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Aims Despite the recent prosperity of shrimp cultivation in China, very little is known about how different shrimp farming models influence the dynamics of Vibrio parahaemolyticus populations and the antibiotic resistance of this bacterium. Methods and Results To this end, we conducted continuous surveillance of V. parahaemolyticus on four farms over 3 years: two traditional shrimp farms with daily water exchange and two farms operated in the recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). No antibiotics were used in these farms to exclude the potential impacts of antibiotics on the emergence of antibacterial resistance. Multilocus sequence typing was utilized to characterize the dynamics of V. parahaemolyticus populations. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was conducted to determine the representative sequence types (STs) at each farm. Results revealed that the population structure of V. parahaemolyticus remained stable over time in both RAS farms, with only nine and four STs observed at each. In contrast, annual replacement of V. parahaemolyticus populations was observed in traditional farms with 26 and 28 STs identified in rearing water. WGS of 50 isolates divided them into five clusters, of which ST917a isolates harboured a genomic island that disrupted the gene recA. Pair-wised genomic comparison of isolates from the same STs showed that they were genetically related but belonged to different clones associated with geographical distribution. Conclusions These results suggested that RAS presented a specific ecological niche by minimizing the water exchanges with the external environment. In contrast, traditional farming might pose a food safety issue by introducing new V. parahaemolyticus populations with antibiotic resistance genes. Significance and Impact of the Study Our results expose the potential food safety issue associated with conventional agriculture and should encourage the development of preventive strategies to reduce the emergence of resistant V. parahaemolyticus populations.

This study aimed to determine whether the Mayo adhesive probability score (MAP), which evaluated adherent perinephric fat (APF), is useful in evaluating the difficulty of retroperitoneal laparoscopic adrenalectomy (RLA), and to analyse the correlation between MAP and perioperative parameters.Clinical data of 104 patients with adrenal adenoma who underwent RLA were collected for retrospective analysis. According to the CT images obtained before surgery, patients were divided into two groups: High MAP group (2-5 points) and Low MAP group (0-1 points). Comparison of the general clinical characteristics and the perioperative data between the two groups was made.There were more male patients (73.7% versus 34.3%), more patients with a smoking history (24.3% versus 7.5%), higher BMI (25.7 versus 23.2, kg/mMAP score was associated with the perioperative outcomes of RLA. BMI and tumour size were better indicators of MAP score, which can influence the difficulty of RLA.

The traditional meaning of ecological efficiency generally considers only the ratio of economic output to environmental input. This paper expands the meaning and the evaluation system of ecological efficiency from the perspective of improving people's livelihoods. Not only are the discharge of wastewater, waste gas, and solid waste included in the undesired output, but the output index also takes full account of the overall development of the economy, innovation, society and the environment from the perspective of high-quality development. Under the assumption of variable returns to scale, a super-efficiency slack-based measure model based on the undesirable output and Malmquist index is introduced to measure the spatial and temporal variation of ecological efficiency of Zhejiang Province in China, and the panel Tobit method is used to study the key factors affecting ecological efficiency. The results include the four following findings: (1) In the past 12 years, the ecological efficiency of Zhejiang Province has steadily increased, except in 2019 and 2020, when seven cities in Zhejiang Province experienced a decline or near stagnation due to the impact of the economic slowdown and the COVID-19 epidemic. (2) The ecological efficiency of Zhejiang demonstrates a severe regional imbalance, showing a high level in the northeast and a low level in the southwest. (3) Malmquist index analysis shows that the improvement of ecological efficiency in Zhejiang Province has shifted from mainly relying on the dual drivers of pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency in the early stage to relying on technological progress in the later stage. (4) Tobit regression analysis shows that industrialization structure, Theil index, and traffic activity have a significant positive effect on ecological efficiency.

