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Objective: To investigate the characteristics of tau deposition and its impact on functional connectivity (FC) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD).Methods: Hybrid PET/MRI scans with [18F]-THK5317 and neuropsychological assessments were undertaken in 26 participants with AD and 19 healthy controls (HC). The standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR) of [18F]-THK5317 PET imaging was compared between the AD and HC groups. Significant clusters that revealed higher tau deposition in the AD group compared to the HC group were selected as regions of interest (ROI) for FC analysis. We evaluated the difference in the FC between the two groups for each ROI pair. The clinical and radiological characteristics were compared between the AD patients with negative FC and AD patients with positive FC for exploratory analysis.Results: The bilateral inferior lateral temporal lobe, dorsal prefrontal cortex, precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, and occipital lobe showed significantly higher [18F]-THK5317 accumulation in AD patients. Decreased FC in regions with higher SUVR was observed in AD patients, and the FC strength was negatively correlated with regional SUVR. Patients with a positive FC exhibited older ages, better cognitive performances, and a lower SUVR than patients with a negative FC.Conclusions: An impact of tau deposition was observed on FC at the individual level in AD patients. Our findings suggested that the combination of tau-PET and rs-fMRI might help predict AD progression.

The defective and persistent Sendai virus (SeVdp) vector system allows efficient generation of transgene-free induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from human somatic cells. By leveraging the system, here we report the generation of an iPSC line from somatic fibroblasts of a healthy control donner (female), named KEIOi002-A (also named YG-iPS). The control iPSC line would be a useful resource for stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

Testis-expressed gene 11 (TEX11) mutation has been associated with non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) and meiotic arrest. An analogous mutation of TEX11 in the mouse impairs meiosis and can be rescued by in vitro expansion of SSCs and gene therapy. However, a lack of genetic screening of a large cohort of Asian patients (including pedigree analysis) and proper functional evaluation limit the clinical application of TEX11 mutation screening. Thus, we performed whole-exome sequencing (WES) in 479 patients with NOA and identified three novel mutations (two splicing mutations and one missense mutation) in TEX11 in three pairs of siblings from three families and four novel pathogenic mutations (three frameshift mutations and a non-sense mutation) of TEX11 in four sporadic NOA-affected cases. Novel variants among family members were segregated by disease phenotype, and all the seven mutations were predicted to be pathogenic. Histological analysis showed that three patients with TEX11 mutations underwent meiotic arrest. The four mutations that resulted in protein truncations and defective meiosis-specific sporulation domain SPO22 were validated by Western blot. In total, we find seven of 479 patients of NOA (1.5%) carrying TEX11 mutations. Our study expands the knowledge of mutations of TEX11 gene in Asian patients with NOA. The high prevalence and X-linked inherited mode indicated that TEX11 might be included in genetic screening panels for the clinical evaluation of patients with NOA.

Objective To investigate the effect of resin infiltrant on resistance of sound permanent enamel surfaces to demineralization. Method Eighty healthy premolars were sectioned to obtain enamel blocks from the buccal surface. Specimens with baseline surface microhardness values of 320–370 were selected. The experimental group were treated with resin infiltrant, while the control group was not. Specimens from each group were artificially demineralized and the surface microhardness values were measured again. Confocal laser scanning microscopy was used to measure the depth of demineralization and detect the penetration ability of the resin infiltrant. The specimens were subjected to a simulated toothbrushing abrasion test. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe changes in the surface morphology of specimens after each of these procedures. Results No significant differences between the experimental and control groups were observed in the baseline microhardness values or in the experimental group after resin infiltration compared with the baseline conditions. After artificial demineralization, the microhardness value in the control group was significantly lower than that in the experimental group (266.0 (±34.5) compared with 304.0 (±13.0), P = 0.017). Confocal laser scanning microscopy results showed that the demineralization depth in the control group was significantly deeper than that in the experimental group (97.9 (±22.8) µm vs. 50.4 (±14.3) µm, P < 0.001), and that resin infiltrant completely penetrated the acid-etched demineralized area of the tooth enamel with a mean penetration depth of 31.6 (±9.0) µm. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the surface morphology was more uniform and smoother after simulated toothbrushing. The enamel surface structure was more severely destroyed in the control group after artificial demineralization compared with that of the experimental group. Conclusion Resin infiltrant can completely penetrate an acid-etched demineralized enamel area and improve resistance of sound enamel surfaces to demineralization. Our findings provide an experimental basis for preventive application of resin infiltrant to sound enamel surfaces to protect tooth enamel against demineralization.

Objectives: Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD) is the most common vascular cause of dementia, and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an intermediate state between dementia and normal cognitive aging. The present study investigated the main imaging features of CSVD on different MCI subtypes in memory clinics.Methods: A total of 236 patients with MCI and 85 healthy controls were included. One hundred nine amnestic MCI-multiple domains (amMCI), 38 amnestic MCI-single domain (asMCI), 36 non-amnestic MCI-multiple domains (namMCI), and 53 non-amnestic MCI-single domain (nasMCI) patients were diagnosed. All participants were evaluated with the cognitive assessments and imaging features including white matter hyperintensity (WMH), enlarged perivascular spaces (EPVS), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), and cerebral atrophy according to a standard procedure.Results: The patients with amMCI, namMCI, and nasMCI had more high-grade basal ganglia EPVS compared with healthy controls, while the percentages of high-grade basal ganglia EPVS in the patients with amMCI were also more than those in patients with asMCI, namMCI, and nasMCI. There were more high-grade centrum semiovale EPVS in patients with amMCI in comparison with all other groups. The patients with amMCI and namMCI had more percentages of severe deep and periventricular WMH and deep CMBs compared with healthy controls. All MCI groups had higher scores of the medial temporal lobe atrophy than healthy controls, whereas the scores of the amMCI group were also higher than those of the namMCI and nasMCI groups.Conclusions: There were varied neuroimaging features of CSVD including cerebral atrophy in different MCI groups, which meant that vascular mechanism contributed to the prodromal stage of dementia.

