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Producing hydrogen by water electrolysis in acidic system is essential for advancing the proton‐exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) and maintaining the global sustainability. However, excavating highly active and durable catalysts for anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in acid medium remains a great challenge due to the sluggish kinetics of OER and the severe catalyst dissolution. In this work, we developed a Cu doped RuO2 catalyst (Cu‐RuO2@CP) through simple drop casting and low temperature pyrolysis procedures. The incorporation of Cu into RuO2 executes complicated responsibilities: improving OER activity by raising more oxygen vacancies and accelerating the charge transfer between solid‐liquid interface; strengthening the long‐term durability via suppressing the over‐oxidation of RuO2 into soluble RuO4; lowering the catalyst cost by replacing with less expensive Cu. Hence, the Cu‐RuO2@CP exhibits excellent activity and stability in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte, requiring a low overpotential of 200 mV to achieve 10 mA cm−2 and preserving stability for almost 500 h. Moreover, the overpotential is as low as 397 mV even when operating under an industrial‐level current density of 1000 mA cm−2, paving a new way to develop high performance OER electrocatalyst in acidic environment to promote the large‐scale utilization of PEMWE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are typical persistent organic pollutants that have been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in cohort studies. This review aims to comprehensively assess the molecular mechanisms of PCBs‐induced T2DM. Recent progress has been made in the research of PCBs in liver tissue, adipose tissue, and other tissues. By influencing the function of nuclear receptors, such as the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), pregnancy X receptor (PXR), and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ (PPARγ), as well as the inflammatory response, PCBs disrupt the balance of hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism. This is associated with insulin resistance (IR) in the target organ of insulin. Through androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor α/β (ERα/β), and pancreato‐duodenal‐homeobox gene‐1 (PDX‐1), PCBs affect the secretion of insulin and increase blood glucose. Thus, this review is a discussion on the relationship between PCBs exposure and the pathogenesis of T2DM. It is hoped to provide basic concepts for diabetes research and disease treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main challenges in small molecule drug discovery is finding novel chemical compounds with desirable activity. Traditional drug development typically begins with target selection, but the correlation between targets and disease remains to be further investigated, and drugs designed based on targets may not always have the desired drug efficacy. The emergence of machine learning provides a powerful tool to overcome the challenge. Herein, a machine learning‐based strategy is developed for de novo generation of novel compounds with drug efficacy termed DTLS (Deep Transfer Learning‐based Strategy) by using dataset of disease‐direct‐related activity as input. DTLS is applied in two kinds of disease: colorectal cancer (CRC) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In each case, novel compound is discovered and identified in in vitro and in vivo disease models. Their mechanism of actionis further explored. The experimental results reveal that DTLS can not only realize the generation and identification of novel compounds with drug efficacy but also has the advantage of identifying compounds by focusing on protein targets to facilitate the mechanism study. This work highlights the significant impact of machine learning on the design of novel compounds with drug efficacy, which provides a powerful new approach to drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of spintronic terahertz (THz) emitters has a significant influence on broadband coherent spectroscopy and imaging at THz frequencies. By using femtosecond light to irradiate the spintronic heterostructures, spin currents from the ultrafast demagnetization effect can be transformed into charge currents through the inverse spin Hall effect, leading to the emission of THz waves. In this work, through the incorporation of sequential and inverse deposition of W‐Co20Fe60B20‐Pt heterostructure films, control is gained over the spin currents and THz waveforms, enabling it to achieve a 180° phase difference across a broad frequency spectrum while efficiently radiating THz waves. This, in turn, allows it to control the spatial phase of THz radiation. To test the device's capabilities, lithography‐based devices capable of focusing, producing vortexes, and dividing beams are manufactured. This investigation aims to advance the development of THz pulse sources while providing essential support for cutting‐edge technologies such as THz spectroscopy, high‐resolution imaging, and high‐speed communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we developed a process for the [2+1+3] cyclization of 2‐methylbenzothiazole salts, aldehydes and amidine hydrochlorides, which allows rapid synthesis of 1,3‐diazaphenothiazines with moderate to good yields. The use of ethanol as solvent, oxygen as the terminal oxidant, mild reaction conditions, good functionality tolerance show the promising application in organic synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to the heterogeneity of low‐grade gliomas (LGGs), the lack of randomized control trials, and strong clinical evidence, the effect of the extent of resection (EOR) is currently controversial. Aim: To determine the best choice between subtotal resection (STR) and gross‐total resection (GTR) for individual patients and to identify features that are potentially relevant to treatment heterogeneity. Methods: Patients were enrolled from the SEER database. We used a novel DL approach to make treatment recommendations for patients with LGG. We also made causal inference of the average treatment effect (ATE) of GTR compared with STR. Results: The patients were divided into the Consis. and In‐consis. groups based on whether their actual treatment and model recommendations were consistent. Better brain cancer‐specific survival (BCSS) outcomes in the Consis. group was observed. Overall, we also identified two subgroups that showed strong heterogeneity in response to GTR. By interpreting the models, we identified numerous variables that may be related to treatment heterogeneity. Conclusions: This is the first study to infer the individual treatment effect, make treatment recommendation, and guide surgical options through deep learning approach in LGG research. Through causal inference, we found that heterogeneous responses to STR and GTR exist in patients with LGG. Visualization of the model yielded several factors that contribute to treatment heterogeneity, which are worthy of further discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is effective in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), but the participation rate is low and its influencing factors vary. Our study aimed to systematically review the literature and investigate the participation rates and influencing factors of CR in patients with AMI. Methods: We searched 10 databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and so forth. A systematic review and meta‐analysis were conducted on the studies on the factors affecting CR participation in AMI. The Q tests and the I2 tests were used to assess heterogeneity between studies. The combined effect size and odds ratio (OR) and their respective 95% confidence interval (CI) for CR participation rate and its influences are