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Three tetrazole-based carboxylic acids, 3,3-di(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)pentanedioic acid (H4L1), 2-(5-pyridin-4-yl-tetrazol-2-yl)propionic anion (HL2), and 5-(2-pyridyl)tetrazole-2-acetic acid (HL3), were selected as ligands to synthesize three new Pb(II)-coordination polymers, [Pb2(L1)] · H2O (1), [Pb(L2)(NO3−)] (2), and [Pb(L3)2(H2O)] · H2O (3). These metal-organic frameworks have been characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The results demonstrated that 1 displayed a 3-D network, while 2 and 3 show 2-D framework and 1-D chain, respectively. The differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses gave thermodynamic parameters (ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG). The results showed that 1–3 may be promising high-energy materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to compare the repeatability and diagnostic efficiency of shear wave elastography (SWE) while using coupling gel and gel pads in the diagnosis of superficial breast lesions. Two experienced sonographers, trained in SWE, used different methods to perform the maximum Young's modulus (Emax) measurement of the lesion while using coupling gel SWE and gel pad SWE at different time points. All 80 lesions were in the superficial layer of the breast. The interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated to evaluate the intraobserver and interobserver repeatability. Meanwhile, the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC curve) was used to calculate the sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve of the two methods. In the 80 breast lesions, the intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility of SWE measurements using coupling gel were considered good, and the ICCs were 0.728 (95% CI: 0.509–0.813) and 0.702 (95% CI: 0.492–0.795), respectively. The intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility of the SWE measured by the gel pad were also considered good, and the ICCs were 0.745 (95% CI: 0.501–0.801) and 0.713 (95% CI: 0.498–0.802), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve were 0.711 and 0.737, 0.929 and 0.905, and 0.873 and 0.878, respectively. In the SWE measurement of superficial breast lesions, the use of a gel pad does not affect the repeatability and diagnostic efficiency of the measurement. The use of gel pads does not affect repeatability and diagnostic efficiency but also improves the near-field resolution of images. The gel pad has certain advantages in the observation of superficial lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new α-pyrones, micropyrones A (1) and B (2), along with four known γ-pyrones, nocapyrone D (3), nocapyrone A (4), marinactinone A (5), and nocapyrone H (6), were isolated from the culture extract of actinomycete Microbacterium sp. GJ312, which was isolated from Glycyrrhiza uralensis. The structures of these compounds were identified by analysis of spectral data. They are the first α- and γ-pyrones reported from the genus Microbacterium. The antibacterial activity of all compounds against Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant S. aureus was evaluated. However, none of them showed significant activity. This study represents the first phytochemical example of a Glycyrrhiza-derived actinomycete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the empirical dependence of ultrasound measurement of the cephalic vein diameter, improve the repeatability of measurements for inexperienced operators, and provide a new method for inexperienced operators. Operators without ultrasound experience used contact ultrasound and immersion ultrasound to measure the diameter of the cephalic vein. The intraobserver and interobserver repeatability of measurements obtained via the two methods were analyzed. The intraobserver and interobserver repeatability of the cephalic vein diameter measured via contact ultrasound by inexperienced operators were average, with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) of 0.572 (95% CI: 0.239–0.759) and 0.405 (95% CI: −0.057–0.666), respectively. The intraobserver and interobserver reproducibility of the cephalic vein diameter measured by immersion ultrasound were very good, with ICCs of 0.955 (95% CI: 0.922–0.975) and 0.943 (95% CI: 0.900–0.967), respectively. In the Bland–Altman diagram of the intraobserver and interobserver agreement of the immersion ultrasound measurements of the cephalic vein diameter, 96% of the points fell within the 95% limits of agreement. Immersion ultrasonography can be used to measure the cephalic vein diameter while reducing the dependence of the results on operator experience; inexperienced operators can achieve very good repeatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the settlement of saturated clay ground under the time-dependent loading, the unified hardening (UH) constitutive model considering the time effect was used to describe the elastic visco-plasticity of the soil and Hansbo's flow equation was applied to reflect non-Darcian flow. Thus, the classical Terzaghi consolidation equation was modified considering the influence of gravitational stress of the ground. The finite volume method was introduced to solve the numerical solution of the modified equation, and the corresponding program was compiled based on the above algorithm. The applicability of the present program was validated by comparing with the existing results in the literature. Then the effect of some parameters on the consolidation behaviour was investigated. The calculated results showed that the excess pore water pressure in the ground is accumulated at the initial stage of loading. Furthermore, when the viscosity of the soil is considered, the maximum excess pore water pressure in the ground away from the permeable boundary can even exceed the load imposed on the upper surface of the ground. In addition, prolonging the construction period, thickening the soil layer, increasing the secondary consolidation coefficient and the parameters of Hansbo's flow will delay the consolidation process of ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This multicenter prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial compared the clinical performance of supraglottic airway device (SAD) BlockBusterTM and laryngeal mask airway (LMA) Supreme for airway maintenance in anesthetized, paralyzed adult patients. A total of 651 adult patients scheduled for elective surgery in 13 hospitals were randomly allocated into BlockBuster group (n = 351) or Supreme group (n = 300). The primary outcome was oropharyngeal leak pressure (OLP). Duration and ease of insertion, fiberscopic view of positioning, airway manipulations, and complications were also assessed. The OLP was significantly higher in BlockBuster group compared with Supreme group (29.9 ± 4.2 cmH2O vs 27.4 ± 4.3 cmH2O, p < 0.001). Success rate of insertion at the first attempt (90.2% vs 85.1%, p = 0.027), rate of optimal fiberscopic view (p = 0.002) and satisfactory positioning of SAD (p < 0.001) were significantly increased in BlockBuster group. Both SAD BlockBusterTM and LMA Supreme are safe, effective, and easy-to-use devices for airway maintenance in anesthetized, paralyzed adult patients, but the SAD BlockBusterTM is superior to LMA Supreme in terms of OLP, success rate at the first attempt, and fiber-optic view of positioning. The trial is registered at (ChiCTR-ONC-16009105). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are a major global health problem, and novel and effective antimicrobial drugs are urgently required to combat this life-threatening pathogen. Prodigiosin (PG) is a bacterial secondary metabolite with excellent anticancer and antibacterial properties. However, little is known about the antibacterial function of PG against MRSA. Therefore, the antibacterial efficacy of PG alone and PG in combination with different metal ions against clinic isolates of MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strain was evaluated in the present study. The minimum inhibitory concentration of PG against both MRSA and MSSA was 0.25 μg/mL. However, 0.1 μg/mL PG showed a stronger inhibitory effect on MSSA cell growth (47.12%) than on MRSA cell growth (35.87%). Surprisingly, we observed a significant difference (p < 0.01) in membrane integrity between PG-treated MRSA and MSSA using the propidium iodide staining assay. Further, we found that in combination with PG, Zn2+, Al3+, and Cu2+ showed synergistic antibacterial effects against MRSA and MSSA. Our results could increase the current knowledge regarding the efficacy of PG in inhibiting the growth of different types of S. aureus clinical isolates and also offer a novel strategy for developing efficient antibacterial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the fifth leading cause of death in females. This study aims to identify new prognostic genes of OC through bioinformatics analysis. Based on two datasets from the NCBI GEO public database, we constructed two WGCNA networks. We then selected and intersected two key modules and 177 key genes were identified. The GO, KEGG and PPI network were determined based on the screened genes. According to the LASSO analysis and KM plotter, three hub genes were associated with the overall survival. GEPIA and IHC staining showed that CCDC80 expression level was lower while FBXO16 expression level was higher in OC tissues than in normal ovarian tissues. The relationship between hub genes and clinical characteristics was evaluated and the prognostic significance was validated in 60 clinical patients with OC. CIBERSORT shows that both CCDC80 and FBXO16 were significantly correlated with the immune cell content. Drug sensitivity analysis shows that CCDC80 affected the IC50 value of Gefitinib, and FBXO16 affected the IC50 value of Cisplatin and Docetaxel. CCDC80 and FBXO16 were identified as two robust prognostic factors in OC that could be explored further with respect to the diagnosis and treatment of OC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vortex electromagnetic wave has attracted considerable attentions due to its theoretically infinite and orthogonal orbital angular momentum (OAM) mode characteristics. However, it is very difficult to generate high-gain (or narrow beam-hollow) and multi-OAM mode vortex electromagnetic waves. To solve this problem, a good idea is proposed in this paper. To verify the feasibility, a model system composed of a UCA-typed feed, an off-set parabolic reflector and a set of supporting structure was designed, studied and verified by simulation and experiment. It turns out that the presented method and design in this paper has the advantages of much smaller flare angle, high gain and multi-mode (up to 15) multiplexing ability over other single-mode antennas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the prognostic effect of pre-treatment factors in patients with spinal metastases secondary to lung cancer, and establish a novel predicting nomogram for predicting the survival probability. A total of 209 patients operated for spinal metastases from lung cancer were consecutively enrolled, and divided into the training and validation samples with a ratio of 7:3, for model establishing and validating, respectively. Basing on the training sample, univariate and multivariate COX proportional hazard models were used for identifying the prognostic effect of pre-treatment factors, following which significant prognostic factors would be listed as items in nomogram to calculate the survival probabilities at 3, 6, 12 and 18 months. Then, the C-indexes and the calibration curves would be figured out to evaluate the discrimination ability and accuracy of the model both for the training and validation samples. In the multivariate COX analysis, the gender, smoking history, location of spinal metastasis, visceral metastasis, Karnofsky performance status (KPS), adjuvant therapy, lymphocyte percentage and globulin were found to be significantly associated with the overall survival, and a novel nomogram was generated basing on these independent predictors. The C-indexes for the training and validation samples were 0.761 and 0.732, respectively. Favorable consistencies between the predicted and actual survival rates were demonstrated both in the internal and external validations. Pre-treatment