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The global incidence rate of kidney cancer (KC) has been steadily increasing over the past 30 years. With the aging global population, kidney cancer has become an escalating concern that necessitates vigilant surveillance. Nowadays, surgical intervention remains the optimal therapeutic approach for kidney cancer, while the availability of efficacious treatments for advanced tumors remains limited. Oncolytic viruses, an emerging form of immunotherapy, have demonstrated encouraging anti‐neoplastic properties and are progressively garnering public acceptance. However, research on oncolytic viruses in kidney cancer is relatively limited. Furthermore, given the high complexity and heterogeneity of kidney cancer, it is crucial to identify an optimal oncolytic virus agent that is better suited for its treatment. The present study investigates the oncolytic activity of the Pseudorabies virus live attenuated vaccine (PRV‐LAV) against KC. The findings clearly demonstrate that PRV‐LAV exhibits robust oncolytic activity targeting KC cell lines. Furthermore, the therapeutic efficacy of PRV‐LAV was confirmed in both a subcutaneous tumor‐bearing nude mouse model and a syngeneic mouse model of KC. Combined RNA‐seq analysis and flow cytometry revealed that PRV‐LAV treatment substantially enhances the infiltration of a diverse range of lymphocytes, including T cells, B cells, macrophages, and NK cells. Additionally, PRV‐LAV treatment enhances T cell activation and exerts antitumor effects. Importantly, the combination of PRV‐LAV with anti‐PD‐1 antibodies, an approved drug for KC treatment, synergistically enhances the efficacy against KC. Overall, the discovery of PRV‐LAV as an effective oncolytic virus holds significant importance for improving the treatment efficacy and survival rates of KC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐index all‐dielectric resonators have been developed into an important platform for light manipulation at the nanoscale over the past decade. Although they are widely used as 2D materials, transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), as an emerging all‐dielectric material, have also been used to fabricate optical nanoantennas that support multipolar Mie resonances. However, their fabrication depends heavily on electron‐beam lithography (EBL) or focused ion beam (FIB), which is expensive and time‐consuming for practical applications. To address this issue, here, a fast low‐cost method is put forward which combines polystyrene (PS) nanospheres with physical vapor deposition by electron‐beam evaporation and magnetron sputtering to fabricate WS2 nanodisks in a mass‐production manner. After annealing, the A‐ and B‐exciton features as well as anapole states are observed in the scattering spectra of WS2 nanodisks. The light scattering anisotropy of individual WS2 nanodisks and spectral tunability of the anapole are studied. In addition, absorption enhancement due to the strong field localization of anapole states in hexagonal WS2 nanodisk arrays is numerically demonstrated. This work manifests that this etching‐free method is promising for fabrication of scalable TMDC nanodisks suitable for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For established researchers, this book brings together some of the state-of-the-art achievements of multimodal interaction and identity analysis, and can thus help established scholars to stay up-to-date on the key developments of interaction and identity studies. Multimodal Theory and Methodology: For the Analysis of (Inter)action and Identity By Sigrid Norris (Routledge, 2020) As a new field, multimodal discourse analysis has drawn extensive attention in the international academic community and embraced burgeoning related studies over the past few decades. Overall, this chapter delineates 16 analytical tools suitable for the analysis of the complexity in identity production as a whole, and provides new approaches to examining multimodal identity in human action and interaction. [Extracted from the article]

The MXene‐based heterostructures have recently attracted great interest as anode materials for sodium‐ion batteries (SIBs). Nonetheless, the complicated and harsh preparation process impedes their further commercialization. Herein, a novel, safe, low‐destructive, and universal strategy for rationally fabricating Ti3C2Tx MXene/transition metal sulfides (MSy) heterostructures is presented via Lewis acidic molten salts etching and subsequent in situ sulfurization treatment. Benefiting from the interfacial electronic coupling between highly conductive Ti3C2Tx MXene (Tx = O and Cl) and MSy (M = Fe, Co and Ni), the heterostructures possess remarkably improved electronic conductivity, promoted Na+ migration kinetics, and robust architectures. As