expressed, respectively. Stata 17.0 software was used for statistical analysis. Results: We included 14 studies with 114 542 participants. Current evidence indicates a CR participation rate of 34% (95% CI: 21%–46%) in patients with AMI. The pooled OR values and CI of each influencing factor are as follows: over 60 years old (OR = 0.865; 95% CI: 0.772–0.969), male (OR = 1.690; 95% CI: 1.276–2.239), college education or above (OR = 2.526; 95% CI: 1.117–5.711), ST‐segment elevation myocardial infarction (OR = 4.257; 95% CI: 2.004–9.045), decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (OR = 0.918; 95% CI: 0.868–0.971), higher economic level (OR = 1.282; 95% CI: 1.108–1.483), history of coronary heart disease(OR = 0.667; 95% CI: 0.509–0.875), smoking (OR = 0.665; 95% CI: 0.550–0.805), combined hypertension (OR = 0.638; 95% CI: 0.562–0.723), and combined hyperlipidemia (OR = 0.577; 95% CI: 0.512–0.651). Conclusions: The overall participation rate of CR in AMI patients is low, and various factors affect the participation rate. Specialist medical staff are needed to further promote CR rehabilitation concepts and scientific knowledge, and take appropriate measures to address the influencing factors to increase CR utilization and improve patient prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Only a few fused benzothiadizole (BTz) based conjugated polymers have been applied in organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs), and their performances were low, mainly due to the lack of available building blocks and in‐depth study of the relationship between structure and performance. Herein, we report two isomeric fused BTz‐based building blocks (M1 and M2) and their copolymers PBTzVBTz‐T and PBTzVBTz‐TT, PTVT‐T and PTVT‐TT. DFT study showed all polymers had nearly planar backbone geometries, and PBTzVBTz‐TT exhibited the most linear backbone. PTVT‐T and PTVT‐TT exhibited red‐shift absorption spectra and deeper LUMO level than those of PBTzVBTz‐T and PBTzVBTz‐TT. Thin film microstructure study demonstrated PBTzVBTz‐TT and PTVT‐TT had edge‐on molecular orientation, while the others had the mixed molecular orientation of edge‐on and face‐on. Furthermore, PBTzVBTz‐TT had the longest coherence length in thin film. All these features of PBTzVBTz‐TT resulted in its highest carrier mobility of 0.1 cm2·V–1·s–1 among these polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: Only a few fused benzothiadizole (BTz) based conjugated polymers have been applied in organic field‐effect transistors (OFETs), and their performances were low, mainly due to the lack of available building blocks and in‐depth study of the relationship between structure and performance. Herein, we report two isomeric fused BTz‐based building blocks (M1 and M2) and their copolymers PBTzVBTz‐T and PBTzVBTz‐TT, PTVT‐T and PTVT‐TT. DFT study showed all polymers had nearly planar backbone geometries, and PBTzVBTz‐TT exhibited the most linear backbone. PTVT‐T and PTVT‐TT exhibited red‐shift absorption spectra and deeper LUMO level than those of PBTzVBTz‐T and PBTzVBTz‐TT. Thin film microstructure study demonstrated PBTzVBTz‐TT and PTVT‐TT had edge‐on molecular orientation, while the others had the mixed molecular orientation of edge‐on and face‐on. Furthermore, PBTzVBTz‐TT had the longest coherence length in thin film. All these features of PBTzVBTz‐TT resulted in its highest carrier mobility of 0.1 cm2·V–1·s–1 among these polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical pattern recognition (OPR) has the advantage of single intensity detection ability for low‐cost terahertz (THz) systems of imaging or security checks. However, conventional 4f‐system‐based OPR is limited by the paraxial approximation and bulky device volumes for THz applications. Here, a full‐diffraction‐based 4f‐less OPR method is proposed using a single complex‐amplitude‐modulating metasurface, which is valid for systems with large Fresnel numbers. Moreover, a laser‐induced graphene technique is applied for processing the device. A 15 mm × 15 mm metasurface can be fabricated by one‐step laser writing in 34 s, indicating the potential of the proposed method in developing THz OPR systems with miniaturization, fast fabrication, and low‐cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metasurfaces have demonstrated unprecedented capabilities in modulating the polarization and phase of electromagnetic waves and formed an emerging field of research, driving the exploitation of versatile compact devices. In this work, one transmission‐mode, multichannel all‐silicon metasurface platform that can implement functionalities separately in two orthogonally polarized output fields under linearly polarized incidences is proposed, which can effectively promote the design flexibility. Specifically, a single metasurface can realize multiple independent target phase distributions carrying specific phase relationships, thus enabling different information processing in different linear polarization states. For proof‐of‐principle experimental exhibitions, a monolayer metasurface composed of silicon pillars is designed, fabricated, and characterized to demonstrate the ability of multi‐dimensional light field control, such as polarization‐switchable focusing beam. Moreover, the other designed metasurface can generate polarization‐switchable Bessel vortex beams under linearly polarized incidences, which also verifies the flexibility and practicality of such platform. This metasurface platform may lead to new optical components, involving multichannel singular beam generators, information encoders, and holographic encryption devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stropharia rugosoannulata, a high‐value mushroom, exhibits high nutritional value and flavor characteristics; however, the mushroom is susceptible to spoilage, water loss and texture deterioration, which renders its safety and edibility a challenge. To improve the shelf life of fresh mushrooms during storage, a novel nanocomposite packaging (NP) was applied for the first time to maintain the freshness of S. rugosoannulata. The results showed that compared to other groups, NP effectively delayed the deterioration of sensory quality, postponed the decrease in firmness, and inhibited the degradation of soluble protein (caps 54.58 mg g−1 and stipes 31.45 mg g−1) and crude polysaccharide (caps 5.06 mg g−1 and stipes 3.53 mg g−1). Moreover, NP significantly reduced weight loss (0.41%) and water content loss (caps 90.93% and stipes 89.80%), as confirmed by low‐field nuclear magnetic resonance and magnetic resonance imaging; thus, water loss was inhibited. Additionally, the results of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicated that NP helped preserve intact cell structure and retard organelle disintegration, helping prevent water from escaping to some extent. The overall research indicated that the application and performance of the novel NP, which is convenience, suitable for scale application and improves postharvest quality, is a promising approach for extending the shelf life of fresh S. rugosoannulata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moso‐bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis), with the favor of human disturbance, rapidly invades adjacent forests to form monocultures in East Asia. Moso‐bamboo not only intrudes the broadleaf forests but also the coniferous, and it could impact by above‐ and below‐ground pathways. However, it still remains unclear whether the below‐ground performance of moso‐bamboo differs from broadleaf to coniferous forests, especially those differing in competitive and nutrient acquisition strategies. In this study, we investigated three types of forest stands in Guangdong, China, including a bamboo monoculture, a coniferous forest, and a broadleaf forest. We found that moso‐bamboo may suffer stronger soil P limitation (soil N/P = 18.16) and may be infected by more AMF in coniferous than broadleaf forests (soil N/P = 16.17). Based on our PLS‐path model analysis, soil P resource may be the key to differ moso‐bamboo root morphology and rhizosphere microbe in different forests: in broadleaf forests with weaker soil P limitation, may be realized through increasing specific root length and specific surface area, whereas in coniferous forests with stronger soil, P limitation may be realized through combining more AMF. Our study highlights the importance of underground mechanisms about moso‐bamboo expansion in different forest communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization plays a key role in fundamental science, and the improvement in miniaturization and practicability of polarization conversion devices could provide more degrees of freedom for light–matter interactions. Metasurfaces that can manipulate arbitrary polarization states at subwavelength scales can significantly reduce the complexity of meta‐optical systems. Here, a general design of an all‐silicon diatomic metasurface operating in the terahertz band that can generate a tailorable linear polarization state by the superposition of two meta‐atoms with individual geometric parameters is experimentally demonstrated. By periodically arranging polarization‐converting and polarization‐maintaining meta‐atoms, the existence of interference effects enables the proposed diatomic meta‐platform to act as an optimal linear polarization operator. The gradient arrangement of the meta‐molecules under the profile of the propagation phase is deduced by using the advanced Jones matrix, so that the polarization filtering and wavefront manipulation can be realized simultaneously, including the generation of tightly converged vortex and bifocal focusing beams. This demonstration of generating tailorable linear polarization states located on the Poincaré sphere directly from arbitrarily polarized waves can significantly facilitate the development of functional polarization meta‐devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generation and manipulation of vector light fields are of great significance for both fundamental research and industrial applications of polarized optics. In recent years, the spatial domain control of structured vector fields has gradually expanded from two‐ to three‐dimensional, including traditional optics and meta‐optics. Here, a new method to generate and manipulate structured vector light fields along the propagation direction is proposed, and the functionality in terahertz band using all‐silicon metasurfaces is demonstrated. The coherent superposition of orthogonal circularly polarized terahertz waves through long focal depth and multifocal metalens is completed, and varying phase differences between them in the propagation direction via path accumulation or initial phase design are introduced, thereby continuous variation or independently designed vector polarization distributions in multiple planes are obtained. It is worth mentioning that the proposed scheme is not only for the design of transverse electric field components, but also shows a strong ability for manipulation of the longitudinal component. This scheme realizes the polarization distribution designs of three‐dimensional vector fields in three‐dimensional space, and provides a new inspiration for the generation and manipulation of vector beams based on meta‐optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Post‐ischemia, microglia respond immediately to the alternations in neuronal activity and mediate inflammation. Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays a key role in this phenomenon. To explore the effect of loureirin C, an effective compound from Chinese Dragon's blood, on ischemic stroke, Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) with/without intragastric administration of loureirin C (7, 14, and 28 mg/kg). Loureirin C alleviated MCAO/R‐induced brain impairment evaluated by neurological scores (p < 0.001), brain water content (p < 0.001), and cerebral infarct volume (p = 0.001). The neuroprotective (p < 0.001) and inhibitory effects on microglial activation (p < 0.001) of loureirin C were revealed by immunofluorescence. Rescue studies with TLR4 overexpression in BV‐2 microglia showed that the antiinflammatory effect of loureirin C was attributable to the inhibition of TLR4 protein expression. Moreover, co‐immunoprecipitation assays showed that the binding of Triad3A, an E3 ubiquitin ligase of TLR4, was increased by loureirin C (p = 0.003). Our study demonstrates that loureirin C could be a promising therapeutic agent for the management of ischemic stroke by inhibiting microglial activation, potentially by Triad3A‐mediated promotion of TLR4 ubiquitination and degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article constructs the hierarchical model of multicolor‐emotion generation network (MCEG‐Net) to investigate human emotional responses to multiple colors based on the research of multicolor perceptual features modeling, which reveals the generation mechanism of multicolor emotion from the perspective of hierarchy of visual features. First, the 164 multicolor samples were evaluated by 30 subjects based on PAD emotion space. On this basis, the correlation analysis was carried out among color basic attributes, multicolor physical features, multicolor perceptual features and emotion. Then, a mathematical model of multicolor emotion was constructed by using multiple linear regression (MLR) algorithm. It was observed that, the multiple colors was strongly correlated with emotion. Finally, the MCEG‐Net was constructed, which reveals the generation mechanism of the process the "the basic attributes of color stimulate human's perceptual reflex and then generate emotion" under the interaction of multiple colors from the perspective of information science. The results showed that the mathematical model could predict color emotion well. In addition, the MCEG‐Net provides a new way to reveal the generation mechanism of color‐emotion associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vector vortex beams have attracted considerable research attention owing to their unique optical properties, and have been explored in vortex filtering, photon entanglement, and the photonic spin hall effect. In this work, a universal all‐dielectric metasurface platform is proposed that can generate longitudinally varying vector vortex beams in the terahertz band. As a proof‐of‐concept demonstration, a series of metasurface examples generating evolution of topological charges and vector polarization states of generated vector vortex beams are characterized. The experimental results agree well with the simulations, fully verifying the feasibility of the proposed scheme. The proposed metasurface strategy may find applications ranging from optical traps to polarization optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Responsive assessment of disease activity in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is necessary to evaluate therapeutic efficacy and guide treatment. We compared the utility of the multibiomarker disease activity (MBDA) score in the assessment of RA disease activity with that of the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28‐ESR) score and the Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) in a multicenter, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial of repository corticotropin injection (RCI) in patients with persistently active RA. Methods: Patients received 80 units of RCI twice weekly during a 12‐week open‐label period; those who experienced low disease activity at week 12 were randomly assigned to receive either 80 units of RCI or placebo twice weekly during a 12‐week double‐blind period. Changes in disease activity (measured by DAS28‐ESR, CDAI, and MBDA scores) and correlations between MBDA scores and both DAS28‐ESR and CDAI scores were assessed. Results: Changes from baseline in DAS28‐ESR and CDAI scores suggested that RCI therapy led to clinically meaningful improvements in disease activity, but improvements from baseline in MBDA scores were below the minimally important difference threshold. For the DAS28‐ESR and CDAI, correlations with total MBDA and individual component scores were generally low (r ≤ 0.3) and occasionally moderate (r > 0.3 but r < 0.5). Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest overall MBDA scores are not sufficiently responsive for assessing RA disease activity after RCI therapy. These findings are consistent with those seen with other RA drugs and, although they are from a clinical trial, suggest the MBDA should not be a preferred disease activity measure in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fully phase‐modulated metasurfaces, implementing independent wavefront control of output cross‐ and co‐polarized components under circularly polarized (CP) incidence, can effectively break the shackles that the Pancharatnam–Berry phases and spin‐decoupled metasurfaces can only manipulate the cross‐polarization component. With this, the scheme of complex amplitude modulation is introduced as a new degree of freedom, which can further modulate the intensity and phase of the output cross‐polarized (co‐polarized) component, and thus become an alternative approach for designing multi‐functional polarization manipulation metasurfaces. Three representative metasurfaces are verified with particular polarization conversion and wavefront shaping, demonstrating the flexibility and practicability of the design scheme. Such a concept opens up a new platform for multifarious integrated optics through harnessing the new degree of freedom and may further accelerate the development of metasurface polarization optics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential to independently control the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic waves, and there is an urgent need to integrate multiple functions independently on a single device. Here, an all‐silicon multifunctional metasurface platform that can arbitrarily and independently encode three pairs of amplitude and phase profiles into a single‐layer device is proposed. Three complex amplitude functions can be presented independently by switching the polarization states of the incident and transmitted waves. As a proof of the feasibility and flexibility of the platform, three examples are designed here: the first can generate multipair foci of equal intensity, the second can generate multipair axial bifocals of equal intensity, and the third can generate multipair foci of arbitrary intensity ratios. The experimental results are in good agreement with the simulations. The proposed multifunctional metasurface platform is powerful in manipulating the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic waves, which can find applications in particle manipulation, biology, imaging, and other fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism of obesity‐related metabolic dysfunction involves the development of systemic inflammation, largely mediated by macrophages. Switching of M1‐like adipose tissue macrophages (ATMs) to M2‐like ATMs, a population of macrophages associated with weight loss and insulin sensitivity, is considered a viable therapeutic strategy for obesity‐related metabolic syndrome. However, mechanisms for reestablishing the polarization of ATMs remain elusive. This study demonstrates that CD146+ ATMs accumulate in adipose tissue during diet‐induced obesity and are associated with increased body weight, systemic inflammation, and obesity‐induced insulin resistance. Inactivating the macrophage CD146 gene or antibody targeting of CD146 alleviates obesity‐related chronic inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. Macrophage CD146 interacts with Glycoprotein 130 (Gp130), the common subunit of the receptor signaling complex for the interleukin‐6 family of cytokines. CD146/Gp130 interaction promotes pro‐inflammatory polarization of ATMs by activating JNK signaling and inhibiting the activation of STAT3, a transcription factor for M2‐like polarization. Disruption of their interaction by anti‐CD146 antibody or interleukin‐6 steers ATMs toward anti‐inflammatory polarization, thus attenuating obesity‐induced chronic inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in mice. The results suggest that macrophage CD146 is an important determinant of pro‐inflammatory polarization and plays a pivotal role in obesity‐induced metabolic dysfunction. CD146 could constitute a novel therapeutic target for obesity complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prescribed‐time leader‐following consensus problem of multi‐agent systems with actuator saturation is considered in this paper. With the proposed protocol, the convergence time can be assigned off‐line, and actuator saturation problem is solved. A prescribed‐time disturbance and actuator faults observer is designed to estimate the disturbance and actuator faults. At last, numerical simulations show the efficiency of the observer and controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Stem cell therapy represents a new approach to induce immune tolerance in solid organ transplantation. However, the time‐consuming process of stem cell expending limits the range of stem cell treatment. Uncultured adipose stromal vascular fraction is considered an attractive cell source for cell‐based therapy. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of stromal vascular fraction on the immune system in donation after circulatory death rat renal transplantation. Methods: Stromal vascular fraction cells and splenocytes were co‐cultured to evaluate the effect of stromal vascular fraction on splenocyte proliferation and viability. Sprague–Dawley rats were used as donors. and Wistar rats as recipients to establish a donation after a circulatory death rat renal transplantation model. Warm ischemia time was 5 min. Stromal vascular fraction was administered in the rat model following the intra‐arterial route. The spleens and grafts of recipients were harvested on days 1, 3 and 7 post‐transplantation for assessing acute rejection, infiltration of inflammatory cells, indoleamine 2, 3‐dioxygenase expression and T‐cell frequency in the spleen. Results: Stromal vascular fraction could inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of splenocytes in vitro (P < 0.05). The administration of stromal vascular fraction could significantly reduce acute rejection and infiltration of CD8+ T cells and mononuclear macrophages in grafts, and increase indoleamine 2, 3‐dioxygenase expression (P < 0.05). The frequency of CD8+ T cells decreased, and the frequency of CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells increased in the spleen of the acute rejection + stromal vascular fraction group on day 7 post‐transplantation (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Administration of the adipose stromal vascular fraction could attenuate acute rejection in donation after circulatory death renal transplantation by increasing the ratio of regulatory T cells and enhancing indoleamine 2, 3‐dioxygenase expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