Reconstructing the full shape of neurons is a major informatics challenge as it requires handling huge whole-brain imaging datasets. Here the authors present an open-source virtual reality annotation system for precise and efficient data production of neuronal shapes reconstructed from whole brains.

ABSTRACT: At present, most shale gas exploration and development areas in China are difficult to provide sufficient and effective production data to support economic evaluation, since they are still in the initial stage of low exploration level. In addition, ecological and environmental factors are not taken into account in the evaluation process, which does not meet the needs of green energy development of China. Aiming at above problems, the dynamic economic evaluation method of shale gas resources based on calculus principle is proposed. The Arps hyperbolic decreasing curve model will be used in the evaluation of single shale gas well production, which can evaluate single well production of shale gas by fitting the existing dynamic production data to generate the production decreasing curve. Therefore, the variation regularity of the cumulative production of single well shale gas within the study area can be obtained by the model mentioned above. According to the variation regularity of the cumulative production obtained from the Arps hyperbolic decreasing curve model, the recovery period of single well cost, ultimate economic life and the ultimate economic resource can be evaluated dynamically by analyzing the variation regularity of the cumulative sales revenue and cumulative input cost of single shale gas well. Then the evaluation result can be further extend to the whole evaluation areas, in order to analyze shale gas resources ’ economic value in evaluation regions under different shale gas price conditions. The results of the above evaluation methods are not only conducive to improving the economic benefits of relative shale gas development enterprises, but also provide a basis for the national energy strategy deployment.© 2019 China Geology Editorial Office.

Objectives Transforaminal percutaneous endoscopic discectomy (TPED) is one of the most commonly used minimally invasive spine surgeries around the world. However, conventional surgical planning and intraoperative procedures for TPED have relied on surgeons’ experience, which limits its standardization and popularization. Virtual reality (VR) is a novel technology for pre‐surgical planning in various fields of medicine, while isocentric navigation can guide intraoperative procedures for TPED. The present study aimed to explore the feasibility of applying VR combined with isocentric navigation in TPED on cadavers. Methods The surgical levels were L3/L4 and L4/L5 as well as L5/S1 of both sides of each cadaver specimen. First, the surgeon manually conducted the above procedures on the left side of every specimen without preoperative simulation and isocentric navigation (Group A). Then the same surgeon conducted the VR simulation for surgical planning of the right side (Group B). After VR simulation, the same surgeon made the percutaneous punctures and placed the working channel on the right side of the specimen at all levels. Results At the L3/L4 level, the puncture‐channel time was 11.36 ± 2.13 min in Group A and 11.29 ± 2.23 min in Group B (t = 0.097, P = 0.938). The exposure time was 17.21 ± 2.91 s in Group A and 14.64 ± 1.60 s in Group B (t = 2.534, P = 0.025). At the L4/L5 level, the puncture‐channel time was 13.86 ± 3.90 min in Group A and 11.93 ± 2.95 min in Group B (t = 2.291, P = 0.039). Exposure time was 20.64 ± 3.84 s in Group A and 16.43 ± 2.47 s in Group B (t = 6.118, P < 0.01). There were 7 patients undergoing foraminotomy in Group A and 3 patients undergoing foraminotomy in Group B (t = 2.280, P = 0.236). At the L5/S1 level, the puncture‐channel time was 18.21 ± 1.85 min in Group A and 15.71 ± 3.20 min in Group B (t = 2.476, P = 0.028). Exposure time was 26.07 ± 3.17 s in Group A and 22.50 ± 2.68 s in Group B (t = 2.980, P = 0.011). There were 14 patients receiving foraminotomy in Group A and 13 patients receiving foraminotomy in Group B (t = 1.000, P = 1.000). Conclusions Virtual reality combined with isocentric navigation is feasible in TPED. It enables precise surgical planning and improves intraoperative procedures, and has the potential for application in clinical practice.

Three-terminal memristors (MRs), extended from two-terminal ones, have been reported to have strong controllability and thus a wide application potential. In this paper, two three-terminal MR emulators are designed based on the junction gate field-effect transistor (JFET) and the operational amplifier (op amp), respectively, aiming to control the memductance quantitatively by adjusting the voltage applied on the third terminal. To obtain adjustable control parameters, a proportional-integral (PI) controller was designed based on the op amp-based three-terminal MR emulator. Then, the proposed emulators and controller were simulated repeatedly. The simulated results agree well with the theoretical analysis, revealing the good performance and feasibility of our design. The research findings shed new light on improving the controllability of controllers.

We investigate the modulus-based matrix splitting iteration algorithms for solving the linear complementarity problems (LCPs) and propose a new model to solve it. The structure of the new model is straightforward and can be extended to other issues of type of complementarity. Convergence analysis of the new approach for the symmetric positive definite matrix is also discussed. The numerical results of the proposed approach are compared with the existing algorithms to show its efficiency.

This case-control study is aimed to investigate the correlation of altered functional connectivity (FC) in cerebellum with cognitive impairment in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The morphometric and resting-state FC MRI analysis including 46 participants with AD, 32 with aMCI and 42 age-matched normal controls (NCs) were conducted. We compared the cerebellar gray matter volume and cerebellar FC with cerebral cortical regions among three groups. To investigate the relationship of cerebellar FC with cognition, we measure the correlation of significant altered FC and individual cognitive domain. No significant morphometric differences of cerebellum was observed across three groups. The patients with AD had weaker cerebral cortical FCs in bilateral Crus I and left VIIb compared to NCs, and in bilateral Crus I compared to patients with aMCI. For patients with aMCI, the weaker FC were found between right Crus I, left VIIb and cerebral cortical regions compared to NCs. The strength of left cerebellar FC positively correlated with specific cognitive subdomains, including memory, executive function, visuospatial function, and global cognition in AD and aMCI. These findings demonstrated the alteration of cerebellar FC with cerebral cortical regions, and the correlation of cerebellar FC and cognitive impairment in AD and aMCI.

