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This work presents the results of an experimental investigation aimed to study the disintegration of carbonaceous mudstone and properties of modified materials. The mineralogical composition of carbonaceous mudstone was determined with X-ray diffraction. The microscopic characteristics of carbonaceous mudstone disintegration were determined with scanning electron microscopy. The surface modification effect of carbonaceous mudstone was researched by comparative tests on coatings’ hydrophobic property, fastness, and waterproof before and after modification, and the modification mechanism of polymer-cement composite modified carbonaceous mudstone was analyzed. The results show that the mineral composition of carbonaceous mudstone mainly contains illite, quartz, and kaolinite. It is found that the disintegration of carbonaceous mudstone can be divided into external factors and internal factors. External factors are water and temperature difference, and internal factors are the swelling of the kaolinite and illite mineral particles. There are differences in the modification effects under different cement dosage. When the cement dosage is 30%, the modification effect is the best. The results may provide a reference for the prevention and control of soft rock slopes.

The properties of anchored surrounding rock may vary considerably under complex geological and stress conditions, especially dynamic loading in deep mining. Therefore, comprehensive study of the reinforced mechanism is required to prevent failures associated with deep mining. In this paper, with sandstone as matrix and steel bar as bolt, the dynamic compression test of reinforced rock was carried out by using a 50 mm rod diameter split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) test device. The mechanical and energy characteristics of reinforced rock under dynamic loading were analyzed. The results show that the dynamic strength of reinforced sample is greater than that of unreinforced sample and increases with the increase of the strain rate. The reflected energy and absorbed energy increase with the increase of incident energy, while the transmitted energy increases slightly. The higher the strain rate, the larger the energy dissipation rate and the higher the degree of fragmentation. It shows that the energy dissipation characteristic reflects the internal damage process to some extent. Compared with the results of unreinforced samples, the reflected energy of reinforced samples significantly increases and the absorbed energy will significantly decrease. It can be seen that the bolt can reduce absorbed energy of surrounding rock, thereby improving the stability of roadway surrounding rock. The results may provide reference for the stability of deep roadway and support design.

A consensus has not been reached on the definition of spirituality. Consequently, it is difficult to understand the concept and to develop scales to assess spirituality. To measure this concept in a non-Western culture is even more difficult. Following sound scale development procedures, the current study endeavors to develop a Spirituality Scale for College Students that could apply to both Chinese and American college students. The scale focuses on three core aspects of spirituality. Data were collected from college students both in China and the U.S. to provide validity and reliability evidence. The results showed that a three-factor model fit the American sample, the Chinese sample, and the entire sample. A measurement invariance analysis revealed that the scale achieved partial measurement invariance. Implications and limitations are also discussed.

In this article, we propose a more accurate method to achieve noninvasive and continuous blood pressure monitoring with the aid of pulse arrival time and peak delay. Theoretical analysis shows that peak delay is positively correlated with the viscoelastic delay. Analysis of 12 subjects indicates that pulse arrival time with the compensation of peak delay (PATC) is much steadier and more robust than traditional pulse arrival time. Three common models (linear, inverse linear, and inverse quadratic) are employed to study the relationship between pulse arrival time/PATC and blood pressure. From pulse arrival time to PATC, the average promotions of correlation coefficient for systolic blood pressure are 0.065, 0.060, and 0.058 for the three models, respectively, accounting for 8.59%, 7.68%, and 7.43% improvement; for diastolic blood pressure are 0.070, 0.067, and 0.064, respectively, accounting for 12.73%, 12.05%, and 11.48% improvement. Finally, we find that peak delay is efficacious against the negative effects of the terminal reflection and the viscoelastic delay on the peripheral pulse wave. Our method is promising in developing novel applications on portable and wearable device for real-time blood pressure monitoring.

