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MicroRNA-199a-5p (miR-199a-5p) and -3p are enriched in the myocardium, but it is unknown whether miR-199a-5p and -3p are co-expressed in cardiac remodeling and what roles they have in cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. We show that miR-199a-5p and -3p are co-upregulated in the mouse and human myocardium with cardiac remodeling and in Ang-II-treated neonatal mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes (NMVCs) and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). miR-199a-5p and -3p could aggravate cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in vivo and in vitro. PPAR gamma coactivator 1 alpha (Ppargc1a) and sirtuin 1 (Sirt1) were identified as target genes to mediate miR-199a-5p in promoting both cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. However, miR-199a-3p aggravated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis through targeting RB transcriptional corepressor 1 (Rb1) and Smad1, respectively. Serum response factor and nuclear factor κB p65 participated in the upregulation of miR-199a-5p and -3p in Ang-II-treated NMVCs and mouse CFs, and could be conversely elevated by miR-199a-5p and -3p. Together, Ppargc1a and Sirt1, Rb1 and Smad1 mediated the pathological effect of miR-199a-5p and -3p by promoting cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, respectively. This study suggests a possible new strategy for cardiac remodeling therapy by inhibiting miR-199a-5p and -3p., Graphical abstract, Transcription factor SRF and NF-κB p65 regulate the co-expression of miR-199a-5p and -3p by positive feedback in the pathological cardiac remodeling. Ppargc1a and Sirt1, Rb1 and Smad1 mediate the pathological role of miR-199a-5p and -3p by promoting cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, respectively.

Signal modulation identification (SMI) has always been one of hot issues in filter-bank multicarrier with offset quadrature amplitude modulation (FBMC/OQAM), which is usually implemented by the machine learning-based feature extraction. However, it is difficult for conventional methods to extract the signal feature, resulting in a limited probability of correct classification (PCC). To tackle this problem, we put forward a novel SMI method based on deep learning to identify FBMC/OQAM signals in this paper. It is noted that the block repetition is employed in the FBMC/OQAM system to achieve the imaginary interference cancelation. In the proposed deep learning-based SMI technique, the in-phase and quadrature samples of FBMC/OQAM signals are trained by the convolutional neural network. Subsequently, the dropout layer is designed to prevent overfilling and improve the identification accuracy. To evaluate the proposed scheme, extensive experiments are conducted by employing datasets with different modulations. The results show that the proposed method can achieve better accuracy than conventional methods.

MoS2 nano-films have attracted extensive interest from scientists owing to its unique material properties with adjustable bandgap structure and broad application prospects in electronic and optoelectronic devices. Herein, we report a chemical vapor deposition method based on adjusting the relative position of the molybdenum source and SiO2/Si substrates to control MoO3 concentration adsorbed on the surface of substrate to achieve the controlled growth of monolayer single crystal MoS2 with spatial uniformity and low nucleation density. Moreover, optical microscopy, Raman, photoluminescence, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscope were employed to characterize the uniformity and crystal quality of the grown monolayer MoS2. The measurement results show that the triangle side length of a single MoS2 film can reach 110 μm. And the I-V switching ratio of the back-gate field effect transistors based on growing MoS2 is 6.3 × 108, which is equivalent or slightly higher than that of other CVD-grown samples. Besides, growth mechanism of MoS2 was further investigated, combining the substrate position with concentration of MoO3 deposited on the surface of substrate. This work is of great benefit to the controlled growth of other two-dimensional materials and uniform performance of multiple electronic array devices.

Increasing evidence has shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) participate in cardiac fibrosis. We aimed to elucidate the effect of miRNA miR-25-3p on cardiac fibrosis. MiRNA microarray was used to profile miRNAs in the myocardium of angiotensin-II (Ang-II)-infused mice. Effect of miR-25-3p on expression of fibrosis-related genes, including Col1a1, Col3a1, and Acta2, was investigated both in vitro and in vivo. MiR-25-3p was shown increased in the myocardium of Ang-II-infused mice and patients with heart failure. MiR-25-3p enhanced fibrosis-related gene expression in mouse cardiac fibroblasts (mCFs) and in the myocardium of Ang-II-infused mice. Dickkopf 3 (Dkk3) was identified as a target gene of miR-25-3p, and Dkk3 could ameliorate Smad3 activation and fibrosis-related gene expression via enhancing Smad7 expression in mCFs. Additionally, NF-κB signal was proven to mediate upregulation of miR-25-3p in cardiac fibrosis. Our findings suggest that miR-25-3p enhances cardiac fibrosis by suppressing Dkk3 to activate Smad3 and fibrosis-related gene expression.

In Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), transcribed data take substantial effort to obtain. It is worthwhile to explore how to selective the samples with more information from un-transcribed datapool to get a better model with the limited cost. Therefore, active learning in ASR becomes a research topic. In this manuscript, we proposed two new methods of active learning. One is Signal-Model Committee Approach (SMCA) and the other is LM-based Certainty Approach (LMCA). These two methods respectively evaluate the information amount of samples from different angles and can be applied together for joint sampling in some scenarios. We conducted many comparative experiments on Listen, Attend and Spell (LAS) model according to different demands. In experiments, we compared our approach with the random sampling and another state-of-the-art committee-based approach: heterogeneous neural networks (HNN) based approach. We examined our approach in CER in Chinese Mandarin speech recognition task. The results show that proposed approach is not only simple to use, but also has the best performance.

Two-dimensional (2D) layered semiconductor materials have emerged as prospective channel materials in flexible thin-film field effect transistors (TFTs) recently because of their unique electrical ...

