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To evaluate the placement feasibility and safety of the newly designed retropharyngeal reduction plate by cadaveric test and to perform morphometric trajectory analysis.The five cadaveric specimens with intact atlantoaxial joint were enrolled in this study. They were used for simulating the placement process and evaluating the placement feasibility of the retropharyngeal reduction plate. The atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD) of five cadaveric specimens were obtained by proper external force after dissecting ligaments. The retropharyngeal reduction plate was placed on atlantoaxial joint of cadaveric specimens. The X-ray and three-dimensional (3D) spiral CT were used for evaluating the placement safety of retropharyngeal reduction plate. The DICOM data was obtained after 3D spiral CT scanning for the morphometric trajectory analysis.The reduction plates were successfully placed on the atlantoaxial joint of five cadaveric specimens through the retropharyngeal approach, respectively. The X-ray and 3D spiral CT showed the accurate screw implantation and satisfying plate placement. The length of the left/right atlas screw trajectory (L/RAT) was, respectively, 1.73 ± 0.01 cm (LAT) and 1.71 ± 0.02 cm (RAT). The length of odontoid screw trajectory (OST) was 1.38 ± 0.02 cm. The length of the left/right axis screw trajectory (L/RAXT) was, respectively, 1.67 ± 0.02 cm (LAXT) and 1.67 ± 0.01 cm (RAXT). There was no statistical significance between left side and right side in terms of AT and AXT (P 0.05). The angles of atlas screw trajectory angle (ASTA), axis screw trajectory angle (AXSTA), and odontoid screw trajectory angle (OSTA) were 38.04° ± 2.03°, 56.92° ± 2.66°, and 34.78° ± 2.87°, respectively.The cadaveric test showed that the retropharyngeal reduction plate is feasible to place on the atlantoaxial joint, which is also a safe treatment choice for atlantoaxial dislocation. The meticulous preoperative planning of screw trajectory based on individual differences was also vital to using this technique.

Results of the associations between weight change after breast cancer diagnosis and prognosis were inconsistent. The modification effects of menopausal status and endocrine therapy on the associations remain poorly understood.A total of 2016 breast cancer patients were recruited between October 2008 and January 2018 and followed up until December 31, 2019 in Guangzhou. Multivariate Cox models were used to estimate the hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) for progression-free survival (PFS) in association with weight change after diagnosis.Weight loss at 2 years (HR = 1.34, 95% CI 0.87-2.06) or more than 2 years (HR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.22-3.10) after diagnosis increased risk of breast cancer progression. The adverse effect of weight loss was significantly more pronounced in post-menopausal than pre-menopausal women, particularly for weight loss at 2 years after diagnosis, with the HRs and 95% CIs of 2.41 (1.25-4.63) and 0.90 (0.49-1.64), respectively. Weight gain tended to reduce the risk of disease progression among patients with endocrine therapy but not for those with non-endocrine therapy; the significant interaction between weight gain at 2 years after diagnosis and endocrine therapy was observed (POur finding suggested that weight loss was detrimental to breast cancer prognosis, particularly for post-menopausal women, while weight gain may be a potential beneficial indicator for the patients with endocrine therapy but not for those with non-endocrine therapy.

In this study, Cu2Se1-xSx (x = 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5) alloy powders were prepared by the hydrothermal synthesis method. In the subsequent sintering process, the spontaneous in situ phase separation process of the sample forms a two-phase hybrid structure. The generated Cu2S precipitates in the Cu2Se matrix noticeably enhance phonon scattering, which is beneficial for low thermal conductivity without significantly affecting the electrical transport performance. Ultimately, an optimized thermoelectric performance was obtained in Cu2Se0.9S0.1, reaching a peak zT value of 1.43 at 773 K, the optimum value among the Cu-Se-S systems at this temperature.

The antagonistic effect of selenium (Se) against cadmium (Cd)-induced breast carcinogenesis was reported, but underlying mechanisms were unclear. The aim of this study was to identify the epigenetically regulated genes and biological pathways mediating the antagonistic effect. We exposed MCF-7 cells to Cd and Se alone or simultaneously. Cell proliferation was assessed by MTT assay, and differential epigenome (DNA methylation, microRNA, and long non-coding RNA) was obtained by microarrays. We cross-verified the epigenetic markers with differential transcriptome, and the ones modulated by Cd and Se in opposite directions were regarded to mediate the antagonistic effect. The epigenetically regulated genes were validated by using gene expression data in human breast tissues. We further assessed the biological functions of these validated genes. Our results showed that Se alleviated the proliferative effect of Cd on MCF-7 cell. A total of 10 epigenetically regulated genes were regarded to mediate the antagonistic effect, including APBA2, KIAA0895, DHX35, CPEB3, SVIL, MYLK, ZFYVE28, ABLIM2, GRB10, and PCDH9. Biological function analyses suggested that these epigenetically regulated genes were involved in multiple cancer-related pathways, such as focal adhesion and PI3K/Akt pathway. In conclusion, we provided evidence that Se antagonized the Cd-induced breast carcinogenesis via epigenetic modification and revealed the critical pathways.

