Search

Stripe rust is a devastating disease of wheat worldwide. Chinese wheat cultivar Lanhangxuan 121 (LHX121), selected from an advanced line L92-47 population that had been subjected to space mutation breeding displayed a consistently higher level of resistance to stipe rust than its parent in multiple field environments. The aim of this research was to establish the number and types of resistance genes in parental lines L92-47 and LHX121 using separate segregating populations. The first population developed from a cross between LHX121 and susceptible cultivar Xinong 822 comprised 278 F2:3 lines. The second validation population comprised 301 F2:3 lines from a cross between L92-47 and susceptible cultivar Xinong 979. Lines of two population were evaluated for stripe rust response at three sites during the 2018–2020 cropping season. Affymetrix 660 K SNP arrays were used to genotype the lines and parents. Inclusive composite interval mapping detected QTL QYrLHX.nwafu-2BS, QYrLHX.nwafu-3BS, and QYrLHX.nwafu-5BS for resistance in all three environments. Based on previous studies and pedigree information, QYrLHX.nwafu-2BS and QYrLHX.nwafu-3BS were likely to be Yr27 and Yr30 that are present in the L92-47 parent. QYrLHX.nwafu-5BS (YrL121) detected only in LHX121 was mapped to a 7.60 cM interval and explained 10.67–22.57% of the phenotypic variation. Compared to stripe rust resistance genes previously mapped to chromosome 5B, YrL121 might be a new adult plant resistance QTL. Furthermore, there were a number of variations signals using 35 K SNP array and differentially expressed genes using RNA-seq between L92-47 and LHX121 in the YrL121 region, indicating that they probably impair the presence and/or function of YrL121. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By taking into account a communication strategy in the state-feedback control law, this paper considers the stability of a class of nonlinear systems, where the controller contains a reset variable satisfying certain reset rule and the reset values are driven by random processes. Randomness enters exclusively through the reset of the controller in terms of certain forced reset condition, yet the framework covers forced and spontaneous transitions through the communication strategy composed of the Zeno-free event-triggered strategy (ETS) and the random reset rule of the reset controller variable. A threshold-based forced ETS is designed depending on system states and the random reset variable, and a clock-based spontaneous ETS is also designed neither depending on system states directly nor depending on the random reset variable. The Lyapunov–Foster conditions ensure the feasibility of the designed communication strategy, which is verified via a benchmark case for the attitude tracking control of a miniature quadrotor prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnesium alloy and Al-Si-coated steel dissimilar lap joints were joined using the CMT welding process. The weld formation, microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg/steel CMT weld-brazing joints were investigated. The wetting and spreading behaviour of the molten magnesium alloy filler material on the steel substrate were evidently improved owing to the presence of the Al-Si coating. The Fe-Al intermetallic reaction layer formed at the interface and enhanced metallurgical bonding between the magnesium alloy and steel. The effects of the Al-Si coating and welding heat input on interface layer characteristics were particularly assessed. When the heat input was 178.1 J/mm, the tensile shear strength of the Mg/steel welded joints reached 359.3 N/mm. The fracture modes and failure mechanism for tensile shear specimens were analysed and discussed in detail. • The wetting andspreading behaviour of filler material on the Al-Si-coated steel could be modified by manipulating heat input. • The Fe-Al intermetallic reaction layer formed at the interface and enhanced metallurgical bonding between Mg and steel. • Al-Si coating played an important role in the formation of intermetallic compounds at the interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The addition of microbial agents has a negative impact on the removal of ARGs. • MA adding was related to the microbial community contribution to ARG changes. • MA affect ARGs removal by reshaping community and altering ecological niche. • Microbial inoculants increased the linkage between ARGs and core species. The effects of microbial inoculants on ARG removal in composting are poorly understood. Here, a co-composting method for food waste and sawdust amended with different microbial agents (MAs) was designed. The results show that the compost without MA unexpectedly achieved the best ARG removal. The addition of MAs markedly increased the abundance of tet , sul and multidrug resistance genes (p < 0.05). Structural equation modeling demonstrated that MAs can enhance the contribution of the microbial community to ARG changes by reshaping community structure and altering the ecological niche, causing the proliferation of individual ARGs, an effect related to the MA component. Network analysis revealed that inoculants weakened the correlation between ARGs and community but increased the linkage between ARGs and core species, suggesting that inoculant-induced ARG proliferation may correspond with gene exchange occurring mainly between core species. The outcome provides new insights into MA application for ARG removal in waste treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is an ultrasensitive technique for both detection and structural characterizations. To further exploit these advantages, we designed and fabricated a dual-functional SERS probe for specific capture and fast detection of small molecule ligands binding to target protein from a mixture of compounds such as extracts of natural products. As a proof of concept, we synthesized SiO 2 @Ag nanoclusters that are coated with 6-chlorohexanoic acid for covalent immobilization of serotonin transporter (5-HTT) fused with a Halo-tag through enzyme-substrate recognition. As such, we fabricated a bioconjugated SERS probe, and the synthesis, coating, protein immobilization, and affinity-based ligand binding have been characterized and verified by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and elemental mapping. By applying this probe to analyze Gardenia jasminoides extract, we have successfully identified crocin I as a compound binding to 5-HTT, which was further proved by using mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Taken together, we have developed a novel SERS probe by integrating the inherent strength of SERS in molecular analysis with an extended functionality of affinity-guided molecular capture, which has demonstrated the potential in drug screening of challenging systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In China, quality of life (QOL) of the elderly with hypertension was lower than that of normal elderly and lower self‐perceptions of aging (SPA) in the elderly with chronic diseases have been shown. Previous studies showed that SPA played a key role in QOL of the elderly. We hypothesised that SPA were associated with QOL in Chinese elderly with hypertension, with more negative SPA predicting lower QOL. Methods: A cross‐sectional survey was conducted in one comprehensive hospital, 15 urban community clinics and 22 rural village clinics in Suzhou. In total, 1029 Chinese elderly with hypertension completed the self‐administered questionnaires, including socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics, aging perceptions questionnaire which contained seven dimensions and Medical Outcomes Study 36‐item Short Form Health Survey evaluating QOL which included physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS). Results: Correlation analysis between SPA and QOL showed that most dimensions of SPA were correlated with PCS and MCS, except for Emotional Representations not correlated with MCS. