Search

Interleukin-27 is constitutively secreted by microglia in the retina or brain, and upregulation of IL-27 during neuroinflammation suppresses encephalomyelitis and autoimmune uveitis. However, while IL-35 is structurally and functionally similar to IL-27, the intrinsic roles of IL-35 in CNS tissues are unknown. Thus, we generated IL-35/YFP-knock-in reporter mice (p35-KI) and demonstrated that photoreceptor neurons constitutively secrete IL-35, which might protect the retina from persistent low-grade inflammation that can impair photoreceptor functions. Furthermore, the p35-KI mouse, which is hemizygous at the il12a locus, develops more severe uveitis because of reduced IL-35 expression. Interestingly, onset and exacerbation of uveitis in p35-KI mice caused by extravasation of proinflammatory Th1/Th17 lymphocytes into the retina were preceded by a dramatic decrease of IL-35, attributable to massive death of photoreceptor cells. Thus, while inflammation-induced death of photoreceptors and loss of protective effects of IL-35 exacerbated uveitis, our data also suggest that constitutive production of IL-35 in the retina might have housekeeping functions that promote sterilization immunity in the neuroretina and maintain ocular immune privilege. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To discuss the optimal interval time between genetic algorithm-based ultrasound imaging-guided percutaneous drainage surgery (PTGD) and laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), 64 cholecystitis patients were selected as the research objects and evenly divided into experimental group (intelligent algorithm was adopted to recognize patients' ultrasonic images) and control group (professional doctors carried out diagnosis). 92 acute cholecystitis patients undergoing PTGD were divided into three groups. 30 out of the 92 patients received LC within 2 months and were defined as the early group. 32 were performed with LC within 2 to 4 months and were defined as the metaphase group. 28 underwent LC over 4 months and were defined as the late-stage group. The average operation time, the transition from LC to laparotomy, the average postoperative hospital stay, and the incidence of complications of the three groups were compared. The results revealed that the comparison of the diagnostic accuracy and comprehensive effectiveness between experimental group and control group demonstrated that the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). When the optimal interval of implementing LC after PTGD was realized, the corresponding values of the early group were 88.5 minutes, 16.67%, 8.13 days, and 13.75%. Those of the metaphase group were 49.91 minutes, 3.13%, 4.97 days, and 9.52%. Those of the late stage group were 68.78 minutes, 10.71%, 7.09 days, and 11.96%. To sum up, the diagnostic accuracy and comprehensive effectiveness of intelligent algorithm were higher than those of conventional ultrasound, and the optimal interval time of implementing LC after PTGD was 2 to 4 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grating interferometers that use large two-dimensional grating splice modules for performing wide-range measurements have significant advantages for identifying the position of the wafer stage. However, the manufacturing process of large two-dimensional grating splice modules is very difficult. In contrast to existing redundant designs in the grating line dimension, we propose a novel interferometric reading head with a redundant design for obtaining wide-range displacement measurements. This interferometric reading head uses a one-dimensional grating splice module, and it was observed to be compatible with two orthogonal gratings. We designed a grating interferometer system composed of four reading heads to achieve a wide range of measurements and verified it using ZEMAX simulation. By conducting experiments, we were able to verify the compatibility of the reading head with gratings possessing different grating line directions; the measurement noise was found to be less than 0.3 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in indoor air are considered a major threat to human health and environmental safety. The development of applicable technologies for the removal of VOCs is urgently needed. Nowadays, photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) based on metal-containing photocatalysts has been regarded as a promising method. However, unmodified photocatalysts are generally limited in applications because of the narrow light response range and high recombination rate of photo-generated carriers. As a result, nano metal-containing photocatalysts doped with elements or other materials have attracted much attention from researchers and has developed over the past few decades. In addition, different doping types cause different levels of catalyst performance, and the mechanism for performance improving is also different. However, there are few reviews focusing on this aspect, which is really important for catalyst design and application. This work aims to give a comprehensive overview of nano metal-containing photocatalysts with different doping types for the removal of VOCs in an indoor environment. First, the undoped photocatalysts and the basic mechanism of PCO is introduced. Then, the application of metal doping, non-metal doping, co-doping, and other material doping in synthetic metal-containing photocatalysts are discussed and compared, respectively, and the synthesis methods, removal efficiency, and mechanisms are further investigated. Finally, a development trend for using nano metal-containing photocatalysts for the removal of VOCs in the future is proposed. This work provides a meaningful reference for selecting effective strategies to develop novel photocatalysts for the removal of VOCs in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A series of Ag 3 PO 4 -g-C 3 N 4 composites with low content of Ag 3 PO 4 were prepared. • The 2.6 %-Ag 3 PO 4 -g-C 3 N 4 exhibited the highest photo-degradation ratio and rate. • The Ag 3 PO 4 -g-C 3 N 4 composites suppressed the recombination of photo-produced carriers. • The ESR results proved the Z-scheme configuration of Ag 3 PO 4 -g-C 3 N 4 composites. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which exist widely in indoor air, are confirmed to be harmful to human health. In this study, gaseous toluene, the representative VOCs, was degraded by photo-catalytic oxidation (PCO) under visible light. The Ag 3 PO 4 -g-C 3 N 4 composites with different weight ratios of Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 were synthesized and used as the photo-catalysts. The results indicated that the Ag 3 PO 4 -g-C 3 N 4 composites with the weight ratio of 2.6 % exhibited the most superior photo-catalytic activity, and the removal efficiency of toluene was 87.52 % within 100 min irradiation, which was higher than that of bare g-C 3 N 4 and Ag 3 PO 4. The pseudo-one-order model was applied to analyzing the reaction process, and the apparent reaction rate constant of 2.6 %-APO-g-C 3 N 4 was 0.005 min−1. After 3 cycles, the removal efficiency was still higher than 80.72 %. According to the results of PLS and ESR, the combination of Ag 3 PO 4 and g-C 3 N 4 could improve photo-induced carrier separation as well as OH and O 2 − radicals were both detected. Furthermore, the Z-scheme mechanism of Ag 3 PO 4 -g-C 3 N 4 photo-catalysts was proposed. Therefore, the superior photo-catalytic activity of composites was significantly increased by the Z-scheme. In addition, the small proportion of Ag 3 PO 4 in composites may be beneficial for a wide range of applications, given the cost of noble metal Ag. