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The subsea suspended manifold designed to replace the traditional foundation structure with the buoys is a new generation subsea production system that can be suspended at a certain height from the seafloor and rapidly recycled by its own buoyancy. Due to complex environmental conditions, its hydrodynamic performance in the splash zone is extremely important for the safety of the whole installation process. In this paper, the mathematical model for the dynamic analysis of the seawater ingress process of the single-layer pre-set horizontal cabin is proposed based on the different center of gravity positions of the buoy. Meanwhile, the theoretical analysis of fiber cable is divided into infinite differential units by the discretization method, and the formulae of the horizontal displacement of the subsea suspended manifold are presented. In addition, the simulations are carried out to verify the rules of the dynamic responses on the subsea suspended manifold system with the consideration of the environmental conditions in the South China Sea. Comparing with the calculated value of the mathematical model of the cabin water ingress, the error of the simulation result by use of FLUENT is about 5.47%. Furthermore, the wave height is greater than the current impact on the lowering manifold system and the azimuth angle of the installation vessel is aligned with the direction of the environmental load.

Ethyl ferulate (EF) is abundant in Rhizoma Chuanxiong and grains (e.g., rice and maize) and possesses antioxidative, antiapoptotic, antirheumatic, and anti-inflammatory properties. However, its effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) is still unknown. In the present study, we found that EF significantly alleviated LPS-induced pathological damage and neutrophil infiltration and inhibited the gene expression of proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) in murine lung tissues. Moreover, EF reduced the gene expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and iNOS and decreased the production of NO in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells and BMDMs. Mechanistic experiments revealed that EF prominently activated the AMPK/Nrf2 pathway and promoted Nrf2 nuclear translocation. AMPK inhibition (Compound C) and Nrf2 inhibition (ML385) abolished the beneficial effect of EF on the inflammatory response. Furthermore, the protective effect of EF on LPS-induced ALI was not observed in Nrf2 knockout mice. Taken together, the results of our study suggest that EF ameliorates LPS-induced ALI in an AMPK/Nrf2-dependent manner. These findings provide a foundation for developing EF as a new anti-inflammatory agent for LPS-induced ALI/ARDS therapy. [Image: see text]

Laparoscopic surgery is the standard surgical approach for colon cancer. However, there is no standard surgery for right colectomy. Selection between total laparoscopic right colectomy (TLRC) and laparoscopic-assisted right colectomy (LARC) is a topic of interest. In this systematic review, we compared the short-term outcomes of TLRC and LARC in the treatment of right colon cancer.We identified studies (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase) comparing TLRC and LARC up to February 2021. Surgical duration; volume of intraoperative blood loss; number of harvested lymph nodes; incision length; hospitalization duration; time to first flatus; time to first defecation; and anastomotic leakage, ileus, and wound infection were compared.Thirty studies (TLRC, 1948 patients; LARC, 2369 patients) were evaluated. All studies were retrospective, except seven prospective studies, three RCTs, and three case-control studies. TLRC demonstrated lesser intraoperative blood loss volume (P 0.01), less frequent intraoperative conversion to laparotomy (P = 0.02), shorter hospitalization duration (P 0.01), smaller incision length (P 0.01), shorter time to first flatus (P 0.01) and first defecation (P 0.01), and lesser frequent wound infection (P 0.01) compared with LARC. The surgical duration, number of harvested lymph nodes, anastomotic leakage, and ileus were similar between TLRC and LARC (P 0.05).TLRC is associated with significantly earlier bowel recovery, lesser blood loss, smaller incision length, lower rate of conversion, shorter hospitalization duration, and lesser frequent wound infection compared with LARC.

Childhood trauma is one of the most prominent risk factors in developing major depressive disorder (MDD) and may lead to unfavorable outcomes of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy in MDD. While how it modulates the treatment outcome of the repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and how sex difference may play a role in mediating this relationship remain unknown. To evaluate this question, 51 (37 women) MDD patients were treated with 10 Hz rTMS to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC). The experience of childhood trauma was quantified by the Childhood Traumatic Questionnaire (CTQ). The depressive severity was assessed by Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) as the primary and secondary assessments. Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were also assessed for further confirmation. Thirty-six (70.6%) participants showed a response including 17 (33.3%) achieving remission to the rTMS treatment. The alleviation of depressive symptoms was negatively correlated with the CTQ scores, specifically in women but not men, in subjective BDI and BHS, but not objective HAMD or HAMA. We demonstrate that childhood trauma negatively affects the subjective perception of rTMS-lDLPFC treatment outcomes in female MDD patients. This highlights the importance of measuring childhood trauma-related symptoms in routine clinical rTMS treatment, as they may impact perceived efficacy.

