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In this study, interactions between free radicals during co-pyrolysis of lignite and biomass were explored. Changes in free radical concentrations were investigated using electron spin resonance (ESR). Additionally, the interactions between free radicals during co-pyrolysis were analyzed based on free radical concentration, thermogravimetric (TG) behavior, and changes in yields and properties of pyrolysis products in a fixed-bed reactor. The results of ESR and TG analyses indicate that, during co-pyrolysis, the combination of radicals, especially that of stable and volatile free radicals, leads to a decrease in both radical concentration and mass loss. The main temperature range for the interaction of free radicals was ~ 380–600 °C. The co-pyrolysis results from the fixed-bed reactor show that the yields of products such as gas, tar, and char are higher than their calculated values, except for water, which confirms the existence of synergy between the coal and biomass. As the resistance of the volatile free radicals escaping from the bed increases, the secondary reactions of volatiles increase during co-pyrolysis, which leads to changes in the composition and properties of gas and tar.

Functional poly(amino acid)s such as poly(e-lysine) have many potential high-value applications. However, the effective chemosynthetic strategy for these materials remains a big challenge in polymer chemistry; the key issue is how to design and protect amino groups for the effective ring-opening polymerization (ROP). Our lab succeeded in chemosynthesis of poly(e-lysine) via delicate design of a 2,5-dimethylpyrrole protecting group and metal-catalyzed ROP processes, but harsh reaction conditions (e.g., ca. 260 °C) were required. Herein, we developed a superbase t-BuP4-catalyzed ROP of e-lactam derivatives, affording high molecular weight poly(e-lysine) bearing pendant protected amino groups with high monomer conversion (up to 95%). The organocatalytic polymerization could proceed at low reaction temperature (e.g., 60 °C) compatible with readily removable protecting groups, providing a sustainable and new methodology toward facile preparation of poly(e-lysine).

// Jiping Xu 1,* , Haibin Zhong 1,* , Ling Cui 1,* , Qianqian Lan 1 , Lifei Chen 1 , Wenjing He 1 , Yu Wu 1 , Li Jiang 1 , Hui Huang 1 , Xin Zhao 1 , Li Li 1 , Siming Zeng 1 , Min Li 1 and Fan Xu 1 1 Department of Ophthalmology, People’s Hospital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Nanning, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China * These authors have contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Fan Xu, email: // Min Li, email: // Keywords : Wip1, epiretinal membranes, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, NF-κB, glial cell, Pathology Section Received : January 06, 2017 Accepted : March 11, 2017 Published : March 29, 2017 Abstract Objective: The aims of the present study were to investigate the expression and distribution of Wild-type p53-induced phosphatase 1 (Wip1) in diabetic patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) with epiretinal membranes (ERMs) meanwhile analyze the colocalization of Wip1 and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) p65 in ERMs. Methods: ERMs samples were collected from patients with PDR (PDR group) or non-diabetic patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (iERMs) (control group) during pars plana vitrectomy. Real-Time PCR analysis was carried out to examine the mRNA expression of Wip1 in ERMs. Immunohistochemical analysis and Immunofluorescent analysis were performed to detect the protein expression of Wip1 in ERMs. Double immunofluorescent staining was performed to detect the colocalization of Wip1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein ( GFAP) (retinal glial cells marker), also Wip1 and NF-κB. Results: ERMs were obtained from 17 eyes of 17 patients with PDR (the PDR group) and 9 eyes of 9 nondiabetic patients (the control group) with iERMs. Our results showed high expression levels of Wip1 mRNAs in ERMs after PDR, but low in iERMs. In addition, both immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence assay showed strong immunoreactivity for Wip1 in PDR ERMs. Furthermore, Wip1 and GFAP were coexpressed in PDR membranes. Finally, the expression of Wip1 was paralleled with NF-κB. Conclusion: These data support the notion that Wip1 contributes to the formation of the ERMs in PDR membranes via NF-κB signaling.

Solvent extraction of coals has been practiced extensively for various purposes including the determination of coal structure. It is generally assumed that the extraction is mainly a physical process involving little change in covalent bonds. But different opinions were reported. This work studies the behavior of radicals during extraction of 3 low rank bituminous coals using 5 solvents, including hexane, toluene, tetrahydrofuran (THF), 1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene (THN), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP), using electron spin resonance (ESR). The extractions are carried out at temperatures from the ambient temperature to temperatures somewhat higher than the boiling points of the solvents, as well as under ultrasound. It is found that the radical concentration of the coals changes during the extraction, and the change is influenced by temperature and varies with the solvent. The decrease in radical concentration in most solvents at temperatures lower than their boiling points is attribute to coupling of free radicals dissolved from the coals, while the increase in radical concentration at high temperatures and in NMP is attributed to the cleavage of weak bonds in coals by the solvents.