a proof‐of‐concept demonstration, the Ti3C2Tx/FeS2 heterostructure demonstrates outstanding rate performance (456.6 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1) and long‐term cyclic stability (474.9 mAh g−1 after 600 cycles at 5 A g−1) when serving as SIB anodes. Impressively, a sodium‐ion full battery with Ti3C2Tx/FeS2 anode delivers an excellent reversible capacity of 431.6 mAh g−1 after 1000 cycles at 3 A g−1. Moreover, the dual sodium storage behavior of Ti3C2Tx/FeS2 heterostructure and underlying mechanism toward exceptional electrochemical performance are revealed by comprehensive characterizations and theoretical calculations. Based on the full utilization of molten salt etching products, the present work offers new insight into the fabrication of MXene‐based heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Developing new anode materials with high specific capacity for high‐performance lithium (Li)‐ion batteries is significant for meeting high energy density demand. Composites of graphene‐wrapped titania (TiO2) nanoparticles (GTO) have been successfully synthesized via a facile method for anode material in Li‐ion batteries. Results: The as‐prepared GTO composites exhibit remarkable electrochemical performance, including initial high specific capacity of 652.8 mAh g−1 and outstanding cycling stability (198 mAh g−1 after 300 cycles). Conclusions: The outstanding performance is due to the positive effect of graphene, which acts both as electron conductor and volume buffer layer. This work further demonstrates that GTO composites could acts as a stable anode for reversible Li‐ion batteries. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public health emergency, such as COVID‐19 pandemic, generally has severe impacts on mental health in public. One of the often‐neglected negative consequences is that the control and prevention measures of COVID‐19 in the post‐epidemic can pose psychological threats to public mental health. This study aimed to seek the factors and mechanisms to alleviate this mental health threat based on a sample of university students in China. Accordingly, this study proposed an environmental‐individual interaction model examining the multiple mediating effects of self‐esteem and resilience in the association between social support and anxiety among university students during COVID‐19 control phase. A questionnaire containing multiple scales were administered on the sample of 2734 Chinese university students. Results indicated that social support negatively predicted anxiety through the serial mediating effects of self‐esteem and resilience sequentially. Our results highlight the impact of social support and the internal factors on relieving anxiety among university students in COVID‐19 control phase. Findings suggest that effective psychological intervention tools should be designed and offered to college students to reduce anxiety distress and improve mental health in the post‐epidemic era or the similar situations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of Ge as framework atom to direct the formation of double‐four‐ring (d4r) unit is an effective way to prepare zeolite with extra‐large pores, which however also brings about serious problems with regard to production cost and structure stability for their practical application. A new solvent‐free thermal synthesis strategy is presented here for facile preparation and molecular‐level mechanism study of extra‐large‐pore aluminophosphate zeotype DNL‐1 with ‐CLO structure. For the first time, the formation of intermediate d4r in the induction period was successfully confirmed, and was correlated with the synthesis condition of low water content and quaternary ammonium template with suitable alkyl chain length. The self‐assembly pathway via d4r to form lta, afterwards clo and super cages was further revealed. This work shed light on the rational synthesis of Ge‐free extra‐large‐pore zeotypes based on d4r route. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Amaranthus hypochondriacus (AH) inclusion in the diets of gestating and lactating sows on the lactational feed intake, nutrient digestibility, and growth performance of suckling piglets. During gestation, 40 multiparous Landrace sows were restrictively fed with either a control diet or a diet including 30% AH. Both diets had similar levels of digestible energy and crude protein, but the 30% AH diet had higher crude fibre levels than the control diet. After breeding, lactating sows were fed ad libitum with one of two isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets, either a control diet or a diet containing 10% AH. In gestating sows, AH supplementation was found to be associated with decreased digestibility of crude protein and dry matter (p <.001), resulting in lesser backfat depth (p <.001). However, in lactating sows, AH supplementation had little effect on digestibility and milk composition; moreover, it increased the feed intake (p <.001) and decreased backfat loss (p <.001) in sows. On the 21st day of lactation, suckling piglets in AH group showed significantly greater average daily gains (p <.001), and average body weight and litter weight significantly increased compared with sows fed the control diet. In conclusion, AH‐supplementation increased lactational feed intake in sows and improved the growth performance of suckling piglets. The feed intake of sows during lactation plays a major role in improving growth performance of suckling piglets. This study showed that feeding Amaranthus hypochondriacus during gestation and lactation increased lactation feed intake of sows and improved growth performance of pre‐weaning piglets. The mechanisms of these changes are still unknown, and more investigations are required to increase the understanding of interactions between diet composition and feed intake regulation of sows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have extensive applications in the field of optics and optoelectronics by virtue of their unique band structures and excitonic properties. Although possessing high absorption coefficient and emission efficiency, they suffer from low optical absorptance due to the atomic scale thickness, which limits their photoluminescence and optoelectronic performance. In spite of intense research efforts on absorption enhancement of monolayer TMDCs by optical cavities, such as plasmonic and all‐dielectric nanoresonators, there inevitably exists a competition of absorption between them because of the loss in cavities. Here, strong absorption enhancements of monolayer WS2 integrated onto a TiO2 nanohole array fabricated by colloidal lithography are reported. It achieves theoretically a tenfold and experimentally a sixfold enhancement of absorption within monolayer WS2 near the band edge when TE and TM modes of the TiO2 nanohole array spectrally overlap with the A exciton. This result can be attributed to the near perfect reflection and near field localization properties of the resonant modes in TiO2 nanohole arrays. Further, the photoluminescence of monolayer WS2 is also significantly improved owing to the increased absorption of WS2 as well as Purcell effect. Such heterostructure paves the way for designing high‐efficiency sources, photodetectors, and photovoltaic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seasonal influenza is an acute respiratory infection causing around 500 000 global deaths annually. There is an unmet medical need to develop more effective antiviral drugs and vaccines against influenza infection. A rapid, accurate, high‐throughput titration assay for influenza virus particles or neutralizing antibodies would be extremely useful in these research fields. However, commonly used methods such as tissue culture infective dose and plaque‐forming units (PFU) for virus particle quantification, and the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) for antibody determination are time‐consuming, laborious, and have limited accuracy. In this study, we developed an efficient assay based on the enzyme‐linked immunospot (ELISPOT) technique for the influenza virus and neutralizing antibody titration. Two broad‐spectrum antibodies recognizing the nucleoproteins of influenza A and B viruses were used in the assay to broadly and highly sensitively detect influenza virus‐infected cells at 16 hours postinfection. An optimized cell culture medium with no tosyl phenylalanyl chloromethyl ketone trypsin and high dose oseltamivir acid was used to improve quantitation accuracy. This ELISPOT assay displayed a good correlation (R2 = 0.9851) with the PFU assay when used to titrate 30 influenza virus isolates. The assay was also applied to measure influenza‐neutralizing antibodies in 40 human sera samples, showing a good correlation (R2 = 0.9965) with the PRNT assay. This ELISPOT titration assay is a rapid, accurate, high‐throughput assay for quantification of influenza virus and neutralizing antibodies, and provides a powerful tool for research into and development of drugs and vaccines against influenza. Highlights: A rapid, accurate, high‐throughput assay for quantification of influenza virus and neutralizing antibodies based on the enzyme‐linked immunospot (ELISPOT) technique was developed.This assay displayed a good correlation (R2 = 0.9851) with the PFU assay for influenza virus titration.This assay also showed a good correlation (R2 = 0.9965) with the PRNT assay for neutralization antibody titer determination.This assay provides a powerful tool for research into and development of drugs and vaccines against influenza. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fifty‐six piglets were weaned at 21 days and randomly assigned to 1 of 8 dietary treatments with 7 replicate pens for a 14‐day experimental period. The eight experimental diets were prepared via a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement with citric acid (CA; 0 and 0.3%) and dietary electrolyte balance (dEB, Na +K − Cl mEq/kg of the diet; −50, 100, 250, and 400 mEq/kg). Varying dEB values were obtained by altering calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate contents. Dietary CA significantly increased (p <.05) villus height (VH) and villus height:crypt depth (VH:CD) in the jejunum. Piglets fed a 250 mEq/kg diet increased (p <.05) VH and VH:CD values in the duodenum. Jejunal VH and VH:CD increased (quadratic; p <.05), and ileal VH:CD (liner and quadratic; p <.05) decreased as dEB was increased in diets without CA, but no such effect was observed on the diets containing CA (dEB ×CA; p <.05). The CD in jejunum (quadratic; p <.05) increased as dEB was increased in diets containing CA, whereas it was decreased (linear; p <.05) in the diets without CA (dEB ×CA; p <.001). Dietary CA increased maltase activity and reduced the number of Ki67‐positive cells (p <.05). Increasing dEB values in diets without CA increased sucrose and lactase activities (quadratic; p <.05), but no such effect was observed in the diets with CA (dEB ×CA; p <.05). An interaction effect between dEB and CA on the number of Ki67‐positive cells was observed (p <.001). In conclusion, 250 mEq/kg dEB diet with CA improved piglet intestinal digestion and absorption function by improving intestinal morphology and increasing digestive enzyme activities. However, these improvements were also observed in piglets fed the 100 mEq/kg dEB diet without CA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated whether dietary metabolizable energy (ME) could generate dynamical effects on rumen fermentation, gastrointestinal tract (GIT) morphology, and microbial composition of growing ewes. A total of twenty‐eight female Hu lambs were randomly allotted to two treatments with different dietary ME levels: 9.17 (FEA) and 10.41 MJ/kg (FEB). These lambs were further made ready for a 67‐day feeding trial. Results showed that the molar proportions of butyrate (p =.020), iso‐valerate (p =.028), and valerate (p =.005) were significantly higher in the FEB group than those in the FEA group. The results of the GIT morphologic properties showed that the villus height (VH) (p =.005) was significantly higher and crypt depth was significantly deeper (CD) (p =.005) in the duodenum and that the rumen papillary height (PH) was significantly higher (p =.020) in FEB group compared with the FEA group. High‐throughput sequencing results showed that 1826 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained and that the OTU number (p =.039), the ACE (p =.035), and Chao1 indices (p =.005) were lower in the FEB group. Moreover, 76 genera belonging to 21 phyla were detected in all samples; the relative abundance of Papillibacter (p =.036) and Flexilinea (p =.046) was significantly lower in the high energy group, whereas the relative abundance of unidentified Lachnospiraceae (p =.019), Acetitomaculum (p =.029), unidentified Veillonellaceae (p =.017), Anaerovibrio (p =.005), and Succinivibrio (p =.035) was significantly higher in the FEB group at the genus level. Furthermore, the relative abundance of genes and metabolic pathways were predicted by PICRUSt. The relative abundance of gene families related to carbohydrate metabolism was particularly higher (p =.027) in the FEB group. In summary, these results reveal that the dietary energy levels altered the composition and function of rumen microbiota and GIT morphology in growing female Hu sheep and provide a reference for optimizing diet formula and 10.41MJ/kg of ME level has been recommended in the growing period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal villi are important structures for digesting and absorbing nutrients. It was hypothesized that intestinal villous height (VH) is related to growth performance, and that VH is associated with digestive and absorptive capabilities in piglets. Sixty 21‐d‐old weaned piglets were fed identical diets for 28 days. The piglets were grouped according to jejunal or ileal VH at the end of the experiment, including short, middle and high VH groups. The final BW (quadratic, p =.003), ADG (liner, p =.052; quadratic, p =.030) and G: F (liner, p =.074; quadratic, p =.005) were greater in higher VH piglets compared with the shorter VH piglets. Significant linear relationships were recorded between jejunal VH and maltase (linear, p =.003) and sucrase (linear, p =.004) activities. Besides, jejunal VH was significantly associated with maltase (r = 0.357, p =.007), sucrase (r = 0.394, p =.003) and alkaline