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In order to derive the performance of the ambiguity function in the linear canonical transform (LCT) domain algorithm for parameters estimation of quadratic modulated frequency (QFM) signal, the feasibility of the algorithm in noisy environment was discussed at first and the signal to noise radio (SNR) threshold was analyzed by simulation experiments. The advantages of the algorithm were given out as well. The product ambiguity function in the LCT domain was proposed in order to further improve the estimation precision of the QFM signal. Theory analysis and simulation experiments show that the algorithm has good estimation performance in low SNR. And the mean square error (MSE) of each parameter is more and more close to its Cramer- Rao lower bound with the increase of the SNR. The algorithm can estimate three parameters at one time, so it has high efficiency and small error transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two 3D heterometal-organic frameworks based on infrequent trigonal bipyramidal Ln5 clusters as nodes were structurally and magnetically characterized (Ln=Gd ( 1), Dy ( 2)). The results indicate large MCE of up to 30.7 J kg−1 K−1 in 1 and slow magnetic relaxation behavior in 2. Expectedly, constructing 3D MOFs based on multinuclear clusters as nodes may will be a new strategy for achieving large −Δ Sm. Additionally, compound 1 exhibits high thermal and solvent stabilities, providing a favorable foundation for realistic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten new 3D lanthanide-based compounds, {[Ln4(CPOA)6(H2O)4]·H2O}n(Ln = Eu (1), Gd (2), Tb (3), Dy (4), Ho (5))and [Ln(CPOA)(C2O4)0.5(H2O)]n(Ln = Eu (1a), Gd (2a), Tb (3a), Dy (4a), Ho (5a)) (CPOA2–= 4-carbomethoxybenzoate),have been synthesized by a hydrothermal method under different temperatures.The compounds 1–5were obtained at140 °C. When the temperature went up to 180 °C, the ligandspartly decomposed to C2O42–, then came into being compounds 1a–5a. The two series of compounds displayed the differences not onlyin structure but also in thermal stability and luminescent and magneticproperties. Compounds 1–5crystallizein the triclinic system, space group P1̅, whereascompounds 1a–5abelong to the monoclinicsystem with space group P21/c. Thermal analyses were carried out on 1–5and 1a–3a. Solid luminescencestudies of compounds 1and 1a, 3and 3a, and 4and 4ashowthe characteristic bands of Eu3+, Tb3+, andDy3+, respectively. Magnetic properties were investigatedon 2–4and 2a–4a. The out-of-phase signals (χM″)of 4exhibit a strong frequency dependence, suggestingthe existence of slow magnetic relaxation behavior in 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approach based on stroke orientation and asymmetric distribution model about feature parameter was proposed, which incorporates structural feature into statistical strategy. An improvement to the algorithm for extracting fork points from skeleton images defends the reliability of stroke extraction. The feature vector for statistical recognition is extracted directly from stroke structure, and the asymmetric distribution model is applied to compute distances. The experimental results indicate that the proposed system is effective to handwritten Chinese character recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel diversity-sampling based Gaussian kernel density estimation (KDE) model was proposed for the representation of multimodal background. Choosing those samples that have diversiform gray-levels in training sequence, a nonparametric model was built for modeling the scene background. According to the related gray-level, the different weights are given to the different samples in kernel density estimation. This avoids the repetition computation using the total samples, and makes KDE very effective. The experimental results show the good detection performance in the traffic surveillance system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Sn-based alloys are a new kind of anode material for lithium ion battery because of their high specific capacity. Ni3Sn4 alloy was prepared by high-energy ball-milling and was electroless plated with copper to form a composite. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern showed that the ball-milled alloy was composed of Ni3Sn4 and a small amount of SnO and Ni. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation showed that Cu electroless-plated on the surface of Ni3Sn4 alloy were particles. The electrochemical performance of Cu-plated alloy was superior to that of ball-milled one. Due to the formation of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and the reduction of the oxide, the coulombic efficiency was 46% for the first cycle. But the efficiency keep over 99% in the following 100 cycles, and the specific capacity was stable. The Cu-plated Ni3Sn4 alloy will be a promising anode material for lithium ion battery. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The purpose of trace reconstruction is to recover information about handwriting sequence from static images of characters, which helps incorporate online methods into offline applications and unify the recognition strategies of single character and character sequence. A stroke segment-based algorithm was proposed, which is equal to the problem of ordering the stroke segments in nature. Structural graph of stroke segments is extracted from skeleton images, by which the relational graph is created. Trace reconstruction is realized as a globally optimal problem, and the handwriting trace is considered as the path with the totally minimal orientation variance, which can be resolved by searching a Hamiltonian path with minimal cost. The cases of trace reconstruction were analyzed, and the accuracy reaches 93.5% on 200 images. The experimental results indicate the proposed approach is effective to the reconstruction of handwriting traces of handwritten numerals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple but effective algorithm which is based on minimizing the maximum discrepancy clustering was presented. Two new metrics of "distance" between any two triangles is developed. By the new distance metrics, the clustering method is easily extended to divide the input mesh into several connected regions. Furthermore, a