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed: the dimensions Timeline Chronic (B = −2.651, P < 0.001), Consequences Negative (B = −2.155, P < 0.001) and Emotional Representations (B = −2.672, P < 0.001) had a negative association with PCS, while Timeline Cyclical (B = 1.401, P = 0.023), Consequences Positive (B = 1.200, P = 0.011) and Control Positive (B = 1.425, P = 0.004) had a positive association with PCS; the dimensions Timeline Cyclical (B = −1.734, P < 0.001) and Consequences Negative (B = −1.646, P < 0.001) had a negative association with MCS, while Timeline Chronic (B = 1.313, P < 0.001), Consequences Positive (B = 0.962, P = 0.012), Control Positive (B = 2.453, P < 0.001) and Control Negative (B = 1.860, P < 0.001) had a positive association with MCS. Conclusions: Our results suggest that negative SPA tended to be associated with lower QOL in Chinese elderly with hypertension. Some measures to improve unhealthy negative SPA should be delivered to improve QOL in Chinese elderly with hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the distributed fixed‐time consensus tracking for high‐order uncertain non‐linear multi‐agent systems with switching topologies. Each follower is assumed to be in strict‐feedback form with both unknown parameters and mismatched disturbances. Different from traditional centralised tracking control problem, only a subset of the agents can acquire the desired trajectory information. By adopting backstepping method and dynamic surface control technique, the distributed fixed‐time consensus protocol and appropriate adaptive laws are designed without requiring knowledge of the upper bounds of disturbances. Moreover, the problem of 'explosion of complexity' in standard backstepping design is avoided. Under the proposed control protocol, it is shown from the Lyapunov‐based analysis that the tracking errors between all followers and the leader can converge to a small neighbourhood of the origin within a fixed time, even though the communication structures among agents dynamically change over time. Finally, a numerical example is carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at investigating the effect of microRNA‐150 (miR‐150) on cell proliferation of Burkitt lymphoma and its molecular mechanism. Gene expression analysis was applied to identify target genes of miR‐150 in Burkitt lymphoma cell line ST486 based on the dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) datasets GSE86432. miRNA mimics, inhibitor and small interfering RNA (siRNA) were fluorescently labeled by Cy3, whereas plasmid vector was labeled by EGFP. Cells were viewed by fluorescence microscope and transfection efficiency was evaluated through fluorescent cell percentage. Quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction analysis (qRT‐PCR) and western blot were applied to detect the expression level of miR‐150 and LMO4. Cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis were explored by CCK‐8, flow cytometry. Targeting relationship was validated by the Luciferase reporter assay. Tumor xenograft and immunohistochemical analysis were conducted in nude mice model. In Burkitt lymphoma cells, miR‐150 expression was significantly lower than normal ones, whereas the expression of LMO4 was upregulated. miR‐150 might inhibit cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in Burkitt lymphoma deterioration by downregulating LMO4. The results of tumor xenograft further confirmed the role of miR‐150 in Burkitt lymphoma. Targeting LMO4 is a significant mechanism by which miR‐150 suppresses cell growth and promotes apoptosis in Burkitt lymphoma cells, thus may provide a novel target for Burkitt lymphoma therapy in the future. Our study elucidated a potential regulatory method employing microRNA‐150 (miR‐150) and LMO4 to modulate cell proliferation and apoptosis of Burkitt lymphoma. Targeting LMO4 is a major mechanism by which miR‐150 exerts its tumor‐suppressive and proapoptotic function in Burkitt lymphoma cells, and thus may provide a potential novel target for future Burkitt lymphoma therapy [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report α‐MoO3 flowers as a highly effective organics adsorbent for the first time. With α‐MoO3 microfibers (MFs), α‐MoO3 flowers uniformly self‐assemble on a carbon cloth, serving as a great organics scavenger. They not only provide a high specific surface area but also possess van der Waals force, both of which guarantee a high adsorption efficiency for multiple organics. Nearly 100% of Rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB), and crystal violet (CV) are rapidly adsorbed while flowing through the designed α‐MoO3 flower‐based filtration device. Even after five recycling times, its high adsorption efficiency toward RhB remains unaffected. The adsorption capacity of α‐MoO3 flowers for RhB, MB, and CV reaches up to 4974, 6217, and 3886 mg/m2, respectively. Additionally, this novel adsorbent can adapt to a wide pH range, maintaining the excellent capacity of 4774 and 4473 mg/m2 toward RhB at pH of 2.0 and 12.0. The α‐MoO3 flowers can also adsorb other organics, including MO, noroxin, and tetracycline hydrochloride. Moreover, the free‐standing α‐MoO3 flowers on a carbon cloth realize the adsorptive filtration for organics removal, which not only require no conditions and no energy consumption but also avoid secondary pollution to the water as compared to the powdery adsorbents. α‐MoO3 flowers uniformly self‐assemble on a carbon cloth, serving as a great organics adsorbent. Their free‐standing characteristic realizes the adsorptive filtration for organics removal. Due to these dense flowers and the unique structure of α‐MoO3, this newly developed adsorbent possesses excellent adsorptive property toward various organics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Processing affective prosody, that is the emotional tone of a speaker, is fundamental to human communication and adaptive behaviors. Previous studies have mainly focused on adults and infants; thus the neural mechanisms underlying the processing of affective prosody in newborns remain unclear. Here, we used near‐infrared spectroscopy to examine the ability of 0‐to‐4‐day‐old neonates to discriminate emotions conveyed by speech prosody in their maternal language and a foreign language. Happy, fearful, and angry prosodies enhanced neural activation in the right superior temporal gyrus relative to neutral prosody in the maternal but not the foreign language. Happy prosody elicited greater activation than negative prosody in the left superior frontal gyrus and the left angular gyrus, regions that have not been associated with affective prosody processing in infants or adults. These findings suggest that sensitivity to affective prosody is formed through prenatal exposure to vocal stimuli of the maternal language. Furthermore, the sensitive neural correlates appeared more distributed in neonates than infants, indicating a high‐level of neural specialization between the neonatal stage and early infancy. Finally, neonates showed preferential neural responses to positive over negative prosody, which is contrary to the "negativity bias" phenomenon established in adult and infant studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the effects of transitional health management on adherence and prognosis in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Methods: We conducted the trial from June 2016 to December 2016. A total of one hundred and fifty patients with acute myocardial infarction after PCI who met the inclusion criteria were randomly divided into an experimental (n = 75) group and a control (n = 75) group. The participants in the experimental group received transitional health management for three months. The two groups of patients were evaluated for treatment adherence, quality of life, clinical indicators, adverse cardiovascular events and statistics regarding readmission rates at baseline and 6 months after discharge. Results: Compared with the controls, patients in the intervention group demonstrated better medication adherence, reexamination adherence, healthy lifestyle and clinical indicators (all P<0.05) and lower rates of adverse cardiovascular events and readmission (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Transitional health management effectively improved adherence in elderly patients with acute myocardial infarction after PCI, ameliorated clinical indicators, and effectively reduced the incidence of adverse cardiovascular events and readmission rates. Transitional health management was an effective intervention for PCI patients after discharge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this paper, a bottom-up saliency detection algorithm is proposed by introducing the manifold regularized Support Vector Machine (SVM) model. The local manifold regularization can well capture local saliency cues. However, its local-to-global mechanism often ignores the completeness of salient objects especially when the contrast between the foreground and background is low, while the global regularization can discover the long-range semantic structure but easily neglect the details. To comprehensively utilize their advantages, we respectively construct a local regularizer (LR) and a global regularizer (GR), and incorporate them into the SVM models, which are then self-trained across superpixels by pseudo labeled ones. The LR-SVM and GR-SVM models are further refined by updating training sample with higher-level object proposals. Extensive experiments on five benchmark datasets demonstrate that the proposed algorithm performs favorably against the state-of-the-art saliency detection methods. In addition, we show that the manifold regularized SVM model can be easily applied to some existing saliency models and achieve significant performance improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Since the completion of Three Gorges Dam in 2008, a large water-level fluctuation zone with anti-seasonal submergence has formed between the elevations of 145 m and 