The reaction of volatiles in a coal pyrolysis reactor determines the yield and quality of tar. This paper studies the yield, group composition and radical concentration of tars obtained from pyrolysis of a subbituminous coal, mainly on the effect of the tars' residence time in the pyrolysis reactor and in post-pyrolysis heating. The latter operation simulates the environment of tars, if they were in a large fast pyrolysis reactor. It is found that an increase in the volatiles' residence time in the pyrolysis reactor reduces the yield and increases the radical concentration of tars. The pitch fraction of the tars is mainly responsible for coke formation which occurs significantly at temperatures higher than 420 °C. The tars contain radicals, mainly in their coke and pitch fractions. The coke concentration in the tars increases with increasing heating time, linearly at 420 and 450 °C but in a sigmoidal pattern at higher temperatures. The coking behavior within 10 min can be expressed by the zero-order or zero-order + autocatalytic kinetics with activation energies of 128–138 kJ/mol.

Phytochemical studies on the roots of Euphorbia rapulum afforded a new casbane diterpenoid, 8,12-dihydroxy1βH,2αH-casba-3E,7E,11E-trien-5-one (1), together with four other known compounds, helioscopinolide A (2), 19-hydroxyjolkinolide E (3), jolkinolide E (4), and euphopilolide (5). Their structures were established on the basis of spectroscopic analysis and chemical evidence. All the isolated compounds were evaluated for cytotoxic activities against HepG2, MCF-7, and C6 cell lines, while all compounds showed weak selective activity against all three cell lines.

Background Lung cancer is one of the most common malignancies around the world. The lack of early diagnosis and effective treatment strategies contributes to the poor prognosis of patients with lung cancer. Recent studies have implied the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in oncogenesis. The purpose of our study was to identify specific lncRNAs which were correlated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their potential functions. Materials and Methods The global plasma lncRNA profiling was performed using LncPathTM Human Cancer Array, and 11 lncRNAs were then selected for quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) validation in 138 plasma samples from 69 NSCLC patients and 69 healthy controls (HCs). A noteworthy lncRNA, RP11-438N5.3, the function of which was previously unknown, was further explored on the aspect of the correlation of its expression level with clinicopathological factors. Results The results revealed that plasma level of RP11-438N5.3 was significantly lower in NSCLCs than that in HCs (p, Video abstract Point your SmartPhone at the code above. If you have a QR code reader the video abstract will appear. Or use: https://youtu.be/cZTolLw-1og

Water area segmentation is an important problem in SAR image comprehension and interpretation. This paper presents an improved region merging approach for SAR complex water area segmentation. First, a new regional similarity criterion is defined based on the gray distance, structure distance and shape distance. The edge response intensity graph and direction graph with the maximum discriminability are used as the structural feature. Geometric constraint is added into the distance criterion as shape distance. Then, the minimum spanning tree (MST) algorithm is used for region merging. The method proposed in this paper does not need complex parameter estimation. Experiments on Sentinel-1A (S-1A) images verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Cronobacter strains harboring CRISPR-Cas systems are important foodborne pathogens that cause serious neonatal infections. CRISPR typing is a new molecular subtyping method to track the sources of pathogenic bacterial outbreaks and shows a promise in typing Cronobacter, however, this molecular typing procedure using routine PCR method has not been established. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to establish such methodology, 257 isolates of Cronobacter sakazakii, C. malonaticus, and C. dublinensis were used to verify the feasibility of the method. Results showed that 161 C. sakazakii strains could be divided into 129 CRISPR types (CTs), among which CT15 (n = 7) was the most prevalent CT followed by CT6 (n = 4). Further, 65 C. malonaticus strains were divided into 42 CTs and CT23 (n = 8) was the most prevalent followed by CT2, CT3, and CT13 (n = 4). Finally, 31 C. dublinensis strains belonged to 31 CTs. There was also a relationship among CT, sequence type (ST), food types, and serotype. Compared to multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), this new molecular method has greater power to distinguish similar strains and had better accordance with whole genome sequence typing (WGST). More importantly, some lineages were found to harbor conserved ancestral spacers ahead of their divergent specific spacer sequences; this can be exploited to infer the divergent evolution of Cronobacter and provide phylogenetic information reflecting common origins. Compared to WGST, CRISPR typing method is simpler and more affordable, it could be used to identify sources of Cronobacter food-borne outbreaks, from clinical cases to food sources and the production sites.