characteristics, including gender, smoking history, location of spinal metastasis, visceral metastasis, KPS, adjuvant therapy, percentage of lymphocyte, and serum globulin level, were identified to be significantly associated with overall survival of patients living with spinal metastases derived from lung cancer, and a user-friendly nomogram was established using these independent predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rolling contact fatigue (RCF) of sprayed coating is complicated process relating to materials, structures, loading conditions, etc. Herein, the research works over the past decades in RCF of sprayed coatings are summarized here to provide a guidance to further explore the new research interests. Firstly, comprehensive summaries including the common RCF-resisted coating materials, the regular RCF setups, typical failure modes of sprayed coatings, and statistical characterization methods for RCF lifetime are illustrated. Secondly, the influence of surface integrity on RCF behavior of sprayed coating is discussed. The according mechanisms are also discussed by fracture analysis, numerical calculation, and finite element method (FEM). Thirdly, the influence of working condition on RCF behavior of sprayed coating is discussed. The shear stress is recognized as the major contribution of the RCF fracture, and the sliding during rolling contact will deteriorate the lifetime of sprayed coating. Additionally, some new techniques and methodologies have been reported in the investigations of RCF behaviors of sprayed coatings. Nondestructive testing (NDT) and signal processing methods are critical in the detection of micro-fractures within the sprayed coatings. Finally, we have proposed some suggests in future investigation of RCF of sprayed coating based on the previous research achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Asian plant Kalimeris shimadai has been used as food and ethnologic medicine for over a thousand years. In this study, we isolated and identified one new lignan, kalshiolin A (1), and 12 known lignans (2–13). The structures were characterized by the comprehensive analyses of spectroscopic data (HR-ESI-MS, IR, 1D, and 2D-NMR) and the absolute configuration of 1 was determined from ECD calculations. The new compound 1 was also screened for cytotoxic activity but did not show significant potency (IC50 35.9–43.3 μM) against A549, MDA-MB-231, MCF7, KB, and KB-VIN cell lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of multi-hydrolytic enzyme through anaerobic co-digestion of waste-activated sludge (WAS) and food waste (FW) was studied by regulating temperature, pH and the mass ratio of FW to WAS (F/W). Experimental results showed that temperature had a profound effect on the activity of the enzyme and the most suitable temperatures for the accumulation of amylase and protease were 37°C and 50°C, respectively. The highest activity of amylase and protease accumulated reached 10.29 and 19.23 U/mL at an F/W ratio of 2:1. The addition of anaerobic co-digestion solution enriching protease and amylase had positive effects on the hydrolysis of WAS. In addition, the Illumina high-throughput sequencing demonstrated that the bacterial diversity decreased, but the bacterial abundance increased during the co-digestion process of WAS and FW. The predominant strains for secreting amylase were Lactobacillus and Clostridium-sensu-strito-1, and Aeromonas was the dominant strain for secreting protease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Shikonins, a series of natural occurring naphthoquinones extracted from Arnebia euchroma (Royle) Jonst. (Boraginaceae), have antitumor activities and low toxicity. Objective: To illuminate potential activity and mechanism of shikonins against colorectal cancer (CRC). Materials and methods: Five shikonins were isolated from A. euchroma, and elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. Anti-proliferative activities of shikonins (0–100 μg/mL) on human colorectal cells were evaluated by MTT and CCK-8 for 24 or 48 h. Cell apoptosis and cycle distribution were examined by FCM analysis. The expression of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway mRNAs and proteins was analysed by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. Cell viability, cell apoptosis, cell cycle and protein expression were measured, when co-treated with PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors. The in vivo activity of deoxyshikonin was evaluated using xenograft tumour model. Results: Deoxyshikonin and another four shikonins were isolated and identified. Deoxyshikonin exhibited anti-proliferative activity with IC50 of 10.97 μM against HT29 cells. Moreover, the percentage of early apoptotic cells and G0/G1 cells increased from 1 to 29% and 44 to 67% with 0–50 μg/mL deoxyshikonin, respectively. Deoxyshikonin also down-regulated the expression of PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt, p-Akt308 and mTOR proteins in HT29 and DLD-1 cells. Moreover, LY294002, NVP-BEZ235 and MK-2206 can make deoxyshikonin more cell proliferation inhibited, cell cycle arrested at G0/G1 and apoptosis promoted. In vivo study, the weight of tumour tissues at deoxyshikonin groups was significantly reduced compared with the control group, and PI3K, p-PI3K, Akt, p-Akt308 and mTOR expression was decreased. Discussion and conclusions: We can conclude that deoxyshikonin isolated from Arnebia euchroma inhibited CRC through the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses the global pollutant emission databases and global input–output model in 2015 to calculate the impact of international trade on global water nitrogen emission patterns, based on considering the total amount of pollutant transfer and pollutant emission intensity of trade flows The main conclusions are as follows: (1) There are always a large amount of water nitrogen emissions transferring from developed economies to developing economies embodied in their bilateral trade activities. Small amount of transfers are of some areas with similar endowments of agricultural resources or long distances. (2) In 2015, the net import of water nitrogen pollution embodied in China's trade was 160,000 