phosphate (r = 0.288, p =.033) activities. Jejunal Slc1a1 (linear, p =.004) mRNA expression increased as VH increased, while Slc7a1 (linear, p =.007) expression decreased as VH increased, and Slc1a1 (r = 0.292, p =.031) expression was positively related to VH. In the ileum, Slc5a1 (linear, p =.002) and Slc1a1 (linear, p <.001) expression increased as VH increased, whereas Slc7a1 (linear, p =.045) expression decreased as VH increased. A positive relationship between ileal VH and Slc5a1 (r = 0.331, p =.018), Slc1a1 (r = 0.444, p =.001) and Slc6a19 (r = 0.314, p =.026), respectively, was established. Additionally, Slc7a9 (r = 0.0271, p =.057) expression tended to be positively associated with VH in ileum. In conclusion, the growth performance of piglets increased with increasing VH, which may via affecting mucosal enzymes activities and nutrient transporters' mRNA expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of different dietary energy levels on growth performance, slaughter traits, meat quality and blood biochemical parameters in fattening male Hu lambs. Sixty lambs were fed five iso‐protein diets which contained different levels of metabolizable energy in a completely randomized design for 70 days. At the end of study, fifteen lambs were harvested for further study. With the increase in dietary energy level, the daily weight gain and dry matter intake extremely increased (p <.001), and feed conversion ratio decreased significantly (p <.01). The live weight before slaughter (LWBS) and carcass weight had a significant increase (p <.05), non‐carcass fat ratio and routine indexes of meat quality had no significant difference. Almost no effect was observed for the amino acid profile except for glycine concentration decreased (p <.05) in longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle. The concentrations of C17:0, C18:3n‐3 and n‐3 PUFA (p <.01) significantly decreased with the increasing dietary energy levels, and the ratio of ∑n‐6/∑n‐3 (p <.01) increased, whereas the concentrations of C18:1n‐9t (p <.05) decreased in LD muscle and C18:1 (p <.01) increased in biceps femoris (BF) muscle. There were no obviously differences for diameter, area and density of muscle fibres. The relative expression of MyHC‐IIa and MyHC‐IIx decreased significantly (p <.05) in BF muscle, and the relative expression of MyHC‐IIa displayed an obviously decreasing trend (p <.10) in LD muscle. These results suggest that increasing the dietary energy level can improve the growth performance and slaughter traits, and influence meat quality and fatty acid profiles in different muscle tissues of fattening male Hu lambs. These results provide a theoretical basis for developing Hu sheep nutritional standards and designing feed formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alkenes are a kind of valuable building blocks which have been found in natural products, pharmaceuticals and industrial materials. Direct functionalization of olefins has been extensively studied over the past years. The replacement of conventional approach by more atom‐economic and greener electrochemical method is an attractive technique with huge synthetic potential as well as inherent safety. Electrochemical oxidative cross coupling of alkenes, which conforms to green synthesis and atom economy has been developed in recent years. This review summarizes the recent development of electrochemical dehydrogenative functionalization of alkenes in different transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For dynamic processes, using sequence information to augment the data can improve fault detection performance. Traditional approaches transform raw data into augmented vectors, which leads to losses in structural information in the variables and increases the data dimension. This paper proposes a novel data dimension reduction algorithm called tensor sequence component analysis (TSCA) and applies it to dynamic process fault detection. The algorithm extends each sample into a matrix comprising current and past process data, and simultaneously reduces the dimensions of time delay and the variables for feature extraction, solving the problem of the curse of dimensionality. For the dimension reduction of time delay, in order to extract similar information from the samples, each sample is reconstructed with time neighbourhoods. For the dimension reduction of the variables, considering the information of different variables variance information of the latent variables is maximized for feature extraction. Finally, a numerical example and the Tennessee Eastman process are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to determine the effects of oral administration with glutamate on metabolism of suckling piglets based on 1H‐Nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy through the level of