In order to further promote the optimization of the rural settlement pattern in the plateau and mountainous multi-ethnic gathering areas, and provide a basis for the protection and development of plateau mountainous ethnic settlements in the new period, the landscape pattern index method and ArcGIS spatial analysis method were used to quantitatively analyze the horizontal and vertical spatial distribution characteristics of rural settlements and their influencing factors in the multi-ethnic gathering area of the plateau and mountainous areas based on the 2017 remote sensing digital image data. The results show that: (1) The overall rural settlements in Longyang District on the horizontal space pattern show a small scale. The Han, Yi, Bai and Dai village settlements are mainly small settlements and small settlements. The Bai people are mainly medium-sized settlements. Their present the characteristics of cluster distribution. The Yi ethnic group has the highest degree of aggregation, and the Dai ethnic group has the lowest degree of aggregation. The spatial distribution and aggregation of different ethnic groups have significant differences in the level of spatial distribution. (2) Affected by geographical conditions on the vertical gradient, the settlements have a normal distribution overall, and the Bai settlements are the most obvious. (3) The spatial distribution characteristics of rural settlements in Longyang District are related to terrain, water system, transportation, and urban built-up areas, but there are certain differences between different ethnic groups. The optimization of the rural settlement pattern in the multi-ethnic gathering areas of the plateau and mountains should be based on different terrain conditions and different national cultures to suit local conditions, ensure ecological security, and promote national unity.

Prenatal stress (PNS) has a prolonged and adverse effect on offspring, leading to a significantly increased vulnerability to developing depression in their later life. Traditional therapies have delayed onset and limited efficacy; thus, it remains an urgent need to find novel medications with fast-onset and high-efficacy potentials. Crocin, with its structure clearly examined, has shown antidepressant-like effects. However, few studies extensively investigated its effect especially in mice exposed to PNS. Using an established PNS model, we tested whether crocin could have a rapid and persistent antidepressant-like effect in PNS mice. Growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors were used to test their effects in antidepressant-like effect of crocin. Hippocampal GHSR-PI3K signaling was examined both in PNS mice treated with a single dose of crocin and in combination of GHSR inhibitor. PNS mice showed depression-like behaviors at juvenile and adulthood, and crocin induced an instant and persistent antidepressant-like response in PNS mice in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, crocin increased the expression of hippocampal synaptic plasticity-associated proteins through the restoration of GHSR-PI3K signaling. Inhibitions of both GHSR and PI3K abolished the effect of crocin in alleviating depressive-like behaviors. More importantly, GHSR inhibitor JMV2959 blocked the enhanced expression of hippocampal plasticity-related proteins induced by crocin. The present study demonstrated that crocin induced a fast-onset and prolonged antidepressant effect in PNS mice and suggested that GHSR-PI3K signaling may play a key role in crocin's effect at least partially by a restoration of hippocampal synaptic plasticity-associated proteins.

In this study, neural-signal electroencephalogram (EEG) methods to improve human-building interaction under different indoor air quality conditions were investigated. Experiment was conducted to study correlations between EEG frequency bands and subjective perception as well as task performance. Machine learning-based EEG pattern recognition methods as feedback mechanisms were also investigated. Results showed that EEG theta band (4–8 Hz) correlated with subjective perceptions, and EEG alpha band (8–13 Hz) correlated with task performance. These EEG indices could be utilized as more objective metrics in addition to questionnaire and task-based metrics. For the machine learning-based EEG pattern recognition methods, the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and support vector machine (SVM) classifiers can classify mental states under different indoor air quality conditions with high accuracy. In general, the EEG theta and alpha bands as more objective indices and the machine learning-based EEG pattern recognition methods as real-time feedback mechanisms have good potential to improve the human-building interaction.

In laser satellite communications, studies of the scintillation index that are based on the three-layer altitude-dependent turbulence model have paid little attention to the different character of stratospheric turbulence from turbulence in the other two layers. This difference is a consequence of the special power spectrum with a power law exponent of 5. By adopting different wave structure functions at different altitudes in the extended Rytov theory, we analyze the scintillation index along the slant path in the regime of moderate-to-strong turbulence. Our results show that the weak fluctuation theory is limited to a smaller zenith angle, and the scintillation index has a larger maximum value in the focusing regime, when compared to the Kolmogorov model. We also find that the change of the scintillation index with the outer scale of the stratospheric turbulence only appears with moderate-to-strong turbulence, and it weakens with the increase of the turbulence outer scale. Moreover, the impact of the Gaussian beam radius on the scintillation index is different in the downlink and the uplink paths. We can approximate the downlink beam as a plane wave in most cases, but we must optimize the uplink beam to minimize the irradiance fluctuation.

The fabrication of wafer-scale multilayers molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) induced by sulfurizing molybdenum (Mo) seed layer could compatible with traditional semiconductor process but the random growth orientations especially the vertical aligned structures lead to the unreliability for electronic devices thus hindered their wide application. Here, we utilize multi-step heating (MH) sulfurization method to regulate the sulfurization rate and diffusion rate of thermal sulfur vapor, thus realize the fabrication of MoS2 nanofilms with wafer-level uniformity and based on this, we integrate back-gate field-effect transistor (FET) arrays with an average hole mobility of 0.9cm2 V−1 s−1 and high device yield (~98%) which illustrate the reliable electrical-performance among the device arrays and the high quality of the as-fabricated MoS2 nanofilms. Therefore, we believe our efforts could pave the way for fabricating wafer-scale transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) nanofilms with high uniformity and promoting their application for the integration of electronics/optoelectronics.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common type of arrhythmia in cardiovascular diseases. Atrial fibrosis is an important pathophysiological contributor to AF. This study aimed to investigate the role of the clustered miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p in atrial fibrosis. Human atrial fibroblasts (HAFs) were isolated from atrial appendage tissue of patients with sinus rhythm. A cell model of atrial fibrosis was achieved in Ang‐II‐induced HAFs. Cell proliferation and migration were detected. We found that miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p were markedly increased in atrial appendage tissues of AF patients and in Ang‐II‐treated HAFs. Overexpression of miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p enhanced the expression of collagen, type I, alpha 1 (COL1A1), COL3A1 and ACTA2 in HAFs without significant effects on their proliferation and migration. Luciferase assay showed that miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p targeted two different sites in 3ʹ‐UTR of transforming growth factor (TGF)‐β1 receptor 3 (TGFBR3) respectively. Consistently, TGFBR3 siRNA could increase fibrosis‐related genes expression, along with the Smad1 inactivation and Smad3 activation in HAFs. Additionally, overexpression of TGFBR3 could alleviate the increase of COL1A1, COL3A1 and ACTA2 in HAFs after transfection with miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p respectively. Moreover, Smad3 was activated in HAFs in response to Ang‐II treatment and inactivation of Smad3 attenuated up‐regulation of miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p in Ang‐II‐treated HAFs. Taken together, these results suggest that the clustered miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p consistently promote atrial fibrosis by targeting TGFBR3 to activate Smad3 signalling in HAFs, suggesting that miR‐23b‐3p and miR‐27b‐3p are potential therapeutic targets for atrial fibrosis.

