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Utilization of faeces has long been a popular approach for genetic and ecological studies of wildlife. However, the success of molecular marker genotyping and genome resequencing is often unpredictable due to insufficient enrichment of endogenous DNA in the total faecal DNA that is dominated by bacterial DNA. Here, we report a simple and cheap method named PEERS to predominantly lyse animal cells over bacteria by using sodium dodecyl sulphate so as to discharge endogenous DNA into liquid phase before bacterial DNA. By brief centrifugation, total DNA with enriched endogenous fraction can be extracted from the supernatant using routine methods. Our assessments showed that the endogenous DNA extracted by PEERS was significantly enriched for various types of faeces from different species, preservation time and conditions. It significantly improves the genotyping correctness and efficiency of genome resequencing with the total additional cost of $ 0.1 and a short incubation step to treat a faecal sample. We also provide methods to assess the enrichment efficiency of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and models to predict the usability of faecal DNA for genotyping of short tandem repeat, single‐nucleotide polymorphism and whole‐genome resequencing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longitudinal changes in the white matter/functional brain networks of semantic dementia (SD), as well as their relations with cognition remain unclear. Using a graph‐theoretic method, we examined the neuroimaging (T1, diffusion tensor imaging, functional MRI) network properties and cognitive performance in processing semantic knowledge of general and six modalities (i.e., object form, color, motion, sound, manipulation and function) from 31 patients (at two time points with an interval of 2 years) and 20 controls (only at baseline). Partial correlation analyses were carried out to explore the relationships between the network changes and the declines of semantic performance. SD exhibited aberrant general and modality‐specific semantic impairment, and gradually worsened over time. Overall, the brain networks showed a decreased global and local efficiency in the functional network organization but a preserved structural network organization with a 2‐year follow‐up. With disease progression, both structural and functional alterations were found to be extended to the temporal and frontal lobes. The regional topological alteration in the left inferior temporal gyrus (ITG.L) was significantly correlated with general semantic processing. Meanwhile, the right superior temporal gyrus and right supplementary motor area were identified to be associated with color and motor‐related semantic attributes. SD manifested disrupted structural and functional network pattern longitudinally. We proposed a hub region (i.e., ITG.L) of semantic network and distributed modality‐specific semantic‐related regions. These findings support the hub‐and‐spoke semantic theory and provide targets for future therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of fiber in cemented paste backfill (CPB) can significantly alter the mechanical response of the CPB body. The intrinsic defects in CPB and the potential dynamic loading condition make it necessary to investigate the fracture properties of fiber‐reinforced CPB (FR‐CPB). The mode‐I fracture behavior and properties are crucial to the successful engineering application of FR‐CPB technology used in underground mines. The contribution of fiber length and content to the evolutive mode‐I fracture behavior and properties of FR‐CPB was examined in this study. The results show that the addition of fiber reduces the prepeak stiffness but improves the mode I fracture toughness (KIc), and the improvement in KIc increases with fiber length. In contrast, the initial increase in fiber content (from 0% to 0.5%) benefits the KIc acquisition, while a further increase in fiber content from 0.5% to 0.75% poses a negative influence on the KIc development. Moreover, with the adoption of the cement hydration model, four predictive functions are proposed to describe the contribution of fiber length and content to the development of fracture properties. In addition, KIc is identified as a more reliable fracture property for assessing the immediate ground support role played by the FR‐CPB structure. The findings are helpful when it comes to the determination of the fiber length and content in FR‐CPB design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In total patients, low bTMB (bTMB-L, optimal cutoff = 4) showed significantly longer OS ( I p i = .019) compared with high bTMB (bTMB-H) (Figure 1A and B), and bTMB was significantly associated with disease control rate (DCR) (Figure 1C and D), but not objective response rate (ORR) (Supplementary Figure S4A). Patients with bMSAF-H and bTMB-H (n = 11) are indicated in red, patients with bMSAF-L and bTMB-H (n = 21) are indicated in blue, and those with bMSAF-L and bTMB-L (n = 10) are indicated in green. BMSAF is a prognostic predictor for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitor camrelizumab and anti-angiogenic agent apatinib combination therapy. [Extracted from the article]