metabolism. Forty‐eight healthy [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc] piglets born on the same day with a similar birth bodyweight (1.55 ± 0.20 kg) were obtained from six sows (8 piglets per sow). The piglets from each sow were randomly assigned into four treatments (2 piglets per treatment). The piglets were given 0.09 g/kg body weight (BW) of sodium chloride (CN group), 0.03 g/kg BW monosodium glutamate (LMG group), 0.25 g/kg BW monosodium glutamate (MMG group) and 0.50 g/kg BW monosodium glutamate (HMG group) twice a day respectively. An 1H NMR‐based metabolomics' study found that the addition of monosodium glutamate (MSG) significantly reduced serum citrate content in 7‐day‐old piglets, while HMG significantly increased serum trimethylamine content and significantly reduced unsaturated fat content in 7‐day‐old piglets (p <.05). The content of glutamine, trimethylamine, albumin, choline and urea nitrogen was significantly increased and the creatinine content decreased significantly in the 21‐day‐old HMG (p <.05). Analysis of serum hormones revealed that glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) content in the 21‐day‐old HMG was highest (p <.05). The cholecystokinin (CCK) content in the HMG of 7‐day‐old piglets was lower than that in the LMG (p <.05), and the CCK content in the serum of the 21‐day‐old MMG was highest (p <.05). The serum leptin levels in the 21‐day‐old HMG were the lowest (p <.05). The serum insulin content in the 7‐day‐old MMG was highest (p <.05). This study suggests that MSG plays an important role in the metabolism of sugar, fat and protein (amino acids). These results provide a theoretical basis for designing piglet feed formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation with anti‐E. coli, chicken egg yolk immunoglobulins (IgY), may affect early weaned piglet (EWP) intestinal functions and enteric micro‐organisms. One hundred and forty‐eight ([Landrace × Yorkshire] × Duroc) piglets, weaned at age day 21, were randomly assigned to receive one of three diets for 14 days. Treatment group one (control group) was fed the base diet. Treatment group two (antibiotics group) was fed the base diet which was supplemented with 100 ppm colistin sulphate and 15 ppm enramycin; treatment group three (IgY group) was fed the base diet which was supplemented with 500 mg/kg anti‐E. coli IgY. The study evaluated the effects on EWPs of IgY on growth, serum biochemical, inflammatory profiles and also digestion content intestinal bacterial populations. Results showed no significant difference in diarrhoea rates between IgY‐fed EWPs and antibiotic‐treated EWPs. Serum biochemical analysis showed that EWPs fed an IgY‐containing diet had both lower (p < 0.05) cholesterol and low‐density lipoprotein compared to antibiotic‐treated EWPs. Escherichia coli populations measured in IgY‐fed EWP ileal contents, compared to the control group, were significantly reduced (p < 0.05). Enterococcus, Lactobacillus, Clostridium and Bifidobacterium populations were unaffected by the IgY treatment. Larger (p < 0.05) Enterococcus populations and lower (p < 0.05) expression levels of heat‐stable enterotoxin b (STb) were observed in IgY‐fed EWP caecal digesta compared to the control group. Enteric Lactobacillus significantly decreased (p < 0.05) in EWPs fed antibiotics while it was unaffected by IgY treatment. Dietary supplementation with anti‐E. coli IgY has the potential to suppress enteric E. coli growth, but not Lactobacillus, Clostridium and Bifidobacterium. This promotes and maintains a healthy EWP intestinal environment. These findings suggest that IgY may be used as an alternative to antibiotics in EWP diets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crystallization chemistry of silica‐based zeolites in ionic liquids remains highly puzzling and interesting in the field of zeolite science. Herein, we report the successful ionothermal synthesis of germanosilicate zeolites. The ionothermal templating effect with respect to the structure, alkalinity and concentration of organic additives was comparatively studied. The results showed that a small amount of organic base could effectively aid the dissolution of silica source and facilitate the crystallization of germanosilicate zeolites with ionic liquid as template. Remarkably, STW and IRR structures constructed with double‐four‐ring (D4R) structure‐building units were ionothermally prepared using 1‐ethyl/butyl‐3‐methyl imidazolium and 1‐benzyl‐3‐methyl imidazolium ionic liquids as template, respectively. Ionothermal synthesis tailored with organic base showed suitable chemistry for the formation of germanium‐containing siliceous D4R units. This finding will be helpful for the rational exploration of novel extra‐large‐pore zeolitic structures. IRResistible: Germanosilicate zeolites