BACKGROUND Sensorineural hearing loss is caused by defects in the inner ear. In the present study, associations between chronic rhinosinusitis, outer hair cell injury, and sensorineural hearing loss were investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 103 patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited and allocated into a chronic rhinosinusitis group (n=82) and a simple deviated nasal septum group (n=21). Degree and type of hearing loss, including distortion product otoacoustic emissions, were used to assess the status of cochlear outer hair cells. RESULTS The rate of hearing loss in the simple deviated nasal septum group was significantly lower than in the chronic rhinosinusitis group (4.76%, 1/21 vs. 24.39%, 20/82, P

With the continuous development of power systems, frequency control faces new challenges, and the demand side should play an increasingly important role in frequency regulation. In this paper, the callback characteristic of demand side resource is proposed firstly. The characteristic is caused by the comfort requirements of the users. Choosing air conditioner as an example, after participating in frequency control for some period, its load should be withdrawn to maintain acceptable room temperature. Meanwhile, above callback characteristic will deteriorate the frequency control performance, and thus a new frequency control strategy is proposed by coordinating the resources of generation side and demand side. The simulation results show that the strategy has better economic performance compared with the traditional precision load shedding method.

Based on the POI data of medical facilities and residential quarters in Kunming in 2018, using GIS spatial analysis methods such as Kernel Density Estimation, Average Nearest Distance, and Direction Distribution were used to study the spatial distribution characteristics of Kunming medical facilities and propose optimization strategies. The results show that: (1) From the perspective of spatial structure, the spatial distribution of medical facilities in Kunming is relatively uneven, with the main urban in the city as a “single-center” cluster, there are four characteristics have emerged: 1) Urban crowding 2) The suburbs are empty 3) Old city crowded 4) New city zone is empty. (2) From the degree of regional agglomeration, the concentration of medical facilities in Kunming is high. The concentration of Special Hospitals are higher than that of Grade A Class Three Hospitals, General Hospitals and Community Hospitals. (3) From the perspective of spatial development direction, medical facilities develop along the “northwest southeast” direction, which is consistent with the direction of spatial expansion of residential quarters and the direction of urban expansion.

Background The Rapid Assessment of Hearing Loss (RAHL) survey protocol aims to measure the prevalence and causes of hearing loss in a low cost and rapid manner, to inform planning of ear and hearing services. This paper reports on the first field-test of the RAHL in Gao’an County, Jiangxi Province, China. This study aimed to 1) To report on the feasibility of RAHL; 2) report on the estimated prevalence and causes of hearing loss in Gao’an. Methods A cross-sectional population-based survey was conducted in September–October 2018. Forty-seven clusters in Gao’an County were selected using probability-proportionate-to-size sampling. Within clusters, compact segment sampling was conducted to select 30 people aged 50+. A questionnaire was completed covering sociodemographics, hearing health, and risk factors. Automated pure-tone audiometry was completed for all participants, using smartphone-based audiometry (hearTest), at 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz (kHz). All participants had their ears examined by an Ear Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor, using otoscopy, and probable causes of hearing loss assigned. Prevalence estimates were age and sex standardised to the Jiangxi population. Feasibility of a cluster size of 30 was examined by assessing the response rate, and the proportion of clusters completed in 1 day. Results 1344 of 1421 eligible participants completed the survey (94.6%). 100% of clusters were completed in 1 day. The survey was completed in 4.5 weeks. The prevalence of moderate or greater hearing loss (pure-tone average of 0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz of > = 41dBHL in the better ear) was 16.3% (95% CI = 14.3, 18.5) and for any level of hearing loss (pure-tone average of > = 26dBHL in the better ear) the prevalence was 53.2% (95% CI = 49.2, 57.1). The majority of hearing loss was due to acquired sensorineural causes (91.7% left; 92.1% right). Overall 54.0% of the population aged 50+ (108,000 people) are in need of diagnostic audiology services, 3.4% were in need of wax removal (7000 people), and 4.8% were in need of surgical services (9500 people). Hearing aid coverage was 0.4%. Conclusion The RAHL survey protocol is feasible, demonstrated through the number of people examined per day, and the high response rate. The survey was completed in a much shorter period than previous all-age surveys in China. Some remaining challenges included assignment of causes of probable sensorineural loss. The data obtained from this survey can be used to scale-up hearing services in Gao’an.