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duodenal ulcer seriously affects the quality of life and life safety of children, but the pathogenesis of children with duodenal ulcer is still unclear. As an important second messenger in the body, Ca2+ participates in the physiological and pathological processes of various diseases. Therefore, transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 (TRPV4) as one of the channels that mediate Ca2+ has attracted widespread attention in recent years. Here, we found that TRPV4 is highly expressed in children with duodenal ulcer and has good diagnostic value through specimens of children with duodenal ulcer, and animal experiments have proved that TRPV4 is also highly expressed in duodenal ulcer mice. In addition, TRPV4 can enhance intestinal permeability, thereby promoting further infiltration of inflammatory factors. In summary, these results indicate that TRPV4 is involved in the occurrence and development of duodenal ulcer. Therefore, this study provides the diagnostic and therapeutic value of TRPV4 in children with duodenal ulcer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regulatory B cells (Breg cells) that secrete IL-10 or IL-35 (i35-Breg) play key roles in regulating immunity in tumor microenvironment or during autoimmune and infectious diseases. Thus, loss of Breg function is implicated in development of autoimmune diseases while aberrant elevation of Breg prevents sterilizing immunity, exacerbates infectious diseases, and promotes cancer metastasis. Breg cells identified thus far are largely antigen-specific and derive mainly from B2-lymphocyte lineage. Here, we describe an innatelike IL-27-producing natural regulatory B-1a cell (i27-Breg) in peritoneal cavity and human umbilical cord blood. i27-Bregs accumulate in CNS and lymphoid tissues during neuroinflammation and confers protection against CNS autoimmune disease. i27-Breg immunotherapy ameliorated encephalomyelitis and uveitis through up-regulation of inhibitory receptors (Lag3, PD-1), suppression of Th17/Th1 responses, and propagating inhibitory signals that convert conventional B cells to regulatory lymphocytes that secrete IL-10 and/or IL-35 in eye, brain, or spinal cord. Furthermore, i27-Breg proliferates in vivo and sustains IL-27 secretion in CNS and lymphoid tissues, a therapeutic advantage over administering biologics (IL-10, IL-35) that are rapidly cleared in vivo. Mutant mice lacking irf4 in B cells exhibit exaggerated increase of i27-Bregs with few i35-Bregs, while mice with loss of irf8 in B cells have abundance of i35-Bregs but defective in generating i27- Bregs, identifying IRF8/BATF and IRF4/BATF axis in skewing B cell differentiation toward i27-Breg and i35-Breg developmental programs, respectively. Consistent with its developmental origin, disease suppression by innate i27-Bregs is neither antigen-specific nor disease-specific, suggesting that i27-Breg would be effective immunotherapy for a wide spectrum of autoimmune diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A covalent organic framework (DANT-BTT) with a D-A structure was synthesized based on naphthalimide. • DANT-BTT exhibits excellent chemical stability and photocatalytic properties. • Protonated DANT-BTT with superior photocatalytic capability and higher selectivity for uranium. • DANT-BTT has excellent removal efficiency for uranium at pH 1. Efficient removal of UO 2 2+ from radioactive wastewater under strong acid conditions remains a significant challenge due to the competition of excess H+ for adsorption and reduction sites. Here, covalent organic framework with complete charge separation and protonation properties (DANT-BTT) was synthesized for efficient removal of UO 2 2+ under strong acids. The DANT-BTT with strong electron-deficient naphthalimide significantly extended light absorption and enhanced intramolecular charge transfer, which significantly improve the separation efficiency of electrons and holes. Additionally, the auxiliary coordination of hydroxyl groups after protonation provides unparalleled selectivity for UO 2 2+ in strong acids, effectively preventing the competition of H+ for adsorption sites. Protonation of nitrogen atoms and ketones also extends light absorption and store electrons, further enhancing the photocatalytic performance of DANT-BTT. Consequently, DANT-BTT can achieve 71 % photoreduction UO 2 2+ efficiency (pH 1) after 60 min irradiation, where dark adsorption accounts for 43 %. This work provides a strategy for the efficient reduction of U(VI) under strong acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein analysis under biological conditions is now regarded as indispensable for understanding the structure and function of proteins, in addition to in vitro studies using purified target proteins. Because there are many molecules other than the protein-of-interest (POI) under live cell conditions, selective labeling of a POI is critical to distinguish the POI from other proteins for precise analysis. Protein labeling strategies utilizing genetically encoded tags have been used in POI modification in the complex environment of live cells. However, genetic manipulation may often induce overexpression of the POI and/or perturb the cellular context, resulting in unexpected artifacts in the protein analysis. Alternatively, recent progress in chemical biology has produced two major chemical approaches for analyzing endogenous proteins under native conditions. In this review, we summarize these techniques that utilize either protein-selective chemical labeling or proteome-directed chemical modification. Protein analysis in a biologically relevant context is now regarded as indispensable for deciphering the genuine structure and function of proteins. In this review, Shiraiwa et al. summarize recent advances in chemical approaches utilizing protein-selective chemical labeling and proteome-directed chemical modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the magnetic levitation planar motor which can achieve six degrees‐of‐freedom motion, decoupling control is realised by coil array commutation algorithm, due to the limitation of the sampling period of the real‐time system, a high‐dynamic coil array commutation algorithm is needed to achieve higher computational efficiency, but this will lead to the coil array not accurately providing the force/torque required for the trajectory movement, and generate a certain torque ripple error. In this study, the cause of this torque ripple error is analysed, and a feedforward compensation method is proposed. The results of simulation and experiment show that the proposed feedforward compensation method of high‐dynamic coil array commutation algorithm can reduce torque ripple error by 88%, and achieve higher trajectory tracking accuracy while satisfying high computational efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless energy transfer (WET) is a promising technology to fundamentally settle energy and lifetime problems in a wireless sensor network (WSN). In this paper, we study the operation of WSN based on WET using a mobile charging vehicle (MCV) and construct a periodic strategy to make the network operational permanently. Our goal is to decrease energy consumption of the entire system while maintaining the network operational forever. Based on the analysis of total energy consumption, we propose an energy-efficient renewable scheme (ERSVC) to achieve energy saving. Compared to previous schemes where the MCV visits and charges all nodes in each cycle, the MCV only needs to visit a portion of nodes in ERSVC. Numerical results show that our scheme can significantly decrease the total energy consumption with no performance loss. It is also validated that ERSVC can maintain the network operational forever with lower complexity than other schemes, making it more practical for real networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the existence of infinitely many nontrivial solutions for the following semilinear Schrödinger equation: { − Δ u + V (x) u = f (x , u) , x ∈ R N , u ∈ H 1 (R N) , where the potential V is continuous and is allowed to be sign-changing. By using a variant fountain theorem, we obtain the existence of infinitely many high energy solutions under the condition that the nonlinearity f (x , u) is of super-linear growth at infinity. The super-quadratic growth condition imposed on F (x , u) = ∫ 0 u f (x , t) d t is weaker than the Ambrosetti–Rabinowitz type condition and the similar conditions employed in the references. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 composites immobilized by PVA were prepared via facile method. • Composites exhibited improved photocatalytic ability in degrading gaseous toluene. • Serious discoloration of composites during photocatalytic experiments was observed. • PVA coating played a significant role in photo corrosion of as-prepared samples. • Humidity influenced the photo-corrosion process and stability of composites. Ag 3 PO 4 semi-conductor has emerged out as an excellent photocatalyst in removing organic compounds. However, the photo-corrosion and stability of Ag 3 PO 4 limits its application. A series of Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PVA composite films were prepared by facile ion-exchange and solvent blending method and utilized in degrading gaseous toluene under visible light in this study. Material characterization revealed that Ag 3 PO 4 particles were successfully deposited on the surface of g-C 3 N 4. The results of gaseous toluene degradation showed that 2.6%-Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PVA composites displayed the superior photo-catalytic performance among the as-prepared samples and the removal efficiency was about 1.35 and 1.26 times higher than that of g-C 3 N 4 /PVA and Ag 3 PO 4 /PVA, respectively. Additionally, discoloration of x%-Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PVA composites was detected, and the mechanism of discoloration was discussed. Ag° was detected on the surface of composites, indicating that Ag+ of Ag 3 PO 4 was reduced into Ag° by reacting with H 2 O molecules (known as photo-corrosion). The effect of PVA coating on as-prepared samples was significant in leading photo-corrosion as PVA absorbed H 2 O molecules to the surface of composites. However, PVA coating on the Ag 3 PO 4 was likely to form a chemically crosslinking network by ·OH produced on the surface of Ag 3 PO 4 , which further protected Ag 3 PO 4 from photo-corrosion. Humidity in the air played a major role in causing photo-corrosion of Ag 3 PO 4 and hence contributing to the sharp decrease of photocatalytic performance of composites. Moreover, compared to the system with a low humidity (6%), the stability of 2.6%-Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PVA composite film in degrading gaseous toluene decreased sharply when the humidity was high (70%). This study provided a significant perspective in mechanism of photo-corrosion of Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PVA composite films and might give some suggestions for further application of Ag 3 PO 4 /g-C 3 N 4 /PVA in purifying indoor air. