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Accurate diagnosis of complete inactivation of tuberculosis lesions is still a challenge with respect to sputum-negative tuberculosis. RNA-sequencing was conducted to uncover potential lncRNA indicators of metabolic activity in tuberculosis lesions. Lung tissues with high metabolic activity and low metabolic activity demonstrated by fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography were collected from five sputum-negative tuberculosis patients for RNA-sequencing. Differentially-expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs were identified. Their correlations were evaluated to construct lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network, in which lncRNAs and mRNAs with high degrees were confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR using samples collected from 11 patients. Prediction efficiencies of lncRNA indicators were assessed by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Bioinformatics analysis was performed for potential lncRNAs. 386 mRNAs and 44 lncRNAs were identified to be differentially expressed. Differentially-expressed mRNAs in lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network were significantly associated with fibrillar collagen, platelet-derived growth factor binding, and leukocyte migration involved in inflammatory response. Seven mRNAs (C1QB, CD68, CCL5, CCL19, MMP7, HLA-DMB, and CYBB) and two lncRNAs (ENST00000429730.1 and MSTRG.93125.4) were validated to be significantly up-regulated. The area under the curve of ENST00000429730.1 and MSTRG.93125.4 was 0.750 and 0.813, respectively. Two lncRNAs ENST00000429730.1 and MSTRG.93125.4 might be considered as potential indicators of metabolic activity in tuberculosis lesions for sputum-negative tuberculosis.

In the industrial environment, the positioning of mobile terminals plays an important role in production scheduling. Visible light positioning (VLP) based on a CMOS image sensor has been widely considered as a promising indoor positioning technology. However, the existing VLP technology still faces many challenges, such as modulation and decoding schemes, and strict synchronization requirements. In this paper, a visible light area recognition framework based on convolutional neural network (CNN) is proposed, where the training data is the LED images acquired by the image sensor. The mobile terminal positioning can be realized from the perspective of recognition without modulating LED. The experimental results show that the mean accuracy of the optimal CNN model is as high as 100% for the two-class and the four-class area recognitions, and is more than 95% for the eight-class area recognition. These results are obviously superior to other traditional recognition algorithms. More importantly, the model has high robustness and universality, which can be applied to various types of LED lights.

Background This study aimed to establish an effective prognostic nomogram for surgery of lung cancer in HIV-infected patients. Methods The nomogram is based on a retrospective study of 51 patients who underwent lung cancer surgery at the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center from July 2012 to November 2019. The predictive accuracy and discriminative ability of the nomogram were determined by concordance index (C-index) and calibration curve analysis. Internal validity was assessed using bootstrapping validation. Results Predictors contained in the prognostic nomogram included age, CD4+ cell count, surgery method, and pathological stage. The model displayed good discrimination with a C-index of 0.755 (95% CI: 0.715-0.795) and good calibration. A high C-index value of 0.844 was reached after internal validation. Conclusions The proposed nomogram may result in more-accurate prognostic predictions for surgery of lung cancer in HIV-infected patients.

Recently, multi-access edge computing (MEC) cooperating with fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication technology or WiFi has been widely discussed for low-delay systems. However, for the Industrial Internet of Things, which raises higher requirements on system delay, security, capacity, etc., visible light communication (VLC) has better adaptability due to its controllable attocells. Therefore, we establish a computation and transmission integrated system with MEC-VLC as the main body. To solve the imbalance of resource utilization caused by users’ movement in intensive attocells, we propose a series of flexible design schemes based on access points’ cooperation in attocell overlapping areas. We formulate the overlap-based low-delay flexible system design as an optimization problem and then design the system based on it. Specifically, we first give an attocell-associated congestion judgment criterion and correspondingly propose a user discard algorithm. After that, we offer an iterative optimization method for task assignment, which adjusts computing-transmitting units’ cooperation mode to enhance the overall time delay. Then, the computing and transmitting resources are jointly allocated for delay reduction. Finally, our simulation demonstrates that the overlap-based design has a lower user discard ratio than the traditional distance-based system. The maximum delay and standard deviation are also reduced. Consequently, the flexible design based on attocell overlap can improve the reliability, capacity, and fairness of the low-delay integrating system.