In this paper, machine learning techniques in conjunction with passive EEG (electroencephalogram) measurement were explored to classify occupants’ real-time thermal comfort states, which have the potential in the future for energy saving through adopting time varying set points when real-time changes in thermal comfort can require less energy input. The performances of different machine learning techniques were compared, and the method to select linear continuous features for class interpolation was also explored. For the full-set features, the performances of different classifiers were satisfactory, with classification rates all above 90%. The LDA classifier had the best performance. The second best was the NB classifier, and the relatively worst was the KNN classifier. The linear continuous EEG features were selected by interpolation and can be found for all human subjects. Higher selection threshold led to less selected features but higher average performance of these features. In general, the EEG based machine learning methods can classify occupants’ real-time thermal comfort states, and could potentially lead to more building energy saving through comfort-driven time varying set points. National Research Foundation (NRF) The financial support from the Republic of Singapore's National Research Foundation through a grant to the Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore (BEARS) for the SingaporeBerkeley Building Efficiency and Sustainability in the Tropics (SinBerBEST) program is gratefully acknowledged.

With the rapid development of Internet and big data, place retrieval has become an indispensable part of daily life. However, traditional retrieval technology cannot meet the semantic needs of users. Knowledge graph has been introduced into the new-generation retrieval systems to improve retrieval performance. Knowledge graph abstracts things into entities and establishes relationships among entities, which are expressed in the form of triples. However, with the expansion of knowledge graph and the rapid increase of data volume, traditional place retrieval methods on knowledge graph have low performance. This paper designs a place retrieval method in order to improve the efficiency of place retrieval. Firstly, perform data preprocessing and problem model building in the offline stage. Meanwhile, build semantic distance index, spatial quadtree index, and spatial semantic hybrid index according to semantic and spatial information. At the same time, in the online retrieval stage, this paper designs an efficient query algorithm and ranking model based on the index information constructed in the offline stage, aiming at improving the overall performance of the retrieval system. Finally, we use experiment to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the place retrieval method based on knowledge graph in terms of retrieval accuracy and retrieval efficiency under the real data.

Background: Refractory (recurrent or persistent) spontaneous pneumothorax with high recurrence rates required treatment either by continuous chest drainage or interventional approaches. Pleurodesis by sclerosing agents has become a significant therapy in the treatment of refractory spontaneous pneumothorax (RSP) on account of its high efficiency and safety. However, the efficacy, safety and appropriate mode of administration of intrapleural erythromycin for pleurodesis have not yet been realized in the treatment of RSP. Methods: The trial was performed to compare thoracoscopic erythromycin poudrage with erythromycin slurry via a chest tube for patients with documented RSP. Fifty-seven patients with RSP were enrolled in this study with 30 patients for erythromycin poudrage and 27 patients for erythromycin slurry. Response to pleurodesis, complications and recurrences were recorded. Continuous variables were compared with t-test. Chi-square test was performed to compare categorical variables and Fisher’s exact test was used for small samples. Results: Twenty-four patients in the erythromycin poudrage group (80%) and sixteen in the erythromycin slurry (ES) group (59.26%) had an immediately successful pleurodesis within 5 days (P=0.087). Patients in erythromycin poudrage had shorter duration of postprocedural chest tube drainage (6.23±3.04 days) than patients in ES (10.67±9.81 days) (P=0.032). During the follow-up, there was no significant statistical difference in recurrence rates between the two groups. Common adverse reactions included fever and chest pain with no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: Erythromycin is an effective and safe sclerosing agent for pleurodesis in management of RSP. Both methods are safe but erythromycin poudrage is more effective than ES.

Hypertension is a main risk factor for atrial fibrillation, but the direct effects of hydrostatic pressure on the atrial fibrosis are still unknown. The present study investigated whether hydrostatic pressure is responsible for atrial fibrosis, and addressed a potential role of the Smad pathway in this pathology. Biochemical assays were used to study regulation and expression of fibrotic factors in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and Wistar rats, and in cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) cultured under standard (0 mmHg) and elevated (20, 40 mmHg) hydrostatic pressure. Levels of atrial fibrosis and protein expression of fibrotic factors Col-1A1/-3A1, TGF-β1, and MMP-2 in SHRs' left atrial tissues were higher than those in Wistar rats. Exposure to elevated pressure was associated with the proliferation of CFs. The protein expression of Col-1A1/-3A1, TGF-β1, and MMP-2 in CFs was also up-regulated in a pressure-dependent manner. The proliferation of CFs and increased expressions of fibrotic markers induced by elevated hydrostatic pressure could be reversed by the Smad3 inhibitor naringenin. The activation of Smad3 pathway was also stimulated by elevated hydrostatic pressure. These results demonstrate that CF secretory function and proliferation can be up-regulated by exposure to elevated pressure, and that Smad3 may modulate CF activation induced by high hydrostatic pressure.

X-ray detectors are demonstrated using composite films of lead-free Cs2AgBiBr6 halide double perovskite embedded in a polymer matrix as the X-ray photoconductors. Polymers with hydroxyl functional groups greatly improve the uniformity of the composite films, and large area dense films are obtained using a simple drop-casting process. X-ray detectors based on the composite films exhibit a sensitivity of 40 μC Gyair−1 cm−2, comparable to the reported sensitivity using Cs2AgBiBr6 single crystals. Such detectors can also tolerate a 5% tensile/compressive strain in the composite films without performance degradation. Pixelated X-ray detectors fabricated on the same composite film can realize X-ray imaging and resolve a proof-of-concept geometric pattern.

Singapore is a city-state with limited land space and resources, and most construction materials are imported from foreign countries. In this study, a detailed whole building life cycle assessment (LCA) of a base case building in Singapore as well as material LCA were conducted with customized life cycle inventory datasets by considering materials importation and transportation in particular, and by considering the effects of adopting local recycled aggregates. Results showed that importation and transportation of construction materials significantly alter environmental impacts. This highlights the necessity of considering transportation for importing materials in Singapore context. Inclusion of local recycled aggregates for concrete production to reduce potential environmental load is significant. This suggests adoption of local recycled aggregates is an important strategy for the development of sustainable construction in Singapore.