In older adults, cognitive abilities, such as those associated with vision and hearing, generally decrease with age. According to several studies, audio-visual perceptual training can improve perceived competence regarding visual and auditory stimuli, suggesting that perceptual training is effective and beneficial. However, whether audio-visual perceptual training can induce far-transfer effects in other forms of untrained cognitive processing that are not directly trained in older adults remains unclear. In this study, the classic P300 component, a neurophysiological indicator of cognitive processing of a stimulus, was selected as an evaluation index of the training effect. We trained both young and older adults on the ability to judge the temporal and spatial consistency of visual and auditory stimuli. P300 amplitudes were significantly greater in the posttraining session than in the pretraining session in older adults (P = 0.001). However, perceptual training had no significant effect (P = 0.949) on the P300 component in young adults. Our results illustrate that audio-visual perceptual training can lead to far-transfer effects in healthy older adults. These findings highlight the robust malleability of the aging brain, and further provide evidence to motivate exploration to improve cognitive abilities in older adults.

In this paper, the dynamic foaming process of micro-foaming polypropylene (PP) in different foaming environments in real time was obtained via a visualization device. The relationship curve between cell number (n) and foaming time (t) was plotted, and then the nucleation kinetics of foam cells was analyzed. Results showed that the formation rate of cells changed obviously with the variation of melt temperature and the content of the foaming agent. The n-t curves presented a typical “S” shape, which indicated that the appearance of the cell number increased slowly in the initial foaming period, then increased rapidly in a short time, and finally maintained a certain value. When a certain pressure was applied to the PP melt, the external force had a great influence on the n-t curve. With the increasing external force, the rate of cell formation increased rapidly, and the shape of the n-t curve changed from “S” to “semi-S” without an obvious slow increase. The investigation of the n-t relationship in the PP dynamic foaming process under different foaming environments could provide effective bases for improving the foaming quality of injection molding foaming materials.

China, in a rapid urbanization process, is accompanied by the expansion of built-up land, population accumulation, and intensive land investment, while the improvement of the urban environment cannot keep up with the population and economic density growth. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss the balance between urban land use economic intensity (built-up area density, population density, land price) and ecological intensity (the depth, breadth, and integration of ecological spaces) in Tangshan. From the perspective of functional zones (FZs), the trade-off of economic and ecological intensity of different types of land use is detailed from the evaluation system. Finally, this paper explores a common intensive development model for different FZs to reach both reasonable economic and ecological purposes in Tangshan. The upshot indicates that the economic and ecological intensity of all FZs in Tangshan follows an opposite spatial distribution, and different types of FZ own their characteristics. The Gini index and Theil index for measuring the typical FZ indicate the unbalanced state between ecological spaces and population in residential areas. To sum up, a resource-based city, such as Tangshan, in the rapid development stage of urbanization tends to pay more attention to economic output and neglect ecological benefits.

C/C composite was brazed to TiAl intermetallic compound using a commercial BNi-2 brazing filler metal under vacuum brazing condition. The brazing temperature was 1030~1150 °C and the holding time was 20 min. The joint interfacial microstructures and mechanical properties were studied, and the fracture behavior and joining mechanism were also investigated. The effect of brazing temperature on the joint shear strength was explored. The results showed that a perfect interface joint can be obtained by using BNi-2 to braze C/C and TiAl. During brazing, Ti, Cr, and other carbide forming elements diffused to C/C composite side, forming Cr3C2, Cr7C3, TiC, and other carbides, and realizing metallurgical joining between the brazing filler metal and C/C composite. The microstructure of the interface of C/C composite and TiAl intermetallic compound joint is as follows: TiAl alloy → TiAl + AlNi3 → AlNi2Ti → Ni(s, s) + Ti3Al + Ni3Si → Ni(s, s) + Ni3(Si, B) + CrB → Ni(s, s) + Ni3Si + TiCr2 → (Ti, Cr)C → C/C composite. When the holding time is fixed, with the increase of brazing temperature, the shear strength of the joint increases first and then decreases. The maximum average room temperature shear strength of the brazed joint was 11.62 MPa, while the brazing temperature was 1060 °C and the holding time was 20 min.

In this paper, photovoltaic power generation(PV) and the asynchronously grid-connected power grid are taken as the research objects, and the frequency adaptability of PV to power grid is studied. The influence mechanism of grid frequency variation on PV is revealed, and it is proposed that the frequency tolerance range of PV is mainly determined by the setting value of inverter protection and PLL parameters. The whole process simulation of wind turbine adaptability under frequency change is realized on Matlab/Simulink, and the simulation results verify the correctness of the conclusion.