Ammonium is the main nitrogen resources for scleractinian coral-Symbiodiniaceae symbiotic association, and there is urgent need to investigate the involvement of ammonium assimilation in the heat acclimation of the symbiotic association to heat stress. In the present study, symbiont density and chlorophyll content, as well as redox and ammonium assimilation enzyme activities, in two symbiotic partners of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis were firstly investigated after acute heat stress (32°C). Symbiont density and chlorophyll content decreased significantly at 24 h (1.81 × 106 cell cm–2, p < 0.05) and 36 h (23.25 pg cell–1, p < 0.05) after heat stress, respectively. We observed significant activity increases of coral nitric oxide synthase, superoxide dismutase and catalase, and symbiont superoxide dismutase after heat stress, but no alterations in the activities of symbiont nitric oxide synthase and catalase during the whole experiment period. The activities of coral glutamine synthetase and glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase began to increase significantly at 24 h, and reached the peak at 36 h after heat stress. As for coral glutamate dehydrogenase activity, a significant increase was observed only at 36 h after heat stress. The activities of symbiont glutamine synthetase and glutamine oxoglutarate aminotransferase did not change significantly after heat stress. Secondly, symbiont density, chlorophyll content, apoptosis rate, coral total antioxidant capacity, and caspase3 activation level were determined after glufosinate (glutamine synthetase inhibitor) treatment. Symbiont density decreased significantly at 6 h (1.25 × 106 cell cm–2, p < 0.05) after glufosinate treatment, and symbiont chlorophyll content also decreased significantly during 12–24 h after glufosinate treatment, with the lowest level at 12 h (16.69 pg cell–1, p < 0.05). Furthermore, the coral total antioxidant capacity and caspase3 activation level both increased significantly at 12 h (0.57 U mg–1, 2.08-fold, p < 0.05) after glufosinate treatment, while no significant change was observed for the symbiont apoptosis rate. These results suggest that the ammonium assimilation activity in the coral host P. damicornis, not its symbiont, was induced by acute heat stress, which might contribute to the acclimatization of the symbiotic association to high temperature through regulating coral antioxidant capacity and apoptosis.

Summary: The advent of base editors (BEs) holds great potential for correcting pathogenic-related point mutations to treat relevant diseases. However, Cas9 nickase (nCas9)-derived BEs lead to DNA double-strand breaks, which can trigger unwanted DNA damage response (DDR). Here, we show that the original version of catalytically dead Cas12a (dCas12a)-conjugated BEs induce a basal level of DNA breaks and minimally activate DDR proteins, including H2AX, ATM, ATR, and p53. By fusing dCas12a with engineered human apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like 3A (APOBEC3A), we further develop the BEACON (base editing induced by human APOBEC3A and Cas12a without DNA break) system to achieve enhanced deamination efficiency and editing specificity. Efficient C-to-T editing is achieved by BEACON in mammalian cells at levels comparable to AncBE4max, with only low levels of DDR and minimal RNA off-target mutations. Importantly, BEACON induces in vivo base editing in mouse embryos, and targeted C-to-T conversions are detected in F0 mice.

Molluscs have evolved a primitive but complete neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) system with a vast array of neurotransmitters to conduct both humoral and cellular immunomodulation. Previous studies have illustrated the immune functions of several key neurotransmitters. However, the combined effects of multiple neurotransmitters and the signaling pathway to mediate such immunomodulation have not been well-understood. In the present study, iTRAQ and LC-ESI-MS/MS approaches were employed to investigate the combined immunomodulation functions of two crucial neurotransmitters, acetylcholine (ACh), and [Met5]-enkephalin (ENK), in oyster Crassostrea gigas. A total number of 5,379 proteins were identified from hemocytes of oysters after the treatments with Ach and ENK separately or simultaneously, and 1,475 of them were found to be significantly up-regulated, while 1,115 of them were significantly down-regulated. The protein expression patterns in the groups treated by ACh and ENK separately were quite similar, which were dramatically different from that in the group treated by ACh+ENK. One hundred seventy-two proteins were found to be differentially expressed in all the three neurotransmitter treatment groups. Functional validation suggested that ACh and ENK possibly modulate the immune response in oyster hemocytes by enhancing pathogen recognition, cell apoptosis, and the enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD). Moreover, GO enrichment and co-expression network analyses implied that the combined immunomodulation of ACh and ENK might be mediated by p53, EGF-R–ErbB, and Fc gamma R (FcγR) signaling pathways. These results collectively indicated that multiple neurotransmitters executed a combined and ordered immune regulation through common signaling cascades in molluscs, which was under delicate control to maintain the homeostasis.

Summary: Phosphors with high quantum efficiency and thermal stability are greatly desired for lighting industries. Based on the design strategy of solid solution, a series of deep-blue-emitting phosphors (Sr0.99-xBax)2P2O7:0.02Eu2+ (SBxPE x = 0–0.5) are developed. Upon excitation at 350 nm, the optimized SB0.3PE phosphor shows a relatively narrow full width at half maximum (FWHM = 32.7 nm) peaking at 420 nm, which matches well with the plant absorption in blue region. Moreover, this phosphor exhibits obvious enhancement of internal quantum efficiency (IQE) (from 74% to 100%) and thermal stability (from 88% to 108% of peak intensity and from 99% to 124% of integrated area intensity at 150°C) compared with the pristine one. The white LED devices using SB0.3PE as deep-blue-emitting component show good electronic properties, indicating that SB0.3PE is promising to be used in plant growth lighting, white LEDs, and other photoelectric applications. : Inorganic Materials; Materials Application; Optical Materials Subject Areas: Inorganic Materials, Materials Application, Optical Materials

In order to comprehensively investigate the influence of the thickness of thin spray-on liners on their adhesive strength with different surrounding rock environments, pull-off tests were employed to measure the adhesive strength of thin spray-on liners of different thickness on the surface of various substrates (granite, sandstone, concrete, and coal), which were used to simulate different surrounding rock environments. The results indicated that the failure mode was mainly liner material–substrate adhesion failure when granite, sandstone, or concrete was used as the substrate, while substrate failure was observed to occur more frequently when coal was used as the substrate. The variation rules of the adhesive strength ( σ ) of thin spray-on liners, along with liner thickness ( t ), for different surrounding rock environments were obtained: σ 1 = 3 . 11 × t − 0 . 5 for granite, σ 2 = 2 . 77 × t − 0 . 5 for sandstone, σ 3 = 2 . 95 × t − 0 . 5 for concrete, and σ 4 − 1 = 0 . 02 x + 1 . 765 ( t concrete > sandstone > granite. The achievements of the current study provide a theoretical basis for the on-site determination of thin spray-on liner thickness requirements, as well as the scientific and rational design of liner material structure.