String instruments, wind instruments and percussion instruments are three traditional categories of musical instruments, among which wind instruments play an important role. Usually, pitches of wind instruments are determined by the vibrating air column, and the musical pitches will be affected by multiple factors of the air flow. In this article, the mechanism of sound production by a pipe is analysed in terms of the coupling of the edge tone and the air column's vibration in the tube. Experiments and computational fluid dynamics numerical calculations are combined to study the influence of the jet velocity on the oscillation frequency of the edge tone and the musical sound produced by the tube, which help to gain deeper insight into the relation between physics and music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: The precision of the standard measurements of reference materials (RMs) is critical to normalize the raw δ15N values of samples to the international scale. Because the measurement configuration is required to moderate the properties of both RMs and samples for obtaining an ideal measurement precision, it is important to determine the appropriate measurement configurations of RMs to achieve accurate nitrogen isotope compositions of samples. Therefore, it is critical to systematically examine RMs for optimizing the configurations and further improve the measurement precision. Methods: Gas source isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) coupled with an online elemental analyzer (EA) equipped with a single‐quartz reactor was performed to analyze the nitrogen isotope compositions. Some adjustments were made as follows: (a) as the in‐house working standard, urea was used to investigate the influences of combustion through moderating the different oxygen injections (0–20 mL) and sample delay times (10–12 s) and optimize the combustion conditions to enhance oxidation ability; (b) CO2 from the sample gas stream was removed to prevent interferences between CO2 and N2; (c) international RMs, including USGS40 (l‐glutamic), IAEA600 (caffeine), and soil standard (B2153) with a low organic content, were systematically analyzed under the optimized configurations, and the precisions of the δ15N values were further examined. Results: Our results showed that sufficient oxygen should be injected to improve the sample combustion when analyzing δ15N in natural samples such as soil or marine sediment with low organic content. In addition, the measurement precision of δ15N was affected by the tailing of the CO2 peak from the gas chromatography column into the subsequent sample measurement if the EA is equipped with a single‐quartz reactor column. Our adjustments can produce an optimized repeatability and accuracy of the δ15N value, especially for RMs with low organic content, and the uncertainty of the measurements is improved to be better than 0.1‰ under optimized configurations. Conclusions: The analytical conditions such as the oxygen flow rate and injection time or sample introduction time into the EA need to be adjusted depending on the combustion conditions of the RMs and samples to obtain a reliable accuracy of measurement. We recommend that when analyzing δ15N of natural samples such as soil or marine sediment samples with low organic content, more oxygen should be injected to improve the combustion of the samples. In addition, CO2 should be removed from the sample gas stream before being introduced into the isotope ratio mass spectrometer when the EA is equipped with a single‐quartz reactor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep learning methods hold strong promise for identifying biomarkers for clinical application. However, current approaches for psychiatric classification or prediction do not allow direct interpretation of original features. In the present study, we introduce a sparse deep neural network (DNN) approach to identify sparse and interpretable features for schizophrenia (SZ) case–control classification. An L0‐norm regularization is implemented on the input layer of the network for sparse feature selection, which can later be interpreted based on importance weights. We applied the proposed approach on a large multi‐study cohort with gray matter volume (GMV) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data for SZ classification. A total of 634 individuals served as training samples, and the classification model was evaluated for generalizability on three independent datasets of different scanning protocols (N = 394, 255, and 160, respectively). We examined the classification power of pure GMV features, as well as combined GMV and SNP features. Empirical experiments demonstrated that sparse DNN slightly outperformed independent component analysis + support vector machine (ICA + SVM) framework, and more effectively fused GMV and SNP features for SZ discrimination, with an average error rate of 28.98% on external data. The importance weights suggested that the DNN model prioritized to select frontal and superior temporal gyrus for SZ classification with high sparsity, with parietal regions further included with lower sparsity, echoing previous literature. The results validate the application of the proposed approach to SZ classification, and promise extended utility on other data modalities and traits which ultimately may result in clinically useful tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity and its related complications pose an increasing threat to human health; however, targetable obesity‐related membrane receptors are not yet elucidated. Here, the membrane receptor CD146 is demonstrated to play an essential role in obesity. In particular, CD146 acts as a new adipose receptor for angiopoietin‐like protein 2 (ANGPTL2), which is thought to act on endothelial cells to activate adipose inflammation. ANGPTL2 binds to CD146 to activate cAMP response element‐binding protein (CREB), which then upregulates CD146 during adipogenesis and adipose inflammation. CD146 is present in preadipocytes and mature adipocytes, where it is mediated by its ligands ANGPTL2 and galectin‐1. In preadipocytes, CD146 ablation suppresses adipogenesis, whereas the loss of CD146 in mature adipocytes suppresses lipid accumulation and enhances energy expenditure. Moreover, anti‐CD146 antibodies inhibit obesity by disrupting the interactions between CD146 and its ligands. Together, these findings demonstrate that ANGPTL2 directly affects adipocytes via CD146 to promote obesity, suggesting that CD146 can be a potential target for treating obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low‐energy shock wave (LESW) has been recognized as a promising non‐invasive intervention to prevent the organs or tissues against ischaemia reperfusion injury (IRI), whereas its effect on kidney injury is rarely explored. To investigate the protective role of pretreatment with LESW on renal IRI in rats, animals were randomly divided into Sham, LESW, IRI and LESW + IRI groups. At 4, 12, 24 hours and 3 and 7 days after reperfusion, serum samples and renal tissues were harvested for performing the analysis of renal function, histopathology, immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry and Western blot, as well as enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Moreover, circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) were isolated, labelled with fluorescent dye and injected by tail vein. The fluorescent signals of EPCs were detected using fluorescence microscope and in vivo imaging system to track the distribution of injected circulating EPCs. Results showed that pretreatment with LESW could significantly reduce kidney injury biomarkers, tubular damage, and cell apoptosis, and promote cell proliferation and vascularization in IRI kidneys. The renoprotective role of LESW pretreatment would be attributed to the remarkably increased EPCs in the treated kidneys, part of which were recruited from circulation through SDF‐1/CXCR7 pathway. In conclusion, pretreatment with LESW could increase the recruitment of circulating EPCs to attenuate and repair renal IRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article models multicolor perceptual features to investigate human perceptual responses to multiple colors based on a subjective evaluation experiment. First, an image set containing 164 multicolor samples was constructed, and multicolor objective features containing