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Progress on two-dimensional materials has shown that valleys, as energy extrema in a hexagonal first Brillouin zone, provide a new degree of freedom for information manipulation. Then, valley Hall topological insulators supporting such-polarized edge states on boundaries were set up accordingly. In this paper, a two-dimensional valley crystal composed of six tunable dielectric triangular pillars in each unit cell is proposed in the photonic sense of a deformed Su–Schrieffer–Heeger model. We reveal the vortex nature of valley states and establish the selection rules for valley-polarized states. Based on the valley topology, a rhombus-shaped beam splitter waveguide is designed to verify the valley-chirality selection rule above. Our numerical results entail that this topologically protected edge states still maintain robust transmission at sharp corners, thus providing a feasible idea for valley photonic devices in the THz regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies indicate that heat stress pathophysiology is associated with intestinal barrier dysfunction, local and systemic inflammation, and gut dysbiosis. However, inconclusive results and a poor description of tissue-specific changes must be addressed to identify potential intervention targets against heat stress illness in growing calves. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate components of the intestinal barrier, pro- and anti-inflammatory signals, and microbiota community composition in Holstein bull calves exposed to heat stress. Animals (mean age = 12 wk old; mean body weight = 122 kg) penned individually in temperature-controlled rooms were assigned to (1) thermoneutral conditions (constant room temperature at 19.5°C) and restricted offer of feed (TNR, n = 8), or (2) heat stress conditions (cycles of room temperatures ranging from 20 to 37.8°C) along with ad libitum offer of feed (HS, n = 8) for 7 d. Upon treatment completion, sections of the jejunum, ileum, and colon were collected and snap-frozen immediately to evaluate gene and protein expression, cytokine concentrations, and myeloperoxidase activity. Digesta aliquots of the ileum, colon, and rectum were collected to assess bacterial communities. Plasma was harvested on d 2, 5, and 7 to determine cytokine concentrations. Overall, results showed a section-specific effect of HS on intestinal integrity. Jejunal mRNA expression of TJP1 was decreased by 70.9% in HS relative to TNR calves. In agreement, jejunal expression of heat shock transcription factor-1 protein, a known tight junction protein expression regulator, decreased by 48% in HS calves. Jejunal analyses showed that HS decreased concentrations of IL-1α by 36.6% and tended to decrease the concentration of IL-17A. Conversely, HS elicited a 3.5-fold increase in jejunal concentration of anti-inflammatory IL-36 receptor antagonist. Plasma analysis of pro-inflammatory cytokines showed that IL-6 decreased by 51% in HS relative to TNR calves. Heat stress alteration of the large intestine bacterial communities was characterized by increased genus Butyrivibrio_3 , a known butyrate-producing organism, and changes in bacteria metabolism of energy and AA. A strong positive correlation between the rectal temperature and pro-inflammatory Eggerthii spp. was detected in HS calves. In conclusion, this work indicates that HS impairs the intestinal barrier function of jejunum. The pro- and anti-inflammatory signal changes may be part of a broader response to restore intestinal homeostasis in jejunum. The changes in large intestine bacterial communities favoring butyrate-producing organisms (e.g., Butyrivibrio spp.) may be part of a successful response to maintain the integrity of the colonic mucosa of HS calves. The alteration of intestinal homeostasis should be the target for heat stress therapies to restore biological functions, and, thus highlights the relevance of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cir X-1 is an unusual X-ray binary, which has resumed periodic outbursts since August 2019. We investigate the post-quiescence spectral properties of Cir X-1 at orbital phase around the periastron using NICER and NuSTAR X-ray observatories after the resumption of outbursts. We identify two distinct classes of spectral properties. The first class exhibits highly ionized absorption, whereas the second class does not. We suggest that the ionized absorption originates from the shelter of the disc wind, while the low-ionized/neutral absorption arises from the companion's stellar wind. We also suggest that the disc wind may be always present in both classes, and a warped precession disc could alter the visibility of the disc wind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To explore the value of two-dimensional color ultrasonography (US) in the evaluation of treatment effect of arthroscopic humeral insertion displacement for massive rotator cuff tears (MRCTs). Materials and Methods: From February 2021 to April 2022, 42 patients diagnosed as MRCTs by shoulder magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were selected and separated into the control group (CG, n=21) and study group (SG, n=21). Patients in the SG received rotator cuff humeral insertion displacement and patients in the CG were treated with traditional suture bridge. The reliability of US imaging was examined and the clinical outcomes in two groups were compared. Results: The sensitivity and specificity of two-dimensional color ultrasonography reached 87.1% and 100% in detecting postoperative repair of MRCTs. Three months after surgery, compared with the CG, the university of California at Los Angeles shoulder rating scale (UCLA) scores in the SG were elevated (P<0.05), and the visual analogue scale (VAS) scores in the SG were declined (P<0.05). Degrees of external rotation, internal rotation, back extension and forward flexion of shoulder joint in both groups were increased after surgery, and those in the SG were higher relative to the CG (P<0.05). The retear rate of the SG was reduced compared with the CG (P<0.05). SG showed higher patient satisfaction rate compared with the CG (P<0.05). Conclusion: Two-dimensional color ultrasonography is a reliable approach to evaluate the repair of MRCT after arthroscopic rotator cuff internal displacement, which can reduce shoulder pain, improve patient life quality, and is valuable for promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oxidation of phenol with ammonium persulfate (NH4)2S2O8 carried out under conditions of the Elbs reaction and catalyzed by metal phthalocyanines was explored. The conditions were optimized for increasing the yield of hydroquinone up to 85% upon the 95% conversion of phenol. Phthalocyanines of FeII, FeIII, and Co were found