Because of their fascinating electrical/optoelectrical characteristics, two-dimensional molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) attracts much attention recently. However, it is still a challenge to fabricate wafer-scale MoS2 nanofilms of controlled thickness and high quality and that, limits their application. Here, a two-step thermal vulcanization method is proposed to fabricate wafer-scale MoS2 nanofilms with different thicknesses (3-10 layers). The synthesized MoS2 nanofilms have high uniformity and good quality. Furthermore, back gate field effect transistor (FET) arrays were fabricated based on these wafer-scale MoS2 nanofilms. The FET devices showed good electrical performance, mobility in the range of 0.44 ~ 0.96 cm2V−1s−1 and on/off ratio of ~103. Here, first-principle calculation was used to analyse the different types of defects observed in the tri-layer MoS2, the doping effects induced by the defects were also discussed. This work provides a reliable way to fabricate wafer-scale MoS2 nanofilms and give a detailed study of the electrical properties of multilayers MoS2 nanofilms paving the way for the manufacture of two-dimensional semiconductor materials.

Two-dimensional heterostructures based on transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) exhibit enhanced electrical and optoelectrical properties, which are promising for next-generation optoelectronics devices. In this work, we demonstrate the preparation of MoS2/WS2 vertical heterostructure and investigate their photoresponse properties by fabricating n-type photodetectors with titanium (Ti) as source-drain electrode. Uniform MoS2 and WS2 films are synthesized on SiO2/Si substrates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method respectively, and then MoS2/WS2 vertical heterostructures are achieved via transferring MoS2 onto WS2 films. The WS2- and MoS2-based devices exhibit on/off ratio and electron mobility of 106, 0.03 cm2V-1S-1 and > 106, 2.6 cm2V-1S-1 at Vds = 6 V. Notably, the MoS2/WS2 heterostructure photodetector achieves on/off ratio of near 108 and electron mobility of 12.6 cm2V-1S-1, which is higher than that of pure WS2 and MoS2 devices. The photodetector based on MoS2/WS2 heterostructure shows enhanced optoelectronic performance with photoresponsivity of 298 A/W and specific detectivity of 2.38 × 1011 Jones under 405 nm laser with the power density of 0.09 mW/cm2. Simultaneously, fast photoresponse speed of 9 ms is obtained owing to the speed of separating and recombining electron-hole pairs. The photodetectors exhibit excellent stability and repeatability to laser, which provides more possibilities for future electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Thromboxane A2 (TXA2) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic vascular complications, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. The present study investigated the alterations in TXA2 receptor signal transduction in type 2 diabetic renal arteries. The contraction of renal arterial rings in control (db/m+) mice and type 2 diabetic (db/db) mice was measured by a Multi Myograph System. Intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) in vascular smooth muscle cells was measured by Fluo-4/AM dye and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis were used to determine gene and protein expression levels, respectively. A stable TXA2 mimic U46619 caused markedly stronger dose-dependent contractions in the renal arteries of db/db mice than in those of db/m+ mice. This response was completely blocked by a TXA2 receptor antagonist GR32191 and significantly inhibited by U73122. U46619-induced vasoconstriction was increased in the presence of nifedipine in db/db mice compared with that in db/m+ mice, whereas the response to U46619 did not differ between the two groups in the presence of SKF96365. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release-mediated and CaCl2-induced contractions did not differ between the two groups. In db/db mice, store-operated Ca2+(SOC) entry-mediated contraction in the renal arteries and SOC entry-mediated Ca2+ influx in smooth muscle cells were significantly increased. And the gene and protein expressions of TXA2 receptors, Orai1 and Stim1 were upregulated in the diabetic renal arteries. Therefore the enhancement of U46619-induced contraction was mediated by the upregulation of TXA2 receptors and downstream signaling in the diabetic renal arteries.

The simulation and experimental testing of a non-mechanical beam tracking technology was investigated, in which a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LCSLM) was used as a beam steering control device. The LCSLM was capable of steering the beam from −2.8947 to 2.8947° with a resolution of approximately 0.0226°. The LCSLM-based tracking system was simulated by MATLAB, and the Bode diagram indicated that the tracking performance was better than −17 dB when the disturbance frequency was 1 Hz. The tracking experiment was also executed to test the actual performance. The experimental data revealed that the tracking error (1σ) ranged from 0.024θmax to 0.225θmax when the disturbance frequency ranged from 0.2 to 2.0 Hz with an amplitude of θmax=2.4873°. Simulation and experimental testing demonstrated the feasibility of the non-mechanical beam tracking technology that employs liquid crystals.

Ion migration has been commonly observed as a detrimental phenomenon in organometal halide perovskite semiconductors, causing the measurement hysteresis in solar cells and ultrashort operation lifetimes in light-emitting diodes. In this work, ion migration is utilized for the formation of a p-i-n junction at ambient temperature in single-crystalline organometal halide perovskites. The junction is subsequently stabilized by quenching the ionic movement at a low temperature. Such a strategy of manipulating the ion migration has led to efficient single-crystalline light-emitting diodes that emit 2.3 eV photons starting at 1.8 V and sustain a continuous operation for 54 h at ∼5000 cd m–2 without degradation of brightness. In addition, a whispering-gallery-mode cavity and exciton–exciton interaction in the perovskite microplatelets have both been observed that can be potentially useful for achieving electrically driven laser diodes based on single-crystalline organometal halide perovskite semiconductors.

