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The development of functional intelligent theranostic nanoplatform for imaging-directed synchronous inhibition of primary tumor and tumor metastasis is still a challenging task. We present here the creation of functional dendrimer-entrapped CuS nanoparticles (CuS DENPs) complexed with plasmid DNA-encoding hypermethylation in cancer 1 (pDNA-HIC1) for photoacoustic (PA) imaging-directed simultaneous inhibition of tumors and tumor metastasis. Poly(amidoamine) dendrimers of generation 5 were covalently attached with 1,3-propane sultone and arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) peptide through a spacer of poly(ethylene glycol) and adopted for the templated synthesis of CuS NPs. The prepared functional RGD-CuS DENPs possess a mean CuS core diameter of 4.2 nm, good colloidal stability, and an excellent absorption feature in the second near-infrared window, thus having a photothermal conversion efficiency of 49.8% and an outstanding PA imaging capability. The functional DENPs can effectively deliver pDNA-HIC1 to prevent cancer cell invasion and metastasis in a serum-enhancing manner by virtue of zwitterionic modification-rendered antifouling property. The developed RGD-CuS DENPs/pDNA polyplexes display αvβ3 integrin-targeted enhanced anticancer activity through the combined CuS NP-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) and pDNA delivery-rendered cancer cell metastasis inhibition. This can also be proven by the therapeutic efficacy of a triple-negative breast cancer model in vivo, where inhibition of both the primary subcutaneous tumor and lung metastasis can be realized. The created dendrimer-CuS hybrid nanoplatform represents one of the updated designs of nanomedicine for PA imaging-directed combination PTT/gene therapy of tumors and tumor metastasis.

Conventional cancer chemotherapy is facing difficulties in improving the bioavailability, overcoming the severe adverse side effects of chemotherapeutics and reversing the multidrug resistance of cancer cells. To address these challenges, we report a feasible strategy to realize a multistage sustained release of dual drugs using injectable short nanofibers as a carrier system. In this work, layered double hydroxide (LDH) was selected as the primary carrier to load the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX), and the DOX-loaded LDH was incorporated within an α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS)-doped poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) fibrous mat. After homogenization in the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol), dual drug-loaded injectable short nanofibers (DOX@LDH/α-TOS/PLGA) with an average length of 17.4 μm and a diameter of 830.2 nm were formed to have a pH-responsive drug release profile. In an acidic tumor microenvironment, DOX@LDH/α-TOS/PLGA short nanofibers show a fast release of α-TOS due to its incorporation within the fiber matrix and a slow release of DOX due to the extended diffusion distance (first from the LDH to the fiber matrix and then from the fiber matrix to the external medium). As α-TOS can inhibit the expression of p-glycoprotein on the cell membrane, the dual drug-loaded short nanofibers can exert the therapeutic effect on multidrug-resistant cancer cells in vitro. The developed injectable short nanofiber-based drug delivery system may be extended to the treatment of different tumor types in vivo, in particular for long-term effective chemotherapy of drug-resistant tumors.

The classification of celestial spectra is one of the important contents of astronomical research. The key is to select and extract the most effective feature for classification from spectra data. In this paper, we propose a new feature extraction method for astronomical spectra based on two-dimensional Fourier spectrum image, and apply the method to the classification study of LAMOST (the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope) stellar spectral data. The spectra data are from LAMOST Data Release 5 (DR5). We select 30000 F, G, and K types of spectra data. The short-time Fourier transform (STFT) is used to transform the one-dimensional spectra data into two-dimensional Fourier spectrum images. We classify and test these two-dimensional Fourier spectrum images with a module based on deep convolution network, and the classification accuracy rate is 92.90 % . The experimental result shows that the LAMOST stellar spectra data can be transformed into the two-dimensional Fourier spectrum images by the STFT. These spectral images inform new features, and build a new feature space, which is effective for classification. The method is a fully new attempt in spectra classification, which has certainly a pioneering significance for the classification and mining of massive celestial spectra.

The shading board has a negative influence on window ventilation while it is blocking direct sunlight. Circle vents are designed in the shading board to decrease the negative ventilation effect bec...

Development of unique theranostic nanoplatforms for tumor imaging and therapy remains an active topic in current nanomedicine. Here, we designed a novel targeted theranostic nanoplatform for enhanced T1 -weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided chemotherapy by constructing layered double hydroxide (LDH)-stabilized ultrasmall iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles with hyaluronic acid (HA) modified as targeting agents, and anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) loaded with a high loading efficiency. Methods: The structure and release property of LDH-Fe3O4-HA/DOX nanoplatforms were characterized systematically. B16 melanoma cells with CD44 receptors overexpressed were used as model cells to determine the biocompatibility, targeting capability, and therapeutic efficiency of nanoplatforms. For in vivo experiment, hyaluronidase (HAase) pretreatment was combined with nanoplatform administration to investigate the MR imaging and chemotherapeutic effect. Results: The LDH-Fe3O4-HA nanohybrids possess good colloidal stability and cytocompatibility, display an r1 relaxivity 10-fold higher than the pristine ultrasmall Fe3O4 (4.38 mM-1 s-1 vs 0.42 mM-1 s-1), and could release drug in a pH-responsive manner. In vitro experiments demonstrate that LDH-Fe3O4-HA/DOX nanohybrids are able to specifically target B16 cells overexpressing CD44 receptors and effectively release DOX to nucleus. In vivo results show that with the pretreatment of tumor tissue by HAase to degrade the overexpressed HA in extra-cellular matrix, the designed nanoplatforms have a better tumor penetration for significantly enhanced MR imaging of tumors and tumor chemotherapy with low side effects. Conclusion: The designed LDH-Fe3O4-HA/DOX nanohybrids may be developed as a novel targeted theranostic nanoplatform for enhanced T1 -weighted MR imaging-guided chemotherapy of CD44 receptor-overexpressing tumors.