175 m in the Three Gorges Reservoir in China. In addition to hydrological regime, revegetation has also occurred in this water-level fluctuation zone. However, how the hydrological regime and revegetation regulate soil prokaryotic community remains unclear. Here, we investigated soil prokaryotic community structure, diversity and environmental parameters in different flooding zones from two soil layers (0–10 cm and 10–30 cm) at 6 locations along the water-level fluctuation zone from upstream to downstream. The soil prokaryotic diversity tended to decrease from upstream to downstream, and the alpha diversity was higher in the topsoil than in the deep soil at all sites. Flooding significantly enhanced the prokaryotic diversity compared to the control (i.e., permanent dry zone). The soil prokaryotic composition underwent deterministic processes in the upstream sites and stochastic processes in the downstream sites, with stronger stochastic processes in the topsoil than in the deep soil across all sites and elevations. As expected, the soil pH, moisture, NH 4 +-N, organic carbon and nitrogen were proven to be determinants of the prokaryotic community composition. Changes in plant traits (plant biomass, richness, and carbon content) after revegetation induced by submergence also played an important role in structuring the prokaryotic community. The prokaryotic community exhibited a shorter average path distance (GD) in the flooding zones compared to the control, with the shortest average degree (avgK) and the lowest levels of stability in the longer periodic inundation zones. Overall, our results suggest that soil properties and plant functional traits are critical controls of the prokaryotic community's ability to develop at regional scales and water submergence can likewise be an important factor for variations in the prokaryotic community composition in riparian zones. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Prokaryotic community diversity decreased from upstream to downstream in riparian zone. • Flooding enhanced prokaryotic community diversity compared to permanent dry zone. • Prokaryotic community in periodic zones exhibited simple structure and low stability. • Revegetation regulated prokaryotic composition via indirect paths with plant C quality. • Stronger stochastic processes were found in the top soil than deep soil across sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Thermal hydrolyzed sludge produced 44.6% more VFAs than raw sludge at 35 °C. • High temperature (55 °C) increased the VFAs yield of raw sludge by 15.7%. • High temperature (55 °C) yet reduced the VFAs yield of TH-sludge by 12.2%. • Acidified liquid of TH-sludge achieved a yield 34.6% PHAs/DCW in PHAs production. • TH-sludge is a suitable substrate for VFAs and PHAs production. Abstract The study compared the differences in VFAs production between raw sludge and thermal hydrolyzed sludge (TH-sludge) at different temperature (35 °C and 55 °C) in four semi-continuous acidification reactors. Optimal VFAs yield was obtained from TH-sludge at 35 °C (0.22 gVFA COD /gVS), 44.6% higher than raw sludge at 35 °C, since the advantage of TH-sludge in SCOD solubilization overcame its disadvantage of lower carbon biodegradability. Moreover, high temperature (55 °C) was proved to aid the acidification of raw sludge by 15.7% (in Y VFAs), but inhibit that of TH-sludge by 12.2%, mainly due to the suppressed microbial activities under heat. Microbial community analysis showed that TH-sludge had a larger proportion of acidogenic microbes than raw sludge, mainly attributing to the increase of Selenomonadales (37.3% vs. 3.7%); high temperature enriched thermophilic proteolytic microbes, Anaerobaculum and Coprothermobacter. Finally, optimal acidified liquid from TH-sludge at 35 °C was applied for PHAs production and achieved a competitive yield of 34.6% PHAs/DCW. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To study the added value of mean and entropy of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values at standard (800 s/mm2) and high (1500 s/mm2) b-values obtained with diffusion-weighted imaging in identifying histologic phenotypes of invasive ductal breast cancer (IDC) with MR imaging.Methods: One hundred thirty-four IDC patients underwent diffusion-weighted imaging with b-values of 800 and 1500 s/mm2, and corresponding ADC800 and ADC1500 maps were generated. Mean and entropy of volumetric ADC values were compared with molecular markers (estrogen receptor [ER], progesterone receptor [PR], human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 [HER2], and Ki-67). Associations among morphologic features, ADC metrics, and phenotypes (luminal A, luminal B [HER2 negative], luminal B [HER2 positive], HER2 positive, and triple negative) were evaluated.Results: Mean ADC values were significantly decreased in ER-positive, PR-positive, and HER2-negative tumors (p < 0.01). Ki-67 ≥ 20% tumors demonstrated significantly higher ADC entropy values compared with Ki-67 < 20% tumors (p < 0.001). Luminal A subtype tended to display lower ADC entropy values compared with other subtypes, while HER2-positive subtype tended to display higher mean ADC values. ADC1500 entropy provided superior diagnostic performance over ADC800 entropy (p = 0.04). Independent risk factors were ADC1500 entropy (p = 0.002) associated with luminal A, irregular mass shape (p = 0.018) and ADC1500 entropy (p = 0.022) with luminal B (HER2 positive), mean ADC1500 (p = 0.018) with HER2 positive, and smooth mass margin (p = 0.012) and rim enhancement (p = 0.003) with triple negative.Conclusions: Mean and entropy of ADC values provided complementary information and added value for evaluating IDC histologic phenotypes. High-b-value ADC1500 may facilitate better phenotype discrimination.Key Points: • ADC metrics are associated with molecular marker status in IDC. • ADC 1500 improves differentiation of histologic phenotypes compared with ADC 800 . • ADC metrics add value to morphologic features in IDC phenotyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents: In recent years, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) technique is able to allow us to generate pluripotency from somatic cells in vitro through the over expression of several transcription factors. Normally, viral vectors and transcription factors are commonly used on iPSC technique, which could cause many barriers on further application. In this study, we attempt to process a new method to obtain pluripotency from goat somatic cells in vitro under fully chemically defined condition. The results showed that chemically induced pluripotent stem cells‐like cells (CiPSC‐like cells) colonies were generated from goat ear fibroblasts by fully small‐molecule compounds. Those three dimensions colonies were similar with mouse iPSCs in morphology and had strong positive alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity and expressed pluripotency related genes OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, CDH1, TDGF, GDF3, DAX1, REX1, which determined by RT‐PCR. Those colonies could also differentiate into different cell types derived from three germ layers proved by RT‐PCR and immunofluorescence assays. The expression of glycolysis‐related genes about PGAM1, KPYM2 and HXK2 in CiPSC‐like colonies formation groups was significantly higher than their parental fibroblasts, but not in the non‐CiPSC‐like colonies formation group. The expression of histone acetylation and methylation‐related genes, HAT1 and SMYD3, was not significantly up‐regulated within different groups compared to their parental fibroblasts, respectively. Yet, the expression of histone methylation‐related gene, KDM5B, was significantly up‐regulated on the cells from non‐colonies formation group compared to parental fibroblasts, but the expression of KDM5B of the cells from CiPSC‐like cell colonies was not significantly difference compared to that of parental fibroblasts. In conclusion, this is the first report that CiPSC‐like cells could be generated in vitro from goat rather than just mouse under fully chemically defined condition. The generation of CiPSC‐like colonies may be depended on the correct modification of energy metabolism and histone epigenetic during the reprogramming, rather than just the over‐expression of those pluripotency‐related genes. This study will strongly support us to further establish the stable goat CiPSC lines without any integration of exogenous genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A novel coupling cyclone with circulating granular bed filter (C-CGBF) was proposed. • Under the moving bed regime, the pressure drop tended to assume a steady state. • The pressure drop and collection efficiency increased with inlet dust concentrations. • The collection efficiency declined if the inlet gas flow rate increased. • The contribution ratios of the cyclone shell were generally around 80%. Abstract A novel gas-solids separator scheme of coupling cyclone with circulating granular bed filter (C-CGBF) was proposed. The influences of the operating regimes, the inlet dust concentrations and the inlet gas flow rates on the scheme were investigated in a pilot-scale cold-model experimental apparatus. The pressure drop and the collection efficiency were measured and analyzed. It was shown that, differing from that under the fixed bed (FB) operating regime, the pressure drop tended to assume a steady state after an increasing period under the moving bed (MB). Experiments under the MB revealed that stable/high collection efficiency, typically exceeding 95%, was achieved with considerably low pressure drop. The dust hold-up in the built-in granular bed and the filter cake formed on the outer screen wall contributed to high collection efficiency, as well as increased the pressure drop. Furthermore, the individual contribution of the cyclone shell and the built-in granular bed to the total collection efficiency under the MB were investigated. The size distributions of the captured particles were also analyzed. The contribution ratios of the cyclone shell were around 80%, while the majority of the particles captured by it were larger than 10 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ba 2. 