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is a single-pass transmembrane immune receptor that is mainly expressed on microglia in the brain and macrophages in the periphery. Recent studies have identified TREM2 as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Increasing evidence has shown that TREM2 can affect lipid metabolism both in the central nervous system (CNS) and in the periphery. In the CNS, TREM2 affects the metabolism of cholesterol, myelin, and phospholipids and promotes the transition of microglia into a disease-associated phenotype. In the periphery, TREM2 influences lipid metabolism by regulating the onset and progression of obesity and its complications, such as hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerosis, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. All these altered lipid metabolism processes could influence the pathogenesis of AD through several means, including affecting inflammation, insulin resistance, and AD pathologies. Herein, we will discuss a potential pathway that TREM2 mediates lipid metabolism to influence the pathogenesis of AD in both the CNS and periphery. Moreover, we discuss the possibility that TREM2 may be a key factor that links central and peripheral lipid metabolism under disease conditions, including AD. This link may be due to impacts on the integrity of the blood–brain barrier, and we introduce potential pathways by which TREM2 affects the blood–brain barrier. Moreover, we discuss the role of lipids in TREM2-associated treatments for AD. We propose some potential therapies targeting TREM2 and discuss the prospect and limitations of these therapies.

A novel phenomenon of spontaneous positive exchange bias (PEB) is reported in SrFeO3−x/SrCoO3−x epitaxial bilayer without undergoing any magnetic field treatment. When inserting a thick SrTiO3 (STO) nonmagnetic spacer (about 6 nm) into the bilayer interface, this phenomenon still exists. Based on a series of testing means, the spontaneous PEB effect is supposed to be mainly related to short-range ferromagnetic (FM) exchange coupling at the interface when there is no STO spacer. As the STO interlayer reaches up to a certain thickness, short-range coupling interaction basically disappears. At this time, the long-range dipole field may be responsible for the coupling of the FM and antiferromagnetic (AFM) layer across the nonmagnetic STO and then leads to the same bias effect. Our discoveries provide a new way to realize and manipulate spontaneous exchange bias-based spintronics devices, such as magnetic recording heads and spin valves.

In this study, nano-sized SnO2 decorated on carbon cloth (SnO2/CC) is prepared through a simple and facile solid method. The nano-sized SnO2 is uniformly distributed on the surface of carbon fibers in carbon cloth, providing sufficient free space to relieve volume expansion and reduce electrode pulverization during cycling. The as-prepared SnO2/CC as a flexible, self-supporting and additive-free anode electrode for sodium-ion/lithium-ion batteries (SIBs/LIBs) can demonstrate outstanding electrochemical performance. SnO2/CC after annealing at 350 °C (SC-350) as an anode for SIBs can deliver a reversible capacity of 0.587 mA h cm−2 at the current density of 0.3 mA cm−2 after 100 cycles. In addition, when cycling at 1.5 mA cm−2, SC-350 can maintain 1.69 mA h cm−2 after 500 cycles when used as LIB anode. These results illustrate that the as-prepared SnO2/CC can be a promising flexible anode material for flexible SIBs/LIBs and provide a simple and practical method for designing new flexible electrode materials.