tons, accounting for 2.72% of the global water nitrogen imports. The sharp increases in cereal imports, together with high food storage as well as high pollution intensity embedded in trade are the main reason. It is recommended that through applying alleviations such as agricultural machinery assistance and technical training to accelerate the transfer and spread of agricultural technology in Africa, Asia, and other regions, thus helping increase agricultural production productivity in underdeveloped areas and reducing the pollution intensity embodied in trade flows from underdeveloped areas to developed areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The novel Ca-zeolite/poly(amino acid) (CaY/PAA) composites for bone substitute applications with hemostatic activity were prepared using the in situ melting polymerization method. In this study, Ca-zeolite (CaY) loaded with Ca2+ was obtained from Y-type zeolite (NaY) by ion-exchange method. The properties of the CaY/PAA composites and PAA, including composition, structure, compressive strength, in vitro degradability in phosphate-buffered solution (PBS), bioactivity, cytocompatibility and in vitro coagulation tests were characterized and investigated. The results showed that compressive strength of the CaY/PAA composites ranged from 145 to 186 MPa, demonstrating sufficient mechanical strength for load-bearing bone substitute. After soaking in PBS for 16 weeks, the weight loss of 25CaY/PAA and 50CaY/PAA were 4.1 and 1.6 wt%, respectively, and the pH values for CaY/PAA composites increased to about 8.0 in 2 weeks and then gradually stabilized around 7.4, indicating good stability in PBS. Scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectrometer results showed that the composites were bioactive and new apatite layers attached on their surfaces. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exhibited high-proliferation in the extract solution of the CaY/PAA composites and were well spread on the surfaces of the composites. Cells on the CaY/PAA composite groups showed higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity indicating the potential to promote cell differentiation. The in vitro coagulation tests showed that CaY/PAA composites have shorter clotting time and better performance of promoting blood coagulation than other samples, presenting improved hemostatic activity. In summary, the results demonstrated that the CaY/PAA composites had good mechanical strength, stability, bioactivity, cytocompatibility and hemostatic activity for bone substitute applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, for HH polarization the composite scattering from 2-D perfectly electric conducting (PEC) object situated above 1-D dielectric sea surface with large windspeed is investigated by an efficient hybrid method combining integral equation method with physical optics (IEM-PO). In the hybrid method, IEM is applied to study the direct scattering of underlying sea surface, whereas PO is employed to deal with the direct scattering of object. The mutual couplings between sea surface and object are also solved by PO method based on the equivalence principle and multi-path scattering strategy. In numerical simulations, the bistatic normalized radar cross-section (NRCS) of composite model are calculated by the proposed method and are validated by numerical experiments for different incident angles and windspeeds. The results show the hybrid IEM-PO method has a good accuracy and can greatly reduce the computational time and memory requirement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new monoterpene, 6,7,8-trihydroxy-2,6-dimethyloctanoic acid (1), and a known sesquiterpene, β-caryophyllene 4R,5R-oxide (2), as well as four known ergosta-steroids, 5α,8α-epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien-3β-y1 linoleate (3), 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-22E,24R-5α,8α-epidioxyergosta-6,22-dien (4), 5α,8α-epidioxy-(22E,24R)-ergosta-6,22-dien-3β-ol (5) and (22E,24R)-ergosta-7,22-dien-3β-ol (6), were isolated from the fruiting bodies of the mushroom Trogia venenata. The structures of these compounds were identified by the analysis of spectral data. All of the compounds were isolated from this mushroom for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tumor suppressor genes (TSGs) with DNA methylation has been suggested as effective biomarkers for cancer identification and promoter methylation in TSGs has been widely discussed. However, the feasibility of TSG exon methylation used for discriminating cancers was not fully clarified yet. In this study, genomic DNA was isolated from colorectal tissues and responding cancer-adjacent counterparts, and then bisulfite-converted. The exon 1 region of four popular TSGs including ALX4, FBN1, MLH1 and BCL2 was amplified from bisulfite-treated DNA, using nest- polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The purified amplicon was hydrolyzed and then used to detect the methylation level using a robust and convenient LC-MS/MS method. The methodological validation revealed the favorable sensitivity and accuracy of established LC-MS/MS approach. The LC-MS/MS result showed that the methylation level of ALX4 and FBN1 exon in colorectal cancerous tissues (23.70 ± 10.85 and 33.23 ± 6.64) was significant higher than that in cancer-adjacent tissues (12.15 ± 7.08 and 22.08 ± 4.46) with statistic difference, and their value of area under curve (AUC) in receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis were higher than 0.8. On the other hand, the methylation level of MLH1 and BCL2 was 13.95 ± 6.93 and 15.46 ± 2.41 in CRC tissues and 13.87 ± 3.47 and 12.84 ± 1.91 in cancer-adjacent tissues, respectively. It is demonstrated that the methylation alteration of MLH1 and BCL2 exhibited a non-differential association between two groups. The finding indicated exon methylation of ALX4 and FBN1 could effectively distinguish CRC from non-CRC tissue and exon-based methylation should be used as potential biomarkers for cancer identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new sesquiterpene kalinturoside A (1), and 17 known compounds friedelan-3-ol (2), 24-ethyl-5a-cholesta-7, 