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Numerous studies have shown that the NALP3 inflammasome plays an important role in various immune and inflammatory diseases. However, whether the NALP3 inflammasome is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) is unclear. In our study, we confirmed that high glucose (HG) concentrations induced NALP3 inflammasome activation both in vivo and in vitro. Blocking NALP3 inflammasome activation by NALP3/ASC shRNA and caspase-1 inhibition prevented IL-1β production and eventually attenuated podocyte and glomerular injury under HG conditions. We also found that thioredoxin (TRX)-interacting protein (TXNIP), which is a pro-oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory factor, activated NALP3 inflammasome by interacting with NALP3 in HG-exposed podocytes. Knocking down TXNIP impeded NALP3 inflammasome activation and alleviated podocyte injury caused by HG. In summary, the NALP3 inflammasome mediates podocyte and glomerular injury in DN, moreover, TXNIP participates in the formation and activation of the NALP3 inflammasome in podocytes during DN, which represents a novel mechanism of podocyte and glomerular injury under diabetic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The MD simulations and the Bell's model are employed to evaluate the adhesion. • The largest percentage change in adhesion energy is caused by temperature. • The H 3 C-PDMS-CH 3 with 30 repeat units presents the highest adhesion energy. • Temperature, molecular weight and polarity of the terminal group affect adhesion. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-silica interface commonly exists in adhesion system such as wall-climbing robots. In order to develop PDMS materials with excellent adhesion properties, it is necessary to understand their adhesion mechanism. Available studies on the adhesion performance of PDMS are mainly focused on the fabrication of microstructures. The adhesion energy of PDMS molecular structure on silica interface is rarely addressed. Therefore, present study investigates the adhesion at nanoscale by establishing a molecular model of the PDMS-silica interface. The molecular dynamics simulations and the Bell model are employed to evaluate the effects of chain length and typical terminal group (methyl group, hydroxyl group, and hydrogen group) of PDMS and temperature on the adhesion characteristics. The results demonstrate that the PDMS with 30 repeat units presents the highest adhesion energy but temperature is the factor that causes the greatest proportional change in the adhesion energy of the PDMS-silica interface. Rising the temperature of system in a certain range, the molecular weight or polarity of PDMS terminal group is beneficial for adhesion energy improvement as well. These results are important guidelines for the development, design and application of PDMS materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Engineering practice proved that perforating the sand overlying clay and filling the borehole with drilling fluid could effectively mitigate the punch-through potential. • Perforating the sand overlying clay mitigates the punch-through potential mainly by weakening the sand around the boreholes. • The optimal perforation depth is the thickness of the sand layer. • Perforation right under the spudcan is better than in the 3:1 projection zone. Perforation drilling has been successfully conducted in engineering practice to mitigate the punch-through potential in stiff-over-soft clays. However, it has not been implemented in sand-over-clay stratum which usually shows high potential of punch-through. In this paper, an engineering case successfully perforating the sand layer is reported, in which the borehole was filled with drilling mud. Its mechanism is investigated numerically with a finite element model based on the coupled Eulerian–Lagrangian (CEL) method. And effects of the borehole diameter, borehole depth and the drilling position on the mitigation efficiency are discussed. The preliminary study shows that the mitigation effect of perforating the sand overlying clay is most probably due to the weakening of the sand surrounding the borehole. Simulation also shows that the mitigation efficiency increases with the increase of borehole depth. However, it shows little improvement if the borehole depth increases beyond the sand layer. Drilling directly under the spudcan is more effective than the region expanding outwards from the edge with a ratio of 3:1. The reported engineering case and the numerical findings are of great significance for guiding the future engineering practice and ensuring the safe operation of jack-up drilling units in sand overlying clay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transmission error is an important reason for instability in helical gears. A six-degree-of-freedom dynamic model coupled flexional, torsional and axial motion of a helical gear transmission system, which includes time varying mesh stiffness, bearing supporting stiffness, mesh damping and backlash, is developed, after taking into account the dynamic characteristics and vibration responses of helical gear in three dimensions. Influences of involute contact ratio, bearing supporting stiffness, mesh damping and backlash on the dynamic transmission errors and vibration stability of the helical gear system are investigated using numerical simulation technique. The effects on dynamic transmission errors and stabilities by contact ratio, supporting stiffness and mesh damping as well as gear backlash are analyzed. The intrinsic relationship between above parameters and dynamic transmission errors and stabilities for helical gear system are presented. The stable and unstable regions under different parameters are given. The results in this paper can be helpful to the dynamic and stable design of a helical gear transmission system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study aimed to set-up an ultra performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (UPLC–ESI–MS) method for the determination of salivary l-phenylalanine and l-leucine for early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). In addition, the diagnostic accuracy for both biomarkers was established by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Mean recoveries of l-phenylalanine and l-leucine ranged from 88.9 to 108.6% were obtained. Intra- and inter-day precision for both amino acids was less than 7%, with acceptable accuracy. Linear regression coefficients of both biomarkers were greater than 0.99. The diagnostic accuracy for both biomarkers was established by analyzing 60 samples from apparently healthy individuals and 30 samples from OSCC patients. Both potential biomarkers demonstrated significant differences in concentrations in distinguishing OSCC from control (P<0.05). As a single biomarker, l-leucine might have better predictive power in OSCC with T1–2 (early stage of OSCC including stage I and II), and l-phenylalanine might be used for screening and diagnosis of OSCC with T3–4 (advanced stage of OSCC including stage III and IV). The combination of l-phenylalanine and l-leucine will improve the sensitivity (92.3%) and specificity (91.7%) for early diagnosis of OSCC. The possibility of salivary metabolite biomarkers for OSCC diagnosis is successfully demonstrated in this study. This developed method shows advantages with non-invasive, simple, reliable, and also provides lower detection limits and excellent precision and accuracy. These non-invasive salivary biomarkers may lead to a simple clinical tool for the early diagnosis of OSCC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently, much attention has been attached to the material of cuprous iodide (CuI) single crystals. In this paper, a detailed study of the variation in the nucleation density and the growth of CuI crystals in silica gel as a function of the concentration of feed solution, pH of gel, gel aging time, growth temperature and volume of the feed solution is presented. The optimum conditions for growth of large size CuI single crystals in gel are: pH 5, concentration of complex 0.244M, gel aging 72h, temperature 45°C. A simple procedure for increasing the size of the crystals is adopted and the CuI single crystal with the size of 4mm3 is obtained. Also, the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of as-grown CuI crystals in silica gel is evaluated by comparing its PL spectra with that of CuI crystals grown by solvent evaporation method. The results could provide a useful clue to further improve the properties of CuI single crystals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: As a promising material for lead-free positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) ceramics, (1−x)BaTiO3–xK0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (x=0.002–0.008) samples were prepared by conventional sintering (CS) and microwave sintering (MS) techniques. The effects of different sintering method on the phase composition, microstructure and PTCR characteristics of the ceramics were investigated. The sintering cycle of ceramics was 2.5h by MS, whereas it took 14h by CS. Using the microwave heating, the sintering temperature to get high dense material is lowered by 40°C compared to CS samples. The XRD results showed that all samples were pure tetragonal phases by both sintering process. Meanwhile, the MS samples had smaller grain size and uniform grain distribution. For PTC ceramics, MS was superior to CS due to rapid processing and uniform temperature distribution throughout the specimen. Thus, it exhibited improved PTC properties with lower room temperature resistivity (ρ RT), higher Curie temperature (T c) and steep resistance jump (lg(ρ max/ρ min)). