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Most patients diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) present with hallmark features of airway mucus hypersecretion, including cough and expectoration. Airway mucus function as a native immune system of the lung that severs to trap particulate matter and pathogens and allows them to clear from the lung via cough and ciliary transport. Chronic mucus hypersecretion (CMH) is the main factor contributing to the increased risk of morbidity and mortality in specific subsets of COPD patients. It is, therefore, primarily important to develop medications that suppress mucus hypersecretions in these patients. Although there have been some advances in COPD treatment, more work remains to be done to better understand the mechanism underlying airway mucus hypersecretion and seek more effective treatments. This review article discusses the structure and significance of mucus in the lungs focusing on gel-forming mucins and the impacts of CMH in the lungs. Furthermore, we summarize the article with pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments as well as novel and interventional procedures to control CMH in COPD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 /C 60 heterojunction photodetectors were here fabricated. The peak EQE achieves ∼80% in the visible-light range from 400 to 760 nm. Benefitting from eliminating the leakage current (PEDOT:PSS-free), extremely low dark current density (0.6 nA/cm 2 ) and high specific detectivity (2.7 × 10 13 Jones) are acquired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ternary composite of Fe 3 O 4 /SnO 2 /rGO has been synthesized via a facile one-step hydrothermal method. In the composite, rGO serves as a conductive and robust matrix, Fe 3 O 4 and SnO 2 nanoparticles are uniformly loaded on the rGO nanosheets without aggregation, due to the space-confine effect of the simultaneous nucleation and growth of Fe 3 O 4 and SnO 2 nanocrystallites. As an anode material for lithium-ion batteries, the Fe 3 O 4 /SnO 2 /rGO nanocomposite exhibited a reversible capacity of 947 mAh g −1 at a current density of 200 mA g −1 in the first cycle, and maintained 831 mAh g −1 after 200 cycles. The cyclic performance and rate capability of the Fe 3 O 4 /SnO 2 /rGO are markedly improved compared with the binary counterparts of FeO x /rGO and SnO x /rGO obtained in the control experiment, as a result of enhanced structural stability and kinetics for charge and Li + transfer due to the synergetic effect in the ternary composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient particulate matter less than 2.5 μm (PM 2.5) and humidity have been considered as two leading determinants of atmospheric visibility. However, quantitative evidence of their independent and interactive effects on visibility is rare at multi-city level. Based on the data of 190 monitoring stations from 182 Chinese cities, the generalized linear model combined with nonlinear smoother was constructed to estimate the station-specific effects of PM 2.5 and relative humidity on visibility. Then, multivariate meta-analysis was used to pool the station-specific estimates. Finally, attributable visibility loss respectively due to PM 2.5 and humidity were calculated. In general, both PM 2.5 and relative humidity were detected to have a significant non-linear negative influence on visibility. Per 1 μg/m3 increase in PM 2.5 was associated with a visibility reduction of 0.232 km and 0.030 km under the level of PM 2.5 below or above 68 μg/m3, respectively. The visibility declined by 0.105 km, 0.254 km, and 0.569 km per 1% increase in relative humidity under low (<58%), middle (58%–85%), and high (>85%) humidity, respectively. Significant interactive effects of PM 2.5 and humidity were observed. The impacts of PM 2.5 on visibility were significantly amplified in days with moderate humidity. However, extremely high humidity could largely attenuate the PM 2.5 -visibility association. The influence of extremely high humidity (like 99%) also consistently declined as the PM 2.5 concentration elevated. From the national perspective, PM 2.5 accounted for a higher proportion of average daily visibility loss than humidity [9.75 km (95%CI: 7.94, 11.57) vs. 7.23 km (95%CI: 5.02, 9.45)]. The relatively mild polluted southern China suffered from similar PM 2.5 -attributable visibility loss with northern China. The findings could provide important information for the prediction and improvement of atmospheric visibility. [Display omitted] • Both PM 2.5 and relative humidity had a negative non-linear effect on visibility. • Humidity between 60 and 80% significantly amplified the impact of PM 2.5 on visibility. • PM 2.5 substantially attenuated the effect of extremely high humidity on visibility. • Daily average visibility loss of 10 km and 7 km were attributed to PM 2.5 and humidity. • Visibility in less polluted but more humid areas also suffered greatly from PM 2.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike imaging in air, underwater imaging is affected by two distinct properties of water: the absorption and scattering effect of water and the refraction effect of water, resulting in the conventional pinhole model no longer being suitable for underwater imaging. Therefore, without prior calibration in air to calculate the camera intrinsic parameters and distortions for subsequent underwater calibration, an underwater multilayer refraction model based on forward projection method is represented. Along the direction of light propagation, the multilayer refraction model presents a unified scale factor instead of focal length during the perspective projection transformation from the camera coordinate system to the image coordinate system. Simulations regarding the analysis of different medium thicknesses, different medium refractive indices, and different point pixels are performed to explore the influence of the above three parameters on the refraction model. Through the underwater parameter identification and verification, the proposed multilayer refraction model has high measurement accuracy, excellent solution efficiency, stable identification results, more identification parameters, and wide application fields, which are suitable for both single-time refraction and double-time refraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid reductases (OPRs) are involved in the various processes of growth and development in plants, and classified into the OPRⅠ and OPRⅡ subgroups. In higher plants, only OPRⅡ subgroup genes take part in the biosynthesis of endogenous jasmonic acid. In this study, we isolated a novel OPRⅡ subgroup gene named TaOPR2 (GeneBank accession: KM216389) from the thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (TGMS) wheat cultivar BS366. TaOPR2 was predicted to encode a protein with 390 amino acids. The encoded protein contained the typical oxidored_FMN domain, the C-terminus peroxisomal-targeting signal peptide, and conserved FMN-binding sites. TaOPR2 was mapped to wheat chromosome 7B and located on peroxisome. Protein evolution analysis revealed that TaOPR2 belongs to the OPRⅡ subgroup and shares a high degree of identity with other higher plant OPR proteins. The quantitative real-time PCR results indicated that the expression of TaOPR2 is inhibited by abscisic acid (ABA), salicylic acid (SA), gibberellic acid (GA 3 ), low temperatures and high salinity. In contrast, the expression of TaOPR2 can be induced by wounding, drought and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Furthermore, the transcription level of TaOPR2 increased after infection with Puccinia striiformis f. sp . tritici and Puccinia recondite f. sp . tritici . TaOPR2 has NADPH-dependent oxidoreductase activity. In addition, the constitutive expression of TaOPR2 can rescue the male sterility phenotype of Arabidopsis mutant opr3 . These results suggest that TaOPR2 is involved in the biosynthesis of jasmonic acid (JA) in wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For repairable items under the two-dimensional warranty, the manufacturer expenses warranty costs for rectifying the failures occurring over the warranty coverage. Preventive maintenance actions reduce the occurrence intensity of item failures, and hence the warranty cost resulted from corrective maintenance, but bring additional preventive maintenance cost. In this paper, we investigate a periodic and imperfect preventive maintenance strategy for an item covered by a fixed and combined base warranty and extended warranty region from the manufacturer׳s perspective. After the base warranty expires, the buyer purchases an extended warranty service contract from the same manufacturer for extra protection. Over the whole warranty coverage, the item failures are minimally repaired by the manufacturer at no cost to the buyer. The effect of preventive maintenance action is characterized by reducing the item׳s failure intensity proportionally to the maintenance degree at each preventive maintenance action. Then a mathematical model is proposed to derive the optimal preventive maintenance strategy so as to minimize the total expected warranty servicing cost to the manufacturer. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed model and evaluate the impact of different model parameters on the optimal solutions and the corresponding warranty servicing costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fe 2 O 3 wrapped by few layered graphene nanosheets composites (Fe 2 O 3 -FLG) have been synthesized via a facile and massive one-step P-milling method, which is effective in reducing the particle size of Fe 2 O 3 and exfoliating the graphite into FLG. The composite shows good electrochemical performance due to the tight wrapping of FLG nanosheets, which is beneficial to electric conductivity and integrity of the electrode. The sample treated under 20 h retains a reversible capacity of 758 mAh g −1 at 200 mA g −1 after 300 cycles, which equals to 88% of its theoretic capacity. With the superior electrochemical performance, Fe 2 O 3 -FLG composites prepared via the P-milling method could be promising as anode materials for high performance lithium-ion batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work uses a doped method to develop a low-cost PDs hole transport material with high hole mobility and stability. • The CsI:TBP complex inhibited the agglomeration of Li-TFSI in Spiro-OMeTAD to form HTL with smooth and dense surfaces. • The photodetector exhibits a broadband response from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared, fast response and low dark current. • The EQE, responsivity and detectability of the photodetector are 88%, 0.48 A W−1, and 2.7 × 1013 Jones, respectively. • The EQE of the unpackaged device remained at 98.1% of the initial value after 60 days of storage. Hole transport materials play an essential role in the performance of perovskite detectors (PDs). Therefore, hole transport materials with excellent performance can significantly promote photoinduced holes' extraction rate and mobility. Spiro-OMeTAD, a small organic molecular material, has high solubility and excellent film-forming properties and is ideal for the hole transport layer (HTL) of photodetectors. In this work, a small amount of CsI is introduced into Spiro-OMeTAD together with Li-TFSI and TBP as additives. It is found that CsI and TBP formed a complex, which inhibited the agglomeration of Li-TFSI in Spiro-OMeTAD, thus preventing the rapid evaporation of TBP from leaving some cracks Spiro-OMeTAD. The photodetectors exhibit broadband response from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared (300–800 nm), achieving fast response (rise/fall time is 54.1/10.7 μs) and low dark current density (9.72 ×10−10 A cm−2). The detector can be self-powered at zero bias voltage, the external quantum efficiency (EQE) is 88%, the Responsivity (R) is 0.48 A W−1, and the detectivity (D*) is close to 2.7 × 1013 Jones. When the photovoltaic detector is placed in a nitrogen-filled glove box without special packaging for more than two months, the EQE remains 98.1% of the original. This study provides a simple method for fabricating a large area of high-performance planar PDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The membrane disruption and pore-forming mechanism of melittin has been widely explored by experiments and computational studies. However, the precise mechanism is still enigmatic, and further study is required to turn antimicrobial peptides into future promising drugs against microbes. In this study, unbiased microsecond (µs) time scale (total 17 µs) atomistic molecular dynamics simulation were performed on multiple melittin systems in 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine membrane to capture the various events during the membrane disorder produced by melittin. We observed bent U-shaped conformations of melittin, penetrated deeply into the membrane in all simulations, and a special double U-shaped structure. However, no peptide transmembrane insertion, nor pore formation was seen, indicating that these processes occur on much longer timescales, and suggesting that many prior computational studies of melittin were not sufficiently unbiased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the structure and the cytocompatibility of fish scales from Carassius auratus , scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the morphology of fish scales treated with different processing methods. Based on varying morphologies and components, the fish scales can be divided into three regions on the surface and three layers in vertical. The functions of these three individual layers were analyzed. SEM results show that the primary inorganic components are spherical or cubic hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles. The fish scales have an ~ 60° overlapped plywood structure of lamellas in the fibrillary plate. The plywood structure consists of co-aligned type I collagen fibers, which are parallel to the HA lamellas. X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis/differential scanning calorimetry (TGA/DSC) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis indicate that the main components are HA and type I collagen fibers. MC3T3-E1 cell culture results show a high cytocompatibility and the ability to guide cell proliferation and migration along the scale ridge channels of the fish scales. This plywood structure provides inspiration for a structure-enhanced composite material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biogas fermentation is easy to fail resulting from high sensibility of methanogens to environmental change. So how to ensure the activity of methanogens is the key for anaerobic fermentation stability. A methanogenic microbial inoculant was constructed based on the physiological, biochemical characteristics and antagonisms of strain RY3, SH4, G1, G2 and G3. The performances of the inoculant under different pH values, temperatures and application rates of the methanogenic microbial inoculant were evaluated. It showed that the 5 strains had different physiological and biochemical characteristics as well as complementary roles. There were no antagonisms among 5 strains. The methanogenic microbial inoculant grew at pH value 5.5-10.5. Methane productions were 1 706.7-2 026.7 μmols at pH value 5.5-9.5 after 3 days' culture, that of different pH values showed no significant difference respectively. The results indicated that the methanogenic microbial inoculant is resistant to acid and alkali changes. The inoculant grew at 15-70°C and methane productions were 1 906.9- 2 028 μmols at 30-60°C after 3 days' culture, that of different temperatures treatment showed no significant difference respectively. The results indicated that the methanogenic microbial inoculant is adapted to a wide temperature range. At 20°C, total biogas yield of treatments 2%, 5%, 10% before 14 day were 234, 422 and 950 mL, and the methane concentration of treatments 2%, 5%, 10% on the 14th day were 46.9%, 51.2% and 58.9% respectively corresponding the treatments with 2%, 5% and 10% inoculation dosages of the methanogenic microbial inoculant. At 50°C, total biogas yield before 14 d were 2728, 3291 and 3 832 mL and the methane concentration on 14th day were 62.7%, 63.1% and 63.8% respectively corresponding the treatments with 2%, 5% and 10% inoculation dosages of the methanogenic microbial inoculant. The results indicated that the inoculation could shorten the starting time for methane production compared to the controls without inoculant at 20 and 50°C. Pilot tests by kinetic analysis indicated that inoculant could still shorten the starting time for methane production compared to the control using anaerobic active sludge as inoculant. At 20°C, total biogas and methane yields of 21 day of the treatment with 10% inoculation dosages of the methanogenic microbial inoculant were both 1.6 times of the control group with 10% inoculation dosages of anaerobic active sludge. At 50°C, total biogas and methane yields of 21 d of the treatment with 10% inoculation dosages of the methanogenic microbial inoculant were 2.7 and 2.8 times of control group with 10% inoculation dosages of anaerobic active sludge, respectively. Overall, this study showed that the methanogenic microbial inoculant could significantly improve the efficiency of biogas production at low temperature and high temperature, and it will provide a new technical way for optimal control on biogas fermentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Condition-based maintenance (CBM) optimization utilizing prognostic information and methods for complex systems has attracted increasing attention. This paper presents a bi-level approach to optimize a CBM policy for multi-component systems subject to stochastic and economic dependencies. The objective of the decision rule at the system level is to address if preventive and/or corrective maintenance actions are necessary regarding the predictive reliability of the system. At the component level, the aim is to identify the optimal group of components to be preventively maintained when maintenance is triggered due to the decision made at the system level. A maintenance efficacy indicator is introduced to prioritize components to be maintained by taking into account both the resulting reliability improvement quantity and the maintenance cost incurred. The optimal inter-inspection interval, the thresholds of system and component conditional reliability for triggering maintenance are jointly determined for minimization of the long-run average