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Industrial experiments were conducted to investigate the differences in the porosity alleviation between the multi-roll and single-roll reduction modes during continuous casting and develop a simulation model of the porosity closure. The experimental results revealed that heavy reduction and a high solid fraction were beneficial to the porosity alleviation in billets. The simulation results showed that the large plastic strain along the thickness direction (PE22) at the center region caused by the heavy reduction contributed to the porosity closure. The PE22 at the center region of the billet between the single-roll and the multi-roll reduction mode was little different for the same reduction amounts and reduction positions. The reduction efficiency was high at the position of the low solid fraction, which contributed to porosity closure. Since most areas of porosities were formed at the center region of the billet at a high solid fraction, the reduction prior to the formation of the porosities had little effect on the porosity alleviation. The single-roll reduction mode had a better effect on the porosity alleviation than the multi-roll reduction mode because the solid fraction was higher for the single-roll reduction mode. The experimental results are mostly in agreement with the simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • UiO-66 type metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) were synthesized and characterized. • The adsorption capacity of UiO-66-NH 2 for DCF was higher than that of UiO-66. • The adsorption of DCF by UiO-66-NH 2 was endothermic. • UiO-66 type MOFs were efficient for removal of DCF from aqueous solution. Abstract UiO-66 type metal organic frameworks (MOFs), including UiO-66 and UiO-66-NH 2 , were synthesized, characterized, and applied for the adsorptive removal of diclofenac (DCF) from aqueous solutions. The effect of synthetic conditions (e.g., different linkers and activation temperatures) and adsorptive conditions (e.g., contact time, initial concentration, temperature, and pH) on DCF removal was examined. UiO-66-NH 2 showed a higher adsorption capacity than UiO-66, and the increase of activation temperature can improve the adsorption capacity of UiO-66-NH 2 towards DCF. The adsorption of DCF by UiO-66-NH 2 was endothermic and almost not affected by pH in the range of 4.8–7.7. The adsorption of DCF onto UiO-66 type MOFs conformed to the pseud second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isothermal model, with adsorption capacity of 357 mg g−1 for UiO-66 and 555 mg g−1 for UiO-66-NH 2. Electrostatic interaction and H-bonding possibly played a vital role for DCF adsorption. The as-prepared UiO-66 type MOFs were efficient adsorbent for DCF removal from aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • BCM-nZVI exhibit adsorption capacity of 134 mg·g−1 and Cd2+ removal rate of 99.96%. • Cd2+ in water treated by BCM-nZVI is below drinking water standards (5 μg·L-1). • BCM-nZVI can be stored stably for 120 days without loss of activity. • The adsorption mechanism by reducing toxic Cd2+ to non-toxic Cd0 is revealed. Cadmium (Cd2+) ions in drinking water are typical heavy metal contaminants, even trace amounts of Cd2+ can accumulate in the body, leading to serious irreversible damage to human bones and kidneys. Herein, we propose an effective and green strategy for the deep removal of trace Cd2+ from water by dispersed loading of nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) onto bacterial cellulose membranes (BCM). BCM-nZVI can effectively remove Cd2+ from water in a wide pH range (5–8) with 99.96% removal rate. Freundlich isotherm model and the pseudo-second-order model reveal the adsorption process with a maximum adsorption capacity of 134.0 mg·g−1 at 30 °C. Impressively, the Cd2+ concentration in actual Cd2+ containing drinking water is below the target of 5 μg·L−1 (drinking water standard in China, USA and EU) after treated by the BCM-nZVI, and no additional pollutants are introduced. The excellent stability (stored stably for 120 days) and economic cost analysis ($75.6 m−3 for Cd2+ containing drinking water) of BCM-nZVI indicated they are viable for practical application in actual water treatment. Most importantly, the reduction reaction and mechanism study of BCM-nZVI revealed that the toxic Cd2+ is converted into non-toxic Cd0 assisted by the hydrated electrons and it has been systemically verified in our paper. This work sheds light on BCM-nZVI can be used as an ideal green material to removal Cd2+ in trace amounts of actual drinking water with high-efficiency, economical, environmentally friendly and has great potential for application in real environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Striae Distensae (SD) is a common dermatological lesion. The mechanism of formation is unclear, the prevailing theory is mechanical pulling of the skin and hormonal changes. Traditional SD treatment methods include topical drugs, photoelectric therapy, stripping and others, but each has limitations. Stromal vascular fraction gel (SVF‐gel) is a filler physically prepared from granular fat, enriched with adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs) and extracellular matrix (ECM). A good effect in the treatment of neck lines, wounds, acne, and other aspects. SD formation and treatment goals are comparable to those of neck lines. In this study, SVF‐gel filling will be used to treat mature SD, and its effectiveness and safety will be discussed in detail. Methods: From December 2019 to June 2022, recruit patients who want to treat SD caused by obesity or pregnancy among those who have "autologous fat aspiration" to change their body shape. Preoperatively, the area to be treated for SD was marked, autologous fat aspiration was performed, and the aspirated fat was prepared as SVF‐gel and filled into the preoperatively marked SD. All patients had preoperative and postoperative follow‐up with planar photographs and VISIA skin analyzer photographs to assess surgical results and safety from subjective and objective perspectives. Results: A total of 36 patients were enrolled, with 31 of them successfully followed up on. The mean Global Aesthetic Improvement Scale (GAIS) score six months after surgery was 1.87 ± 0.03. At six months postoperatively, the overall patient satisfaction rate was 90%. The depth, area, and color of SD improved six months after surgery, and no serious complications occurred in any of the patients. Conclusions: SVF‐gel is a safe and effective method of improving mature SD and can be used as a clinical treatment option. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uranium is used to make nuclear fuels for power generation. Uranium-containing wastewater is produced from fuel fabrication, fuel reprocessing, which resulted in the soil and water pollution. In this study, a cleaner and environmental friendly adsorption material, chitosan, was used to remove uranium from aqueous solution. Magnetic amidoxime functionalized chitosan beads were synthesized, characterized and applied for adsorption of uranium. The adsorption capacity of 117.65 mg/g was achieved at pH = 6, mainly due to coordination ability of amidoxime groups. With an Ms of 21.7 emu/g, the magnetic adsorbents could be fast separated from aqueous solution by the magnetic field. Additionally, the results showed that the adsorption process could be well described by the pseudo-second order kinetic (R 2  = 0.9842) and Langmuir models (R 2  = 0.9995). Finally, an adsorption mechanism was tentatively proposed to explain the adsorption process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing popularity of store brands is resulting in greater cannibalization of national brands. Thus, national-brand manufacturers are trying their best to confront this trend. At the same time, however, many leading national-brand manufacturers have become involved in the store-brand production of their counterpart retailers. We construct a game-theory-based