9 6 (PO4)2:0.04Eu 3 + (S1) and Ba 2. 9 2 Na 0. 0 4 (PO4)2:0.04Eu 3 + (S2) were prepared by solid state reaction. The phases and luminescent properties of the obtained phosphors were characterized. The results demonstrate that the phosphors particles emit an intensive red light under excitation at 395 nm. Both phosphors can be efficiently excited by ultraviolet and blue light, and the emission spectra mainly consist of two emission peaks at 591 nm and 611 nm. The crystallographic sites of Eu 3 + ions in Ba3(PO4)2 host were discussed on the base of emission spectra and its host crystal structure. By introducing the charge compensator Na + into the S1 phosphor, its emission intensity was enhanced, indicating that S2 could serve as a promising red-emitting phosphor for UV LED applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop a new DNAzyme biosensor for Argonaute 2 (Ago2) assay based on target-initiated rolling circle amplification in combination with an 8-17 DNAzyme-mediated dual signal amplification strategy. This biosensor can achieve ultrahigh sensitivity with a detection limit of 0.35 pM, and it can be further used for the screening of Ago2 inhibitors and the accurate measurement of endogenous Ago2 from HeLa cell extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Rutin can protect diabetic liver by alleviating inflammation, steatosis, fibrosis. • Rutin can facilitate signal transduction of liver insulin signal pathway. • Rutin can inhibit the generation of AGEs in vivo and vitro. • Rutin can also promote the proliferation of hepatocytes. Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of rutin on the liver of type 2 diabetic mice and explore the correlation mechanism. The db/db mice, selected as the type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) models, have random blood glucose (RBG) and glucose level after 2 h of oral glucose loading of more than 16.7 mmol/L. After administration of 120 mg/kg or 60 mg/kg rutin, to T2DM mice, RBG, oral glucose tolerance, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in serum, and advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in vivo and vitro of different groups were detected. The liver pathological changes were observed under light and electron microscopy. Western blotting was used to detect the protein expression of insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS-2) and phosphorylation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) on p85, Akt on Ser473, glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β) on Ser9, real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect IRS-2 mRNA expression. Moreover, dynamically observing the effect of rutin on the generation of AGEs in non-enzymatic protein glycosylated system, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) method was used to detect the effect of rutin on proliferation activity of HepG2 liver cells. The results showed that RBG and glucose levels of oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) of mice in model group were significantly higher than that of normal group, which were significantly reduced after the rutin treatment. Rutin could reduce the ALT, AST activities and AGEs level in serum and potentiate the expression of IRS-2, P-PI3K (p85), P-Akt (Ser473), P-GSK-3β (Ser9) protein and IRS-2 mRNA in the liver tissue of db/db mice. Moreover, rutin could significantly alleviate the structure disorder of liver, reduce the degeneration and necrosis of liver cells and formation of collagen fibers of db/db mice. The results in vitro also showed that rutin could obviously inhibit the generation of AGEs, and promoted the proliferation activity of high glucose-stimulating HepG2 cells. In general, the protective effect of rutin on the liver of T2DM may be mediated by facilitating signal transduction and activated state of insulin IRS-2/PI3K/Akt/GSK-3β signal pathway, promoting hepatocyte proliferation, reducing blood glucose level and generation of AGEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The underlying mechanism of how shifts in plant detritus input impact soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics is not fully understood. Here we investigated the soil C content in different fractions (aggregates, labile and recalcitrant pool) after two years of detritus input manipulations (i.e. detritus input and removal treatment–DIRT: control, CK; double litter, DL; no litter, NL; no roots, NR; no aboveground litter and no roots, NRNL) in a coniferous forest (Platycladus orientalis (Linn.) Franco) ecosystem in subtropical China. The root exclusion treatments (NR and NRNL) significantly decreased the macro-aggregate (>2000 μm) fraction by 23.4%–27.7% compared to CK after two-year detritus input manipulation, and accordingly decreased the C content in macroaggregates. In contrast, the aboveground litter removal and addition (DL and NL) did not significantly impact those properties. Labile SOC significantly declined in the detritus removal treatments, while recalcitrant SOC remained relatively stable. In addition, root exclusion significantly reduced total microbial biomass and most of the taxonomic biomarkers compared to the CK. Fungal biomass were positively correlated with the proportion of macroaggregates across treatments. Principal component analysis revealed the separation of root exclusion treatments from the other detritus input manipulations was based on lower soil C content and proportion of macroaggregates. Overall, our results suggest that future shifts in plant detritus input, especially decreases in belowground litter inputs, can strongly and rapidly reduce SOC pools by reducing the proportion of macroaggregates and the C content in macroaggregates, highlighting the importance of root in regulating soil C sequestration in response to future climatic scenarios. Highlights • Root exclusion reduced the fraction of macroaggregates compared to the controls. • Root exclusion reduced the soil organic carbon (SOC) content in macroaggregates. • Detritus removal reduced the labile SOC but not the recalcitrant SOC. • SOC contents were positively related to the proportion of macroaggregates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the leader-following fixed-time output feedback consensus problem for second-order multi-agent systems with input saturation. By combing fixed-time control technique and bi-limit homogeneous systems theory, a class of bounded fixed-time consensus protocols are developed for leader-following multi-agent systems. The protocol design is divided into two parts. First, when all the state information of the followers are measurable, a state feedback consensus protocol is designed to achieve fixed-time consensus. Then, when the velocity information is unmeasurable, an observer-based fixed-time consensus protocol is proposed. With the help of Lyapunov stability theorem and the property of a homogeneous function, it is theoretically shown that the states of all followers can track that of the leader in fixed-time in the presence of input saturation. Finally, numerical simulation is carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neonatal diabetes mellitus (NDM) is a rare monogenic disorder presenting as uncontrolled hyperglycemia during the first 6 months of life. Hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS) is quite rare in NDM patients, and reported experience with this condition is limited. Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is frequently used as a mode of dialytic treatment in critically ill patients with acute renal failure, but has seldom been used in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and HHS. We report the case of a 2-month-old infant admitted to our hospital presenting with dyspnea and lethargy. Blood gas showed severe hyperosmotic DKA. After 21 h of fluid and insulin therapy, the baby presented with increased drowsiness and irregular respiration, which suggested cerebral edema. Moreover, the DKA and HHS were exacerbated. After 18 h of CRRT, the patient gradually recovered from DKA and HHS. The gene analysis revealed a de novo mutation (c.602G > A (p.R201H)) of the KCNJ11 gene, and oral glibenclamide successfully replaced insulin treatment in the patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract In this study, 1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol diglycidyl ether (EP-1) has been synthesized via a two-step process to toughen and lower the viscosity of TDE-85 epoxy first time and suitable for the resin transfer molding (RTM) process. Chemical structure of EP-1 and the reactivity, rheological and mechanical properties of TDE-85/MeTHPA/DMP-30/EP-1 system were studied. When the composition ratio of TDE-85/MeTHPA/EP-1/DMP-30 is 100: 140: 15: 1 and the curing process is 80 °C/2 h + 110 °C/2 h + 140 °C/2 h, the overall performance of the resin system reached to an optimal value. Impact and bending strength of the casting came out to be 27.64 kJ m−2 and 167.2 MPa, which improved 75.16% and 17.50% respectively compared to the pristine resin system without EP-1. Dynamic viscosity analysis of TDE-85/MeTHPA/DMP-30/EP-1 system showed that the viscosity-temperature curve was U-shaped and the platform zone was located around 60–95 °C during which the viscosity was less than 200 mPa s. Dual-Arrhenius and engineering viscosity models were established to predict the viscosity characteristics of the resin. It was found that the dual-Arrhenius model matched better with the experimental data at low temperature and low viscosity region. Whereas when the viscosity increased, the engineering viscosity model became more accurate. The viscosity analysis provided the basis for the window prediction of RTM molding process. Highlights • A novel low viscosity epoxy of EP-1 was synthesized and used to toughen and lower the viscosity of TDE-85 epoxy. • Dual-Arrhenius and Engineering viscosity models were used to analyze the chemorheological behaviors of modified TDE-85. • Optimum processing temperature of the resin system for RTM was 60–80 °C with viscosity less than 200 mPa s for 45 mins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the rotating consensus tracking problem for second-order multi-agent systems with external disturbances in three-dimensional space is considered. It is assumed that only a subset of the agents is given direct access to the desired trajectory information. Based on a backstepping control technique, a distributed adaptive rotating consensus protocol, driving all followers to track the leader, is developed for the case when both the relative position and relative velocity measurements are available for feedback. Moreover, the proposed control protocol design method is also extended to the case that the relative velocities are not measured. Through Lyapunov stability analysis, it is shown that, under the proposed control protocols, all followers can track the leader rotating around a common point with and without relative velocity measurements. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of our schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP), a synthetic cytokinin, can elicit plant growth and development by stimulating cell division. In this study, the effects of BAP on decay and pericarp browning of harvested litchi fruit in relation to phenolics and ROS metabolism were investigated. Application of BAP significantly inhibited decay incidence of harvested litchi, associated with a direct inhibition on Peronophythora litchii, the major pathogenic fungi. In addition, BAP-treated fruit showed significantly lower pericarp browning, accompanied by reduced PPO activity, increased PAL activity and higher contents of anthocyanin and total phenolic compounds. Moreover, BAP reduced H 2 O 2 accumulation and lipid peroxidation, which may account for browning inhibition to an extent. Furthermore, higher activities of SOD, CAT and APX and DPPH radical scavenging capacity in BAP-treated fruit possibly benefited reducing ROS accumulation and lipid peroxidation. Overall, application of BAP showed great potential to control decay and browning and extend shelf life of harvested litchi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are receiving increasing attention as ionic liquid analogues because of their environmentally friendly and very low-price characteristics. In this study, metal-based deep eutectic solvents (MDESs) were synthesized by combining cobalt chloride (CoCl 2 ), a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) such as choline chloride (ChCl), and hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) such as polyethylene glycol (PEG-200), ethylene glycol (EG), glycerol (GL), and propionic acid (Pr). The MDESs were used for the extractive catalytic oxidative desulfurization (ECODS) of fuels. Solid peroxymonosulfate (PMS) was selected as an oxidant over common ECODS oxidants such as liquid hydrogen peroxide because the former is cheaper, more stable, and less corrosive. The MDESs played dual roles (i.e., extractant and catalyst) during the ECODS process. One of the MDESs prepared (CoCl 2 -ChCl/2PEG) showed fast reaction rates with nearly 100% dibenzothiophene removal under the optimal conditions (6 g of model oil with an initial sulfur content of 500 ppm, 0.9 g of PMS solution, 2 g of CoCl 2 -ChCl/2PEG, 20 °C, and 60 min). The DESs prepared showed an outstanding recycling performance after 6 cycles without a significant decrease in activity. In the ECODS system, the reactivity of the three sulfur substrates studied followed the order: dibenzothiophene (DBT) > 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiphene (4,6-DMDBT) > benzothiophene (BT). In the case of the HBDs, the desulfurization efficiencies followed the sequence: PEG-200 > Pr > EG > GL. The oxidative product was dibenzothiophene sulfone (DBTO 2 ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors using magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJ), the sensor output linearization is of great importance for practical applications. The current study employs a three-step magnetic annealing procedure for linearizing the double-pinned MTJs, setting the magnetization of the free layer to be orthogonal to that of the reference layer. Compared to the traditional two-step annealing procedure, the three-step annealing procedure benefits from a lower annealing temperature and excellent linearity performance. Utilizing the three-step annealing procedure, the sensitivity and the detectivity of 1.57 mV/V/Oe and 29.3 nT Hz0.5 @ 10 Hz, respectively, was achieved in a full Wheatstone bridge TMR sensor. Our results reveal a new pathway for linearization of the TMR sensors through three-step annealing process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To investigate the expression of polo-like kinase 1 protein (PLK1) and its phosphorylation level (p-PLK1) in extranodal NK/T cell lymphoma (NKTCL) and their correlation with clinical characteristics and prognosis. Methods: We collected 40 cases of NKTCL (referred to as the experimental group), which received diagnoses at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University between January 2018 and October 2022. Concurrently, we assembled a control group, including 20 cases afflicted with nasopharyngeal mucosal lymphoid hyperplasia diseases during the same timeframe. We utilized immunohistochemical techniques to evaluate the levels of PLK1 and p-PLK1 expression in both the experimental and control groups. Subsequently, we conducted an analysis to identify disparities in their expression and explore their relationships with clinical characteristics and patient prognosis. Results: Among the 40 NKTCL patients, there were 27 males and 11 females, with a median age of 51 years (range 12–80 years). Compared to the control group, the tissue samples of NKTCL patients exhibited significantly elevated expression levels and active phosphorylation levels of PLK1 (P < 0.05). Correlation analysis of the immunohistochemical H score and Ki-67 positive rate of PLK1 and p-PLK1, revealed a significant positive correlation for both (P < 0.0001, each). No statistically significant differences were observed in the distribution of PLK1 and p-PLK1 expression in NKTCL patients with respect to gender, age, Ann Arbor stage, PINK-E score, B-symptoms, lactate dehydrogenase, β2-microglobulin, blood EBV-DNA, bone marrow invasion, and lymph node metastasis (p > 0.05). Grouping based on PLK1 and p-PLK1 immunohistochemical H-scores revealed that the high expression of PLK1 and p-PLK1 was associated with poor prognosis. Conclusions: The expression levels and active phosphorylation levels of PLK1 were significantly increased in NK/T cell lymphoma, and patients with overexpression of PLK1 and p-PLK1 had a poorer prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In daily life, people