post-processing algorithm, constrained boundary straightening, was proposed to regularize the shapes of partitioned regions. The experiments show that this two-step solution for mesh segmentation performs well in both region planarity and region shape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presented an integrated method for unlabeled data assisted active learning in order to solve insufficient labeled training data in supervised learning. The proposed approach uses naive Bayes with expectation maximization (EM) to learn an initial query concept based on the labeled and formerly unlabeled images. Then the active learning algorithm selects the most useful images in database to query the user for labeling, and the query concept is updated iteratively according to user's feedbacks. Various experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach can improve the efficiency and accuracy of the learner and can grasp user's query concept quickly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the texture of an iris image is normalized, there is always fatal interference: center deviation of the iris' internal and external circles. This interference has to be corrected in order to ensure an accurate normalization, an essential step of image preprocessing. The reasons of deviation were discussed, based on ophthalmology and image gathering, and then the first and second deviation calibration algorithm were described. The experiments on 400 images show that these two algorithms are of much better normalization results than the traditional one and higher confidence level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An approach for lossless compression of still images based on fuzzy-combined adaptive prediction was proposed. In the phase of prediction preparation, a set of optimal autoregressive predictors is calculated adaptively based on a predetermined threshold. Then the predictors are trained by a neural network called FOSART. The predictors attained from procedure of training are incorporated in sense of fuzzy logic to implement the procedure of prediction. In the entropy coding phase, the context-based conditional adaptive arithmetic encoding is adopted in the proposed approach. The experiments demonstrate the characteristics make the approach achieve good tradeoff between computational complexity and efficiency of prediction and it has a good performance for lossless compression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Segmentation of off-line handwritten Chinese characters is the premise of recognition. It is most difficult to segment connected characters. A novel algorithm based on stroke analysis and background thinning was proposed to segment connected handwritten Chinese characters. The feature points, viz. end points, fork points and corner points are detected in the thinned image of connected characters. The segments between the feature points are considered as substrokes and are extracted. The information of the length of substrokes, the topological relations and projection is employed to locate connected points. By thinning the background, suitable separation path is determined. The experimental results show that satisfactory performance is achieved by the presented method for segmentation of connected handwritten Chinese characters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a preprocessing, the text area location plays an important role in the character recognition. This paper presented a morphological method to locate text areas for character images. By some morphological operations, the proposed method can locate text area from a complex image quickly and accurately. An optimum method was proposed which can be used in the real time circumstance. The approach was tested in a real application to locate PCB characters and got a good result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi agent system is a distributed processing system which needs an opened and dynamic knowledge collaborative architecture to acquire, share and reuse knowledge. To solve those problems, this paper presented a distributed knowledge intelligence collaborative processing model which uses ontology to build knowledge processing architecture and to integrate domain knowledge distributed on different systems. A medical application model using ontology was presented. It is clear that the model, using ontology to access, reuse, share and organize domain knowledge, can reduce the complexity of distributed knowledge interaction and enhance the merge and cooperation of heterogeneous knowledge sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems that traditional image dehazing algorithms are easily restricted by prior knowledge and color distortion,a multi-scale feature fusion image dehazing algorithm combined with attention mechanism is proposed.The algorithm first obtains feature maps of multiple scales through down-sampling operations,and then uses skip connections between feature maps of different scales to connect the feature maps of the encoder part and the decoder part for feature fusion.At the same time,a feature attention module composed of channel attention submodule and pixel attention submodule is added to the network to control the importance of different channels and pixels.This feature attention module allows the network to pay more attention to detailed information and important features,therefore,a better dehazing effect can be achieved.In order to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm,qualitative and quantitative comparative experiments are carried out on the RESIDE dataset with five popular dehazing algorithms.The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can more completely dehazing,and the preservation of image color is better.At the same time,the average values on the two evaluation indicators PSNR (Peak Signal to Noise Ratio) and SSIM (Structure Similarity) are 28.83 dB and 0.957 5,respectively,which are 2.23 dB and 0.017 2 higher than the second-performance model in the comparison algorithm.Then,qualitative comparison experiments are performed between the proposed algorithm and five comparison algorithms on the MSD data set and real images.The experimental results further prove that the proposed algorithm has good dehazing performance and color retention.