Background Lignocellulosic biomass upgrading has become a promising alternative route to produce transportation fuels in response to energy security and environmental concerns. As the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature, hemicellulose mainly containing xylose is an important carbon source that can be used for the bioconversion to fuels and chemicals. However, the adaptation phenomena could appear and influence the bioconversion performance of xylose when Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain was transferred from the glucose to the xylose environment. Therefore, it is crucial to elucidate the mechanism of this adaptation phenomena, which can guide the strategy exploration to improve the efficiency of xylose utilization. Results In this study, xylose-utilizing strains had been constructed to effectively consume xylose. It is found that the second incubation of yYST218 strain in synthetic complete-xylose medium resulted in a 1.24-fold increase in xylose consumption ability as compared with the first incubation in synthetic complete-xylose medium. The results clearly showed that growing S. cerevisiae again in synthetic complete-xylose medium can significantly reduce the stagnation time and thus achieved a faster growth rate, by comparing the growth status of the strain in synthetic complete-xylose medium for the first and second time at the single-cell level through Microfluidic technology. Although these xylose-utilizing strains possessed different xylose metabolism pathways, they exhibited the “transient memory” phenomenon of xylose metabolism after changing the culture environment to synthetic complete-xylose medium, which named ‘xylose consumption memory (XCM)’ of S. cerevisiae in this study. According to the identification of protein acetylation, partial least squares analysis and the confirmatory test had verified that H4K5Ac affected the state of “XCM” in S. cerevisiae. Knockout of the acetylase-encoding genes GCN5 and HPA2 enhanced the “XCM” of the strain. Protein acetylation analysis suggested that xylose induced perturbation in S. cerevisiae stimulated the rapid adaptation of strains to xylose environment by regulating the level of acetylation. Conclusions All these results indicated protein acetylation modification is an important aspect that protein acetylation regulated the state of “XCM” in S. cerevisiae and thus determine the environmental adaptation of S. cerevisiae. Systematically exploiting the regulation approach of protein acetylation in S. cerevisiae could provide valuable insights into the adaptation phenomena of microorganisms in complex industrial environments.

Nickel–cobalt oxide has been given more attention to being used as the supercapacitor's electrode materials due to its two-dimensional layered structure, good electron conductivity, and excellent stability. In this work, NiCo2O4 nanosheets were successfully prepared by the simple solvothermal reaction and the thermal treatment process. Under the three-electrode system, it exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 978 F/g at 1.5 A/g and good cycle stability. Meanwhile, a freestanding of partially reduced graphene oxides/carbon nanotubes (PRGO/CNTs) film was obtained by the vacuum filter and solvothermal methods, which can provide a wide potential window of − 1 ~ 0 V and a maximum specific capacitance of 236 F/g at 0.5 A/g. Finally, an asymmetric supercapacitor of PRGO/CNTs//NiCo2O4 was assembled, which exhibits good electrochemical performance, such as specific capacitance of 82 F/g at 0.5 A/g, energy density of 18.8 Wh/kg at 0.32 kW/kg, and 99.5% of capacitance retention after 5000 cycles at 5 A/g. This test results reveal that PRGO/CNTs//NiCo2O4 ASC has great potential for practical application in energy storage systems.

Genetic analyses have linked microRNA-137 (MIR137) to neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder. miR-137 plays important roles in neurogenesis and neuronal maturation, but the impact of miR-137 loss-of-function in vivo remains unclear. Here we show the complete loss of miR-137 in the mouse germline knockout or nervous system knockout (cKO) leads to postnatal lethality, while heterozygous germline knockout and cKO mice remain viable. Partial loss of miR-137 in heterozygous cKO mice results in dysregulated synaptic plasticity, repetitive behavior, and impaired learning and social behavior. Transcriptomic and proteomic analyses revealed that the miR-137 mRNA target, phosphodiesterase 10a (Pde10a), is elevated in heterozygous knockout mice. Treatment with the Pde10a inhibitor papaverine or knockdown of Pde10a ameliorates the deficits observed in the heterozygous cKO mice. Collectively, our results suggest that MIR137 plays essential roles in postnatal neurodevelopment and that dysregulation of miR-137 potentially contributes to neuropsychiatric disorders in humans.

