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BACKGROUND: Plutella xylostella (Linnaeus) is a destructive pest of cruciferous crops due to its strong reproductive capacity and extensive resistance to pesticides. Seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are the main effective factors that determine the reproductive physiology and behaviour of both sexes. Although an increasing number of SFPs have been identified, the effects of astacins in SFPs on agricultural pests have not yet been reported. Here, we elucidated the mechanisms by which Sast1 (seminal astacin 1) regulates the fertility of Plutella xylostella (L.). RESULTS: PxSast1 was specifically expressed in the testis and accesssory gland. CRISPR/Cas9‐induced PxSast1 knockout successfully constructed two homozygous mutant strains. Sast1 impaired the fertility of P. xylostella by separately regulating the reproductive capacity of males and females. Loss of PxSast1, on the one hand, significantly decreased the ability of males to mate and fertilize, mainly manifested as shortened mating duration, reduced mating competitiveness and decreased eupyrene sperm production; on the other hand, it significantly inhibited the expression of chorion genes in females, resulting in oogenesis deficits. Simultaneously, for mated females, the differentially expressed genes in signalling pathways related to oogenesis and chorion formation were significantly enriched after PxSast1 knockout. CONCLUSION: These analyses of the functions of PxSast1 as the regulator of spermatogenesis and oogenesis establish its importance in the fertility process of P. xylostella, as well as its potential as a promising target for genetic regulation‐based pest control. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diverse bacterial populations within the symbiotic microbiota play a pivotal role in both health and disease. Microbiota modulates critical aspects of tumor biology including cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. This regulation occurs through mechanisms like enhancing genomic damage, hindering gene repair, activating aberrant cell signaling pathways, influencing tumor cell metabolism, promoting revascularization, and remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment. These microbiota‐mediated effects significantly impact overall survival and the recurrence of tumors after surgery by affecting the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy. Moreover, leveraging the microbiota for the development of biovectors, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics, in addition to utilizing antibiotics, dietary adjustments, defensins, oncolytic virotherapy, and fecal microbiota transplantation, offers promising alternatives for cancer treatment. Nonetheless, due to the extensive and diverse nature of the microbiota, along with tumor heterogeneity, the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of microbiota in cancer remain a subject of intense debate. In this context, we refocus on various cancers, delving into the molecular signaling pathways associated with the microbiota and its derivatives, the reshaping of the tumor microenvironmental matrix, and the impact on tolerance to tumor treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This exploration aims to shed light on novel perspectives and potential applications in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Requirements management (RM) plays an important role in requirements engineering. The development of machine learning (ML) is in full swing, and many ML software management techniques had been used to improve the performance of RM methods. However, as no research study is known that exists systematically to summarise the ML methods used in RM. To fill this gap, this paper adopts the systematic mapping study to survey the state‐of‐the‐art ML methods for RM primary studies and were finally selected in this mapping, which was published on 36 conferences and journals. The 24 factors affecting the ML method of RM are determined, of which 9, 11 and 4 are the three parts of RM, namely requirements baseline maintenance, requirements traceability and requirements change management separately. The 18 objectives of the ML method for RM are summarised, of which 6, 7 and 5 are the three parts of RM. The eight ML methods used in RM and their time sequence are summarised. The 18 evaluation indexes for RM in the ML method are determined, and the performance of these methods on these parameters is analysed. The research direction of this paper is of great significance to the research of researchers in demand management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work a quantum sorting algorithm with adaptable requirements of memory and circuit depth is introduced, and is used to develop a new quantum version of the classical machine learning algorithm known as k‐nearest neighbors (k‐NN). Both the efficiency and performance of this new quantum version of the k‐NN algorithm are compared to those of the classical k‐NN and another quantum version proposed by Schuld et al. Results show that the efficiency of both quantum algorithms is similar to each other and superior to that of the classical algorithm. On the other hand, the performance of the proposed quantum k‐NN algorithm is superior to the one proposed by Schuld et al. and similar to that of the classical k‐NN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gymnosphaera represents a minor lineage within the scaly tree‐fern family Cyatheaceae. Tropical and subtropical mainland Asia is a main distribution area of Gymnosphaera. However, the species diversity of Gymnosphaera is currently incompletely known in mainland Asia due to lacking critical revision. Here we present new findings of species diversity and their relationships to mainland Asian Gymnosphaera based on field surveys, the examination of herbarium collections, and