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Background: Oral cancer is 1 of the 6 most common human cancers, with an annual incidence of >300,000 cases worldwide. This study aimed to investigate potential biomarkers in human saliva to facilitate the early diagnosis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods: Unstimulated whole saliva obtained from OSCC patients (n=30) and apparently healthy individuals (n=30) were assayed with ultra-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (UPLC–MS) in hydrophilic interaction chromatography mode. The data were analyzed using a nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test, logistic regression, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) to evaluate the predictive power of each of 4 biomarkers, or combinations of biomarkers, for OSCC screening. Results: Four potential salivary biomarkers demonstrated significant differences (P <0.05) in concentrations between patients at stages I–II and the healthy individuals. The area under the curve (AUC) values in control vs OSCC I–II mode based on choline, betaine, pipecolinic acid, and l-carnitine were 0.926, 0.759, 0.994, and 0.708, respectively. Four salivary biomarkers in combination yielded satisfactory accuracy (0.997), sensitivity (100%), and specificity (96.7%) in distinguishing OSCC I–II from control. Conclusions: Salivary metabolite biomarkers for the early diagnosis of OSCC were verified in this study. The proposed approach is expected to be applied as a potential technique of preclinical screening of OSCC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Using molecular dynamics simulations, we demonstrate pumping of water through a carbon nanotube by applying the combination of a rotating electric field and a rotating magnetic field. The driving force is a Lorentz force generated from the motion of charges in the magnetic field, and the motion is caused by the rotation of the electric field. We find that there exits a linear relationship between the average pumping velocity v and magnetic field strength B, which can be used to control the flux of the continuous unidirectional water flow. This approach is expected to be used in liquid circulation without a pressure gradient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this study, an analytical method using 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(N-hydroxysuccinimidyl butyric ester)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacene (TMBB-Su) as the labeling reagent has been developed to simultaneously detect Se-methylselenocysteine (SeMeCys), selenomethionine (SeMet), S-methylcysteine (SMeCys) and methionine (Met) in green tea and gynostemma pentaphyllum infusion by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to fluorescence detection. The derivatization of four targeted amino acids proceeded with 80μmol/L TMBB-Su in 10mmol/L mixed acid buffer (pH7.20) at 25°C for 25min, which was optimized by orthogonal array design. The baseline separation of these amino acid derivatives was obtained on a C8 column with a binary gradient elution using the mobile phase of 20mmol/L mixed acid buffer solution (pH6.40) and methanol with 2.5% tetrahydrofuran (THF). Under the optimal derivatization and separation conditions, the detection limit of each targeted amino acid was achieved to 0.2nmol/L. A good linear relationship in the range of 0.001–1μmol/L was obtained with a regression coefficient higher than 0.9912 for each targeted amino acids, and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) ranged from 1.8% to 3.5% for within-day determination (n =6) and from 3.8% to 4.1% for between-day determination (n =6). The proposed method can be used to detect selenium- and sulfur-containing amino acids simultaneously, compared to the existing HPLC with element-specific detection methods. Recoveries within 94.4–108.3% from tea and gynostemma pentaphyllum samples indicated that the matrix effect could be negligible in sample analysis. SeMeCys, SeMet, SMeCys and Met were all found in selenium enriched green tea and gynostemma pentaphyllum infusion. SeMeCys was also detected in normal green tea infusion with a mean content of 0.98μg/g. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

To realize the application of spintronics, possible magnetism in graphene-based material is an important issue to be addressed. At the tight banding level of armchair graphene nanoribbons, there are two flat bands in the band structure, two Van Hove singularities in the density of states, and the introducing of the next-nearest-neighbor hopping term cause high asymmetry in them, which plays a key role in the behavior of magnetic correlation. We further our studies within determinant quantum Monte Carlo simulation to treat the electron-electron interaction. It is found that the armchair graphene nanoribbons show carrier mediated magnetic correlation. In the armchair graphene nanoribbons, the antiferromagnetic correlation dominates around half filling, while the ferromagnetic correlation dominates as electron filling is lower than 0.8. Moreover, the ferromagnetic correlation is strengthened markedly as the next-nearest-neighbor hopping energy increases. The resultant manipulation of ferromagnetism in graphene-based material may facilitate the development of spintronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) technique with artificial vascular graft reconstruction for patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer has been rarely reported since it is a very challenging technique. However, preliminary experience for the technique has been reported at the Department of Pancreatic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University.1,2 The rising popularity of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer patients may result in the increase of operative difficulty due to tissue edema and many other factors caused by the chemotherapy. The main aim of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility, safety, and key surgical procedure for LPD using video evidence. Methods: A three-dimensional upper abdominal computed tomography angiography (CTA) scan done to a 51-year-old man brought to the center with upper abdominal pain showed a mass in the uncinate process of the pancreas, with over 180-degree involvement of the superior mesenteric vein. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangial drainage (PTCD) was performed to reduce jaundice while endoscopic ultrasound and fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) were done to confirm the diagnosis of adenocarcinoma. The patient underwent two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy using albumin-bound paclitaxel gemcitabine + program. The chemotherapy helped in significantly relieving the symptoms where CA 199 reduced from 586.7 IU/ml to 36.73 IU/ml, and the tumor maximum diameter was reduced from 4.3 cm to 2.2 cm. The violated superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and the tumor were en bloc resected, and a 4.0-cm artificial vascular graft was placed for reconstruction. Bing's anastomosis was performed using pancreaticojejunostomy3 while cholangiojejunostomy was performed using continuous stitching. The gastroduodenal artery (GDA) stump was wrapped with ligamentum teres hepatis after the completion of gastrointestinal anastomosis. The specimen was then removed through the extended umbilical incision (4 cm) and the operation was completed after the drainage tube was placed. Results: The length of intraoperative excisional SMV, duration of artificial vascular graft reconstruction, operation time, and volume of intraoperative blood loss were 4.0 cm, 30 min, 520 min, and 800 mL, respectively. Histopathological examination of ypT2N1 indicated that 1 of the 27 lymph nodes was positive. Pathological results showed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma with all margins being negative. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the feasibility of total laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy combined with vascular resection and artificial vascular graft reconstruction in properly selected cases of pancreatic cancer with vein involvement after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. It is worth noting that skilled laparoscopic technicians and effective teamwork are necessities for safe completion of the procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prenatal lethality associated with mouse knockout of Mettl16, a recently identified RNA N6-methyladenosine (m6A) methyltransferase, has hampered characterization of the essential role of METTL16-mediated RNA m6A modification in early embryonic development. Here, using cross-species single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, we found that during early embryonic development, METTL16 is more highly expressed in vertebrate hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) than other methyltransferases. In Mettl16-deficient zebrafish, proliferation capacity of embryonic HSPCs is compromised due to G1/S cell cycle arrest, an effect whose rescue requires Mettl16 with intact methyltransferase activity. We further identify the cell-cycle transcription factor mybl2b as a directly regulated by Mettl16-mediated m6A modification. Mettl16 deficiency resulted in the destabilization of mybl2b mRNA, likely due to lost binding by the m6A reader Igf2bp1 in vivo. Moreover, we found that the METTL16-m6A-MYBL2-IGF2BP1 axis controlling G1/S progression is conserved in humans. Collectively, our findings elucidate the critical function of METTL16-mediated m6A modification in HSPC cell cycle progression during early embryonic development. Synopsis: METTL16 plays a crucial role in N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification of RNA. This study sheds light on the significance of this event in early embryonic development and cell cycle progression. METTL16 is highly expressed in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) across vertebrates Mettl16 maintains HSPC populations by ensuring G1/S progression in vivo Mettl16-mediated m6A modification of mRNA coding for transcription factor mybl2b enhances its stability The METTL16/m6A/MYBL2/IGF2BP1 axis contributes to G1/S progression in both zebrafish and humans The N6-methyladenosine methyltransferase METTL16 regulates cell cycle progression of HPSCs during embryonic development by stabilizing mybl2b mRNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upconversion fluorescence thermometry has been recognized as one of the most promising techniques for the temperature measurement and multi-mode fluorescence temperature sensing can improve the accuracy and widen the temperature range. Herein, a fluorescence thermometry was developed based on the MgAlON: Er3+ transparent ceramic. It was demonstrated that the enrichment of Er3+ in grain boundaries increased susceptibility to temperature variations of the cross-relaxation rate, which endowed the non-thermally coupled energy levels with temperature sensing properties and led to the multi-mode thermometric capability. A novel four-mode temperature sensor based on fluorescence intensity ratios (2H 11/2 /4S 3/2 and 4F 9/2 /4S 3/2) and fluorescent lifetimes (4F 9/2 and 4S 3/2) was realized in the temperature range of 180–500 K, which brought about the maximum absolute and relative sensitivities reached 0.0258 K−1 and 2.95% K−1, respectively. This work reveals that the MgAlON: Er3+ and the grain boundary functionalization of transparent ceramics could have potential applications for fluorescence thermometry. • A novel four-mode MgAlON: Er3+ fluorescent temperature sensor was prepared. • The maximum absolute and relative sensitivities of MgAlON: Er3+ reached 0.0258 K−1 and 2.95% K−1, respectively. • The grain boundary enrichment of Er3+ makes the cross-relaxation rate temperature-sensitive, forming a multi-mode fluorescence thermometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is an important economic crop; therefore, enhancing cotton yield and cultivating superior varieties are key research priorities. The seedling stage, a critical phase in cotton production, significantly influences the subsequent growth and yield of the crop. Therefore, breeding experts often choose to measure phenotypic parameters during this period to make breeding decisions. Traditional methods of phenotypic parameter measurement require manual processes, which are not only tedious and inefficient but can also damage the plants. To effectively, rapidly, and accurately extract three-dimensional phenotypic parameters of cotton seedlings, precise segmentation of phenotypic organs must first be achieved. This paper proposes a neural network-based segmentation algorithm for cotton seedling organs, which, compared to the average precision of 75.4% in traditional unsupervised learning, achieves an average precision of 96.67%, demonstrating excellent segmentation performance. The segmented leaf and stem point clouds are used for the calculation of phenotypic parameters such as stem length, leaf length, leaf width, and leaf area. Comparisons with actual measurements yield coefficients of determination R 2 of 91.97%, 90.97%, 92.72%, and 95.44%, respectively. The results indicate that the algorithm proposed in this paper can achieve precise segmentation of stem and leaf organs, and can efficiently and accurately extract three-dimensional phenotypic structural information of cotton seedlings. In summary, this study not only made significant progress in the precise segmentation of cotton seedling organs and the extraction of three-dimensional phenotypic structural information, but the algorithm also demonstrates strong applicability to different varieties of cotton seedlings. This provides new perspectives and methods for plant researchers and breeding experts, contributing to the advancement of the plant phenotypic computation field and bringing new breakthroughs and opportunities to the field of plant science research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is not sensitive to most chemotherapy drugs, leading to poor chemotherapy efficacy. Recently, Trametinib and Palbociclib have promising prospects in the treatment of pancreatic cancer. This article aims to explore the effects of Trametinib on pancreatic cancer and address the underlying mechanism of resistance as well as its reversal strategies. The GDSC (Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer) and CTD2 (Cancer Target Discovery and Development) were utilized to screen the potential drug candidate in PDAC cell lines. The dose-increase method combined with the high-dose shock method was applied to induce the Trametinib-resistant PANC-1 and MIA PaCa-2 cell lines. The CCK8 proliferation assay, colony formation assay, flow cytometry, and western blot were conducted to verify the inhibitory effect of Trametinib and Palbociclib. RNA-seq was performed in resistant PDAC cell lines to find the differential expression genes related to drug resistance and predict pathways leading to the reversal of Trametinib resistance. The GDSC and CTD2 database screening revealed that Trametinib demonstrates a significant inhibitory effect on PDAC. We found that Trametinib has a lower IC50 than Gemcitabine in PDAC cell lines. Both Trametinib and Gemcitabine can decrease the proliferation capacity of pancreatic cells, induce cell cycle arrest, and increase apoptosis. Simultaneously, the phosphorylation of the AKT and ERK pathways were inhibited by the treatment of Trametinib. In addition, the RNA-seq of Trametinib-induced resistance PDAC cell lines reveals that the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-RB-E2F regulatory axis and G2/M DNA damage checkpoint might lead the drug resistance. Besides, the combination of Trametinib with Palbociclib could inhibit the proliferation and cell cycle of both resistant cells lines and also restore the sensitivity of drug-resistant cells to Trametinib. Last but not least, the interferon-α and interferon-γ expression were upregulated in resistance cell lines, which might lead to the reversal of drug resistance. The study shows Trametinib has a critical inhibitory effect on PDAC. Besides, the combination of Trametinib with Palbociclib can inhibit the proliferation of PDAC-resistant cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct measurement of slip length is based on the measured fluid velocity near solid boundary. However, previous micro particle image velocimetry/particle tracking velocimetry (microPIV/PTV) measurements have reported surprisingly large measured near-wall velocities of pressuredriven flow in apparent contradiction with the no-slip hypothesis and experimental results from other techniques. To better interpret the measured results of the microPIV/PTV, we performed velocity profile measurements