were ionothermally prepared in the presence of organic base, which aided the dissolution of silica source and facilitated the crystallization of STW and IRR structures with ionic liquids of different structure as template. Ionothermal chemistry was effectively tailored by using an organic base, which exhibits a remarkable capability for the formation of germanium‐containing siliceous D4R units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to measure the effects of orally administered glutamate (Glu) on suckling piglet (SP) intestinal morphology and volatile fatty acids (VFA). Forty‐eight newborn piglets with similar initial weights (1.55 ± 0.20 kg) were selected from six sows (eight piglets/sow) and randomly assigned into four groups. There was daily administration of the following: 0.18 g/kg body weight (BW) of sodium chloride (CN group); 0.06 g/kg BW monosodium glutamate (LMG group); 0.50 g/kg BW monosodium glutamate (MMG group); and 1.00 g/kg BW monosodium glutamate (HMG group). Four piglets (one/group) were randomly selected from each sow for tissue sampling at days 7 and 21. MMG group jejunal villus height and crypt depth significantly increased (p < 0.05) compared to the CN group as of days 7 and 21. HMG group jejunal villus height and crypt depth reduced (p < 0.05) compared to the MMG group. LMG group jejunum goblet cell count was greater (p < 0.05) than that of the MMG or HMG groups. MMG and HMG group ileal villus height was greater (p < 0.05) than either CN or LMG groups as of day 7. HMG ileal crypt depth decreased (p < 0.05) compared to LMG and MMG groups. The MMG group had greater (p < 0.05) acetic acid, isobutyric acid, butyric acid and pentanoic acid contents in their caecum than the other groups as of day 21. It also had greater acetic acid, propanoic acid, isobutyric acid, butyric acid and isopentanoic acid contents in the colon than the other groups on day 21. No significant VFA content differences in the caecum or the colon were observed among groups on day 7. These results indicated that oral administration with monosodium glutamate (MSG) at 0.50 g/kg BW/day improved SP intestinal morphology and increased caecal and colonal VFA contents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sulfur is an essential element because it exists widely in proteins. The disulfide bond is an important moiety in many different types of significant organic molecules. A new approach for oxidant‐ and catalyst‐free S−H/S−H cross‐coupling, with hydrogen evolution, to construct unsymmetrical disulfides was developed. Under the conditions of an undivided cell at room temperature, a series of unsymmetrical disulfides were prepared with up to 87 % yield from the direct coupling of an aryl mercaptan and alkyl mercaptan. Gram‐scale synthesis also highlights the synthetic utility of this electrochemical strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An environmentally friendly electrocatalytic protocol has been developed for dehydrogenative C−H/S−H cross-coupling. This method enabled C−S bond formation under catalyst- and oxidant-free conditions. Under undivided electrolysis conditions, various aryl/heteroaryl thiols and electron-rich arenes afforded the C−S bond-formation products in 24-99 % yield. A preliminary mechanistic study indicated that the generation of aryl radical cation intermediates is key to the success of this transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional graphene-supported mesoporous silica@Fe3O4 composites (mSiO2@Fe3O4-G) were prepared by modifying mesoporous SiO2-coated Fe3O4 onto hydrophobic graphene nanosheets through a simple adsorption co-condensation method. The obtained composites possess unique properties of large surface area (332.9 m2/g), pore volume (0.68 cm3/g), highly open pore structure with uniform pore size (31.1 nm), as well as good magnetic separation properties. The adsorbent (mSiO2@Fe3O4-G) was used for the magnetic solid-phase extraction of seven pesticides with benzene rings in different aqueous samples before high-performance liquid chromatography. The main parameters affecting the extraction such as adsorbent amount, volume of elution solvent, time of extraction and desorption, salt effect, oscillation rate were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, this method provided low limits of detection (S/N = 3, 0.525-3.30 μg/L) and good linearity (5.0-1000 μg/L, R2 > 0.9954). Method validation proved the feasibility of the developed adsorbent, which has a high extraction efficiency and excellent enhancement performance for pesticides in this study. The proposed method was successfully applied to real aqueous samples, and satisfactory recoveries ranging from 77.5 to 113.6% with relative standard deviations within 9.7% were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