The Arctic fungus Eutypella sp. D-1, previously found to produce a variety of cytotoxic cyclopropyl-fused and cyclobutyl-fused pimarane diterpenoids when grown in the defined medium, was induced to produce unusual metabolites by growing on solid rice medium. A chemical investigation on the rice medium extract led to the isolation of four new meroterpenoids, eutypellacytosporins A-D (1-4), along with the known biogenetically related compound cytosporin D (5). The structures of the new compounds were elucidated by their detailed spectroscopic analysis and modified Mosher's method. Compounds 1-4 may be formed by the 12,32-ester linkage of two moieties, cytosporin D (5) and decipienolide A or B. All isolated compounds, except 5, showed weak cytotoxicity against DU145, SW1990, Huh7, and PANC-1 cell lines with IC50 values ranging from 4.9 to 17.1 μM.

This paper focuses on the thermoelectric properties of natural chalcopyrite and provides methods for optimizing its thermoelectric properties. Natural chalcopyrite shows obvious anisotropic thermoelectric properties. Although the thermoelectric properties of natural chalcopyrite are low, they are found to be significantly enhanced by vacuum annealing. Natural chalcopyrite was proven to be feasible and potential thermoelectric materials.

From November 16 to 28 2018, water-soluble ions in particulate matter and some trace gases in Nanjing City were observed using the online gas composition and aerosol monitoring system MARGA ADI 2080. Combined with meteorological elements and sounding data, the distribution characteristics and day-night differences of pollutants and water-soluble ions during haze, fog, clear, and precipitation processes were analyzed. The results show that the average concentration of PM

A Bi2Te3/Bi2S3@Bi nanocomposite with a network microstructure was successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal method and spark plasma sintering. This composite was constructed from Bi2Te3 nanoparticles and Bi2S3@Bi nanowires, and its network structure is beneficial for obtaining excellent thermoelectric performance. A ZT peak of 1.2 at 450 K was realized for the nanocomposite sample.

Both p- and n-type SnSe single crystals have been reported to possess high thermoelectric performances, thus highlighting the possibility for commercialization. Polycrystalline SnSe that has better mechanical properties however possesses inferior thermoelectric properties compared to single crystal SnSe. In this work, n-type polycrystalline SnSe0.95 + x wt% PbBr2 (x = 0, 0.5, 1, and 1.5) samples were synthesized by combining mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering technology. The effects of PbBr2 doping on thermoelectric performance of SnSe were studied in detail. The results show that the carrier concentration was dramatically increased from 2.51 × 1017 cm−3 in pure SnSe0.95 to 1.79 × 1019 cm−3 in SnSe0.95 + 1.5 wt% PbBr2, further resulting in an enhanced electrical conductivity. Multi-nanoprecipitates are present in the samples, including SnO, SnPb and SnBrxOy, which possibly affect the Seebeck coefficient and the lattice thermal conductivity. A peak ZT value of 1.1 was obtained at 773 K for the SnSe0.95 + 1.0 wt% PbBr2 sample. This work highlights that PbBr2 is an effective dopant to improve the TE performance of n-type polycrystalline SnSe.

Endothelial dysfunction is critically involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and that exogenously administered microRNA may be of therapeutic benefit. Lower levels of miR‐483 were found in serum from patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), particularly those with more severe disease. RNA‐seq and bioinformatics analyses showed that miR‐483 targets several PAH‐related genes, including transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β), TGF‐β receptor 2 (TGFBR2), β‐catenin, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), and endothelin‐1 (ET‐1). Overexpression of miR‐483 in ECs inhibited inflammatory and fibrogenic responses, revealed by the decreased expression of TGF‐β, TGFBR2, β‐catenin, CTGF, IL‐1β, and ET‐1. In contrast, inhibition of miR‐483 increased these genes in ECs. Rats with EC‐specific miR‐483 overexpression exhibited ameliorated pulmonary hypertension (PH) and reduced right ventricular hypertrophy on challenge with monocrotaline (MCT) or Sugen + hypoxia. A reversal effect was observed in rats that received MCT with inhaled lentivirus overexpressing miR‐483. These results indicate that PAH is associated with a reduced level of miR‐483 and that miR‐483 might reduce experimental PH by inhibition of multiple adverse responses., This study reveals a protective role for miR‐483 in the development of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Overexpression of miR‐483 in endothelial cells (ECs) inhibits inflammatory and fibrogenic responses and leads to ameliorated pulmonary hypertension phenotypes in rats.