to be the most active catalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiable rendering of translucent objects with respect to their shapes has been a long‐standing problem. State‐of‐the‐art methods require detecting object silhouettes or specifying change rates inside translucent objects—both of which can be expensive for translucent objects with complex shapes. In this paper, we address this problem for translucent objects with no refractive or reflective boundaries. By reparameterizing interior components of differential path integrals, our new formulation does not require change rates to be specified in the interior of objects. Further, we introduce new Monte Carlo estimators based on this formulation that do not require explicit detection of object silhouettes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isotropic diffuse gamma-ray flux in the PeV energy band is an important tool for multimessenger tests of models of the origin of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos and for new-physics searches. So far, this flux has not yet been observed. Carpet-2 is an air-shower experiment capable of detecting astrophysical gamma rays with energies above 0.1 PeV. Here we report the upper limits on the isotropic gamma-ray flux from Carpet-2 data obtained in 1999–2011 and 2018–2022. These results, obtained with the new statistical method based on the shape of the muon-number distribution, summarize Carpet-2 observations as the upgraded installation, Carpet-3, starts its operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant IQD gene family is responsive to a variety of stresses. In this study, we studied the structural features and functions of the gene BrIQD35 in Chinese cabbage, a member of the IQD gene family.BrIQD35 was cloned and shown to contain an IQ motif. Transient expression of BrIQD35 indicated that it was localized on the plasma membrane and was significantly upregulated under drought and salt stress in Chinese cabbage. To further identify the function of BrIQD35, it was heterologously overexpressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. Although there was no significant difference between BrIQD35‐overexpressed and wild‐type (WT) plants under salt stress, WT N. benthamiana showed more wilting than the BrIQD35‐overexpressed plants under drought stress.Since the IQ motif has been annotated as a CaM binding site, yeast two‐hybrid assays were used to explore the interaction between BrIQD35 and CaM. The results indicated that BrIQD35 interacts weakly with CaMb, but not with CaMa, suggesting that BrIQD35 may function through the Ca2+‐CaMb pathway.The findings reveal a novel gene involved in drought tolerance, which is important for plant breeding and quality improvement for Chinese cabbage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To explore the efficiency of susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) in the differential diagnosis of recurrence from radionecrosis in brain metastases (BM) and in high-grade gliomas (HGG).Materials and Methods: From September 2016 to November 2018, 56 patients with BM and 42 patients with HGG were included in this retrospective study. BM and HGG were assigned to the recurrence and radionecrosis groups according to their histopathology or follow-up results. The proportion of dark signal intensity (proDSI), which was defined as the area of dark signal on SWI or the enhancing area on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging (T1WI), was calculated for each patient. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's honestly significant difference test was used for the repeat multiple comparisons. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to validate the diagnostic performance.Results: For HGG, the proDSI in the recurrence group was significantly lower than that in the radionecrosis group (0.13 ± 0.05 versus 0.43 ± 0.11, p<0.001); however, for BM, no statistical difference was found between groups (0.49 ± 0.09 versus 0.46 ± 0.08, p=0.26). proDSI had the best diagnostic performance (AUC = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.76-0.98; sensitivity = 0.87; specificity = 0.88) for HGG, when a cut-off value of 0.21 was selected.Conclusions: Semi-quantitative analysis using SWI is feasible for the differential diagnosis between recurrence and radionecrosis in HGG, but is not feasible in BM. Semi-quantitative assessment based on SWI should interpreted with caution in BM after radiotherapy in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we present a preselected small set of ordered structures (PSSOS) method, a first principles-based high fidelity (HF), high throughput (HT) approach, for fast screening of the large composition space of high entropy alloys (HEAs) to select the most energetically stable, single-phase HEAs. Taking quinary AlCoCrFeNi HEA as an example system, we performed PSSOS calculations on the formation energies and mass densities of 8801 compositions in both FCC and BCC lattices and selected five most stable FCC and BCC HEAs for detailed analysis. The calculation results from the PSSOS approach were compared with existing experimental and first-principles data, and the good agreement was achieved. We also compared the PSSOS with the special quasi-random structures (SQS) method, and found that with a comparable accuracy, the PSSOS significantly outperforms the SQS in efficiency, making it ideal for HF, HT calculations of HEAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important manifestation of environmental pressure, carbon emission has important guiding significance to study internal driving factors and realize green development. China's transportation industry is an energy-intensive industry, and it produces abundant carbon emissions each year. The environmental and ecological problems caused by transportation have attracted close attentions of many researchers. First, factor decomposition on variations of energy consumption and carbon emissions from transportation in China from 2003 to 2019 was performed by using LMDI factor decomposition method. Second, driving factors of energy consumption and carbon emissions from transportation in China were estimated by using the system GMM model. According to LMDI factor decomposition results, economic development and energy efficiency are major driving factors of carbon emissions from transportation in China within the study period, whereas energy structure is the major inhibition factor. According to the system GMM model, the driving factors of carbon emissions from transportation in China are ordered from GDP, freight turnover, and total retail sales of consumer goods from high to low, whereas the sequence of inhibition factors is from urbanization, volume of technological market transaction, and proportion of the tertiary industry. Finally, some suggestions, such as decreasing traditional energy consumption for transportation, developing energy-saving and emission-reduction technology for the transportation industry, increasing energy utilization in transportation, and increasing transportation environmental governance efficiency are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