Background: For detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI), brief cognitive screening tools are increasingly required for the advantage of time saving and no need for special equipment or trained raters. We aimed to develop a modified Chinese version of Mini‐Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (C‐MACE) and further evaluate its validation in detecting MCI. Methods: A total of 716 individuals aged from 50 to 90 years old were recruited, including 431 cognitively normal controls (NC) and 285 individuals with MCI. The effect size of Cramer's V was used to explore which items in the Chinese version of Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination‐III (ACE‐III‐CV) best associated with MCI and to form the C‐MACE. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were carried out to explore the ability of C‐MACE, ACE‐III‐CV, Chinese version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment‐Basic (MoCA‐BC), and Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) in discriminating MCI from NC. Results: Five items with greatest effect sizes of Cramer's V were selected from ACE‐III‐CV to form the C‐MACE: Memory Immediate Recall, Memory Delayed Recall, Memory Recognition, Verbal Fluency Animal and Language Naming. With a total score of 38, the C‐MACE had a satisfactory classification accuracy in detecting MCI (area under the ROC curve, AUC = 0.892), superior to MMSE (AUC = 0.782) and comparable to ACE‐III‐CV (AUC = 0.901) and MoCA‐BC (AUC = 0.916). In the subgroup of Age > 70 years, Education ≤ 12 years, the C‐MACE got a highest classification accuracy (AUC = 0.958) for detecting MCI. Conclusion: In the Chinese‐speaking population, C‐MACE derived from ACE‐III‐CV may identify MCI with a good classification accuracy, especially in aged people with low education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Mild cognitive impairment due to semantic dementia represents the preclinical stage, involving cognitive decline dominated by semantic impairment below the semantic dementia standard. Therefore, studying mild cognitive impairment due to semantic dementia may identify changes in patients before progression to dementia. However, whether changes in local functional activity occur in preclinical stages of semantic dementia remains unknown. Here, we explored local functional changes in patients with mild cognitive impairment due to semantic dementia using resting‐state functional MRI. Methods: We administered a battery of neuropsychological tests to twenty‐two patients with mild cognitive impairment due to semantic dementia (MCI‐SD group) and nineteen healthy controls (HC group). We performed structural MRI to compare gray matter volumes, and resting‐state functional MRI with multiple sub‐bands and indicators to evaluate functional activity. Results: Neuropsychological tests revealed a significant decline in semantic performance in the MCI‐SD group, but no decline in other cognitive domains. Resting‐state functional MRI revealed local functional changes in multiple brain regions in the MCI‐SD group, distributed in different sub‐bands and indicators. In the normal band, local functional changes were only in the gray matter atrophic area. In the other sub‐bands, more regions with local functional changes outside atrophic areas were found across various indicators. Among these, the degree centrality of the left precuneus in the MCI‐SD group was positively correlated with general semantic tasks (oral sound naming, word‐picture verification). Conclusion: Our study revealed local functional changes in mild cognitive impairment due to semantic dementia, some of which were located outside the atrophic gray matter. Driven by functional connectivity changes, the left precuneus might play a role in preclinical semantic dementia. The study proved the value of frequency‐dependent sub‐bands, especially the slow‐2 and slow‐3 sub‐bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrochemical water splitting is a clean and sustainable process for hydrogen production on a large scale as the electrical power required can be obtained from various renewable energy resources. The key challenge in electrochemical water splitting process is to develop low‐cost electrocatalysts with high catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on the cathode and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) on the anode. OER is the most important half‐reaction involved in water splitting, which has been extensively studied since the last century and a large amount of electrocatalysts including noble and non‐noble metal‐based materials have been developed. Among them, transition metal borides and borates (TMBs)‐based compounds with various structures have attracted increasing attention owing to their excellent OER performance. In recent years, many efforts have been devoted to exploring the OER mechanism of TMBs and to improving the OER activity and stability of TMBs. In this review, recent research progress made in TMBs as efficient electrocatalysts for OER is summarized. The chemical properties, synthetic