Extreme variation in lifetime cancer risk among tissues has been a riddle of cancer etiology. Considering that cancer risks were found to be contributed heavily by environmental factors, levels of environmental carcinogens, such as metal/metalloid in tissues, may be an explanation of the variation. We analyzed the correlations between metal/metalloid concentrations in different tissues and the lifetime cumulative cancer risks of the corresponding tissues using the data of National Health Standards and National Central Cancer Registry of China. Cadmium (Cd) and rubidium (Rb) were found to be correlated with the lifetime cancer risks in a positive linear relationship while a U-shaped relationship was observed for cesium (Cs) and tin (Sn). A positive linear trend between the mixture of metals/metalloids and lifetime cancer risks was observed and cadmium (Cd) may be the main driving element. Our results indicated that Cd-based metal/metalloid levels may be an explanation for the variation in lifetime cancer risk among tissues. Furthermore, the analytical strategy may in turn help identify environmental factors involved in cancer etiology.

The improvement of assembly line is a crucial issue for the mass production in factory, which can effectively increase the balancing rate of production line and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) for product. Therefore, the improvement of assembly line plays an important role in the management and cost control of factories. In this paper, the process analysis method is adopted to analysis the assembly line to find the bottleneck process firstly. Furthermore, the content of the bottleneck process and the stations’ equipment are optimized to satisfy the requirements of Takt. Meanwhile, the occasional factors which cause to reduce the OEE are founded and corresponding work standards are established to eliminate these influences. The F factory example can verify that improvement of assembly line can effectively increase the OEE and reduce the operate time of bottleneck process. Finally, the improvement achieves the line balance in F factory.

The size of cyclic pressure is an important factor restricting the length of borehole. The cyclic pressure is affected by many factors such as drilling fluid density, lubricity and displacement. In order to reduce the cycle pressure, it should maintain lower density, good lubricity and minimize displacement. In this paper, the research on drilling fluid was carried out. Formate solution with strong inhibition was selected as base slurry to reduce density and solid additive. The super lubricant was used to change the solid-solid friction during the drilling process to the oil-oil friction and reduce the friction coefficient; The intermolecular force of the polymer drag reducer was used to decrease the energy consumption of turbulence; Ultimately the low pressure loss drilling fluid system was formed, and a fluid circulation pressure measuring device was developed to measure the circulating pressure loss of the drilling fluid system. The measurement results showed that the low pressure loss drilling fluid had good low friction performance. The pressure loss was 10.52% smaller than the polymer drilling fluid and 15% smaller than the potassium drilling fluid.

Cu1.8S (digenite), a copper sulfide with natural Cu deficiencies, possesses excellent conductivity, low-cost, as well as environmentally friendly features. It has thus recently attracted heightened attention. However, the thermoelectric performance of pristine Cu1.8S is poor, and the related mechanical properties have not been deeply investigated, which hinders this material from becoming a candidate for commercial applications. This work proposes an effective approach to synergistically improve the comprehensive performance of polycrystalline Cu1.8S-based bulk materials for use in practical applications. Cu1.8S-xRu (x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.02) bulk composites were successfully fabricated by combining mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering technology. Benefiting from the overall optimized power factor and thermal conductivity by the regulated carrier concentration and enhanced phonon scattering effect from the incorporation of multiscale lattice defects, a peak figure of merit of 1.0 at 773 K was achieved in the Cu1.8S-1% Ru bulk specimen. In addition, the introduction of ruthenium could enhance the thermal stability of Cu1.8S materials by suppress the Cu ions motion. A conversion efficiency of 1.0% at a temperature difference of 480 K was obtained for the single-leg TE module. Finally, the excellent average Vickers hardness of 1.22 GPa for the Cu1.8S-1%Ru bulk composite was higher than that of other state-of-art TE materials. Compositing with ruthenium might be an approach worth promoting to synergistically improve the thermoelectric and mechanical performance of other materials.