Design of new nanoplatforms that integrates multiple imaging and therapeutic components for precision cancer nanomedicine remains to be challenging. Here, a facile strategy is reported to prepare polydopamine (PDA)‐coated molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) nanoflakes as a nanocarrier to load dual drug cisplatin (Pt) and 1‐methyl‐tryptophan (1‐MT) for precision tumor theranostics. Preformed MoS2 nanoflakes are coated with PDA, modified with methoxy‐polyethylene glycol (PEG)‐amine, and loaded with 1‐MT and Pt. The formed functional 1‐MT‐Pt‐PPDA@MoS2 (the second P stands for PEG) complexes exhibit good colloidal stability and photothermal conversion efficiency (47.9%), dual pH‐, and photothermal‐sensitive drug release profile, and multimodal thermal, computed tomography and photoacoustic imaging capability. Due to the respective components of Pt, MoS2, and 1‐MT that can block the immune checkpoint associated to tumoral indoleamine 2,3‐dioxygenase‐induced tryptophan metabolism, tri‐mode chemo‐photothermo‐immunotherapy of tumors can be realized. In particular, under the near infrared laser irradiation, fast release of both drugs can be facilitated to achieve cooperative tumor therapy effect, and the combined immunogenic cell death induced by the dual‐mode chemo‐photothermo treatment and the 1‐MT‐induced immune checkpoint blockade can boost enhanced antitumor immune response to generate significant cytotoxic T cells for tumor killing. The developed 1‐MT‐Pt‐PPDA@MoS2 complexes may be used as an intelligent nanoplatform for cooperative precision imaging‐guided combinational tumor therapy., A multifunctional polydopamine‐coated molybdenum disulfide nanoplatform is developed to integrate a chemotherapy drug cisplatin and an immune checkpoint blocker 1‐methyl‐tryptophan (1‐MT). The designed functional complexes exhibit pH‐ and photothermal‐sensitive drug release profile and achieve cooperative multimode imaging‐guided tri‐mode chemo‐photothermo‐immunotherapy of tumors, where the immunotherapy is boosted by immune cell death/dendritic cell maturation‐induced cytotoxic T cells and the 1‐MT‐disrupted tryptophan metabolism.

Developing lithium-oxygen batteries with high reversibility and long cyclability requires an electrocatalyst with superior catalytic activity and excellent stability to achieve an efficient cathode. Herein, a three-dimensional hierarchically porous carbon framework embedded with cobalt-iron-phosphide nanodots nanocomposite is fabricated via a lyophilization-pyrolysis-phosphorization process. The synthetic catalyst displays excellent performances towards both the oxygen reduction reaction and the oxygen evolution reaction. With our optimal sample, the half-wave potential for the oxygen reduction reaction is up to 0.83 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode, and its potential for the oxygen evolution reaction at a current density of 10 mA cm−2 is as low as 1.53 V in 0.1 M KOH solution. The catalyst also exhibits improved electrochemical performances in a rechargeable lithium-oxygen battery, including a high specific capacity (11969 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1) and a long cycle life (141 cycles at a cut-off capacity of 1000 mAh g−1). All of these results make our catalyst a promising candidate for the development of highly efficient electrocatalysts for the rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries.

An integral equation method for scalar scattering in Schwarzschild spacetime is constructed. The zeroth-order and first-order scattering phase shift is obtained. Keywords: Scattering, Schwarzschild spacetime, Scalar field, Integral equation method

Brain function of the drug addict will be changed after long-term use of drugs. The article designs a method for assessing the degree of addiction to physiological indicators based on the forehead close to infrared device. The experiment paradigm is designed to include three stages: the first stage is the resting state. The second stage is task stage where the picture contains the drug picture and the neutral pictures. The third stage, resting state is using the neutral pictures. Near-infrared data collection was done in three stages of this paradigm, and then classification based on the personal information of drug users and consultation with hospital experts to determine the mild, moderate and severe classification. First, a statistical analysis was conducted to find that there are indeed differences in the three types of addiction degree. Then, the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model was used to classify the data of 30 people, and the classification accuracy rate reached 77.04%, which verified that the distinguished method of the three types of addiction degree is completely reasonable, and the VR closed-loop sports imaging and rehabilitation training program was designed specifically to improve the self-control training of drug addicts through sports imaging and rehabilitation training.