Background The purpose of this study was to investigate the risk factors of postoperative complications and reliable prognostic factors of long-term survival in HIV-infected patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods HIV-infected patients with NSCLC who underwent surgical treatment were retrospectively studied; a single-institutional analysis was conducted from November 2011 to August 2018. Pre- and postoperative clinical data, including age, gender, smoking history, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), CD4+ T cell count, HIV viral load, cancer histology, clinical and pathological stage (p-stage), surgical result, Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), survival time and postoperative complications were collected. Results A total of 33 HIV-infected patients with NSCLC were enrolled of which 18 (54.7%) had preoperative comorbidities and postoperative complications were observed in 22 (66.7%) patients. Thirty-day mortality was not observed in these patients. Median survival time after surgery was 65 months: the MST of p-stage I patients was 65 months; p-stage II MST was unestimable; p-stage III MST was 21 months. Univariate analyses showed that postoperative complications were associated with HIV viral load (P = 0.002), CCI (P = 0.027), HAART (P = 0.028) and CD4+ T cell count (P = 0.045). However, multiple logistic regression analysis showed no correlation between HAART and postoperative complications. The p-stage was an independent prognostic factor for survival time. Conclusions In our single-arm retrospective analysis, the risk factors for postoperative complications in HIV-infected patients with NSCLC were HIV viral load, CCI and CD4+ T cell counts. The p-stage was a predictive factor for long-term survival.

Background Abnormal laryngeal structures are likely to be associated with a difficult laryngoscopy procedure. Currently, laryngeal structures can be measured by ultrasonography, however, little research has been performed on the potential role of ultrasound on the evaluation of a difficult laryngoscopy. The present study investigated the value of laryngeal structure measurements for predicting a difficult laryngoscopy. Objective The main objective of this study was to explore the value of laryngeal structure measurements for predicting a difficult laryngoscopy. Methods Two hundred and eleven adult patients (over 18 years old) were recruited to undergo elective surgery under general anesthesia via endotracheal intubation. Ultrasound was utilized to measure the distance between the skin and thyroid cartilage (DST), the distance between the thyroid cartilage and epiglottis (DTE), and the distance between the skin and epiglottis (DSE) in the parasagittal plane. These metrics were then investigated as predictors for classifying a laryngoscopy as difficult vs easy, as defined by the Cormack and Lehane grading scale. Results Multivariate logistic regression showed that the DSE, but not DST or DTE, was significantly related to difficult laryngoscopies. Specifically, a DSE ≥ 2.36 cm predicted difficult laryngoscopies with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.818 (95% CI: 0.766–0.870) and 0.856 (95% CI: 0.809–0.904). Furthermore, when combining the best model constructed of other indicators (i.e. sex, body mass index, modified Mallampati test) to predict the difficult laryngoscopy, the AUC reached 93.28%. Conclusion DSE is an independent predictor of a difficult laryngoscopy; a DSE cutoff value of 2.36 cm is a better predictor of a difficult laryngoscope than other ultrasound or physiological measurements for predicting a difficult laryngoscope. Nevertheless, it’s more valuable to apply the best model of this study, composed of various physiological measurements, for this prediction purpose.

Recent studies show gut microbiota-dependent metabolism of dietary phenylalanine into phenylacetic acid (PAA) is critical in phenylacetylglutamine (PAGln) production, a metabolite linked to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Accordingly, microbial enzymes involved in this transformation are of interest. Using genetic manipulation in selected microbes and monocolonization experiments in gnotobiotic mice, we identify two distinct gut microbial pathways for PAA formation; one is catalyzed by phenylpyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (PPFOR) and the other by phenylpyruvate decarboxylase (PPDC). PPFOR and PPDC play key roles in gut bacterial PAA production via oxidative and non-oxidative phenylpyruvate decarboxylation, respectively. Metagenomic analyses revealed a significantly higher abundance of both pathways in gut microbiomes of ASCVD patients compared with controls. The present studies show a role for these two divergent microbial catalytic strategies in the meta-organismal production of PAGln. Given the numerous links between PAGln and ASCVD, these findings will assist future efforts to therapeutically target PAGln formation in vivo.

A high-performance cathode of a protonic ceramic fuel cell (PCFC) should possess excellent oxygen reduction reactivity, high proton/oxygen-ion/electron conductivity, and sufficient operational stability, thus requiring a delicate tuning of both the bulk and surface properties of the electrode material. Although surface modification of perovskites with nanoparticles from reducing-atmosphere exsolution has been demonstrated effective at improving the electrochemical anodic oxidation, such nanoparticles would easily re-incorporate into the perovskite lattice causing a big challenge for their application as a cathode. Here, a durable perovskite-based nanocomposite cathode for PCFCs is reported, which is facilely prepared via the exsolution of nanoparticles in an oxidizing atmosphere. Through composition and cation nonstoichiometry manipulation, a precursor with the nominal composition of Ba