5-Hydroxy-6-methyluracil is an acting agent of Oxymethyluracilum drug, an immunostimulator with a broad spectrum of pharmacological activity. Its synthesis is based on the 6-methyluracil oxidation with (NH4)2S2O8 under the conditions of Elbs reaction. The Elbs oxidation of 6-methyluracil in the presence of metal phthalocyanine oxidation catalysts was studied. Conditions allowing the 5-hydroxy-6-methyluracil yield to be increased to 95% were found. The most active catalysts are Fe(II), Fe(III), and Co phthalocyanines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents results of an experimental study concerned with vacuumless arc discharge synthesis of ultrafine molybdenum carbide-based materials. We have found discharge circuit parameters that ensure an essentially complete conversion of starting molybdenum. The synthesis product contained micron-sized crystals and graphene-like carbon structures, with molybdenum carbide nanoparticles embedded in them. We present preliminary results on the catalytic activity of the synthesized materials, without modification with precious metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fabricate CrP4 single crystal under high pressure and high temperature at 5 GPa and 1373 K. The comprehensive physical properties including electronic transport, magnetic properties, specific heat, Hall, thermal Seebeck and thermal conductivity are reported here. The resistivity shows a good metallic conductivity and T2.7 law relation in the low temperature, which indicates a weak correlation of electrons. It is interesting to note that CrP4 shows large magnetoresistance (MR) of 500% under T = 2 K and B = 9 T, and the MR does not reach saturation until 9 T. The mechanism of large MR in CrP4 is interpreted as the Fermi surface anisotropy. The Hall measurement shows that there is only one single type of carriers in CrP4 with holes. CrP4 exhibits paramagnetic behavior observed from the magnetic susceptibility measurement. Though CrP4 exhibits high electrical conductivity, unexpected low thermal conductivity is observed at low temperature, which is due to the zigzag chain of CrP6 octahedra along the c-axis. Low thermal conductivity is useful to design thermoelectric materials or devices by properly doping in CrP4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to investigate the incidence of, and trends in, congenital anomalies in Central China from 1997 to 2019. This was a descriptive study. We collected data describing 4,134,098 births from 75 hospital monitoring sites in Henan Province, Central China, from 1997 to 2019. A joinpoint regression model was used to analyze the continuous changes. There were 4,134,098 births recorded from 1997 to 2019, of which 50,646 noted the presence of congenital anomalies (incidence: 122.5 per 10,000). The incidence of congenital anomalies was found to have increased over time (P- trend <0.05). Congenital anomaly incidence in urban areas was higher than that in rural areas (155.3 per 10,000 vs 100.7 per 10,000; P < 0.001). Moreover, incidence was higher in males than in females (129.1 per 10,000 vs 112.9 per 10,000; P < 0.001). The incidence of neural tube defects significantly reduced from 1997 to 2019 (39.3 per 10,000 in 1997 vs 0.92 per 10,000 in 2019, P- trend <0.001), whereas the incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD) increased (5.56 per 10,000 in 2010 to 136.46 per 10,000 in 2019), which meant that CHD was the most common congenital anomaly post-2013. In Henan province, the incidence of congenital anomalies increased by 115% from 1997 to 2019. Notably, the incidence of CHD is rising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Baksan Neutrino Observatory setups are currently performing search for neutrino and ultra-high-energy gamma-ray counterparts of the events on the Gamma-ray Coordinates Network. The Gamma-ray Coordinates Network is a system for distributing alerts from gamma-ray bursts, transients. Muon neutrinos and antineutrinos with energies above 1 GeV are registered with the Baksan Underground Scintillation Telescope. Ultra-high-energy gamma rays are registered with the "Carpet-2" setup. Registration of events and analysis of alerts occurs in near-real time. Alerts from Swift BAT, Fermi-GBM, Fermi-LAT, INTEGRAL, IceCube, HAWC are used. This work presents the description of the alert processing program and preliminary results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of experimental and theoretical investigations into the synthesis of silicon carbide using the energy of thermal plasma. The experimental investigations were conducted on a stand with 4 kW of power making it possible to have a thermal plasma flow with a bulk temperature of 5600 K. Regimes have been identified for the synthesis of silicon carbide and concentration of composite charge mixture components determining its yield. On the basis of processing experimental data, key characteristics have been calculated for the technological process of silicon carbide synthesis (time and load mass). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the high-light environment, young leaves accumulate anthocyanins as a photoprotection strategy. However, anthocyanin biosynthesis-related enzymes gene sequence is still unknown in the leaves of subtropical forest plants. There are thus few reports on the relationship between the expression level of these genes and photoprotection. In this study, Machilus chinensis and Castanopsis chinensis were taken as plant material in a subtropical forest. Non-full-length nucleotide sequences of chalcone synthase, dihydroflavonol 4-reductase, anthocyanin synthase, and ß-tubulin gene were obtained by homologous and electronic cloning. The expression of those genes was verified and analyzed, and some physiological indicators were measured. The anthocyanin content and anthocyanin synthesisrelated gene expression in the young leaves of C. chinensis were significantly higher than that of M. chinensis. Although young leaves of M. chinensis did not accumulate anthocyanins, they showed higher antioxidants and nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ). This study indicates that anthocyanins, antioxidants, and NPQ together mediate the positive effects on photoadaptation in young leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea cucumbers have been emerged as important models to study organ regeneration and development owing to