22(E)-dien-3-one (3), friedelin (4), syringaresinol (5), α-spinasterol (6), ciwujiatone (7), syringic acid (8), scopoletin (9), apocynin (10), 1-(3-hydroxy-4, 5-dimethoxyphenyl)ethan-1-one (11), apigenin (12), 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (13), stigmasterol-3-O-β-d-glucopy-ranoside (14), bidenoside C (15), citrusin (16), irioresinol A (17) and syringaresinol-4-O-β-d-glucopyranoside (18) were isolated from the herbs of Kalimeris integrifolia. The structures of these compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques such as NMR and MS. All of the compounds were isolated from this genus for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composite bilayer film based on polyvinyl alcohol, sodium alginate, and chitosan were developed in this study, and the effects of the related coating on internal-quality changes of salted duck eggs (SDEs) during storage were determined. The results showed that the overall properties of the bilayer film were better than those of monolayer films, including storage stability. Coatings could significantly (p < 0.05) reduce quality deterioration of SDEs such as water loss, oil exudation, and gritty. The bilayer coating was more effective in inhibiting the increase of egg yolk pH and total bacterial counts than monolayer coatings. After storage for 60 days, water content of bilayer coated SEDs was 19.7% higher than that of the control SDEs, oil exudation was 38% higher, and gritty texture was 27.9% higher. Moreover, bilayer coating could prolong the shelf life of SDEs to more than 60 days at 25°C and 50% relative humidity according to the results of total bacterial count experiment, while the shelf life of control SDEs was less than 45 days. This study indicated the potential application of bilayer composite coating for preservation of SDEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MIP is a candidate tumour suppressor protein found in hepatocellular carcinoma. It can interact with different proteins in different subcellular locations. However, antibodies against MIP for testing purposes are still not available and this has hindered the research on MIP protein. In this study, the full coding sequence of MIP protein was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-28a. The recombinant protein his-MIP was expressed by IPTG (isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside) induction and purified by nickel-affinity chromatography, then used to immunize New Zealand rabbits to obtain a polyclonal antibody against MIP. The sensitivity and specificity of the antibody were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot. We used the obtained antibody to detect endogenous MIP protein in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and normal human hepatic cells L-O2 and found decreased MIP expression in HCC cells. The immunohistochemistry results further showed that the expression level of MIP protein in HCC tissues was lower than that in the corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues. The MIP protein was distributed mainly in the cytoplasm in HCC. In adjacent tissues, however, high expression of MIP was detected in the nucleus in addition to the cytoplasm. The prepared polyclonal antibody against MIP provides a useful tool for further research on the functions of MIP. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A new nor-sesquiterpene kalimeristone A (1), a new nor-triterpenoid kalimerislactone B (2) and eight known compounds 7-hydroxy-4′methoxyisoflavone (3), episyringaresinol (4), epipinoresinol (5), rhamnetin (6), vanillin (7), p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (8), syringic acid (9) and 3, 4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (10) were isolated from the herbs of Kalimeris indica. The structures of these compounds were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques, such as NMR and MS. All of the compounds were isolated from this genus for the first time. The cytotoxicities against four cancer cell lines were evaluated in vitro, but were inactive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yao W, Zhao T, Chen Y, Zhong Y, Fan H, Zhang W, Li L. 2017. Habitat evaluation model for ecologically successful lake restoration. Lake Reserv Manage. 00:1–13. Anthropogenic activities have severely affected the quality of Qianling Lake, China, causing mud and sediment deposition, poor water quality, and degraded fish habitat. In some regions of the lake, fish habitat that was formerly dominant has disappeared completely. A few areas of desirable habitat persist as a result of purposeful restoration actions, and these areas provide important conservation and restoration opportunities. In this study, the ecological conditions of Qianling Lake were assessed to identify hydrodynamic conditions, sediment deposition, and fish habitat suitability to recommend strategies for improving and restoring these areas. Two restoration strategies, “flood flush” and “add an artificial island,” were proposed and modeled to predict the restoration effects. Simulation results showed that the restoration scheme “add an artificial island” could improve spinibarbus (Spinibarbus sinensisBleeker) habitat quality. The analysis also indicated that this restoration strategy could succeed in restoring the fish habitat under natural dynamic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we describe a model system comprised of hydrodynamic, sediment transport, heat transfer and habitat models. We used this model system to assess the ecosystem situation and investigate the impacts of two ecological restoration strategies in the Mian River, China. Freshwater Reeves shad (Tenualosa reevesii) was selected as the target fish species. Model results indicate a low habitat suitability level forT. reevesiiunder current hydrological conditions. Due to the habitat protection and restoration requirements in China, further numerical model simulations were conducted to investigate the effects of two ecological restoration strategies: addition of a side-channel and riverbank reconstruction (groin field installation). The long-term effects of the restoration projects were also simulated. The analysis indicated