phylogenetic analyses of sequences of multiple chloroplast and nuclear regions. Two new species, G. saxicola from southwestern Yunnan and G. bachmaensis from central Vietnam, are established. Traditionally recognized G. podophylla is revealed to be a complex, from which G. bonii is reinstated as a distinct species. Our phylogenetic analyses identified four clades within Gymnosphaera in mainland Asia: G. denticulata clade, G. gigantea clade, G. podophylla clade, and G. salletii clade. The new species G. saxicola, which is special for its saxicolous habitat, was resolved as sister to G. austroyunnanensis in the G. salletii clade. The newly discovered G. bachmaensis, which is characterized specially by the spathulate frond, was positioned in the G. podophylla clade, being sister to G. bonii. The mountainous region from south‐central Vietnam northwards to western Yunnan is a diverse center of Gymnosphaera and more species of this group are probably to be discovered there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a one‐sided measurement‐device‐independent quantum key distribution protocol that uses Bell and Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger (GHZ) states is proposed. The protocol considers three parties: Alice and Bob, who will share the key at the end of the protocol; and Charlie, who plays the role of facilitating the key distribution without having access to the key itself. Alice and Charlie are trusted users, while Bob is uncharacterized. The protocol is asymmetrical, meaning that Alice sends one qubit while Bob sends two; this allows Bob to identify himself via a previously assigned ID; if this authentication fails, the key distribution also will. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shape memory polymer foam hemostats are a promising option for future hemorrhage control in battlefield wounds. To enable their use as hemostatic devices, they must be optimized in terms of formulation and architecture, and their safety and efficacy must be characterized in animal models. Relevant in vitro models can be used for device optimization to help mitigate the excess use of animals and reduce costs of clinical translation. In this work, a simplified gunshot wound model and a grade V liver injury model were constructed. The models were used to characterize the effects of shape memory polymer foam hemostat geometry on wall pressures, application/removal times, hemorrhage (fluid loss), and fluid absorption in comparison with clinical controls. It was found that there is no benefit in over‐sizing the hemostatic device relative to wound volume and that geometry effects are dependent upon the wound type. These models provide a rapid means for elucidation of promising hemostat geometries and formulations for use in future in vivo testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the exact solutions of the angular Teukolsky equation with m ≠ 0 given by a confluent Heun function. This equation is first transformed to a confluent Heun differential equation through some variable transformations. The Wronskian determinant, which is constructed by two linearly dependent solutions, is used to calculate the eigenvalues precisely. The normalized eigenfunctions can be obtained by substituting the calculated eigenvalues into the unnormalized eigenfunctions. The relations among the linearly dependent eigenfunctions are also discussed. When c2=cR2+icI2, the eigenvalues are approximately expressed as Alm≈ll+1+cR2+icI21−m2/ll+1/2 for small |c|2 but large l. The isosurface and contour visualizations of the angular probability distribution (APD) are presented for the cases of the real and complex values c2. It is found that the APD has obvious directionality, but the northern and southern hemispheres are always symmetrical regardless of the value of the parameter c2, which is real or imaginary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI); thus we aimed to explore improvement effects of 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 (VD3) on the AMI and its potential mechanism. AMI models were constructed using male C57/BL6J mice and randomly treated with normal saline or VD3, using sham rats as control. Heart functions, myocardial damage, apoptosis, and inflammation were evaluated. Cardiomyocytes isolated from 3‐day‐old suckling mice were used for in vitro verification. After VD3 treatment, AMI‐induced cardiac dysfunction was reversed with better cardiac function parameters. VD3 treatment reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and myocardial infarction area accompanied by the reduction of inflammatory factors and myocardial infarction markers compared with the AMI group. VD3 treatment obviously alleviated AMI‐induced myocardial apoptosis, along with Bcl‐2 upregulation and downregulation of caspase‐3, caspase‐9, and Bax. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments revealed that VD3 enhanced the expression of LC3II and Beclin‐1 and decreased soluble p62. Furthermore, VD3 enhanced the AMI‐caused inhibition of PI3K, p‐AKT, and p‐mTOR expression, which was conversely reversed by the addition of 3‐methyladenine in vitro. The study highlights the improvement effects of VD3 on cardiac functions. We proposed a potential mechanism that VD3 protects against myocardial damage, inflammation, and apoptosis by promoting autophagy through PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, the authors propose a quantum version of a generalized Monty Hall game, that is, one in which the parameters of the game are left free and not fixed on its regular values. The developed quantum scheme is then used to study the expected payoff of the player, using both a separable and an entangled initial‐state. In the two cases, the classical mixed‐strategy payoff is recovered under certain conditions. Lastly, the authors extend the quantum scheme to include multiple independent