near a hydrophilic wall ( z = 0.25-1.5 μm) with two sizes of tracer particles (ϕ 50 nm and ϕ200 nm). The experimental results indicate that, at less than 1 μm from the wall, the deviations between the measured velocities and no-slip theoretical values obviously decrease from 93% of ϕ200 nm particles to 48% of ϕ50 nm particles. The Boltzmann-like exponential measured particle concentrations near wall were found. Based on the non linear Boltzmann distribution of particle concentration and the effective focus plane thickness, we illustrated the reason of the apparent velocity increase near wall and proposed a method to correct the measured velocity profile. By this method, the deviations between the corrected measured velocities and the no-slip theoretical velocity decrease from 45.8% to 10%, and the measured slip length on hydrophilic glass is revised from 75 nm to 16 nm. These results indicated that the particle size and the biased particle concentration distribution can significantly affect near wall velocity measurement via microPIV/PTV, and result in larger measured velocity and slip length close to wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 3, 5-Diiodothyronine (T2), a natural metabolite of triiodothyronine (T3) from deiodination pathway, can mimic biologic effects of T3 without inducing thyrotoxic effects. Recent studies revealed T3 acted as a protective factor against diabetic nephropathy (DN). Nevertheless, little is known about the effect of T2 on DN. This study was designed to investigate whether and how T2 affects experimental models of DN in vivo and in vitro. Administration of T2 was found to prevent significant decrease in SIRT1 protein expression and activity as well as increases in blood glucose, urine albumin excretion, matrix expansion, transforming growth factor-β1 expression, fibronectin and type IV collagen deposition in the diabetic kidney. Concordantly, similar effects of T2 were exhibited in the cultured rat mesangial cells (RMC) exposed to high glucose and that could be abolished by a known SIRT1 inhibitor, sirtinol. Moreover, enhanced NF-κB acetylation and JNK phosphorylation present in both diabetic rats and high glucose-treated RMC were distinctly dampened by T2. Collectively, these results suggested that T2 was a protective agent against renal damage in diabetic nephropathy, whose action involved regulation of SIRT1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Aims The aim of this study was to explore meprinα-mediated transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in macrophages. Methods and results Accelerated atherosclerotic lesions were established by administration of a high-fat diet in apolipoprotein E-deficient (apoE–/–) mice. Lentiviral overexpression of meprinα in the thoracic aortic artery during plaque formation enhanced intra-plaque macrophage induction of ROS as well as formation of atherosclerotic plaques, whereas AG1478 (specific inhibitor of the EGFR) treatment exerted the opposite effect. A meprinα inhibitor abrogated EGFR activation in mice. In cultured J774a.1 macrophages, oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL) increased ROS formation and EGFR activation through a ligand [heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor (HB-EGF)]-dependent pathway. However, a meprinα inhibitor or specific siRNA inhibited ROS production and EGFR activation. Recombinant mouse meprinα enhanced OxLDL-stimulated production of ROS and induced HB-EGF. Inhibition of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase by SB203580 decreased OxLDL-stimulated production of ROS. Conversely, inhibition of meprinα or PI3K-Rac1 inhibitors also decreased p38 activity in OxLDL-stimulated macrophages. In addition, inhibition of meprinα reversed OxLDL-stimulated activation of PI3K. Conclusion Meprinα promotes OxLDL-induced plaque formation and ROS release by transactivation of the EGFR, followed by activation of the PI3K/Rac1/p38 pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuprous iodide (CuI) is the ultrafastest inorganic scintillation crystal at present. But the low intensity of its ultrafast component luminescence limits the wide application of CuI at room temperature. In this paper, the photoluminescence (PL) characteristics of different quality CuI crystals before and after annealing in various conditions have been investigated in terms of peak position and peak intensity. The origin of different emission band peaked around 426 nm, 680 nm, 718 nm and 820 nm is discussed and the excitation spectra of two mainly emission bands is obtained. Meanwhile, the relative peak intensity of the ultrafast luminescence component to slow lumiescence component of CuI crystals has been studied with respect to the defect concentration of I vacancies. Especially, the method of improving the intensity of ultrafast compentent luminescence of CuI crystals is concluded. These results can provide an important reference for optimizing the luminescence performance of CuI crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1,3,5,7-Tetramethyl-8-( N-hydroxysuccinimidyl butyric ester)difluoroboradiaza- s-indacene (TMBB-Su), a new BODIPY-based fluorescent probe, was designed and synthesized for the labeling of amino compounds. It was used as a pre-column derivatizing reagent for determination of amino acid neurotransmitters by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The fluorescence quantum yield in acetonitrile increased from 0.84 to 0.95 when it reacted with amino acid neurotransmitters. Derivatization of TMBB-Su with seven amino acid neurotransmitters was completed within 30 min at 25 °C in 24.0 mmol L pH 7.8 boric acid buffer. The separation was performed on a C column with methanol-water-buffer 55:35:10 ( v/ v) as mobile phase (buffer: 0.10 mol L HCit-0.10 mol L NaOH). Interference from the other concomitant amino acids was eliminated successfully by means of pH gradient elution. With fluorescence detection at 494 and 504 nm for excitation and emission, respectively, the limits of detection (signal-to-noise ratio = 3) were from 2.1 to 12.0 nmol L. The proposed method has been used to determine amino acid neurotransmitters in the cerebral cortex of mice with cerebral ischemia at the convalescence stage with satisfactory recoveries varying from 94.9 to 105.2%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this article, the simultaneous determination of primary and secondary aliphatic amines including dimethylamine (DMA), diethylamine and eleven primary aliphatic amines by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection has been achieved using a BODIPY-based fluorescent derivatization reagent, 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-(N-hydroxysuccinimidyl butyric ester)-difluoroboradiaza-s-indacene (TMBB-Su). The derivatization reaction of TMBB-Su with aliphatic amines was optimized with orthogonal design experiment and the derivatization reaction proceeded at 15°C for 25min. The baseline separation of these derivatives was carried out on a C8 column with methanol–tetrahydrofuran-50mM pH 6.50 HAc–NaAc buffer (55/5/40, v/v/v) as a mobile phase. Detected at the excitation and emission of 490 and 510nm, respectively, the detection limits were obtained in the range of 0.01–0.04nM (signal-to-noise ratio=3). The proposed method has been applied to the determination of trace aliphatic amines in viscera samples from mice without complex pretreatment or enrichment method. The recoveries ranged from 95.1% to 106.8%, depending on the samples investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Cuprous iodide (CuI) crystals are grown by slow evaporation technique in three different solvents. Large CuI single crystals with dimensions of 7.5mm×5mm×3mm are obtained in pure acetonitrile solvent at 40°C. The as-grown crystals are analyzed by X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, current–voltage characteristic and photoluminescence spectrum. The results show that the CuI crystal has the zinc-blende structure with no secondary phase. The elemental Cu/I ratio is 1.09:1. The melting point of the crystal is 875K and two phase transitions occur from room temperature to its melting point. The electrical conductivity of CuI platelet crystal is in the range of 1.11–2.38Ω−1 cm−1. Under ultraviolet excitation, the CuI crystals exhibit three emission bands with peak positions at 426, 529 and 671nm. The nature of the luminescence is discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study on crystal growth of cuprous iodide (CuI) by CuI-HI decomplexation method in HI acid. It discusses details of the experimentation to measure the solubility and complex supersaturation ratio of CuI-HI complex and HI acid in silica gel. It explores the importance of CuI because of its properties such as large ban gap, negative spin-orbit splitting, and large temperature dependency.