In this paper, a study on frequency adaptability of permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) is carried out, the influence mechanism of the frequency changes on PMSG is revealed. It is proposed that setting the converter protection setting value and PLL parameters reasonably can ensure that the grid frequency change has little effect on the PMSG. The simulation of frequency adaptability of PMSG is realized on Matlab/Simulink, and the simulation results verify the correctness of the conclusion.

With the prevalence of smart devices, such as smart phones, wearable equipments, and infrastructures, location-based service (LBS) has thrived in our daily life. In those practical LBS applications, group detection and tracking is a context-related research field in many scenarios, such as school yard, office building, shopping mall and so on. In this paper, we heuristically develop a temporal-spatial method for clustering and locating the groups, and then leverage a CRF-based event detection mechanism to improve the performance of recognizing contextual behaviors. The experimental results demonstrate that our system can achieve an impressive accuracy and precision of grouping and tracking.

Recent studies show that the loss of stability for a voltage-source converter (VSC) in weak-grid connection is largely related to its synchronization unit, i.e., the phase-locked loop (PLL). This paper studies the synchronization stability of a system comprised by two VSCs in parallel connection to a weak grid. A reduced transfer function based small-signal model, which can allow for the interactions between PLL and converter outer power controls, is first proposed. Then, an improved net damping criterion is used to analyze the damping and stability characters of such system under various operating conditions and different controller configurations. Compared to the conventional net damping criterion, the used criterion has wider applicability in terms of stability judgment. Case studies show that the studied system tends to be unstable at weak-grid or heavy-loading conditions. The instability can be in the form of oscillations or monotonic divergence, in which, the latter is more likely to occur for the converters without grid voltage regulation capabilities. Besides, the net damping-based sensitivity studies can provide guidance on control tuning or design for stability enhancement. Detailed model-based time domain simulations are conducted to verify the analysis results.

Sepsis is a life-threatening state of organ dysfunction caused by infection and which can induce severe neurological disorders that lead to neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment. Inflammation has been reported to cause neuronal apoptosis in sepsis, which can finally lead to cognitive impairment. Previous studies have suggested that BML-111 can exhibit anti-inflammatory and proresolution activities. Additionally, silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) can inhibit the NF-κB signaling pathway in an inflammation state. However, the role of the SIRT1/NF-κB signaling pathway in the protective effects of BML-111 against sepsis-induced neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the effects of BML-111 on neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment induced by sepsis. Male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) or a sham operation. BML-111 was administered via intracerebroventricular injection (0.1 mg/kg) immediately after CLP. Boc-2 (50 μg/kg) was administered intracerebroventricularly 30 min before CLP, and EX527 (10 μg) was administered every 2 days for a total of three times before CLP, also intracerebroventricularly. Some of the surviving mice underwent open-field, novel-object-recognition, and fear-conditioning behavioral tests at 7 days after surgery. Some of the other surviving mice were killed at 24 h after surgery to assess synaptic damage (PSD95 and Synapsin1), markers of inflammation [tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin (IL)-1β], cytoplasmic p65, nuclear p65, Ac- NF-κB and SIRT1. At 48 h after CLP, TUNEL and glia-activation by immunofluorescence investigations were performed on a separate cohort of surviving animals. The results suggested that sepsis resulted in cognitive impairment, which was accompanied by the decreased the expression of PSD95 and Synapsin1, increased amount of TUNEL-positive cells and the activation of glias, increased production of TNF-α and IL-1β, increased expression of nuclear p65, Ac- NF-κB, and decreased expression of SIRT1 and cytoplasmic p65. It is especially notable that these abnormalities could be reduced by BML-111 treatment. EX527, an SIRT1 inhibitor, abolished the effects of BML-111. These results demonstrate that BML-111 can reduce the neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment induced by sepsis via SIRT/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Background: Sensory neurons play an essential role in almost all pain conditions, and have recently been classified into distinct subsets on the basis of their transcriptomes. Here we have analysed alterations in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) gene expression using microarrays in mouse models related to human chronic pain. Methods: Six different pain models were studied in male C57BL/6J mice: (1) bone cancer pain using cancer cell injection in the intramedullary space of the femur; (2) neuropathic pain using partial sciatic nerve ligation; (3) osteoarthritis pain using mechanical joint loading; (4) chemotherapy-induced pain with oxaliplatin; (5) chronic muscle pain using hyperalgesic priming; and (6) inflammatory pain using intraplantar complete Freund’s adjuvant. Microarray analyses were performed using RNA isolated from dorsal root ganglia and compared to sham/vehicle treated controls. Results: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified. Known and previously unreported genes were found to be dysregulated in each pain model. The transcriptomic profiles for each model were compared and expression profiles of DEGs within subsets of DRG neuronal populations were analysed to determine whether specific neuronal subsets could be linked to each of the pain models. Conclusions: Each pain model exhibits a unique set of altered transcripts implying distinct cellular responses to different painful stimuli. No simple direct link between genetically distinct sets of neurons and particular pain models could be discerned.