Abstract: This research aims to increase the activity of platinum–ruthenium alloy (Ptalysts for methanol electrooxidation. The direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) anodic Ptlysts were prepared from acidic and alkaline Pt(NH3)2(NO2)2 solutions as Pt precursors, respectively, and with the same acidic Ru compound but without Cl− ion as the Ru precursor by thermal reduction. The phase structures, lattice parameters, particle sizes, alloy composition, distribution, and the morphology of reduced catalysts were determined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It was found that the XRD patterns of the two catalysts showed Pt reflections for a face centered cubic (fcc) crystalline alloy structure. The catalyst prepared from the acidic Pt(NH3)2(NO2)2 as a precursor has a more homogeneous distribution of Ptparticles on carbon. Its size is relatively small, about 3.7nm. Its chemical composition is quite similar to theoretical value of 1:1 (Pt:Ru). The catalyst prepared from the alkaline Pt(NH3)2(NO2)2 as a precursor has an uneven distribution of Ptles on carbon and its size is relatively large, and the chemical composition of Pt and Ru was 6:4. The performance was tested using a glassy carbon working electrode by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometric curves in a solution of 0.5molL−1 CH3OH and 0.5molL−1 H2SO4 at 25°C. The electrocatalytic activity of the Ptlyst prepared from the acidic Pt(NH3)2(NO2)2 as a precursor was the higher for methanol electrooxidation than that of catalyst from the alkaline source. The peak current density from the CV plot was 11.5mAcm−2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research is aimed to increase the activity and utilization of Pt–Ru alloy catalysts and thus to lower the catalyst loading in anodes for methanol electrooxidation. The Pt–Ru/C catalysts were prepared by chemical reduction. The support of Vulcan XC-72 carbon black was pretreated by ozone at different temperatures for different times. The specific surface area of the samples was evaluated by the standard BET method. The surface concentrations of oxygen were determined by XPS. The results showed that the surface concentrations of oxygen on the carbon were first decreased and then increased with pretreating times, and the specific surface area of the carbon was decreased with pretreating times at the same temperature. The specific surface area was increased with increasing temperature, and the surface concentration of oxygen was first decreased and then increased with increasing temperature for the same pretreating time. Pt–Ru/C catalysts supported by untreated and O3 treated carbon black were characterized and tested for methanol electrooxidation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to characterize the influence of carbon treated with ozone on Pt–Ru/C catalysts. It was found that the catalysts were composed only of f.c.c. Pt–Ru alloy particles without metallic Ru or Ru oxide. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Tafel curves were used for methanol electrooxidation on Pt–Ru/C catalysts in a solution of 0.5mol/L CH3OH and 0.5mol/L H2SO4, showing that the catalytic activity of Pt–Ru/C catalysts supported by ozone treated carbon was higher than that by the untreated one. The ozone treatment time and temperature, which affect the performance of Pt–Ru/C catalysts, were discussed. Electrochemical measurements showed that the catalysts supported by the carbon after ozone treatment for 6min at 140°C had the best performance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

More than half of the patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) fail to achieve long-term disease-free survival with current therapies and novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. The effects of homoharringtonine (HHT) on the growth of AML cell lines and primary leukemia cells were examined using MTT, colony formation assay. The effects of HHT on both eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and phospho-eIF4E(p-eIF4E) were examined through western blot and immunofluorescence staining. HHT selectively reduced levels of p-eIF4E and its downstream oncoprotein Mcl-1, and potently inhibited in vitro and in vivo the growth of a distinct subset of AML cells and primary leukemia cells expressing high level of p-eIF4E through apoptosis. Our findings suggest that HHT might be a first-in-class p-eIF4E-targeted drug and offer a novel therapeutic option for AML patients expressing high level of p-eIF4E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two novel and approximate linear-shaped Gd 4 clusters were assembled by the reaction of a multidentate ligand H 3 L with Gd(dbm) 3 ·2H 2 O in different solvent system. The magnetic studies reveal that clusters 1 and 2 display significant magnetic refrigeration properties. Two novel and tetranuclear gadolinium clusters, namely, [Gd 4 (L) 2 (dbm) 6 (CH 3 OH) 2 ] (1) and [Gd 4 (L) 2 (dbm) 6 (C 2 H 5 OH) 2 ] (2) (H 3 L = (6-Hydroxymethyl)-N′-((2,3-dihydroxyphenyl)-methylene)picolinohydrazide and dbm = dibenzoylmethane), were assembled by the reaction of a multidentate ligand H 3 L with Gd(dbm) 3 ·2H 2 O in different solvent system. Both the two Gd 4 clusters have an approximate linear-shaped arrangement and the four central Gd3+ ions are connected by six μ 2 -O atoms. Direct-current (dc) magnetic susceptibility measurements of clusters 1 and 2 indicated that the weak antiferromagnetic interactions between adjacent Gd3+ ions both exist in clusters 1 and 2. It's particularly significant that clusters 1 and 2 display significant cryogenic magnetocaloric effects with maximum −Δ S m values of 21.39 and 20.26 J kg−1 K−1 at 2.0 K and 7.0 T, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of tetranuclear lanthanide(III) clusters, namely, [Ln 4 ( μ 3 -OH) 2 L 6 (acac) 4 ]· x CH 3 CN (Ln(III) = Tb( 1 ), Dy( 2 ) and Ho( 3 ), HL = 5-(4-o-hydroxybenzylidene)-8-hydroxylquinoline; acac = acetylacetone), have been synthesized and completely characterized. The X-ray structural analysis exhibit that clusters 1 – 3 contain one Ln 4 center with rhombus-shaped arrangement, and each Ln(III) ion of them is located in a distorted square-antiprismatic coordination sphere. Magnetic