Biorefinery of Ramulus mori with lower energy consumption through improved enzyme and pretreatment strategies was reported. Directed evolution and saturation mutagenesis were used for the modification of xylanase, the yield of fermentable sugars and the degree of synergy (DS) were determined for different pretreatment (seawater/non-seawater) and enzyme treatment groups (xylanase/cellulase/co-treatment). The dominant mutant I133A/Q143Y of Bispora sp. xylanase XYL10C_ΔN was obtained with improved specific activity (1860 U/mg), catalytic efficiency (1150 mL/s∙mg) at 40 °C, and thermostability (T50 increased by 7 °C). With the pretreatment of seawater immersion, the highest yield of fermentable sugars for Ramulus mori at 40 °C reached 199 μmol/g when hydrolyzed with cellulase and I133A/Q143Y, with the highest DS of 2.6; this was 4.5-fold that of the group hydrolyzed by cellulase alone with non-seawater pretreatment. Thus, bioconversion of reducing sugar from Ramulus mori was improved significantly at lower temperatures, which provides an efficient and energy-saving way for biofuel production.

Digenite received extensive attention in recent years owing to the good electrical and thermal stability as well as the characteristics of the environmental benignity and low cost. The major task of Cu1.8S material is to further optimize the thermoelectric performance by means of the Seebeck coefficient improvement and thermal conductivity reduction. In this study, the Cu1.8S based bulk material with the extraordinary high thermoelectric performance was obtained through alloying with AgCl, in which the Seebeck coefficient has been improved by carefully regulating the excessive hole carrier concentration. Besides, the FESEM, EDS and XPS results reveal that multiple phonon scattering centers have been introduced, and the liquid-like Ag+/Cu+ ions result in the chemical lattice softening and thus the weakened sound velocity. These advantageous factors cause the drastically decreased thermal conductivity as well as the remarkably optimized thermoelectric properties in Cu1.8S specimen with 1 wt% AgCl, achieving a record zT value of 1.5 at 773 K, among the currently optimum performance in Cu1.8S system materials.

Digenite (Cu1.8S) has attracted extensive attention as candidate for use in thermoelectric applications due to its low-cost, low-toxicity characteristics, but the thermoelectric (TE) property is still not good. In this work, PbS was used for improving TE properties of polycrystalline Cu1.8S bulk. Cu1.8S+ x wt% PbS (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 3) bulk samples were fabricated via mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) techniques. The effects of adding PbS on the TE performance of Cu1.8S were investigated in detail at the temperature between 323 K and 773 K. According to the results, introducing PbS is an efficient approach for optimizing the TE properties of Cu1.8S, which is mainly due to the maintained electrical transport properties by the regulated hole carrier concentration and the modified band structure, as well as the reduced the thermal conductivity by the generated point defect and additional interfaces. An optimum thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) value of 1.1 was obtained at 773 K for the Cu1.8S sample with 2 wt% PbS, which is 2.2 times higher than that of the pristine Cu1.8S (0.49 at 773 K).

Background Cyclophilin A is identified as a biomarker for inflammation. We elucidated prognostic significance of serum cyclophilin A (CypA) concentrations in acute pancreatitis (AP). Methods In this prospective and observational study, serum CypA concentrations were quantified in 210 AP patients and 100 healthy controls. We recorded local complication, in-hospital mortality and organ failure. Disease severity was assessed using the traditional predictors, namely Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Care Evaluation II score, Ranson score, multiple organ dysfunction score and sequential organ failure assessment score. Results Serum CypA concentrations were significantly lower in controls than in AP group. CypA concentrations after AP were highly correlated with the traditional predictors and other inflammatory mediators, including blood erythrocyte sedimentation rate, procalcitonin levels, white blood cell count and C-reactive protein levels. Serum CypA emerged as an independent predictor for in-hospital local complication, organ failure and mortality. Under receiver operating characteristic curve, serum CypA possessed similar prognostic ability, as compared to the traditional predictors. Its predictive ability was almost similar to that of procalcitonin levels and significantly exceeded those of the other inflammatory mediators. Also, it significantly improved prognostic performance of the traditional predictors. Conclusions Increased serum CypA concentrations have close relation to the severity, inflammation and prognosis, substantializing CypA as a potential prognostic biomarker of AP.