framework to model the strategic interaction between a leading national-brand manufacturer and a retailer. Besides the national brand, the retailer also has an option for its own store brand to compete with the national brand head to head. There are two choices for the store-brand production available to the retailer: a fringe manufacturer with low production efficiency or alternatively the national-brand manufacturer with high efficiency. It is shown that, under certain conditions, there is a win-win situation for both the store-brand retailer and the national-brand manufacturer with the latter supplying the store brand. More interestingly, it is found that the national-brand manufacturer supplying the store brand may lead to a higher likelihood of the store brand introduction. Our study offers an explanation for why more and more national-brand manufacturers supply store brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study compared the efficacy of ultrasound elastography (UE), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the combination of the two methods (UE+MRI) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast tumors. In total, 86 patients with breast masses were recruited and evaluated by UE, MRI and UE+MRI. Strain ratios of UE were calculated for the breast mass and adjacent normal tissues. In addition, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was obtained, while the sensitivity and specificity were calculated to determine the optimal cut‑off point for the differential diagnosis. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was also calculated to evaluate the diagnostic performance of these methods. The results indicated that the diagnostic accuracy of UE+MRI was significantly higher compared with the UE or MRI methods in the differential diagnosis of invasive ductal, invasive lobular, intraductal papillary, medullary and mucinous carcinomas (all P<0.05). The optimal cut‑off points of ROC curve of the Strain Ratio in the diagnosis of breast lesions were 2.81, 3.76 and 3.42 for UE, MRI and UE+MRI, respectively. Furthermore, the AUC values were 86.7, 79.2 and 91.4%, while the diagnostic accuracy rates were 82.5, 75.5 and 95.3%, for UE, MRI and UE+MRI, respectively. Accuracy rate differences between UE and MRI or between UE and UE+MRI were statistically significant (P<0.05), whereas no significant difference existed between MRI and UE+MRI (P>0.05). Finally, the diagnostic consistency of the UE+MRI method with the pathological diagnosis was higher compared with UE or MRI alone. In conclusion, the combination of UE and MRI is superior to the use of UE or MRI alone in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an antimicrobial peptide composed of three tandem repeats of Mytichitin-A (3 × Mytichitin-A) with a designed molecular weight of approximately 25 kDa was expressed in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii . The yield of 3 × Mytichitin-A reached 0.28% of the total soluble protein of the 3 × Mytichitin-A-expressing transgenic cells and the expression level was stable following continuous passaging of the cells for six months. Compared to its natural and yeast-produced recombinant counterparts, which showed a very low level of growth inhibition of gram-negative bacteria, the 3 × Mytichitin-A inhibited the growth of gram-negative bacteria at a minimum inhibition concentration value ranging between 60 and 80 μg/ml. The expressed 3 × Mytichitin-A did not show toxicity to HEK293 cells. Its bioactivity was hardly affected by temperature and pH but was impaired to some extent by the proteinase treatment. Taken together, our study showed that C. reinhardtii can be used as a cellular factory to produce bioactive Mytichitin-A in a multimeric format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most work about the measurement of very fast transient overvoltage (VFTO) was carried out in the laboratory and test base. Because of the different GIS arrangement and power capacity, the time and frequency characteristics of VFTO in ultra high voltage (UHV) substation could be different with that obtained in the laboratory and test base. A series of VFTO measurements were carried out in two 1100 kV GIS substations to investigate the characteristics of on-site VFTO. The port-hole sensor based on surface-mounted device was chosen to measure the VFTO for its reliability and wide band-width. The whole measurement system was introduced and the schematic layout of each experiment was given. Measurement results of different switch conditions and measure points were presented for comprehensive understanding of the VFTO characteristics on site. The results indicated that the striking number during one operation was 16 (closing) and 14 (opening), similar to that obtained from test base result. Besides, single strike with front time 5.3 ns and voltage steepness 186.1 kV/ns was recorded, and the steepness was relatively higher than that gained in the test base. Moreover, the spectral analysis based on S transform was investigated to get the duration of different frequency components of VFTO waveform. Compared with the data obtained from the test base, the high frequency components of VFTO were reduced, while the lower frequency components lasted longer. The results provided references for the investigation of the electromagnetic interfere, the insulation coordination, and VFTO mitigation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel breast ultrasound tomography system based on a circular array of capacitive micromechanical ultrasound transducers (CMUT) has broad application prospects. However, the images produced by this system are not suitable as input for the training phase of the super-resolution (SR) reconstruction algorithm. To solve the problem, this paper proposes an improved medical image super-resolution (MeSR) method based on the sparse domain. First, we use the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) with high imaging accuracy to reconstruct the image into a training image in a sparse domain model. Secondly, we denoise and enhance the contrast of the SART images to obtain improved detail images before training the dictionary. Then, we use the original detail image as the guide image to further process the improved detail image. Therefore, a high-precision dictionary was obtained during the testing phase and applied to filtered back projection SR reconstruction. We compared the proposed algorithm with previously reported algorithms in the Shepp Logan model and the model based on the CMUT background. The results showed significant improvements in peak signal-to-noise ratio, entropy, and average gradient compared to previously reported algorithms. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed MeSR method can use noisy reconstructed images as input for the training phase of the SR algorithm and produce excellent visual effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of tip corona of free linear particle on the partial discharge pattern. The reduced scale apparatus of 126 kV GIS is set up in the laboratory. Linear particles with the same radii, same length and different tip radii are respectively placed in the experimental tank. The discharge signal, ultrasonic signal and movement track of linear particles were recorded and observed. The results indicate that: 1) Movement behavior of linear particles without corona on the tip mainly pass through four kinds of states with the increase of the applied voltage: static standing, jumping with a small height, jumping with a big height and jumping to high voltage electrode. As for the linear particles with corona on the tip, it only jumps with a small height rather than jumps to high voltage electrode. 