players, and use this extension to sketch two possible application of the game mechanics to quantum networks, specifically, two validated, multi‐party, key‐distribution quantum protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model calibration and validation is an important step of empirical modeling. The current local calibration (LC) method suggested by the AASHTOWare mechanistic‐empirical pavement design guide (MEPDG) is defective and can result in a completely distorted prediction of pavement reliability in design. This paper proposes an advanced LC method that integrates a jackknife sampling procedure and an iteratively weighted least squares technique into one coherent LC process. The jackknife sampling method, which has been recommended by AASHTO for model validation, is now used for identifying outliers of the data in order to ensure a homogeneous population. Meanwhile, an iteratively weighted least squares method is proposed to simultaneously estimate the LC coefficients and the standard deviation functions. Two LC case studies for Ontario roads are presented: one for the bottom‐up fatigue cracking models of asphalt concrete pavements and the other for the joint faulting models of Portland cement concrete pavements. The comparison with the traditional split‐data method has shown the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method. With little modification, the method can be introduced as a general calibration‐validation process for all empirical and mechanistic‐empirical models in engineering disciplines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We first present a new constraint condition on the confluent Heun function HC(α, β, γ, δ, η;z) (β, γ ≥ 0, z ∈ [0, 1]) and then illustrate how to solve the rigid rotor in the electric field. We find its exact solutions unsolved previously through solving the Wronskian determinant. The present results compared with those by the perturbation methods are found to have a big difference for a large parameter a. We also present 2D and 3D probability density distributions by choosing different angular momentum quantum numbers l. We observe that the original eigenvalues with degeneracy (2 l + 1) are split into the (l + 1) state with approximate eigenvalues l(l + 1) for small a but large l. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work illustrates a possible application of quantum game theory to the area of quantum information, in particular to quantum cryptography. The study proposed two quantum key‐distribution (QKD) protocols based on the quantum version of the Monty Hall game devised by Flitney and Abbott. Unlike most QKD protocols, in which the bits from which the key is going to be extracted are encoded in a basis choice (as in BB84), these are encoded in an operation choice. The first proposed protocol uses qutrits to describe the state of the system and the same game operators proposed by Flitney and Abbott. The motivation behind the second proposal is to simplify a possible physical implementation by adapting the formalism of the qutrit protocol to use qubits and simple logical quantum gates. In both protocols, the security relies on the violation of a Bell‐type inequality, for two qutrits and for six qubits in each case. Results show a higher ratio of violation than the E91 protocol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Climate change is expected to have important effects on plant phenology and carbon storage, with further shifts predicted in the future. Therefore, we proposed the community carbon accumulation rate (CAR) from the start of the growing season (SOS) to the peak of the growing season (POS) to fill the gap that the dynamic interactions between plant phenology and plant carbon research. Location: Tibetan Plateau. Major taxa: Alpine grassland plants. Time period: 2015. Methods: We conducted a transect survey across grasslands to measure community aboveground net primary production and carbon concentration. Additionally, phenology indicator data (SOS and POS) were extracted from the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) normalized difference vegetation index version 3 database. Next, we used 'changepoint' analysis to detect the patterns of CARs, and performed linear regression and one‐way ANOVA to explore the variability of CARs in response to the environmental factors. Ultimately, the total effects of environmental factors on CARs were illustrated by a structural equation model. Results: Our results indicated that three CAR patterns were detected, which are low‐CAR (0.15 g/m2/day), medium‐CAR (0.31 g/m2/day) and high‐CAR (0.84 g/m2/day) patterns. We found that the availabilities of water and heat mediated CARs by regulating soil nutrition variability, and that drought climate and insufficient soil resources co‐constrained the community CAR at long time‐scales. In contrast, high CAR could be explained by more water and heat availability via either direct or indirect effects on soil moisture and soil nutrients. Main conclusions: Our findings highlight that water and heat availability are critical driving factors in ecological carbon accumulation processes undergoing climate change. Meanwhile, the vegetative phenology also has important effect on carbon accumulation. Consequently, we propose incorporating the dynamic interactions between plant phenology and plant carbon into the ecological carbon cycle model to improve our understanding of resource utilization and survival strategies of plants under environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The catalytic subunit p110δ of phosphoinositide 3‐kinase (PI3K) encoded by PIK3CD has been implicated in some human solid tumors. However, its roles in colorectal cancer (CRC) remain largely unknown. Here we found that PIK3CD was overexpressed in colon cancer tissues and CRC cell lines and was an independent predictor for overall survival (OS) of patients