that both restoration strategies would significantly enhance the target fish habitat suitability level, with the OSI (overall suitability index) increasing from 39.9% to 53.7% for the added side-channel strategy and from 39.9% to 61.5% for the river bank reconstruction strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To acquire better understanding of spring discharge under extreme climate change and extensive groundwater pumping, this study proposed an extreme value statistical decomposition model, in which the spring discharge was decomposed into three items: a long-term trend; periodic variation; and random fluctuation. The long-term trend was fitted by an exponential function, and the periodic variation was fitted by an exponential function whose index was the sum of two sine functions. A general extreme value (GEV) model was used to obtain the return level of extreme random fluctuation. Parameters of the non-linear long-term trend and periodic variation were estimated by the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, and the GEV model was estimated by the maximum likelihood method. The extreme value statistical decomposition model was applied to Niangziguan Springs, China to forecast spring discharge. We showed that the modelled spring discharge fitted the observed data very well. Niangziguan Springs discharge is likely to continue declining with fluctuation, and the risk of cessation by August 2046 is 1%. The extreme value decomposition model is a robust method for analysing the nonstationary karst spring discharge under conditions of extensive groundwater development/pumping, and extreme climate changes. Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor J. Ward [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: The chemical weapon sulfur mustard (SM) is a blister agent, and currently, there is no effective antidote. Objective: To evaluate the decontamination efficacy of potassium ketoxime against SM and preliminarily elucidate its decontamination mechanism. Materials and methods: Potassium ketoxime reacted with SM, and SM residues were tested at different time intervals by T-135 colorimetry after the reaction. Rabbit skin was topically exposed to 2 mg/cm2 SM, treated with potassium ketoxime 1 min later, and observed after 6, 12, and 24 h. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy was employed to screen and identify the main products of potassium ketoxime decontamination of SM. Results: Potassium ketoxime had a great effect against SM contamination. With a mass ratio of decontaminant: SM of 50:1, decontamination rates against SM were 87.5% after 30 s, 95.9% after 1 min, and 99.0% after 5 min. Fifteen minutes after exposure to SM, the untreated group showed clear erythema lesions, whereas the experimental group showed no clear erythema lesions within 6 h. After 12 and 24 h, the areas of damaged skin in the experimental group were 0.038 and 0.125 cm2, respectively, compared with 2.21 and 2.65 cm2 in the control group. Histopathological analysis revealed that treatment with potassium ketoxime also reduced inflammation-induced damage. Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that potassium ketoxime reacted rapidly and completely with SM, and thus, it was found to be a suitable and effective skin decontaminant against SM. The decontamination reaction mechanism is mainly related to nucleophilic substitution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Relationship between vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphism and the risk of lung cancer from the published reports are still conflicting. This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between VDR TaqI (rs731236), BsmI (rs1544410) and ApaI (rs7975232) gene polymorphism and the risk of lung cancer using meta-analysis method. The association studies were identified from PubMed and Cochrane Library on 1 December 2013, and eligible investigations were included and synthesized using meta-analysis method. Six reports were recruited into this meta-analysis for the association of VDR gene polymorphism with lung cancer susceptibility. In the meta-analysis for ApaI gene polymorphism, AA genotype was associated with the risk of lung cancer in Asians. In the meta-analysis for BsmI gene polymorphism, B allele, BB genotype and bb genotype were associated with lung cancer in Asians, and B allele bb genotype were associated with lung cancer risk in overall populations; furthermore, bb genotype was associated with lung cancer risk in Caucasians. In the meta-analysis for TaqI gene polymorphism, t allele and TT genotype were associated with lung cancer in overall populations and in Caucasians. In conclusion, B allele bb genotype t allele and TT genotype were associated with lung cancer risk in overall populations. AA genotype, B allele, BB genotype and bb genotype were associated with the risk of lung cancer in Asians. Furthermore, bb genotype t allele and TT genotype was associated with lung cancer risk in Caucasians. However, more studies should be conducted to confirm it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To verify the important role of nitrogen in detoxifying plants from heavy metals in Populus, the influence of nitrogen and cadmium on growth, chlorophyll (Chl) synthesis, and the expression of the Glutamine synthetase gene (GS2) were studied in poplar plants. Experiments were carried out in potted plants treated with (NH4)2CO3, Cd(NO3)2, CdCl2 and CdCl2 plus (NH4)2CO3. After treatment, plant height, biomass, chlorophyll content, the precursors content and GS2 were investigated. Results showed that the plants treated with cadmium showed toxicity symptoms, decrease in growth and Chl content. Cd inhibited Chl synthesis seriously by blocking the site located on the steps between UrogenIII and Coprogen III. However, the plants treated with cadmium and nitrogen grew well without any toxicity symptoms. Nitrogen supplement can alleviate Cd inhibition on chlorophyll synthesis by unblocking the pathway. The results indicated that nitrogen can effectively alleviate cadmium toxicity to poplar plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to this work, the existence of crustal materials older than 