Taxonomic studies of leaves are one of the most effective means of correctly identifying plant species. In this paper, mixed activation function is used to improve the ResNet50 network in order to further improve the accuracy of leaf recognition. Firstly, leaf images of 15 common tree species in northern China were collected from the Urban Forestry Demonstration Base of Northeast Forestry University (45°43′–45°44′ N, 126°37′–126°38′ E, forest type was artificial forest), and a small leaf dataset was established. After that, seven commonly used activation functions were selected to improve the ResNet50 network structure, and the improved network was applied to the transfer learning research of the leaf small dataset. On this basis, five activation functions with better performance were selected for the study of mixed activation functions in deep learning. Two of these five activation functions are arbitrarily selected for combination, and a total of twenty combinations are obtained. Further, the first activation function was used in each combination to replace the first ReLU function after all addition operations in the ResNet50 network residual block structure, and another activation function was used to replace the other position ReLU functions. The experimental results show that in the transfer learning of the leaf small dataset using the ResNet50 deep residual network, the appropriate combination of mixed activation functions can increase the performance of the improved network to a certain extent. Among them, the ELU-Swish1 combination has the most significant improvement effect on the network performance, whose final effective validation accuracy reaches 98.17%. Furthermore, the comparison with GoogLeNet and VGG-16 also demonstrates the excellent performance of the improved ELU-Swish1 ResNet50 (ES-ResNet50) network architecture. Finally, tests on the other two small leaf datasets, Flavia and Swedish, also demonstrate the performance improvement of ES-ResNet50. The validation accuracy of the improved ES-Resnet 50 algorithm on these two datasets reaches 99.30% and 99.39%, respectively. All these experiments prove that the recognition performance of leaf transfer learning using the ES-ResNet50 network is indeed improved, which may be caused by the complementarity of the e-exponential gradient of ELU and Swish1 activation functions in the negative region.

An ideal cathode for proton ceramic fuel cell (PCFC) should have superior oxygen reduction reaction activity, high proton conductivity, good chemical compatibility with electrolyte and sufficient stability, thus rational design of the electrode material is needed. Here, by taking advantage of the limited solubility of nickel in perovskite lattice, we propose a new dual phase cathode developed based on nickel doping manipulation strategy. We rationally design a perovskite precursor with the nominal composition of Ba(Co0.4Fe0.4Zr0.1Y0.1)0.8Ni0.2O3−δ (BCFZYN0.2). During high temperature calcination, a nanocomposite, composed of a B-site cation deficient and nickel-doped BCFZY perovskite main phase and nanosized NiO minor phase, is formed. The NiO nanoparticles effectively improve the surface oxygen exchange kinetics and the B-site cation deficiency structure enhances proton conductivity, thus leading to superior ORR activity of BCFZYN0.2. Furthermore, a low thermal expansion coefficient (15.3 × 10–6 K−1) is achieved, ensuring good thermomechanical compatibility the electrolyte. A peak power density of 860 mW cm−2 at 600 °C is obtained from the corresponding PCFC, and the cell operates stably for 200 h without any significant degradation. The proposing strategy, by providing a new opportunity for the development of highly active and durable PCFC cathodes, may accelerate the practical use of this technology.

Background Dexmedetomidine (Dex) was reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory effect in the nervous system. However, the mechanism by which Dex exhibits anti-inflammation effects on LPS-stimulated BV2 microglia cells remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the role of Dex in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells. Methods The BV2 cells were stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). BV2 cells were infected with short-hairpin RNAs targeting NF-κB (NF-κB-shRNAs) and NF-κB overexpression lentivirus, respectively. In addition, miR-340 mimics or miR-340 inhibitor was transfected into BV2 cells, respectively. Meanwhile, the dual-luciferase reporter system assay was used to explore the interaction of miR-340 and NF-κB in BV2 cells. CCK-8 was used to detect the viability of BV2 cells. In addition, Western blotting was used to detect the level of NF-κB in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells. The levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-12, IL-10 and MCP-1 in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells were measured with ELISA. Results The level of miR-340 was significantly upregulated in Dex-treated BV2 cells. Meanwhile, the level of NF-κB was significantly increased in BV2 cells following infection with lenti-NF-κB, which was markedly reversed by Dex. LPS markedly increased the expression of NF-κB and proinflammatory cytokines in BV2 cells, which were reversed in the presence of Dex. Moreover, miR-340 mimics enhanced the anti-inflammatory effects of Dex in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells via inhibiting NF-κB and proinflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, Dex obviously inhibited LPS-induced phagocytosis in BV2 cells. Conclusion Taken together, our results suggested that Dex might exert anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells via upregulation of miR-340. Therefore, Dex might serve as a potential agent for the treatment of neuroinflammation.

Streptococcus suis (S. suis) is a zoonotic pathogen that primarily inhabits the upper respiratory tract of pigs. Therefore, pigs that carry these pathogens are the major source of infection. Most patients are infected through contact with live pigs or unprocessed pork products and eating uncooked pork. S. Suis mainly causes sepsis and meningitis. The disease has an insidious onset and rapid progress. The patient becomes critically ill and the mortality is high. In this case report, we described a rare case of S. suis isolated from a middle-aged woman in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China, who did not have any contact with live pigs and had not eaten uncooked pork. S. Suis was isolated from both the patient's blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples.