methodologies, catalytic performance evaluation, and improvement strategy of TMBs as OER electrocatalysts are discussed. The electrochemistry fundamentals of OER are first introduced in brief, followed by a summary of the preparation and performance of TMBs‐based OER electrocatalysts. Finally, current challenges and future directions for TMBs‐based OER electrocatalysts are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade, advances in liquid chromatography‐mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) have revolutionized untargeted metabolomics analyses. By mining metabolomes more deeply, researchers are now primed to uncover key metabolites and their associations with diseases. The employment of untargeted metabolomics has led to new biomarker discoveries and a better mechanistic understanding of diseases with applications in precision medicine. However, many major pertinent challenges remain. First, compound identification has been poor, and left an overwhelming number of unidentified peaks. Second, partial, incomplete metabolomes persist due to factors such as limitations in mass spectrometry data acquisition speeds, wide‐range of metabolites concentrations, and cellular/tissue/temporal‐specific expression changes that confound our understanding of metabolite perturbations. Third, to contextualize metabolites in pathways and biology is difficult because many metabolites partake in multiple pathways, have yet to be described species specificity, or possess unannotated or more‐complex functions that are not easily characterized through metabolomics analyses. From a translational perspective, information related to novel metabolite biomarkers, metabolic pathways, and drug targets might be sparser than they should be. Thankfully, significant progress has been made and novel solutions are emerging, achieved through sustained academic and industrial community efforts in terms of hardware, computational, and experimental approaches. Given the rapidly growing utility of metabolomics, this review will offer new perspectives, increase awareness of the major challenges in LC‐MS metabolomics that will significantly benefit the metabolomics community and also the broader the biomedical community metabolomics aspire to serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients have limited predictive performance. In this study we aimed to investigate the feasibility of molecular tumor burden index (mTBI) in circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) as a predictor for immunotherapy in patients with NSCLC. Methods: From February 2017 to November 2020, pretreatment and on‐treatment (3~6 weeks after first cycle of immunotherapy) dynamic plasma ctDNA samples from NSCLC patients receiving immune monotherapy or combination therapy were analyzed by targeted capture sequencing of 1021 genes. PyClone was used to infer the mTBI. The impact of pretreatment mTBI on survival outcomes was verified in the POPLAR/OAK trials. Results: We found that patients without detectable baseline ctDNA had better survival outcomes (median overall survival [OS]: not reached vs. 12.8 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.15; p = 0.035]). RB1 and SMARCA4 mutations were remarkably associated with worse survival outcomes. Furthermore, lower pretreatment mTBI was associated with superior OS (median: not reached vs. 8.1 months; HR, 0.22; p = 0.024) and PFS (median: 32.9 vs. 5.4 months; HR, 0.35; p = 0.045), but not objective response, which was validated in the POPLAR/OAK cohort, suggesting that baseline mTBI was a prognostic factor for NSCLC immunotherapy. Early dynamic changes of mTBI (ΔmTBI) significantly distinguished responsive patients, and patients with mTBI decrease to more than 68% at the final tumor evaluation had longer OS (median: 38.2 vs. 4.0 months; HR, 0.18; p = 0.017) and PFS (median: not reached vs. 2.3 months; HR, 0.24; p = 0.030). Conclusion: ΔmTBI had a good sensitivity to identify potential beneficial patients based on the best effect CT scans, demonstrating that mTBI dynamics were predictive of benefit from immune checkpoint blockade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: After placement of cemented tailings backfill (CTB), which is a mixture of tailings (man‐made soil), water, and binder, into underground mined‐out voids (stopes), the hydration reaction of the binder converts the capillary water into chemically bound water, which results in the reduction of the water content in the pores of the CTB, thereby causing a reduction in the pore‐water pressure in the CTB (self‐desiccation). Self‐desiccation has a significant impact on the pore‐water pressure and effective stress development in CTB and paramount and practical importance for the stability assessment and design of CTB structures and barricades. However, self‐desiccation in CTB structures is complex because it is a function of the multiphysics or coupled (i.e., thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical) processes that occur in CTB. To understand the self‐desiccation behavior of CTB, an integrated multiphysics model of self‐desiccation is developed in this study, which fully considers the coupled thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and chemical processes and the consolidation process in CTB. All model coefficients are determined in measurable parameters. Moreover, the predictive ability of the model is verified with extensive case studies. A series of engineering issues are examined with the validated model to investigate the self‐desiccation process in CTB structures with respect to the changes in the mixture recipe, backfilling, and the surrounding rock and curing conditions. The obtained results provide in‐depth insight into the self‐desiccation behavior of CTB structures. The developed multiphysics model is therefore a potential tool for assessing and predicting self‐desiccation in CTB structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The dehydrogenation of ammonia borane (AB) is an effective method to produce and store hydrogen, but efficient, durable, and low‐costing dehydrogenation catalysts are lacking. In this work, we successfully prepared a self‐supported bunch‐like copper oxide nanowire array on copper foam (b‐CuO NA/CF) through a facile in situ wet oxidation and annealing method. b‐CuO NA/CF shows high catalytic activity for the methanolysis of AB with an initial turnover frequency of 13.3 mol H 2  molCuO−1 min−1 and an activation energy of 34.7 kJ mol−1. Moreover, this self‐supported bunch‐like nanoarray catalyst could be easily separated from fuel solutions with excellent stability and maintained its activity even after prolonged use. It is thus an efficient, economical, and durable catalyst for hydrogen fuel cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, a uniform porous highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) electrode was prepared via diazonium salt assisted electrochemical etching method and firstly utilized to immobilize enzymes for the construction of a high-performance glucose biosensor. The formation mechanism and morphology structure of the porous HOPG electrode were investigated using atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterizations. The glucose oxidase (GOx) was functionalized with pyrene groups and then immobilized on the porous HOPG substrate through π-π stacking interactions and hydrogen bonding. As a result, eight times higher oxidation current density can be obtained for a given glucose concentration for the porous HOPG electrode than the pristine one. Detection limit of 5 μM for glucose was achieved for the as-fabricated biosensor. It was obtained that 78 % biocatalytical activity of GOx can be retained after the pyrene functionalization and 65.7 % one can even be maintained after four weeks, which confirmed the high efficiency and good stability of the as-prepared biosensor. What's more, it can be anticipated that various other enzymes can be loaded into this porous HOPG platform using the same enzyme modification methodology for the construction of efficient biosensors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, for the first time, a cobalt carbonate hydroxide (Co(CO3)0.5(OH)⋅0.11 H2O) nanowire array on Ti mesh (CHNA/Ti) was applied to drive the dehydrogenation of alkaline NaBH4 solution for on-demand hydrogen production. Compared with other nanostructured Co-based catalyst systems, CHNA/Ti can be activated more quickly and separated easily from fuel solutions. This self-supported cobalt salt nanowire array catalyst works as an efficient and robust 3D catalyst for the hydrolysis reaction of NaBH4 with a hydrogen generation rate of 4000 mL min−1 gCo−1 and a low apparent activation energy of 39.78 kJ mol−1 and offers an attractive system for on-demand hydrogen generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel synthesis of diversely substituted 2 H-pyran-2-ones via the tandem reaction of 3-hydroxyhexa-4,5-allenic esters in water under the promotion of MWI has been developed. Compared with those reactions carried out in organic solvents, water mediated synthesis of poly-substituted 2 H-pyran-2-ones is not only environmentally sustainable, but also chemo-selectively favorable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the binding ability of DNA on GO and resulting nuclease resistance have attracted increasing attention, leading to new applications both in vivo and in vitro. In vivo, nucleic acids absorbed on GO can be effectively protected from enzymatic degradation and biological interference in complicated samples, making it useful for targeted delivery, gene regulation, intracellular detection and imaging with high uptake efficiencies, high intracellular stability, and very low toxicity. In vitro, the adsorption of ssDNA on GO surface and desorption of dsDNA or well-folded ssDNA from GO surface result in the protection and deprotection of DNA from nucleic digestion, respectively, which has led to target-triggered cyclic enzymatic amplification methods (CEAM) for amplified detection of analytes with sensitivity 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than that of 1:1 binding strategies. This Concept article explores some of the latest developments in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single crystals of Ba2Cd(B3O6)2 were grown by the spontaneous