measurements indicated that single molecule magnets behaviors were observed in 2 , with energy barrier (Δ E / k B ) of 55.17 K and τ 0  = 8.19 × 10 −7  s. Additionally, luminescence properties study reveal that 1 and 2 display the characteristic Tb III and Dy III luminescence at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title compound, C14H16N2O3, is chiral. There are two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit, which are related by an approximate non-crystallographic twofold screw axis. Mol­ecules of the title compound are linked by inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen-bond inter­actions involving the H atoms of the amino groups and O atoms of the keto groups, thus forming a zigzag structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study has developed a method for rapid detection of BVDV and BPIV3 based on the method of RT-RPA combined with LFD. • This method can detected BVDV (genotypes 1 and 2) and BPIV3 (3a, 3b, 3c), and exhibited no cross-reaction with other viruses. • The lowest detection limits were 50 RNA molecules for BVDV and 34 RNA molecules for BPIV3 per reaction respectively. • This method and RT-PCR have almost the same detection performance, but the former can shorten the detection time by half. Bovine respiratory disease complex (BRDC) is a serious disease affecting feedlot cattle in China and likely other places worldwide. Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and bovine parainfluenza virus type 3 (BPIV3) are principally responsible for causing BRDC, and are a major strain to the industrial economy. Eradication of these viruses/disease requires swift viral identification and treatment. Hence, this study established a fast and easy procedure of BVDV and BPIV3 identification that employs reverse transcription recombinase polymerase amplification (RT-RPA) and lateral flow dipstick (LFD), and uses primers and lateral flow (LF) probe targeting the 5′-UTR gene of BVDV and phosphoprotein P gene of BPIV3, respectively. Our assay was able to successfully amplify BVDV and BPIV3 RNA within 25 min at 35 °C using RT-RPA, with products visible on the LFD within 5 min at room temperature (RT). The lowest detection limits were 50 RNA molecules for BVDV and 34 RNA molecules for BPIV3 per reaction. We also demonstrated that the established dual RT-RPA LFD assay was precise and targeted, harboring excellent potential to become an onsite molecular diagnostic tool in the detection of BVDV and BPIV3. This method can detect BVDV (Pestivirus A, B) and BPIV3, and exhibit no cross-reaction with other viruses like the classical swine fever virus (CSFV) and infectious bovine rhinotracheitis virus (IBRV). The assay performance was further assessed with clinical samples, and demonstrated good performance in comparison to real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). Moreover, the RT-RPA LFD assay was comparitively rapid and required minimal training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The anodic Pt–Ru–Ni/C and the Pt–Ru/C catalysts for potential application in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) were prepared by chemical reduction method. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements were carried out by using a glassy carbon working electrode covered with the catalyst powder in a solution of 0.5molL−1 CH3OH and 0.5molL−1 H2SO4 at 25°C. EIS information discloses that the methanol electrooxidation on the Pt–Ru–Ni/C catalyst at various potentials shows different impedance behaviors. The mechanism and the rate-determining step of methanol electrooxidation are changed with increasing potential. Its rate-determining steps are the methanol dehydrogenation and the oxidation reaction of adsorbed intermediate COads and OHads in low (400–500mV) and high (600–800mV) potentials, respectively. The catalytic activity of the Pt–Ru–Ni/C catalyst is higher for methanol electrooxidation than that of the Pt–Ru/C catalyst. Its tolerance performance to CO formed as one of the intermediates of methanol dehydrogenation is also better than that of the Pt–Ru/C catalyst. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This research is aimed to improve the utilization and activity of anodic alloy catalysts and thus to lower the contents of noble metals and the catalyst loading on anodes for ethanol electrooxidation. The DEFC anodic catalysts, Pt–Ru–Ni/C and Pt–Ru/C, were prepared by a chemical reduction method. Their performances were tested by using a glassy carbon working electrode and cyclic voltammetric curves, chronoamperometric curves and half cell measurement in a solution of 0.5molL−1 CH3CH2OH and 0.5molL−1 H2SO4. The composition of the Pt–Ru–Ni and Pt–Ru surface particles were determined by EDAX analysis. The particle size and lattice parameter of the catalysts were determined by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD). XRD analysis showed that both of the catalysts exhibited face centered cubic structures and had smaller lattice parameters than a Pt-alone catalyst. Their particle sizes were small, about 4.5nm. No significant differences in the ethanol electrooxidation on both electrodes were found using cyclic voltammetry, especially regarding the onset potential for ethanol electrooxidation. The electrochemically active specific areas of the Pt–Ru–Ni/C and Pt–Ru/C catalysts were almost the same. But, the catalytic activity of the Pt–Ru–Ni/C catalyst was higher for ethanol electrooxidation than that of the Pt–Ru/C catalyst. Their tolerance to CO formed as one of the intermediates of ethanol electrooxidation, was better than that of the Pt–Ru/C catalyst. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Tracing copper ions levels in the environment and subcellular microenvironment is crucial due to the key role copper ions play in physiological and pathological processes. Herein, a novel naphthalimide-fused rhodamine probe Rh-Naph-Cu was prepared through modification with phenylhydrazine to produce a closed and non-fluorescent spirolactam. Based on the copper-induced spirolactam ring-opening and hydrolysis process, Rh-Naph-Cu can be employed as a fluorescence off-on probe for copper ions with high selectivity, high sensitivity (limit of detection: 33.0 nM), broad pH-response range (pH: 5.0-10.0), and color change visible with the naked eye. Rh-Nap-Cu could be made into test strips for the in-situ chromogenic detection of Cu 2+ . Significantly, Rh-Naph-Cu can be utilized for the detection of copper ions in living HeLa cells and zebrafish, and exhibits excellent lysosomal-targeting ability with high Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) of 0.96., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