cost rate. A numerical study and sensitivity analysis on a 2oo3:G system are carried out to validate the performance of the proposed maintenance policy. Compared to another opportunistic maintenance policy without considering the system health condition, the proposed CBM policy leads to more cost gain and effectiveness in the maintenance decision-making. • A multi-level CBM policy for multi-component systems is proposed. • Stochastic dependence is characterized by degradation "rate–rate" interactions. • A maintenance cost rate model using predictive reliability data is developed. • Importance of components or groups is ranked by a maintenance efficacy indicator. • The optimal CBM policy is derived utilizing MCS and PSO-based heuristic approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The WRKY transcription factor family has been associated with a variety of plant biological processes, such as biotic and abiotic stress responses. In this study, 13 wheat TaWRKY DEGs in transcriptome data before and after drought stress, namely TaWRKY1 to TaWRKY8 , including various copies, were identified and classified as Group I, II, or III. TaWRKY1-2D overexpression enhanced drought tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Moreover, the AtRD29A , AtP5CS1 , AtPOD1 , AtCAT1 , and AtSOD (Cu/Zn) genes, which are related to the stress response and antioxidant system, were significantly upregulated in TaWRKY1-2D transgenic Arabidopsis under drought stress. TaWRKY1-2 silencing in wheat increases the MDA content, reduces the contents of proline and chlorophyll and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and inhibits the expression levels of antioxidant (TaPOD , TaCAT , and TaSOD (Fe))- and stress-related genes (TaP5CS) under drought stress. Yeast two-hybrid screening revealed TaDHN3 as an interaction partner of TaWRKY1-2D; their interaction was further confirmed using yeast two-hybrid and bimolecular fluorescence complementation. Furthermore, TaWRKY1-2D may play essential roles in wheat drought tolerance through posttranslational regulation of TaDHN3. Overall, these findings contribute to our knowledge of the WRKY family in wheat and identify TaWRKY1-2D as a promising candidate gene for improving wheat breeding to generate drought-tolerant wheat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fe2O3-graphite (Fe2O3-G) composites have been facilely and effectively synthesized via ball milling. Structural features and electrochemical properties of the Fe2O3-G composites as anodes for lithium-ion batteries are investigated. The Fe2O3-G composites benefit from the close contact of nanocrystalline Fe2O3 with the graphite matrix, which improves the electronic conductivity and restrains the volume variation during cycling. The composite with 20% graphite shows the highest reversible capacity up to 491.1 mAh g−1 after 55 cycles with good rate capability. Due to the superior electrochemical performance, the Fe2O3-G composites prepared via ball milling could be promising as anode materials with high capacity, low-cost for lithium-ion batteries. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Graphene, a novel class of carbon nanostructures, has great promise for use as sorbent materials because of its ultrahigh specific surface area. A new method using a column packed with graphene as sorbent was developed for the preconcentration of trace amounts of lead (Pb) using dithizone as chelating reagent prior to its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. Some effective parameters on the extraction and complex formation were selected and optimized. Under optimum conditions, the calibration graph was linear in the concentration range of 10.0–600.0μgL−1 with a detection limit of 0.61μgL−1. The relative standard deviation for ten replicate measurements of 20.0 and 400.0μgL−1 of Pb were 3.56 and 3.25%, respectively. Comparative studies showed that graphene is superior to other adsorbents including C18 silica, graphitic carbon, and single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes for the extraction of Pb. The proposed method was successfully applied in the analysis of environmental water and vegetable samples. Good spiked recoveries over the range of 95.3–100.4% were obtained. This work not only proposes a useful method for sample preconcentration, but also reveals the great potential of graphene as an excellent sorbent material in analytical processes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Hyperspectral (HS) satellite data have been widely applied in many fields due to its numerous bands. Along with the advantages of high spectral resolution, HS satellite data are still limited by some disadvantages of high acquisition cost, low revisiting capability, and low spatial resolution. Compared with HS satellites, multispectral (MS) satellites have a large number, large width, strong coverage, and high spatial resolution. Therefore, MS data can be used as the input to the spectral reconstruction (SR) to obtain HS data with high temporal resolution. Better HS data can be obtained by spectral reconstructing with these continuous multitemporal data than with single-temporal data. A multitemporal spectral reconstruction network (MTSRN) is proposed in this article, which is used to reconstruct HS images from multitemporal MS images. The proposed MTSRN comprises multiple single-temporal spectral reconstruction networks (STSRN) for extracting temporal features and a multitemporal fusion network (MTFN). The parallel component alternative (PA) post-processing method enhances the physical plausibility of reconstructed HS data. To demonstrate performance of the proposed method in aspects of multitemporal reconstruction, experiments are conducted on four multitemporal HS and MS satellite datasets. The experimental results prove that the proposed MTSRN obtains better SR results compared with the SR method based on single-temporal information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of photodetection, there has been growing interest in Ferroelectric/semiconductors heterostructures due to the interfacial charge coupling resulting from ferroelectric polarization. In this study, we created a thin film consisting of alternating layers of Ba 0.86 Ca 0.14 Ti 0.9 Sn 0.1 O 3 and PbZr 0.52 Ti 0.48 O 3 (referred to as BCST/PZT) using a sol-gel growth method on a (0001) GaN/c-sapphire template. Our objective was to examine the impact of these films on the optoelectronic properties of ferroelectric/GaN heterojunctions. Our findings indicate that the BCST/PZT multilayer films possess improved ferroelectric properties. Furthermore, the multilayer structure demonstrates outstanding optoelectronic performance compared to the individual BCST/GaN or PZT/GaN structures, particularly within the 1 V to 3 V bias range. Notably, the multilayer thin film/GaN devices exhibit a responsivity of 121.4 mA/W and a detectivity of 1.44 × 1011 Jones under a 1 V bias voltage. In contrast to other GaN-based materials documented in the literature, our straightforward sol-gel techniques yielded devices exhibiting UV photodetection characteristics that are either comparable to or superior than those reported. • Use the sol-gel method, which is simple and easy to produce large films. • Use of tin and calcium doped barium titanate. • Multilayer BCST/PZT ferroelectric film photodetectors (PDs) have better responsivity (R) and detectivity (D*). • The device shows a significant improvement in photocurrent with 1 V bias applied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Aims Methods Results Conclusions Patients with hypertrophic scarring tend to experience recurrence after treatment, which often occurs in areas of the body with high skin tension.To evaluate better treatments aimed at reducing the risk of scar recurrence in areas of high skin tension.Patients were randomly divided into the following three treatment groups: botulinum toxin type A (BTA) via dual‐plane micro‐drop injections, triamcinolone acetonide (TAC) suspension, and CO2 via fractional CO2 laser. Interventions were implemented in all three groups once a month for three consecutive sessions. After the final treatment, scarring was evaluated at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS).The 3‐month POSAS score for each scar indicator in the treatment groups was significantly lower than that in the preoperative groups (p < 0.001). The scar score in the TAC group decreased at 3 months and increased thereafter. For other groups, the scar score continually decreased at all time points according to the Patient Scar Assessment Scale. Based on the Observer Scar Assessment Scale, the scar score continuously decreased at all time points in the BTA group; in the TAC group, it decreased at 1 month and increased thereafter; and in the CO2 group, the scar score decreased at 3 months and subsequently stabilized.All three treatment methods were effective. However, the BTA group experienced a reduced risk of scar recurrence and maintained long‐term treatment effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) is highly observed in tissues with secretory function, such as the ovaries, suggesting that LRH-1 may play an essential role in the ovarian endocrine. In particular, ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) are the functional cells that produce steroid hormones. The fate of GCs directly affects follicular development or atresia. These effects were lost in granulosa-specific LRH-1-knockout mice, showing that LRH-1 is a central modulator of ovarian function. However, the underlying mechanism LRH-1 in the bovine ovaries remains unclear. We aimed to detect the effect of LRH-1 on steroid hormones in bovine GCs and explore the potential relationship between LRH-1 and the fate of GCs. The results show that LRH-1 was specifically highly expressed in GCs of atretic follicles. Mechanistically, LRH-1 induced the apoptosis of bovine GCs by the progestogen receptor signaling pathway. While this finding provided new ideas for the study of follicular atresia, it also provided a theoretical basis for the clinical diagnosis and treatment for infertility in cow. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the function of LRH-1 on GCs and the mechanisms involved. Here, LRH- was highly expressed in the bovine GCs of atretic follicles. Treatment with 50 μM of LRH-1 agonist (DLPC) significantly induced the expression of LRH-1 (p < 0.05). In particular, LRH-1 activation blocked the progestogen receptor signaling pathway via downregulating progesterone production and progestogen receptor levels (p < 0.05), but had no effect on 17 beta-estradiol synthesis. Meanwhile, LRH-1 activation promoted the apoptosis of GCs and increased the activity of caspase 3 (p < 0.05). Importantly, upregulating the progestogen receptor signaling pathway with progestogen could attenuate the LRH-1-induced proapoptotic effect. Moreover, treatment with progestogen decreased the activity of the proapoptotic gene caspase 3 and increased the expression of antiapoptotic gene Bcl2 in LRH-1 activated GCs (p < 0.05). Taken together, these results demonstrate that LRH-1 might be dependent on the progestogen receptor signaling pathway to modulate bovine follicular atresia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High light intensity as one of the stresses could lead to generation of large amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plants, resulting in severe plant growth retardation. The photorespiration metabolism plays an important role in producing and removing a variety of ROS, maintaining the dynamic balance of the redox reaction, and preventing photoinhibition. Arabidopsis hydroxypyruvate reductase 1 (HPR1) is a primary metabolic enzyme in the photorespiration cycle. However, the role of HPR1 in plants response to high light is not clear. Here, we found that the expression of HPR1 could be induced by high light intensity. The growth and photosynthetic capacity of hpr1 mutants are seriously affected under high light intensity. The absence of HPR1 suppresses the rates of photorepair of Photosystem II (PSII), aggravates the production of ROS, and accelerates photorespiration rates. Moreover, the activity of ROS scavenging enzymes in the hpr1 mutants is significantly higher. These results indicate that HPR1 is involved in plant response to high light intensity and is essential for maintaining the dynamic balance of ROS and photorespiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early Paleozoic tectonic nature and subsequent orogenic process remain poorly known in the Indochina interior. This study introduces the general geology of South Laos and presents a set of new zircon U Pb and Hf O isotopic analyses, and whole-rock elemental and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic data for the mafic-intermediate igneous rocks in South Laos. The representative samples from the previously-mapped Ordo-Silurian strata in the southern Truong Son zone give the formation ages of 434–438 Ma. Five samples from the Tam Ky-Phuoc Son tectonic zone yield zircon U Pb ages of 447–485 Ma. The corresponding zircon ε Hf (t), δ18O and T DM values are in range of +1.6~ −6.5, 6.1–8.6‰, and 1.02–1.79 Ga, respectively. Forty-five mafic-intermediate igneous rocks in South Laos with mg-number = 42–69 have SiO 2 = 53.04–61.66 wt%, Al 2 O 3 = 12.13–20.92 wt% and MgO = 2.73–9.55 wt%, and are characterized by enrichment in LILEs and depletion in HFSEs with Nb Ta negative anomalies. Their (87Sr/86Sr) i ratios range from 0.7044 to 0.7109 and ε Nd (t) values from −6.2 to −2.6, with (206Pb/204Pb) i = 18.08–18.68, (207Pb/204Pb) i = 15.50–15.77, and (208Pb/204Pb) i = 38.04–38.97. Ten gabbroic samples, with mg-number = 77–79, show similar incompatible elemental ratios and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-O isotopic compositions with the other mafic-intermediate igneous rocks, but have lower SiO 2 and higher MgO, Cr, Ni and V contents, reflective of a primary mafic magma. Such characteristics suggest a newly-modified wedge source by recycled sediment-derived components. In combination with other geological observations in Central Vietnam, we propose a northerly-younging early Paleozoic igneous event in response to the on-growing accretionary orogenesis in the Indochina interior. The southward consumption of the early Paleozoic Tam Ky-Phuoc Son Ocean in the Indochina interior continued until at least ~430 Ma and the assemblage of the Northern Indochina with the Kontum terrane likely terminated at the early Devonian. • The Ordo-Silurian mafic-intermediate igneous rocks are identified in South Laos. • The lower Paleozoic sequence in the Truong Son zone is mainly of Silurian origin. • They were derived from the recycled sediment-modified wedge source. • An oceanic consumption might continue until ~430 Ma in the Indochina interior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soft sensing technology has been proved to be an effective tool for the online estimation of unmeasured or variables that are difficult to directly measure. The performance of a soft sensor depends heavily on its convergence speed and generalization ability to a great extent. Based on this idea, we propose a new soft sensor model, Isomap-SVR. First, the sample data set is divided into training set and testing set by using self-organizing map (SOM) neural network to ensure the fairness and symmetry of data segmentation. Isometric feature mapping (Isomap) method is used for dimensionality reduction of the model input data, which could not only reduce the structure complexity of the proposed model but speed up learning speed, and then the Support Vector Machine Regression (SVR) is applied to the regression model. A novel bat algorithm based on Cauchy mutation and Lévy flight strategy is used to optimize parameters of Isomap and SVR to improve the accuracy of the proposed model. Finally, the model is applied to the prediction of the temperature of rotary kiln calcination zone, which is difficult to measure directly. The simulation results show that the proposed soft sensor modeling method has higher learning speed and better generalization ability. Compared with other algorithms, this algorithm has obvious advantages and is an effective modeling method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into flexible energy‐storage devices with high energy density and superior mechanical performance has aroused considerable interest for the development of flexible electronics. Numerous new materials and strategies have been developed to obtain soft, safe, and high‐performance flexible electrodes, which are essential components of flexible energy storage devices. The common preparation methods and fabrication techniques of flexible electrode are summarized, including their mechanisms, operations, advantages and disadvantages, applicable conditions, and suitable materials. The electrode materials are also briefly discussed according to their characteristics and morphologies, and suggestions on the method preferred for different materials are given. Perspectives on the development of flexible‐electrode fabrication are also given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure and magnetic properties of Fe1-xGd(Tb)x films prepared by sputtering have been investigated using x-ray diffraction, vibrating sample magnetometer, and ferromagnetic resonance. Magnetic measurements show that the saturation magnetization decreases as the increase of Gd(Tb) content, which agrees with that Gd(Tb) atomic moments align antiparallel with Fe moments. Theoretical fittings of the angular dependence of ferromagnetic resonance field yield the second- and forth-order perpendicular anisotropy constants K⊥1 and K⊥2, which show a spin reorientation with increasing Gd(Tb) doping. The intrinsic contribution of ferromagnetic resonance linewidth as a result of Gilbert damping is separated from the extrinsic contribution because of the inhomogeneity of the films. It is found that the additions of Gd additives do not significantly improve the damping constant, whereas the Tb dopants increase the damping constant from 0.04 without Tb to 0.11 with 19% Tb, thus a remarkable enhancement of 175%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reuse of activated sludge as a solid waste is severely underutilized due to the limitations of traditional treatment and disposal methods. Given that, the sulfur-containing activated sludge catalyst doped with cobalt (SK-Co(1.0)) was successfully prepared by one-step pyrolysis and calcinated at 850 ℃. The generation of CoS x was successfully characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), indicating that the sulfur inside the sludge was the anchoring site for the externally doped cobalt. Cobalt (Ⅱ) (Co2+), as the main adsorption site for peroxymonosulfate(PMS), formed a complex (SK-Co(1.0)-PMS*) and created the conditions for the generation of surface radicals. The SK-Co(1.0)/PMS system showed high degradation efficiency and apparent rate constants for Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) (91.56% and 0.187 min−1) and Sulfadiazine (SDZ) (90.73% and 0.047 min−1) within 10 min and 30 min, respectively. Three sites of generation of 1O 2 , which played a dominant role in the degradation of SMX and SDZ in the SK-Co(1.0)/PMS system, were summarized as：sulfur vacancies (SVs), the Co3+/Co2+ cycles promoted by sulfur(S) species, oxygen-containing functional groups (C-O). The degradation mechanisms and pathways had been thoroughly investigated using DFT calculations. In view of this, a new idea for the resource utilization of activated sludge solid waste was provided and a new strategy for wastewater remediation was proposed. [Display omitted] • Sulfur inside activated sludge anchored exogenous cobalt. • In-solution and surface radicals were generated by (SK-Co(1.0)-PMS*). • Multiple modes generated the dominant 1O 2. • The degradation product from SDZ and SMX obtained low ecotoxicity. • DFT calculation was used to explain the degradation mechanism and path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

TP53 binding protein 1 (53BP1) plays an important role in DNA damage repair and maintaining genomic stability. However, the mutations of 53BP1 in human cancers have not been systematically examined. Here, we have analyzed 541 somatic mutations of 53BP1 across 34 types of human cancer from databases of The Cancer Genome Atlas, International Cancer Genome Consortium and Catalogue of Somatic Mutations in Cancer. Among these cancer-associated 53BP1 mutations, truncation mutations disrupt the nuclear localization of 53BP1 thus abolish its biological functions in DNA damage repair. Moreover, with biochemical analyses and structural modeling, we have examined the detailed molecular mechanism by which missense mutations in the key domains causes the DNA damage repair defects. Taken together, our results reveal the functional defects of a set of cancer-associated 53BP1 mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Photosystem II (PSII) is a highly conserved integral-membrane multi-subunit pigment-protein complex. The proteins, pigments, lipids, and ions in PSII need to be assembled precisely to ensure a proper PSII biogenesis. D1 is the main subunit of PSII core reaction center (RC), and is usually synthesized as a precursor D1. D1 maturation by the C-terminal processing protease CtpA is essential for PSII assembly. However, the detailed mechanism about how D1 maturation affects PSII assembly is not clearly elucidated so far. In this study, Arabidopsis thaliana CtpA mutant (atctpa: SALK_056011), which lacks the D1 mature process, was used to investigate the function of this process on PSII assembly in more details. Results: Without the C-terminal processing of precursor D1, PSII assembly, including PSII monomer, dimer, especially PSII supercomplexes (PSII SCs), was largely compromised as reported previously. Western blotting following the BN-2D-SDS PAGE revealed that although the assembly of PSII core proteins D2, CP43 and CP47 was affected by the loss of D1 mature process, the incorporation of CP43 was affected the most, indicated by its most reduced assembly efficiency into PSII SCs. Furthermore, the slower growth of yeast cells which were co-transformed with pD1 and CP43, when compared with the ones co-transformed with mature D1 and CP43, approved the existence of D1 C-terminal tail hindered the interaction efficiency between D1 and CP43, indicating the physiological importance of D1 mature process on the PSII assembly and the healthy growth of the organisms. Conclusions: The knockout Arabidopsis atctpa mutant is a good material to study the unexpected link between D1 maturation and PSII SCs assembly. The loss of D1 maturation mainly affects the incorporation of PSII core protein CP43, an inner antenna binding protein, which functions in the association of LHCII complexes to PSII dimers during the formation of PSII SCs. Our findings here provide detailed supports of the role of D1 maturation during PSII SCs assembly in higher plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work reports a Al 0.67 Ga 0.33 N Metal–Semiconductor–Metal (MSM) detector with a high quantum efficiency (QE) by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and Standard photolithography. As previously reported, the electrode spacing between the metal fingers of MSM detectors, annealing temperature, and electrode material affect the performance of detectors. Our work demonstrates a high QE detector by optimizing the electrode and annealing temperature. At 14 V bias, the ultraviolet-to-visible rejection ratio is measured as high as 1000. It is also found that the responsivity increases with the bias voltage. Due to the influence of the image force and tunnel effect, the QE exceeds 100 % and the responsivity reaches 4.24 A/W near 250 nm. The specific detectivity (D*) also reaches 1.32 × 1011 Jones. Compared with the literature, this is the highest QE of MSM devices with Ti electrodes on the AlGaN layer at this wavelength. This gain mechanism should be related to trapping photo carriers at the semiconductor/metal interface, image-force lowering of Schottky barrier height, and the expansion of the space charge layer (SCR). • The photodetector has extremely high quantum efficiency. • The device has an obvious peak response and large photocurrent at 250 nm. • We try to explain the high gain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Using F-MSAP measured DNA methylation levels in cartilage (CA) and reserve mesenchyme (RM) cells and tissues. • DNA methylation plays an important role in the fast cartilage of deer antler. • Identified 20 methylated fragments specific to RMCs or the CA. This paper explored using of deer antlers as a model for studying rapid growth and cartilage formation in mammals. The genes and regulatory mechanisms involved in antler chondrogenesis are poorly understood, however, previous research has suggested that DNA methylation played a key role in antler regeneration. By using fluorescence-labeled methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (F-MSAP), this study measured DNA methylation levels in cartilage (CA) and reserve mesenchyme (RM) cells and tissues. Results showed that RM cells (RMCs) DNA methylation levels were significantly lower than those of CA, suggesting that DNA demethylation may be involved in antler fast cartilage differentiation. The study also identified 20 methylated fragments specific to RMCs or CA using the methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (MSAP) technique and confirmed these findings using southern blot analysis. The data provide the first experimental evidence of a link between epigenetic regulation and rapid cartilage differentiation in antlers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research of the high Al(x = 0.75) component has always been the focus of the AlGaN solar‐blind ultraviolet (UV) detector. However, due to the lattice and thermal mismatch between the AlGaN and the underlying substrate under existing mainstream heteroepitaxial growth methods, the large density of defects, e.g., point defects, screw dislocations, and edge dislocations, has hindered the performances of AlGaN‐based solar‐blind UV photodetectors. A short superlattice polarization‐induced P‐type doping growth technique is used to fabricate a high‐performance AlGaN‐based back‐illuminated solar‐blind UV p‐i‐n photodetector (PD) fabricated on sapphire substrates. The back‐illuminated AlGaN UV‐PD shows a high external quantum efficiency of 70.2%. The peak responsivity (R) reaches 123 mA W−1 at −5 V with a wavelength of 217 nm. Meanwhile, the dark current density is 2.21 × 10−8 A cm−2. Additionally, the UV/visible rejection ratio for the detectors exceeds four orders of magnitude, and the detectivity (D*) is calculated to be 6.7 × 1012 cm Hz1/2 W−1. The device performance parameters can be attributed to the quality of the epilayer and heterojunctions. This technology provides new ideas for nitride semiconductor materials, further bringing a breakthrough in a wide‐bandgap electronics device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chloroplast is a semi-autonomous organelle with a double membrane structure, and its structural stability is a prerequisite for its correct function. Chloroplast development is regulated by known nuclear-encoded chloroplast proteins or proteins encoded within the chloroplast itself. However, the mechanism of chloroplast development regulated by other organelles remains largely unknown. Here, we report that the nuclear-localized DEAD-box RNA helicase 13 (RH13) is essential for chloroplast development in Arabidopsis thaliana. RH13 is widely expressed in tissues and localized to the nucleolus. A homozygous rh13 mutant shows abnormal chloroplast structure and leaf morphogenesis. Proteomic analysis showed that the expression levels of photosynthesis-related proteins in