The veined rapa whelk (Rapana venosa) is an economically important gastropod in China, but is considered as an invasive species globally. Only a few studies have examined the R. venosa genome, a genomewide survey is necessary for improving our understanding of the genome structure and size of this organism. Microsatellite markers are powerful tools for characterizing germplasms, genetic diversity and kinship among individuals. The resultant data are applicable to breeding efforts in commercial aquaculture or for understanding invasion mechanisms. Here, we investigated the genome structure of R. venosa on an Illumina Hi-seq platform with ∼92× sequencing depth. We performed a K-mer analysis to estimate genome size, repeat sequences and heterozygosity. Clean reads were de novo assembled for the identification of simple-sequence repeat (SSR) loci that are suitable as markers. The estimated genome size of R. venosa was 2200.07 Mb, with a 1.41% heterozygosity rate and 67.04% repeats. We detected 5,477,450 simple-sequence repeats (SSRs), with 3,400,602 loci present as pure tandem repeats and 2,076,848 as compound motifs. We further selected and characterized 28 polymorphic markers in 78 individuals from Dandong, Laizhou, Weihai and Zhoushan in China. The range of alleles was 2-28 and the observed heterozygosity was 0.2857-0.8676. The data obtained from our genomic survey will aid the design of R. venosa whole-genome sequencing projects and advance the identification of SSR markers. Both these developments are valuable for further studies on ecological, evolutionary and genetic breeding in R. venosa.

Fly ash-based geopolymer (FAG) possesses extremely low electroconductivity (0.00086 S/m). A new study indicates that graphene could be used as an electron acceptor to improve electroconductivity of geopolymer. In this paper, an electroconductive graphene (GR)/fly ash-based geopolymer (GR/FAG) composite was synthesized by assembly of graphene into the matrix of alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymer for first time. The results showed that the electroconductivity increased by 348.8 times when adding 1 wt% GR in FAG. The electrochemical impedance of 1.0GR/FAG was much smaller than that of the pure FAG. The N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms indicated that the graphene could effectively improve the microstructure and pore parameters of FAG. The SEM and EDS results displayed the flake graphene was covered by amorphous fly ash-based geopolymer gels. The XPS results demonstrated that the C C/C C binding energy was predominant surface state. The results of UV–Vis-DRS and PL spectra revealed that the absorption onsets of GR/FAG composites were red-shifted and the photoluminescence intensities progressively decreased with increasing graphene content. The photocatalytic degradation of indigo carmine dye was positive correlation with the electroconductivity of GR/FAG composite, and underwent a degradation mechanism of hydroxyl radical.

The decrease in lattice thermal conductivity is one of the most effective methods for enhancing thermoelectric properties. Achieving lattice thermal conductivity close to the theoretical limit is extremely difficult while maintaining an impressive power factor. By introducing ultrafine bismuth sulfide nanograins, strong phonon scattering was generated by associated multiscale lattice defects to further gain a low lattice thermal conductivity of 0.244 W/m/K approaching Clarke's limitation of 0.242 W/m/K. Simultaneously, the electrical conductivity was increased by S diffusion and suppression of the antisite defects, and a high power factor was maintained to produce an improved ZT peak of 1.2 at 473 K for the Bi2Te2.7Se0.3 + 1 wt% Bi2S3 #2 sample. This sample was used to fabricate a small device with a p-leg, and the direct conversion efficiency reached 4.39%. Inverse changes in hardness and Young's modulus in conjunction with Bi2S3 content are first reported in thermoelectric materials, which has potential assistance in synchronously improving their mechanical and thermoelectric properties.

Ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (RAC1) is a member of the Rho family of small GTPases. Recent studies have reported that RAC1 serves an important role in colon cancer cell proliferation. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of RAC1 knockdown on cell proliferation, cell cycle progression and apoptosis of colon cancer cells. Lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was used to knockdown RAC1 expression in colon cancer cell lines, and cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle progression were evaluated by MTT assays and flow cytometry. The differences in mRNAs expression were identified between RAC1-knockdown cells and control cells using a mRNA microarray, following which quantitative PCR (qPCR) and western blot were employed to confirm the results of the mRNA microarray. The proliferative ability of colon cancer cells was significantly decreased following RAC1 knockdown, and RAC1 knockdown increased the apoptotic rate and enhanced cell cycle arrest at G1 phase in colon cancer cells. In addition, >1,200 known genes were demonstrated to be involved in RAC1-associated tumorigenic functions in SW620 colon cancer cells, as determined by gene chip analysis; these genes were associated with cell proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis and metastasis. Furthermore, western blot analysis indicated that cyclin D1 was downregulated, whereas B-cell lymphoma 2-associated agonist of cell death (BAD) was upregulated following RAC1 knockdown in colon cancer cells. In conclusion, RAC1 silencing may suppress the proliferation of colon cancer cells by inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In addition, a large number of genes were revealed to be involved in the process, including BAD, which was upregulated and cyclin D1, which was downregulated. Further studies on these differentially expressed genes may provide a better understanding of the potential roles of RAC1 in colon carcinogenesis.