often make consecutive decisions before the ultimate goal is reached (i.e., sequential decision‐making). However, this kind of decision‐making has been largely overlooked in the literature. The current study investigated whether behavioral preference would change during sequential decisions, and the neural processes underlying the potential changes. For this purpose, we revised the classic balloon analogue risk task and recorded the electroencephalograph (EEG) signals associated with each step of decision‐making. Independent component analysis performed on EEG data revealed that four EEG components elicited by periodic feedback in the current step predicted participants’ decisions (gamble vs. no gamble) in the next step. In order of time sequence, these components were: bilateral occipital alpha rhythm, bilateral frontal theta rhythm, middle frontal theta rhythm, and bilateral sensorimotor mu rhythm. According to the information flows between these EEG oscillations, we proposed a brain model that describes the temporal dynamics of sequential decision‐making. Finally, we found that the tendency to gamble (as well as the power intensity of bilateral frontal theta rhythms) was sensitive to the individual level of trait anxiety in certain steps, which may help understand the role of emotion in decision‐making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serum uric acid (SUA) levels are highly heritable and an increased SUA level is one of important risk factors for gout, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases. The genetic variants underlying SUA remains largely unexplored. The aim was to explore new genetic variants underlying SUA in Chinese Han. We performed a genome-wide association study of SUA levels in Han Chinese. The discovery set contained 1634 samples and subsequent replication was comprised of 1649 females and 1169 males. 2620 subjects were recruited in the detailed analysis of rs671, alcohol drinking and SUA. We found a genome-wide significant association between SUA level and the SNP rs671 at ALDH2 ( P  = 1.2 × 10 −10 ) in the merged data. In addition, we also replicated the signal from rs3733590 at SLC2A9 ( P  = 1.0 × 10 −10 ). In males, about 0.21% to 1.95% of the total variance for SUA can be explained by rs671 using linear regression models in four independent cohorts. Of those, 56.75% to 93.51% might be explained by altering alcohol consumption due to rs671. No statistical association of rs671 and SUA was observed in females ( P  = 0.409). Furthermore, we observed a causal relationship between alcohol consumption and SUA in males using rs671 as an instrumental variable ( P  = 5.1 × 10 −4 ). We replicated the previous findings in SLC2A9 . Our evidence supported that rs671 was associated with SUA by affecting alcohol consumption in males. This finding strongly suggests a role for alcohol consumption in the development of hyperuricaemia and uric acid related traits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, synthesis of polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide aerogel (PGAs) as particle electrodes and their application in three-dimensional electrode system for simultaneous reduction of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and oxidation of bisphenol A (BPA) were implemented firstly. Electro-catalytic properties were investigated systemically in terms of the influences of pivotal factors, such as pH, the concentration ratio of Cr(VI) and BPA, voltage and the ratio of PGAs mass to solution volume (S/L). The results showed superb removal rates of 98.52 ± 1.48% for Cr(VI) and 98.00 ± 1.17% for BPA within 30 min under the optimal conditions. Furthermore, synergy of both pollutants was testified by the comparison of removal rates in electro-catalytic kinetics and their fitting in mixed solution with k obs-Cr(VI)  = 0.2019 min −1 , k obs-BPA  = 0.1463 min −1 significantly higher than that in one-component aqueous solution (k obs-Cr(VI)  = 0.0397 min −1 , k obs-BPA  = 0.0417 min −1 ). After 20 cycles of experiments, there were still high contaminants and total organic carbon (TOC) removal rates, which showed excellent reutilized ability of PGAs. More deeply, final destination of Cr(VI) was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM−EDX). Meanwhile, intermediates of BPA oxidized with the aid of Cr(VI) and OH were analyzed and a possible degradation pathway was proposed. Importantly, Cr(VI)/BPA system provided a remarkable example of a “waste control by waste” strategy for the synergetic removal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Luminescent polymer-rare earth complexes are an important class of photoluminescence and electroluminescence materials. Via molecular design, two furfural-based bidentate Schiff base ligands, furfural-aniline (FA) type ligand and furfural-cyclohexylamine (FC) type ligand, were bonded on the side chains of polysulfone (PSF), respectively, forming two functionalized macromolecules, PSF-FA and PSF-FC. And then through respective coordination reactions of the two functionalized macromolecules with Eu(Ⅲ) ion and Tb(Ⅲ) ion, novel luminescent binary and ternary (with 1,10-phenanthroline as the second ligand) polymer-rare earth complexes were synthesized. For these complexes, on basis of the characterization of their chemical structures, they photoluminescence properties were main researched, and the relationship between their luminescent properties and structures was explored. The experimental results show that the complexes coming from PSF-FA and Eu(Ⅲ) ion including binary and ternary complexes emit strong red luminescence, indicating that the bonded bidentate Schiff base ligand FA can sensitize the fluorescence emission of Eu(III) ion. While the complexes coming from PSF-FC and Tb(Ⅲ) ion produce green luminescence, displaying that the bonded bidentate Schiff base ligand FC can sensitize the fluorescence emission of Tb(Ⅲ) ion. The fluorescence emission intensities of the ternary complexes were stronger than that of binary complexes, reflecting the important effect of the second ligand. The fluorescence emission of the solid film of complexes is much stronger than that of the solutions of complexes. Besides, by comparison, it is found that the furfural (as a heteroaromatic compound)-based Schiff base type polymer-rare earth complexes have stronger fluorescence emission and higher energy transfer efficiency than salicylaldehyde (as a common aromatic compound)-based Schiff base type polymer-rare earth complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organophosphorus pesticides are a class of the most important groups of insecticides and are widely applied to pest and plant diseases control in agriculture. The extensive application of organophosphorus pesticides can subsequently release organophosphorus pesticides into environment which may pose a seriously adverse impact to non-target organisms and humans. However, we could not ban organophosphorus pesticides at present as they are very efficient. Therefore, the new technique of degradation of organophosphorus pesticides must be studied. In this paper, a ternary copper Schiff base complex 2Cu(C 14 H 8 NO 3 Cl)(C 12 H 8 N 2 )·3CH 3 OH was synthesized and characterised by physico-chemical and spectroscopic methods. The degraded effects of 4 pesticides by the complex were investigated. The results showed that the degraded rates of every organophosphorus pesticide were increased. However, the effects of degradation were varied because of the different molecule structures of organophosphorus pesticides. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and ion chromatography were used to analyze the degradation products by the complex, and then the catalytic mechanism of degradation was proposed. The study results suggest that the Schiff base copper complex, as a potent catalyzer, may find its applications in catalytic degradation area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety is a negative emotion that affects various aspects of people’s daily life. To explain why individuals with high anxiety tend to make suboptimal decisions, we suggest that their learning ability might play an important role. Regarding that anxiety modulates both outcome expectation and attention allocation, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the function of feedback learning should be sensitive to individual level of anxiety. However, previous studies that directly examined this hypothesis were scarce. In this study, forty-two Chinese participants were assigned to a high-trait anxiety (HTA) group or a low-trait anxiety (LTA) group according to their scores in the Trait form of Spielberger’s State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-T). Both groups finished a reward learning task in which two options were associated with different winning probabilities. The event-related potential (ERP) elicited by outcome feedback during the task was recorded and analyzed. Behavioral results revealed that, when the winning probability was 