Blood-feeding arthropods secrete potent salivary molecules, which include platelet aggregation inhibitors, vasodilators, and anticoagulants. Among these molecules, Alboserpin, the major salivary anticoagulant from the mosquito vector Aedes albopictus, is a specific inhibitor of the human coagulation factor Xa (FXa). In this study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of Alboserpin, in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, Alboserpin inhibited FXa-induced protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1, PAR-2, PAR-3, VCAM, ICAM, and NF-κB gene expression in primary dermal microvascular endothelial cells. Alboserpin also prevented FXa-stimulated ERK1/2 gene expression and subsequent inflammatory cytokine release (MCP-1, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, IL-18). In vivo, Alboserpin reduced paw edema induced by FXa and subsequent release of inflammatory cytokines (CCL2, MCP-1, IL-1α, IL-6, IL-1β). Alboserpin also reduced FXa-induced endothelial permeability in vitro and in vivo. These findings show that Alboserpin is a potent anti-inflammatory molecule, in vivo and in vitro, and may play a significant role in blood feeding.

Objective To analyze the expression of the SOX gene family in lung adenocarcinoma and its impact on the prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients using tumor databases. Methods The cBioPortal database was used to retrieve and analyze the mutation frequencies and variants of 10 genes in the SOX gene family in lung adenocarcinoma tissues. Using clinical information from the Kaplan-Meier plotter database, the potential prognostic values of 10 genes in the SOX gene family in lung adenocarcinoma patients were further explored. The UALCAN database and TCGA database were used to obtain the expression of methylation of SOX gene family members and compare the mRNA expression of 10 genes in lung adenocarcinoma tissues and paracancerous tissues, respectively. The miRCancer database was intersected with miRTarBase, ENCORI, and miRWalk databases to find the lung adenocarcinoma-related miRNAs that regulate the SOX gene family. Results Most members in the SOX gene family had expansion mutation, but SOX15 had a deletion mutation. The expressions of SOX8 and SOX17 genes were upregulated in lung adenocarcinoma patients (HR 1, log-rank P P P P r = 0.272, p = 3.87x10− 10) and SOX6 (r = 0.109, p = 1.34x10− 2), respectively. Conclusion The SOX gene family is closely implicated in the onset and progression of lung adenocarcinoma, of which most members can be used as prognostic marker genes for tumor patients.

Supplementary Figure Legend from Identification of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase c-Met and Its Ligand, Hepatocyte Growth Factor, as Therapeutic Targets in Clear Cell Sarcoma

Clear cell sarcoma (CCS), a childhood tumor of the tendons and aponeuroses, is uniformly fatal once it has metastasized because of its profound therapeutic resistance. CCS is characterized by production of a chimeric transcription factor, EWS-ATF1, which is formed as the result of a disease-specific chromosomal translocation. EWS-ATF1 activates the melanocyte transcription factor MITF, which in turn activates transcription of c-Met, an oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinase recently shown to be activated in CCS. Based on this connection, we hypothesized that c-Met inhibition may offer a strategy to treat CCS, as an indirect tactic to defeat a transforming pathway downstream of EWS-ATF1. Here, we show that primary CCS and CCS-derived cell lines express c-Met, which is activated in an autocrine fashion by its ligand hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/scatter factor in some CCS cell lines. c-Met expression is critical for CCS invasion, chemotaxis, and survival. Blocking c-Met activity with a small-molecule inhibitor (SU11274) or a neutralizing antibody to its ligand HGF (AMG 102) significantly reduced CCS cell growth in culture. Similarly, AMG 102 significantly suppressed in vivo tumor growth in an autocrine xenograft model of CCS. Collectively, these findings suggest the HGF:c-Met signaling axis as a candidate therapeutic target to improve clinical management of CCS. Cancer Res; 70(2); 639–45

Supplementary Figure 1 from Identification of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinase c-Met and Its Ligand, Hepatocyte Growth Factor, as Therapeutic Targets in Clear Cell Sarcoma

Supplementary Figure 3 from Inhibitors of Deacetylases Suppress Oncogenic KIT Signaling, Acetylate HSP90, and Induce Apoptosis in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Supplementary Figure 4 from Inhibitors of Deacetylases Suppress Oncogenic KIT Signaling, Acetylate HSP90, and Induce Apoptosis in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Supplementary Figure Legends 1-4 from Inhibitors of Deacetylases Suppress Oncogenic KIT Signaling, Acetylate HSP90, and Induce Apoptosis in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Supplementary Figure 1 from Inhibitors of Deacetylases Suppress Oncogenic KIT Signaling, Acetylate HSP90, and Induce Apoptosis in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Supplementary Figure 2 from Inhibitors of Deacetylases Suppress Oncogenic KIT Signaling, Acetylate HSP90, and Induce Apoptosis in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