2) In the low voltage, the V-? ultrasonic signal scatter plot and q-? discharge pulse signal scatter plot of both kinds of the linear particles with and without corona on the tip have strong phase correlation. Among them, the phase correlation of the discharge signals and the ultrasonic signals of the particles without corona on the tip decreases with the increase of the applied voltage, while the phase correlation of that of the particles with corona on the tip always keeps strong with the increase of the applied voltage. By analyzing the effect of tip corona on the particle motion and discharge characteristics, the discharge characteristic spectrum of linear particle with tip corona is obtained, which can provide important reference for pattern recognition of particle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal particle could be produced in the production and installation process of GIS, whose free movement is a significant security risk to GIS. At present, some related research focus on the movement behavior and partial discharge of individual particle, but for the movement behaviors and harmfulness of multiple particles are not very clear. In this paper, the 126 kV GIS prototype proportion shrinking test chamber was set up, the different number of metal particles with same size (10 mm length, 0.25 mm radius) were placed in the chamber, the movement behaviors of multiple particles were filmed by using a high speed camera, and discharge signals were recorded with the conventional pulse current detector and ultrasonic detector. The results of the study indicate that: At the operated voltage, the single particle (10 mm length, 0.25 mm radius) has a small jumping height but a high jumping frequency, and there is basically a collision case in each power frequency cycle. The number of linear particles affect the lifting voltage, and with the increase of the number of neighboring particles, the lifting voltage decrease, such as the lifting voltage of two aluminum particles with 10mm length and 0.25 mm radius could be reduced to 84% of the lifting voltage of a single particle, and the lifting voltage of eight aluminum particles could be reduced to 77%. Compared with single particle, the number of ultrasonic signals and partial discharge pulses of multiple particles becomes more obvious, and it could occur multiple collisions in a half power frequency cycle, but for a single particle, the maximum number of linear particle's collision in a half power frequency cycle is only one. With the increase of applied voltage, the flight time of the particles were significantly longer, and multiple discharge pulses were detected during a single collision, whose position showed “V” type distribution. At the operated voltage, the single linear particle had less harmfulness, while the existence of multiple linear particles, could greatly reduce the insulation strength of GIS, such as eight neighboring aluminum particles with 10 mm length and 0.25 mm radius could lead to a breakdown in the vicinity of the operated voltage, but the same size of the individual particle has not yet led to the breakdown of the test chamber at even twice of operated voltage. Under the different voltages, the maximum value of histogram of n-T/2 of linear particles remained unchanged, and through the histogram of n-T/2, it could estimate the number of particles in GIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uveitis is a potentially sight-threatening disease characterized by repeated cycles of remission and recurrent inflammation. The JAK/STAT pathway regulates the differentiation of pathogenic Th1 and Th17 cells that mediate uveitis. A SOCS1 mimetic peptide (SOCS1-KIR) that inhibits JAK2/STAT1 pathways has recently been shown to suppress experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). However, it is not clear whether SOCS1-KIR ameliorated uveitis by targeting JAK/STAT pathways of pathogenic lymphocytes or via inhibition of macrophages and antigen-presenting cells that also enter the retina during EAU. To further investigate mechanisms that mediate SOCS1-KIR effects and evaluate the efficacy of SOCS1-KIR as an investigational drug for chronic uveitis, we induced EAU in rats by adoptive transfer of uveitogenic T-cells and monitored disease progression and severity by slit-lamp microscopy, histology, and optical coherence tomography. Topical administration of SOCS1-KIR ameliorated acute and chronic posterior uveitis by inhibiting Th17 cells and the recruitment of inflammatory cells into retina while promoting expansion of IL-10-producing Tregs. We further show that SOCS1-KIR conferred protection of resident retinal cells that play critical role in vision from cytotoxic effects of inflammatory cytokines by downregulating proapoptotic genes. Thus, SOCS1-KIR suppresses uveitis and confers neuroprotective effects and might be exploited as a noninvasive treatment for chronic uveitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was observed that partial discharges were not detected from GIS insulators with the crack defects operated at 1100 kV in the UHV substation in China. The question is that whether crack defects can induce partial discharge at the operated voltage. In order to obtain the relationships between PD occurrence and crack configuration on GIS insulator operated at 1100 kV, the electric field strengths in the crack, changed with crack length, crack depth, crack direction, crack position, were simulated on a 1100 kV GIS insulator at operation voltage. The simulated results indicated that the field strength in the cracks, which located on the surface of the insulator or paralleled to the electric field direction, were close to that in the insulator around the crack, and the crack cannot induce partial discharge. However, the field strength in the cracks, which located in the deep position of insulator and in perpendicular to the electric field direction, was much higher than that in the insulator around the crack. For example, in the case of the crack located close to high voltage conductor, field strength in deep crack perpendicular to electric field direction could be 5.6 times of the field strength in the insulator around the crack, and it close to the field criteria of gas discharge, leading partial discharge occurred at operation voltage. The simulated results were verified by the experiment conducted on the insulators with cracks. The experimental results indicated that the crack could produce partial discharge, only when it is located in deep insulator material and in perpendicular to the electric field direction, and close to high voltage conductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunable terahertz (THz) absorber is a hot research topic in recent years. However, absorption peak number control is rarely studied. A multi-band THz absorber based on a horizontal array of vertically offset graphene nanoribbon pairs is proposed and numerically investigated. By asymmetrically widening the lower layer graphene nanoribbons, two new absorption peaks are added due to the effective excitations of even-mode lateral Fabry-Perot resonances. By different Fermi energy applying strategies, doubling and tripling of the absorption peak number can be realized. Besides, the relatively simple device structure reduces the difficulty of subsequent fabrications. The proposed peak number controllable multi-band THz absorber shows promise in the areas of sensing, non-destructive testing, explosive detection and etc. [Display omitted] • The efficient excitation of even-mode lateral Fabry-Perot resonances • Doubling and tripling of the absorption peak number from 5 to 10 and 15 • Accurate absorption peak frequency calculation and control • Relatively simple device structure that facilitates subsequent fabrications [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The nZVI and N co-doped magnetic carbon aerogel composites were synthesized. • nZVI@NCA900 displayed high Cr(VI) removal capacity of 266.79 mg·g−1 at 318 K. • Cr(VI) can be reduced to Cr(III) by nZVI and N-containing functional groups. • Simulation results by DFT prove that N-doped show positive effect. • The nZVI@NCA could provide magnetism after several adsorption and desorption cycles. The efficient removal of hexavalent chromium from solution is a challenging task, in this paper, the nZVI and nitrogen co-doped magnetic carbon aerogel microsphere composites (nZVI@NCAs) were prepared via the microemulsion polymerization and subsequent carbonization process, and were expected to satisfactory performance in the removal of Cr(VI). From batch experiments, the Cr(VI) removal process by nZVI@NCA900 fitted better with the pseudo-second-order model. The optimal nZVI@NCA900 was superior to that of most magnetic carbon-substrate composites, displaying high Cr(VI) adsorption capacity of 266.79 mg·g−1 at 318 K. Additionally, it was found that Cr(VI) was reduced to the low-toxicity Cr(III) from the results analyzed by XPS, and nZVI@NCA900 exhibited Cr(VI) reduction performance of 33.92% Cr(VI) reduced to Cr(III). The reaction between the nZVI@NCAs and Cr(VI) was pH-dependence, endothermic and spontaneous. Removal mechanisms might involve multiple processes. The nZVI particles on the surface acted as reductants to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) and form Cr(III)/Fe(III) hydroxides to precipitate on nZVI@NCAs. Simulation results by DFT prove that N is an active site and show positive effect in the adsorption system. N atoms were used as active sites to stabilize the interaction with Cr(VI) via adsorption attributed to electrostatic and act as electron donors for reduction of Cr(VI). The nZVI particles encapsulated by carbon aerogels could provide magnetic stability after acid reaction, which was beneficial to the separation of adsorbents after reaction and reuse for many cycles. These results provide a new view for developing magnetic carbon materials to remove Cr(VI) from contaminated water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI) is an environmentally benign material that has been widely used as a reducing agent to treat environmental pollutants. In this study, nZVI was used as a heterogeneous Fenton