In order to adapt to dry and wet environment in mine roadways and improve the performance of sealing materials under different environmental conditions, this study selected the materials based on their ability to spray and found that the materials with a viscosity of 1500–6000 MPa·s can achieve a balance between performance of spray and wall-hanging performance. Next, by selecting high-elastic polyacrylate emulsion and ordinary Portland cement as the film-forming agent and gel, respectively, mix proportion factors of the nonreactive thin spray-on liner (TSL) were analyzed by using the Taguchi method. Moreover, fluidity, setting time, sealing properties, compressive strength, bending strength, and bonding strength of those materials were measured. It was disclosed that addition of an appropriate amount of polyacrylate emulsion can enhance the effects of fibers. By observing the morphologies of the materials’ bonding surfaces and comparing the factors influencing bonding strength between both dry and wet walls, it was uncovered that the adhesive property of cement-based sealing materials was mainly affected by the water-cement ratio. Eventually, bonding strength and sealing properties were selected as primary optimization indexes, while setting time, bending strength, and compressive strength were selected as secondary optimization indexes. The appropriate proportions of two types of TSLs for dry and wet walls were (W/C = 50%; P/C = 6%; F/C = 1%; T/C = 0.2%) and (W/C = 45%; P/C = 6%; F/C = 1%; T/C = 0.4%), respectively. A prepared TSL can be used for filling rock fractures in mine roadways. In addition, TSL exhibited a great performance for dry and wet walls under different environmental conditions. The present study may provide an insightful guidance and reference for the investigation of TSL sealing materials applied in the mine roadways.

A lack of replicable test systems that realistically simulate hot water premise plumbing conditions at the laboratory-scale is an obstacle to identifying key factors that support growth of opportunistic pathogens (OPs) and opportunities to stem disease transmission. Here we developed the convectively-mixed pipe reactor (CMPR) as a simple reproducible system, consisting of off-the-shelf plumbing materials, that self-mixes through natural convective currents and enables testing of multiple, replicated, and realistic premise plumbing conditions in parallel. A 10-week validation study was conducted, comparing three pipe materials (PVC, PVC-copper, and PVC-iron; n = 18 each) to stagnant control pipes without convective mixing (n = 3 each). Replicate CMPRs were found to yield consistent water chemistry as a function of pipe material, with differences becoming less discernable by week 9. Temperature, an overarching factor known to control OP growth, was consistently maintained across all 54 CMPRs, with a coefficient of variation

The truncation of steel sections in Steel Reinforced Concrete-Reinforced Concrete (SRC-RC) transfer columns may lead to a distortion in the internal force transmission. A refined finite element model of SRC-RC transfer columns was developed in this study taking into consideration the effects of different confinement around concrete. According to the internal force and deformation characteristics of a transfer column, the shear capacity of the SRC-RC transfer column was investigated, and the results compared well with existing experimental results. Extensive parametric studies were conducted and crosschecked with the current code. It is found that the current specification may not always ensure the shear failure capacity since it is intrinsically affected by both the internal force and deformation characteristics of the transfer column. A modified formula has been proposed, by which more rational design of structural members may be expected, brittle failure can be avoided and ductility will be improved.

ABSTRACT: After the breakthrough of shale gas exploration and development in the Ordovician Wufeng Formation (Fm.) and Silurian Longmaxi Fm. of Chongqing Jiaoshiba area, Changning-Weiyuan area, etc. in Sichuan basin, a series of discovery and breakthrough were obtained by China Geological Survey in the Cambrian Niutitang Fm. and Sinian Doushantuo Fm. shale of the areas with complicated structure outside Sichuan basin. Based on the understanding of the law of shale gas enrichment in Longmaxi Fm. in the basin, this paper puts forward three elements of the formation and enrichment of shale gas, which are the “Source”, the “Diagenesis” and the “Accumulation”, after deeply studying the law shale gas enrichment and accumulation in Sinian-Cambrian reservoir of the complex structure area outside the basin. The “Source” means the sedimentary environment and petrological characteristics of organic shale. The “Diagenesis” means the basin tectonic subsidence and hydrocarbon generation and expulsion process of organic matter. The “Accumulation” means the tectonic uplift and shale gas preservation. It is proposed that the Sinian-Cambrian and Ordovician-Silurian black shale series in the middle and upper Yangtze region of southern China were both formed in the deep-water shelf environment of rift trough and foreland basin respectively. The dessert intervals were formed in the strong reduction environment under transgressive system tract. The shale lithology belongs to calcium-siliceous and charcoal-siliceous respectively. Based on the summary of structural evolution in Yangtze area, the correlation of structural burial depth with shale diagenesis and the coupling evolution of organic matter with pore structure are discussed. Combining with structural styles, the preservation conditions of shale gas are discussed. Five types of shale gas reservoir control models are further described. Two types of future exploration directions, which are reverse fault syncline and paleo-uplift margin in complex structural area outside the basin, are proposed.

ABSTRACT: There are plenty of Sinian and Cambrian potential shale gas resources in South China, which is characterized by high thermal evolution degrees, poor drilling performances and only occurs in local areas. Taking the principle “high to find low” is the key issue to achieving a breakthrough in older shale. China Geological Survey drilled in the periphery of the Proterozoic basement, i.e. the Huangling anticline, in the western Hubei, and Hannan paleocontinent in the southern Shanxi. It received high-quality gas-bearing shale with relatively low Ro in the in Lower Cambrian Niutitang formation and Sinian Doushantuo formation. Based on geological conditions of shale gas reservoirs in the Huangling anticline, this paper puts forward the new model named “Control over reservoirs by periphery of basement” about shale gas accumulation, suggesting that the shale deposited in a deepwater continental shelf in the periphery of the basement is characterized by shallow burial, a short burial time, stable tectonics, relatively low thermal evolution degrees, and shale gas reservoirs in a good condition. The shale of the Sinian-Cambrian strata deposited in deepwater continental shelves in the periphery of Chuanzhong paleo-uplift in Sichuan, Hannan paleocontinent in the southern Shanxi, Huangling anticline in western Hubei and Jiangnang-Xuefeng paleo-uplift in Hunan and Guizhou province have good shale gas exploration potential.