UNSTRUCTURED Background: Age, gender, body mass index (BMI), and mean heart rate during sleep were found to be risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and a variety of methods have been applied to predict the occurrence of OSA. Objective: This study aimed to develop and evaluate OSA prediction models using simple and accessible parameters, combined with multiple machine learning algorithms, and integrate them into a cloud-based mobile sleep medicine management platform for clinical use. Methods: The study data were obtained from the clinical data of 610 patients who underwent polysomnography (PSG) at the Sleep Medicine Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University between January 2021 and December 2022. The participants were randomly divided into a training–test group (80%) and an independent validation group (20%). The logistic regression, artificial neural network, naïve Bayes, support vector machine, random forest, and decision tree algorithms were used with age, gender, BMI, and mean heart rate during sleep as predictors to build a risk prediction model for moderate-to-severe OSA. To evaluate the performance of the models, we calculated the area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC), accuracy, recall, specificity, precision, and F1-score for the independent validation set. In addition, the calibration curve, decision curve, and clinical impact curve were generated to determine clinical usefulness. Results: Age, gender, BMI, and mean heart rate during sleep were significantly associated with OSA. The ANN model had the best efficacy compared with the other prediction algorithms. The AUROC, accuracy, recall, specificity, precision, F1-score, and Brier score were 0.804, 0.699, 0.865, 0.615, 0.532, 0.659, and 0.165, respectively, for the ANN model. The AUROCs for the LR, NB, SVM, RF, and DT models were 0.802, 0.797, 0.792, 0.784, and 0.704, respectively. Conclusions: The six models based on four simple and easily accessible parameters effectively predicted moderate-to-severe OSA in patients with PSG screening, with the ANN model having the best performance. These models can provide a reliable tool for early OSA diagnosis, and their integration into a cloud-based mobile sleep medicine management platform could improve clinical decision making.

Microalgae play an important role in the formation of biofloc. To demonstrate the feasibility of Chlorella pyrenoidosa in biofloc formation, an experiment was performed with a simple random design consisting of five inoculation levels (in triplicate) of C. pyrenoidosa (0, 1 × 108, 1 × 109, 5 × 109, and 1 × 1010 cells·L−1) in the biofloc system. All treatments kept a C:N ratio of approximately 15:1. This study observed the effects of different initial concentrations of C. pyrenoidosa on biofloc formation, water quality and bacterial community in biofloc systems. The results indicated that C. pyrenoidosa had the ability to enhance biofloc development, especially when the C. pyrenoidosa initial concentration reached 5~10 × 109 cells·L−1. Too high or too low a concentration of C. pyrenoidosa will adversely affect the formation of biofloc. The effect of C. pyrenoidosa addition on water quality (TAN, NO2−-N, and NO3−-N) was not significant in the final stage. The inoculation of C. pyrenoidosa decreased the species richness and diversity of the bacterial community but increased the domination of Proteobacteria and Bacteroidota in the biofloc system, especially the order of Rhizobiales. The addition of C. pyrenoidosa could maintain water quality by increasing the proportion of several denitrifying bacteria, including Flavobacterium, Chryseobacterium, Pseudomonas, Brevundimonas, Xanthobacter, etc. These above dominant denitrifying bacteria in the biofloc system could play a major role in reducing the concentration of NO2−-N and NO3−-N. So, we recommended the reasonable concentration is 5~10 × 109 cells·L−1 if C. pyrenoidosa is used to rapidly produce biofloc.