Development of versatile nanoplatforms for cancer theranostics remains a hot topic in the area of nanomedicine. We report here a general approach to create polyethylenimine (PEI)-based hybrid nanogels (NGs) incorporated with ultrasmall iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles (NPs) and doxorubicin for T1-weighted MR imaging-guided chemotherapy of tumors. In this study, PEI NGs were first prepared using an inverse emulsion approach along with Michael addition reaction to cross-link the NGs, modified with citric acid-stabilized ultrasmall Fe3O4 NPs through 1-ethyl-3-(3-(dimethylamino)propyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling, and physically loaded with anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX). The formed hybrid NGs possess good water dispersibility and colloidal stability, excellent DOX loading efficiency (51.4%), pH-dependent release profile of DOX with an accelerated release rate under acidic pH, and much higher r1 relaxivity (2.29 mM-1 s-1) than free ultrasmall Fe3O4 NPs (1.15 mM-1 s-1). In addition, in contrast to the drug-free NGs that possess good cytocompatibility, the DOX-loaded hybrid NGs display appreciable therapeutic activity and can be taken up by cancer cells in vitro. With these properties, the developed hybrid NGs enabled effective inhibition of tumor growth under the guidance of T1-weighted MR imaging. The developed hybrid NGs may be applied as a versatile nanoplatform for MR imaging-guided chemotherapy of tumors.

The sycamore lace bug, Corythucha ciliata (Say) is an invasive pest infesting trees of the genus Platanus. Both adults and nymphs damage the foliage of sycamore trees. Nymphs cannot survive in low temperatures; however, the sycamore lace bug overwinters as adults. In this study, we analyzed the metabolite profiles of this pest to determine significantly regulated metabolites during paurometabolous development from nymphs to adults. The identification of metabolites is essential to convert analytical data into meaningful biological knowledge. A total of 62 metabolites were identified using GC-MS. Among them, 29 different metabolites showed differences in content among nymphs, adult females (AF), and adult males (AM). Five of the 29 metabolites, including caffeic acid, D-glucose, D-mannose, glycerol and aminooxyacetic acid, were significantly increased and nine of them were significantly decreased during the developmental stages from nymph to adult. In addition, we identified three novel aldo-keto reductase (AKR) genes that may play a significant role in the control of glycerol biosynthesis. Moreover, the characteristics and expression levels of these genes were analyzed. This study will provide us with the necessary information to improve our understanding of the changes in metabolites in C. ciliata during paurometabolous development.

We report here a facile method for one-step loading of gold (Au) and gadolinium oxide (Gd2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) within polyethylenimine (PEI) premodified with polyethtylene glycol (PEG) for dual mode computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of tumors. PEGylated PEI was used as a template to complex Au(III) and Gd(III) salts, followed by sodium borohydride reduction and acetylation of remaining PEI surface amines to generate the hybrid PEI@Au/Gd2O3 NPs. The hybrid NPs exhibit a remarkable colloidal stability and cytocompatibility and possess a high X-ray attenuation efficacy and r1 relaxivity, enabling their uses for dual mode CT/MR imaging of tumors.

Computerized ionospheric tomography (CIT) can image 3-D ionospheric variations from ground Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations. However, due to the sparse and inhomogeneous ground GNSS observations, the prior information from the empirical models (e.g., IRI-2012 and NeQuick 2) have to be used, which affect the reconstructed results in the CIT, particularly the peak parameters of the F2 layer, namely foF2 and M(3000)F2. In this paper, an improved two-step CIT algorithm is developed to image the ionospheric electron density (IED) distribution up to 2000 km over Japan using dense GNSS Earth Observation Network (GEONET) observations operated by the Geospatial Information Authority (GSI) of Japan. Firstly, we update the IRI-2012 using the ground-based GNSS observations. The NeQuick-2 is used to provide the vertical ionospheric profile, and foF2 and M(3000)F2 derived from CCIR model in NeQuick 2 are improved by the B-spline modeling methods. Secondly, the updated IRI-2012 is input as a prior value and the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART) is implemented to reconstruct the IED distribution. The reconstructed results are validated by the simulation and observation results from ground-based GNSS, GNSS Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) observations and ionosonde measurements. The results demonstrate the feasibility and superiority of our new method. The standard deviations of TEC residual errors from the updated NeQuick 2 are at least 20% less than those from the original NeQuick 2 model, and the updated NeQuick 2 has better performance for the ionospheric correction.

The design of pH-sensitive supramolecular drug delivery systems for efficient antineoplastic drug delivery remains a huge challenge. Herein, we describe the development of pH-responsive core–shell tecto dendrimers (CSTDs) formed using benzimidazole (BM)-modified generation 3 (G3) poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers (G3.NHAc-BM) as a shell and β-cyclodextrin (CD)-modified G5 PAMAM dendrimers (G5.NHAc-CD) as a core. By virtue of the host–guest recognition and pH-responsiveness of BM/β-CD assembly, the pH-sensitive supramolecular CSTDs of G5.NHAc-CD/BM-G3.NHAc were formed and adopted to encapsulate the anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) via hydrophobic interactions for pH-responsive drug delivery applications. The synthesis of dendrimer derivatives and the loading of the DOX were well characterized via different methods. We show that the encapsulated DOX can be released in a sustained manner with a rapid release speed under a slightly acidic pH condition (pH < 6), which is similar to acidic tumor microenvironment. The enhanced intracellular release of DOX and improved anticancer activity of the drug-loaded pH-responsive CSTDs were demonstrated and compared with the control CSTDs formed without pH-responsiveness through flow cytometry and viability assays of cancer cells. Furthermore, the pH-sensitive CSTDs also showed efficient drug penetration and growth inhibition of three-dimensional tumor spheroids owing to the faster DOX release in an acidic pH environment. The pH-sensitive G5.NHAc-CD/BM-G3.NHAc CSTDs may be employed as a valuable intelligent delivery system for various anticancer drugs.