ABSTRACT: There are three types of shale gas resources in China. The resources are present in large amounts and are widely distributed. Marine facies, transitional facies and continental facies resources each account for a third. Based on resource distributions, there are many wells penetrated into the Sinian, Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian strata of the Yangtze plate and its periphery, the North China Craton and the Tarim Basin. Many years of exploration have indicated that the marine Silurian Longmaxi shale gas is widely distributed in south China and has been industrialized in its production in the Sichuan basin. The shale gas from the Cambrian Niutitang Formation and the Sinian Doushantuo Formation are important discoveries in Yichang, Hubei and Zhenba, Shanxi. There are also shale gas resources found within transitional facies and continental facies in different areas in China. The “two element enrichment theory” has been summarized during the exploration process of Silurian marine shale gas in the Sichuan Basin. In addition, horizontal drilling and fracturing technologies up to 3500 m in depth have been developed. Based on the understanding of shale gas accumulation in a complex tectonic zone outside the Sichuan basin, a preliminary summary of the formation of the “converse fault syncline control reservoir” and “paleo uplift control reservoir” model has been constructed. The dominant theory of “Trinity” shale gas enrichment and the high yield of the “deep water Lu Pengxiang sedimentary facies belt, structural preservation conditions and overpressure” is summarized. Guided by the above theories. Anye1 well in Guizhou and Eyangye1 well in Hubei were drilled. “Four storey” oil and shale gas is found in the Permian Qixia group, the Silurian Shiniulan Formation, the Longmaxi Formation and the Ordovician Baota Formation in Anye1 well. Good shale gas has been gound in the Cambrian Niutitang formation inian Doushantuo formation in Eyangye 1well. This paper aims to summarize and review the main progress, theoretical technology and problems of shale gas exploration and development in recent years in China, and predicts the future exploration and development direction for shale gas and possible exploration areas.

Abstract Reconstructing three-dimensional (3D) morphology of neurons is essential for understanding brain structures and functions. Over the past decades, a number of neuron tracing tools including manual, semiautomatic, and fully automatic approaches have been developed to extract and analyze 3D neuronal structures. Nevertheless, most of them were developed based on coding certain rules to extract and connect structural components of a neuron, showing limited performance on complicated neuron morphology. Recently, deep learning outperforms many other machine learning methods in a wide range of image analysis and computer vision tasks. Here we developed a new Open Source toolbox, DeepNeuron, which uses deep learning networks to learn features and rules from data and trace neuron morphology in light microscopy images. DeepNeuron provides a family of modules to solve basic yet challenging problems in neuron tracing. These problems include but not limited to: (1) detecting neuron signal under different image conditions, (2) connecting neuronal signals into tree(s), (3) pruning and refining tree morphology, (4) quantifying the quality of morphology, and (5) classifying dendrites and axons in real time. We have tested DeepNeuron using light microscopy images including bright-field and confocal images of human and mouse brain, on which DeepNeuron demonstrates robustness and accuracy in neuron tracing.

Strain data of structural health monitoring is a prospective to be made full use of, because it reflects the stress peak and fatigue, especially sensitive to local stress redistribution, which is the probably damage in the vicinity of the sensor. For decoupling structural damage and masking effects caused by operational conditions to eliminate the adverse impacts on strain-based damage detection, small time-scale structural events, i.e., the short-term dynamic strain responses, are analyzed in this paper by employing unsupervised modeling. A two-step approach to successively processing the raw strain monitoring data in the sliding time window is presented, consisting of the wavelet-based initial feature extraction step and the decoupling step to draw damage indicators. The principal component analysis and a low-rank property-based subspace projection method are adopted as two alternative decoupling methodologies. The approach’s feasibility and robustness are substantiated by analyzing the strain monitoring data from a customized truss experiment to successfully remove the masking effects of operating loads and identify local damages even concerning accommodating situations of missing data and limited measuring points. This work also sheds light on the merit of a low-rank property to separate structural damages from masking effects by comparing the performances of the two optional decoupling methods of the distinct rationales.

Stress granules (SG) comprise aggregates of cellular messenger ribonucleoproteins (mRNPs) but how they form is unclear. Here, the authors identify NEDD4, an E3 ubiquitin ligase, as regulating the RNA binding protein NANOS2 and turnover of mRNP components, and so SG disassembly in spermatogonial stem cells.

Abstract: To evaluate the accumulation conditions and gas-bearing properties of shale gas in the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation, northwestern Hunan Province, the first shale gas parameter well (Well Changye-1) that takes the Niutitang Formation as the target horizon in the Hunan Province was selected preferably and drilled, cumulatively revealing the thickest dark shale horizon of the Niutitang Formation among the single-well drillings in China, with a true vertical thickness of 674.5m. Through analyzing the core samples in terms of organic geochemistry, rock mineralogy and reservoir properties, the black shale horizons in the Niutitang Formation of Well Changye-1 have high organic carbon content (average 3.9%), moderate maturity (equivalent Ro average 2.6%), high brittle mineral content (quartz content average 50.1%), low clay mineral content (average 32.4%), low porosity (1.7%) and low permeability (1.32×10-3mD), and well-developed meso to micro-pores and fractures, indicating good conditions for shale gas accumulation. Field desorption and laboratory isothermal adsorption measurements on core samples show that Well Changye-1 has good gas-bearing properties, and gas content generally increases with depth. The black shale horizons at the depth of 1100-1250m have an average organic carbon content up to 10.1%, total gas content of 0.5-2.1m3/t and 3.7-6.4m3/t, and this is the most favorable depth for shale gas development, indicating that the Niutitang Formation has good a prospect for shale gas exploration. Due to huge sedimentary thickness, the black shale in the middle-lower part of the Niutitang Formation should be given priority for exploration. Key words: shale gas, gas-bearing properties, Niutitang Formation, Well Changye-1, northwestern Hunan