two categories with 60 dimensions were designed and quantified. Based on this, the 164 samples were evaluated by 30 subjects based on nine perceptual descriptive variables, including "swell‐shrink," "light‐dark," and "far‐near." Then, a mathematical model of multicolor perceptual features (nine descriptive variables) was established by support vector regression. Finally, this article conducted model evaluation and factor analysis, and the results showed that the model could predict multicolor perceptual features well. It was also observed that, unlike single‐color perception, space perception was produced when applying multiple colors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary of main observation and conclusion: Thioviridamide is a structurally unique compound with potent antitumor activity. The biosynthesis of thioviridamide follows a typical pathway as ribosomally synthesized and post‐translationally modified peptides, making the genome mining‐based discovery of thioviridamide‐like compounds rational. Taking advantage of the linkage between the precursor peptide and the metabolite skeleton, we identified a new biosynthetic gene cluster in Streptomyces sp. NRRL S‐87 that could encode thioviridamide analogues. Overexpression of the whole gene cluster led to the isolation and structure elucidation of TVA‐YJ‐4 and TVA‐YJ‐5, two novel thioviridamide‐like compounds featuring N‐terminal capping groups. Chemical screening of the fermentation extracts also detected TVA‐YJ‐6, another new thioviridamide‐like compound with representative methionine sulfoxide. Detailed analysis further revealed that these structural modifications were introduced during the compound extraction process instead of through genuine enzymatic reactions. TVA‐YJ‐4 and TVA‐YJ‐5 display slightly reduced cytotoxic activities against a panel of tumor cell lines in comparison with their parental natural product, TVA‐YJ‐2. Our work will expand the membership of this rare class of compounds and promote related biosynthetic studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Streptomyces scabies causes potato common scab disease, which reduces the quality and market value of affected tubers. The predominant pathogenicity determinant produced by S. scabies is the thaxtomin A phytotoxin, which is essential for common scab disease development. Production of thaxtomin A involves the nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) TxtA and TxtB, both of which contain an adenylation (A‐) domain for selecting and activating the appropriate amino acid during thaxtomin biosynthesis. The genome of S. scabies 87.22 contains three small MbtH‐like protein (MLP)‐coding genes, one of which (txtH) is present in the thaxtomin biosynthesis gene cluster. MLP family members are typically required for the proper folding of NRPS A‐domains and/or stimulating their activities. This study investigated the importance of TxtH during thaxtomin biosynthesis in S. scabies. Biochemical studies showed that TxtH is required for promoting the soluble expression of both the TxtA and TxtB A‐domains in Escherichia coli, and amino acid residues essential for this activity were identified. Deletion of txtH in S. scabies significantly reduced thaxtomin A production, and deletion of one of the two additional MLP homologues in S. scabies completely abolished production. Engineered expression of all three S. scabies MLPs could restore thaxtomin A production in a triple MLP‐deficient strain, while engineered expression of MLPs from other Streptomyces spp. could not. Furthermore, the constructed MLP mutants were reduced in virulence compared to wild‐type S. scabies. The results of our study confirm that TxtH plays a key role in thaxtomin A biosynthesis and plant pathogenicity in S. scabies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing evidence that rather than using a single brain imaging modality to study its association with physiological or symptomatic features, the field is paying more attention to fusion of multimodal information. However, most current multimodal fusion approaches that incorporate functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are restricted to second‐level 3D features, rather than the original 4D fMRI data. This trade‐off is that the valuable temporal information is not utilized during the fusion step. Here we are motivated to propose a novel approach called "parallel group ICA+ICA" that incorporates temporal fMRI information from group independent component analysis (GICA) into a parallel independent component analysis (ICA) framework, aiming to enable direct fusion of first‐level fMRI features with other modalities (e.g., structural MRI), which thus can detect linked functional network variability and structural covariations. Simulation results show that the proposed method yields accurate intermodality linkage detection regardless of whether it is strong or weak. When applied to real data, we identified one pair of significantly associated fMRI‐sMRI components that show group difference between schizophrenia and controls in both modalities, and this linkage can be replicated in an independent cohort. Finally, multiple cognitive domain scores can be predicted by the features identified in the linked component pair by our proposed method. We also show these multimodal brain features can predict multiple cognitive scores in an independent cohort. Overall, results demonstrate the ability of parallel GICA+ICA to estimate joint information from 4D and 3D data without discarding much of the available information up front, and the potential for using this approach to identify imaging biomarkers to study brain disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioenergy plays an important role in low greenhouse gas stabilization scenarios. Among various possible sources of bioenergy, dedicated bio‐crops could contribute to most of the potential. However, large scale bio‐crop deployment raises sustainability concerns. Policies to alleviate the pressure of bio‐crops on the terrestrial environment can affect bioenergy potential and production costs. Here, we estimated the maximum bioenergy potential under environmental protection policies (biodiversity and soil protection) and societal transformation measures from demand and supply side (demand‐side policy includes sustainable diet; supply‐side policy includes advanced technology and trade openness for food) by using an integrated assessment modelling framework, which consists of a general equilibrium model (Asian‐Pacific Integrated Model/Computable General Equilibrium) and a spatial land use allocation model (Asian‐Pacific Integrated Model/Platform for Land‐Use and Environmental Model). We found that the global advanced bioenergy potential under no policy was 245 EJ/year and that 192 EJ/year could be produced under US$5/GJ. These figures were 149 EJ/year and 110 EJ/year, respectively, under a full environmental policy. Biodiversity protection has a greater impact than soil protection due to its larger coverage and stronger implementation. Societal transformation measures effectively increase them to 186 EJ/year and 143 EJ/year, respectively, even under full environmental policies. These results imply that the large‐scale bioenergy deployment possibly needed for the climate target to limit the global mean temperature increase well below 2°C compared to the preindustrial level might face a trade‐off with environmental protection targets and that possible mitigation pathways in harmony with other environmental issues need to be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) is an expansion of traditional, static FNC that measures connectivity variation among brain networks throughout scan duration. We used a large resting‐state fMRI (rs‐fMRI) sample from the PREDICT‐HD study (N = 183 Huntington disease gene mutation carriers [HDgmc] and N = 78 healthy