// Chengcheng Song 1, 2 , Xiu-Jing Zheng 1 , Chang-Cheng Liu 1 , Yifa Zhou 2 and Xin-Shan Ye 1 1 State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China 2 School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China Correspondence to: Xin-Shan Ye, email: xinshan@bjmu.edu.cn Yifa Zhou, email: zhouyf383@nenu.edu.cn Keywords: cancer immunotherapy, glycoconjugate vaccine, tumor-associated carbohydrate antigen, fluoro-substituted STn, cross reaction Received: March 08, 2017 Accepted: April 19, 2017 Published: May 07, 2017 ABSTRACT Development of an effective vaccine to target tumor associated carbohydrate antigens, aberrantly expressed on the cell surface of various carcinomas, is an appealing approach toward cancer immunotherapy. However, a major problem of carbohydrate antigens is their poor immunogenicity. Immunization with modified-carbohydrate antigens could improve the immunogenicity and induce cross reaction with the native carbohydrate antigens. In this study, we investigated the antitumor ability of three fluoro-substituted sialyl-Tn (STn) analogues (2, 3, 4) coupled to KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin) and studied the mechanism of tumor immunotherapy of the vaccines in a murine model of colon cancer. Vaccination with 4-KLH, in which the two N -acetyl groups of STn are substituted with N -fluoroacetyl groups, could remarkably prolong the survival of tumor-bearing mouse and resulted in a significant reduction in tumor burden of lungs compared with STn-KLH (1-KLH). The vaccine 4-KLH could provoke stronger cytotoxic T lymphocytes immune response, T helper (Th) cell-mediated immune response and an earlier-stage Th1 immune response than 1-KLH, thus breaking immune tolerance and generating a therapeutic response. The 4-KLH vaccine induced strong tumor-specific anti-STn antibodies which could mediate complement-dependent cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity against human tumor cells. Moreover, in the absence of adjuvant, 4-KLH still elicited stronger immune responses than 1-KLH. Our data suggested that 4-KLH is superior in tumor prevention. The strategic hapten fluorination may be a potential approach applicable to the vaccines development for the cancer immunotherapy.

Based on the traditional user portrait technology and concept, this paper extracts various indicators that reflect the characteristics of grid operation state from the main aspects of grid operation to construct the grid state portrait label system and label generation method, establishes the grid state portrait analysis model, and evaluates the grid state trend. On this basis, the grid state portrait application system is designed and implemented, and the in-depth analysis of the grid state portrait and operation data is realized by means of an intuitive comprehensive display method. The practical application results show that the system can intuitively reflect the grid operation situation from multiple dimensions, discover and display data rule related to equipment or grid, which can provide technical support for power grid operators to conduct monitoring, take preventive measures and make decision for power grid operation.

Background Medical thoracoscopy is considered an overall safe procedure, whereas numbers of studies focus on complications of diagnostic thoracoscopy and talc poudrage pleurodesis. We conduct this study to evaluate the safety of medical thoracoscopy in the management of pleural diseases and to compare complications in different therapeutic thoracoscopic procedures. Methods A retrospective study was performed in 1926 patients, 662 of whom underwent medical thoracoscopy for diagnosis and 1264 of whom for therapeutic interventions of pleural diseases. Data on complications were obtained from the patients, notes on computer system, laboratory and radiographic findings. Chi-square test was performed to compare categorical variables and Fisher’s exact test was used for small samples. Results The mean age was 51 ± 8.4 (range 21–86) years and 1117 (58%) were males. Diagnostic procedure was taken in 662 (34.4%) patients, whereas therapeutic procedure was taken in 1264 (65.6%) patients. Malignant histology was reported in 860 (44.6%) and 986 (51.2%) revealed benign pleural diseases. Eighty patients (4.2%) were not definitely diagnosed and they were considered as unidentified pleural effusion. One patient died during the creation of artificial pneumothorax, and the causes of death were supposed as air embolism or an inhibition of phrenic motoneurons and circulatory system. Complication of lung laceration was found in six patients (0.3%) and reexpansion pulmonary edema was observed in two patients (0.1%). Higher incidence of prolonged air leak was observed in bulla electrocoagulation group, in comparison with pleurodesis group. Moreover, pain and fever were the most frequently complications in pleurodesis group and cutaneous infection in entry site was the most frequently reported complication in pleural decortication of empyema group. Conclusions Medical thoracoscopy is generally a safe and effective method, not only in the diagnosis of undiagnosed pleural effusions, but also in the management of pleural diseases. Mastering medical thoracoscopy well, improving patient management after the procedure and attempts to reduce the occurrence of post-procedural complications are the targets that physicians are supposed to achieve in the future.

When the renewable energy power station is included, the primary frequency regulation(PFR) of the grid can make a big difference. New control methods are proposed to accommodate this difference.In this case,we propose an on-line monitoring and evaluation method which based on PMU dynamic data for PFR of renewable energy power station. Firstly, the characteristics of the PFR of the renewable energy power station are expounded. Secondly, quantitative evaluation indicators of PFR are proposed. Finally, the concrete implementation method and an application example are introduced. The method has been applied in practice and has obtained good application results.

Crocin, an active compound found in Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, has been shown to possess neuron-protective properties, but its potential mechanisms of action still remain poorly understood. In this study, the anti-ischemic effect and underlying mechanism of action of crocin were investigated in male rats with right middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging were used to evaluate the area of infarction 24 h after reperfusion. Neurological scores were employed to evaluate nerve injury. Direct 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining was used to calculate the infarct ratio 120 h after reperfusion. Finally, HT22 cells and Western blot were used to study the underlying mechanisms. Crocin showed a decreased infarct volume and neurological score in vivo, while the expression of LC3-II/I and AMP-activated protein kinase was remarkably down-regulated with increased levels of p62 and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) expression. However, rapamycin significantly inhibited mTOR, which can impact the anti-ischemic effect of crocin in vitro. These results suggest that crocin may elicit an anti-ischemic effect probably through the mTOR pathway.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cell activated by curcumin (hUC-MSCs-CUR) on Parkinson's disease (PD). The hUC-MSCs-CUR was transplanted into the MPTP-induced PD mouse models via the tail vein. We found that hUC-MSCs-CUR significantly improved the motor ability, increased the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopamine (DA), and Bcl-2 levels, and reduced nitric oxide synthase, Bax, and cleaved-caspase 3 expression in PD mice. The supernatant of hUC-MSCs-CUR (CM-CUR) was used to stimulate the SH-SY5Y cellular model of PD; cell proliferation, differentiation, TH, and neuronal-specific marker microtubular associated protein 2 (MAP2) expressions were examined. Results showed that CM-CUR significantly promoted cell proliferation and gradually increased TH and MAP2 expression in SH-SY5Y PD cells. The beneficial effects could be associated with significant increase of rough endoplasmic reticulum in the hUC-MSCs-CUR, which secrete many cytokines and growth factors beneficial for PD treatment. Therefore, transplantation of hUC-MSCs-CUR could show promise for improving the motor recovery of PD. Funding Statement: This study was supported by Shangdong province nature and science funding, ZR2019MH065. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests. Ethics Approval Statement: All the animal experiments described in this study and umbilical cord tissue collection were approved by the Ethics Committee of the 148th Hospital and the second affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou University.