Infection by Zika virus (ZIKV) is linked to microcephaly and other neurological disorders, posing a significant health threat. Innate immunity is the first line of defense against invading pathogens, but relatively little is understood regarding host intrinsic mechanisms that guard against ZIKV. Here, we show that host tripartite motif-containing protein 56 (TRIM56) poses a barrier to ZIKV infection in cells of neural, epithelial and fibroblast origins. Overexpression of TRIM56, but not an E3 ligase-dead mutant or one lacking a short C-terminal portion, inhibited ZIKV RNA replication. Conversely, depletion of TRIM56 increased viral RNA levels. Although the C-terminal region of TRIM56 bears sequence homology to NHL repeat of TRIM-NHL proteins that regulate miRNA activity, knockout of Dicer, which abolishes production of miRNAs, had no demonstrable effect on ZIKV restriction imposed by TRIM56. Rather, we found that TRIM56 is an RNA-binding protein that associates with ZIKV RNA in infected cells. Moreover, a recombinant TRIM56 fragment comprising the C-terminal 392 residues captured ZIKV RNA in cell-free reactions, indicative of direct interaction. Remarkably, deletion of a short C-terminal tail portion abrogated the TRIM56-ZIKV RNA interaction, concomitant with a loss in antiviral activity. Altogether, our study reveals TRIM56 is an RNA binding protein that acts as a ZIKV restriction factor and provides new insights into the antiviral mechanism by which this E3 ligase tackles flavivirus infections.

Vibrio coralliilyticus is known to cause coral diseases, especially under environmental perturbation, but its impact on coral physiology and underpinning mechanism is poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated cytological, immunological, and metatranscriptomic responses of the scleractinian coral Pocillopora damicornis to V. coralliilyticus infection. The density and chlorophyll content of symbiotic zooxanthellae decreased significantly at 12 and 24 h after Vibrio challenge. The activities of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and catalase, nitric oxide synthase, phenoloxidase (PO), and the activation level of caspase3 all rose significantly in P. damicornis after Vibrio challenge. In the metatranscriptomic analysis, we found 10 significantly upregulated genes in the symbionts at 24 h after the challenge, which were mostly involved in the metabolism of nucleic acid and polysaccharide, and 133 significantly down-regulated symbiont genes, which were mainly related to amino acid catabolism and transport. Meanwhile, 1432 significantly upregulated coral genes were revealed, highly overrepresented in GO terms that are mostly related to the regulation of immune response, the regulation of cytokine production, and innate immune response. Furthermore, at 24 h after Vibrio challenge, 890 coral genes were significantly downregulated, highly overrepresented in four GO terms implicated in defense response. These results in concert suggest that V. coralliilyticus infection triggered the innate immune response including the redox, PO, and apoptosis systems, but repressed the response of the complement system in the scleractinian coral P. damicornis, accompanied by symbiont density decrease and symbiosis collapse through disordering the metabolism of the symbionts. These findings shed light on the molecular regulatory processes underlying bleaching and degradation of P. damicornis resulting from the infection of V. coralliilyticus.

Steel plate reinforced concrete (SPRC) shear wall consists of steel plate encased in the concrete, in which the material advantages of both concrete and steel are utilized. The lateral resistance and deformation capacity of the shear wall are greatly improved. This paper investigates the deformation capacity of the SPRC shear wall under cyclic loads. A nonlinear 3-D finite element model in ABAQUS was developed and validated against published experimental results. Then, a parametric study was conducted to obtain the yield and ultimate rotation of SPRC shear walls with flexural failure. By statistical analyses, formulas for the yield and ultimate rotation of SPRC shear wall were proposed.

In order to reduce the dust hazard of shotcrete, the paper analyzed the mechanism of dust production from the perspective of various dust sources and developed the plunger-type wet spraying machinery and wet mixer which can be applied in the small-section tunnel for reducing dust on the root cause. The dust concentration between dry-mix shotcrete and wet-mix shotcrete was compared and analyzed. The results showed that the average total dust concentration and respirable dust concentration in the process of dry spraying were 99.4 mg/m3 and 52 mg/m3, respectively, while 9.8 mg/m3 and 4.08 mg/m3 in the wet-mix shotcrete process, and the average dust concentration decreased by more than 90% after applying new wet-mix shotcrete outfits. The clean zone of dust was divided according to the dust distribution. Finally, the dust suppression technology was optimized by using an accelerator and adjusting wind pressure and spraying angle. Results indicated that the application of the accelerator reduced the dust production efficiently; moreover, when the wind pressure was 0.2 MPa with 1 m spraying distance and 90° angle of spraying, the dust concentration and rebound reached the minimum.

Objective To investigate the changes of transcranial sonography (TCS) in patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD). Methods Fifteen patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of RBD according to International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD, 2nd edition). Under the monitor of polysomnography (PSG), the sleep architectures of all RBD cases were evaluated by Polysmith software and visual analysis. Furthermore, all RBD patients and 15 normal controls underwent TCS. Cases with substantia nigra echo intensity over Ⅲ grade and substantia nigra area over 0.20 cm2 were supposed to be hyperechogenicity. Additionally, the width of the third ventricle was measured and whether there was hyperechogenicity in basal ganglia was evaluated. The cognitive functions were evaluated by Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Results RBD patients presented typical clinical manifestations and electrophysiologic changes. No significant difference (P = 0.080, 0.109) was found in the comparison of hyperechogenicity rate on substantia nigra (6/15) and basal ganglia (7/15) in RBD patients and normal controls (1/15, 2/15). No significant difference in the comparison of MoCA was found in RBD patients with or without substantia nigra hyperechogenicity (P = 0.075). The RBD patients with hyperechogenicity on basal ganglia had higher MMSE scores than those without hyperechogenicity on basal ganglia, and the difference was significant (P = 0.021). Conclusions RBD which is suggested as the prodromal period of synucleinopathy may present hyperechogenicity in substantia nigra and basal ganglia on TCS. TCS could detect subclinical changes of brain and evaluate the risk of synucleinopathy. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1672-6731.2016.04.010