Digenite (Cu1.8S) as a low-cost, low-toxicity thermoelectric material attracts more and more attention due to its excellent electrical transport. In this paper, the Bi2S3 and Bi2S3@Bi core-shell were introduced to Cu1.8S bulk prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique. The core-shell structural nanorods were synthesized by a hydrothermal method using Bi2S3 nanorods as the template. The effects of adding Bi2S3 on the thermoelectric properties of Cu1.8S were investigated in detail at the temperature between 323 K and 723 K. The power factor of Cu1.8S was enhanced by introducing Bi2S3@Bi core-shell nanorods due to improved Seebeck coefficient. A maximum thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) value of 0.77 was attained at 723 K due to optimized thermal transport properties and to the maintained electrical transport properties, which is 2.4 times higher than that of the pristine Cu1.8S (0.32 at 723 K).

The disappearance of reactor $$\bar{\nu }_e$$ ν ¯ e observed by the Daya Bay experiment is examined in the framework of a model in which the neutrino is described by a wave packet with a relative intrinsic momentum dispersion $$\sigma _\mathrm{{rel}}$$ σ rel . Three pairs of nuclear reactors and eight antineutrino detectors, each with good energy resolution, distributed among three experimental halls, supply a high-statistics sample of $$\bar{\nu }_e$$ ν ¯ e acquired at nine different baselines. This provides a unique platform to test the effects which arise from the wave packet treatment of neutrino oscillation. The modified survival probability formula was used to fit Daya Bay data, providing the first experimental limits: $$2.38 \times 10^{-17}< \sigma _\mathrm{{rel}} < 0.23$$ 2.38 × 10 - 17 < σ rel < 0.23 . Treating the dimensions of the reactor cores and detectors as constraints, the limits are improved: $$10^{-14} \lesssim \sigma _\text {rel} < 0.23$$ 10 - 14 ≲ σ rel < 0.23 , and an upper limit of $$\sigma _\text {rel}

Tungsten (W) coating was prepared on SiC coated C/C composites by supersonic atmosphere plasma spraying (SAPS), aiming to improve their anti-ablation property. Under oxyacetylene torch, W coating could protect substrate above 60 s under heat flux of 2400 kW/m 2 . However, oxidization destroyed the intergranular and interlayer bonding of as-sprayed W coating during ablation. As a result, when heat flux of oxyacetylene torch raised to 4200 kW/m 2 , huge thermal and mechanical shock made W coating delaminate severely, which lead to the failure of W coating after ablated for only 30 s. During plasma ablation, argon gas offered an inert environments, which restrained oxidization of W coating. Thus, even if the temperature and mechanical erosion of plasma torch were much higher than oxyacetylene torch, W coating can successfully protect substrates above 40 s, exhibiting excellent ablation performance.

The biotransformation of total coumarins of Radix Glehniae by Lecanicillium attenuatum W-1-9 yielded three new products, lecaniside A (1), lecaniside B (2), and lecaniside C (3). The chemical structures of these metabolites were elucidated based on extensive spectral data, including 2D NMR and HRMS. The hydrogenation, dealkylation, glycosylation, and O-methylation reactions of these metabolites were observed in the present study. In the in vitro assays, compound 1 displayed a little PTP1B inhibitory activity.