the capacity to regenerate its organs quickly after evisceration. Evisceration is a special defense mechanism for sea cucumber to eject all of internal organs when they encounter predators or adverse environmental conditions. However, little was known about the dynamics of bacterial community in coelomic fluid after evisceration. In the present study, evisceration was induced by intracelomic injection of 0.35 M KCl, and the significantly alternation of bacterial community in coelomic fluid of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus was observed with lower diversity and total bacterial load at 7 dpe (days post evisceration) and 14 dpe. The bacterial community was tended to restore at 28 dpe. In particular, relative abundances of Bacteroidetes and Rubritaleaceae, which involved in degradation of polysaccharides and lipid, increased significantly at 7 dpe (p < 0.05), and returned to the original level at 28 dpe. In addition, the predicted functions of bacterial community indicated that the bacteria associated with metabolism pathways of amino acid, lipid and carbohydrate also increased significantly at 7 dpe. These results suggested that the bacterial community in coelomic fluid of A. japonicus was highly dynamic and could rebuild a stable community structure after evisceration. It was suggested that the enriched metabolic related beneficial bacteria at early stage played a role after evisceration in terms of decomposing polysaccharides and lipid to provide energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the search of astrophysical gamma rays with energies in the 100 TeV to several PeV range arriving in directional and temporal coincidence with public alerts from HAWC (TeV gamma rays) and IceCube (neutrinos above ∼ 100TeV). The observations have been performed with the Carpet-2 air-shower detector at the Baksan Neutrino Observatory, working in the "photon-friendly" mode since 2018. Photon candidate showers are selected by their low muon content. No significant excess of the photon candidates have been observed, and upper limits on gamma-ray fluences associated with the alerts are obtained. For events with good viewing conditions, the Carpet-2 effective area for photons is of the order of the IceCube effective area for neutrinos of the same energy, so the constraints start to probe the production of neutrinos in fast flares of Galactic sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study has been done of the bias effect of the active (high-voltage) electrode potential on the breakdown characteristics in a discharge tube 15 mm in diameter, filled with neon, argon, or their mixture (3 : 1) at a pressure of ~1 Torr. The bias of the potential is carried out by parallel connection to the electrode with an additional constant voltage or additional pulses with an amplitude less than the voltage for maintaining self-sustained discharge. In this case, a change in the breakdown voltage, the velocity of the pre-breakdown ionization wave, and the brightness of radiation from its front is observed. In particular, the breakdown voltage can increase up to 1.5–2 times, and this state of the discharge gap can be maintained for tens of minutes. The observed effects are assumed to be caused by the appearance of a charge on the tube wall and a change in its potential near the electrode, which affect the characteristics of the primary breakdown between the electrode and the wall and, in turn, the processes of discharge ignition. The mechanisms of appearance of the surface charge on the wall when feeding a bias voltage to electrode are investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The review is devoted to studies of the processes and mechanisms of ignition of a glow discharge in tubes whose length significantly exceeds their diameter (long discharge tubes) at low pressures (~10 Torr and lower) and moderate voltage rise rates (~1 kV/μs and lower). The electric field in such tubes before a breakdown is substantially nonuniform. Therefore, a breakdown occurs after an ionization wave (or waves) passes through the discharge gap at a speed of ~105–107 cm/s. This makes the characteristics of the breakdown in long tubes significantly different from the breakdown between large and closely spaced electrodes, where the electric field is uniform before the breakdown and where the Townsend or, under strong overvoltage, streamer mechanism is realized. On the other hand, the nature of these processes is very different from those occurring in nanosecond discharges, which arise at voltages with a steepness of ~1 kV/ns and higher and are associated with high-speed (~109 cm/s) ionization waves. The review is based on the materials of experimental and computational works published from 1938 to 2020. Breakdown processes, optical and electrical characteristics of the discharge gap during breakdown, and the influence of the external circuit parameters and external actions (shielding and illumination by external sources of visible radiation) are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study is to search for the possibilities of forensic identification criteria through integrated study of the nature of correlative relationships between the dermatoglyphic parameters of the middle and proximal phalanges of the fingers together with gender and ethno-territorial belonging of persons and identify factor criteria for the diagnosis of unknown person’s phenotype. The material for the study was dermatoglyphs of middle and proximal phalanges of fingers of 480 persons belonging to males and females of different ethno-territorial groups of the Carpathian region, obtained digitally using the Futronic's FS 80 USB 2.0 optical scanner and reformatted from bitmaps to vector graphic objects using algorithm VeriFinger 6.6/Mega Matcher 4.4 Identification Technology Algorithm. The results of quantitative and qualitative study of the morphological elements of dermatoglyphic parameters were subjected to one- and multivariate statistical analysis. Significant differences were found between in incidence of dermatoglyphic parameters in the males and females of the Boiko, Lemko, Hutsul, Opillia, Pokuttia and control groups during the study. On the basis of the obtained result, diagnostic phenotypic complexes of dermatoglyphic parameters of middle and proximal phalanges of the fingers of representatives of different ethno-territorial groups of the Carpathian region were formed, and thus the register of identification criteria was expanded, which can be further used as a separate self-sufficient identification system, as well as together with dermatoglyphic parameters of hands and feet in complex identification expertise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Nuclear grade has been recently validated as a powerful prognostic tool