chloroplasts were reduced due to loss of RH13. Furthermore, RNA-sequencing and proteomics data revealed decreases in the expression levels of these chloroplast-related genes, which undergo alternative splicing events in the rh13 mutant. Taken together, we propose that nucleolus-localized RH13 is critical for chloroplast development in Arabidopsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Two modules of nonribosomal peptide synthetase were heterologous expressed and purified. • In vitro set up a biosynthetic reaction system of nonribosomal peptide. • Bacillamide C intermediate- heterocyclic AlaCys thiazole was formed. Abstract Bacillamide C, a potential natural antialgae active compound, is produced by Bacillus atrophaeus C89 derived from marine sponge Dysidea avara. A nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) cluster is hypothesized to be involved in the biosynthesis of bacillamide C. The NRPS with a domain string of A1-PCP1-Cy-A2-PCP2-C can be divided into three functional modules. After heterologous expression and purification of module A1-PCP1 and module Cy-A2-PCP2, their catalytic activities were biochemically proven in vitro by the reaction with the apo-PCP domain transformed to the holo-PCP domain through a phosphopantetheinyl transferase, ATP, and substrate amino acids. Five– membered heterocyclic AlaCys thiazole with molecular weight of 172.0389 was detected. This proved the formation of the heterocyclic dipeptide AlaCys thiazole , which is considered to be a building block for the biosynthesis of bacillamide. This study provides a basis for further biosynthesis of bacillamides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant–plant interactions play a key role in the function and structure of communities. The combined effect of drought stress and grazing disturbance on shaping plant–plant interactions is still poorly understood, while this combination is common in semiarid ecosystems. Four species including Stipa grandis, which is dominant in the typical steppe, and Stipa krylovii, Artemisia frigida, and Cleistogenes squarrosa, which are dominant species in the S. grandis degraded communities, were selected as study targets. We conducted a competition experiment (uniformly dense monoculture or mixture, respectively) under controlled conditions, including both drought stress and mowing disturbance, and calculated the relative interaction index (RII) of tiller number and RII of biomass for each species under each condition. (a) Under the same condition, the RII of tiller number and that of biomass for the same species usually showed reverse trends. (b) Mowing disturbance rather than drought stress played a negative role in influencing S. grandis' or S. krylovii's RII of tiller number and played a positive role in influencing A. frigida's RII of biomass. (c) Drought stress rather than mowing disturbance played a positive role in influencing C. squarrosa's RII of tiller number. (d) Neighbor species significantly influenced S. grandis' RII of tiller number, S. krylovii's RII of tiller number, A. frigida's RII of tiller number and biomass, and C. squarrosa's RII of biomass. These results could provide an explanation for why S. krylovii, A. frigida, and C. squarrosa can replace S. grandis and become the dominant species when S. grandis communities undergo a process of degradation due to overgrazing or climatic drought in natural communities. The present study provided powerful evidences for species replacement in the typical steppe of Inner Mongolia and elucidated the driving mechanisms of S. grandis communities' retrogressive succession. The combined effect of drought stress and grazing disturbance on shaping plant–plant interactions is the key process of retrogressive succession in Inner Mongolia steppe, China. We conducted a competition experiment to explore how Stipa grandis is replaced by the other three species during the retrogressive succession. (a) Neighbor species could help Stipa krylovii to increase its tiller number but inhibit S. grandis's tiller number under mowing treatment. (b) Mowing disturbance played a positive role in Artemisia frigida expanding in medium–heavy‐degraded region. (c) The higher tolerance to drought stress and lower competitive capacity enabled Cleistogenes squarrosa to be dominant species in heavy‐degraded region but not in stable or light‐degraded region. The present study provided evidences for species replacement in retrogressive succession of S. grandis communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free energy calculation is an efficient way for studying rare event dynamics. For a complex rare event dynamics, multiple reaction coordinates may be required to describe the transition path between equilibrium states. Theoretically, a one‐dimensional sampling along the transition path can provide sufficient information to calculate the potential of mean force (PMF) along the transition path. In the widely used free energy analysis method Wham, the sample data are divided into a series of bins to calculate PMF. However, bin segmentation in Wham is coupled with the umbrella potentials applied in each window, because each umbrella potential is assumed to have a close value for all sample points in each bin. This coupling makes it difficult to perform one‐dimensional bin segmentation along the transition path when multivariable umbrella potentials are used in sampling. Here, we develop a weighted least square analysis method (Welsam) to take the place of Wham for free energy analysis. In the new method Welsam, bin segmentation is decoupled from application of umbrella potentials. As a result, it becomes very convenient to perform one‐dimensional bin segmentation and calculate one‐dimensional PMF along the transition path. Our simulation results suggest that Welsam has a comparable statistical error with Wham. Furthermore, Welsam can be used to reduce waste of sample data obtained during exploration of reaction coordinates. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. A free energy analysis method based on weighted least squares is developed for free energy calculations. The new method has a comparable statistical error with Wham while it is more convenient for bin‐segmentation the Wham. In the figure, two‐dimensional potentials are used to perform umbrella sampling along the transition path shown by the red line. Bin‐segmentation along the transition path is then used to calculate the potential of mean forces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A stiffness optimization method of locking units for multi-rigid body manipulator was proposed. • The equivalent method of the locking stiffness of the locking unit was proposed. > The stiffness optimization guideline of locking units is extended from the adaptive growth laws of plant roots. Based on plant root adaptive growth theory of monocotyledons, a stiffness optimization method of locking unit for multi-rigid body space manipulator is proposed. The optimization process of locking unit stiffness is transformed into the increase and elimination of spring constraints. The kinematic model of the locking unit is established, and the equivalent method of the locking stiffness of the locking unit is proposed to make the three-dimensional support model of the locking unit correspond to the three-dimensional stiffness of the locking space. According to the proposed optimization method of locking unit and equivalent method of locking stiffness, a parallel optimization method is used to optimize the stiffness of space manipulator locking unit. The stiffness optimized locking system is compared with the conventional locking system, and the higher fundamental frequency of the system is verified by simulation analysis, which proves the effectiveness of the stiffness optimization method of the locking unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is the most common hip abnormality in children. Closed or open reduction and cast immobilization are the most commonly used treatments for patients aged 6 to 18 months with dislocation; they are also used in children younger than 6 months when brace treatment is not effective. During cast immobilization, surgeons need reliable and timely imaging methods to assess the status of hip reduction to ensure successful treatment and avoid complications. Several methods are used, but they have disadvantages. We developed and, in this study, evaluated a hip medial ultrasound method to evaluate the status of hip reduction in children treated with a spica cast. Question/purpose: Is hip medial ultrasound more accurate than radiography for determining the status of hip reduction in children treated with a spica cast? Methods: Between November 2017 and December 2020, we treated 136 patients with closed or open reduction and spica casting for DDH in our department. These children were 3 to 18 months old at the time of surgical reduction and had a specific medical history, physical examination findings, or AP radiographic evidence of unilateral or bilateral DDH. None had a concomitant femoral/acetabular osteotomy procedure in these hips. All patients underwent hip medial ultrasound, AP radiography, and MRI under sedation within 2 to 7 days after open or closed reduction. The examination time was from the second day after reduction to enable