The development of machine vision-based technologies to replace human labor for rapid and exact detection of agricultural product quality has received extensive attention. In this study, we describe a low-rank representation of jointly multi-modal bag-of-feature (JMBoF) classification framework for inspecting the appearance quality of postharvest dry soybean seeds. Two categories of speeded-up robust features and spatial layout of L*a*b* color features are extracted to characterize the dry soybean seed kernel. The bag-of-feature model is used to generate a visual dictionary descriptor from the above two features, respectively. In order to exactly represent the image characteristics, we introduce the low-rank representation (LRR) method to eliminate the redundant information from the long joint two kinds of modal dictionary descriptors. The multiclass support vector machine algorithm is used to classify the encoding LRR of the jointly multi-modal bag of features. We validate our JMBoF classification algorithm on the soybean seed image dataset. The proposed method significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art single-modal bag of features methods in the literature, which could contribute in the future as a significant and valuable technology in postharvest dry soybean seed classification procedure.

Background The images of different flower species had small inter-class variations across different classes as well as large intra-class variations within a class. Flower classification techniques are mainly based on the features of color, shape and texture, however, the procedure always involves too many heuristics as well as manual labor to tweak parameters, which often leads to datasets with poor qualitative and quantitative measures. The current study proposed a deep architecture of convolutional neural network (CNN) for the purposes of improving the accuracy of identifying the white flowers of Fragaria × ananassa from other three wild flower species of Androsace umbellata (Lour.) Merr., Bidens pilosa L. and Trifolium repens L. in fields. Results The explored CNN architecture consisted of eightfolds of learnable weights including 5 convolutional layers and 3 fully connected layers, which received a true color 227 × 227 pixels flower image as its input. The developed CNN detector was able to classify the instances of flowers at overall average accuracies of 99.2 and 95.0% in the training and test procedure, respectively. The state-of-the-art CNN model was compared with the classical models of the scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) features and the pyramid histogram of orientated gradient (PHOG) features combined with the multi-class support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. The proposed model turned out to be much more accurate than the traditional models of SIFT + SVM at overall average accuracies of 82.9 and 55.6% in the training and test procedure and PHOG + SVM at overall average accuracies of 78.3 and 63.1%, respectively. Conclusions The proposed state-of-the-art CNN method demonstrates that artificial intelligence is capable of precise classification of the white flower images, whose accuracy is comparable to traditional algorithms. The presented algorithm can be further used for the discrimination of white wild flowers in fields.

The whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, is an important invasive economic pest of agricultural crops worldwide. &beta, ionone has a significant oviposition repellent effect against B. tabaci, but the olfactory molecular mechanism of this insect for recognizing &beta, ionone is unclear. To clarify the binding properties of odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) with &beta, ionone, we performed gene cloning, evolution analysis, bacterial expression, fluorescence competitive binding assay, and molecular docking to study the binding function of OBP1 and OBP4 on &beta, ionone. The results showed that after the OBP1 and OBP4 proteins were recombined, the compound &beta, ionone exhibited a reduction in the fluorescence binding affinity to &lt, 50%, with a dissociation constant of 5.15 and 3.62 &mu, M for OBP1 and OBP4, respectively. Our data indicate that &beta, ionone has high affinity for OBP1 and OBP4, which play a crucial role in the identification of oviposition sites in B. tabaci. The findings of this study suggest that whiteflies employ &beta, ionone compound in the selection of the suitable egg-laying sites on host plants during the oviposition behavior.

The structural, electronic, elastic, and thermodynamic properties of CaSi, Ca2Si, and CaSi2 are systematically investigated by using first-principles calculations method based on density functional theory (DFT). The calculated formation enthalpies and cohesive energies show that CaSi2 possesses the greatest structural stability and CaSi has the strongest alloying ability. The structural stability of the three phases is compared according to electronic structures. Further analysis on electronic structures indicates that the bonding of these phases exhibits the combinations of metallic, covalent, and ionic bonds. The elastic constants are calculated, and the bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, and anisotropy factor of polycrystalline materials are deduced. Additionally, the thermodynamic properties were theoretically predicted and discussed.