Background: The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still increasing in many newly industrialized countries. We mainly investigated whether environmental and dietary risk factors for IBD differ between Eastern and Western populations. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science for studies published from inception through June 30, 2020. Data were pooled using a random effects model. Findings: 237 studies were included. A total of 26 risk factors for IBD were identified, six of which were consistent in both Eastern and Western populations: appendectomy (Crohn’s disease (CD)), tonsillectomy (CD), family history of IBD (CD/ulcerative colitis (UC)), urban living (CD), former smoking (UC), and fat intake (UC). Ten factors were associated with an increased risk of IBD in Western and Eastern populations only. We also identified 23 protective factors for IBD, among which eight were consistent in the East and West: contact with farm animals (CD/UC), having ≥2 siblings (CD), physical activity (CD/UC), Helicobacter pylori infection (CD/UC), contact with pets (UC), current smoking (UC), fruit intake (UC), and coffee intake (UC). Eight factors conferred protection against IBD in Western populations only, whereas seven factors conferred protection against IBD in Eastern populations only. Interpretation: Numerous environmental and dietary factors consistently influence the development of IBD in Western and Eastern populations. However, some factors influence IBD risk differently in these populations. Funding Statement: Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC grant No. 81630018, No. 81870384). The Leona M. & Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust Grant (grant No. 2019PG-CD018). Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no competing interests.

We demonstrate and optimize a tri-layer vertical coupler for a silicon nitride (Si3N4) multilayer platform operating at a 2 µm band. The large spacing between the topmost and bottommost layers of a gradient structure enables ultra-low crossing loss and interlayer crosstalk without affecting the efficiency interlayer transition. We achieve a 0.31 dB transition loss, ultra-low multi-layer crosstalk of -59.3 dB at a crossing angle of 90° with an interlayer gap of 2300 nm at 1950nm. With width optimization of this structure, the fabrication tolerances toward lateral misalignment of two stages in this coupler have increased 61% and 56%, respectively. We also propose a vertical coupler, based on this design, with mode selectivity and achieve an extinction ratio of < 15 dB for wavelengths in the 1910-1990 range. Meanwhile, a multi-layer interlaced AWGs centered at 1950nm and based on vertical coupler has been demonstrated. The proposed vertical couplers exhibit potential for application in large-scale photonic-integrated circuits and broadly in photonic devices.

The rapidly increasing incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in South America, eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa has resulted in a global public health challenge. Intestinal fibrosis is a common complication in patients with long-term IBD, which may develop into stenosis and subsequent obstruction. Hitherto, the origin of IBD is unclear and several factors may be involved, including genetic, immune, environmental and microbial influences. Little is known about how the recurrent inflammation in patients with IBD develops into intestinal fibrosis and currently, there is no suitable treatment to reverse intestinal fibrosis in these patients. Here, we review the role of immune components in the pathogenesis of IBD and intestinal fibrosis, including cytokine networks, host-microbiome interactions, and immune cell trafficking.

We present a new machine learning (ML) deep learning (DL) synthesis algorithm for the design of a microstrip meander line (MML) slow wave structure (SWS). Exact numerical simulation data are used in the training of our network as a form of supervised learning. The learning results show that the training mean squared error is as low as 5.23 × 10−2 when using 900 sets of data. When the desired performance is reached, workable geometry parameters can be obtained by this algorithm. A D-band MML SWS with 20 GHz bandwidth at 160 GHz center frequency is then designed using the auto-design neural network (ADNN). A cold test shows that its phase velocity varies by 0.005 c, and the transmission rate of a 50-period SWS is greater than −5 dB with the reflectivity below −15 dB when the frequency is from 150 to 170 GHz. Particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation also illustrates that a maximum power of 3.2 W is reached at 160 GHz with 34.66 dB gain and output power greater than 1 W from 152 to 168 GHz.

Developing efficient non-noble and earth-abundant hydrogen-evolving electrocatalysts is highly desirable for improving the energy efficiency of water splitting in base. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS

This paper proposes a visible light communication (VLC) chipset based multi-color multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) VLC system. The high-speed wideband VLC chipset we employed is independently researched and developed, it could afford higher than Gbps data rate transmission. With the utilization of multi-color LEDs (e.g., RGBY-LEDs), the data rate of VLC systems is further improved. In this paper we introduce the multi-color communication module and the architecture of our proposed multi-color MIMO system model. With the help of self-designed shape π resistance network and bridged-T based pre-equalizer, the bandwidth of each LED color chip is broaden. Finally, an experimental chipset based multi-color MIMO-VLC setup is constructed and tested. The proposed experimental system offers the aggregate physical layer (PHY) data rates up to 1 Gbps.