Suffering from fragile environment, poor accessibility and infrastructure, as well as social, political and economic marginality, the interprovincial mountain geographical entities are difficult areas for the regional governance in China. By analyzing the spatial patterns and the influencing factors of the interprovincial mountain geographical names (IMGNs), the goal of this research is to clarify the geographical features of IMGNs and offer alternatives for the management of interprovincial mountain regions in China. The spatial visualization, the analysis of spatial agglomeration and the influencing factors of IMGNs were all implemented under a geographical information system. Results showed that there were 6869 IMGNs in China according to the database of “China’s Second National Survey of Geographical Names (2014–2018)”, including 4209 mountain geographical names, 1684 mountain peak geographical names and 976 the other mountain geographical names. Hunan Province had the largest number of names while Shanghai had the smallest number of names. In addition, the spatial variance of the mountain peak names and the mountain names were larger than that of the other mountain geographical names, and the IMGNs showed a significant clustering phenomenon in the southern part of China. The relative elevation and the population had an impact on the distribution of the IMGNs. The largest number of the names occurred where the relative elevation was between 1000–2000 m and where the population was between 40–50 million. Density of unnamed interprovincial mountain geographical entities declined from west to east in China. The analysis of generic names of different types of IMGNs implied that the naming of IMGNs is inconsistent. Based on these analyses, it is suggested that the government should take the IMGNs as management units, strengthen the naming of unnamed interprovincial mountain geographical entities, standardize the generic names of IMGNs and identify areas of poverty based on the survey of IMGNs.

Objective To investigate the correlation of M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) expression and serum anti-PLA2R antibody with the clinical parameters and prognosis of patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN). Methods A literature search for relevant original articles published between January 2009 and October 2019 was conducted on domestic and foreign databases. RevMan 5.3 software was used for meta-analysis. Results Eighteen studies were included in this meta-analysis. There were 1235 anti-PLA2R antibody-positive and PLA2R-positive patients, and 407 serum anti-PLA2R antibody-negative and PLA2R-negative patients. Compared with negative group, patients in the serum PLA2R antibody -positive group had lower serum albumin [SMD = -1.11, 95% CI (− 1.82, − 0.40), P P P P P = 0.002]. No significant difference was observed between anti-PLA2R antibody -positive and -negative groups with respect to adverse events. Serum anti-PLA2R antibody titer did not affect the adverse event rate. Conclusion As compared to PLA2R, serum anti-PLA2R antibody is more closely related with IMN disease progression.

Herpes simplex viruses (HSVs) are important pathogens and ideal for gene therapy due to its large genome size. Previous researches on HSVs were hampered because the technology to construct recombinant HSVs were based on DNA homology-dependent repair (HDR) and plaque assay, which are inefficient, laborious, and time-consuming. Fortunately, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) recently provided the possibility to precisely, efficiently, and rapidly edit genomes and indeed is successfully being used in HSVs. Importantly, CRISPR/Cas9 technology increased HSV HDR efficiency exponentially by a 10,000-1,000,000 times when making recombinant HSVs, and its combination with flow cytometric technology made HSV recombination practically automatic. These may have a significant impact on virus and gene therapy researches. This review will summarize the latest development and molecular mechanisms of CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology and its recent application in HSVs.

Grain protein content (GPC) and flour whiteness degree (FWD) are important qualitative traits in common wheat. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for GPC and FWD was conducted using a set of 131 recombinant-inbred lines derived from the cross 'Chuan 35050 × Shannong 483' in six environmental conditions. A total of 22 putative QTLs (nine GPC and 13 FWD) were identified on 12 chromosomes with individual QTL explaining 4.5-34.0% phenotypic variation. Nine QTLs (40.9%) were detected in two or more environments. The colocated QTLs were on chromosomes 1B and 4B. Among the QTLs identified for GPC, QGpc.sdau-4A from the parent Shannong 483 represented some important favourable QTL alleles. QGpc.sdau-2A.1 and QFwd.sdau-2A.1 had a significant association with both GPC and FWD. The markers detected on top of QTL regions could be potential targets for marker-assisted selection.

Discrete time Markov decision process is studied and the minimum reward risk model is established for the reservoir long-term generation optimization. Different form the commonly used optimization criterion of best expected reward in reservoir scheduling, the probability that the expected generation of the whole period not exceeding the predete reward target to be smallest is chosen as the optimizing target for this random process. For the hydropower tends to operate as peak-clipping mode in Market-based model to gain more profits, the function of electricity price and output can be founded by analyzing on the typical day load course of the electricity system. Compared with the generally used criteria of the largest expectation power generation model, this model is fitted for the decision-making in which the risk is needed to be limited to reflect the risk preference of the policy makers. Stochastic dynamic programming method is adopted to solve the model and the model is tested on the Three Gorges Hydropower Station.