BACKGROUND COVID-19 has been reported to affect the sleep quality of Chinese residents; however, the epidemic’s effects on the sleep quality of college students during closed-loop management remain unclear, and a screening tool is lacking. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to understand the sleep quality of college students in Fujian Province during the epidemic and determine sensitive variables, in order to develop an efficient prediction model for the early screening of sleep problems in college students. METHODS From April 5 to 16, 2022, a cross-sectional internet-based survey was conducted. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scale, a self-designed general data questionnaire, and the sleep quality influencing factor questionnaire were used to understand the sleep quality of respondents in the previous month. A chi-square test and a multivariate unconditioned logistic regression analysis were performed, and influencing factors obtained were applied to develop prediction models. The data were divided into a training-testing set (n=14,451, 70%) and an independent validation set (n=6194, 30%) by stratified sampling. Four models using logistic regression, an artificial neural network, random forest, and naïve Bayes were developed and validated. RESULTS In total, 20,645 subjects were included in this survey, with a mean global PSQI score of 6.02 (SD 3.112). The sleep disturbance rate was 28.9% (n=5972, defined as a global PSQI score >7 points). A total of 11 variables related to sleep quality were taken as parameters of the prediction models, including age, gender, residence, specialty, respiratory history, coffee consumption, stay up, long hours on the internet, sudden changes, fears of infection, and impatient closed-loop management. Among the generated models, the artificial neural network model proved to be the best, with an area under curve, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of 0.713, 73.52%, 25.51%, 92.58%, 57.71%, and 75.79%, respectively. It is noteworthy that the logistic regression, random forest, and naive Bayes models achieved high specificities of 94.41%, 94.77%, and 86.40%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The COVID-19 containment measures affected the sleep quality of college students on multiple levels, indicating that it is desiderate to provide targeted university management and social support. The artificial neural network model has presented excellent predictive efficiency and is favorable for implementing measures earlier in order to improve present conditions. CLINICALTRIAL

Pollution evaluation and health risk assessment are critical procedures for residents consuming black carp (Mylopharyngodon piceus) contaminated with non-essential hazardous trace elements in an artificial wetland also known as an aquaculture pond. Samples were collected, dissected and digested to analyze the pollution status and health risk associated with four heavy metals present in eleven tissues of black carp fish based on the metal pollution index (MPI) and target hazard quotient (THQ). The results indicated that the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb were 1.36 ± 0.04 mg/kg, 13.70 ± 0.50 mg/kg, 2.85 ± 0.10 mg/kg, and 4.98 ± 0.18 mg/kg in large black carp, while the concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb were 4.27 ± 0.08 mg/kg, 50.84 ± 0.82 mg/kg, 9.33 ± 0.18 mg/kg, and 22.49 ± 0.42 mg/kg in small specimens. The MPI values showed that the heavy metal pollution detected in small fish was much more significant than in large fish. Notably, the polluted metals were more likely to accumulate in the viscera (e.g., brain and heart) rather than in the external tissues (e.g., muscle and epidermis). In addition, the estimated THQ and HI values for three edible tissues demonstrated that the health risk associated with muscle tissue intake of both small and large black carp was within the acceptable range, while the contaminants were likely to pose health risks associated with the consumption of fish head tissue. Small black carp are generally not fit for human consumption, thus both the epidermis and muscle of the fish are often cooked in China. However, the ingestion of large black carp is relatively safe. The contributions to THQ values of these four heavy metals decreased in the following sequence: Cr > Pb > Cd > Cu. Cr is the critical pollutant with its contribution to HI values measuring over 50%. We suggest that in artificial wetlands (e.g., aquaculture ponds) more attention should be paid to heavy metal pollution, the conservation of the aquaculture ecosystem, and effects on human health.