catalyst in an nZVI/H 2 O 2 system to remove pentachlorophenol (PCP) from water. The PCP degradation process in the nZVI/H 2 O 2 system was completed within 1 h. The relative Cl − concentration increased throughout the test period (6 h), indicating that the performance of the oxidative system in terms of dechlorination was excellent. The initial H 2 O 2 concentration significantly influenced the PCP removal rate, and nZVI performed better than commercial zero-valent iron as a catalyst. Moreover, magnetite (Fe 3 O 4 ), which was the main product of the corrosion of nZVI, was found to perform well as an adsorbent and catalyst, so it allowed the nZVI to be effectively reused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partial discharges (PD) detection is an effective method to evaluate the insulation condition of power cable joint. However, optimization of the partial discharge sensor was hard to be achieved because of the complex nature of cable joint. In this paper, the waveform and frequency characteristics of the partial discharge pulse in power cable were studied with experiment firstly. Then, the partial discharge pulses were numerical modeled to be used as excitation in cable joint simulation model. Furthermore, an electromagnetic simulation method of PD propagation in cable joint with considering the frequency dependent dielectric parameter was proposed. Afterwards, the quantitative relation between the sensor sensitivity and the sensor structure was discussed based on the developed pulse model and cable joint model. Calculations and measurements indicated the numerical sensor design can be achieved with the proposed pulse numerical model and cable joint simulation method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The architecture and parameter initialization of wavelet neural network are discussed and a novel initialization method is proposed. The new approach can be regarded as a dynamic clustering procedure which will derive the neuron number as well as the initial value of translation and dilation parameters according to the input patterns and the activating wavelets functions. Three simulation examples are given to examine the performance of our method as well as Zhang's heuristic initialization approach. The results show that the new approach not only can decide the WNN structure automatically, but also provides superior initial parameter values that make the optimization process more stable and quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Nano-Fe0 was much more efficient than commercial Fe0 in phage f2 removal. [•] The phage f2 with a lower concentration was more sensitive to acid condition. [•] The removal rate of virus increased with increase of Fe0 dose and rotation rate. [•] The removal rate decreased with the increase of pH value and virus concentration. [•] Response surface methodology was applied to optimizing the experimental parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Record linkage aims at finding the matching records from two or multiple different databases. Many approximate string matching methods in privacy-preserving record linkage have been presented. In this paper, we study the problem of secure record linkage between two data files in the two-party computation setting. We note that two records are linked when all the Hamming distances between their attributes are smaller than some fixed thresholds. We firstly construct two efficient secure protocols for computing the powers of an encrypted value and implementing zero test on an encrypted value, then present an efficient protocol within constant rounds for computing the Hamming distance based record linkage in the presence of malicious adversaries by transferring these two protocols. We also discuss the extension of our protocol for settling the Levenshtein distance based record linkage problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleukin-10 (IL-10)-producing regulatory B (Breg) cells suppress autoimmune disease, and increased numbers of Breg cells prevent host defense to infection and promote tumor growth and metastasis by converting resting CD4+ T cells to regulatory T (Treg) cells. The mechanisms mediating the induction and development of Breg cells remain unclear. Here we show that IL-35 induces Breg cells and promotes their conversion to a Breg subset that produces IL-35 as well as IL-10. Treatment of mice with IL-35 conferred protection from experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU), and mice lacking IL-35 (p35 knockout (KO) mice) or defective in IL-35 signaling (IL-12Rβ2 KO mice) produced less Breg cells endogenously or after treatment with IL-35 and developed severe uveitis. Adoptive transfer of Breg cells induced by recombinant IL-35 suppressed EAU when transferred to mice with established disease, inhibiting pathogenic T helper type 17 (TH17) and TH1 cells while promoting Treg cell expansion. In B cells, IL-35 activates STAT1 and STAT3 through the IL-35 receptor comprising the IL-12Rβ2 and IL-27Rα subunits. As IL-35 also induced the conversion of human B cells into Breg cells, these findings suggest that IL-35 may be used to induce autologous Breg and IL-35+ Breg cells and treat autoimmune and inflammatory disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel hydrogen sensor is designed on the basis of Fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technique. The sensor can be arranged inside the transformer. It has several advantages, such as fast fault detection and location, immunity to electromagnetic interference, quasi-distribution measurement and real-time monitoring. The principle of the proposed FBG hydrogen sensor is based on changes of the physical properties of palladium films which absorb hydrogen. A thick palladium layer prepared by magnetron sputtering is used to achieve high sensitivity. Meanwhile, polyimide is added into the adhesive layer to improve the reliability of the sensor. Partial discharge experiments demonstrated that the wavelength shift of the FBG hydrogen sensor varies linearly with the concentration of hydrogen dissolved in the transformer oil. It is hardly disturbed by other factors. The hydrogen sensing experiment in oil at a temperature of 80?C revealed that the sensitivity of the sensor remains same as the temperature varies, ranging from room temperature to operating temperature of the power transformer. Thus, the proposed sensor can work properly under the operating temperature of power transformers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We proposed a strategy to synergistically enhance uranium capture capacity through photothermal desalination, and prepared a COF hydrogel (KTG) through a simple process for the first time. KTG with ideal broadband light absorption capacity could be used as an outstanding photothermal conversion material. Meanwhile, the built-in elastic honeycomb structure endowed the KTG with good mechanical properties and adequate water transport performance that accelerated the diffusion and mass transfer ability of uranyl. Under a simulated sunlight, the adsorption capacity, selectivity, adsorption rate and cycle capacity of uranium could be significantly improved. Moreover, benefiting from the outstanding photocatalytic performance, KTG exhibited a high anti-fouling activity against marine biological entities, thereby achieving long-term efficient uranium adsorption and solar desalination. [Display omitted] • The first example of COF hydrogel for solar desalination and uranium recovery. • COF hydrogel for synergistically enhance uranium capture through photothermal desalination. • COF hydrogel shows a high evaporation rate and exceptional uranium recovery capacity. • COF hydrogel has high anti-biofouling activity and good reusability. Capturing of uranium from the natural seawater is considered to be one of the most promising methods to meet the current demand for nuclear energy. Herein, we prepared a reduced graphene oxide-based (rGO-based) covalent organic framework hydrogel (KTG) with three-dimensional porous structure as a platform for enhancing uranium capture capacity through photothermal desalination. Under light irradiation, the KTG produces a local heat that can be used to generate steam while promoting the rapid diffusion of uranium inside the hydrogel 3D network, thereby increasing the adsorption efficiency and capacity of uranium. KTG can achieve exceptional uranium capture capacity (521.6 mg g−1) under one sun irradiation, which is 42.4% higher than that under dark conditions. In addition, excellent photocatalytic activity and mechanical properties make KTG possess high anti-biofouling activity, good reusability, and achieving continuous uranium capture and solar distillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iterative learning control (ILC) enables high performance for motion systems executing repetitive tasks. The robustness filter of ILC enhances the robustness w.r.t. model uncertainties