The current rapid development of artificial intelligence technology represented by deep learning has attracted much attention in all walks of life. The real-time regulation and operation of large-scale power grids is a typical combination of knowledge experience-based and online analysis. In particular, the fault disposal of power grids mainly depends on the pre-compiled texts of failure scenarios, which is actually the induction of prior knowledge and summary of dispatchers. Based on the above scenarios, this paper proposes a deep learning based dispatching fault disposal robot technology. Firstly, the natural language processing technology is used to learn, understand and extract the key information of the fault preplan text, and then a fault disposal knowledge map is built on this basis. Through the reasoning and analysis of knowledge, automatic/semi-automatic disposal of faults can be achieved.

Hafnium oxides (HfO x ) based flexible memristors were fabricated on polyethylene naphtholate (PEN) substrates to simulate a variety of bio-synapse functions. By optimizing the manufacturing conditions of electrode and active films, it is proved that the TiN/HfO x /W/ITO/PEN bilayer device has robust flexibility and can still be modulated after 2000 times of bending. The memristor device exhibits better symmetrical and linear characteristics with excellent uniformity at lower programming power consumption (∼38 μW). In addition, the essential synaptic behaviors have further been achieved in the devices, including the transition from short-term plasticity to long-term plasticity and spike time-dependent plasticity. Through the analysis of I–V curves and XPS data, a switching mechanism based on HfO x /W interface boundary drift is constructed. It is revealed that the redox reaction caused by W intercalation can effectively regulate the content of oxygen vacancy in HfO x . At the same time, bias-induced interfacial reactions will regulate the movement of oxygen vacancies, which emulates bio-synapse functions and improves the electrical properties of the device.

Two-dimensional tungsten disulfide (WS2) has been widely studied owing to its superior optical and electrical properties. Since the growth mechanism is unclear, controllable synthesis of 2D WS2 is still a challenge. Based on the analysis of the relationship between the mass transfer rate and the chemical reaction rate of the reactants, we control the lateral and longitudinal growth of the films by regulating the Ar flow rate in the growth stage, and then realize the controllable synthesis of WS2 films with monolayer, bilayer and tri-layer. In addition, back-gated FETs were fabricated based on WS2 thin films with different layers. Monolayer WS2 showed n-type characteristics with a carrier mobility of ~1.5 cm2 V−1 s−1, whereas bilayer WS2 showed a higher mobility of ~13 cm2 V−1 s−1 with the Ion/Ioff ratio of ~106. Our work paves the way for the development of next generation photoelectronic devices based on 2D materials.

A high-performance flexible HfO2 resistive random access memory (RRAM) device is fabricated herein on a polyimide (PI) substrate, and the effect of different top electrodes (TE) on RRAM characteristics were investigated with the same TiN bottom electrode. Compared with Al or Ni TEs, the switching characteristics of devices with indium tin oxide (ITO) TEs are improved, producing a low power consumption (50 µA@0.5 V for SET and 15 µA@-0.2 V for RESET) and high DC endurance cycles (>3 × 105). The flexible devices show stable resistive properties under different bending radii of up to 4 mm, and over 1.5 × 105 writing/erasing cycles are confirmed after bending the device 1,000 times. The switching mechanism based on ITO/HfO2 interfacial reactions is constructed, and the microscopic oxygen vacancies distribution under directional external biases is elaborated according to the C-V test under various frequencies, HRTEM and XPS data. Furthermore, it is revealed that the interface layer between the TE and the switching layer is the key role, which can maintain switching behaviors and improve electronic properties with the presence of a mechanical stress because of the stable interfacial reactions caused by Sn4+ in ITO film.

Natural source Super Low Frequency(SLF) electromagnetic prospecting methods have become an increasingly promising way in the resource detection. The capacity estimation of the reservoirs is of great importance to evaluate their exploitation potency. In this paper, we built a signal-estimate model for SLF electromagnetic signal and processed the monitored data with adaptive filter. The non-normal distribution test showed that the distribution of the signal was obviously different from Gaussian probability distribution, and Class B instantaneous amplitude probability model can well describe the statistical properties of SLF electromagnetic data. The Class B model parameter estimation is very complicated because its kernel function is confluent hypergeometric function. The parameters of the model were estimated based on property spectral function using Least Square Gradient Method(LSGM). The simulation of this estimation method was carried out, and the results of simulation demonstrated that the LGSM estimation method can reflect important information of the Class B signal model, of which the Gaussian component was considered to be the systematic noise and random noise, and the Intermediate Event Component was considered to be the background ground and human activity noise. Then the observation data was processed using adaptive noise cancellation filter. With the noise components subtracted out adaptively, the remaining part is the signal of interest, i.e., the anomaly information. It was considered to be relevant to the reservoir position of the coalbed methane stratum.