in epithelioid malignant pleural mesothelioma (E‐MPM). In other studies histological parameters including pleomorphic features and growth patterns were also shown to exert prognostic impact. The primary aims of our study are (i) externally validate the prognostic role of pleomorphic features in E‐MPM and (ii) investigate if evaluating growth pattern in addition to 2‐tier nuclear grade improves prognostication. Methods and results: 614 consecutive cases of E‐MPM from our institution over a period of 15 years were retrospectively reviewed, of which 51 showed pleomorphic features. E‐MPM with pleomorphic features showed significantly worse overall survival compared to those without (5.4 versus 14.7 months). Tumours with predominantly micropapillary pattern showed the worst survival (6.2 months) followed by solid (10.5 months), microcystic (15.3 months), discohesive (16.1 months), trabecular (17.6 months) and tubulo‐papillary (18.6 months). Sub‐classification of growth patterns into high grade (solid, micropapillary) and low grade (all others) led to good separation of overall survival (10.5 versus 18.0 months) but did not predict survival independent of 2‐tier nuclear grade. A composite score comprised of growth pattern and 2‐tier nuclear grade did not improve prognostication compared with nuclear grade alone. Intra‐tumoural heterogeneity in growth patterns is ubiquitous. Conclusions: Our findings support the incorporation of E‐MPM with pleomorphic features in the epithelioid subtype as a highly aggressive variant distinct from 2‐tier nuclear grade. E‐MPM demonstrates extensive heterogeneity in growth pattern but its evaluation does not offer additional prognostic utility to 2‐tier nuclear grade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quantitative analysis of the structure-antioxidant activity relationship was performed for 128 derivatives of phenols, amines, uracil, benzopyrane, and benzofuran using the GUSAR 2013 program. Nine statistically significant QSAR consensus models characterized by a high accuracy of prediction of the chain termination rate constant of oxidation on the antioxidant molecules were constructed. The results of the structural analysis performed in the GUSAR 2013 program are in good agreement with the literature data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf senescence is an important event in the plant life cycle. Ethylene and ascorbic acid (AsA) both regulate the leaf senescence process. The role of endogenous AsA in ethylene-induced leaf senescence was explored in two independent endogenous AsA changing Arabidopsis thaliana mutants. The line vtc2-1 with a single base change in VTC was AsAdeficient mutant; the GLDH-overexpressing line (GLDHOE) driven by the CaMV 35S promoter was AsA-overaccumulating mutant. After spraying 600 µM ethephon for 6 d, vtc2-1 showed the most serious leaf chlorosis, reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation, chlorophyll breakdown, Rubisco degradation, and had the highest expression level of senescenceassociated genes (SAGs), such as SAG12, SAG13, SAG20, and SAG21 among the three lines. In contrast, GLDHOE maintained the highest photosynthetic pigments contents, Rubisco content, antioxidant capacity, and the lowest expression of SAG2, SAG20, and SAG21 among the three lines. Taken together, we conclude that endogenous AsA can delay ethyleneinduced senescence by scavenging ROS and inhibiting SAGs expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Plant tissues are the reservoirs of beneficial and harmful microbes that regulates plant growth. In the present study, we investigated the diversity, function and colonization of sugarcane roots associated with Bacillus spp. Methods and Results: A total of 20 Bacillus strains were isolated and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and their genetic diversity was examined by BOX, ERIC, REP, (GTG)5 PCR techniques. Among all Bacillus isolates, 65% showed indole acetic acid‐like compounds production, 50% solubilized phosphorus and 25% of the isolates were able to secrete siderophore. Moreover, all 20 Bacillus isolates showed antifungal activity against eight fungal pathogens and 11 of them (55%) antagonized tomato grey mold. Based on the plant growth‐promoting traits and antifungal potential, isolate Y8 was selected for root and plant tissue colonization assays and a greenhouse‐level sugarcane growth promotion study. Fluorescence microscopy results confirmed that isolate Y8 has a strong ability to colonize in the sugarcane root and leaves, and the root surface association of Y8 was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Furthermore, greenhouse experimental results demonstrated that Y8 has a significant effect on enhancing sugarcane biomass and root length. Conclusions: Endophytic Bacillus strains have growth‐promoting properties and anti‐fungal ability that can enhance plant fitness in an eco‐friendly manner. Significance and Impact of the Study: Endophytic Bacillus strains would be a potential alternative to chemical fertilizer as well as a biocontrol agent in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Onchocerciasis in camels is caused by adult Onchocerca spp. and results in great economic losses to the camel industry. However, only a few studies on Onchocerca have been conducted, especially regarding the intermediate host and vector(s). In the present study, 192 camels were examined from December and January during 2013 and 2016, and the filarial larvae suspected to be Onchocerca spp. were further identified. Furthermore, aquatic dipteran insects in the living environment of camels were collected from May to September between 2013 and 2017 and dissected. Eventually, onchocercal lesions were observed in 95 of 192 (49%) camels and the captured insects were classified into 49 species from 42 genera in 21 families, among which 18 species were newly recorded in Inner Mongolia and 14 were haematophagous species. The filarial larvae were found in Culicoides puncticollis and identified as Onchocerca fasciata, indicating that C. puncticollis is the vector of O. fasciata in Inner Mongolia. These findings provide an estimate of onchocerciasis infection in camels and an alternative method of identifying insects and screening vectors using molecular methods. Important data are also provided for the diagnosis and control of onchocerciasis, thereby further filling the gap in knowledge regarding transmission vectors in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of studying the characteristics of a slow ionization wave (IW) arising at the initial stage of breakdown in a long discharge tube under reduced pressure. The discharge tube is a Philips TUV-30W mercury lamp with an electrode spacing of 80 cm and an inner diameter of 23 mm. The tube is filled with argon at a pressure of 2–4 Torr (nominal data) and mercury vapor. One of the electrodes is grounded, and, to the second one, positive or negative voltage pulses with an amplitude of 2 kV, a leading edge duration of ≈0.5 μs, and a repetition frequency of 1 Hz are applied. The IW velocity and the time dependence of the intensities of the Ar, Ar+, and Hg lines in the IW at different distances from the high-voltage electrode are measured. It is shown that the velocity of a positive IW (3 × 107–5 × 107 cm/s) is higher than the velocity of a negative IW (1 × 107–1.8 × 107 cm/s). The magnitude of the electric field in the front of an IW is evaluated from the comparison of the measured and calculated intensity ratios of the Ar, Ar+, and Hg lines. It is shown that, in a positive IW, the magnitude of the reduced electric field (260–450 Td) is noticeably larger than in a negative one (120–165 Td). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We broadly explore the effects of systematic errors on reverberation mapping lag uncertainty estimates from javelin and the interpolated cross-correlation function (ICCF) method. We focus on simulated light curves from random realizations of the light curves of five intensively monitored AGNs. Both methods generally work well even in the presence of systematic errors, although  javelin generally provides better error estimates. Poorly estimated light-curve uncertainties have less effect on the ICCF method because, unlike javelin , it does not explicitly assume Gaussian statistics. Neither method is sensitive to changes in the stochastic process driving the continuum or the transfer function relating the line light curve to the continuum. The only systematic error we considered that causes significant problems is if the line light curve is not a smoothed and shifted version of the continuum light curve but instead contains some additional sources of variability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Adipose‐derived stem cells have been considered as a promising therapy for erectile dysfunction. However, the therapeutic efficacy of adipose‐derived stem cell‐based therapy requires improvement. Objective: To determine whether the inhibition of phosphodiesterase type 5 in adipose‐derived stem cells would improve stem cell therapy for rats with diabetes‐induced erectile dysfunction. Materials and Methods: A phosphodiesterase type 5 siRNA was incorporated into lentiviral vectors and transduced into adipose‐derived stem cells. The mRNA and protein levels of phosphodiesterase type 5 were evaluated. Three days after transduction, the adipose‐derived stem cell supernatant was collected to determinate the levels of insulin‐like growth factor 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor. Streptozotocin‐induced diabetic rat models were established and used for comparative analysis of 1‐ and 2‐week treatment regimens with intracavernosal injection of adipose‐derived stem cells or Lv‐siPDE5‐modified adipose‐derived stem cells. Results: Lv‐siPDE5‐ADSCs secreted more insulin‐like growth factor 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in supernatants than unmodified adipose‐derived stem cells. Preconditioned Adipose‐derived stem cells‐treated diabetic rats showed consistently superior erectile function when compared with non‐preconditioned adipose‐derived stem cells after 2 weeks of treatment. Lv‐siPDE5‐ADSCs provided additional benefits in recovery of cavernous structures with rapid effects (1 week) when compared to plain adipose‐derived stem cells. These features were associated with the significantly increased levels of insulin‐like growth factor 1 and vascular endothelial growth factor in Lv‐siPDE5‐ADSC‐treated diabetic rats. Conclusions: Adipose‐derived stem cell therapy could serve as an alternate approach for diabetes‐induced erectile dysfunction, albeit with a long onset period. In vitro preconditioning of adipose‐derived stem cells could accelerate the functional and structural recovery in vivo, indicating that preconditioning by inhibition of phosphodiesterase type 5 may improve adipose‐derived stem cells therapy following diabetes‐induced erectile dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulatory roles of mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways on the hypothalamic−pituitary−gonadal axis (HPG axis) of Wenchang chicks under heat stress (HS) were investigated. Additionally, the crosstalk between these signaling pathways was explored. Immunohistochemical experiments and Western blotting were employed to quantify extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK), and p38MAPK (P38). In female chicks, hypothalamic ERKs were upregulated in Weeks 1 and 2 in the HS group compared with the control group (CK), while JNK and p38 were downregulated (P < 0.05). Pituitary MAPKs were all downregulated in the HS group compared with the CK group in Week 3, but p38 was upregulated in Week 4 (P < 0.01). In the HS group, ovarian MAPKs were all upregulated compared with the CK group during Week 5, whereas ERK was downregulated in Week 6 (P < 0.01). In contrast to the patterns of MAPK expression in female chicks in the HS and CK groups, ERK in male chicks showed a completely opposite pattern in Weeks 1, 2, and 5, while p38 and JNK were downregulated in both female and male chicks under HS duringWeeks 2 and 3. In the HS group, pituitary and testis MAPKs showed a pattern opposite to that observed in female chicks under HS inWeek 5; MAPKs were all downregulated (P < 0.05). Thus, there are gender differences in the MAPK signaling pathways in the HPG axis in chicks, and these pathways showed plasticity. Early HS can enhance chick growth and development as well as promote developing in the MAPK signaling pathways in the HPG axis. However, after heated brooding was discontinued in chicks, long-term HS obstructed chick development and caused tissue and function injury to the HPG axis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refining slags is widely used in the production of high-value-added alloys and special steels. The removal of impurities depends on the mass transfer between the slag-metal interface, and the carbide capacity of the refining slags is crucial to control the carbon content in the final products. A phenomenological model is introduced in this article for the calculation of carbide capacity of different CaO-based ternary refining slags. The contour lines of carbide capacity in CaO-Al2O3- CaF2, CaO-SiO2-CaF2 CaO-SiO2-MnO systems are calculated based on limited experimental data by the present model. The experimental data within the calculation boundary are compared with the predicted values and satisfactory agreements are observed with the mean deviation being 1.4%, 2.3%, and 1.6%, for these three systems respectively. The present