crystallization method for the first time. They crystallize in the centrosymmetric trigonal space group R $\bar{3}$ with a = 7.143(3) Å, c = 17.405(16) Å, and Z = 3. The structure is characterized by isolated B3O6 units, and the Ba2+ and Cd2+ cations connect with B3O6 rings to form three dimensional structure. The TG/DSC and XRD results reveal that Ba2Cd(B3O6)2 melts congruently. First-principles electronic structure calculation performed with the density functional theory (DFT) method shows that the calculated bandgaps are 4.66 eV, which is in good agreement with the UV/Vis/NIR experimental value 4.59 eV. The calculation shows that the Ba2Cd(B3O6)2 crystal has a large birefringence (Δ n = 0.0875-0.0569 from 270 nm to 2600 nm), which demonstrates that Ba2Cd(B3O6)2 is a potential birefringence crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphene-polymer composites of positive-charged poly(dimethyl aminoethyl acrylate), negative-charged poly(acrylic acid), and neutral polystyrene were prepared by 'graft from' methodology using reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization via a pyrene functional RAFT agent (PFRA) modified graphene precursor. Fluorescence spectroscopy and attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) evidenced that the PFRA was attached on the graphene basal planes by π-π stacking interactions, which is strong enough to anti-dissociation in the polymerization mixture up to 80°C. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that the thickness of a graphene-polymer sheet was about 4.0 nm. Graphene composites of different polymers with the same polymerization degree exhibited similar conductivity; however, when the polymer chain was designed as random copolymer the conductivity was significantly decreased. It was also observed that the longer the grafted polymer chains the lower the conductivity. ATR- IR spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis were also performed to characterize the as-prepared composites. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) rely on behavioral and dietary flexibility to survive in temperate latitudes at high‐elevation habitats characterized by climate and resource seasonality. However, little is known about how elevation influences their behavioral and dietary flexibility at monthly or seasonal scales. We studied an isolated R. bieti population at Mt. Lasha in the Yunling Provincial Nature Reserve, Yunnan, China, between May 2008 and August 2016 to assess the impacts of elevation on feeding behavior and diet. Across our sample, R. bieti occupied elevations between 3031 and 3637 m above mean sea level (amsl), with a 315.1 m amsl range across months and a 247.3 m amsl range across seasons. Contrary to expectations, individuals spent less time feeding when ranging across higher elevations. Lichen consumption correlated with elevation use across months and seasons, with individuals spending more time feeding on this important resource at higher elevations. Leaf consumption only correlated with elevation use during the spring. Our results suggest that R. bieti do not maximize their food intake at higher elevations and that monthly and seasonal changes in lichen and leaf consumption largely explain variation in elevation use. These findings shed light on the responses of R. bieti to environmental change and offer insight into strategies for conserving their habitats in the face of anthropogenic disturbance. Research Highlights: Black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) spend less time feeding in months and seasons when occupying higher‐elevation habitats.Leaves only comprise a higher percentage of the R. bieti diet when occupying higher‐elevation habitats in the spring.Lichen comprise a higher percentage of the R. bieti diet in months and seasons when occupying higher‐elevation habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two-step irradiance provides less pain with similar efficacy in photodynamic therapy on chinese patients with moderate to severe acne A retrospective review of pain control by a two-step irradiance schedule during topical ALA-photodynamic therapy of non-melanoma skin cancer. Two-step irradiance schedule (2-SIS) has been shown to significantly reduce pain during topical 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) on non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and condyloma acuminatum (CA).1,2 Few studies focused on 2-SIS pain control during PDT for acne. [Extracted from the article]