The Longtan Formation of the Upper Permian in the Sichuan Basin has become a significant target for shale gas exploration in recent years. Multiple methods, including outcrop observations, thin sections, total organic matter content, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the mineralogy, shale lithofacies assemblages and their relationships with the deposition environment. The mineral composition of the Longtan Formation has strong mineral heterogeneity. The TOC values of the Longtan Formation have a wide distribution range from 0.07% to 74.67% with an average value of 5.73%. Four types of shale lithofacies assemblages of the Longtan Formation could be distinguished, as clayey mudstone (CLS), carbonaceous shale (CAS), siliceous shale (SS) and mixed shale (MS) on the basis of mineral compositions. The TOC values of various types of shale lithofacies assemblages in the Longtan Formation varied widely. The shore swamp of the Longtan Formation is most influenced by the terrestrial input and mainly develops CLS and MS. The tidal flat is influenced by the terrestrial input and can also deposit carbonate minerals, developing CLS, CAS and MS. The shallow water melanged accumulation shelf develops CAS and MS, dominated by clay and carbonate minerals. The deep water miscible shelf develops CLS and SS, whose mineral composition is similar to that of the shore swamp, but the quartz minerals are mainly formed by chemical and biological reactions, which are related to the Permian global chert event. The depositional environment of the Longtan Formation controls the shale mineral assemblage of the Longtan Formation and also influences the TOC content.

In conventional gravitational wave scattering theory, a large-distance asymptotic approximation is employed. In this approximation, the gravitational wave is approximated by its large-distance asymptotics. In this paper, we establish a gravitational wave scattering theory without the large-distance asymptotic approximation.

In order to quantify and characterize the variance in desert riparian forest tree sap flow, we measured the sap flow from Populus euphratica and compared the daytime and nighttime patterns and responses to environmental variables. Results showed that daytime sap flow velocity was significantly higher (P < 0.05). Daytime and nighttime mean sap flow velocities were 7.65 and 4.01 cm h−1 in spring, 21.38 and 9.60 cm h−1 in summer, and 11.04 and 5.21 cm h−1 in autumn, respectively. Moreover, results indicated that the stoma remained partially open (15% minimum) throughout the night, providing sufficient evidence for the existance of nighttime transpiration. The vapor pressure deficit (VPD), stomatal conductance (Cs), photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), air temperature (Ta), wind speed (WS), and soil moisture (θ) all had significant positive effects on P. euphratica sap flow velocity (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the relationship between daytime sap flow velocity and VPD showed clockwise hysteresis, while the relationship between nighttime sap flow velocity and VPD showed counter-clockwise hysteresis. It was evident that PAR and VPD were the key factors impacting daytime sap flow velocity, while Cs and θ were the key factors impacting nighttime sap flow velocity. Furthermore, linear regression results showed that daytime sap flow had a significant positive effect on nighttime sap flow throughout the growing season (P < 0.05).

We report the synthesis and characterization of lactobionic acid-modified multifunctional polyethyleneimine-entrapped gold nanoparticles for targeted dual mode computed tomography/magnetic resonance imaging. The nanodevice displays good X-ray attenuation properties, good r1 relaxivity, and hepatocellular carcinoma targeting specificity, and can be used for targeted CT/MR imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo.

This letter presents a miniaturized geodetic choke ring antenna for high-precision Global Navigation Satellite System applications. The antenna consists of crossed dipoles that are fed by two coaxial feedlines, a resonant ring over the dipoles, a cavity-backed reflector with a saw-tooth structure, and a miniaturized choke ring. The choke ring alongside the saw-tooth structure can improve the front-to-back ratio (FBR) by almost 10 dB. The proposed antenna achieves a gain of over 7 dBic, a high FBR of greater than 25 dB, and an operating band covering 1.17–1.60 GHz in which the return loss is lower than −10 dB and the axial ratio is lower than 3 dB when zenith angle θ < 70°.

An exact solution of the three-dimensional spherical symmetry inverse-square-root potential V ( r ) = − α r , including scattering and bound-state solutions, is presented.

Nanogels (NGs) are 3-dimensional (3D) networks composed of hydrophilic or amphiphilic polymer chains, allowing for effective and homogeneous encapsulation of drugs, genes, or imaging agents for biomedical applications. Polyethylenimine (PEI), possessing abundant positively charged amine groups, is an ideal platform for the development of NGs. A variety of effective PEI-based NGs have been designed and much effort has been devoted to study the relationship between the structure and function of the NGs. In particular, PEI-based NGs can be prepared either using PEI as the major NG component or using PEI as a crosslinker. This review reports the recent progresses in the design of PEI-based NGs for gene and drug delivery and for bioimaging applications with a target focus to tackle the diagnosis and therapy of cancer.

The sycamore lace bug, Corythucha ciliata (Say) is a highly invasive pest insect that feeds on sycamore trees (Platanus spp.) worldwide. The interaction between Platanus species and this insect pest has not yet been studied at the molecular level. Therefore, a recent study was conducted to compare the gene expression and metabolite profiles of Platanus acerifolia leaves in response to C. ciliata feeding damage after 24 and 48 h. We employed high throughput RNA sequencing (RNA- seq) to identify a total of 2,828 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) after C. ciliata feeding. In addition, 303 unigenes were found to be up-regulated at both time points. Moreover, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis showed that monoterpenoid biosynthesis, the linoleic acid metabolism pathway, and alpha- linolenic acid metabolism were the most prominent pathways among the DEGs. Further analysis of the metabolite profiles showed that nine metabolites were significantly different before and after C. ciliata damage. In addition, we analyzed DEGs detected in the P. acerifolia and C. ciliata interaction using Mapman. The terpene synthase gene family was also identified. We suggest that the results obtained from DEGs and metabolite analysis can provide important information for the identification of genes involved in the P. acerifolia&ndash, C. ciliata interaction, which might be necessary for controlling C. ciliata efficiently.