Mitochondria are critical cellular organelles that perform a wide variety of functions including energy production and immune regulation. To perform these functions, mitochondria contain approximately 1,500 proteins, the majority of which are encoded in the nuclear genome, translated in the cytoplasm, and translocated to the mitochondria using distinct mitochondria targeting sequences (MTS). Bacterial proteins can also contain MTS and localize to the mitochondria. For the obligate intracellular human pathogen, Chlamydia trachomatis, interaction with various host cell organelles promotes intracellular replication. However, the extent and mechanisms through which Chlamydia interact directly with mitochondria remain unclear. We investigated the presence of MTS in the C. trachomatis genome and discovered 30 genes with around 70% or greater probability of mitochondrial localization. Five are translocated to the mitochondria upon ectopic expression in HeLa cells. Mass spectrometry of isolated mitochondria from infected cells revealed that two of these proteins localize to the mitochondria during infection. Comparison of mitochondria from infected and uninfected cells suggests that chlamydial infection affects mitochondrial protein composition. Around 125 host proteins were significantly decreased or absent in mitochondria from infected cells. Among these are pro-apoptotic factors and those related to mitochondrial fission/fusion dynamics. Conversely, 82 host proteins were increased in or specific to mitochondria of infected cells, many of which act as anti-apoptotic factors and upregulators of cellular metabolism. These data support the notion that C. trachomatis specifically targets host mitochondria to manipulate cell fate decisions and metabolic function to support pathogen survival and replication.ImportanceObligate intracellular bacteria have evolved multiple means to promote their intracellular survival and replication within the otherwise harsh environment of the eukaryotic cell. Nutrient acquisition and avoidance of cellular defense mechanisms are critical to an intracellular lifestyle. Mitochondria are critical organelles that produce energy in the form of ATP and regulate programmed cell death responses to invasive pathogenic microbes. Cell death prior to completion of replication would be detrimental to the pathogen. C. trachomatis produces at least two and possibly more proteins that target the mitochondria. Collectively, C. trachomatis infection modulates mitochondrial protein composition favoring a profile suggestive of down-regulation of apoptosis.

Durability is one of the main obstacles that inhibits the commercialization of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells for transport applications, in which the microstructure of the catalyst layers (CLs) deteriorates under dynamic loading operation. In this study, CLs’ naturally random porous structure is simplified to be a random three-phase microstructure consisting of ionomers, catalyst agglomerates and pores, and the onset and growth of delamination process between the ionomer and catalyst agglomerate is investigated numerically by considering the catalyst agglomerate as elastic while the ionomer is elasto-viscoplastic, influenced by the cell assembly force arising from the cell clamping and variations in temperature and relative humidity. It is found that increasing clamping stress delays the delamination onset but has marginal effect on delamination propagation. The amplitude of hygrothermal cycles is the dominating factor in delamination and more frequent startup/shutdown of PEM fuel cells alleviates the delamination. Correlation between the rate of plastic strain accumulation in the ionomer and the interface delamination has been observed.

Objective: In this paper, we evaluate medical image analysis in hippocampus, immunohistochemistry analyzed and oxidative stress-mediated injury induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia on the mouse hippocampal CA1 area and the protective effects of telmisartan (TEL) on oxidative stress-mediated injury. Methodology: C57B6J mice have been randomly categorized as chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) group, CIH + telmisartan (CIH + TEL) group, the room air control group and blank control group, and examined during a period of 12 weeks. Brain images were obtained by Computed tomography scan, spatial learning and memory abilities were tested, and p47 NADPH oxidase subunit (p47PHOX) and 8-hydroxy-guanosine (8-OHG) were measured in the hippocampal CA1 area by immunohistochemistry and analyzed by Image-Pro Plus 6.0. Results: (1) After 12 weeks, there were no abnormalities in mice brain by CT scan. (2) Spatial learning ability measured by escape latency from the Morris water maze in the hypoxia group decreased, while intervention with telmisartan improved the hypoxiainduced spatial learning deficit (F = 3.04, P = 0.045). There exist no differences in spatial memory among any groups. (3) p47PHOX immunostaining significantly increased in hippocampal CA1 area after CIH, which was reduced by TEL intervention. (4) CIH significantly increased 8-OHG immunostaining in the hippocampal CA1 area, while intervention with TEL significantly reduced 8-OHG immunostaining. Conclusions: Telmisartan significantly reduced expression of NADPH oxidase p47PHOX and 8-OHG in CIH mice, and improved hippocampusdependent learning, suggesting that telmisartan can reduce CIH-induced neuronal oxidative stress-mediated injury.