Provisioning can significantly affect the ranging patterns, foraging strategies, and time budget of wild primates. In this study, we document for the first time, the effects of provisioning on the activity budget and foraging effort in an Asian colobine. Over 3‐years, we used an instantaneous scanning method at 10‐min intervals to collect data on the activity budget of a semiprovisioned breeding band (SPB) of black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) (42–70 individuals) at Xiangguqing (Tacheng), Yunnan, China. We then compared the effects of provisioning in our study band with published data on a sympatric wild nonprovisioned breeding band (NPB) of R. bieti (ca. 360 monkeys) at the same field site. The SPB spent 25.6% of their daytime feeding, 17.1% traveling, 46.9% resting, and 10.3% socializing. In comparison, the NPB devoted more time to feeding (34.9%) and socializing (14.1%), less time to resting (31.3%), and was characterized by a greater foraging effort (1.74 versus 0.96, foraging effort = (feeding + traveling)/resting; see Methods). There was no difference between bands in the proportion of their activity budget devoted to traveling (15.7% vs. 17.1%). In addition, the SPB exhibited a more consistent activity budget and foraging effort across all seasons of the year compared to the NPB. These findings suggest that the distribution, availability, and productivity of naturally occurring feeding sites is a major determinant of the behavioral strategies and activity budget of R. bieti. Finally, a comparison of our results with data on six nonprovisioned R. bieti bands indicates that caution must be raised in meta‐analyses or intraspecific comparisons of primate behavioral ecology that contain data generated from both provisioned and nonprovisioned groups. Research Highlights: We studied the activity budget of a semiprovisioned band of black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys and compared the results with six wild nonprovisioned bands.The semiprovisioned band spent less time feeding, more time resting, and had a lower foraging effort than the nonprovisioned bands.Caution must be exercised in conducting meta‐analyses when using data from both provisioned and nonprovisioned primate bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food availability and climate represent environmental factors that affect species' social behavior, ranging patterns, diet, and activity budget. From August 2012 to September 2013, we examined the effects of seasonal changes in food availability, temperature, and rainfall on the diet and behavioral ecology of Shortridge's langur (Trachypithecus shortridgei) an Endangered primate species inhabiting moist evergreen broadleaf forests in the Eastern Himalayas. Our field site represents the northernmost latitudinal distribution of this species. Data were collected using scan sampling at 10 min intervals, and analyzed based on generalized linear models. The results indicate that the langurs experienced two feeding peaks (9:00 and 17:00) and two traveling peaks (10:00 and 19:00) during each day. Periods of rest, mainly occurred between 10:00 and 13:00, and overnight. Feeding accounted for 38.5% of the daily activity budget, followed by resting (35%), traveling (24.5%), and socializing (2%). During periods when young leaves were most available, the langurs increased feeding time on young leaves (35% vs. 4%). During periods of maximum fruit availability, the langurs decreased total time spent feeding (36.6% vs. 40.4%), devoted more time to traveling (28.1% vs. 21%), and increased time spent consuming fruit (49.1% vs. 11.8%). During the winter, the langurs increased their consumption of mature leaves (44.5%) and reduced time spent traveling (20.2% vs. 25.4%). Overall, time spent resting was greatest in the spring (47.5%), time spent feeding was greatest during the summer (51.1%), and time spent in traveling was greatest in the autumn (33.2%). The frequency of social interactions remained relatively constant throughout the year. Foraging effort was greatest in the summer, when fruits dominated the diet. Like other species of temperate langurs, T. shortridgei devoted less time to resting, more time to feeding, and was characterized by a greater year‐round foraging effort than tropical/subtropical langurs. Research Highlights: This is the first study examining the activity budget and feeding effort of the Endangered Trachypithecus shortridgei.Food availability played a more critical role in the foraging effort and activity budget of Trachypithecus shortridgei than did rainfall or temperature.Similar to other temperate Trachypithecus species, T. shortridgei in the Gaoligong Mountains adopted a time minimizing behavioral strategy and had a greater annual foraging effort than tropical langur species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The outcome of the reaction strongly depends on the solvent used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

with activated alkenes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review: 91 refs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topotactic conversion of cobalt phosphide nanoarray on Ti mesh into a cobalt phosphate nanoarray (Co-Pi NA) via oxidative polarization in phosphate-buffered water is presented. As a 3D oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst electrode at neutral pH, the resulting Co-Pi NA/Ti shows exceptionally high catalytic activity and demands an overpotential of only 450 mV to drive a geometrical catalytic current density of 10 mA cm−2. Notably, this catalyst also shows superior long-term electrochemical stability. The excellent catalytic activity can be attributed to that such 3D nanoarray configuration allows for the exposure of more active sites and the easier diffusion of electrolytes and