Gas kick detection is an essential part of safe well control process in deep water drilling. The conventional gas kick detection methods are based on the drilling mud flow velocity measured near the well mouth which often results in a high probability of delay. For deep water drilling, the gas kick detection method based on non-intrusive detection at mud line is one of the most commonly used methods with low cost and strong timeliness. In this article, the reflection model of continuous Doppler ultrasonic wave in multiphase fluid was analyzed and an improved gas kick detection method at mud line was proposed. The proposed method gives a comprehensive judgment on gas kick state based on continuous Doppler shift frequency (multiphase flow velocity), amplitude, and spectral shape. Experimental results on water and 1 . 1 g/cm 3 oil-based drilling mud demonstrated that the proposed method can detect early gas kick with over 3% void fraction effectively and measure multiphase flow velocity accurately under the steady flow state, showing a relative error smaller than 10%.

In deep-water drilling processes, the flow rate of drilling mud inside an annular pipe is significant judgment data for early kick detection. On the basis of the continuous-wave Doppler ultrasound, this paper proposes a new detection method of nonoriented continuous-wave Doppler ultrasound. The method solves the problem of the ultrasound having great attenuation in mud and not receiving effective signals by using a continuous ultrasound. Moreover, this method analyzes the nonoriented characteristics of ultrasound reflection on principle and proposes the detection of ultrasound Doppler frequency shift by detecting Lamb wave, which releases the detection of oil-based mud flow rate in a nonintrusive annular pipe. The feasibility of the method is verified through theoretical analysis and numerous experiments on a gas kick simulation platform. The measurement result has reached a flow accuracy approximating to the intrusive flow meter.

Wheat yield is largely determined by the grains per spike, which in turn is related to the fertile floret development prior to anthesis. The aim of this study was to assess the physiological mechanism of exogenous 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA) on fertile floret development and grain setting characteristics by foliar application in winter wheat. Field experiments were conducted during the 2016−2017 and 2017−2018 growing seasons in China. Two foliar spraying applications with water (S0) and 6-BA (S1) were applied to a large-spike variety (V1) and a multiple-spike variety (V2) 25 days after jointing. At anthesis, spike dry weight and soluble sugar, sucrose, auxin, and cytokinin were all positively correlated with the number of fertile florets and grains per spike. During the abortion stage of fertile florets, 6-BA application compared to the control reduced the auxin content, increased the cytokinin content and spike dry matter and transported more soluble sugar and sucrose from the non-spike organs to the spike. Exogenous 6-BA application increased the number of fertile florets (~1.84 to ~2.50) and number of grains (~2.83 to ~3.51) by primarily suppressing the number of degenerated and aborted florets. The results provide important evidence that 6-BA application has a positive effect on floret fertility and grain setting, which lead to a further increase in grain yield.