Background Dexmedetomidine (Dex) was reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory effect in the nervous system. However, the mechanism by which Dex exhibits anti-inflammation effects on LPS-stimulated BV2 microglia cells remains unclear. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the role of Dex in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells. Methods The BV2 cells were stimulated by lipopolysaccharides (LPS). BV2 cells were infected with short-hairpin RNAs targeting NF-κB (NF-κB-shRNAs) and NF-κB overexpression lentivirus, respectively. In addition, miR-340 mimics or miR-340 inhibitor was transfected into BV2 cells, respectively. Meanwhile, the dual-luciferase reporter system assay was used to explore the interaction of miR-340 and NF-κB in BV2 cells. CCK-8 was used to detect the viability of BV2 cells. In addition, Western blotting was used to detect the level of NF-κB in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells. The levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, IL-2, IL-12, IL-10 and MCP-1 in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells were measured with ELISA. Results The level of miR-340 was significantly upregulated in Dex-treated BV2 cells. Meanwhile, the level of NF-κB was significantly increased in BV2 cells following infection with lenti-NF-κB, which was markedly reversed by Dex. LPS markedly increased the expression of NF-κB and proinflammatory cytokines in BV2 cells, which were reversed in the presence of Dex. Moreover, miR-340 mimics enhanced the anti-inflammatory effects of Dex in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells via inhibiting NF-κB and proinflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, Dex obviously inhibited LPS-induced phagocytosis in BV2 cells. Conclusion Taken together, our results suggested that Dex might exert anti-inflammatory effects in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells via upregulation of miR-340. Therefore, Dex might serve as a potential agent for the treatment of neuroinflammation.

Background: The number of HIV-infected patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergoing surgical treatment has been increasing recently. However, the risk factors for postoperative complications and reliable predictive factors for long-term survival remain to be unclear. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors of postoperative complications, and reliable prognostic factors in HIV-infected patients with NSCLC. Methods: HIV-infected patients with NSCLC who underwent surgical treatment were retrospectively studied; a single-institutional analysis was conducted from November 2011 to August 2018. Preoperative and postoperative clinical data, including age, gender, smoking history, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), CD4+ cell count, HIV viral load, cancer histology, clinical and pathological stage (P-Stage), surgical result, Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), survival time and postoperative complications were collected. Results: A total of 33 HIV-infected patients with NSCLC, consisted of 27 men and 6 women, were enrolled. The median age was 56 years (range 30 to 77 years). Of the 33 patients, 18 (54.7%) had preoperative comorbidities; Postoperative complications were observed in 22 (66.7%) patients. Thirty-day mortality was not observed in these patients, median survival time after surgery was 65 months; the MST of P-Stage I patients was 65 months; P-Stage II was unestimable; P-Stage III 21 months; P-Stage I/II was 67 months. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that HIV viral load (P= 0.009), CCI (P= 0.035) and CD4+ cell count (P=0.045) were associated with postoperative complications; P-Stage were independent prognostic factors for survival time. Conclusion: The risk factors for postoperative complications were HIV viral load, CCI and CD4+ cell count, and that P-stage was the predictive factor for long-term survival in our single-arm retrospective analysis. To strengthen the effective management of HIV-infected patients with NSCLC, the risk factors for postoperative complications and the predictive factor for long-term survival should be considered before surgery. Funding Statement: This research was supported by a grant from the Thirteen-Fifth Mega-Scientific Project on “prevention and treatment of AIDS, viral hepatitis and other infectious diseases” (grant no. 2017ZX10201301-003-002). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was approved by the Shanghai public health clinical center's ethics committee (Approval No. [2018] Y038).

A novel and efficient route to asymmetric synthesis of Maraviroc by using (S)-tert-butanesulfinamide as chiral auxiliary is described. Two interesting impurities of the process are isolated and identified. The synthesis was concise, mild, and easy to operate. The overall yield and stereoselectivity were excellent.

Based on indoor visible light communication (VLC) technology, the large-scale LED array can be used for the integration system of communication, positioning and illumination. However, due to the different propagation time between LEDs and receivers, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is affected by the inter symbol interference (ISI). This paper proposes a multi-receiver SNR optimization method by selecting communicating LEDs in the LED array. The proposed method uses the modified evolutionary algorithm (EA) to obtain the optimal SNR. In the processes of initialization, crossover and mutation operations, instead of general stochastic generation and transformation, the heuristic gene initialization, maximum contributing gene reservation and the minimum contributing gene elimination, which are specially designed for VLC LED selection problem, are proposed to improve the EA. The delay features of different LEDs to receivers are quantitatively analyzed and used as the criteria to gene initialization, crossover and mutation in order to attenuate the ISI. Simulation results reveal that the proposed method converges faster and obtains larger SNRs than the general and the hyper heuristic EA.