model is powerful and flexible in the calculation of carbide capacity of CaO-based ternary refining slags and can be applied to other systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Elevated CO2 (eCO2) increases rhizodeposits, which in turn alters the soil microbial community. However, it is not really known how the microbial community metabolizes plant‐derived carbon (C) in the rhizosphere under eCO2, especially in agricultural soils. This study used a 13CO2 labelling technique combined with DNA‐stable isotope probing (SIP) to fractionate the 13C‐DNA and 12C‐DNA from the rhizosphere of soya bean plants (Glycine max (L.) Merr. cv. Suinong 14) grown for 54 days under ambient CO2 (aCO2) (390 ppm) or eCO2 (550 ppm). The DNA fractions were then subjected to Illumina Miseq sequencing. The results showed that eCO2 decreased the richness and diversity of the 13C‐assimilating bacterial community compared to aCO2 (p < 0.05). Elevated CO2 decreased the abundances of genera, including Pseudarthrobacter, Gaiellales_uncultured, Microlunatus, Gemmatimonas, Gemmatimonadaceae_uncultured, Ramlibacter, Massilia, Luteimonas, Acidobacteriaceae_uncultured, Bryobacter and Candidatus_Solibacter. These genera were probably fast‐growing bacteria and sensitive to labile C. In contrast, eCO2 stimulated the growth of genera Novosphingobium, Acidimicrobiales_uncultured, Bacillus, Flavisolibacter and Schlesneria, which were able to assimilate complex C compounds. Moreover, the increased population of Novosphingobium under eCO2 might have accelerated electron flow from the oxidation of organic C. Correspondingly, eCO2 did not affect the concentration of the dissolved organic C but increased the plant‐derived 13C in the rhizosphere. These results indicated that an eCO2‐induced increase in non‐labile C in rhizodeposits contributed to the increase in population size of a number of the plant‐C‐metabolizing genera that might become the mechanism for the turnover of fresh C in the rhizosphere, modifying the soil C cycle under eCO2 environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physically crosslinked chitosan hydrogels have better biocompatibility and possess unique functional characteristics but suffer from poor mechanical properties. In the current study, we prepared Cu+-containing physically crosslinked chitosan hydrogels by exploiting ammonia fumigation and reduction of Cu2+ by NaHSO3. The content of Cu+ in the prepared hydrogels was in a low range of 4.88–29.27 μmol/g. The mechanical strength of the CTS-Cu+/NH3 hydrogels was remarkably improved up to 0.25 MPa and the elongation at break increased with rising content of Cu+ due to the dynamic crosslinks between chitosan and Cu+. Moreover, the CTS-Cu+/NH3 hydrogels demonstrated evident shape memory after exposure to air by exploiting the different coordination number of Cu2+ and Cu+. Thus, the prepared hydrogels may have good potential applications as biomedical materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have measured the dynamic breakdown voltage in a long (80 cm) discharge tube in neon, argon, their mixture, and in argon with mercury vapor at pressures of 80–400 Pa in a wide range of anode voltage rise rates (dU/dt ~ 10–4–102 kV/ms). We have detected a nonmonotonic dependence of the breakdown voltage on dU/dt with a minimum in the region 0.1–10 kV/ms. The breakdown voltage rise in the range of low voltage growth rate can probably be explained by the specific features of breakdown in long tubes and is associated with the accumulation of a surface charge on the tube walls. The charge reduces the potential difference between the anode and the wall and complicates the primary breakdown between them. The results of additional experiments with pulses superimposed on a constant bias voltage confirm the admissibility of such an explanation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The efficiency of doping crystalline semiconductors is often associated with the solubility of the dopant. However, the scope of doping is usually a high density of extrinsic carriers, which is not necessarily guaranteed by a high solubility of the dopant but by the high concentrations of a certain type of defects. We present a universal approach to relate the concentrations of defects resulting in extrinsic carriers in crystalline semiconductors as a function of the doping process experimental parameters. Based on quantum multiple scattering, our method features two main theoretical novelties: the transition operators are calculated by iteratively “switching on” the interaction potentials and the temperature effects are introduced as semiclassical vibrations. The bulk and doped configurations are characterized by their ground state electronic structures obtained from first-principles calculations. The dependency on substrate temperature of the carrier concentration calculated with our method is shown to reproduce well the experimental results not only for well-known processes (the n-type doping of ZnO with Al and the p-type doping of GaAs with Be) but also for challenging processes such as the p-type doping of ZnO with P. This proves that our approach is reliable and that it can become a powerful tool in the search for optimal growth condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current oscillations and other abnormalities in the dark current-voltage characteristics of an aluminum/silicon-rich oxide (SRO)/silicon structure were observed at room temperature. The SRO layers in the devices were fabricated by low pressure chemical vapor deposition and postdeposition thermal annealing. The spikelike current oscillations and other abnormalities are interpreted by an alternative switching between the on and off states of the conduction paths through the Si nanocrystallites at proper biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting evidence suggests that in single-molecule fluorescent resonant energy transfer (FRET) measurements, correlation between fluctuations in donor and acceptor may be important. We present a general theory to describe this correlation and its effect on the FRET rate. The correlation arises from low-energy excitations (e.g., acoustic phonons) of the molecule to which a donor-acceptor pair is attached, and results in an effective interaction between local environments or baths associated with the donor and the acceptor. The correlation is found to reduce the transfer rate, in particular, at short donor-acceptor distances. The theory can quantitatively explain recent measurements of polyproline peptides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal stability of nitrogen-doped SrTiO3 (001) films in terms of electronic and optical properties has been studied by using x-ray photoemission spectroscopy, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry techniques. The chemical states of nitrogen in nitrogen-doped SrTiO3 films include both substitutional and interstitial states. The N 2p states localized above the O 2p-derived valence band maximum are attributed to the change of optical properties. Postannealing will induce the valence band edge shift due to the thermal instability of interstitial N states, which may degrade the photocatalysis of nitrogen-doped SrTiO3 films during applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rotational spectrum of a new monobridged isomer of Si2H4, denoted here as H2Si(H)SiH, has been detected by Fourier transform microwave spectroscopy of a supersonic molecular beam through the discharge products of silane. On the basis of high-level coupled cluster theory, this isomer is calculated to lie only 7 kcal/mol above disilene (H2SiSiH2), the most stable isomeric arrangement of Si2H4, and to be fairly polar, with a calculated dipole moment of μ=1.14 D. The rotational spectrum of H2Si(H)SiH exhibits closely spaced line doubling, characteristic of a molecule undergoing high-frequency inversion. Transition state calculations indicate that inversion probably occurs in two steps: migration of the bridged hydrogen atom to form silylsilylene, H3SiSiH, and then internal rotation of the SiH3 group, followed by the reverse process. The potential energy surface for this type of inversion is quite shallow, with a barrier height of only 2-3 kcal/mol. Searches for the rotational lines of silylsilylene, calculated to be of comparable stability to H2Si(H)SiH but about five times less polar (μ=0.23 D), have also been undertaken, so far without success, even though strong lines of H2Si(H)SiH have been detected. The favorable energetics and high polarity of monobridged Si2H4 with respect to either disilene or silylsilylene make it a plausible candidate for radioastronomical detection in sources such as IRC+10216, where comparably large silicon molecules such as SiS, SiC3, and SiC4 have already been discovered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Polypharmacy and multiple diseases are common in geriatric practice; however, such kind of multiple interventions might result in adverse effects. Some previous studies have found the association of polypharmacy and Parkinson's disease, to confirm this relationship, we conducted a meta-analysis to analyze this issue quantitively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total, we included 8 studies, 165,689 polypharmacy subjects and 373,660 non-polypharmacy controls, and 5644 PD patients among these subjects and controls. RESULTS: For model without any adjustment, polypharmacy group has a significantly higher prevalence than control, OR = 2.53, 95 %CI [2.00, 3.20] (p < 0.001). However, this model showed a very high heterogeneity (I2 = 91 %, p < 0.001). In age, gender and disease history adjusted model, polypharmacy group has a significantly higher prevalence than control, OR = 1.43, 95 %CI [1.35, 1.52], p < 0.001. The heterogeneity decreased to zero (I2 = 0 %, p < 0.45). CONCLUSION: In this study we have found an association between PD risk and polypharmacy, a better designed prospective long-term cohort study might be required for further discussion on this issue (Tab. 1, Fig. 5, Ref. 14). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing evidence suggests that stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is effective for oligometastatic disease. Currently, there is limited data to define dose-volume relationships between muscle and adipose tissues and neuromuscular toxicities. In this post hoc analysis, we evaluated these associations in patients enrolled in two phase II clinical trials (NCT03575611, NCT03599765) where bone oligometastases were ablated with SBRT. We reviewed three-fraction SBRT treatment plans for bone oligometastases where total dose ranged from 24-36 Gy. We contoured muscle and adjacent soft tissue receiving at least 10Gy based on anatomical function (e.g., hip flexors) and defined the largest-volume group as the most-affected functional muscle group (MFMG). Muscle and adipose tissues within MFMGs (MFMG-m and MFMG-a respectively) were further delineated by semi-automated contouring scripts using previously validated CT Hounsfield unit ranges for muscle (-29 to +150 HU) and adipose (-190 to -30 HU). Associations between neuromuscular adverse events (AE) (graded by Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events version 5) with dose to 2cc-30cc of contoured volumes (D2cc-D30cc) and clinical variables (BMI, ECOG, etc.) were assessed using two-sided Mann-Whitney U tests. Results were considered significant at P<0.0071 with Bonferroni correction. We evaluated 43 treatment plans for 37 patients with target lesions in the pelvic girdle (n=18), rib (n=15), femur (n=4), lumbar vertebra (n=2), scapula (n=2), and sternum (n=2). Three patients (8.1%) experienced grade 3 hip pain, 1 patient (2.7%) had grade 2 hip pain, and 2 patients (5.4%) had grade 1 hip or rib pain. There were no grade 4 or 5 AEs. Median time to AE was 2.3 months (range: 1.2–4.5 months). Patients with AEs had significantly higher MFMG D25cc (median = 28.4 vs 18.6Gy; p=0.004), MFMG-m D25cc (median = 27.7 vs 17.3Gy; p=0.006), and MFMG-a D5cc (median = 30.2 vs 18.9Gy; p=0.006) compared to pain-free patients. We identified a dose/volume threshold at MFMG D25cc > 25 Gy, where 5/11 (45.5%) treatment plans above and 1/32 (3.1%) below this threshold led to AEs, corresponding to an odds ratio of 25.8. There was no relationship between AEs and BMI, ECOG score, or demographics. No local tumor recurrences occurred with median follow-up of 15.5 months (range: 3.1–35.4 months). Two patients with grade 3 AEs after SBRT to pelvic girdle lesions had 3- and 5-month follow-up MRIs which identified soft tissue edema consistent with our findings. Preliminary results from two prospective trials suggests that SBRT for bone oligometastases can be conducted safely with excellent tumor control and minimal toxicity. We propose that MFMG D25cc be limited to 25 Gy to avoid symptomatic neuromuscular toxicity. Future studies are needed for dose criteria verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A model for predicting solidification structure of continuously cast steel was developed using commercial software ProCAST, and verified by the metallographic examination. Later, the effects of operational parameters on microstructure of continuously cast bloom of alloy steel 20CrNiMo were investigated. The results show that the increase of superheat can promote the columnar grain growth and inhibit the central equiaxed grain growth. When superheat increases from 20 K to 35 K, the central equiaxed grain ratio decreases from 17,8% to 13,5%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]