oxygen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topotactic conversion of cobalt phosphide nanoarray on Ti mesh into a cobalt phosphate nanoarray (Co-Pi NA) via oxidative polarization in phosphate-buffered water is presented. As a 3D oxygen evolution reaction (OER) catalyst electrode at neutral pH, the resulting Co-Pi NA/Ti shows exceptionally high catalytic activity and demands an overpotential of only 450 mV to drive a geometrical catalytic current density of 10 mA cm−2. Notably, this catalyst also shows superior long-term electrochemical stability. The excellent catalytic activity can be attributed to that such 3D nanoarray configuration allows for the exposure of more active sites and the easier diffusion of electrolytes and oxygen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buy one get one free: Concurrent introduction of both iodo ‐ and carbonyl groups, along with the construction of the benzenoid core, has been achieved through an iodine ‐ initiated domino reaction of hepta ‐ 1,2 ‐ dien ‐ 6 ‐ yn ‐ 4 ‐ ols. Moreover, cyclization of hepta ‐ 1,2,6 ‐ trien ‐ 4 ‐ ols turns out to also be an efficient pathway toward diversely substituted benzenes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Suction cups are widely used in applications such as in measurement of mechanical properties of skin in vivo, in drug delivery devices or in acupuncture treatment. Understanding mechanical response of skin under hypobaric pressure is of great importance for users of suction cups. The aim of this work is to predict the hypobaric pressure induced 3D stretching of the skin. Methods: Experimental skin tensile tests were carried out for mechanical property characterization. Both linear elasticity and hyperelasticity parameters were determined and implemented in Finite Element modelling. Skin suction tests were performed in both experiments and FEM simulations for model validation. 3D skin stretching is then visualized in detail in FEM simulations. Results: The simulations showed that the skin was compressed consistently along the thickness direction, leading to reduced thickness. At the center of the dome, the radial and angular strain decreases from the top surface to the bottom surface, although always in tension. Hyperelasticity modelling showed superiority over linear elasticity modelling while predicting the strain distribution because the stretch ratio reaches values exceeding the initial linear elastic stage of the stress‐strain curve for skin. Conclusion: Hyperelasticity modelling is an effective approach to predict the 3D strain distribution, which paves a way to accurately design safe commercial products that interface with the skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main observation and conclusion: A series of novel polyethylene glycol‐dicationic imidazolium‐based ionic liquids (mPEG‐ILs) were synthesized by facile quaternization reaction from various elaborately designed di‐imidazoles and PEG, which were then studied as green plasticizers for sustainable polylactide (PLA) material. The influences of the chain structure, content, and molecular weight of the mPEG‐ILs on the plasticizing effect were systematically investigated by characterization of a series of PLA/mPEG‐ILs blending systems. FTIR results show there is combination of ion‐dipole interaction and hydrogen bonds interaction between PLA and mPEG‐ILs, which is beneficial for the compatibility. Thermal behaviors indicate that mPEG‐ILs have a significant plasticizing effect on PLA. Particularly, mPEG400‐amide‐IM can remarkably improve the mobility of PLA chain, leading to decreased glass transition temperature (Tg) and cold crystallization temperature (Tcc) of PLA. Tensile test results show that the ductility of plasticized PLA is greatly enhanced, and its elongation at break reaches 249.4%, which is 22 times that of neat PLA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to laparoscopic surgery, robot-assisted surgery has shown ergonomic advantages for all muscles except the trapezius [3], but is more costly than laparoscopic and open surgery [4]. The robot system is a master-slave system and consists principally of a surgeon console, patient cart, and vision cart. Abbreviations 3D three dimensional EBL estimated blood loss KD-SR-01 KangDuo-Surgical Robot-01 The open Anderson-Hynes dismembered pyeloplasty is considered the "gold-standard" approach for PUJ obstruction. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: Designing highly active electrocatalysts with cost‐effective transition metals for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of vital significance for multifarious energy conversion and storage devices. Herein, a facile in situ co‐reduction method was applied for the preparation of nickel‐borate nanoparticle on reduced graphene oxide (Ni−Bi/RGO) with high surface active sites exposure yield and reinforced electron transfer ability. Such Ni−Bi/RGO nanohybrid shows high catalytic activity with overpotential of 329 mV to drive a geometrical current density of 10 mA cm−2 and Tafel slop of 79 mV dec−1 in 1  m KOH. Moreover, this Ni−Bi/RGO nanohybrid also displays excellent performance under near neutral condition, with a