Betulinic acid (BA) is a new class of anticancer drug, but its relatively short half-life and poor water solubility limit its therapeutic effect and clinical application. Herein, to tackle the dilemma, BA prodrugs were prepared by conjugating BA onto the polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer via cleavable disulfide bonds. The prodrugs exhibited high water solubility (270-fold of free BA) and a relatively high drug-loading efficiency of 14.2 %. To further endow the BA prodrugs with a photothermal therapeutic effect, the near-infrared (NIR) agent Cypate was grafted on the Pluronic triblock copolymer. The different PEG polymers and different Pluronic polymers were chosen to obtain the optimal drug loading efficiency and the photothermal generation effect. The P-SS-BA/F68-Cy prodrug micelles integrate the redox-responsive BA prodrugs and the NIR-responsive amphiphilic triblock polymer into one single nanocomposite. The release of BA was less than 20 % in pH 7.4 PBS in the absence of glutathione (GSH), whereas the release of BA was obviously accelerated in pH 5.0 PBS with 10 mM GSH. In addition, the release of BA was further accelerated under the NIR irradiation. The P-SS-BA/F68-Cy micelles showed an excellent photothermal heating effect under NIR irradiation. The prepared P-SS-BA/F68-Cy micelles showed the synergistic thermochemotherapeutic effect on tumors both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, the present study shows the great potential of dual-triggered drug delivery and thermochemotherapy for combination therapy.

A novel and practical asymmetric synthesis of dapoxetine hydrochloride by using the chiral auxiliary (S)-tert-butanesulfinamide was explored. The synthesis was concise, mild, and easy to perform. The overall yield and stereoselectivity were excellent.

Next significant revolution of virtual/augmented reality and Internet of things show the remarkable demands of next-generation indoor mobile real-time data transmission are high spectral-efficiency, high-speed and high-density deep coverage. Multi-color visible light communication (MC-VLC) has remarkable potential to confront the challenges due to the large equivalent bandwidth index and extensively installed of multi-color light emitting diodes. However, although optical filters are utilized, there are wide spectrum interference (WSI) in MC-VLC system. Meanwhile, the alignment and availability of photodiodes (PDs) greatly influence the WSI and target signal (TS). So the real-time optimal tracking angles (ROTAs) of PDs is proposed to obtain the optimal alignment minimizing the total interference signal ratio to achieve trade-off of WSI and TS. The optimal problem is formulated and the alternative tracking angles sets are obtained to prepare for the analytic solution of ROTAs. The ROTAs has extremely low complexity, and the result of that converges on the numerical solution of exhaustive search. Better BER performance can be achieved by system with ROTAs than with fixed tracking angles at different relative offset angle between the transmitter and the receiver.

Developing efficient non-noble and earth-abundant hydrogen-evolving electrocatalysts is highly desirable for improving the energy efficiency of water splitting in base. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2 ) is a promising candidate, but its catalytic activity is kinetically retarded in alkaline media due to the unfavorable water adsorption and dissociation feature. A heterogeneous electrocatalyst is reported that is constructed by selenium-doped MoS2 (Se-MoS2 ) particles on 3D interwoven cobalt diselenide (CoSe2 ) nanowire arrays that drives the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with fast reaction kinetics in base. The resultant Se-MoS2 /CoSe2 hybrid exhibits an outstanding catalytic HER performance with extremely low overpotentials of 30 and 93 mV at 10 and 100 mA cm-2 in base, respectively, which outperforms most of the inexpensive alkaline HER catalysts, and is among the best alkaline catalytic activity reported so far. Moreover, this hybrid catalyst shows exceptional catalytic performance with very low overpotentials of 84 and 95 mV at 10 mA cm-2 in acidic and neutral electrolytes, respectively, implying robust pH universality of this hybrid catalyst. This work may provide new inspirations for the development of high-performance MoS2 -based HER electrocatalysts in unfavorable basic media for promising catalytic applications.

OBJECTIVE To analyze the data of non-invasive prenatal testing based on specific loci of circulating cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA). METHODS Selected loci of target chromosomes were analyzed by sequence capture and sequencing. Meanwhile, 600 loci were selected from other chromosomes for determining the concentration of cffDNA. RESULTS A total of 768 specific loci were captured on chromosomes 21 and 18, and used to determine whether the two were abnormal. When the minimum concentration of detected cffDNA was set at 3% and the threshold of Z score was set to [-6,6], the specificity of the analysis was 99.37% and the sensitivity was 100%. CONCLUSION A reliable, convenient and low-cost analytical method has been developed. The method requires less sequencing data for non-invasive prenatal testing, and can accurately detect abnormalities of fetal chromosomes 21 and 18, and simultaneously determine the concentration of cffDNA.