with colon cancer. The ectopic overexpression of PIK3CD significantly promoted CRC cell growth, migration and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. In contrast, inhibition of PIK3CD by specific small‐interfering RNA or idelalisib dramatically suppressed CRC cell growth, migration and invasion in vitro and tumor growth in vivo. Moreover, PIK3CD overexpression increased AKT activity, nuclear translocation of β‐catenin and T‐cell factor/lymphoid enhancer factor (TCF/LEF) transcriptional activity and decreased glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK‐3β) activity, whereas PIK3CD inhibition exhibited the opposite effects. Furthermore, PIK3CD‐mediated cell growth, migration and invasion were reversed by blockade of AKT signaling or depletion of β‐catenin. In addition, PIK3CD expression in colon cancer tissues positively correlated with β‐catenin abnormal expression, which was an independent predictor for OS of colon cancer patients. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that PIK3CD is an independent prognostic factor in CRC and that PIK3CD induces CRC cell growth, migration and invasion by activating AKT/GSK‐3β/β‐catenin signaling, suggesting that PIK3CD might be a novel prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for CRC. PIK3CD is significantly overexpressed in colorectal cancer (CRC) and can induce CRC cell growth and invasion. PIK3CD exerts its functions through activating AKT/GSK‐3β/β‐catenin signaling. PIK3CD might be a novel independent prognostic biomarker and a potential therapeutic target for CRC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Open‐pit mining causes severe land degradation in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. Vegetation restoration on the degraded land with open‐pit mining is challenging due to great physical and chemical condition changes of the post‐mined landscape. In this study, we compared the vegetation community composition and environmental factors along three disturbance gradients (mining area, restoration area, and control area) in four typical open‐pit mine types (phosphate, zinc, tin, and iron sites). Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis revealed that there are significant differences in the vegetation communities along three gradients for these mine sites. Quality species were selected by indicator species analysis for vegetation restoration as follows: Chloris virgata Sw. and Artemisia princeps Pamp at the phosphate site; Coriaria nepalensis Wall., Artemisia princeps Pamp, and Picris hieracioides L. at the zinc site; Artemisia princeps Pamp at the tin site; and Panicum brevifolium L. at the iron site. Canonical Correspondence Analysis ordination and Monte Carlo permutation tests were further used to determine the effects of environmental factors on vegetation diversity. The results showed that Cd, As, Zn, Pb, TC, and altitude all had significant effects on vegetation diversity (P < 0.05). Additionally, we found that the integrated effects of these variables on vegetation were greater in the mining area than in the other two gradients based on the model with the lowest Akaike Information Criterion. These results suggest that any plans for vegetation restoration in open‐pit mining areas should take disturbance intensity, mine types, and critical environmental variables into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with surveillance video, user‐created videos contain more frequent shot changes, which lead to diversified backgrounds and a wide variety of content. The high redundancy among keyframes is a critical issue for the existing summarising methods in dealing with user‐created videos. To address the critical issue, we designed a salient‐ area‐size‐based spatial attention model (SAM) on the observation that humans tend to focus on sizable and moving objects in videos. Moreover, the SAM is taken as guidance to refine frame‐wise soft selected probability for the bi‐directional long short‐term memory model. The reinforcement learning framework, trained by the deep deterministic policy gradient algorithm, is adopted to do unsupervised training. Extensive experiments on the SumMe and TVSum datasets demonstrate that our method outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art in terms of F‐score. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The fern genus Tectaria (Tectariaceae) Cav. is morphologically diverse and difficult in terms of recognizing species and species groups. To infer the systematic positions of some species and identity‐unknown collections with special morphological characters, we undertook phylogenetic analyses based on sequences of five plastid regions (atpB, ndhF + ndhF‐trnL, rbcL, rps16‐matK + matK, and trnL‐F). Three analysis methods (maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference) were used to reconstruct the phylogeny of Tectaria. The most surprising result is that T. menyanthidis (C. Presl) Copel., T. ternata (Baker) Copel., and T. variabilis Tardieu & Ching are revealed to represent a distinct lineage from Tectaria, which should be called Polydictyum C. Presl, and is supported as sister to Pteridrys C. Chr. & Ching. Other accessions of Tectaria are well resolved into four major clades, which is consistent with the results of previous studies. Of the four clades, Clade II (T. subtriphylla (Hook. & Arn.) Copel. group) is unpredictable, with morphologically very diverse species clustered there, and is supposed to be a minor evolutionary line within Tectaria in the Old World. In addition, the position of the climbing genus Arthropteris J. Sm. and the utility of molecular data in recognizing species of Tectaria are briefly discussed. As a conclusion, we formally reinstate the genus Polydictyum by providing diagnostic characters, key to species, nomenclature, and information of detailed distribution and habitat for the currently known three