Printed organometal halide perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are reported that have indium tin oxide (ITO) or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as the transparent anode, a printed composite film consisting of methylammonium lead tribromide (Br-Pero) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as the emissive layer, and printed silver nanowires as the cathode. The fabrication can be carried out in ambient air without humidity control. The devices on ITO/glass have a low turn-on voltage of 2.6 V, a maximum luminance intensity of 21014 cd m(-2), and a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 1.1%, surpassing previous reported perovskite LEDs. The devices on CNTs/polymer were able to be strained to 5 mm radius of curvature without affecting device properties.

Both synaptic emulators and brain-like calculation demand an energy-efficient and bio-realistic device where two-dimensional materials have been proven as a promising competitor. Lateral memristors based on transfer-free single-crystal MoS2 with single layer grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were fabricated. Here the MoS2 memristor successfully emulates typical biological synaptic behaviors including excitatory/inhibitory post-synaptic current (EPSC/IPSC), spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), spike rate-dependent plasticity (SRDP) and long-term plasticity (LTP). Moreover, an interesting multi-state LTP and a low consumption of 1.8 pJ after LTP process are achieved which is attributed to the high resistance of transfer-free single-crystal monolayer MoS2, representing a low value among previous MoS2 devices. The migration of Sulfur vacancies lead the conductance modulation by changing the Schottky barrier instead of forming a filament. Our work demonstrates that MoS2 memristors can more flexibly satisfy the demands of complex artificial synaptic/neuron applications.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS), is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system that leads to chronic demyelination with axonal damage and neuronal loss. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent a promising therapeutic approach for MS. In the current study, we investigated the effects of MSCs derived from the human umbilical cord (UCMSC) transfected by sphingosine kinase 1 (SPK1) gene. All the results showed that transplantation of UCMSCs gene modified by SPK1 (UCMSC-SPK1) dramatically reduce the severity of neurological deficits of the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) mice, paralleling by reductions in demyelination, axonal loss, and astrogliosis. UCMSC-SPK1 transplantation also could inhibit the development of natural killer (NK) responses in the spleen of EAE mice, and increase the ratio of CD4+ CD25+ FoxP3+ (Treg) T cells. Furthermore, we described that a shift in the cytokine response from Th1/Th17 to Th2 was an underlying mechanism that suppressed CNS autoimmunity. UCMSCs transfected by SPK1 gene potentially offer a novel mode for the treatment of MS, and the specific mechanism of SPK1 in treating MS/EAE.

The molecular mechanisms underlying anthracyclines-induced cardiotoxicity have not been well elucidated. MiRNAs were revealed dysregulated in the myocardium and plasma of rats received Dox treatment. MicroRNA-34a-5p (miR-34a-5p) was verified increased in the myocardium and plasma of Dox-treated rats, but was reversed in rats received Dox plus DEX treatments. Human miR-34a-5p was also observed increased in the plasma of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after 9- and 16-week epirubicin therapy. Up-regulation of miR-34a-5p was observed in Dox-induced rat cardiomyocyte H9c2 cells. MiR-34a-5p could augment Bax expression, but inhibited Bcl-2 expression, along with the increases of the activated caspase-3 and mitochondrial potentials in H9C2 cells. MiR-34a-5p was verified to modulate Sirt1 expression post-transcriptionally. In parallel to Sirt1 siRNA, miR-34a-5p could enhance p66shc expression, accompanied by increases of Bax and the activated caspase-3 and a decrease of Bcl-2 in H9c2 cells. Moreover, enforced expression of Sirt1 alleviated Dox-induced apoptosis of H9c2 cells, with suppressing levels of p66shc, Bax, the activated caspase-3 and miR-34a-5p, and enhancing Bcl-2 expression. Therefore, miR-34a-5p enhances cardiomyocyte apoptosis by targeting Sirt1, activation of miR-34a-5p/Sirt1/p66shc pathway contributes to Dox-induced cardiotoxicity, and blockage of this pathway represents a potential cardioprotective effect against anthracyclines.

Cancer is still one of the most serious threats to human worldwide. Aberrant patterns of glycosylation on the surface of cancer cells, which are correlated with various cancer development stages, can differentiate the abnormal tissues from the healthy ones. Therefore, tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens (TACAs) represent the desired targets for cancer immunotherapy. However, these carbohydrate antigens may not able to evoke powerful immune response to combat with cancer for their poor immunogenicity and immunotolerance. Different approaches have been developed to address these problems. In this review, we want to summarize the latest advances in TACAs based anticancer vaccines.

Objective This study was designed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics (PK) and safety of eptifibatide in healthy Chinese volunteers and provide information for the further study in the Chinese population. Methods 30 healthy volunteers (15 male) were enrolled in the study and divided into three dose groups (45 µg x kg⁻¹, 90 µg x kg⁻¹, and 180 µg x kg⁻¹). Plasma and urine samples were drawn after one single-bolus administration and measured by LC-MS/MS. The plasma and urine data were analyzed simultaneously by the population approach using the NONMEM software and evaluated by the visual predicted check (VPC) and bootstraping. The PK profiles of dose regimens approved for a Western population in the Chinese population were simulated. Results A two-compartment model adequately described the PK profiles of eptifibatide. The clearance (CL) and the distribution volume (V₁) of the central compartment were 0.128 L x h⁻¹ x kg⁻¹ and 0.175 L x kg⁻¹, respectively. The clearance (Q) and V₂of the peripheral compartment were 0.0988 L x h⁻¹ x kg⁻¹ and 0.147 L x kg⁻¹, respectively. The elimination fraction from plasma to urine (F₀) was 17.2%. No covariates were found to have a significant effect. Inter-individual variabilites were all within 33.9%. The VPC plots and bootstrap results indicated good precision and prediction of the model. The simulations of the approved regimens in the Chinese population showed much lower steady-state concentrations than the target concentration obtained from the Western clinical trials. No severe safety events were found in this study. Conclusions The PK model of eptifibatide was established and could provide PK information for further studies in the Chinese population.