4.0 Ga has not been reported from the North China Craton (NCC) – one of the few global terrains where crustal rocks from ∼3.8 Ga have been identified. Here we report the first occurrence of a xenocrystic zircon with a207Pb/206Pb age of 4174 ± 48 Ma, from the Anshan–Benxi Archaean supracrustal greenstone belt, based on laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The 4.17 Ga zircon xenocryst is hosted within ∼2523 ± 12 Ma massive fine-grained amphibolites which were subsequently metamorphosed at ∼2481 ± 19 Ma. The xenocryst age is ca. 350 million years, older than the oldest zircon previously identified in the NCC, and is consistent with prior zircon Lu–Hf isotopic studies. Documentation of 4.17 Ga xenocrystal zircon not only provided a geochronological record of the oldest known crustal materials in the NCC, but also identified the geologic environment for further search for the rocks that formed during Earth’s earliest recorded evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the importance of digital map to ray-tracing (RT) algorithm, intelligent preprocessing techniques for the geometric information of buildings are improved, taking into account the characteristic of quasi three-dimensional (2.5D) RT method. By using these techniques, the geometrical factors, which have little or no effect on the prediction results, are neglected from the digital map, and the reduction of the number of blocking test is achieved in the process of executing the RT routine. With the proposed preprocessing of the digital map in urban microcellular environments, the improvement in the computational efficiency is clearly demonstrated without sensibly affecting the accuracy of the propagation prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pair of stereoisomers of magnesium Schiff base complexes, [Mg(C18H16N3O2)2·2CH3OH]n(1) (C18H16N3O2: 2-acetylpyridine-l-tryptophan) and [Mg(C18H16N3O2)2·2CH3OH]n(2) (C18H16N3O2: 2-acetylpyridine-d-tryptophan), was synthesized and characterized by IR, UV, elemental analysis,1H NMR, and X-ray diffraction single crystal analysis. The analyses of the structures indicate that they all crystallize in the tetragonal crystal system, space groupP43212andP41212, respectively. The two magnesium complexes have similar crystal structures. Mg(II) is six-coordinate with two nitrogens from C=N, two nitrogens from pyridine, and two carboxylic oxygens in different ligands forming a distorted octahedral geometry. Through N–H···O intermolecular hydrogen bonds a 2-D layer structure was formed. The interaction between1and calf thymus DNA was also investigated by UV absorption spectra, fluorescence emission spectra and viscometry. The results indicate that1interacts with DNA very strongly (Kb = 2.01 × 107 L mol−1andKsq = 0.195). The nature of the binding seems to be mainly an electrostatic interaction between DNA and the magnesium complex. Other binding modes, such as hydrogen bonds, may also exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the whole plant ofSpiranthes sinensis, one novel dimeric phenanthrene, 2,2′-dihydroxy-5,5′,7,7′-tetramethoxy-9,9′,10,10′-tetrahydro-3,3′-biphenanthrene (1) and flavone 5-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxy-4′-(1-hydroxy-3-methylbut-3-en-2-yloxy)-flavone (2) were isolated along with three other known flavonoids, which are reported for the first time from this species. Their structures were established after an extensive analysis by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy (NOESY, HSQC, and HMBC) as well as HR-TOF-MS. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we first analyze the relationship between curricula, teachers, classes, time slices and classrooms in a graph. Then on the basis of constraint conditions in curriculum schedule practically in universities, we presents its optimization model, in which the fuzzy synthetic decision-making (FSDM) is used to optimize genetic algorithm (GA), and a new GA encoding scheme is employed to design fitness and punishment functions for the curriculum schedule problem. This model effectively improved a running performance, which provides a better implementation approach to improvements of the existing curriculum schedule systems. The experimental results show that fitness values of the FSDM-based GA are of obvious evolutional tendency, the chromosome encoding scheme and the fitness function can meet its requirements preferably, and the more adequate computation resources, the greater possibilities of no restoration for the obtained optimal individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, the cytotoxic effects and toxicological mechanism of six polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) metabolites (3-OH-BDE47, 3-MeO-BDE47, 5-OH-BDE47, 5-MeO-BDE47, 6-OH-BDE85 and 6-MeO-BDE85) on L02 cells were explored by investigating the cell viability, apoptosis, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage, and oxidative stress response. The results showed that these metabolites could inhibit cell proliferation and induce apoptosis, among which 6-OH-BDE85 had the highest efficiency. LDH leakage test also showed that 6-OH-BDE85 had the strongest ability to cause LDH release. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in 6-OH-BDE85- and 3-OH-BDE47-treated groups were significantly elevated in a dose-dependent manner. After treatment for 24 h, four BDE47 metabolites (3-OH-BDE47, 3-MeO-BDE47, 5-OH-BDE47, and 5-MeO-BDE47) induced an increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and decrease in glutathione (GSH) level, whereas 6-OH-BDE85 led to a decrease in both SOD activity and GSH level. These effects disappeared after continued culturing for another 24 h. In conclusion, these PBDE metabolites, especially 6-OH-BDE85, showed cytotoxicity on L02 cells, which was at least partially related to the oxidative stress level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wang et al [1] have put forward the problem of upgrade of topology and obtained a series of systematic theories and applicable results. Li et al [2] have put forwarded the problem of upgrade of group and also obtained a series of results. Consequently, the problem of upgrade of mathematic