Dealing with a few-fermion system in the canonical ensemble, rather than in the grand canonical ensemble, shows that a few-fermion system with odd number fermions behaves differently from a few-fermion system with even number fermions. An even-number-fermion system behaves like a Bose system rather than a Fermi system.

Differential pressure solid-state anemometers are suitable for mobile meteorological monitoring because of their small size, high precision, and firmness. However, they suffer from large angle-of-attack (AOA) errors caused by tilts in mobile meteorological monitoring applications. To compensate for these errors, an AOA correction method is presented on the basis of theoretical analysis and CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation. The model is tested and verified in a wind tunnel. The anemometer can accurately measure the wind parameters with a speed error of less than 5% and a direction error within ± 5° in the AOA range of 0° to 45°.

This study aimed to explore the value of a real-time comparative observation method using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for discriminating between bronchial and pulmonary arterial phases in diagnosing lung diseases. Forty-nine patients with 50 pulmonary lesions (45 peripheral lesions and five central lesions with obstructive atelectasis, including 36 malignant tumors, five tuberculomas, four inflammatory pseudotumors and five pneumonia lesions) detected via computed tomography and visible on ultrasonography were enrolled in this study. The arterial phases were determined by comparing contrast agent arrival time (AT) in the peripheral lung lesion with that in adjacent lung tissue, referred to as a real-time comparative observation method. Detection rates of this observation method were 100% (50/50) for pulmonary arterial phase and 88% (44/50) for bronchial arterial phase. Using the instrument's built-in graphing and analysis software, a time-intensity curve was constructed based on a chosen region of interest within the lesion where enhancement was the most obvious. Commonly used perfusion indicators in CEUS, such as AT, time-to-peak and peak intensity, were obtained from the time-intensity curve. Percutaneous puncture biopsies were performed under ultrasound guidance, and specimens of all 50 lesions were examined pathologically. AT was significantly shorter in patients with pneumonia than in those with malignant tumors or chronic inflammation (p 0.05), whereas no difference was seen between those with malignant tumors and those with chronic inflammation. No significant differences in time-to-peak or peak intensity were seen among those with various lung diseases (p 0.05). This is the first description of a real-time comparative observation method using CEUS for determining the arterial phases in the lungs. This method is accurate, simple to perform and provides a direct display. It is expected to become a practical and feasible tool for diagnosing lung diseases.

Numerical methods were carried out on a turbocharger compressor with inlet bent pipe to research a novel clocking effect between the inlet bend and the volute. It was found that the clocking effect with 3.4 percent of variations (1.9 percentage points) in compressor efficiency positively exists at the research point near chock. The reason for the changed efficiency loss is that the inlet bend induces a serious distortion of approaching flow to impeller inlet on one hand, and the downstream volute causes a circumferentially non-uniform distribution of pressure in vaneless diffuser. By adjusting the clocking positions between inlet bend and volute, not only is the unsteadiness of the flow rate through single impeller channel changed, but the uniformity of the incoming flow at the vaneless diffuser inlet is modulated as well. It is the dominant reason for the novel clocking effect that the bad uniformity causes more flow loss in both diffuser and volute.

International audience; The advancement of biocompatible nanoplatforms with dual functionalities of diagnosis and therapeutics has been strongly demanded in biomedicine in recent years. In this work, we report the synthesis and characterization of polydopamine (pD)-coated gold nanostars (Au NSs) for computed tomography (CT) imaging and enhanced photothermal therapy (PTT) of tumors. Au NSs were firstly formed via a seed-mediated growth method and then stabilized with thiolated polyethyleneimine (PEI-SH), followed by deposition of pD on their surface. The formed pD-coated Au NSs (Au-PEI@pD NSs) were well characterized. We show that the Au-PEI@ pD NSs are able to convert the absorbed near-infrared laser light into heat, and have strong X-ray attenuation properties. Due to the co-existence of Au NSs and pD, the light to heat conversion efficiency of the NSs can be significantly enhanced. These very interesting properties allow them to be used as a powerful theranostic nanoplatform for efficient CT imaging and enhanced phtotothermal therapy of cancer cells in vitro and the xenografted tumor model in vivo. Due to their easy functionalization nature enabled by the coated pD shell, the developed pD-coated Au NSs may be used as a versatile nanoplatform for targeted CT imaging and PTT of different types of cancers.

Modification mechanism of the rare earth elements (RE = La, Ce, Nd and Sm) on the eutectic Mg2Si phases investigated by experiments and theoretical calculations in this work. Experimental results indicate that La has the best modification effect on eutectic Mg2Si. The properties of RE atoms doping and adsorption on Mg2Si(1 0 0) and (1 1 1) surfaces were calculated by first-principles calculation method. Results show that Nd atom exhibit the greatest doping effect on Mg2Si(1 0 0), whereas La atom is most likely to dope on (1 1 1) surface rather than (1 0 0) surface. RE atoms are prefer to be adsorbed at vacancy site on (1 0 0) surface and H2 site on (1 1 1) surface. And the adsorption energies of both vacancy and H2 sites are in the order of La