80% for one option and 20% for another, the HTA group chose the 80% winning option less often than the LTA group at the initial stage (i.e., first 20 trials) of the task, but there was no between-group difference in total number of choice. In addition, HTA participants took more time to make decisions in the 80/20 condition than in the 50/50 condition, but this effect was insignificant in the LTA group. ERP results indicated that anxiety affects learning in two ways. First, compared to their LTA counterparts, HTA participants showed a smaller feedback-related negativity (FRN) in response to negative feedback, indicating the impact of anxiety on outcome expectation. Second, HTA participants showed a larger P3 component in the 80/20 condition than in the 50/50 condition, indicating the impact of anxiety on attention allocation. Accordingly, we suggest that individuals’ ability of feedback learning could be negatively modulated by anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Event-related potential (ERP) has the potential to reveal the temporal neurophysiological dynamics of risk decision-making, but this potential has not been fully explored in previous studies. When predicting risk decision with ERPs, most studies focus on between-trial analysis that reflects feedback learning, while within-trial analysis that could directly link option assessment with behavioral output has been largely ignored. Suitable task design is crucial for applying within-trial prediction. In this study, we used a modified version of the classic Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). In each trial of the task, participants made multiple rounds of decisions between a risky option (pump up the balloon) and a safe option (cash out). Behavioral results show that as the level of economic risk increased, participants were less willing to make a risky decision and also needed a longer response time to do so. In general, the ERP results showed distinct characteristics compared with previous findings based on between-trial prediction, particularly about the role of the P1 component. Specifically, both the P1 (amplitude and latency) and P3 (amplitude) components evoked by current outcomes predicted subsequent decisions. We suggest that these findings indicate the importance of selective attention (indexed by the P1) and motivational functions (indexed by the P3), which may help clarify the cognitive mechanism of risk decision-making. The theoretical significance of these findings is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been proposed in cancer treatment for decades, but its clinical translation is significantly impeded by the low yield of ROS, poor tissue penetration depth of most current photosensitizers, and short lifetime of ROS. These limitations directly affect the therapeutic effect of PDT in cancer therapy. Here we proposed a new strategy by collaboratively integrating rare-earth doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP) with graphene quantum dot (GQD) for highly efficacious PDT, based on the merits of UCNP, which can emit UV–vis light under near-infrared light (NIR) excitation, and GQD, which can produce 1 O 2 efficiently. For GQD-decorated UCNP nanoparticles (UCNP-GQD), the emission light from UCNP can further excite GQD with prominent 1 O 2 generation for NIR-triggered PDT. Furthermore, a hydrophilic rhodamine derivative, TRITC, is covalently tethered to afford the resultant UCNP-GQD/TRITC, possessing distinct mitochondrial targeting property. Thus mitochondrial specific PDT with in-situ 1 O 2 burst in mitochondria induces sharp decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential, which initiates the tumor cell apoptosis irreversibly. Importantly, in vivo experiments demonstrate the tumor inhibition of mitochondrial targeting UCNP-GQD/TRITC with improved therapeutic efficiency compared with non-targeting UCNP-GQD. The proposed strategy highlights the advantages of precision organelles-specific PDT in cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background aims Retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) are a promising cell therapy treatment for retinal degenerative diseases. However, problems with limited proliferation ability and differentiation preference toward glia rather than neurons restrict the clinical application of these RPCs. The extracellular matrix (ECM) has been recognized to provide an appropriate microenvironment to support stem cell adhesion and direct cell behaviors, such as self-renewal and differentiation. Methods In this study, decellularized matrix of adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (DMA) was manufactured using a chemical agent method (0.5% ammonium hydroxide Triton + 20 mmol/L NH4OH) in combination with a biological agent method (DNase solution), and the resulting DMA were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and immunocytochemistry. The effect of DMA on RPC proliferation and differentiation was evaluated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot and immunocytochemistry analysis. Results DMA was successfully fabricated, as demonstrated by SEM and immunocytochemistry. Compared with tissue culture plates, DMA may effectively enhance the proliferation of RPCs by activating Akt and Erk phosphorylation; when the two pathways were blocked, the promoting effect was reversed. Moreover, DMA promoted the differentiation of RPCs toward retinal neurons, especially rhodopsin- and recoverin-positive photoreceptors, which is the most interesting class of cells for retinal degeneration treatment. Conclusions These results indicate that DMA has important roles in governing RPC proliferation and differentiation and may contribute to the application of RPCs in treating retinal degenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A functional [C 4 mimCl]CoCl 2 ionic liquid was prepared by directly mixing cobalt chloride (CoCl 2 ) with 1-n-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C 4 mimCl). Oxone (KHSO 5 ) was selected as an oxidizing agent and, together with [C 4 mimCl]CoCl 2 , formed an extraction/catalytic oxidation system for the desulfurization of fuels. Compared with the Fenton-like desulfurization systems, the oxone solid is cheaper, more stable, and less corrosive than liquid H 2 O 2 . The results indicated that a S-removal efficiency of 97.7% can be achieved under optimal experimental conditions (i.e., 2 g of [C 4 mimCl]CoCl 2 , initial S content of 500 ppm, 6 g of dibenzothiophene (DBT) in n-octane, 1 g of oxone solution, 50 °C, and 65 min). The [C 4 mim]Cl/CoCl 2 ionic liquid showed a very good recycling performance (i.e., the S removal efficiency remained above 96% after 6 consecutive desulfurization processes). The removal of different sulfur compounds in octane after 65 min followed the trend DBT > 4,6-dimethyldibenzothiphene (4,6-DMDBT) > benzothiophene (BT) with S removal efficiencies of 97.7, 93.7, and 74.0%, respectively. According to the gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS) analysis, the oxidative product was identified as DBTO 2 , and a possible sulfur removal mechanism was predicted. The [C 4 mimCl]CoCl 2 ionic liquid displayed a dual function (i.e., catalytic and extractive agents) during the desulfurization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We develop an antibody-free fluorescence method for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) assay using aptamer-based target-/probe-mediated cyclic signal amplification. The method is highly sensitive with a detection limit of 0.16 fM, and it can be applied to detect EGFR in lung cancer cells, holding great potential in clinical diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the global exponential stability for recurrent neural networks (QVNNs) with asynchronous time delays is investigated in quaternion field. Due to the non-commutativity of quaternion multiplication resulting from Hamilton rules: i j = − j i = k , j k = − k j = i , k i = − i k = j , i j k = i 2 = j 2 = k 2 = − 1 , the QVNN is decomposed into four real-valued systems, which are studied separately. The exponential convergence is proved directly accompanied with the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium point to the consider systems. Combining with the generalized ∞ -norm and Cauchy convergence property in the quaternion field, some sufficient conditions to guarantee the stability are established without using any Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional and linear matrix inequality. Finally, a numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very early in development, vocal emotional cues are more critical than facial expressions in guiding infants' behavior. However, the processing of emotional prosody in the very early days of life is still far from clearly understood. To address the issue, this study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to examine brain response of neonates when they passively listened to fearful, angry, happy and neutral