Indoor localization on smartphones is an enabler for a number of ubiquitous and mobile computing applications attracting worldwide attentions. Many location-based services rely on WiFi fingerprinting approaches to achieve a reasonable accuracy. However, there is still room for improvement due to the prevalent-existing errors (e.g., 8∼12 m). In this study, we devise and implement a high-accuracy indoor localization solution leveraging the WiFi-based method and pedestrian mobility provided by smartphones. Our basic idea is that WiFi-only localization can generate rough but absolute positions, while user motion is able to bring accurate but relative locations. Taking both sides into account simultaneously, we design techniques to refine the raw WiFi positions in the process of laying the precise local trajectory appropriately down to the absolute coordinate using a novel least median of squares (LMS) fit algorithm. We develop a prototype system, named TraIL, and conduct comprehensive experiments in a building along different shaped routes. The evaluation results show that TraIL can achieve 80% improvement on average error with respect to WiFi-only indoor localization.

The rapid development of renewable energy calls for feasible and reliable technologies to transmit and integrate power into grids. Voltage Source Converter (VSC)- Direct Current (DC) technology is considered as a promising solution for its independent control of active and reactive power. Modeling and coordinated control of a large-scale concentrating photovoltaic integration system with VSC-MVDC (Voltage Source Converter-Medium Voltage Direct Current) technology have been investigated in this paper. The average controlled-source model of PhotoVoltaic (PV) integration system is firstly established. Then, a novel control strategy without fast communication is proposed to improve the reliability of the coordinated control system. An extra voltage loop is added to the basic control block, which is able to assure stable operation of the PV system in various conditions. Finally, the proposed control strategy is verified with simulation results.

The large-scale penetration of wind power might lead to degradation of the power system stability due to its inherent feature of randomness. Hence, proper control designs which can effectively handle various uncertainties become very crucial. This paper designs a novel robust passive control (RPC) scheme of a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG) for power system stability enhancement. The combinatorial effect of generator nonlinearities and parameter uncertainties, unmodelled dynamics, wind speed randomness, is aggregated into a perturbation, which is rapidly estimated by a nonlinear extended state observer (ESO) in real-time. Then, the perturbation estimate is fully compensated by a robust passive controller to realize a globally consistent control performance, in which the energy of the closed-loop system is carefully reshaped through output feedback passification, such that a considerable system damping can be injected to improve the transient responses of DFIG in various operation conditions of power systems. Six case studies are carried out while simulation results verify that RPC can rapidly stabilize the disturbed DFIG system much faster with less overshoot, as well as supress power oscillations more effectively compared to that of linear proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control and nonlinear feedback linearization control (FLC).

MIER1α is a transcriptional regulator that functions in gene repression through its ability to interact with various chromatin modifiers and transcription factors. We have also shown that MIER1α interacts with ERα and inhibits estrogen-stimulated growth. While MIER1α is localized in the nucleus of MCF7 cells, previous studies have shown that it does not contain a nuclear localization signal. In this report, we investigate the mechanism involved in transporting MIER1α into the nucleus. We explored the possibility that MIER1α is transported into the nucleus through a 'piggyback' mechanism. One obvious choice is via interaction with ERα, however we demonstrate that nuclear targeting of MIER1α does not require ERα. Knockdown of ERα reduced protein expression to 22% of control, but did not alter the percentage of cells with nuclear MIER1α (98% nuclear with scrambled shRNA vs. 95% with ERα shRNA). Further evidence was obtained using two stable transfectants derived from the ER-negative MDA231 cell line: MC2 (ERα+) and VC5 (ERα-). Confocal analysis showed no difference in MIER1α localization (86% nuclear in MC2 vs. 89% in VC5). These data demonstrate that ERα is not involved in nuclear localization of MIER1α. To identify the critical MIER1α sequence, we performed a deletion analysis and determined that the ELM2 domain was necessary and sufficient for nuclear localization. This domain binds HDAC1 & 2, therefore we investigated their role. Confocal analysis of an MIER1α containing an ELM2 point mutation previously shown to abolish HDAC binding revealed that this mutation results in almost complete loss of nuclear targeting: 10% nuclear vs. 97% with WT-MIER1α. Moreover, double knockdown of HDAC1 and 2 caused a reduction in percent nuclear from 86% to 44%. The results of this study demonstrate that nuclear targeting of MIER1α requires an intact ELM2 domain and is dependent on interaction with HDAC1/2.