Abstract: Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces the expression of a wide range of pro-inflammatory mediators via NF-κB activation. These pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β), may be important in triggering atherogenesis. We have previously observed that actinonin, a meprin inhibitor, suppressed the formation of atherosclerotic plaques and, in in vitro experiments, actinonin also had an effect on the way LPS altered THP-1 cell function. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether meprin-α regulates LPS-induced production of TNF-α and IL-1β in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and its potential mechanisms of action. We observed that meprin-α could enhance LPS-induced expression of TNF-α and IL-1β mRNA and protein in a time- and concentration-dependent manner, assessed using real-time PCR and ELISA. Meprin-α also significantly increased LPS-induced NF-κB transcriptional activity. Furthermore, we assessed the effects of meprin-α specific siRNA on the production of TNF-α and IL-1β to examine whether meprin-α was involved in the process of LPS-induced activation of PBMCs. Our results show that LPS-induced IL-1β and TNF-α production by PBMCs was significantly reversed by meprin-α specific siRNA. In addition, the augmentation of meprin-α of the LPS-induced expression of TNF-α and IL-1β was significantly decreased by Bay-117082, an inhibitor of NF-κB. In conclusion, our data indicate that meprin-α is capable of increasing LPS-induced production of cytokines in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, which might be associated with the activation of NF-κB. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Meprin is a member of the astacin family of zinc metalloendopeptidases. It is widely distributed in the body, and hydrolyzes and inactivates several endogenous vasoactive peptides, some of which could alter various functions of cells in the arterial wall. We assessed the influence of chronic meprin inhibition by daily administration of actinonin (5mg/kg body weight per day; i.p.) on the development of atherosclerotic changes in ApoE−/− mice. Mice were fed a high-fat (21% fat), cholesterol-rich (1% cholesterol) Western-type diet for 16 weeks starting at 10 weeks of age. At 20 weeks of age, randomly selected ApoE−/− mice were treated with Western-type diet chow pellets supplemented with commercially available actinonin (meprin-I group) for 6 weeks; the diet of control ApoE−/− mice was supplemented with saline (placebo group). There was no difference in body weight, hemodynamic data and serum lipids between the two groups at the end of the dietary period. Meprin-I treatment was found to elevate levels of natriuretic peptides (NPs) in plasma and the vascular wall by radioimmunoassay. Meprin-I treatment also decreased plaque volume and suppressed lipid deposition in carotid arteries. Meprin-I treatment reduced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and apoptosis (which are associated with atherosclerosis) in the vascular wall. In in vitro experiments, meprin-I treatment increased NP function on cell apoptosis, proliferation, and intracellular ROS generation in the THP-1 cell line and primary vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). These results suggest that the meprin inhibitor actinonin may have a protective role in atherosclerosis, and that meprin inhibition may be therapeutically useful in atherosclerosis prevention. Suppression of degradation in the arteries of endogenously released NPs (particularly atrial natriuretic peptide and brain natriuretic peptide), or other kinins known to have anti-atherosclerotic actions, may at least partially contribute to the inhibitory effects of meprin-I on atherosclerotic changes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Acute brain injury (ABI) is a broad concept mainly comprised of sudden parenchymal brain injury. Acute brain injury outcomes are dependent not only on the severity of the primary injury, but the delayed secondary injury that subsequently follows as well. These are both taken into consideration when determining the patient's prognosis. Growing clinical and experimental evidence demonstrates that "preconditioning," a prophylactic approach in which the brain is exposed to various pre-injury stressors, can induce varying degrees of "tolerance" against the impact of the ABI by modulating neuroinflammation. In this review, we will summarize the pathophysiology of ABI, and discuss the involved mechanisms of neuroinflammation in ABI, as well as existing experimental and clinical studies demonstrating the efficacy of preconditioning methods in various types of ABI by modulating neuroinflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The depth image-based rendering paves the path to success of 3-D video. However, one issue still remained in 3-D video is how to fill the disocclusion areas. To this end, Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is commonly employed to generate the background, and then to fill the holes. Nevertheless, GMM usually has poor performance for sequences with big foreground reciprocation. In this paper, we aim to enhance the synthesis performance. Firstly, we propose an expectation maximization based GMM background generation method, in which the pixel mixture distribution is derived. Secondly, we propose a refined foreground depth correlation approach, which recovers the background frame-by-frame based on depth information. Finally, we adaptively choose the background pixels from these two methods for filling. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms existing non-deep learning based hole filling methods by around 1.1 dB, and significantly surpasses deep learning based alternative in terms of subjective quality. • Expectation maximization based GMM modeling can better predict background image. • Using foreground depth correlation can obtain the moving region in the texture. • Adaptively using temporal correlations yields best disocclusion filling performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photosynthetic prediction rate model is a theoretical basis for light environmental regulation, and the existing photosynthetic rate prediction models are limited by low modeling speed and prediction accuracy. Therefore, this paper analyses effects of light quality on photosynthesis rate, and proposes a method based on Radial basis function (RBF) optimized by Quantum genetic algorithm (QGA) to establish photosynthetic rate prediction model. We selected "golden embryo2 formula 98-1F1" cucumber seedlings as experimental material and used LI-6800 to record the photosynthetic rates under different temperatures, light intensities and light quality. Experimental data is used to train and test the proposed model. The determinant coefficient of the model between the predicted and the measured values is 0.996, the straight slope of linear fitting is 1.000, and the straight intercept of linear fitting is 0.061. Moreover, the proposed method is compared with 6 artificial intelligence algorithms. The comparison results also validate that the proposed model has the highest accuracy compared with other algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A resource-saving environmental control method is proposed for crops. • U-chord curvature algorithm was adopted to determine knee points of a curve. • Optimal regulation space is determined based on knee points. • The mathematical and physiological significance of knee points was discussed. Temperature, light and CO 2 are three environmental factors that directly affect the photosynthetic rate of plants. Exploring the relationship between these three factors and the photosynthetic rate, and optimizing the environmental conditions, is the key to realize efficient production of greenhouse crops. A nested experiment was carried out to measure the photosynthetic rate of cucumber seedlings under different environmental conditions. On the