At present work, the ab-initio method was applied to systematically and deeply investigate the structural and mechanical properties, such as elastic, elastic anisotropy, thermal conductivity and thermodynamic properties of newly-designed superhard carbon in different crystal structures. The results of cohesive energies and formation enthalpies indicate that all carbon are energetically and structurally stable and P2221 carbon has the most stable structure among these carbon allotropes. On the basis of the single-crystal elastic constants, the elastic properties, such as bulk modulus B, shear modulus G and Young's modulus E, Poisson's ratio v and hardness HV were obtained, the values of G, E and HV is largest for P2221 carbon. The order of elastic anisotropy is C2/m-28 > Imma > C2/m-16 > P21/m > C2/m-20 > Cm-32 > Cm-40 > Amm2 > P2221 > I-4. Clarke's and Cahill's models are employed to calculate the minimum thermal conductivities of these carbon, and the order is P2221 > P21/m > C2/m-20 > C2/m-16 > Cm-40 > Imma > Amm2 > Cm-32 > I-4 > C2/m-28. Furthermore, the minimum thermal conductivities of these carbon allotropes are anisotropic in different direction. The analysis of thermodynamic properties can be obtained that the thermal stability of these newly-designed carbon allotropes is better than that of diamond and the order is Cm-40 > C2/m-28 > I-4 > Imma > Amm2 > Cm-32 = C2/m-20 > P2221 > C2/m-16 > P21/m > Diamond, Cm-40 carbon has the strongest thermal stability. It can be concluded from phonon density that the C2/m-28 carbon is dynamically metastable structure. The study in this work give a comprehensive understanding of structure, elastic, elastic anisotropy, thermal conductivity and thermodynamic properties for the newly-designed superhard carbon, which can be an important guidance for the theoretical work and the fabrication in experiment in the future.

Nuclear medicine, involving nuclear medicine imaging and radiotherapy (RT), has become a mainstay of theranostics in the field of nanomedicine and several examples have been successfully translated into clinical practice. The combination of radionuclides with dendrimers has long been investigated in nuclear imaging, such as positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), providing functional information for whole body quantitative analysis with high sensitivity due to the unique structural advantages of the dendrimer platform. Besides, radioisotopes with both therapeutic and imaging functionalities can also be combined with dendrimer platforms for theranostic applications. In this review, the recent advances in the development of radionuclide-labeled poly(amidoamine) dendrimer-based nanodevices for targeted PET, SPECT, SPECT/computed tomography, SPECT/magnetic resonance imaging of tumors, RT, as well as for SPECT-imaging-guided RT of cancer are summarized. Current restrictions hindering the clinical translation of dendrimer-based nuclear nanodevices and future prospects are also discussed.

Multiphoton fluorescence microscopy (MPM), using near infrared excitation light, provides increased penetration depth, decreased detection background, and reduced phototoxicity. Using stimulated emission depletion (STED) approach, MPM can bypass the diffraction limitation, but it requires both spatial alignment and temporal synchronization of high power (femtosecond) lasers, which is limited by the inefficiency of the probes. Here, we report that upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) can unlock a new mode of near-infrared emission saturation (NIRES) nanoscopy for deep tissue super-resolution imaging with excitation intensity several orders of magnitude lower than that required by conventional MPM dyes. Using a doughnut beam excitation from a 980 nm diode laser and detecting at 800 nm, we achieve a resolution of sub 50 nm, 1/20th of the excitation wavelength, in imaging of single UCNP through 93 μm thick liver tissue. This method offers a simple solution for deep tissue super resolution imaging and single molecule tracking., Upconversion nanoparticles offer the potential for deep tissue biological imaging. Here, Chen et al. develop super resolution optical imaging in the near-infrared for imaging with sub-50 nm resolution through almost 100 microns of tissue.

The spread of the exotic insect pest sycamore lace bug Corythucha ciliata (Say) is increasing worldwide. The identification of behaviorally active compounds is crucial for reducing the current distribution of this pest. In this study, we identified and documented the expression profiles of genes encoding chemosensory proteins (CSPs) in the sycamore lace bug to identify CSPs that bind to the alarm pheromone geraniol. One CSP (CcilCSP2) that was highly expressed in nymph antennae was found to bind geraniol with high affinity. This finding was confirmed by fluorescence competitive binding assays. We further discovered one candidate chemical, phenyl benzoate, that bound to CcilCSP2 with even higher affinity than geraniol. Behavioral assays revealed that phenyl benzoate, similar to geraniol, significantly repelled sycamore lace bug nymphs but had no activity toward adults. This study has revealed a novel repellent compound involved in behavioral regulation. And, our findings will be beneficial for understanding the olfactory recognition mechanism of sycamore lace bug and developing a push-pull system to manage this pest in the future.

The technology of hyperspectral imaging technology is proposed for fast estimation of tensile strength ratios of farmland greenhouse ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVAC) film materials on the fields. Characteristic spectral curve for a EVAC film in the band range of 978 ~1676 nm is collected by using hyperspectral imaging meter. The tensile strength parameters are detected by using H25K-S powerful machine. The chemometrics method is used to reflect the internal crosslinking characteristic spectral curves and the tensile strength rates of EVAC-based instance. The approach of support vector machine (SVM) regression generates the optimal prediction performance, where the predicted square of correlation coefficient reaches 86.63%, and the predicted root mean square error declines to 1.049. The experimental results show that it is feasible to estimate the tensile strength ratios of farmland greenhouse EVAC-based film materials by using the hyperspectral technology combined with chemometrics.