the patient to recover from anesthesia. MRI was performed within 7 days after reduction because of a few long appointment times, and ultrasound and AP radiography were always performed 1 or 2 days before MRI. Based on that, 65% (88 of 136 [88 hips]) of patients were excluded due to the absence of MRI, ultrasound, or AP radiography; 3% (4 of 136 [4 hips]) of patients were excluded because of concurrent congenital spina bifida, Larson syndrome, or Prader-Willi syndrome; and 1% (1 of 136 [1 hip]) of patients were excluded because the patient underwent MRI before ultrasound. A total of 32% (43 of 136 [43 hips]) of patients were eligible for analysis in this cross-sectional diagnostic study, and these 43 patients underwent AP radiography, ultrasound, and MRI. In this retrospective study, the mean age at the time of surgery was 10 ± 4 months (male:female ratio 5:38; unilateral DDH: 34; bilateral DDH: 9). To ensure the independence of the results, the study was limited to one hip per patient (in patients with bilateral DDH, the right hip was evaluated). The reduction of 43 hips (left:right ratio 26:17; closed:open reduction ratio 30:13) was evaluated by MRI, hip medial ultrasound, and radiography. Children with spica casts were placed in the supine position, which is necessary to expose the perineum for ultrasound. We used a broad-spectrum, microconvex, and intracavitary probe. The acetabular medial wall was identified by the triradiate cartilage of the ischial tuberosity and the pubis superior, and the femoral head was identified by the femoral neck. Then, the acetabulum coronal midsectional plane was used to determine the positions of the femoral head and acetabulum and to measure the triradiate cartilage–femoral distance. MRI examinations were performed using a 1.5-T MRI system with an eight-channel body coil. Each reviewer evaluated each reduction independently. Additionally, to further assess the hip medial ultrasound method's reliability and reproducibility, we investigated the interobserver and intraobserver agreement in evaluating the reduction using hip medial ultrasound. Using ultrasound or radiography, the reviewers classified hips as reduced, uncertain status, or dislocated. MRI was considered the gold standard for assessing hip reduction, and the reviewers classified hips as reduced or dislocated by MRI. Patients with hips with an uncertain reduction status according to ultrasound or radiography were retained in the analysis. Thus, the test results of radiography and ultrasound were classified into three classifications (positive, negative, or uncertain) in the present study. The test was considered positive or negative when patients were assessed with dislocation or without dislocation, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of ultrasound and radiography were calculated and compared. We combined uncertain and positive into the positive classification to be conservative in the statistical choices. The specificity, sensitivity, PPV, and NPV were analyzed based on this premise. Furthermore, a subgroup analysis was conducted by sex. MRI evaluation revealed that 41 hips were reduced and two hips were dislocated. Results: The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of ultrasound were 100% (95% CI 16% to 100%), 95% (95% CI 84% to 99%), 50% (95% CI 7% to 93%), and 100% (95% CI 91% to 100%), respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of radiography were 50% (95% CI 1% to 99%), 68% (95% CI 52% to 82%), 7% (95% CI 0% to 34%), and 97% (95% CI 82% to 100%), respectively. Ultrasound showed a higher specificity (95% versus 68%; p < 0.001) and PPV (50% versus 7%; p = 0.02) than radiography. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of ultrasound were 100% (95% CI 16% to 100%), 94% (95% CI 81% to 99%), 50% (95% CI 7% to 93%), and 100% (95% CI 90% to 100%), respectively, for female patients (with only five male patients, we could not perform these analyses in this group). The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of radiography were 50% (95% CI 1% to 99%), 64% (95% CI 46% to 79%), 7% (95% CI 0% to 34%), and 96% (95% CI 79% to 100%), respectively, for female patients. The κ values for intra- and interobserver reliability both were 1.0. Conclusion: Hip medial ultrasound can directly visualize the femoral head and acetabulum. Hip medial ultrasound is more reliable than radiography as a preliminary evaluation method and does not involve irradiation. We recommend using hip medial ultrasound during outpatient follow-up visits for patients younger than 2 years treated with hip reduction and cast immobilization. Level of Evidence: Level III, diagnostic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the failure effects of critical fissures in rock specimens subjected to plane strain compression (PSC), five types of internal fissures in rock specimens were designed and twelve PSC tests were conducted for two lithologies based on the discrete element method (DEM). The results were analyzed in terms of the fracture mode, data characteristics, and crack evolution. The results indicated the following. (1) The rock samples with a critical fissure under PSC showed a weak face shear fracture mode, which was influenced by lithology, fissure angle, and fissure surface direction. (2) There were four critical expansion points (CEPs) of axial stress of the rocks under PSC, which were the stage signs of rock materials from local damage to complete fracture. The rock-bearing capacity index (RockBCI) was further proposed. (3) The bearing capacity of rock samples with horizontal fissures, fissures whose angles coincided with the fracture surface, and fissures whose surface was perpendicular to the lateral confine direction was the worst; their BCI2 values were found to be 80.6%, 70.8%, and 56.9% of the rock samples without any fissures, respectively. The delayed fracture situation under PSC was identified and analyzed. (4) The crack evolution followed the unified law of localization, and the fissures in the rocks changed the mode of crack development and the path of the deepening and connecting of crack clusters, as well as affecting the time process from damage to collapse. This research innovatively investigated the behavior characteristics of rock samples with a fissure under PSC, and it qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed the bearing capacity of rock mass from local damage to fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction matrix significantly affects the correction accuracy of wavefront correctors. For diffractive liquid crystal wavefront correctors (LCWFCs), the diffraction wavefront error must be taken into account to improve the accuracy of the interaction matrix. In this paper, a tunable Zernike polynomial coefficient method is demonstrated that decreases the effect of the diffraction wavefront error on the interaction matrix. Moreover, to eliminate the effect of the random error, a least squares method is combined with the tunable coefficient method. Experimental results show that, with the combined method, the error of the interaction matrix is decreased by a factor of 2.5 compared to that when the least squares method is used alone. Furthermore, an open loop adaptive correction experiment was performed and a considerable improvement of the image resolution was obtained by the novel method. Therefore, this method is very useful for liquid crystal adaptive optics systems to acquire the high correction accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high crystal quality and low dislocation densities of aluminum nitride (AlN) grown on flat and nano-patterned sapphire substrate that are synthesized by the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method are essential for the realization of high-efficiency deep ultraviolet light-emitting diodes. The micro-strains of 0.18 × 10−3 cm−2 for flat substrate AlN and 0.11 × 10−3 cm−2 for nano-patterned substrate AlN are obtained by X-ray diffractometer (XRD). The screw and edge dislocation densities of samples are determined by XRD and transmission electron microscope (TEM), and the results indicate that the nano-patterned substrates are effective in reducing the threading dislocation density. The mechanism of the variation of the threading dislocation in AlN films grown on flat and nano-patterned substrates is investigated comparatively. The etch pit density (EPD) determined by preferential chemical etching is about 1.04 × 108 cm−2 for AlN grown on a nano-patterned substrate, which is slightly smaller than the results obtained by XRD and TEM investigation. Three types of etch pits with different sizes are all revealed on the AlN surface using the hot KOH etching method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acne treatment may fail or cause undesirable side effects due to inaccurate evaluation. High‐frequency ultrasound (HFUS) can monitor systemic treatment in patients with moderate‐to‐severe acne vulgaris. Materials and methods: In this prospective study, consecutive patients with moderate‐to‐severe acne vulgaris were recruited. Patients were graded by a comprehensive clinical assessment before and after therapy. Simultaneous HFUS grading was independently evaluated according to the sonographic scoring system for acne (SSSA). Clinical and HFUS grades were compared