basis of these data, a photosynthetic rate prediction model was established by using machine learning method. A method that avoiding the excessive consumption of light and CO 2 resources and promoting the photosynthetic rate based on U-chord curvature is proposed for more efficient regulation of photosynthetic rate. Under different temperature conditions, the prediction model can be used to construct photosynthetic rate surfaces under the interaction of light and CO 2. After the surface is discretized, the maximum U-chord curvature points of discrete light response and CO 2 response curves are calculated. These points are fitted by polynomials as the regulation boundary to obtain the target space that can achieve efficient regulation. The prediction model, with temperature, light and CO 2 as inputs, had high accuracy, and the regulation method was effective. The determination coefficient and root mean square error of the prediction model were 0.99 and 0.85 µmol·m−2·s−1, respectively. Compared with the traditional maximum photosynthetic rate regulation method, this new method reduced the photosynthetic rate by under 16%, but saved 41% of light and 49% of CO 2 inputs, which illustrated this method improved production efficiency while basically maintained maximum photosynthetic rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the research on the cavity formed by spudcan penetration is based on two-dimensional axisymmetric analysis of circular spudcans, and it is doubtful whether the results could be applicable to rectangular spudcans. In this paper, centrifuge experiments and finite element analysis are combined to study the penetration process of large scale rectangular spudcans in the clay with undrained shear strength varying with depth. Soil back-flow is found to occur preferentially from the middle of the edge and gradually extends to the entire side. The back-flow sequence of the soil near the long and short sides of the rectangular spudcan is different and is affected by the geometric characteristics, such as cone angle and aspect ratio. The influence of changes in soil strength and spudcan shape on the depth of the stable cavity is investigated through extensive parameter studies, and a new equation is proposed to provide the predictive value of stable cavity depth for engineering applications. The conclusion of the study can provide theoretical support for the application of rectangular spudcans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various methods for the processing of walnut oil (cold pressing, roasting pressing, hexane extraction, subcritical butane extraction and supercritical carbon dioxide extraction) were compared, and hexane extraction was shown to provide for efficient lipid isolation. Among the investigated samples, roast-pressed and hexane-extracted oils exhibited the highest C18:1n-9 contents (18.74 and 18.52%, respectively), however featured the lowest C18:2n-6 (63.06 and 62.95%, respectively) and trilinolein (32.82 and 32.06%, respectively) contents. Moreover, the tocopherol (371.08 mg/kg) and the phytosterol (1206.30 mg/kg) content of subcritical butane-extracted walnut oil, the polyphenol content of hexane-extracted oil (45.43 mg/kg), and the squalene content of roast-pressed walnut oil (14.19 mg/kg) exceeded those of other samples. Multiple linear regression analysis was employed to evaluate the contributions of oil constituents to overall antioxidant capacity (oxidative stability and free radical scavenging capacity) and thus establish the corresponding numerical model. It was shown that C16:0, polyphenol, Δ5-avenasterol, SOS, γ-tocopherol, PLL, C18:3n-3, LLL, and C18:0 contributed to the antioxidant capacity of the walnut oil. Overall, the obtained results pave the way to the development of industrial-scale methods of high-quality and high-nutritional-value walnut oil production. • Effects of processing on the composition and properties of walnut oil were probed. • The virtue of walnut oils indicated by chemometrics approaches. • C16:0 and polyphenol were important index for antioxidant capacity prediction of walnut oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decadal changes of radiocarbon (14C) of seawater in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean are evaluated by the reoccupation of three stations previously measured by the Geochemical Ocean Sections Study (GEOSECS) and the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) expedition in the spring of 2014. The bomb-14C inventory in the whole water column increased by ~56% to a level of 7.7 × 109 atoms /cm2 from 1978 to 2014, and the bomb-14C mean penetration depth reached ~550 m, which is more than triple of the depth in 1978. This is accompanied by a significant decrease of Δ14C in the upper layer, with an average decline rate of 2.5‰ per year for the surface water. The Δ14C in the range of ~100 m – ~750 m depth is found to increase with time, revealing an active downward transfer of bomb-14C signature from the upper water to the intermediate layer. The enhanced bomb-14C inventory through the water column in the region is attributed to the incursion of Pacific water into the Indian Ocean through the Indonesian Throughflow and the advection of 14C-enriched waters from the southern subtropical gyre. In addition, the Southwest Monsoon Current is inferred to have contributed to the observed small increase of 14C at the site within the Bay of Bengal. This study therefore highlights the dynamic redistribution of anthropogenic bomb-14C through shallow-to-deep vertical mixing processes, as well as through the inter- and intra- basin circulations between the eastern tropical Indian Ocean and its adjacent areas. • Bomb-14C inventory increased in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean from 1978 to 2014 • Downward transfer of bomb-14C to the intermediate layer is increasingly important • Ocean redistribution of anthropogenic CO 2 is controlled by local circulation process [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the dynamics of growth and branching of hippocampal axons after exposure to the ligands to understand how ephrins affect axonal behavior. Biological response of hippocampal neurons to the ligands; Effects of ephrins on axons; Coculturization of the hippocampal neurons.

BACKGROUND: A new enzymatic hydrolysis‐based process inspired by the Maillard reaction can produce strong flavored, high‐value rapeseed oil that meets safety requirements. In the present study, the effect of reaction time (10–30 min) and temperature (130–160 °C) on the physicochemical properties, nutritional status, fatty acids composition and key aroma compounds of fragrant rapeseed oil (FRO) was investigated. RESULTS: An increasing reaction time and temperature substantially decreased the total tocopherol, polyphenol and sterol contents of FRO, but increased benzo[a]pyrene content, as well as the acid and peroxide values, which did not exceed the European Union legislation limit. Among the volatile components, 2,5‐dimethyl was the main substance contributing to the barbecue flavor of FRO. The 150 °C for 30 min reaction conditions produced a FRO with a strong, fragrant flavor, with high total tocopherol (560.15 mg kg−1), polyphenol (6.82 mg kg−1) and sterol (790.65 mg kg−1) contents; acceptable acid (1.60 mg g−1) and peroxide values (4.78 mg g−1); and low benzo[a]pyrene (1.39 mg g−1) content. These were the optimal conditions for the enzymatic Maillard reaction, according to the principal component analysis. Furthermore, hierarchical cluster analysis showed that reaction temperature had a stronger effect on FRO than reaction time. CONCLUSION: The optimal enzymatic Maillard reaction conditions for the production of FRO are heating at 150 °C for 30 min. These findings provide new foundations for better understanding the composition and flavor profile of FRO, toward guiding its industrial production. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Objectives Materials and methods Results Discussion: Conclusion: Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019, it has had a serious impact on people's physical and mental health. However, in our clinical work, we have found that the erectile function of coronavirus disease 2019 patients with neurological decline was often seriously affected.To further explore the relationship between erectile dysfunction and neurological dysfunction caused by coronavirus disease 2019.We conducted a survey from August 2022 to February 2023 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University and the Third People's Hospital of Linyi City. A total of 251 subjects with a history of coronavirus disease 2019 infection were included. Symptoms and changes in erectile function after the coronavirus disease 2019 infection were collected and assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function‐5 scale and several targeted questions.In this study, we found that in patients infected with novel coronavirus, the proportion of erectile dysfunction was higher in those with neurological manifestations such as olfactory and taste impairment or psychological symptoms such as anxiety.We found that neurological decline and psychological factors were independent and significant risk factors for erectile dysfunction caused by coronavirus disease 2019.Patients with neurological damage or psychiatric symptoms are more likely to have erectile dysfunction, suggesting that the 2019 novel coronavirus may affect erectile function by damaging nerves. This provides a new insight into the mechanism of erectile dysfunction [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The role of Acyl-CoA dehydrogenase long chain (ACADL) in different tumor types had different inhibiting or promoting effect. However, its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) carcinogenicity is not clear. Method: In this study, we utilized The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database to analyze ACADL expression in NSCLC and its correlation with overall survival. Furthermore, we investigated the function of ACADL on cellular proliferation, invasion, colony, apoptosis, cell cycle in vitro with NSCLC cells. Mechanistically, we evaluated the regulatory effect of ACADL expression on its downstream factor yes-associated protein (YAP) by assessing YAP phosphorylation levels and its cellular localization. Finally, we verified the tumorigenic effect of ACADL on NSCLC cells through xenograft experiments in vivo. Results: Compared to adjacent non-cancerous samples, ACADL significantly down-regulated in NSCLC. Overexpression of ACADL, effectively reduced the proliferative, colony, and invasive capabilities of NSCLC cells, while promoting apoptosis and inducing cell cycle arrest. Moreover, ACADL overexpression significantly enhanced YAP phosphorylation and hindered its nuclear translocation. However, the inhibitory effect of the overexpression of ACADL in NSCLC cells mentioned above can be partially counteracted by YAP activator XMU-MP-1 application both in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: The findings suggest that ACADL overexpression could suppress NSCLC development by modulating YAP phosphorylation and limiting its nuclear shift. This role of ACADL-YAP axis provided novel insights into NSCLC carcinogenicity and potential therapeutic strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although single-band emission upconversion fluorescence, which is particularly important in sensors, biomedical and imaging applications, has been extensively investigated in nanoparticles using energy transfer engineering, it is still difficult to be achieved in transparent ceramics. Herein, the MgAlON: Er3+/Yb3+ transparent ceramics with functionalized grain boundaries were successfully fabricated. Lanthanide ions were investigated to highly enrich at the MgAlON grain boundaries, resulting in novel fluorescent properties. Upon 980 nm laser excitation, the sample emitted temperature and excitation power-independent single-band red upconverted fluorescence with a red-to-green fluorescence intensity ratio of ∼25. The new mechanism of Yb3+-Yb3+ cooperative fluorescence-assisted energy transfer, which is responsible for the single-band feature, was elucidated. Moreover, the upconverted fluorescence chromaticity can be modified by the excitation wavelength, relying on the existence of the cooperative fluorescence level and its related energy transfer mechanism. This work reveals the potential of grain boundary functionalization of transparent ceramics in energy transfer engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to investigate the clinical application value of ultrasonography–computed tomography (CT) fusion navigation technology in bone tumor biopsy surgery. Thirty patients with bone tumors requiring biopsy surgery were randomly assigned to either the U-C group (ultrasonography–CT group; n = 15) or the control group (n = 15). The U-C group used ultrasonography–CT fusion navigation technology for real-time localization of the biopsy needle, whereas the control group relied on intraoperative C-arm fluoroscopy for localization. The success rate of the surgeries, the number of radiation exposures during the procedure, surgical time, and intraoperative blood loss were compared between the 2 groups. The number of intraoperative radiation exposures in the U-C group was 2 versus 7 in the control group (P < 0.05), showing significant differences between the 2 groups. The success rate of biopsies in the U-C group and control group was 100% (P > 0.05), the mean operative time was 45 ± 9 minutes versus 42 ± 13 minutes (P > 0.05), and intraoperative bleeding volume was 10 ± 4 mL versus 11 ± 5 mL (P > 0.05), all showing no significant differences between the 2 groups. The real-time localization of the biopsy needle in bone tumor biopsy surgery using ultrasonography–CT fusion navigation technology can significantly reduce intraoperative radiation exposure for both patients and surgeons during the procedure. Consequently, this technique holds certain clinical applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the teaching effects of comparative teaching combined with lecture-based learning (LBL) teaching mode and LBL mode alone. Methods The physicians who participated in the standardized diagnosis and treatment class of andrology diseases in Anhui Province from 2018 to 2020 were taken as the study subjects. The participators were randomly divided into the combined LBL teaching group and the LBL teaching group. After the training course was completed, the teaching effectiveness of the two groups of the participators was evaluated using the continuous mini clinical evaluation method (Mini-CEX), and questionnaire feedback. Results There were 28 students in the combined LBL teaching group and 27 students in the LBL teaching group. Except for the score of organizational ability dimension, the scores of other dimension parameters in the Mini-CEX assessment in the combined LBL teaching group were all increased significantly compared with those in the LBL teaching group (P <0.05). The results of questionnaire feedback showed that the teaching effectiveness of the combined LBL teaching group was superior to that of the LBL teaching group. The comparative teaching combined with LBL teaching mode significantly improved the understanding of knowledge points and clinical practice ability on andrology disease (P <0. 05). Conclusion The comparative teaching combined with LBL teaching mode is better than LBL teaching mode in the standardized training on the diagnosis and treatment of ED. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a study examining the role of Eph family receptors and ligands in the guidance of thalamocortical afferents to their correct target gene. Methodology and materials used to conduct the study; Indepth look at the expression of the Eph family receptor EphA5 in the thalamus; Results of the study.