Vaccination is the most effective means to prevent influenza virus infection, although current approaches are associated with suboptimal efficacy. Here, we generated virus-like particles (VLPs) composed of the hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA) and matrix protein (M1) of A/Changchun/01/2009 (H1N1) with or without either membrane-anchored cholera toxin B (CTB) or ricin toxin B (RTB) as molecular adjuvants. The intranasal immunization of mice with VLPs containing membrane-anchored CTB or RTB elicited stronger humoral and cellular immune responses when compared to mice immunized with VLPs alone. Administration of VLPs containing CTB or RTB significantly enhanced virus-specific systemic and mucosal antibody responses, hemagglutination inhibiting antibody titers, virus neutralizing antibody titers, and the frequency of virus-specific IFN-γ and IL-4 secreting splenocytes. VLPs with and without CTB or RTB conferred complete protection against lethal challenge with a mouse-adapted homologous virus. When challenged with an antigenically distinct H1N1 virus, all mice immunized with VLPs containing CTB or RTB survived whereas mice immunized with VLPs alone showed only partial protection (80% survival). Our results suggest that membrane-anchored CTB and RTB possess strong adjuvant properties when incorporated into an intranasally-delivered influenza VLP vaccine. Chimeric influenza VLPs containing CTB or RTB may represent promising vaccine candidates for improved immunological protection against homologous and antigenically distinct influenza viruses.

BACKGROUND: High density lipoprotein (HDL) was reported to decrease plasma glucose and promote insulin secretion in type 2 diabetes patients. This investigation was designed to determine the effects and mechanisms of HDL on glucose uptake in adipocytes and glycogen synthesis in muscle cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Actions of HDL on glucose uptake and GLUT4 translocation were assessed with 1-[(3)H]-2-deoxyglucose and plasma membrane lawn, respectively, in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Glycogen analysis was performed with amyloglucosidase and glucose oxidase-peroxidase methods in normal and palmitate-treated L6 cells. Small interfering RNA was used to observe role of scavenger receptor type I (SR-BI) in glucose uptake of HDL. Corresponding signaling molecules were detected by immunoblotting. HDL stimulated glucose uptake in a time- and concentration-dependent manner in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. GLUT4 translocation was significantly increased by HDL. Glycogen deposition got enhanced in L6 muscle cells paralleling with elevated glycogen synthase kinase3 (GSK3) phosphorylation. Meanwhile, increased phosphorylations of Akt-Ser473 and AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) α were detected in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Glucose uptake and Akt-Ser473 activation but not AMPK-α were diminished in SR-BI knock-down 3T3-L1 cells. CONCLUSIONS: HDL stimulates glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes through enhancing GLUT4 translocation by mechanisms involving PI3K/Akt via SR-BI and AMPK signaling pathways, and increases glycogen deposition in L6 muscle cells through promoting GSK3 phosphorylation.

In the molecule of the title compound, C19H18N4O3S, the planar central heterocylic ring system is oriented with respect to the trimethoxyphenyl and 2-methylphenyl rings at dihedral angles of 4.43 (3) and 4.32 (3)°, respectively. The dihedral angle between the two benzene rings is 7.65 (4)°. In the crystal structure, intermolecular C—H...N hydrogen bonds link the molecules into centrosymmetric R22(18) dimers. These dimers are connected via a C—H...π contact between the 2-methylphenyl and trimethoxyphenyl rings, and a π–π contact between the thiadiazole and trimethoxyphenyl rings [interplanar distance 3.51 Å, dihedral angles 4.17(4)°]. An intramolecular C—H...N hydrogen bond is also present.

In the molecule of the title compound, C17H15N5O3S, the planar central heterocylic ring system is oriented with respect to the benzene and pyridine rings at dihedral angles of 6.61 (3) and 19.22 (3)°, respectively. An intramolecular C—H...N hydrogen bond results in the formation of a six-membered ring, adopting a flattened boat conformation. In the crystal structure, intermolecular C—H...N hydrogen bonds link the molecules.