species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electroactive hydrogel scaffolds are fabricated by the 3D-printing technique using composites of 30% Pluronic F127 and aniline tetramer-grafted-polyethylenimine (AT-PEI) copolymers with various contents from 2.5% to 10%. The synthesized AT-PEI copolymers can self-assemble into nanoparticles with the diameter of ≈50 nm and display excellent electroactivity due to AT conjugation. The copolymers are then homogeneously distributed into 30% Pluronic F127 solution by virtue of the thermosensitivity of F127, denoted as F/AT-PEI composites. Macroscopic photographs of latticed scaffolds elucidate their excellent printability of F/AT-PEI hydrogels for the 3D-printing technique. The conductivities of the printed F/AT-PEI scaffolds are all higher than 2.0 × 10−3 S cm−1, which are significantly improved compared with that of F127 scaffold with only 0.94 × 10−3 S cm−1. Thus, the F/AT-PEI scaffolds can be considered as candidates for application in electrical stimulation of tissue regeneration such as repair of muscle and cardiac nerve tissue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and reliable routing protocol is one of the key technologies in wireless sensor networks, and it has been concerned by a lot of researchers. In light of the random selection of cluster head in low energy adaptive clustering hierarchy protocol algorithm, the residual energy of nodes, node location and node density are not considered. Through theoretical deduction and mathematical calculation, the study found that it is a NP – hard problem. A swarm intelligence algorithm was introduced into the clustering algorithm of wireless sensor network, and an efficient and reliable clustering algorithm for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) based on quantum artificial bee colony algorithm was proposed. Considering the residual energy of nodes, node location and node density, and the energy consumption of the network is balanced. Experiments show that the proposed routing protocol outperforms other work in most cases by reducing the network energy consumption for WSNs by more than 13%, which indicates the feasibility of the authors' approach for efficient and reliable routing protocol in wireless sensor networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LIGHT recruits and activates naive T cells in the islets at the onset of diabetes. IFN-γ secreted by activated T lymphocytes is involved in beta cell apoptosis. However, whether LIGHT sensitizes IFNγ-induced beta cells destruction remains unclear. In this study, we used the murine beta cell line MIN6 and primary islet cells as models for investigating the underlying cellular mechanisms involved in LIGHT/ IFNγ - induced pancreatic beta cell destruction. LIGHT and IFN-γ synergistically reduced MIN6 and primary islet cells viability; decreased cell viability was due to apoptosis, as demonstrated by a significant increase in Annexin V+ cell percentage, detected by flow cytometry. In addition to marked increases in cytochrome c release and NF-κB activation, the combination of LIGHT and IFN-γ caused an obvious decrease in expression of the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl- xL, but an increase in expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bak and Bax in MIN6 cells. Accordingly, LIGHT deficiency led to a decrease in NF-κB activation and Bak expression, and peri-insulitis in non-obese diabetes mice. Inhibition of NF-κB activation with the specific NF-κB inhibitor, PDTC (pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate), reversed Bcl- xL down-regulation and Bax up-regulation, and led to a significant increase in LIGHT- and IFN-γ-treated cell viability. Moreover, cleaved caspase-9, -3, and PARP (poly ( ADP-ribose) polymerase) were observed after LIGHT and IFN-γ treatment. Pretreatment with caspase inhibitors remarkably attenuated LIGHT- and IFNγ-induced cell apoptosis. Taken together, our results indicate that LIGHT signalling pathway combined with IFN-γ induces beta cells apoptosis via an NF-κB/Bcl2-dependent mitochondrial pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various hypotheses have been proposed about the Quaternary evolutionary history of plant species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau ( QTP), yet only a handful of studies have considered both population genetics and ecological niche context. In this study, we proposed and compared climate refugia hypotheses based on the phylogeographic pattern of Anisodus tanguticus (three plastid DNA fragments and nuclear internal transcribed spacer regions from 32 populations) and present and past species distribution models ( SDMs). We detected six plastid haplotypes in two well-differentiated lineages. Although all haplotypes could be found in its western (sampling) area, only haplotypes from one lineage occurred in its eastern area. Meanwhile, most genetic variations existed between populations ( FST = 0.822). The SDMs during the last glacial maximum and last interglacial periods showed range fragmentation in the western area and significant range contraction in the eastern area, respectively, in comparison with current potential distribution. This species may have undergone intraspecific divergence during the early Quaternary, which may have been caused by survival in different refugia during the earliest known glacial in the QTP, rather than geological isolation due to orogenesis events. Subsequently, climate oscillations during the Quaternary resulted in a dynamic distribution range for this species as well as the distribution pattern of its plastid haplotypes and nuclear genotypes. The interglacial periods may have had a greater effect on A. tanguticus than the glacial periods. Most importantly, neither genetic data nor SDM alone can fully reveal the climate refugia history of this species. We also discuss the conservation