prosodies. It was found that while the right temporal cortex (mainly located in the middle temporal gyrus and superior temporal gyrus) exhibited enhanced response to emotional, relative to neutral, prosody, a right parietal area (approximately located in the supramarginal gyrus) showed a heightened sensitivity to fearful, relative to happy and neutral, prosody. These findings highlight the crucial importance of the right hemisphere in the perception of emotional prosody in neonates. Furthermore, the result is consistent with the notion of a negativity bias, supporting the evolutionary importance of threatening information that could be processed at birth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acetaldehyde was introduced onto the side chains of polysulfone, and then Schiff base reactions were carried out between the introduced acetaldehyde and ortho-aminophenol (OAP) or meta-aminophenol (MAP). Two bidentate Schiff base (B) ligands of acetaldehyde/aminophenol type, OAPB and MAPB, were bonded on the side chains of polysulfone, and two new bidentate Schiff base ligand functionalized-polysulfones, PSF-OAPB and PSF-MAPB, were obtained. The triplet state energies of OAPB and MAPB are well matched with the resonant level energy of Tb(III), and the Tb(III) complexes emit the strong characteristic fluorescence of Tb(III) (green luminescence). Complexes of Eu(III) have no fluorescence emission because of the mismatching of the energy levels. In comparison, the fluorescence intensity of the binary complex PSF-(MAPB)3-Tb(III) is stronger than that of the binary complex PSF-(OAPB)3-Tb(III) because of the structured difference of the chelating ring. The ternary complexes PSF-(MAPB)3-Tb(III)-(Phen)1 (Phen represents 1,10-phenanthroline) and PSF-(OAPB)3-Tb(III)-(Phen)1 have stronger fluorescence emissions than the corresponding binary complexes. The fluorescence emission intensities of solid films of the complexes are stronger than that of their solutions. The prepared luminescent polymer-Tb(III) complexes containing acetaldehyde/aminophenol type bidentate Schiff base ligands have very high quantum yields (80–86%), reflecting the high intramolecular energy transfer efficiencies from the ligands to Tb(III). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Surface-layer proteins ( SLP) have been found in the outermost layer of the cell wall in many types of lactobacillus are considered to be an important factor with respect to intestinal immunity. RESULTS The present study compared the effects of SLP extracted by different concentrations of LiCl and carbamide, and subsequently identified by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, circular dichroism and differential scanning calorimetry. Furthermore, RAW 264.7 cells were used to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of SLP. SLP were derived from Lactobacillus acidophilus CICC6074 with a molecular weight of 46 kDa, and consisted of 16.9% α-helix, 42.3% β-sheet, 20.8% β-turns and 22.5% random coils. SLP promoted NO secretion and higher quantities of NO were produced as the SLP concentrations increased. SLP concentrations over 50 µg mL−1 significantly decreased the amount of tumor necrosis factor-α secreted by RAW264.7 cells. CONCLUSION SLP can trigger immunomodulatory effects in RAW 264.7 cells. This provides crucial information that will enable the further use of L. acidophilus in food, medicine and other products. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sensitive and efficient UPLC–MS/MS method was developed and validated for simultaneous quantification of eight saikosaponins (SSa, SSb 1 , SSb 2 , SSb 3 , SSb 4 , SSc, SSd and SSf) in rat plasma. Furthermore, comparative pharmacokinetic profiles of these sakosaponins were investigated, following oral administration of extracts of raw and vinegar-baked Bupleuri Radix to depression rats. Biosamples were processed with liquid-liquid extraction technique using ethyl acetate. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on Waters BEH C 18 UPLC column. 0.05% formic acid in water and acetonitrile as mobile phase was used at a flow rate of 0.40 mL/min. The analytes and internal standard, digoxin, were detected using negative ion electrospray ionization in multiple reaction monitoring mode. The lower limit of quantification was less than 0.62 ng/mL for the each analyte. The validation parameters investigated, which were specificity, precision, accuracy, matrix effect, recovery and stability, were well within acceptable limits. Results showed that for some of analytes, AUC 0−t and C max were significantly different after oral administration of extracts of raw and vinegar-baked Bupleuri Radix. Moreover, the pharmacokinetic study in pathological state could provide more useful information to guide the clinical usage of Bupleuri Radix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • In-situ sulfite sludge treatment without adding anaerobic sludge was investigated. • SCFAs production from WAS was enhanced by In-situ sulfite treatment. • Methanogenic bioprocess was inhibited during the sulfite treatment. • In-situ sulfite treatment showed an effective inactivating effect on pathogens. • In-situ sulfite treatment stimulated hydrolytic and/or acid-forming microorganisms. Sulfite-based technology could enhance methane production from anaerobic sludge digestion. However, its potential for in-situ direct sludge treatment without anaerobic sludge addition in the side-stream remains unclear. This study investigated the feasibility of using in-situ sulfite treating sludge for short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) production via anaerobic fermentation of waste activated sludge (WAS) as a side-stream treatment. In-situ sulfite direct sludge treatment enhanced SCFAs and acetic acid production by 2.03 and 4.89 times at 500 mg S/L compared to the control. With in-situ sulfite treatment, WAS hydrolysis and acidification were enhanced while methanogenesis was spontaneously hindered. The in-situ sulfite treatment inactivated pathogens and improved the sludge dewatering properties. The relative abundances of SCFAs-production microbial were stimulated, facilitating the sludge bioconversion. The produced SCFAs from in-situ sulfite side-stream treatment could be applied as an "internal carbon source" to enhance biological nutrient removal to improve economic and environmental value from sludge treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Viscosity and conductivity data of BMIMZnAcxCly(x=0,1,2,3;  y=3,2,1,0) ionic liquids were detected at temperature ranging from 323.15 to 353.15 K with an interval of 5 K. The conductivities of different ionic liquids at the same temperature followed the trend [BMIM][ZnAcCl2] > [BMIM][ZnAc2Cl] > [BMIM][ZnCl3] > [BMIM][ZnAc3]. The viscosities of different ionic liquid abided by the order [BMIM][ZnCl3] > [BMIM][ZnAcCl2] > [BMIM][ZnAc2Cl] > [BMIM][ZnAc3]. Acetate ion could reduce the viscosity of ionic liquids. The relationship between viscosity/conductivity and temperature obeyed the Arrhenius equation and Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann (VFT) equation very well with above 0.99 correlation coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two kinds of immobilized bidentate Schiff base oxovanadium(IV) complexes are prepared via polymer reactions and coordination reactions with chloromethylated cross-linked polystyrene (CMCPS) microspheres as matrix. Benzaldehyde (BA)-functionalized CPS microspheres, BA-CPS microspheres, were prepared through nucleophilic substitution with CMCPS microsphere as precursor and p-hydroxy benzaldehyde as reagent, and then Schiff base reactions were carried out with 3-aminopyridine (AP) and glycine (GL) as reagents, respectively, obtaining two kinds of bidentate Schiff base ligand-bonded microspheres, BAAP-CPS microspheres and BAGL-CPS microspheres. Finally, through coordination reactions with vanadyl sulfate (VOSO4) as reagent, the two kinds of immobilized bidentate Schiff base oxovanadium(IV) complex microspheres, CPS-[VO(BAAP)2] and CPS-[VO(BAGL)2], were obtained. The two immobilized complexes, VO(BAAP)2 and VO(BAGL)2, are N,N- and N,O-type bidentate Schiff base oxovanadium(IV) complexes and their ligands have different chemical structures. The two catalyst microspheres were used in oxidation of cyclohexanol and benzyl alcohol with molecular oxygen as oxidant and their catalytic activities are compared. The experimental results show that both solid catalysts can catalyze the transformation reactions of cyclohexanol and benzyl alcohol to their corresponding carbonyl compounds under mild conditions. However, CPS-[VO(BAAP)2] microspheres have much higher catalytic activity and better stability than CPS-[VO(BAGL)2] microspheres. For the immobilized bidentate Schiff base oxovanadium(IV) catalysts, the catalytic property is closely related to the chemical structures of the ligands, and for this, a theoretical explanation is given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]