low onset potential of 352 mV and Tafel slop of 176 mV dec−1 in 0.1  m potassium borate (KBi, pH 9.2), better than most of Ni‐based OER catalysts. Our research has paved a facile path for the development of highly active electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a result of deposition process and particle characteristics, granular materials can be inherently anisotropic. Many researchers have strongly suggested that the inherent anisotropy is the main reason for the deformation non-coaxiality of granular materials. However, their relationships are not unanimous because of the limited understanding of the non-coaxial micro-mechanism. In this study, we investigated the influence of inherent anisotropy on the non-coaxial angle using the discrete element method. Firstly, we developed a new discrete element method approach using rough elliptic particles and proposed a novel method to produce anisotropic specimens. Secondly, the effects of initial specimen density and particle characteristics, such as particle aspect ratio Am, rolling resistance coefficient β, and bedding plane orientation δ, were examined by a series of biaxial tests and rotational principal axes tests. Findings from the numerical simulations are summarized as follows: (1) the peak internal friction angle ϕp and the non-coaxial angle i both increase with the initial density, Am and β, and they both increase initially and then decrease with δ in the range of 0-90°; (2) among the particle characteristics, the influence of Am is the most significant; and (3) for anisotropic specimens, the non-coaxial angle can be calculated using the double slip and rotation rate model. Then, an empirical formula was proposed based on the simulation results to depict the relationship between the non-coaxial angle and the particle characteristics. Finally, the particle-scale mechanism of non-coaxiality for granular materials was discussed from the perspective of energy dissipation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The canonical Wnt pathway is vital to bone physiology by increasing bone mass through elevated osteoblast survival. Although investigated extensively in stem cells, its role in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells has not been completely determined. To explore how this pathway is regulated by different conditions, we assessed the anti-apoptotic effects of substance P on the canonical Wnt pathway in MC3T3-E1 cells by treating cells with serum deprivation or serum starving with 'substance P,' a neuropeptide demonstrated to promote bone growth and stimulate Wnt signaling. The results showed that serum deprivation both induced apoptosis and activated Wnt signal transduction while substance P further stimulated the Wnt pathway via the NK-1 receptor but protected the cells from apoptotic death. Fast-tracking of Wnt signaling by substance P was also noted. These results indicate that nutritional deprivation and substance P synergistically activated the canonical Wnt pathway, a finding that helps to reveal the role of Wnt signaling in bone physiology affected by nutritional deprivation and neuropeptide substance P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many non-human primates produce species-specific loud calls to communicate within and between groups over long distances. Understanding these calling patterns can provide insights into how individuals modify their behavior in response to environmental variables as well as help to design efficient bioacoustic survey techniques. Eastern hoolock gibbons in Gaoligongshan inhabit the coldest habitat of all gibbon populations, but both conservation and research efforts on this population have been minimal. We studied singing patterns of two habituated and two unhabituated groups at two sites in Gaoligongshan between July 2010 and June 2015. We systematically collected data of their calls, and its relationship to temperature, group density, and hunting pressure over at least 1 year for each group. Our goal was to elucidate how these factors affect singing patterns of eastern hoolock gibbons. We found that adult pairs coordinated their singing to produce duet bouts that lasted for an average of 25.5 min. The singing rate (number of bouts/number on monitoring days*100%: 7.5-31.4%) was notably lower than other gibbon populations, presumably due to low group density (about 0.5 groups/km2) and prevalence of hunting at the study site. Cold temperature also affected gibbons' singing behavior. Our study groups called, on average, 2.5 hr after sunrise, probably foraging first in the early morning after long nights in this cold habitat delayed singing. Furthermore, mean temperatures in the morning (8:00-12:00 am) were higher on singing days than on non-singing days, and one group called less frequently when monthly mean temperature was below 10°C. Our findings indicate that both hunting pressure from humans and low temperatures suppress calling behavior in hoolock gibbons. Such information is critical in evaluating the use of duetting as a monitoring technique for this endangered gibbon species. Am. J. Primatol. 78:861-871, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]