HLA-A*02:1146 differs from HLA-A*02:01:01:01 by one nucleotide in exon 1., (© 2024 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: A subtype of the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is suggested to be responsible for the outbreak in Northern China since the quarantine was lifted in December 2022. The coronavirus disease 2019 virus is primarily responsible for the development of respiratory illnesses, however, it can present a plethora of symptoms affecting a myriad of body organs. This virus has been theorized to be linked to demyelinating lesions of the peripheral and central nervous system including transverse myelitis and acute retrobulbar optic neuritis (ARON). For example, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the orbit and brain showed enlargement of the retrobulbar intraorbital segments of the optic nerve with high T2 signal, and no abnormalities were seen in the brain tissue. In this case series, we analyzed the connection between SARS-CoV-2 infection and the onset of ARON., Case Summary: Fifteen patients, and a teenage boy who did not have any pre-existing ocular or demyelinating diseases suddenly experienced a loss of vision after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The patients expressed a central scotoma and a fever as the primary concern. The results of the fundus photography were found to be normal. However, the automated perimetry and MRI scans showed evidence of some typical signs. Out of the 15 patients diagnosed with ARON after SARS-CoV-2 infection, only one individual tested positive for the aquaporin-4 antibody., Conclusion: Direct viral invasion of the central nervous system and an immune-related process are the two primary causes of SARS-CoV-2-related ARON., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Small frame nucleic acids (FNAs) serve as excellent carrier materials for various functional nucleic acid molecules, showcasing extensive potential applications in biomedicine development. The carrier module and function module combination is crucial for probe design, where an improper combination can significantly impede the functionality of sensing platforms. This study explores the effect of various combinations on the sensing performance of nanodevices through simulations and experimental approaches. Variances in response velocities, sensitivities, and cell uptake efficiencies across different structures are observed. Factors such as the number of functional molecules loaded, loading positions, and intermodular distances affect the rigidity and stability of the nanostructure. The findings reveal that the structures with full loads and moderate distances between modules have the lowest potential energy. Based on these insights, a multisignal detection platform that offers optimal sensitivity and response speed is developed. This research offers valuable insights for designing FNAs-based probes and presents a streamlined method for the conceptualization and optimization of DNA nanodevices., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has resulted in a global health emergency. In addition to common respiratory symptoms, some patients with COVID-19 infections may experience a range of extra-pulmonary manifestations, such as digestive system involvement. Patients with COVID-19 have been reported to suffer from acute mesenteric ischemia (AMI) that is associated with disease-related severity and mortality. However, in the context of COVID-19, the exact cause of AMI has yet to be clearly defined. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the available data and elucidates the possible underlying mechanisms linking COVID-19 to AMI, in addition to highlighting therapeutic approaches for clinicians. Finally, given the severe global impact of COVID-19, we emphasize the importance of coordinated vaccination programs., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

With the rapid development of China's economy and society, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution of surface soil has attracted increasing attention. Based on a systematic review, this study identified 166 relevant papers (published from 2000 to 2020) dealing with the contamination of 16 PAHs in the surface soil of China and summarized the pollution level, temporal, and spatial distribution influencing factors of PAHs with statistics, spatial interpolation analysis, and source analysis methods. The results showed that the surface soil of China has been polluted by human-caused PAHs, with a median concentration of 675.70 μg·kg -1 . Although the overall condition is good, some sampling points have been seriously polluted. Among the monomers of PAHs, the concentrations of fluoranthene (Fla) and pyrene (Pyr) are high, while acenaphthylene (Acy) and acenaphthene (Ace) are relatively low. During the survey period, the concentration data of surface soil PAHs are generally within the moderate pollution levels of 313.10-1070.45 μg·kg -1 , while the annual changes of PAHs do not show obvious fluctuations and are less affected by oil production and consumption. Statistics and spatial interpolation results show that PAH pollution in the surface soil of China has regional characteristics, where the concentration decreases in order from northwest, north, east, northeast, southwest, and south-central China. The pollution level in most provinces is "contaminated" or "weakly contaminated." From the source analysis results, PAH pollution in surface soils in most areas of China comes from the high-temperature combustion of fossil fuels such as petroleum, biomass, and coal. Heilongjiang and some northwestern regions (e.g., Xinjiang and Tibet) were mainly represented by oil source pollution. Such results could provide a reference for soil environmental management and PAH pollution control in China.