control [HC] participants) to examine whole‐brain dFNC and its associations with CAG repeat length as well as the product of scaled CAG length and age, a variable representing disease burden. We also tested for relationships between functional connectivity and motor and cognitive measurements. Group independent component analysis was applied to rs‐fMRI data to obtain whole‐brain resting state networks. FNC was defined as the correlation between RSN time‐courses. Dynamic FNC behavior was captured using a sliding time window approach, and FNC results from each window were assigned to four clusters representing FNC states, using a k‐means clustering algorithm. HDgmc individuals spent significantly more time in State‐1 (the state with the weakest FNC pattern) compared to HC. However, overall HC individuals showed more FNC dynamism than HDgmc. Significant associations between FNC states and genetic and clinical variables were also identified. In FNC State‐4 (the one that most resembled static FNC), HDgmc exhibited significantly decreased connectivity between the putamen and medial prefrontal cortex compared to HC, and this was significantly associated with cognitive performance. In FNC State‐1, disease burden in HDgmc participants was significantly associated with connectivity between the postcentral gyrus and posterior cingulate cortex, as well as between the inferior occipital gyrus and posterior parietal cortex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary of main observation and conclusion: Thiopeptides, arising from complex posttranslational modifications of a genetically encoded precursor peptide, are of great interest due to their structural complexity and important biological activities. All of these antibiotics share a macrocyclic peptidyl core that contains a central, six‐membered nitrogen heterocycle and are classified into five series a—e based on the oxidation state of the central nitrogenous ring. Here, we report that the biosynthesis of the central piperidine heterocycle of series a thiopeptides relies on the activity of homologues of an F420H2‐dependent reductase TppX4 by exploiting and characterizing the piperidine‐containing thiopeptin biosynthetic gene (tpp) cluster in Streptomyces tateyamensis. In vitro reconstruction of TppX4 activity demonstrated that the piperidine heterocycle of thiopeptins was transformed from a dehydropiperidine heterocycle, and TppX4 tolerated the changes in the C‐termini and macrocyclic peptidyl core of substrate and also tolerated dehyropiperidine‐containing monocyclic or bicyclic thiopeptides. The identification of TppX4 and its substrate tolerance enriches the biosynthetic toolbox for development of additional thiopeptide analogs for clinical drug screening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The ratio between amygdala:hippocampal (AH) volume has been associated with multiple psychiatric problems, including anxiety and aggression. Yet, little is known about its biological underpinnings. Here, we used a methylome-wide approach to test (a) whether DNA methylation in early life (birth, age 7) prospectively associates with total AH volume ratio in early adulthood, and (b) whether significant DNA methylation markers are influenced by prenatal risk factors. Methods Analyses were based on a subsample ( n = 109 males) from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which included measures of prenatal risk, DNA methylation (Infinium Illumina 450k), T1-weighted brain scans and psychopathology in early adulthood (age 18-21). Amygdala and hippocampus measures were derived using Freesurfer 5.3.0. Methylation markers related to AH volume ratio across time were identified using longitudinal multilevel modeling. Results Amygdala:hippocampal volume ratio correlated positively with age 18 psychosis-like symptoms ( p = .007). Methylation of a probe in the gene SP6 associated longitudinally with (a) higher AH volume ratio (FDR q-value = .01) and (b) higher stressful life events during pregnancy ( p = .046). SP6 is expressed in the hippocampus and amygdala and has been implicated in cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. The association between SP6 DNA methylation, AH volume ratio and psychopathology was replicated in an independent dataset of 101 patients with schizophrenia and 111 healthy controls. Conclusions Our findings suggest that epigenetic alterations in genes implicated in neurodevelopment may contribute to a brain-based biomarker of psychopathology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While detecting genetic variations underlying brain structures helps reveal mechanisms of neural disorders, high data dimensionality poses a major challenge for imaging genomic association studies. In this work, we present the application of a recently proposed approach, parallel independent component analysis with reference (pICA-R), to investigate genomic factors potentially regulating gray matter variation in a healthy population. This approach simultaneously assesses many variables for an aggregate effect and helps to elicit particular features in the data. We applied pICA-R to analyze gray matter density (GMD) images (274,131 voxels) in conjunction with single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data (666,019 markers) collected from 1,256 healthy individuals of the Brain Imaging Genetics (BIG) study. Guided by a genetic reference derived from the gene GNA14, pICA-R identified a significant SNP-GMD association ( r = −0.16, P = 2.34 × 10−8), implying that subjects with specific genotypes have lower localized GMD. The identified components were then projected to an independent dataset from the Mind Clinical Imaging Consortium (MCIC) including 89 healthy individuals, and the obtained loadings again yielded a significant SNP-GMD association ( r = −0.25, P = 0.02). The imaging component reflected GMD variations in frontal, precuneus, and cingulate regions. The SNP component was enriched in genes with neuronal functions, including synaptic plasticity, axon guidance, molecular signal transduction via PKA and CREB, highlighting the GRM1, PRKCH, GNA12, and CAMK2B genes. Collectively, our findings suggest that GNA12 and GNA14 play a key role in the genetic architecture underlying normal GMD variation in frontal and parietal regions. Hum Brain Mapp 36:4272-4286, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is suggested to have polygenic risk factors and also exhibits neurological complications, strongly encouraging a translational study to explore the associations between aggregates of genetic variants and brain function alterations related to alcohol use. In this study, we used a semiblind multivariate approach, parallel independent component analysis with multiple references (pICA-MR) to investigate relationships of genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms with alcohol cue-elicited brain activations in 315 heavy drinkers, where pICA-MR assesses multiple reference genes for their architecture and functional influences on neurobiological conditions. The genetic component derived from the cAMP-response element-binding protein and -brain derived neurotrophic factor (CREB-BDNF) pathway reference was significantly associated ( r = −0.38, P = 3.98 × 10−12) with an imaging component reflecting hyperactivation in precuneus, superior parietal lobule, and posterior cingulate for drinkers with more severe alcohol dependence symptoms. The highlighted brain regions participate in many cognitive processes and have been robustly implicated in craving-related studies. The genetic factor highlighted the CREB and BDNF references, as well as other genes including GRM5, GRM7, GRID1, GRIN2A, PRKCA, and PRKCB. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis indicated that the genetic component was enriched in synaptic plasticity, GABA, and protein kinase A signaling. Collectively, our findings suggest that genetic variations in various neural plasticity and signaling pathways partially explain the variance of precuneus reactivity to alcohol cues which appears to be associated with AUD severity. Hum Brain Mapp 36:3007-3019, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Copy number variations ( CNVs) are structural genetic mutations consisting of segmental gains or losses in DNA sequence. Although CNVs contribute substantially to genomic variation, few genetic and imaging studies report association of CNVs with alcohol dependence ( AD). Our purpose is to find evidence of this association across ethnic populations and genders. This work is the first AD- CNV study across ethnic groups and the first to include the African American (AA) population. Methods This study considers 2 CNV data sets, one for discovery (2,345 samples) and the other for validation (239 samples), both including subjects with AD and healthy controls of European and African ancestry. Our analysis assesses the association between AD and CNV losses across ethnic groups and gender by examining the effect of overall losses across the whole genome, collective losses within individual cytogenetic bands, and specific losses in CNV regions. Results Results from the discovery data set showed an association between CNV losses within 16q12.2 and AD diagnosis ( p = 4.53 × 10−3). An overlapping CNV region from the validation data set exhibited the same direction of effect with respect to AD ( p = 0.051). This CNV region affects the genes CES1p1 and CES1, which are members of the carboxylesterase ( CES) family. The enzyme encoded by CES1 is a major liver enzyme that typically catalyzes the decomposition of ester into alcohol and carboxylic acid and is involved in drug or xenobiotics, fatty acid, and cholesterol metabolisms. In addition, the most significantly associated CNV region was located at 9p21.2 ( p = 1.9 × 10−3) in our discovery data set. Although not observed in the validation data set, probably due to small sample size, this result might hold potential connection to AD given its connection with neuronal death. In contrast, we did not find any association between AD and the overall total losses or the collective losses within individual cytogenetic bands. Conclusions Overall, our study provides evidence that the specific CNVs at 16q12.2 contribute to the development of alcoholism in AA and European American populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Copy number variations (CNVs) can alter the DNA sequence in blocks ranging from kilobases to megabases, involving more total nucleotides than single nucleotide polymorphisms. Yet, its impact in humans is far from fully understood. In this study, we investigate the relationship of genome-wide CNVs with brain function elicited by an alcohol cue in 300 participants with alcohol use disorders. First, we extracted refined neurobiological phenotypes, the brain responses to an alcohol cue versus a juice cue in the precuneus, thalamus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). Then, we correlated the CNVs with incidence frequency > 1% to the neurobiological phenotypes. One CNV region at 22q13.1 was identified to be associated with alcohol dependence severity and the brain response to alcohol cues. Specifically, the 22k base-pair homozygous deletion at 22q13.1 affects genes APOBEC3a and APOBEC3b. Carriers of this homozygous deletion show a significantly higher score in the alcohol dependence severity ( P < 0.05) and increased response to alcohol cues in the precuneus ( P < 10−12) than other participants. Tests of a mediation model indicate that the precuneus mediates the association between the homozygous deletions and alcohol dependence severity. Interestingly, the precuneus is not only anatomically and functionally connected to the ACC and thalamus (the main active regions to the alcohol cue), but also has the most predictive power to the alcohol dependence severity. These findings suggest that the homozygous deletion at 22q13.1 may have an important impact on the function of the precuneus with downstream implications for alcohol dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Independent component analysis (ICA) utilizing prior information, also called semiblind ICA, has demonstrated considerable promise in the analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). So far, temporal information about fMRI has been used in temporal ICA or spatial ICA as additional constraints to improve estimation of task-related components. Considering that prior information about spatial patterns is also available, a semiblind spatial ICA algorithm utilizing the spatial information was proposed within the framework of constrained ICA with fixed-point learning. The proposed approach was first tested with synthetic fMRI-like data, and then was applied to real fMRI data from 11 subjects performing a visuomotor task. Three components of interest including two task-related components and the 'default mode' component were automatically extracted, and atlas-defined masks were used as the spatial constraints. The default mode network, a set of regions that appear correlated in particular in the absence of tasks or external stimuli and is of increasing interest in fMRI studies, was found to be greatly improved when incorporating spatial prior information. Results from simulation and real fMRI data demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can improve ICA performance compared to a different semiblind ICA algorithm and a standard blind ICA algorithm. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is current interest in understanding genetic influences on both healthy and disordered brain function. We assessed brain function with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected during an auditory oddball task-detecting an infrequent sound within a series of frequent sounds. Then, task-related imaging findings were utilized as potential intermediate phenotypes (endophenotypes) to investigate genomic factors derived from a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array. Our target is the linkage of these genomic factors to normal/abnormal brain functionality. We explored parallel independent component analysis (paraICA) as a new method for analyzing multimodal data. The method was aimed to identify simultaneously independent components of each modality and the relationships between them. When 43 healthy controls and 20 schizophrenia patients, all Caucasian, were studied, we found a correlation of 0.38 between one fMRI component and one SNP component. This fMRI component consisted mainly of parietal lobe activations. The relevant SNP component was contributed to significantly by 10 SNPs located in genes, including those coding for the nicotinic α-7cholinergic receptor, aromatic amino acid decarboxylase, disrupted in schizophrenia 1, among others. Both fMRI and SNP components showed significant differences in loading parameters between the schizophrenia and control groups ( P = 0.0006 for the fMRI component; P = 0.001 for the SNP component). In summary, we constructed a framework to identify interactions between brain functional and genetic information; our findings provide a proof-of-concept that genomic SNP factors can be investigated by using endophenotypic imaging findings in a multivariate format. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which investigates a series of (Α-diimine) nickel(II) complexes synthesize as precatalysts for ethylene polymerization in the presence of modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO). The study uses the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of the polymers. Results show significant roles played not only by the steric bulk but also by the electronic effect of the substituents on the para-positions of the imines in the ligands in the catalyst activities.