Ecological efficiency (eco-efficiency) is the effectiveness of ecological resources in meeting human needs and is a good representation of the quality of a region's development. The traditional concept of improving eco-efficiency refers to maximizing economic benefits by minimizing resource costs and environmental loads. This article argues that the goal of eco-efficiency evaluation is not only to maximize economic benefits but also to achieve high-quality and coordinated development in many aspects so that more people can enjoy the fruits of development. Therefore, in the evaluation system of eco-efficiency, the input indexes take into account the consumption of human, energy resources, and the environmental load caused by them in a region. The output indexes take into account the four dimensions of "economy, innovation, social harmony, and openness." This study first establishes the nonexpected output superefficiency slacks-based measure model under the assumption of variable returns to scale to measure eco-efficiency in 11 cities of Zhejiang Province, China. Second, the spatial and temporal trends of eco-efficiency are studied with the help of the Malmquist index model. Moreover, regression analysis was conducted using the panel Tobit method to discuss the influencing factors of eco-efficiency. Several key results were obtained in this study: (1) The overall eco-efficiency in Zhejiang Province is rising steadily, but there are serious regional imbalances. (2) The improvement of eco-efficiency mainly relied on the scale efficiency from 2008 to 2013, but on pure technical efficiency from 2013 to 2018. (3) The share of tertiary industry, the number of scientific researchers, and the foreign trade dependence positively affect the improvement of eco-efficiency, but highway transportation mileage has a negative impact on the improvement of eco-efficiency. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:139-151. © 2022 SETAC.

The aim of this experiment was used to investigate the effects of different contents of dietary vitamin D3 on the growth performance and antioxidant and innate immune responses in juvenile black carp Mylopharyngodon piceus. Black carp juveniles were fed six levels of dietary vitamin D3 (VD3) (96, 220, 412, 840, 1480, and 3008 IU/Kg) for 9 weeks. Results showed that highest weight gain (WG) and special growth ratio (SGR) were obtained at 534.2 IU/Kg dietary VD3 according to the second-order polynomial regression model. The protein efficiency ratio (PER) of black carp could be significantly increased by 412, 840, and 1480 IU/Kg dietary VD3 (p < 0.05), while the feed conversion ratio (FCR) were reduced by 412, 840, and 1480 IU/Kg dietary VD3 (p < 0.05). Adequate dietary VD3 content (412, 840, and 1480 IU/Kg) could significantly upregulate expression levels of lipoxygenase 5 (LPO 5); increase the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), and glutathione reductase (GR); and improve GSH contents and total antioxidant capacities (T-AOC) in the liver of black carp. However, glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were significantly reduced by adequate dietary VD3 content (412, 840, and 1480 IU/Kg) in the fish liver. In addition, 412, 840, and 1480 IU/Kg dietary VD3 could significantly upregulate the mRNA expression levels of interferon-α (IFN-α), lysozyme (LYZ), hepcidin (HEPC), natural resistance-associated macrophage protein (NRAMP), and complement component 3 (C3) and C9 in the hemocytes and liver of black carp juveniles compared with the VD3-deficient diet (96 IU/Kg). Meanwhile, higher contents of dietary VD3 could increase serum LYZ and ACP activities and C3 and C4 contents in black carp juveniles compared with the groups fed VD3-deficient diet. In conclusion, these results suggest that adequate dietary VD3 could increase growth performances, improve antioxidant capacities, and then enhance innate immune parameters in black carp juveniles.

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the flow rate of natural gas released underwater from a pipe orifice and the associated combustion behavior on the water surface in an aerodynamic channel. A stainless-steel pipeline with a diameter of 25 mm was placed in a water tank of 1 m (height) ×0.5 m (width) ×0.5 m (length). Methane gas was released from a cylinder controlled by a flow meter and pressure gauge. Ten k-type thermocouples, fixed in two directions, were used to measure the temperature profile. The variation parameters of orifice diameter (1 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm), pressure range (0.02 to 0.55 MPa) and gas release depth (0.4 m, 0.6 m, and 0.8 m) were varied to study the flame geometry and temperature profile. A digital CCD camera and an infrared camera are employed to record the visible and temperature distribution, respectively. Results show that flame temperature decreases vertically; an initially high temperature region in the core flame quickly decreases in the plume region. Flame oscillation behavior is due to gas diffusion and flame turbulence. The stability of a burning flame is dependent on an increase in leakage pressure and large orifice diameter; shallow water depths provide greater flame stability. A new correlation is proposed to characterize the flame height to diameter ratio and the dimensionless heat release rate Q*.