Modeling of neurological diseases using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from the somatic cells of patients has provided a means of elucidating pathogenic mechanisms and performing drug screening. T cells are an ideal source of patient-specific iPSCs because they can be easily obtained from samples. Recent studies indicated that iPSCs retain an epigenetic memory relating to their cell of origin that restricts their differentiation potential. The classical method of differentiation via embryoid body formation was not suitable for T cell-derived iPSCs (TiPSCs). We developed a neurosphere-based robust differentiation protocol, which enabled TiPSCs to differentiate into functional neurons, despite differences in global gene expression between TiPSCs and adult human dermal fibroblast-derived iPSCs. Furthermore, neurons derived from TiPSCs generated from a juvenile patient with Parkinson's disease exhibited several Parkinson's disease phenotypes. Therefore, we conclude that TiPSCs are a useful tool for modeling neurological diseases.

Grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are promising to solve multiple problems for future power systems. Due to the limited lifespan and high cost of BESS, there is a cost-benefit trade-off between battery effort and operational performance. Thus, we develop a battery degradation model to accurately represent the battery degradation and related cost during battery operation and cycling. A linearization method is proposed to transform the developed battery degradation model into the mixed integer linear programming (MILP) optimization problems. The battery degradation model is incorporated with a hybrid deterministic/stochastic look-ahead rolling optimization model of wind-BESS bidding and operation in the real-time electricity market. Simulation results show that the developed battery degradation model is able to effectively help to extend the battery cycle life and make more profits for wind-BESS. Moreover, the proposed rolling look-ahead operational optimization strategy can utilize the updated wind power forecast, thereby also increase the wind-BESS profit.

The Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis lives in saline or fresh water during different life stages and exhibits a complex life history, making it an ideal model to study the salinity adaptation of euryhaline animals. In this study, RNA-seq techniques, and determinations of free amino acids (FAAs), monoamine neurotransmitters, and Na+/K+ pump activity, were employed to understand the osmoregulatory mechanism in Chinese mitten crab. A total of 15,138 differentially expressed genes were obtained from 12 transcriptome libraries. GO enrichment analysis revealed that the mRNA expression profiles were completely remodeled from 12 to 24 h after salinity stress. The neuroendocrine system was activated under stimulation, and the monoamine neurotransmitters including dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) were released to modulate osmoregulation. Furthermore, the Na+/K+ pump in crab hemocytes was significantly inhibited post salinity stress, resulting in increased intracellular ion concentrations and osmotic pressure to sustain the osmotic balance. Moreover, six key FAAs, including alanine (Ala), proline (Pro), glycine (Gly), glutamate (Glu), arginine (Arg), and aspartate (Asp), were overexpressed to modulate the extracellular osmotic balance during salinity adaptation. Interestingly, the immune genes were not enriched in the GO analysis, implying that the immune system might not contribute fundamentally to the tolerance upon fluctuating ambient salinity in the Chinese mitten crab. These results collectively demonstrated that the Chinese mitten crab had evolved an efficient regulation mechanism by modulating the FAAs production and Na+/K+ pump activity to sustain the osmotic balance independent of the immune system, in which the neuroendocrine modulation, especially generated by the monoamine neurotransmitter, played an indispensable role.

Galaxea fascicularis, a stony coral belonging to family Oculinidae, is widely distributed in Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and large areas of the Indo-Pacific oceans. So far there is a lack of gene expression knowledge concerning this massive coral. In the present study, G. fascicularis was subjected to heat stress at 32.0 ± 0.5°C in the lab, we found that the density of symbiotic zooxanthellae decreased significantly; meanwhile apparent bleaching and tissue lysing were observed at 10 h and 18 h after heat stress. The transcriptome responses were investigated in the stony coral G. fascicularis during heat bleaching using RNA-seq. A total of 42,028 coral genes were assembled from over 439 million reads. Gene expressions were compared at 10 and 18 h after heat stress. The significantly upregulated genes found in the Control_10h vs. Heat_10h comparison, presented mainly in GO terms related with DNA integration and unfolded protein response; and for the Control_18h vs. Heat_18h comparison, the GO terms include DNA integration. In addition, comparison between groups of Control_10h vs. Heat_10h and Control_18h vs. Heat_18h revealed that 125 genes were significantly upregulated in common between the two groups, whereas 21 genes were significantly downregulated in common, all these differentially expressed genes were found to be involved in stress response, DNA integration and unfolded protein response. Taken together, our results suggest that high temperature could activate the stress response at the early stage, and subsequently induce the bleaching and lysing through DNA integration and unfolded protein response, which are able to disrupt the balance of coral-zooxanthella symbiosis in the stony coral G. fascicularis.

It is becoming increasingly clear that neurotransmitters impose direct influence on regulation of the immune process. Recently, a simple but sophisticated neuroendocrine–immune (NEI) system was identified in oyster, which modulated neural immune response via a “nervous-hemocyte”-mediated neuroendocrine immunomodulatory axis (NIA)-like pathway. In the present study, the de novo synthesis of neurotransmitters and their immunomodulation in the hemocytes of oyster Crassostrea gigas were investigated to understand the autocrine/paracrine pathway independent of the nervous system. After hemocytes were exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation, acetylcholine (ACh), and norepinephrine (NE) in the cell supernatants, both increased to a significantly higher level (2.71- and 2.40-fold, p

Despite campaigns to increase safer sex practices, there are people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) who do not disclose their HIV status to sexual partners and engage in condomless sex. The purpose of this research was to: 1) describe factors associated with disclosure of HIV status to sexual partners; and 2) determine if disclosure and/or receipt of prevention counseling are independently associated with condomless sex. We used the Florida Medical Monitoring Project to analyze data from 376 HIV positive men with more than one sexual partner. Results indicated that 55% consistently disclosed their HIV status to sexual partners, 30% inconsistently disclosed, 15% did not disclose, and 48% reported any condomless sex. The odds of having condomless sex was 3.3 (CI = 1.5, 7.3) times greater in men who disclosed to all partners. Results suggest that men who disclose are also those who are more likely to have condomless sex. More research is needed to better understand the complex nature of disclosure and sexual risk behaviors and how disclosure impacts sexual risk.