A novel Friedel–Crafts alkylation of α- or β-naphthols with a variety of β-haloketones is described. The reaction was environmentally-friendly performed under mild conditions without any Lewis acid and in good to excellent yields.

Recently, many researchers have used the normal vector tilting to solve the problems about low rate of multiplexing and channel strong correlation in Visible Light Communication Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (VLC-MIMO) system, but they all lack of the theoretical support. In this paper, we establish a channel model about 2×2 VLC-MIMO, then translate the communication problem about vector tilting optimal angle in a certain range into a mathematical problem about seeking the minimum value of function. Finally, we deduced the mathematic expressions about the optimal tilting angles of corresponding LEDs and PDs, and these expressions will provide a theoretical basis for the further study.

Methylocella silvestris, an alphaproteobacterium isolated from a forest soil, can grow on trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) as a sole nitrogen source, however, the molecular and biochemical mechanisms underpinning its growth remain unknown. Marker-exchange mutagenesisenabled the identification of several genes involved in TMAO metabolism, including Msil_3606, a permease of the amino acids-polyamine (APC) superfamily, and Msil_3603, consisting of anN-terminal domain of unknown function (DUF1989) and a C-terminal tetrahydrofolate-binding domain. Null mutants of Msil_3603 and Msil_3606 can no longer grow on TMAO. Purified Msil_3603 from recombinant Escherichia coli can convert TMAO to dimethylamine and formaldehyde (1 TMAO [RIGHTWARDS ARROW] 1 dimethylamine + 1 formaldehyde), confirming that it encodes a bona fide TMAO demethylase (Tdm). Tdm of M. silvestrisand eukaryotic TMAO demethylases have no sequence homology and contrasting characteristics. Recombinant Tdm of M. silvestris appears to be hexameric, has a high affinity for TMAO (Km= 3.3 mM; Vmax=21.7 nmolmin-1mg-1) and only catalyses demethylation of TMAO and a structural homologue, dimethyldodecylamine N-oxide. Our study has contributed to the understanding of the genetic and biochemical mechanisms for TMAO degradation in M. silvestris.

Long-distance visible light communication (VLC) based on single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) can supplement the existing wireless communication mechanism in many senarios. Although there are many researches on VLC in recent years, the experiments on long-distance VLC are relatively scarce. In this paper, we use the experimental method to study the long-distance VLC, so as to apply it to two new application scenarios — VLC between buildings and in mountainous areas. A system model is established for both of the scenarios. Based on the model, a low energy consumption device for long-distance VLC is completed to realize the long-distance transmission of voice and data. At the end of the paper, we simulate the performance of the proposed system. The results indicate that the system is feasible to realize the duplexing voice and data transmission within the range of 2 km when the data rate is below 200 kbps.

SUMMARY In this study, the dynamic response of a poroelastic half-space to a point fluid sink is investigated using Biot's dynamic theory of poroelasticity. Based on Biot's theory, the governing field equations are re-formulated in frequency domain with solid displacement and pore pressure. In a cylindrical coordinate system, a method of displacement potentials for axisymmetric displacement field is proposed to decouple the Biot's field equations to three scalar Helmholtz equations, and then the general solution to axisymmetric problems are obtained. The full-space fundamental singular solution for a point sink is also derived using potential methods. The mirror-image method is finally applied to construct the fundamental solution for a point sink buried in a poroelastic half-space. Furthermore, a numerical study is conducted for a rock, that is, Berea sandstone, as a representative example. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We consider a queueing model with N channels and an orbit with infinite waiting positions to model a specific cell in wireless networks. It is assumed that handoff and new calls have different arrival rates of Markov Arrival Process (MAP) and their channel holding time distributions are different Phase-type (PH) distributions. We analyze the Markov chain underlying the queueing system and obtain its ergodicity condition. Using matrix analytic techniques, we derive many performance measures such as the blocking probability of new calls and the dropping probability of handoff calls, the idle probability of the target cell, the mean queue lengths of two types of calls. We give numerical results to show the impact of system parameters on performance measures.