Developmental dyslexia is a complex reading and writing disorder with strong genetic components. In previous genetic studies about dyslexia, a number of candidate genes have been identified. These include DCDC2, which has repeatedly been associated with developmental dyslexia in various European and American populations. However, data regarding this relationship are varied according to population. The Uyghur people of China represent a Eurasian population with an interesting genetic profile. Thus, this group may provide useful information about the association between DCDC2 gene polymorphisms and dyslexia. In the current study, we examined genetic data from 392 Uyghur children aged 8-12 years old from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. Participants included 196 children with dyslexia and 196 grade-, age-, and gender-matched controls. DNA was isolated from oral mucosal cell samples and fourteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs6456593, rs1419228, rs34647318, rs9467075, rs793862, rs9295619, rs807701, rs807724, rs2274305, rs7765678, rs4599626, rs6922023, rs3765502, and rs1087266) in DCDC2 were screened via the SNPscan method. We compared SNP frequencies in five models (Codominant, Dominant, Recessive, Heterozygote advantage, and Allele) between the two groups by means of the chi-squared test. A single-locus analysis indicated that, with regard to the allele frequency of these polymorphisms, three SNPs (rs807724, rs2274305, and rs4599626) were associated with dyslexia. rs9467075 and rs2274305 displayed significant associations with developmental dyslexia under the dominant model. rs6456593 and rs6922023 were significantly associated with developmental dyslexia under the dominant model and in the heterozygous genotype. Additionally, we discovered that the T-G-C-T of the four-marker haplotype (rs9295619-rs807701-rs807724-rs2274305) and the T-A of the two-marker haplotype (rs3765502-1087266) were significantly different between cases and controls. Thus, we conclude that DCDC2 gene polymorphisms are associated with developmental dyslexia in Chinese Uyghur children.

The Arctic fungus

Becker's Nevus (BN) is a benign hamartoma with an esthetically troublesome condition secondary to hyperpigmentation and hypertrichosis. Many treatment modalities have been utilized with variable outcomes.To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intense pulsed light (IPL) in the treatment of BN.IPL was used at filter of 590 nm, fluence of 18-22 J/cmTwenty-four patients (9 females, 15 males) with BN (16 hypertrichotic, 8 atrichotic) completed the study. The mean number of treatment sessions was 5 ± 2.17. The improvement in atrichotic BN group (4.87 ± 0.35) was significantly greater than that observed in hypertrichotic BN group (3.63 ± 0.89) (IPL is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with hypertrichotic and atrichotic BN.

Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an acquired thrombophilia with an uncertain role in the development of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). We aimed to assess the association of APS with the clinical phenotype of CTEPH. We retrospectively reviewed data of CTEPH patients referred to our center. Clinical, angiographic, and hemodynamic data were available for all patients. APS was diagnosed in the presence of one or more positive antiphospholipid (aPL) tests confirmed more than 12 weeks apart. Data were compared between APS-positive and APS-negative patients. From May 2013 to December 2018, 297 patients with CTEPH were enrolled. Twenty-three (7.7%) were positive for laboratory tests exploring aPL antibodies. Among them, 17 patients (74%) had a triple positive aPL profile. When compared with the APS-negative group, APS patients were significantly younger (30.0 ± 11.1 vs. 55.6 ± 12.9 years, p

How thrombophilia may contribute to the development of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is unknown. We searched on PubMed and EMBASE (until 15 April 2018), studies on CTEPH reporting data on inherited or acquired thrombophilia. Starting from 367 articles mentioning the search terms, 347 were excluded mainly as duplicate articles or articles not in English. After reading the full text of remaining articles, ten were excluded for being reviews, editorials, letters or case reports, and two were further removed from the analysis because of the potential selection bias. All the eight considered studies provided the proportion of patients positive for antiphospholipid (aPL) antibodies. The crude rate of aPL in CTPEH patients is 11.8% (95% CI 10.09–13.8%). The meta-analysis considering the weighted mean proportion and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) yields a rate of aPL antibody-positive profile of 12.06% (95% CI 8.12–16.65%) among the patients with CTEPH in the random effects model (I2 76.33%; 95% CI 52.75–88.14%, p = 0.0001). The sensibility analysis confirms the result. No predictors of heterogeneity are found in a meta-regression analysis. Our results suggest that aPL antibodies are frequently associated with CTEPH underlining the need to test for aPL antibodies in young patients with “idiopathic” and “provoked” PE caused by mild provoking risk factors.

The Lagrangian coherent structure (LCS) method is introduced to the convection heat transfer problem, and the forced convection heat transfer around a circular cylinder in laminar flow regime is analyzed from the Lagrangian viewpoint. First, the mechanics model of forced convection heat transfer around a circular cylinder is introduced along with the mathematical formulations. Subsequently, an implicit flow solver based on the characteristic-based split finite element method and the dual-stepping method is proposed to solve the flow and heat transfer equations, and the computation of LCS employing the finite-time Lyapunov exponent is discussed in detail. The accuracy and stability of the flow solver are examined carefully utilizing the data reported in the literature, and the grid-independence test is conducted. Finally, the mass and energy transport features around the circular cylinder at Pr (Prandtl number) = 0.7 and Re (Reynolds number) = 20–180 are investigated by relating the instantaneous thermal and vorticity patterns, lift coefficient, drag coefficient, and Nusselt number to the LCSs in the flow field. The results obtained may improve the existing understanding of forced convection heat transfer around a circular cylinder and pave the road for the application of LCSs in convection heat transfer problems.