structure has drawn more attention of researchers. However, for the work to upgrade topology and group at the same time, little progress has been made although there are someone studying on it. Based on a kind of intuitive convergent way, the paper has proposed a new hyper-topology and upgraded two mathematic structures of topological group to power set and fuzzy power set respectively. It has proved that multiplication and contradiction operations continues in the new hyper-topology after upgrading and a series of results are obtained creating hyper-topological group and fuzzy hyper-topological group. Accordingly, hyper-topological group and fuzzy hyper-topological group can be created, obtaining a breakthrough to upgrade topological group to its power set and fuzzy power set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new method based on singular value decomposition (SVD) was developed to identify liquid precursor chemicals in this paper. Feature scattering spectra of several kinds of pure liquid precursor chemicals were described through energy-dispersive x-ray scattering (EDXRS). These spectra, each of which was unique to particular liquid, were organized as matrices for SVD after truncation and smoothing. It was demonstrated that the two largest singular values and their corresponding left and right singular vectors of each matrix could reconstruct the matrix in the permissible error and contained enough information of the matrix. We extracted the two largest singular values of each matrix as the characteristic of the relative spectrum, and successfully identified several pure liquid precursor chemical samples. It can be hopefully expected that this method is effective for inspection of high concentration and multitudinous liquid precursor chemicals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new 11-nor-iridoids, 6-O-p-hydroxybenzoyl-10-deoxyeucommiol (1), 6-O-benzoyl-10-deoxyeucommiol (2), 6-O-benzoyl-dihydrocatalpolgenin (a mixture of 3 and 4), as well as two known iridoids, ningpogenin (5) and 6-O-p-hydroxybenzoylaucubin (6), were isolated from the fruits of Crescentia cujete Linn. The structures of these compounds were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new isoprenyl phenyl ether riboside, 3-(3-methylbut-2-enyloxy)-4-O-α-d-ribofuranose benzoic acid methyl ester (1), was isolated from the culture of basidiomycete Laccaria amethystea. The structure of 1 was elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new compound, 2,7,4a-trimethoxy-1,4,4a,8b-tetrahydrodibenzo-p-dioxin-4-one (1), was isolated from the aerial parts of the Hypericum reptans. The structure of the new compound was elucidated on the basis of extensive analysis of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic data and further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the application of the topological upgrade, more and more experts are interested in the problems concerning the mathematical structure’s upgrade to its power set. This paper is a further study on the structure and interrelationship of a power group. By revealing the nature of relationship between the power group and a regular one, the present paper proves some theorems of the structure of the power group and constructs some theorems on its homomorphism and isomorphism as well, proposing an expression form and isomorphism replacement construct methods of the power group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initial formation of tetrahydrocarboline 3 from tryptophan methyl ester 1 and aldehyde 2 by Pictet-Spengler reaction, followed by treatment with trichlorocyanuric acid, provides a facile and efficient route for a one-pot synthesis of β-carbolines with excellent yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to construct nonregular power rings, the concept of regular semi-ideal with respect to a subring is introduced. Then several constructive theorems of HX ring and power ring are established and some examples of non-regular power rings are constructed which contain some nonregular HX rings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is dedicated to the implementation of biological fish swimming motion onto biomimetic fish robots. By learning from different species of fish, the mechanism design and the motor control of swimming machines could be shaped in different forms. In general, they can be grouped into two major forms, from an engineering viewpoint: serial open-chain design and parallel mechanism design. The gait planning on both forms is then performed based on the well-established theory of fish swimming. By using the associated kinematics equations, the generic solution of the gait planning for multi-link fish robots in the two respective forms of mechanisms is derived. The solution is taken as the gait control input for the swimming testing of a six-link body and/or caudal fin fish prototype and an eight-link media and/or paired fin fish prototype. The experiments show that smooth steady swimming and forward/backward swimming are achievable by making use of the gait planning and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction of 1,2-diselenacyclopentane with N,O,O -tri-(toluene-p-sulphonate)-diethanolamine afforded a new seleno-azacrown ether, i.e. N,N ′-ditosyl-1,11-diaza-4,8,14,18-tetraselena cycloicosane (1), in 19% yield, which was comprehensively characterized by elemental analysis, UV–Vis, 1 H NMR and mass spectroscopy. The reaction of 1 with copper(II) perchlorate (Cu(ClO 4 ) 2 ) and platinum(IV) tetrachloride (PtCl 4 ) gave its corresponding copper (2) and platinum complexes (3), respectively. The crystallographic investigations showed that the disparity of metal ion led not only to the distinct crystal system and space group, i.e. monoclinic system ( C 2/c) for 2 and triclinic system ( P -1) for 3, but also the different coordination modes of copper and platinum ions with 1, i.e. normal coordination mode for 2 and ring-contracted coordination mode for 3. Moreover, the metal ions in the crystals 2 and 3 were found in Cu(I) and Pt(II) forms, respectively, although Cu(II) and Pt(IV) were used at the initial stage of coordination reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]