and disturbances, but results in that the repetitive error cannot be eliminated. In this article, a dual-loop ILC (DILC) approach is proposed for precision motion systems to explicitly address the design tradeoff of standard ILC between robustness and tracking performance. In the proposed DILC approach, the standard ILC is paralleled with an additional feedforward signal. When ILC converges, the additional feedforward signal is updated by the converged total feedforward signal, and then, the ILC begins a new iteration. As a result, the nonzero asymptotic error caused by the robustness filter is eliminated by adding an iterative action over the feedforward signal onto ILC. Comparative simulation and experimental results confirm that, compared to ILC, the proposed DILC can significantly enhance the tracking performance without the sacrifice of robustness w.r.t. model uncertainties and disturbances. Application to an ultraprecision wafer stage illustrates that the proposed DILC decreases the peak values of moving average and moving standard deviation of the tracking error by 52.7% and 43.9%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A capacitor sensor with a high-voltage electrode inside the GIS tank has the best bandwidth among the sensors developed to measure the very fast transient overvoltage (VFTO). However, the low-voltage arm of the current measurement system is usually a handmade film capacitor which has disadvantages of unassigned capacitance value, temperature effect, and short lifespan. With a novel lower voltage arm based on surface-mounted devices, a wide-bandwidth, stable, and easy maintenance measuring system is proposed in this paper. It is found that the slight inherent inductance in the ground trace of the printed-circuit board can induce unexpected oscillations, which are demonstrated with theoretical analysis and experimental study. With the reforming of the printed-circuit board layout, the oscillation is reduced and 200-MHz high-frequency cutoff frequency is achieved. The environment experiment shows that the temperature effect on the developed sensor is much smaller than that on the conventional sensor. The VFTO generated by disconnector operation in 1100-kV GIS is measured by the developed system and a conventional broadband capacitor sensor. The contrastive results prove that the characteristic of the measuring system can meet the requirement of VFTO measurements. Thousands of measurements on ultra-high voltage GIS indicate that the developed measuring system is stable, and characteristics of the VFTO are gained. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

STAT3 regulates CD4+ T cell survival and differentiation. However, its effects on CD8+ T cells are not well understood. Here, we show that in comparison to WT CD8+ T cells, STAT3-deficient CD8+ T cells exhibit a preactivated memory-like phenotype, produce more IL-2, proliferate faster, and are more sensitive to activation-induced cell death (AICD).The enhanced proliferation and sensitivity to AICD correlated with downregulation of class-Oforkhead transcription factors (FoxO1, FoxO3A), p21waf1, p27KIP1, Bcl-2, OX-40, and upregulation of FasL, Bax, and Bad. We examined whether STAT3-deficient CD8+ T cells can mount effective response during herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) infection and experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU). Compared to WT mice, HSV-1-infected STAT3-deficient mice (STAT3KO) produced less IFN-γ and virus-specific KLRG-1+ CD8+ T cells. STAT3KO mice are also resistant to EAU and produced less IL-17-producing Tc17 cells. Resistance of STAT3KO to EAU correlated with marked expansion of IL-10-producing regulatory CD8+ T cells (CD8-Treg) implicated in recovery from autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Thus, increases of IL-6-induced STAT3 activation observed during inflammation may inhibit expansion of CD8-Tregs, thereby impeding recovery from uveitis. These results suggest that STAT3 is a potential therapeutic target for upregulating CD8+ T cellmediated responses to viruses and suggest the successful therapeutic targeting of STAT3 as treatment for uveitis, derived, in part, from promoting CD8-Treg expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IL-12 family cytokines are important in host immunity. Whereas some members (IL-12, IL-23) play crucial roles in pathogenesis of organ-specific autoimmune diseases by inducing the differentiation of Th1 and Th17 lymphocytes, others (IL-27 and IL-35) suppress inflammatory responses and limit tissue injury induced by these T cell subsets. In this study, we have genetically engineered a novel IL27p28/ IL12p40 heterodimeric cytokine (p28/p40) that antagonizes signaling downstream of the gp130 receptor. We investigated whether p28/p40 can be used to ameliorate uveitis, a CNS inflammatory disease. Experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) is the mouse model of human uveitis and is mediated by Th1 and Th17 cells. We show here that p28/p40 suppressed EAU by inhibiting the differentiation and inflammatory responses of Th1 and Th17 cells while promoting expansion of IL-+- and Foxp3+-expressing regulatory T cells. Lymph node cells from mice treated with p28/p40 blocked adoptive transfer of EAU to naïve syngeneic mice by immunopathogenic T cells and suppressive effects of p28/p40 derived in part from antagonizing STAT1 and STAT3 pathways induced by IL-27 and IL-6. Interestingly, IL27p28 also suppressed EAU, but to a lesser extent than p28/p40. The inhibition of uveitogenic lymphocyte proliferation and suppression of EAU by p28/p40 and IL27p28 establish efficacy of single chain and heterodimeric IL-12 family cytokines in treatment of a CNS autoimmune disease. Creation of the biologically active p28/p40 heterodimeric cytokine represents an important proof-of-concept experiment, suggesting that cytokines comprising unique IL-12 α- and β-subunit pairing may exist in nature and may constitute a new class of therapeutic cytokines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complement factor H (CFH) is a central regulator of the complement system and has been implicated in the etiology of age- related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. In view of previous studies showing that reduced expression of CFH in the retina is a risk factor for developing AMD, there is significant interest in understanding how CFH expression is regulated in the retina. In this study, we have shown that the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-27, induced CFH expression in mouse retinal cells and human retinal pigmented epithelial cells (RPE) through STAT1-mediated up-regulation of Interferon Regulatory Factor-1 (IRF-1) and IRF-8. We further show that cells in the ganglion and inner- nuclear layers of the retina constitutively express IRF-1 and IRF-8 and enhanced CFH expression in the retina during ocular inflammation correlated with significant increase in the expression of IRF-1, IRF-8 and IL-27 (IL-27p28 and Ebi3). Our data thus reveal a novel role of IL-27 in regulating complement activation through up-regulation of CFH and suggest that defects in IL-27 signaling or expression may contribute to the reduction of CFH expression in the retina of patients with AMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important feature of the adaptive immune response is its remarkable capacity to regulate the duration of inflammatory responses, and effector T cells have been shown to limit excessive immune responses by producing anti-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-10 and IL-27. However, how anti-inflammatory cytokines mediate their suppressive activities is not well understood. In this study, we show that STAT3 contributes to mechanisms that control the duration of T cell proliferation by regulating the subcellular location of FoxO1 and FoxO3a, two Class O Forkhead transcription factors that mediate lymphocyte quiescence and inhibitTcell activation. We show that active FoxO1 and FoxO3a reside exclusively in the nucleus of naïve T cells whereas inactive pFoxO1 and pFoxO3a were most abundant in activated T cells and sequestered in their cytoplasm in association with unphosphorylated STAT3 (U-STAT3) and 14-3-3.We further show that FoxO1/FoxO3a rapidly relocalized into the nucleus in response to pSTAT3 activation by IL-6 or IL-10, and the accumulation of FoxO1/FoxO3a in their nuclei coincided with increased expression of p27Kip1 and p21WAF1. STAT3 inhibitors completely abrogated cytokine-induced translocation of FoxO1/FoxO3a into the nucleus. In naïve or resting STAT3-deficient T cells, expression of pFoxO1/pFoxO3a was predominantly in the cytoplasm and correlated with defects in p27Kip1 and p21WAF1 expression, suggesting requirement of STAT3 for importation or retention of FoxO in the nucleus and attenuation of lymphocyte proliferation. Taken together, these results suggest that U-STAT3 collaborates with 14-3-3 to