In the title compound, C18H15ClN4O2S, the pyrazole ring makes dihedral angles of 67.4 (1) and 12.5 (1)° with the phenyl and 4-hydroxyphenyl groups, respectively; the two benzene rings are twisted by 60.1 (1)° with respect to each other. The thiourea NH groups are involved in N—H...O and N—H...Cl intramolecular hydrogen bonds. A hydrogen bond between the phenolic OH group and the pyrazole N atom connects molecules into a one-dimensional polymeric structure.

Arsenic (As) contamination of agricultural soils poses a serious threat to crop productivity and food safety. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have emerged as a potential amendment for mitigating the adverse effects of As stress in plants. Soybean crop is mostly grown on marginalized land and is known for high accumulation of As in roots than others tissue. Therefore, this study aimed to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of ZnONPs in ameliorating arsenic toxicity in soybean. Our results demonstrated that ZnOB significantly improved the growth performance of soybean plants exposed to arsenic. This improvement was accompanied by a decrease (55%) in As accumulation and an increase in photosynthetic efficiency. ZnOB also modulated hormonal balance, with a significant increase in auxin (149%), abscisic acid (118%), gibberellin (160%) and jasmonic acid content (92%) under As(V) stress assuring that ZnONPs may enhance root growth and development by regulating hormonal signaling. We then conducted a transcriptomic analysis to understand further the molecular mechanisms underlying the NPs-induced As(V) tolerance. This analysis identified genes differentially expressed in response to ZnONPs supplementation, including those involved in auxin, abscisic acid, gibberellin, and jasmonic acid biosynthesis and signaling pathways. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis identified 37 potential hub genes encoding stress responders, transporters, and signal transducers across six modules potentially facilitated the efflux of arsenic from cells, reducing its toxicity. Our study provides valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms associated with metalloid tolerance in soybean and offers new avenues for improving As tolerance in contaminated soils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE To investigate inflammatory responses to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection in layers. ANIMALS 33 40-week-old laying hens were used. METHODS 30 laying hens were divided into 2 groups: the first group was injected with 8 mg/kg LPS, while the second group was injected with sterile saline. At the start of the study, 3 birds served as a baseline and were used as the time 0 controls for both the saline and LPS-treated groups. Blood and spleen tissues were collected at 0 (before) and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 hours after injection. RESULTS LPS administration increased splenic mRNA levels of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α (P < .001) and serum IL-6 levels (P < .01) compared to saline injection. The mRNA expression of most cytokine genes increased rapidly toward peak values within 2 hours after the LPS injection, and then the difference between the saline and LPS treatments got smaller as time went on; serum IL-6 reached its highest concentration 2 hours after LPS administration. The magnitude of LPS-induced upregulation of gene expression was the highest for IL-6, followed by IL-1β and IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α was the least affected. CLINICAL RELEVANCE The temporal and quantitative profile of these inflammatory mediators generated from this study provides valuable information in identifying the optimal time window and appropriate biomarkers for LPS-induced inflammation, which has significant implications in evaluating the effects of interventions on the immune system of chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-layered two-dimensional (2D) materials have sparked much interest recently due to their atomic thickness, large surface area, thickness- and facet-dependent properties. Currently, these materials are mainly grown from wet-chemistry methods but suffer from small size, low quality, and multi-facets, which is a major challenge hindering their facet-dependent property studies and applications. Here, we report the facet-engineered growth (FEG) of non-layered 2D manganese chalcogenides (MnX, X = S, Se, Te) based on the chemical vapor deposition method. The as-grown samples exhibit large-area surfaces of single facet, high-crystallinity, and ordered domain orientation. As a proof-of-concept, we show the facet-dependent electrocatalytic property of non-layered 2D MnSe, proving they are ideal candidates for fundamental research. Furthermore, we elucidate the underlying mechanism of FEG during the vapor growth process by the interfacial energy derived nucleation models. The method developed in this work provides new opportunities for regulating and designing the structure of 2D materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]