (MRL) set by Japan. When following the recommended application guidelines, dinotefuran is unlikely to present significant health concerns to the Chinese population because the risk quotient (RQ) is less than 100%. This work could provide guidance for the safe use of dinotefuran and serve as a reference for the establishment of a maximum residue limit of dinotefuran in apple in China.

The safety and efficacy of using simultaneous integrated boost intensity-modulated radiotherapy (SIB-IMRT) for patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were evaluated in a single-institution phase II setting.Between June 2007 and October 2009, 45 patients underwent concurrent chemoradiotherapy (n = 27) or radiotherapy alone (n = 18). Two planning target volumes (PTV) were defined for the SIB: PTVC and PTVG, with prescribed doses of 50.4 Gy to the PTVC (1.8 Gy/fraction) and 63 Gy to the PTVG (2.25 Gy/fraction), both given in 28 fractions.At a median follow-up interval of 20.3 months, the 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 42.2 and 40.7 %, respectively. The median overall survival time was 21 months; locoregional control rates were 83.3 % at 1 year and 67.5 % at 3 years. According to CTCAE (version 3.0) criteria, none of the patients developed grade 4-5 toxicity. The most common grade 2 and 3 radiation-related toxicity was radiation esophagitis, occurring in 64 % of all patients (but only 13 % as grade 3). No patient developed grade 2 pulmonary complications.SIB-IMRT is a feasible therapeutic approach for esophageal carcinoma patients and provides encouraging locoregional control with a low toxicity profile. Further investigations should focus on dose escalation and optimization of the combination with systemic therapies.

Much effort has been made to analyze the pesticides in foods or vegetables due to the interferences in the sample matrix. In this work, taking the determination of prometryn in leek samples as an example, a simple method is proposed for fast analysis of the components in real samples using GC–MS and chemometric resolution. The purification step in preparing the samples was simplified, and a short capillary column and fast temperature program were employed in GC–MS measurement. Although the measured signal is composed of overlapped peaks with the interferences and background, the signal of prometryn can be extracted by chemometric resolution. Six leek samples from different markets were analyzed within an elution time of 6 min. Compared with the results by the standard method, the results by the proposed method were found to be reliable.

The impact of climate change on the health of vulnerable groups such as the elderly has been of increasing concern. However, to date there has been no meta-analysis of current literature relating to the effects of temperature fluctuations upon mortality amongst the elderly. We synthesised risk estimates of the overall impact of daily mean temperature on elderly mortality across different continents. A comprehensive literature search was conducted using MEDLINE and PubMed to identify papers published up to December 2010. Selection criteria including suitable temperature indicators, endpoints, study-designs and identification of threshold were used. A two-stage Bayesian hierarchical model was performed to summarise the percent increase in mortality with a 1°C temperature increase (or decrease) with 95% confidence intervals in hot (or cold) days, with lagged effects also measured. Fifteen studies met the eligibility criteria and almost 13 million elderly deaths were included in this meta-analysis. In total, there was a 2-5% increase for a 1°C increment during hot temperature intervals, and a 1-2 % increase in all-cause mortality for a 1°C decrease during cold temperature intervals. Lags of up to 9 days in exposure to cold temperature intervals were substantially associated with all-cause mortality, but no substantial lagged effects were observed for hot intervals. Thus, both hot and cold temperatures substantially increased mortality among the elderly, but the magnitude of heat-related effects seemed to be larger than that of cold effects within a global context.

Background Malaria remains a public health problem in the remote and poor area of Yunnan Province, China. Yunnan faces an increasing risk of imported malaria infections from Mekong river neighboring countries. This study aimed to identify the high risk area of malaria transmission in Yunnan Province, and to estimate the effects of climatic variability on the transmission of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum in the identified area. Methods We identified spatial clusters of malaria cases using spatial cluster analysis at a county level in Yunnan Province, 2005–2010, and estimated the weekly effects of climatic factors on P. vivax and P. falciparum based on a dataset of daily malaria cases and climatic variables. A distributed lag nonlinear model was used to estimate the impact of temperature, relative humidity and rainfall up to 10–week lags on both types of malaria parasite after adjusting for seasonal and long-term effects. Results The primary cluster area was identified along the China–Myanmar border in western Yunnan. A 1°C increase in minimum temperature was associated with a lag 4 to 9 weeks relative risk (RR), with the highest effect at lag 7 weeks for P. vivax (RR = 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01, 1.05) and 6 weeks for P. falciparum (RR = 1.07; 95% CI, 1.04, 1.11); a 10-mm increment in rainfall was associated with RRs of lags 2-4 weeks and 9-10 weeks, with the highest effect at 3 weeks for both P. vivax (RR = 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01, 1.04) and P. falciparum (RR = 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01, 1.06); and the RRs with a 10% rise in relative humidity were significant from lag 3 to 8 weeks with the highest RR of 1.24 (95% CI, 1.10, 1.41) for P. vivax at 5-week lag. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the China–Myanmar border is a high risk area for malaria transmission. Climatic factors appeared to be among major determinants of malaria transmission in this area. The estimated lag effects for the association between temperature and malaria are consistent with the life cycles of both mosquito vector and malaria parasite. These findings will be useful for malaria surveillance–response systems in the Mekong river region.

Introduction The acute health effects of heatwaves in a subtropical climate and their impact on emergency departments (ED) are not well known. The purpose of this study is to examine overt heat-related presentations to EDs associated with heatwaves in Brisbane. Methods Data were obtained for the summer seasons (December to February) from 2000–2012. Heatwave events were defined as two or more successive days with daily maximum temperature ≥34°C (HWD1) or ≥37°C (HWD2). Poisson generalised additive model was used to assess the effect of heatwaves on heat-related visits (International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 10 codes T67 and X30; ICD 9 codes 992 and E900.0). Results Overall, 628 cases presented for heat-related illnesses. The presentations significantly increased on heatwave days based on HWD1 (relative risk (RR) = 4.9, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.8, 6.3) and HWD2 (RR = 18.5, 95% CI: 12.0, 28.4). The RRs in different age groups ranged between 3–9.2 (HWD1) and 7.5–37.5 (HWD2). High acuity visits significantly increased based on HWD1 (RR = 4.7, 95% CI: 2.3, 9.6) and HWD2 (RR = 81.7, 95% CI: 21.5, 310.0). Average length of stay in ED significantly increased by >1 hour (HWD1) and >2 hours (HWD2). Conclusions Heatwaves significantly increase ED visits and workload even in a subtropical climate. The degree of impact is directly related to the extent of temperature increases and varies by socio-demographic characteristics of the patients. Heatwave action plans should be tailored according to the population needs and level of vulnerability. EDs should have plans to increase their surge capacity during heatwaves.