through kappa analysis. Results: A total of 70 patients were enrolled. At baseline, 36 (51.4%) and 34 (48.6%) patients were graded as moderate and severe, respectively, through clinical assessment. However, 27 patients (38.6%) scored SSSA‐Grade II and 43 (61.4%) scored SSSA‐Grade III in the HFUS grading. Sixty‐one patients (87.1%) were in the consistent category as per clinical assessment and HFUS grades, with Kappa1 = 0.745, whereas higher HFUS grades were observed in nine patients. By the end of the observation, 65 of all patients (92.9%) showed significant improvement and 5 (7.1%) showed no apparent improvement after the treatment. According to the clinical assessment, 14, 52, and 4 patients were graded as mild, moderate, and severe, respectively. On the other hand, 11, 51, and 8 patients had SSSA‐Grade I, II, and III, respectively. Of all patients, 63 (90.0%) had consistent evaluation results, with Kappa2 = 0.762, whereas the remaining seven patients had an HFUS grade higher than the clinical. Conclusion: HFUS is a useful tool for dermatologists to monitor the treatment of moderate and severe acne vulgaris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photovoltaic power generation is greatly affected by weather factors. To improve the prediction accuracy of photovoltaic power generation, complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with an adaptive noise algorithm (CEEMDAN) is proposed to preprocess the power sequence. Then, the full convolutional network (FCN) model optimized based on the sparrow search algorithm (SSA) is used to predict the short-term photovoltaic power. SSA can more reasonably determine the parameters of FCN and improve the prediction performance of FCN. Therefore, the FCN model optimized by the SSA algorithm is used to establish prediction models for subsequences and predict each subsequence, respectively. Finally, the predicted value of each subsequence is superimposed. Taking the actual data of a photovoltaic power station in Jiangsu province of China as an example, by comparing some different common prediction models, it is proved that the proposed method is reasonable and feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: As a member of the bone morphogenetic protein families (BMPs), BMP6 is a key regulatory factor in the ovaries. It is expressed in the ovarian granulosa cells (GCs) of different species and plays an important regulatory role in follicular growth and development. Moreover, the steroid hormones secreted by ovarian granulosa cells are involved in important physiological processes such as follicle development, ovulation, and embryo implantation. However, the role of BMP6 in steroid hormone synthesis in goat ovarian GCs remains unclear. We aimed to examine the effects of BMP6 on the function of goat ovarian GCs. The results showed that BMP6 did not significantly affect the proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of ovarian GCs but it up-regulated the expression of the steroid hormone synthesis rate-limiting enzymes CYP19A1 and CYP11A1 to promote the production of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4). This finding provides a new idea for the study of steroid hormone synthesis in follicles. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of BMP6 on the function of goat ovarian granulosa cells (GCs). The results showed that the exogenous addition of BMP6 did not affect the EdU-positive ratio of ovarian GCs and had no significant effect on the mRNA and protein expression levels of the proliferation-related gene PCNA (p > 0.05). Meanwhile, BMP6 had no significant effect on the cycle phase distribution of GCs but increased the mRNA expression of CDK4 (p < 0.05) and CCND1 (p < 0.01) and decreased the mRNA expression of CCNE1 (p < 0.01). Moreover, BMP6 had no significant effect on the apoptosis rate of GCs and did not affect the mRNA expression levels of apoptosis-related genes BAX, BCL2, and Caspase3 (p > 0.05). Importantly, BMP6 upregulated the secretion of 17 beta-estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) in ovarian GCs (p < 0.01). Further studies found that BMP6 inhibited the mRNA expression of 3β-HSD and steroid synthesis acute regulator (StAR) but significantly promoted the mRNA expression of the E2 synthesis rate-limiting enzyme CYP19A1 and the P4 synthesis rate-limiting enzyme CYP11A1 (p < 0.01). Taken together, these results showed that the exogenous addition of BMP6 did not affect the proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis of goat ovarian GCs but promoted the secretion of E2 and progesterone P4 in ovarian GCs by upregulating the mRNA expressions of CYP19A1 and CYP11A1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal droop, i.e., the loss of emission efficiency over a certain temperature range, is an important performance bottleneck for the successful commercial application of deep-ultraviolet light emitting diodes. In this study, we examined the mechanism of two thermal droop processes of 255 nm AlGaN quantum well light emitting diodes under temperature stresses in order to obtain steady optical output in a broad temperature range. We discovered that the increase in leakage current in the low forward bias region is accompanied by a decrease in apparent carrier concentration of quantum wells near the p side during the thermal droop process at high temperature (>300 K), indicating that the activation of thermal defects enhances the trap assisted tunneling effect and causes the optical power to decrease more significantly at low current. Compared with normal temperature, the low emission power at low temperatures is attributed to the minority trap H1, which has an activation energy of 0.527 eV at 190 K, according to deep level transient spectrum analysis. At low temperatures above 175 K, the optical power increases as the temperature rises due to enhanced hole injection. By analyzing the droop characteristics, we concluded that the activation of thermal defects is the most probable cause of high temperature thermal droop in 255 nm AlGaN quantum well light emitting diodes, whereas hole trap H1, which is linked to gallium vacancy complexes related defects, is most likely the source of low temperature thermal droop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of riociguat after single and multiple oral doses of 1 or 2 mg three times daily (tid), and to determine the effect of smoking on riociguat pharmacokinetics in Chinese men.Methods: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-center study stratified for smokers and non-smokers, healthy Chinese men aged 18-45 years received two riociguat doses: Dose Step 1 (1 mg) then Dose Step 2 (2 mg) conducted after the safety and tolerability at Dose Step 1 was confirmed. For each step, 12 subjects received riociguat and six received placebo. A single dose was given on Day 1, followed by a 48-h pharmacokinetic profile. Multiple-dose treatment tid was then given for 6 days (Days 3-8), with a last single dose on Day 9, followed by a 72-h pharmacokinetic profile. Primary outcomes were pharmacokinetic parameters for riociguat after single and multiple dosing.Results: Thirty-six subjects (18 smokers; 18 non-smokers) were randomized and provided valid pharmacokinetic data. Riociguat and its pharmacologically active metabolite M1 (BAY 60-4552) showed nearly dose-proportional pharmacokinetics. Accumulation was minimal in smokers and approximately two-fold in non-smokers. Exposure for riociguat was decreased by ≥60% in smokers. No serious or significant adverse events occurred during the study.Conclusions: Riociguat pharmacokinetics showed dose proportionality in healthy Chinese men, as previously demonstrated in healthy white male individuals. Exposure to riociguat was substantially decreased in smokers compared with non-smokers. Riociguat was well tolerated in Chinese men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of gene promoter methylation plays increasing roles in personalized medicine. In this study, an improved gene promoter methylation assay based on fluorescence polarization in 5'-nuclease reaction was developed. The novel assay offered a homogeneous annealing and cleavage reaction fully integrated with PCR which used a probe labeled with fluorescence without quencher to obtain the decreased fluorescence polarization values. In this platform, gene promoter methylated and unmethylated alleles were detected simultaneously in a tube. O 6 -methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase gene promoter methylation in 103 glioma tissue samples and epidermal growth factor receptor gene promoter methylation in 116 primary non-small-cell lung carcinoma tissue samples were detected by the novel assay and sequencing, absolute quantitative analysis of methylated allele in parallel. The accuracy of the results measured by the improved fluorescence polarization assay was evaluated using the paired-samples t test. No significant difference was found ( P > 0.05). Therefore, the improved fluorescence polarization assay in 5'-nuclease reaction demonstrated a homogeneous, reliable and cost-effective method for gene promoter methylation analysis in clinic. That would provide a scientific basis for applying a reasonable therapeutic regimen in future treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]