In this article, we propose WiSign that recognizes the continuous sentences of American Sign Language (ASL) with existing WiFi infrastructure. Instead of identifying the individual ASL words from the manually segmented ASL sentence in existing works, WiSign can automatically segment the original channel state information (CSI) based on the power spectral density (PSD) segmentation method. WiSign constructs a five-layer Deep Belief Network (DBN) to automatically extract the features of isolated fragments, and then uses the Hidden Markov Model (HMM) with Gaussian mixture and Forward-Backward algorithm to recognize sign words. In order to further improve the accuracy, WiSign also integrates the language model N-gram, which uses the grammar rules of ASL to calibrate the recognized results of sign words. We implement a prototype of WiSign with commercial WiFi devices and evaluate its performance in real indoor environments. The results show that WiSign achieves satisfactory accuracy when recognizing ASL sentences that involve the movements of the head, arms, hands, and fingers.

DNA damage results in mutations and plays critical roles in cancer development, progression, and treatment. Targeting DNA damage response in cancers by inhibiting poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs) offers an important therapeutic strategy. However, the failure of PARP inhibitors to markedly benefit patients suggests the necessity for developing new strategies to improve their efficacy. Here, we show that the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) complex members significantly correlates with mutations (as proxies of DNA damages), and that the combination of CDK4/6 and PARP inhibitors shows synergy in both RB-proficient and RB-deficient breast cancer cells. As PARPs constitute sensors of DNA damage and are broadly involved in multiple DNA repair pathways, we hypothesized that the combined inhibition of PARPs and DNA repair (or repair-related) pathways critical for cancer (DRPCC) should show synergy. To identify druggable candidate DRPCC(s), we analyzed the correlation between the genome-wide expression of individual genes and the mutations for 27 different cancer types, assessing 7146 exomes and over 1,500,000 somatic mutations. Pathway enrichment analyses of the top-ranked genes correlated with mutations indicated “cell cycle pathway” as the top candidate DRPCC. Additionally, among functional cell-cycle complexes, the CDK4/6 complex showed the most significant negative correlation with mutations, also suggesting that combined CDK4/6 and PARP inhibition might exhibit synergy. Furthermore, combination treatment showed synergy in not only RB-proficient but also RB-deficient breast cancer cells in a reactive oxygen species-dependent manner. These findings suggest a potential therapeutic strategy to improve the efficacy of PARP and CDK4/6 inhibitors in cancer treatment.

To investigate the characteristics of ground level ozone (O3) for Henan Province, the ambient air quality monitoring data of 2015 and 2016 were analyzed. The result showed that the 8 h-max-O3 concentrations displayed a distinct seasonality, where the maximum and minimum values, averaging 140.41, 54.19 μg/m3, occurred in summer and winter, respectively. There is a significant correlation between meteorological factors and O3 concentration. The Voronoi neighborhood averaging analysis indicated that O3, temperature, and ultraviolet radiation in Henan province were decreased from northwest to southeast, while relative humidity and precipitation displayed the opposite trend. Besides meteorological factors, the chemical processes play an essential role in ozone formation. Reactions of NO, NO2 and O3 form a closed system, and the partitioning point of the OX-component (O3 + NO2) was at 40 and 80 μg/m3 for nitrogen oxide (NOX) in winter and summer, respectively, with NO2 dominating at higher NOx pollution and O3 being the major component at lower levels. The relationship between oxidant (OX = O3+NO2) and NOx concentrations were evaluated to understand the regional and local contribution of OX. It showed that high regional contribution occurred in the spring, whereas the highest local contribution lead to the summer peak of O3 observed in Zhengzhou. This present study reveals important environment impacts from the photochemical process and the meteorological conditions in the region with better understanding on the O3 characterization.