Bacterial trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) demethylase, Tdm, carries out an unusual oxygen-independent demethylation reaction, resulting in the formation of dimethylamine and formaldehyde. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis, homology modelling and metal analyses by inorganic mass spectrometry have been applied to gain insight into metal stoichiometry and underlying catalytic mechanism of Tdm of Methylocella silvestris BL2. Herein, we demonstrate that active Tdm has 1 molar equivalent of Zn2+ and 1 molar equivalent of non-haem Fe2+ . We further investigated Zn2+ - and Fe2+ -binding sites through homology modelling and site-directed mutagenesis and found that Zn2+ is coordinated by a 3-sulfur-1-O motif. An aspartate residue (D198) likely bridges Fe2+ and Zn2+ centres, either directly or indirectly via H-bonding through a neighbouring H2 O molecule. H276 contributes to Fe2+ binding, mutation of which results in an inactive enzyme, and the loss of iron, but not zinc. Site-directed mutagenesis of Tdm also led to the identification of three hydrophobic aromatic residues likely involved in substrate coordination (F259, Y305, W321), potentially through a cation-π interaction. Furthermore, a crossover experiment using a substrate analogue gave direct evidence that a trimethylamine-alike intermediate was produced during the Tdm catalytic cycle, suggesting TMAO has a dual role of being both a substrate and an oxygen donor for formaldehyde formation. Together, our results provide novel insight into the role of Zn2+ and Fe2+ in the catalysis of TMAO demethylation by this unique oxygen-independent enzyme.

Bacterial trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) demethylase, Tdm, carries out an unusual oxygen-independent demethylation reaction, resulting in the formation of dimethylamine and formaldehyde. In this study, site-directed mutagenesis, homology modelling and metal analyses by inorganic mass spectrometry have been applied to gain insight into metal stoichiometry and underlying catalytic mechanism of Tdm of Methylocella silvestris BL2. Herein, we demonstrate that active Tdm has 1 molar equivalent of Zn

The paper develops a power allocation strategy for Multi-LED phase-shifted superposition technique that parallelly transmitted to increase the rate of visible light communication (VLC) systems. In this paper, we apply linear zero forcing (ZF) detection and present an optimal power allocation strategy for multi-LED phase-shifted pulse amplitude modulation based indoor VLC multi-input single-output (VLC-MISO) systems, while preserving a low-complexity. Meanwhile, a closed-form allocation solution to the optimization problem under optical power constraint is obtained and the optimal design criterion is the max-SEP minimization. We compare the proposed optimal power allocation scheme based on ZF detection with the uniform scheme of the ZF and maximum likelihood (ML) detection in a set of numerical simulations. The simulation results show that the proposed power allocation strategy outperforms the uniform scheme and is very close to ML detection in some special channel scenarios, while improving the condition number of the equivalent channel.

The volatile organosulfur compound, dimethylsulfide (DMS), plays an important role in climate regulation and global sulfur biogeochemical cycles. Microbial oxidation of DMS to dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) represents a major sink of DMS in surface seawater, yet the underlying molecular mechanisms and key microbial taxa involved are not known. Here, we reveal that Ruegeria pomeroyi, a model marine heterotrophic bacterium, can oxidize DMS to DMSO using trimethylamine monooxygenase (Tmm). Purified Tmm oxidizes DMS to DMSO at a 1:1 ratio. Mutagenesis of the tmm gene in R. pomeroyi completely abolished DMS oxidation and subsequent DMSO formation. Expression of Tmm and DMS oxidation in R. pomeroyi is methylamine-dependent and regulated at the post-transcriptional level. Considering that Tmm is present in approximately 20% of bacterial cells inhabiting marine surface waters, particularly the marine Roseobacter clade and the SAR11 clade, our observations contribute to a mechanistic understanding of biological DMSO production in surface seawater.

Dapoxetine hydrochloride (I) is stereoselectively synthesized in five linear steps from commercially available starting materials involving an introduction of the chiral auxiliary (S)-tert-butanesulfinamide.

An efficient and scalable process for the synthesis of antihypercholesterolemic drug Ezetimibe through chiral Evans auxiliary (S)-4-phenyl-2-oxazolidinone is described. The key steps in this process are the condensation of (S)-3-(5-(4-fluorophenyl)-5,5-dimethoxypentanoyl)-4-phenyloxazolidin-2-one andN-(4-((tert-butyldimethylsilyl)oxy)benzylidene)-4-fluoroaniline, and the stereoselective reduction of Ezetimibe-ketone with NaBH4/I2 which is first applied in the synthesis of Ezetimibe. The process is concise, mild, easy to operate and highly stereoselective (99.6% of de value of Ezetimibe). In addition, Three diastereomers of Ezetimibe are synthesized and served as the referrences in quality control of the product.

xdlinchenzhou@126.com Abstract. An appropriate modulation scheme SC-PPM is considered in this a rticle for the high density visible light communication (VLC) system. Compared with OOK, SC-PPM is a more power efficient and reliable scheme and it can achieve the requirement for both illumination and communication. An optimization problem is formulated to reduce the total transmitted energy produced by LED lamps while satisfying the desired illuminance level and communication quality index. the simulation result show that SC-PPM can save the energy consuming compared with traditional PPM. I. Introduction