Potassium (K) is one of the most important mineral nutrients limiting plant growth in agricultural systems. This study investigated the effects of low-K treatments and detected quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for K efficiency traits at the seedling and adult stages of wheat. Eleven seedling traits under a hydroponic culture trial with five K treatments and nine adult traits in a pot trial and a field trial with three K treatments were investigated using a set of wheat recombinant inbred lines (RILs). Values of most of the seedling and adult traits decreased with decreasing K supply, but the K-use efficiency and ratio of dry weight between seedling roots and shoots (RSDW) increased. A total of 87 QTLs for seedling traits in the hydroponic culture trial and 51 and 29 QTLs for adult traits in the pot and field trials, respectively, were detected. We also identified 15 relatively high-frequency QTLs (RHF-QTLs) which can be detected in over half of the treatments and 21 QTL clusters which is defined as the co-location of QTLs for more than two traits. K efficiency traits and the related QTLs of wheat were greatly affected by K treatments. Several relatively stable QTLs and important QTL clusters may be potential targets for marker-assisted selection for wheat nutrient efficiency.

Mucus secretions coating entry points to the human body that are not covered by skin efficiently trap and clear conventional drug carriers, limiting controlled drug delivery at mucosal surfaces. To overcome this challenge, we recently engineered nanoparticles that readily penetrate a variety of human mucus secretions, which we termed mucus-penetrating particles (MPP). Here, we report a new biodegradable MPP formulation based on diblock copolymers of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PLGA-PEG). PLGA-PEG nanoparticles prepared by a solvent diffusion method rapidly diffused through fresh, undiluted human cervicovaginal mucus (CVM) with an average speed only eightfold lower than their theoretical speed in water. In contrast, PLGA nanoparticles were slowed more than 12,000-fold in the same CVM secretions. Based on the measured diffusivities, as much as 75% of the PLGA-PEG nanoparticles are expected to penetrate a 10-μm-thick mucus layer within 30 min, whereas virtually no PLGA nanoparticles are expected to do so over the same duration. These results encourage further development of PLGA-PEG nanoparticles as mucus-penetrating drug carriers for improved drug and gene delivery to mucosal surfaces.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the expression and significance of transforming growth factor β1(TGF-β1), extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), and K-ras in colorectal cancer (CRC) using tissue microarray technology.METHODS The expressions of TGF-β1, ERK1/2, and K-ras in colon cancer cells taken from the specimens of 92 CRC patients (stage I: 16 cases, stage II: 28 cases, stage III: 24 cases, and stage IV: 24 cases) were analyzed using tissue microarray technology and immunohistochemistry, and compared with those of 20 normal colon tissue samples.RESULTS High immunoreactive scores (IRS) of TGF-β1, p-ERK1/2, and K-ras protein in CRC were obtained, which were 66.3% (61/92), 59.8% (55/92), and 48.9% (45/92), respectively, and those in normal epithelial cells of colon were 10% (2/20), 20% (4/20), and 30% (6/20), respectively (P0.05).CONCLUSION High level expressions of TGF-β1 and ERK1/2 are closely related to the clinical stages of colon cancer and crosstalk may exist between the 2 signal pathways.

The gradient based landscape metrics analysis is now widely used to study the landscape pattern changes in respond to the urbanization. In order to discover the trend of spatio-temporal changes in Beijing metropolitan area during the past 15 years, several landscape metrics are computed using a moving window along a 96 km long transect across Beijing metropolitan area from west to east. Specially, the spatial extent of sub-landscape, which is determined by the moving window’s size, is profoundly examined. The results show that the metrics varies smoothly and regularly along the selected transect when the window size is greater than 6 km×6 km, and irregularly fluctuated for the smaller window size, that the spatial and temporal landscape characteristics of Beijing city match the hypothetical framework of spatio-temporal urban sprawl in the form of alternating processes of diffusion and coalescence well, and that some new trends of the urban sprawl style in Beijing metropolitan area, such as leap-frog manner, are also detected by the gradient landscape analysis.