We solve a $$1+5$$ -dimensional cylindrical gravitational-wave solution of the Einstein equation, in which there are two curvature singularities. Then we show that one of the curvature singularities can be removed by an extension of the spacetime. The result exemplifies that the curvature singularity is not always a spacetime singularity; in other words, the curvature singularity cannot serve as a criterion for spacetime singularities.

The salinity stress inhibits the growth of Populus euphratica (P. euphratica), and the extent of inhibition tends to increase with a rise of salt concentration while the net photosynthesis rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and internal CO2 concentration are seen to decline with increasing salt concentration. Compared with the control group, the percentage decline is found to be about 48.50, 15.72, 42.09, and 48.33%, respectively. Although all chlorophyll fluorescence of P. euphratica exhibits a typical O-J-I-P curve in differently concentrated salt solutions, salinity stress shows a significant influence on the value of J and I step (P

International audience; Multifunctional 99mTc-labeled dendrimer-entrapped gold nanoparticles (99mTc-Au DENPs) were designed and synthesized. Our results show that the type of surface groups (acetyl or hydroxyl) significantly impact the biodistribution profile of the 99mTc-Au DENPs, thereby allowing for preferential SPECT/CT imaging of different organs.

3-D ionospheric distributions can be obtained using computerized ionospheric tomography (CIT) from ground-based GNSS observations, but subject to large uncertainties due to limited observations and unknown prior information. IRI-2012 is an ionospheric model, which gives global empirical electron density distribution. In this paper, a two-step CIT algorithm is developed to reconstruct the ionospheric electron density (IED) distribution up to 2000km over Japan using GNSS Earth Observation Network (GEONET) observations operated by the Geospatial Information Authority (GSI) of Japan. Firstly, we update the IRI-2012 ionospheric profiles in Japan using the dense ground-based GNSS observations and ionosonde data. The two parameters are improved through this procedure and the IED is closer to the real value. Then, the updated regional IRI-2012 model is input as a priori value, and the ground-based GNSS CIT is implemented with the multiplicative algebraic reconstruction technique (MART). The CIT results are evaluated by comparing with the independent ionosonde measurements, which shows good reliability and high accuracy.

In near infrared fluorescence-guided surgical oncology, it is challenging to distinguish healthy from cancerous tissue. One promising research avenue consists in the analysis of the exogenous fluorophores' lifetime, which are however in the (sub-)nanosecond range. We have integrated a single-photon pixel array, based on standard CMOS SPADs (single-photon avalanche diodes), in a compact, time-gated measurement system, named FluoCam. In vivo measurements were carried out with indocyanine green (ICG)-modified derivatives targeting the alpha(v)beta(3) integrin, initially on a genetically engineered mouse model of melanoma injected with ICG conjugated with tetrameric cyclic pentapeptide (ICG-E[c(RGDfK)(4)]), then on mice carrying tumour xenografts of U87-MG (a human primary glioblastoma cell line) injected with monomeric ICG c (RGDfK). Measurements on tumor, muscle and tail locations allowed us to demonstrate the feasibility of in vivo lifetime measurements with the FluoCam, to determine the characteristic lifetimes (around 500 ps) and subtle lifetime differences between bound and unbound ICG-modified fluorophores (10% level), as well as to estimate the available photon fluxes under realistic conditions. (C) 2016 Optical Society of America

239 Np is an important nuclide as the decay daughter of 239 U and it decays to 239 Pu by emitting beta particles and gamma rays with a half life of 2.356 days. The data of the emission probabilities of its gamma-rays in the open references are consistent except for the main gamma-ray of 106.1 keV, the emission probability of which varies from 25.9% to 27.2%. To verify the emission probability of 106.1 keV gamma-ray of 239 Np, a N-type coaxial HPGe detector was calibrated using 241 Am, 133 Ba, 60 Co, 152 Eu and 155 Eu reference gamma sources to get the accurate efficiency of the 106.1 keV gamma-ray. 239 Np was purified from solution containing 243 Am, where 239 Np is the alpha decay daughter of 243 Am. The specific activity of 239Np solution was determined by a 4πβ (PC)-γ coincidence counting device. There were 6 gamma sources prepared to measure with the HPGe detector, and the activity of 239 Np in each gamma source was calculated with the weights of the solution contained in it. The emission probability of 106.1 keV of 239 Np is measured to be (25.4 ± 0.3)%, which is consistent with 25.34%, the value evaluated in 2014.

In conventional scattering theory, by large-distance asymptotics, at the cost of losing the information of the distance between target and observer, one imposes a large-distance asymptotics to achieve a scattering wave function which can be represented explicitly by a scattering phase shift. In this paper, without large-distance asymptotics, we establish an arbitrary-dimensional scattering theory. Arbitrary-dimensional scattering wave functions, scattering boundary conditions, cross sections, and phase shifts are given without large-distance asymptotics. The importance of an arbitrary-dimensional scattering theory is that the dimensional renormalization procedure in quantum field theory needs an arbitrary-dimensional result. Moreover, we give a discussion of one- and two-dimensional scatterings.