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of morphology and Hans classification in diffuse large B cell lymphoma（DLBCL）., Methods: Clinical data of 249 patients diagnosed with DLBCL in our hospital and Hangzhou Xixi hospital during Jan 2006 to Dec 2016 were analyzed retrospectively. These patients were classified into 3 groups: immunoblastic variant（IB） group, centroblastic variant（CB） group and others group according to the cell morphology. And DLBCL was also divided into GCB（germinal center B-cell-like）or non-GCB（non-germinal center B-cell-like） group by analyzing the expression of CD10, BCL6 and MUM1 (GCB: CD10 + ,BCL6 +- ,MUM1 +- /CD10 - ,BCL6 + ,MUM1 - ；non-GCB：CD10 - ,BCL6 - ,MUM1 +- /CD10 - ,BCL6 + ,MUM1 + )., Results: The univariate analysis displayed that the age，LDH level，IPI，IB，non-GCB，B-symptoms and rituximab all could influence the OS and EFS, the CR rate of CB subtype patients was significantly higher than that of the patients with IB subtype （68.3% vs 38.9%)(P=0.02）. IB subtype was the in dependent prognostic factor for both EFS and OS in the whole study. In multivariate analysis, IPI and IB were the independent prognostic factors for OS and EFS. IB subtype was also an independent prognostic factor in EFS and OS with or without rituximab. The expression of BCL2 and BCL6 was related with prognosis in R-CHOP, but not in CHOP treated patients. Other markers (CD5, CD10, IRF4/MUM1, HLA-DR and Ki-67 proliferation index) were not of the significant prognostic value for DLBCL. When accepted rituximab, the GCB and non-GCB were not different significantly for prognosis. However, the non-GCB group showed a poor prognosis without using rituximab （EFS P=0.020；OS P=0.020）. Multivariate Cox models showed that OS and EFS were not significantly different between GCB and non-GCB group, however, the IB subtype had a very significantly poor prognosis in OS and EFS (P=0.001, P=0.002). When the analysis was restricted to DLBCL with CB morphology only, no prognostic value was observed in Hans classification., Conclusion: The subtype of immunoblast is a major risk factor in patients treated with CHOP or R-CHOP. There is a significant association between the Hans classification and the morphologic subclassification. Results of this study have supplemented the data for the prognostic factor of DLBCL and demonstrated that the cytomorphologic diagnosis can be reproducible.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation of katanin P80 expression with clinicopathological features and overall survival (OS) in surgical breast cancer (BC) patients., Methods: Four hundred and fourteen BC patients underwent surgery were analyzed in this retrospective cohort study. Katanin P80 expression was examined by immunofluorescence assay. The median follow-up duration was 118.0 months (quantiles: 99.0-140.5 months), the last follow-up date was Jul 1st 2017., Results: Eighty-five patients (20.5%) with katanin P80 positive expression and 329 patients (79.5%) with katanin P80 negative expression were observed in this research. Katanin P80 positive expression was correlated with higher N stage (p< 0.001) and TNM stage (p< 0.001). K-M curve and log-rank test revealed that katanin P80 positive patients presented with shorter OS compared with katanin P80 negative patients (p< 0.001). Multivariate Cox's regression analysis disclosed that katanin P80 positive expression (p< 0.001) and histologic grade (p< 0.001) could independently predict unfavorable OS. Furthermore, subgroups analysis was performed, which illuminated that katanin P80 positive expression was correlated with shorter OS in all subgroups divided by molecular subtyping and TNM stage (all p< 0.05) except in TNM stage I subgroup (p= 0.573)., Conclusion: Katanin P80 expression positively correlated with lymph node metastasis and could abe a novel biomarker for prognosis in BC patients.

Tunable structures and magnetocaloric effect (MCE) of seven MOFs with [Gd n ] as nodes are explored. The [Gd n ] node is realized from mononuclear [Gd] to binuclear paddle-wheel [Gd 2 ], tetranuclear tetrahedral [Gd 4 ], and pentanuclear trigonal bipyramidal [Gd 5 ]. Meanwhile, the magnetic entropy changes from 19.4 to 46.0 J·kg -1 ·K -1 . The results reveal that the effect of magnetic density on MCE plays a dominant role for Gd 3+ -based compounds, and high spin ground state of Mn 2+ (S = 5/2) is more favorable to achieve high MCE than that with Zn 2+ , Co 2+ , and Ni 2+ (Co 2+ , S = 3/2; Ni 2+ , S = 1). To our knowledge, it is the first report that MCE is controlled by various clusters as nodes in MOFs.