In the present work, different concentrations of Cu ion (1, 2, 5 and 10 wt %) were doped in the TiO2 film by a sol-gel method and dip coating process. The morphology of the Cu-doped TiO2 films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the results showed that the doped Cu made no change to the TiO2 films. The nitric oxide (NO) release experiment showed that these Cu-doped surfaces showed the ability of catalytic decomposition of exogenous donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) to generate (NO). Based on fluorescence analysis and CCK-8 quantitative results, such films had the ability to inhibit smooth muscle cells adhesion, proliferation and migration with SNAP in vitro. The macrophage adhesion assay and anti-bacterial test proved that such Cu-doped TiO2 films also possessed anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial abilities. All the abilities above showed positive correlation with the amounts of the doped Cu. This study suggested that the Cu-doped TiO2 films were capable of generating physiological levels of NO in the presence of endogenous donor S-nitrosothiols (RSNO), endowing the TiO2 films with anti-hyperplasia, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial abilities.

Temperature distribution is a critical indicator of the health condition for Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage tanks. In this paper, we present a large-scale wireless temperature monitoring system to evaluate the safety of LPG storage tanks. The system includes wireless sensors networks, high temperature fiber-optic sensors, and monitoring software. Finally, a case study on real-world LPG storage tanks proves the feasibility of the system. The unique features of wireless transmission, automatic data acquisition and management, local and remote access make the developed system a good alternative for temperature monitoring of LPG storage tanks in practical applications.

Lamivudine has been recommended as prophylaxis for the reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, information on breast cancer patients in particular has been lacking. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the overall efficacy of lamivudine prophylaxis compared to untreated patients with hepatitis B S-antigen (HBsAg) seropositive breast cancer who had undergone chemotherapy. Methods: Studies that compared the efficacy of treatment with lamivudine prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis in HBsAg seropositive breast cancer patients were identified through Medline, Cochrane, and Embase databases. Results: Six studies involving 499 patients were analyzed. The rates of HBV reactivation in patients with lamivudine prophylaxis were significantly lower than those with no prophylaxis (risk ratio [RR] = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13–0.39, p

Structural health monitoring of the truss structure is often confronted with spatial incomplete measured data due to the reasons of the cost of the sensors, the inaccessibility of some locations, and the sensor damage subject to the harsh service environments in practical cases. For the unmeasured member, the response estimation approaches can be used to predict the response from a limited set of measured data and a finite element model. This article aims to seek the strain estimation algorithms that are able to reduce the expensive computation with uncertain loading conditions to lend themselves to be embedded at the sensor level, such as applied on a wireless fatigue strain–digitizing sensor. There are two algorithms presented and referred as the augmented Kalman filter and the modal expansion in this article. A numerical example is performed to investigate the accuracy and efficiency of algorithms by quantifying estimation errors. The adjustable parameters that are controllable in advance such as the noise covariance for the filter-like algorithm and the modal orders for the modal algorithm are discussed and demonstrated. Based on the aforementioned parameters, the two proposed algorithms are able to generate promising results where the time and frequency domain estimated strain signals in good agreement with simulated signals with the noisy contamination and white noise or narrowband ambient excitation. It is shown that the two algorithms are considered to be competitive and interchangeable as the potential solutions for online estimation.

The neuroendocrine-immune (NEI) regulatory network is a complex system, which plays an indispensable role in the immunity of host. In this study, a neuroendocrine immunomodulatory axis (NIA)-like pathway mediated by the nervous system and haemocytes was characterized in the oyster Crassostrea gigas. Once invaded pathogen was recognized by the host, the nervous system would temporally release neurotransmitters to modulate the immune response. Instead of acting passively, oyster haemocytes were able to mediate neuronal immunomodulation promptly by controlling the expression of specific neurotransmitter receptors on cell surface and modulating their binding sensitivities, thus regulating intracellular concentration of Ca2+. This neural immunomodulation mediated by the nervous system and haemocytes could influence cellular immunity in oyster by affecting mRNA expression level of TNF genes, and humoral immunity by affecting the activities of key immune-related enzymes. In summary, though simple in structure, the ‘nervous-haemocyte’ NIA-like pathway regulates both cellular and humoral immunity in oyster, meaning a world to the effective immune regulation of the NEI network.

Pavements always play a predominant role in transportation. Health monitoring of pavements is becoming more and more significant, as frequently suffering from cracks, rutting, and slippage renders them prematurely out of service. Effective and reliable sensing elements are thus in high demand to make prognosis on the mechanical properties and occurrence of damage to pavements. Therefore, in this paper, various types of functionality enhancement of industrialized optical fiber sensors for pavement monitoring are developed, with the corresponding operational principles clarified in theory and the performance double checked by basic experiments. Furthermore, a self-healing optical fiber sensing network system is adopted to accomplish full-scale monitoring of pavements. The application of optical fiber sensors assembly and self-healing network system in pavement has been carried out to validate the feasibility. It has been proved that the research in this article provides a valuable method and meaningful guidance for the integrity monitoring of civil structures, especially pavements.

Fatigue, a hot scientific research topic for centuries, can trigger sudden failure of critical structures such as aircraft and railway systems, resulting in enormous casualties as well as economic losses. The fatigue life of certain structures is intrinsically random and few monitoring techniques are capable of tracking the full life-cycle fatigue damage. In this paper, a novel in-situ wireless real-time fatigue monitoring system using a bio-inspired tree ring data tracking technique is proposed. The general framework, methodology, and verification of this intelligent system are discussed in details. The rain-flow counting (RFC) method is adopted as the core algorithm which quantifies fatigue damages, and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) is introduced as the core module for data collection and analysis. Laboratory test results based on strain gauges and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensors have shown that the developed intelligent system can provide a reliable quick feedback and early warning of fatigue failure. With the merits of low cost, high accuracy and great reliability, the developed wireless fatigue sensing system can be further applied to mechanical engineering, civil infrastructures, transportation systems, aerospace engineering, etc.