sequester pFoxO1/pFoxO3a in cytoplasm and thus prolong T cell activation, whereas pSTAT3 activation by anti-inflammatory cytokines would curtail the duration of TCR activation and re-establish lymphocyte quiescence by inducing nuclear localization of FoxO1/FoxO3a and FoxO-mediated expression of growth-inhibitory proteins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve xanthan gum productivity, a strategy of adding hydrogen peroxide (HO) was studied. The method could intensify oxygen supply through degradation of HO to oxygen (O). In shake flask testing, the xanthan gum yield reached 2.8% (improved by 39.4%) when adding 12.5 mM HO after 24 h of fermentation. In fermentor testing, it was obvious that the oxygen conditions varied with the HO addition time. Eventually, gum yield of 4.2% (w/w) was achieved (increased by 27.3%). Compared with the method of intense mixing and increasing the air flow rate, adding HO to improve the dissolved oxygen concentration was more effective and much better. Moreover, addition of HO improved the quality of xanthan gum; the pyruvate content of xanthan was 4.4% (w/w), higher than that of the control (3.2%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurement of wind speed is an essential part of overhead transmission line monitoring. To overcome the drawbacks of the existing anemometer, such as the requirement on field power, the sensitivity to electromagnetic interference, and the unavailability of real-time measurement, a novel anemometer is developed on the basis of the fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing technique. In the anemometer, a beam with uniform strength was used to measure the force generated by the wind; two naked FBGs were symmetrically glued on the upper and lower surfaces of the beam to solve the problem of cross-sensitivity between strain and temperature of FBG sensing. Furthermore, the temperature effect on the zero output was investigated by putting the FBG anemometer into a temperature-controlled cabinet, and the experimental results indicated that the temperature effect on the zero output of the wind speed was less than \pm5 pm (-10 \ ^\circ \C to 50 ^\circ\C). The results from the wind tunnel experiment indicated that the measurement error of the anemometer was less than \pm0.5 m/s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: A novel optical load cell based on Fiber Bragg Grating sensing technique was proposed for icing monitoring on high-voltage overhead transmission lines. Compared to the conventional strain gauge load cell, the developed optical load cell has several unique advantages such as unnecessary power supply on site, excellent ability for avoiding electromagnetic interference, and long lifespan. In the load cell design, coupled dual-beam (‘S’ beam) structure was adopted to achieve an accurate measurement, and the part of FBG bonding was carefully chosen to withstand equal and opposite strain, which solved the problem of cross-sensitivity between strain and temperature of FBG sensing. A mixed WDM/TDM (Wave-Division Multiplexing/Time-Division Multiplexing) optical fiber network is proposed to construct an icing monitoring system containing hundreds of FBGs. Result from the tension experiment indicates that the load cell is sensitive to tension, and the sensitivity and resolution of the load cell is 0.04903pm/N and 20.4N. The temperature effect on the tension measurement, evaluated by putting the load cell in a temperature-controlled cabinet, is less than ±0.175%. Furthermore, in order to investigate the reliability of the load cell in icing environment, an experiment was carried out in a climatic chamber, and the results prove that the load cell can work properly in harsh environment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mice with targeted deletion of STAT3 in CD4+ T-cells do not develop experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) or experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), in part, because they cannot generate pathogenic Th17 cells. In this study, we have used ORLL-NIH001, a small synthetic compound that inhibits transcriptional activity of STAT3, to ameliorate EAU, an animal model of human posterior uveitis. We show that by attenuating inflammatory properties of uveitogenic lymphocytes, ORLL-NIH001 inhibited the recruitment of inflammatory cells into the retina during EAU and prevented the massive destruction of the neuroretina caused by pro-inflammatory cytokines produced by the autoreactive lymphocytes. Decrease in disease severity observed in ORLL-NIH001-treated mice, correlated with the down-regulation of α4β1 and α4β7 integrin activation and marked reduction of CCR6 and CXCR3 expression, providing a mechanism by which ORLL-NIH001 mitigated EAU. Furthermore, we show that ORLL-NIH001 inhibited the expansion of human Th17 cells, underscoring its potential as a drug for the treatment of human uveitis. Two synthetic molecules that target the Th17 lineage transcription factors, RORγt and RORα, have recently been suggested as potential drugs for inhibiting Th17 development and treating CNS inflammatory diseases. However, inhibiting STAT3 pathways completely blocks Th17 development, as well as, prevents trafficking of inflammatory cells into CNS tissues, making STAT3 a more attractive therapeutic target. Thus, use of ORLLNIH001 to target the STAT3 transcription factor, thereby antagonizing Th17 expansion and expression of proteins that mediate T cell chemotaxis, provides an attractive new therapeutic approach for treatment of posterior uveitis and other CNS autoimmune diseases mediated by Th17 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel ice monitoring system for the overhead transmission lines based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing is proposed in this paper. Compared to the existing systems, this system has several unique advantages, such as unnecessary power supply onsite, excellent ability for avoiding electromagnetic interference, and long lifespan. First, two near-elliptical-shaped concavities with FBG in each side are designed on the column structure to improve accuracy in measuring eccentric load. Then, a high reliability and high resolution tilt sensing section is developed based on a beam of uniform strength where an FBG is fixed on. Finally, an unforced FBG is placed in the sensor to solve the cross-sensitivity of strain and temperature in FBG sensing. Tension and angle experiments are conducted in our laboratory to calibrate the sensor. The tension experiment results indicate that the sensor is sensitive to tension, and the sensitivity and resolution of the sensor are 0.0413 pm/N and 24.21 N. The results of the tilt angle experiment show that the sensitivity and resolution of the sensor is 16.17 pm/^\circ and 0.0619 ^\circ. The temperature effect on the tension and angle measurement, evaluated by putting the sensor in an oven, is less than \pm0.3% and \pm0.38% separately. A 250-h outdoor experiment was carried out in the testing field, and the results prove the sensor can work properly in harsh environments and no creep is observed during the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much is known about the role of STAT3 in regulating differentiation of interleukin-17-producing Th17 cells, but its function in other lymphocyte subsets is not well understood. In this report, we reveal wide-ranging functions of STAT3 in T-cells and provide evidence that STAT3 is convergence point for mechanisms that regulate lymphocyte quiescence and those controlling T-cell activation and survival. We show here that STAT3 inhibits T-lymphocyte proliferation by up-regulating the expression of Class-O Forkhead transcription factors, which play essential roles in maintaining T-cells in quiescent state. We further show that STAT3 binds directly to FoxO1 or FoxO3a promoter and that STAT3-deficiency resulted in down-regulation of the expression of FoxO1, FoxO3a and FoxO-target genes (IκB and p27Kip1). Compared with wild-type T-cells, STAT3-deficient T-cells produced more IL-2, due in part, to marked decrease in IκB-mediated sequestration of NF-κB in the cytoplasm and resultant enhancement of NF-κB activation. However, the high level of IL-2 production by STAT3-deficient T-cells was partially restored to normal levels by overexpressing FoxO1. It is notable that their exaggerated increase in IL-2 production rendered STAT3-deficient lymphocytes more susceptible to activation-induced cell death, suggesting that STAT3 might protect T-cells from apoptosis by limiting their production of IL-2 through up-regulation of FoxO1/FoxO3a expression. Moreover, we found that STAT3 enhanced survival of activated T-cells by up-regulating OX-40 and Bcl-2 while down-regulating FasL and Bad expression, suggesting that similar to role of FoxOs in regulating the lifespan of worms, STAT3 and FoxO pathways converge to regulate lifespan of T-lymphocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]