Scale and intensive development of mixed crop-livestock agriculture is inevitable in North China Plain (NCP), and nitrogen (N) is one of the key elements that linked the crop and livestock production. Here, we used Hebei Jinlong Circular Agriculture Farm as an example, to analyze the N flow and use efficiency, by using data from literature, on-farm survey and modeling. Further, several on-farm N management improvement practices were proposed and evaluated through scenario analysis, to supply technical support and scientific basis not only for achieving higher N use efficiency and productivity at the farm level, but also providing a new model of circular agriculture in NCP. Our results indicated that manure and purchased fertilizer were the main N input in crop production, which amounted to 674.6 kg N·hm -2 ·a -1 and accounted for 88.3% of the total N input. Of all the N input in crop production system, only 41.5% ended up in the crop products and around 190.7 kg N·hm -2 ·a -1 surplus. The excess input of synthetic fertilizer was the main reason for low N use efficiency and high N surplus for crop system. Purchased feed was the main N input pathway in livestock production system, and accounted for 83.2% of the total N input. The annual N excretion rate was 776.6 t N, and around 36.3% of the excreted N was recycled to the crop system. The N use efficiency was 19.7% for livestock production system. The N use efficiency was 40.7% at the whole farm level. The scenarios analysis showed that reducing purchased fertilizer N input by 50% (scenario 1) and increasing the total maize production via adjustment of cropping structure (scenario 2) would increase the N use efficiency in cropping system by 18.7% and 9.8%, respectively. The whole farm use efficiency could be increased by 19.1% through optimizing the feed compositions and regimes (scenario 3). Therefore, reducing purchased fertilizer N input, adjustment of cropping structure and optimizing the feed compositions could increase the N production capacity and achieve an environmental friendly mixed crop-livestock production system simultaneously in NCP.

Objective: To investigate the effects of long non-coding RNA SPRY4-IT1 (LncRNA) on proliferation and metastasis of medul-loblastoma cells., Methods: SPRY4-IT1siRNA and control fluorescence siRNA were transfected into medulloblastoma cell line Daoy with Lipo-fe ctamine 2000 and were divided into control group and si-SPRY4-IT1 group. Relative expression of SPRY4-IT1 mRNA were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. The change of cell proliferation were examined using CCK-8 kit and clone forming experiment. The change of cell inva-sion and metastasis were examined by matrigel invasion assay and cell metastasis experiment respectively, The expression of matrix metallopro-teinase MMP-2 and MMP-9 were detected by Western blot., Results: In si-SPRY4-IT1 group,the SPRY4-IT1 mRNA expression level, cell pro-liferation in vitro,cell invasion and migration ability, MMP-2 protein expression were significantly lower than those in the control group., Conclusions: Interference SPRY4-IT1 expression has prominent inhibitory effect on the cell proliferation、invasion and metastasis of medulloblastoma cell line Daoy.

Objective: To investigate the effect of demethylation of Syk gene promoter by the methylation transferase inhibitor 5-aza-CdR on the invasion and metastasis of medulloblastoma cell line Daoy., Methods: Medulloblastoma cell line Daoy was treated with 5-aza-CdR in vitro. Methylation-specific PCR, real time-PCR and Western blot were used to detect Syk gene promoter methylation status, Syk mRNA and protein expression respectively. Transwell was employed to study the invasion and metastasis of medulloblastoma cell line Daoyby counting the cells that had invaded through Matrigel and migrated to the undersurface of the membrane before and after treatment of 5-aza-CdR., Results: In comparison to control group, Syk gene promoter of 5-aza-CdR-treated groups was demethylated and expression of Syk mRNA and protein was significantly up-regulated by 3.40±0.24 folds ( P <0.01) and 3.23±0.19 folds ( P <0.01) respectively. The invasiveness and metastasis of medulloblastoma cell line Daoy was decreased( P <0.05)., Conclusions: Hypermethylation of Syk gene promoter is responsible for the down-regulation of Syk gene expression in medulloblastoma cell line Daoy, which may be one of the mechanisms that enhanced cell invasion and metastasis. While 5-aza-CdR can reverse the hypermethylation of Syk gene promoter and restore Syk gene expression and thus suppresses invasiveness and metastasis of tumor cells.