Recently, researchers have been exploring the optimization of the thermoelectric properties of composite materials. Composite technology with many successful cases of enhancement in thermoelectric properties have been confirming effectively to optimize thermoelectric materials. In this study, Ru nano-micro composite particles were successfully introduced in commercial bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) as second phase to simultaneously optimize the thermoelectric and mechanical properties. In a Bi2Te3 sample containing 1 wt% Ru (+1 wt% Ru), the ZT peak was measured to be 0.93 (at 150 °C) and the maximum Vickers hardness was measured to be 2.38 GPa. These values exceeded the values of a pure sample by 45.3% and 36%, respectively. The average ZT of the +1 wt% Ru sample at 50–200 °C was 0.86, which is comparable with the Bi2Te3-xSex system. By varying the Ru content, the components, microstructure, thermoelectric and mechanical properties of Bi2Te3 were manipulated and their interdependence demonstrated. The extent to which the thermoelectric and mechanical properties of Bi2Te3 can be optimized, via Ru compositing and nano-Bi2Te3 producing, is related by the complex nano-micro composite structure. The superior thermoelectric properties of composite materials hold great the commercial value and may reduce the input of raw materials.

Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), the process by which an endothelial cell undergoes a series of molecular events that result in a mesenchymal cell phenotype, plays an important role in atherosclerosis. 1-Palmitoyl-2-(5-oxovaleroyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POVPC), derived from the oxidation of 1-Palmitoyl-2- arachidonoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine, is a pro-inflammatory lipid found in atherosclerotic lesions. Whether POVPC promotes EndMT, and how simvastatin influences POVPC-mediated EndMT remains unclear. Here, we treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells with POVPC, simvastatin, or both, and determined their effect on endothelial cell viability, morphology, tube formation, proliferation, and generation of nitric oxide (NO) and superoxide anion (O2●-). Expression of specific endothelial and mesenchymal markers was detected by immunofluorescence and immunoblotting. POVPC did not affect endothelial cell viability, but altered cellular morphology from cobblestone-like endothelial cells to a spindle-like mesenchymal cell morphology. POVPC increased O2- generation and expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, Snail-1, Twist-1, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), TGF-β receptor II, p-Smad2/3, and Smad2/3. POVPC also decreased NO production, and expression of CD31 and endothelial nitric oxide synthase. Simvastatin inhibited POVPC-mediated effects on cellular morphology, production of O2●- and NO, and expression of specific endothelial and mesenchymal markers. These data demonstrate that POVPC induces EndMT by increasing oxidative stress, which stimulates TGF-β/Smad signaling, leading to Snail-1 and Twist-1 activation. Simvastatin inhibited POVPC-induced EndMT by decreasing oxidative stress, suppressing TGF-β/Smad signaling, and inactivating Snail-1 and Twist-1. Our findings reveal a novel mechanism of atherosclerosis that can be inhibited by simvastatin.

Digenite (Cu1.8S) is a subject of increasing interest as a potential p-type thermoelectric material because of its element abundance, low cost and environmental friendliness. However, its thermoelectric properties are limited by high thermal conductivity. In this work, the Cu1.8S with x wt% Bi2Te3 (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 3, 5) samples were prepared by combining mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology. The results reveal that Bi2Te3 addition can effectively optimize the thermoelectric properties of Cu1.8S materials by tuning the carrier concentration and introducing nanoprecipitates. As a result, the optimal Cu1.8S +1 wt% Bi2Te3 sample presents an excellent performance, with relatively high ZT value of 1.1 (at 773 K), which is approximately 2.4 times that of pure Cu1.8S.

Dissipative particle dynamics with energy conservation (eDPD) is developed to simulate fluid-solid conjugate heat transfer in a microchannel. A temperature reset region placed ahead of a parallel-plate microchannel and a periodic boundary condition with a body force applied in the streamwise direction are used to generate the hydrodynamically developed, thermally developing flow. To insure the temperature and heat flux continuities at the fluid-solid interface, heat transfer in the fluid zone and solid zone is solved entirely, and an equivalent mesoscopic heat friction coefficient is proposed in the eDPD simulation. The results by eDPD method with the new numerical schemes agree well with those by the finite volume method (FVM) for the predictions of heat transfer in a thick-wall microchannel.