implications for this important Tibetan folk medicine plant in light of these findings and SDMs under future climate models. Together, our results underline the necessity to combine phylogeographic and SDM approaches in future investigations of the Quaternary evolutionary history of species in topographically complex areas, such as the QTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the ansatz method to obtain the symmetric and antisymmetric solutions of a hyperbolic double-well potential by solving the Heun differential equation. The Shannon entropy is studied. The position Sx and momentum Sp information entropies for the low-lying two states N = 1, 2 are calculated. Some interesting features of the information entropy densities ρs( x) and ρs( p) as well as the probability density ρ( x) are demonstrated. We find that ρ( x) is equal or greater than 1 at positions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shannon entropy for the position and momentum eigenstates of an asymmetric trigonometric Rosen-Morse potential for the ground and first excited states is evaluated. The position and momentum information entropies [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we develop a formalism to obtain the energy levels of the electron in a central force potential confined in a spherical quantum dot with radius rC by the proper quantization rule and the Wentzel-Kramers-Brillouin approximation. It is shown that the numerical results are in good agreement with exact solutions. To illustrate this method, we consider the linear harmonic oscillator and Coulomb potential confined within an impenetrable sphere of radius rC in three dimensions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parallel evolution provides an excellent framework to infer the genetic bases of adaptive traits and understand the importance of natural selection in shaping current biodiversity. The upper leaves of the 'glasshouse plants' transform into translucent bracts that show numerous adaptions in alpine habitats. It remains unknown whether similar molecular changes occur under the parallel bract evolution of different 'glasshouse' species. In this study, we compared the results on phenotypic and physiological differences and presented the results of cDNA-AFLP analyses of transcriptional changes between translucent bracts and normal leaves in Rheum alexandrae. We also examined the homologous candidate genes with the same expression changes between this species and another 'glasshouse' species, R. nobile. We found that bracts of R. alexandrae are similar to those of R. nobile in anatomical features: chloroplasts have degenerated and chlorophyll contents are greatly reduced, which suggests that foliar photosynthetic functions in bracts of both species have been reduced or totally altered. Among the 6000 transcript-derived fragments (TDFs) in bracts and leaves of R. alexandrae, 420 (7%) were differentially expressed (up- or downregulated) between bracts and normal leaves. There were a total of 13 homologous TDFs with the same expression changes between R. alexandrae and the previously studied R. nobile. Except for the two that were not functionally annotated, eight of the homologous TDFs were found to be involved in stress and defense responses whereas the other three were related to photosynthesis. The up- or downregulation of these candidate genes was highly congruent with anatomical characteristics and adaptive functions of the bracts found for 'glasshouse' plants. These findings suggested that the 'glasshouse' phenotypes may have common molecular bases underlying their parallel evolution of similar adaptive functions and highlighted the importance of the natural selection in producing such phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new alkaloids, macrodumines A-C ( 1- 3, resp.), along with ten known analogs, were isolated from the twigs and leaves of Daphniphyllum macropodum. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic methods. The 11-OH configuration of the known alkaloid hydroxydaphgraciline ( 4) was assigned as α for the first time by comparing the NMR data with those of macrodumine C ( 3). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Injured rat Achilles tendons were treated with botulism toxin to create a mechanically unloaded condition (unloaded) or left untreated (loaded), and then treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), platelet-rich plasma (PRP), tendon stem cells (TSCs), or a combination (TSCs + PRP). mRNA and protein expression of collagen I, collagen III, tenascin C, and Smad 8 were determined by real time PCR and immunostaining, respectively. Loaded tendons treated with PBS, PRP, or TSCs for 3 or 14 days had higher collagen I mRNA expression than unloaded tendons. Loaded tendons treated with PBS for 3 or 14 days or with PRP for 3 days had higher collagen I protein levels than unloaded tendons. Loaded tendons treated for 3 days with PBS, for 14 days with PRP or TSCs or TSCs + PRP for 3 or 14 days had higher collagen III protein levels than unloaded tendons. Collagen I mRNA levels were higher in TSCs + PRP-treated loaded tendons compared to PBS-treated loaded tendons on day 3 of treatment. Based on changes in the expression of tendon-healing genes, our data suggest that the combination of TSCs and PRP has synergistic effects on tendon healing under both loaded and unloaded conditions, and loaded conditions improve tendon healing. © 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 30:991-997, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eleven new triterpenoids, named mesendanins K-U ( 1- 11, resp.), together with seven known analogs, were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Melia toosendan. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asplenium sect. Thamnopteris is a morphologically distinct group within Asplenium, however, the species delimitation within the section is difficult. To evaluate the utility of spore morphology in the taxonomy of Asplenium sect. Thamnopteris, we examined 64 samples representing ca 25 species using scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the spores are monolete and ellipsoidal in shape, and range between 35.7-50.1 × 24.1-32.4 µm in size. The perispore is morphologically very diverse but relatively stable within species. Based on the morphology of spores, we discuss the species concept of A. nidus L. and A. phyllitidis D. Don, propose a new combination ( A. latibasis) for Neottopteris latibasis Ching, and treat A. phyllitidis subsp. malesicum Holttum, N. latibasis, N. latipes Ching ex S. H. Wu, and N. subantiqua Ching ex S. H. Wu as new synonyms. A key to all known species of sect. Thamnopteris is provided using characters of spore morphology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the study conducted to examine the Interleukin-2 or Interleukin-2 antibody therapy induces targeting organ natural killer cells. It states that the natural killer (NK) cells might provide insight into the mechanism of action of multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies. It concludes that the immunotherapeutic potential of NK cells, act as critical suppressor cells in target organs of autoimmunity.

The arbitrary l-state solutions of the Schrödinger equation with Scarf II potential are presented by taking a new approximate scheme to the centrifugal term. This is realized by expanding the variable around the minimum equilibrium point of the potential. The wave functions can be expressed by hypergeometric functions. It is shown that the calculated energy levels are in good agreement with accurate numerical ones. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 is the major circulating metabolite of vitamin D. Elevated plasma 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 levels were verified to be associated with generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP). In the present study, the influence of initial periodontal therapy on systemic and local levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 and three related elements (osteocalcin and interleukin-1β and -6) in patients with GAgP was investigated. Methods: Nineteen patients with GAgP were enrolled. All patients received initial periodontal therapy. Gingival crevicular fluid at two sites of each subject were obtained before therapy and 2 and 6 months after therapy. Plasma was obtained before and 2 months after therapy from 12 of 19 subjects. Systemic and local levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D3, osteocalcin, and interleukin-1β and -6 before and after therapy were measured using radioimmunoassay or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits and compared. Results: The respective systemic 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 and interleukin-1β levels significantly dropped from baseline to 2 months after therapy (29.28 nmol/l versus 22.50 nmol/l, P = 0.001, and 6.71 ng/l versus 3.23 ng/l, P<0.001, respectively). The respective local 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 and interleukin-1β levels significantly decreased from baseline to 2 and 6 months after therapy (8,950 nmol/l versus 5,650 nmol/l versus 3,438 nmol/l, P<0.001, and 10,595 ng/l versus 5,495 ng/l versus 3,960 ng/l, P<0.001, respectively). Systemic and local 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 concentrations were positively correlated at baseline (r = 0.877; P = 0.022), as was osteocalcin (r = 0.939; P = 0.005). Conclusions: 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 and interleukin-1β levels were systemically and locally reduced in patients with GAgP by initial periodontal therapy. 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 might be involved in periodontal inflammation. J Periodontol 2010;81:260-266. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Vitamin D is associated with a number of inflammatory diseases and plays a significant role in regulating bone metabolism. Serum calcifediol was demonstrated to be potentially associated with periodontal disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether an association exists between plasma calcifediol concentrations and aggressive periodontitis (AgP) and whether plasma levels of bone-related biomarkers (osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, calcium, and phosphorus) regulated by vitamin D are related to AgP. Methods: Sixty-six patients with generalized AgP, 52 patients with chronic periodontitis, and 60 healthy controls were included in this study. Periodontal examination consisted of probing depth, attachment loss, and bleeding index measurements. Hematic calcifediol and bone-related biomarker levels were detected using radioimmunity assay kits or a biochemical analyzer. Results: Plasma calcifediol levels in patients with AgP were higher than those of healthy controls (29.28 versus 21.60 nmol/l; P<0.05) and were statistically significantly correlated with bleeding index (r = 0.321; P <0.05). Plasma osteocalcin concentrations in patients with AgP were higher than those of healthy controls (0.90 versus 0.70 ng/ml; P<0.05). Serum inorganic phosphorus values of both periodontitis groups were lower than those of healthy controls (1.06 ± 0.18 mmol/l and 1.10 ± 0.15 mmol/l versus 1.26 ± 0.17 mmol/l; P<0.05). Conclusion: Plasma calcifediol levels might be associated with periodontal inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new exact quantization rule simplifies the calculation of the energy levels for exactly solvable quantum systems. The energy spectra of the modified hyperbolic-type potentials are carried out by this rule. These potentials include the modified Scarf, Rosen–Morse, second Pöschl-Teller and Eckart potentials. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2009 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The association between periodontitis and systemic health is evident; however, until recently, there was a lack of scientific evidence to define the relationship between aggressive periodontitis (AgP) and systemic conditions. The aim of this study was to explore the characteristics of peripheral blood cellular and serum protein parameters in patients with AgP. Methods: Patients with AgP (n = 150) and healthy controls (n = 94) were recruited. Clinical parameters, including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and percentage of severe sites, were examined. Blood cell variables, including leukocyte, neutrophil, and lymphocyte counts, as well as serum protein parameters, including total protein, albumin, globulin, and albumin/globulin ratio, were analyzed. Results: Elevated neutrophil numbers and serum globulin levels were observed in patients with AgP compared to controls (4.22 ± 1.81 x 109/l versus 3.20 ± 0.91 x 109/l and 29.20 ± 3.75 g/l versus 27.17 ± 3.32 g/l, respectively; P<0.01). Albumin level and albumin/globulin ratio were lower in the AgP group than in the control group (47.65 ± 2.45 g/l versus 48.88 ± 2.13g/l and 1.66 ± 0.24 versus 1.83 ± 0.24, respectively; P<0.01). In the AgP group, neutrophil counts and serum globulin levels were positively correlated with clinical parameters, including mean values for PD, CAL, and percentage of severe sites (P<0.05); the albumin level and albumin/ globulin ratio were inversely correlated with the clinical parameters as described above (P<0.05). Conclusions: Patients with AgP may have elevated peripheral leukocyte numbers and serum globulin levels as well as decreased serum albumin levels and albumin/globulin ratios compared to controls. These changes might be associated with the severity of periodontal destruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which tested a hypothesis that T cells that recognize an immunoglobulin (Ig) consensus sequence presented by B cells will modulate lupus-like disease in mice. The study found that the treatment of mice with Ig consensus plasmid induced transforming growth factor β-producing CD8+, CD28- T cells that suppressed the antigen-specific stimulation of CD4+ T cells in cell-independent manner, reduced antibody production, retarded the development of nephritis and improved survival.

S100A8, the light subunit of calprotectin, has been known to be associated with periodontal inflammation. The present study looked to detect whether three polymorphisms in the upstream region of the S100A8 gene are correlated with periodontitis. Three hundred and twenty one subjects, including chronic periodontitis (CP) patients, aggressive periodontitis (AgP) patients and periodontally healthy controls, were recruited. The SNPs rs3795391, rs3806232 and rs3885688 were analyzed by PCR-RFLP analysis. No person carried the rs3885688 polymorphism in this cohort. For the other two polymorphisms, the combined effects of genotype/allele and gender were shown to be associated with the risk of periodontitis using multivariate logistic regression analysis. The G+ genotype/G allele may be considered to exert a significant protective effect in males against AgP (Genotype: rs3795391: P= 0.032, rs3806232: P= 0.017; Allele: rs3795391: P= 0.024, rs3806232: P= 0.013). Although the combined effects of genotype and gender on CP susceptibility were not observed for these two polymorphisms, there does seem to be increased risk of CP in males with allele A compared to females with allele A (rs3795391: P= 0.008; rs3806232: P= 0.009). Hence we found an important association between polymorphisms in the S100A8 gene and periodontitis in a Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exact solutions of a one-dimensional Schrödinger equation with a harmonic oscillator plus an inverse square potential are obtained. The ladder operators constructed directly from the normalized wavefunctions are found to satisfy a su(1, 1) algebra. Another hidden symmetry is used to explore the relations between the eigenvalues and eigenfunctions by substituting x → -ix. The vibrational partition function Z is calculated exactly to study thermodynamic functions such as the vibrational mean energy U, specific heat C, free energy F, and entropy S. It is both interesting and surprising to find that both vibrational specific heat C and entropy S are independent of the potential strength α. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leukocyte trafficking to the central nervous system (CNS), regulated in part by chemokines, determines severity of the demyelinating diseases multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). To examine chemokine receptor CX3CR1 in EAE, we studied CX3CR1GFP/GFP mice, in which CX3CR1 targeting by insertion of Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) allowed tracking of CX3CR1+ cells in CX3CR1+/GCP animals and cells destined to express CX3CR1 in CX3CR1GCP/GFP knockouts. NK cells were markedly reduced in the inflamed CNS of CX3CR1-deficient mice with EAE, whereas recruitment of T cells, NKT cells and monocyte/ macrophages to the CNS during EAE did not require CX3CRI. Impaired recruitment of NK cells in CX3CR1GCP/GFP mice was associated with increased EAE-related mortality, nonremitting spastic paraplegia and hemorrhagic inflammatory lesions. The absence of CD1d did not affect the severity of EAE in CX3CR1GFP/GFP mice, arguing against a role for NKT cells. Accumulation of NK cells in livers of wild-type (WT) and CX3CR1GFP/GFP mice with cytomegalovirus hepatitis was equivalent, indicating that CX3CL1 mediated chemoattraction of NK cells was relatively specific for the CNS. These results are the first to define a chemokine that governs NK cell migration to the CNS, and the findings suggest novel therapeutic manipulation of CX3CR1 + NK cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]