Objective: To investigate the apoptosis and proliferation effect of matrine on human medulloblastoma cell line D341 in vitro and the effect of the expression of the related caspase 3 and caspase 9 proteins., Methods: The D341 cells were cultivated successfully in vitro. Then the cells were divided into 5 groups according to the concentration of matrine (0.5 mg/mI group, 1.0 mg/ml group, 1.5 mg/ml group, 2.0 mg/ml group and the control group was 0 mg/ml). All the experiments were repeated three times. The cell morphologic and structure change was observed with the optical microscope and the transmission electron microscope. The proliferation of D341 cell was analyzed using Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Apoptosis was detected by Annexin V-FITC/PI double staining. The expression of Caspase3 and Caspase9 was detected by Western blot., Results: With the effect of matrine, the proliferation inhibition rate gradually increased with drug concentrations increasing, and there was a significant difference (P < 0.01). The inhibitory effect of matrine on cell proliferation was different with the different treatment time, there was a significant difference between the 24 h to 72 h groups (P < 0.01). The apoptotic rate increased with matrine concentrations increasing. There were significant differences between the group of 0.5 mg/mI or 1.0 mg/mI to the group of 1.5 mg/mI or 2.0 mg/mI (P < 0.05). The apoptotic rate increased with the prolonged treatment time. There were significant differences between the group of 24 h or 48 h to the group of 72 h ( P < 0.05). With the increase of matrine concentration, the expression of Caspase 3 and Caspase 9 increased (P < 0.01)., Conclusion: Matrine induces the apoptosis, and inhibits the proliferation of human medulloblastoma D341 cells in vitro by up-regulation of the expression level of Caspase3, Caspase9.

Zeolites, as one of the most important porous materials, are most widely utilized in sorbents, catalysis, and ion-exchange fields. However, the multi-functional lanthanide-zeolites constructed exclusively by lanthanide ions and oxygen linkers are to our knowledge unknown hitherto. Herein, we, for the first time, report the unique structure and multifunctions of lanthanide zeolites (1·Gd, 1·Tb, 1·Dy), featuring 60 nuclear [Ln60] nanocages as building blocks and ultrastrong alkali-resisting. These compounds possess extremely high stability and still retain single crystallinity after treatment in boiling water, 0.1 M HCl, and 20 M NaOH aqueous solutions. Magnetic studies revealed 1·Gd has large magnetocaloric effect with -ΔSm(max) = 66.5 J kg(-1) K(-1), falling among the largest values known to date. Importantly, these lanthanide-zeolites themselves can efficiently catalyze the cycloaddition of CO2 with epoxides under mild conditions. Our finding extends the conventional zeolites to lanthanide counterparts, opening a new space for seeking novel and/or multifunctional zeolites.

Two cationic heterometal-organic frameworks (Eu-Zn (1·NO₃⁻) and Tb-Zn (2·NO₃⁻)) with NO3(-) counter-anions in the channels are structurally and luminously characterized. Both of them can serve as highly sensitive and highly selective luminescent probes for detecting I(-) ions in aqueous solutions. In particular, 2·NO₃⁻ can selectively and reversibly detect I(-) with a fast response time of just 10 s and an extremely low detection limit of 0.001 ppm. Mechanism studies reveal that I(-) is quickly oxidized to form I₃⁻with the help of 1·NO₃⁻ or 2·NO₃⁻, leading to luminescence quenching. This represents the first report of MOF-based luminescent probes for the detection of I(-) in aqueous solutions.

Two 3D heterometal-organic frameworks based on infrequent trigonal bipyramidal Ln(5)  clusters as nodes were structurally and magnetically characterized (Ln=Gd (1), Dy (2)). The results indicate large MCE of up to 30.7 J kg(-1)  K(-1) in 1 and slow magnetic relaxation behavior in 2. Expectedly, constructing 3D MOFs based on multinuclear clusters as nodes may will be a new strategy for achieving large -ΔS(m). Additionally, compound 1 exhibits high thermal and solvent stabilities, providing a favorable foundation for realistic applications., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that pancreatic adenocarcinoma is hierarchically organized and sustained by pancreatic cancer stem cells. Furthermore, elimination of these cells is possible and therapeutically relevant. This study aimed to investigate the expression patterns of pancreatic cancer stem cell surface markers CD44, CD24 and ESA in pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines and explore the influence of their local microenvironment., Methods: Flow cytometry was used to analyze the expression patterns of CD44, CD24 and ESA in five pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines (PANC-1, PC-2, MIA-Paca-2, AsPC-1 and BxPC-3). In addition, the capacity for sphere-formation in serum-free medium of four cell lines (PANC-1, PC-2, MIA-Paca-2 and BxPC-3) was assessed. Then, the same assays were performed when tumor cell spheres were developed. The role of sonic hedgehog (SHH) in cell spheres from PANC-1 and MIA-Paca-2 were also assessed by RT-PCR., Results: CD44 and CD24 were detected in PANC-1. Only CD44 expression was detected in PC-2, MIA-Paca-2 and AsPC-1. CD44, CD24 and ESA were all detected in BxPC-3. Tumor cell spheres developed in PANC-1 and MIA-Paca-2 in serum-free medium. This was accompanied by an increase in CD24 expression and a decrease in CD44 expression in PANC-1. Interestingly, the expression of CD44 and CD24 returned to initial levels once the medium was changed back from serum-free to serum-containing medium. No significant change in the expression of CD44 was detected in MIA-Paca-2. Furthermore, the relative quantification of SHH mRNA in PANC-1 cell spheres was significantly higher than that in cells cultured in the serum-containing medium., Conclusion: The expression patterns of the pancreatic cancer stem cell surface markers CD44, CD24 and ESA were diverse in different pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines and changed with their local microenvironment.