Underwater images are affected by light scattering and absorption in the water. It usually faces challenges such as color distortion, loss of details, and low contrast. To address the above problems, this paper proposes a dual-color space color correction and histogram segmentation optimized strategy for underwater image enhancement. Specifically, this paper first calculates the quantile for adjusting the pixel distribution and performs histogram stretching to correct the image’s overall color. Then, a LAB color balancing strategy is designed to eliminate the color deviation resulting from the color correction process. Finally, histogram segmentation and adaptive pixel allocation methods are proposed to improve overall contrast. Experimental studies on three benchmark datasets for comparison with six state-of-the-art algorithms are conducted. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the mechanism proposed in this paper. Meanwhile, the proposed approach proves effective for key point and saliency detection. Additionally, the proposed approach exhibits promising results for images captured under challenging conditions such as low illumination, haze, and dust storms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to simulate the characteristics of underwater shield tunnels, a new large-scale model test system with high water pressure and high stress loading capacity was developed. The loading control mode of the hydraulic system can perform uniform loading and gradient loading. Moreover, the vertical and horizontal hydraulic loading can reach 0·8 MPa and 1·6 MPa. The water pressure loading system has a maximum capacity of 0·5 MPa. Based on an actual project, a model test of an underwater shield tunnel lining under real soil and water pressure conditions was carried out. New segment joints of the model were developed during the model testing. The lateral pressure coefficient at rest of the model strata was slightly larger than 0·5, and close to that of the field strata. It was also found that the water pressure had a reducing effect on the soil pressure under large buried depth and high water pressure conditions. This system can mostly meet the requirements of underwater or underground engineering model tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the deformation characteristics and mechanical properties of coal and rock mass in the S2N5 working face of the Xiaokang coal mine are analyzed to address the problem of large deformation of soft rocks with high in situ stress surrounding roadways. Through a newly developed grouting pipe, a double-shell grouting technology, consisting of low-pressure grouting and high-pressure split grouting, is proposed for the Xiaokang coal mine. In addition, the effect of grouting is evaluated by borehole peeping and deformation monitoring. The results show that the double-shell grouting technology can effectively improve the overall mechanical properties of the surrounding coal and rock mass, preventing the large deformation and failure of the roadway. This technology can be useful when analyzing and preventing large deformation of soft rock roadways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was to explore whether serotonin transporter gene‐linked polymorphic region polymorphisms (5‐HTTLPR+rs25531) influence the response to dapoxetine treatment in a Chinese population with premature ejaculation (PE). 112 patients with PE re‐enrolled from our previous study received dapoxetine monotherapy. At the endpoint, patients with S'S' had a significant increased risk of nonresponse compared with L' carriers (p <.001). The improvement in S'S' genotype was significantly lower in premature ejaculation profile (PEP) items of 'control over ejaculation' (p =.035) and 'distress related to ejaculation' (p =.017) than that in L' carriers. As to clinical global impression of change (CGIC), results in S'S' subjects showed significantly lower scores (p =.008) and a less satisfaction rate reporting at least 'better' (p =.020) compared with L' carriers. Moreover, our findings suggested that patients with S'S' were more likely to develop adverse effects (AEs) compared with L' carriers (p =.040). This study suggests that PE patients bearing the S'S' genotype have an inferior comprehensive efficacy and safety of dapoxetine treatment, which consist of poorer response in IELTs, less improvement in patient‐reported outcome (PRO) measures and greater incidence of AEs, than L' carriers. Variants of triallelic 5‐HTTLPR may play a major role as a predictor of treatment response to dapoxetine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sensitization of C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ mice to β-lactoglobulin resulted in mild hypersensitivity. • More BALB/cJ mice exhibited observable symptoms and hypothermia than C57BL/6J mice. • Sensitized male mice of both strains exhibited anxiety-like behavior after challenge. • The levels of immunologic factors were altered differentially by strain and sex in sensitized mice. • Allergic sensitization modified strain- and sex-specific gut microbiota profiles. A number of studies have reported comorbidity of food allergies with various neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and autism. However, inconsistent results across clinical studies have left the association between food allergy and behavioral disorders inconclusive. We postulated that the heterogeneities in genetic background among allergic cohorts affect symptom presentation and severity of food allergy, introducing bias in patient selection criteria toward individuals with overt physical reactions. To understand the influence of genetic background on food allergy symptoms and behavioral changes beyond anaphylaxis, we generated mouse models with mild cow's milk allergy by sensitizing male and female C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ mice to a bovine whey protein, β-lactoglobulin (BLG; Bos d 5). We compared strain- and sex-dependent differences in their immediate physical reactions to BLG challenge as well as anxiety-like behavior one day after the challenge. While reactions to the allergen challenge were either absent or mild for all groups, a greater number of BLG-sensitized BALB/cJ mice presented visible symptoms and hypothermia compared to C57BL/6J mice. Interestingly, male mice of both strains displayed anxiety-like behavior on an elevated zero maze without exhibiting cognitive impairment with the cross maze test. Further characterization of plasma cytokines/chemokines and fecal microbiota also differentiated strain- and sex-dependent effects of BLG sensitization on immune-mediator levels and bacterial populations, respectively. These results demonstrated that the genetic variables in mouse models of milk allergy influenced immediate physical reactions to the allergen, manifestation of anxiety-like behavior, levels of immune responses, and population shift in gut microbiota. Thus, stratification of allergic cohorts by their symptom presentations and severity may strengthen the link between food allergy and behavioral disorders and identify a population(s) with specific genetic background that have increased susceptibility to allergy-associated behavioral disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A practical and accurate unified formula for predicting the axial compressive strength of short-long circular CFST columns is proposed based on the regression analysis of 368 available experimental data. The formula is applicable to large, thin-walled, and high-strength circular CFST columns, which was established through two processes: (1) Based on 273 experimental data of short specimens, the axial strength of short columns was determined numerically and normalized with respect to the yielding load of the steel tube, thus showing a superior exponential correlation with the modified confinement index ξ ; and (2) The numerical model was improved by considering the effect of length-to-diameter (L/D) ratio for long columns. According to the parametric analysis, the size effect is found to have a certain influence on the axial strength of large CSFT short columns and the primary affecting factors to the size effect are the compressive strength of in-filled concrete (f c) and the outer diameter to thickness (D/t) ratio of the steel tubes. Therefore, the size effect is better to be considered in a strength model, as proposed. The strength reduction caused by the size effect is characterized by ξ which involves the parameters of f c , D, and t. In comparison with the measured strengths from the test specimens, the proposed prediction model provides a more accurate and stable estimate on column design strength than the existing design codes. • Proposed a practical strength formula of circular CFST columns under compression. • High accuracy in evaluation of axial strength of short to slender column. • Proposed formula can be applied to large-size, thin-walled and high-strength columns. • Axial strength model of circular CFST short column considers the size effect. • Concrete strength and D/t ratio control the size effect of circular CFST stub column. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The N content of samples increased with the torrefaction temperature. • Part of N-A was converted to N-5, N-6, and N-Q through torrefaction. • The conversion of fuel-N was effected by atmosphere during torrefaction. • Less NH 3 + HCN were generated during torrefied WS pyrolysis compared with WS. • WS torrefied in CO 2 and O 2 can promote the conversion of fuel-N to harmless N 2. Nitrogen functionalities play an important role on the conversion of fuel-N during pyrolysis of raw and torrefied biomass while the influences haven't been clarified yet. The conversion of fuel-N during the rapid pyrolysis of wheat straw (WS) and different torrefied WS was investigated using a fixed-bed reactor at 600–1000 °C and the change of fuel characteristics and nitrogen-containing functional groups in samples were analyzed by TG and XPS. Results showed that the N content of samples increased gradually with torrefaction temperature. The main N functionality of WS was amide-N (N-A), while part of the N-A was converted to pyrrole-N (N-5), pyridine-N (N-6), and quaternary-N (N-Q) during torrefaction. CO 2 and O 2 can inhibit the transformation of N-A to N-5 and promote the transformation of N-A to N-6. During WS pyrolysis, NH 3 was the main NO x precursors at 600–700 °C, while HCN became the main nitrogen-containing gas species at 800–1000 °C and the conversion of (NH 3 + HCN)-N was 18.15%–32.0%. After torrefaction, the conversion of NH 3 -N decreased in varying degrees, especially at low pyrolysis temperature (600–700 °C). The conversion of HCN-N increased with temperature during torrefied WS pyrolysis which was similar to that of WS, but the conversion decreased greatly at 800–1000 °C. Torrefaction atmosphere has a substantial effect on the conversion of fuel-N. In particular, WS torrefied in CO 2 of O 2 atmosphere can promote the conversion of fuel-N to harmless N 2 during pyrolysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]