C- X- C motif chemokine ligand 14 ( CXCL14) is a novel gene that is expressed in many normal cells but is absent from or expressed at very low levels in cancerous tissues such as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ( HNSCC), prostate cancer, and pancreatic cancer. However, the relationship between CXCL14 and hepatocellular carcinoma ( HCC) remains unclear. Therefore, the exact function of CXCL14, which may modulate antitumor immune responses in certain cancers, was evaluated. CXCL14 was downregulated in HCC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Moreover, overexpression of CXCL14 had an inhibitory effect on cell proliferation, induced apoptosis and inhibited the invasion of HCC cells in vitro. Upregulation of CXCL14 by lentivirus also significantly suppressed the growth of subcutaneous tumors in nude mice in vivo. We further demonstrated that the loss of CXCL14 expression was regulated by promoter hypermethylation. CXCL14 induced tumor cell apoptosis through both the mitochondrial and nuclear apoptosis pathways. CXCL14 suppressed tumor cell proliferation through regulation of the cell cycle by downregulation of cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinases. In conclusion, CXCL14 plays a pivotal role as a potential tumor suppressor in HCC. The re-expression or upregulation of this gene may provide a novel strategy in HCC therapy in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Conversations between two people are ubiquitous in many inhabited contexts. The kinds of conversations that occur depend on several factors, including the time, the location of the participating agents, the spatial relationship between the agents, and the type of conversation in which they are engaged. The statistical distribution of dyadic conversations among a population of agents will therefore depend on these factors. In addition, the conversation types, flow, and duration will depend on agent attributes such as interpersonal relationships, emotional state, personal priorities, and socio-cultural proxemics. We present a framework for distributing conversations among virtual embodied agents in a real-time simulation. To avoid generating actual language dialogues, we express variations in the conversational flow by using behavior trees implementing a set of conversation archetypes. The flow of these behavior trees depends in part on the agents' attributes and progresses based on parametrically estimated transitional probabilities. With the participating agents' state, a 'smart event' model steers the interchange to different possible outcomes as it executes. Example behavior trees are developed for two conversation archetypes: buyer-seller negotiations and simple asking-answering; the model can be readily extended to others. Because the conversation archetype is known to participating agents, they can animate their gestures appropriate to their conversational state. The resulting animated conversations demonstrate reasonable variety and variability within the environmental context. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid‐state lithium metal batteries (SSLMBs) with poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO)‐based electrolytes have increasingly become one of the most promising battery technologies due to high energy density and safety. However, adverse electrode/electrolyte interface compatibility issues hinder further application. Herein, a PEO‐based composite solid electrolyte with excellent anode and cathode interfacial compatibility is designed via the coordination modulation strategy induced by lithium difluorobis(oxalato)phosphate (DFBOP). By utilizing this electrolyte, the robust inorganic‐rich interphase involving LiF, LixPOyFz, and P─O components is in situ generated on lithium (Li) anode and LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) cathode surfaces via forceful coordination among PEO, lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulphonyl)imide, and DFBOP and subsequent adjustment of front orbital energy levels. It contributes to homogeneous lithium deposition and an effective impediment of PEO oxidation decomposition at high voltage, promoting superior interfacial stability. Consequently, Li‐symmetric cells with modified electrolyte can achieve a stable cycle over 7000 h at 0.2 mA cm−2. Specially, the cathode electrolyte interphase with a unique organic–inorganic interpenetration network structure enables the 4.5 V Li/NCM811 cells to cycle steadily over 100 cycles, with a high discharge capacity of 215.4 mAh g−1 and initial coulombic efficiency of 91.23%. This research has shed light on the interfacial design of PEO‐based electrolytes from the perspective of electrolyte coordination regulation to construct high‐performance SSLMBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]