Regaining orientation during an endoscopic procedure is critical. We investigated how endoscopists maintain orientation based on video and eye gaze analysis. Novices and experts performed a simulated colonoscopy procedure. Task performance was assessed by completion time, total distance traveled, maximum depth of insertion, percentage of mucosa viewed, and air insufflation volume. Procedure videos were analyzed by transfers among three viewing areas: center of bowel lumen, edge of bowel lumen, and other structure without bowel lumen in sight. Performers’ gaze features were also examined over these viewing areas. Experts required less time to complete the procedure (P

OEGylation is an attractive approach to modifying poly(amino acid)s. OEG conjugation improves water-solubility of poly(amino acid)s, and confers possible thermal-responsive functionality for the conjugated poly(amino acid)s. Nevertheless, the impact of OEG architecture and the manner in which the OEG moiety interferes with the performances of poly(amino acid)s remain a work in progress. In this study, a series of new linear and Y-shaped OEG-substituted poly(glutamic acid)s were designed and synthesized. It is found that the thermoresponsive behavior of OEGylated poly(glutamic acid)s experiences steric repulsion effect, the strengths of which are architecture and length-dependent, and grows pronounced only when the number of the OEG units is ≥6. Notably, the Y-shaped architecture is able to stabilize the helicity of poly(glutamic acid) backbones, while maintaining higher α-helical conformation than its linear counterparts. In sum, our result indicate that Y-shaped architecture is more appropriate toward OEGylating poly(amino acid)s for biomedical applications.

Cronobacter spp. are foodborne pathogens that can infect and cause life-threatening diseases in all age groups, particularly in infants and immunocompromised elderly. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility, and molecular characteristics of Cronobacter spp. isolates in edible mushrooms collected from 44 cities in China. In total, 668 edible mushrooms were collected from traditional retail markets and supermarkets and were analyzed by quantitative methods, PCR-based serotyping, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Among the 668 samples tested, 89 (13.32%) were positive for Cronobacter spp., and the contamination levels exceeded the 110 most probable number (MPN)/g in 13.48% (12/89) of the samples. Flammulina velutipes samples had the highest contamination rate of 17.54% (37/211), whereas Hypsizygus marmoreus samples had the lowest contamination rate of 3.28% (2/61). Ten serotypes were identified among 115 isolates, of which the C. sakazakii serogroup O1 (n = 32) was the primary serotype. MLST indicated that there was quite high genetic diversity in Cronobacter spp. and 72 sequence types were identified, 17 of which were new. Notably, C. sakazakii ST148 (n = 10) was the most prevalent, followed by C. malonaticus ST7 (n = 5). Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that the majority of Cronobacter spp. strains were susceptible to the 16 antibiotics tested. However, a portion of isolates exhibited relatively high resistance to cephalothin, with resistance and intermediate rates of 93.91 and 6.09%, respectively. One isolate (cro300A) was multidrug-resistant, with resistance to five antibiotics. Overall, this large-scale study revealed the relatively high prevalence and high genetic diversity of Cronobacter spp. on edible mushrooms in China, indicating a potential public health concern. To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale and systematic study on the prevalence of Cronobacter spp. on edible mushrooms in China, and the findings can provide valuable information that can guide the establishment of effective measures for the control and precaution of Cronobacter spp on edible mushrooms during production processes.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B virus (CHBV) infection is a major cause of liver diseases. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are important for antiviral immunity in the liver, but the distinction between intrasinusoidal MAIT cells and peripheral MAIT cells in patients with CHBV infection remains unclear. Methods: PBMC were obtained from patients with CHBV infection (n=51) and age-matched controls (n=52). Liver-associated mononuclear cells (LMCs) were collected from donors (n=32) and explanted liver (n=23) of patients to perform phenotypic, functional and TCR diversity analysis. Results: The frequency of intrasinusoidal MAIT cells in the CHBV infection group was not changed compared to that of the MAIT cells in the CHBV-negative group. However, the frequency of peripheral blood MAIT cells was severely reduced in the CHBV infection group compared to the CHBV-negative group. Moreover, IFN-γ production was intact in the intrahepatic MAIT cells of the CHBV infection patients compared to those of the control subjects post IL-12 and IL-18 stimulation, while it was reduced in the peripheral blood MAIT cells of the CHBV infection patients. More importantly, our study showed that the expression level of HLA-DR in peripheral MAIT cells was higher than that in intrasinusoidal MAIT cells in CHBV infection patients. A distinct signature of TCR usage was found in the CHBV patients. Conclusions: By analysing the phenotype, function and TCR usage of MAIT cells in the PBMC and LMC populations of patients with CHBV infection, we found distinct functions and activities in the MAIT cells of the liver compared with those of the peripheral blood. Funding Statement: YG is supported by Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (Grant number: 2018A030313019) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number:31800758). Declaration of Interests: All authors disclose no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: This study was fully approved by the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University ethical board. All participants provided written informed consent before sample collection.

Recent theoretical studies have extended the Berry phase framework to account for higher electric multipole moments, quadrupole and octupole topological phases have been proposed. Although the two-dimensional quantized quadrupole insulators have been demonstrated experimentally, octupole topological phases have not previously been observed experimentally. Here we report on the experimental realization of classical analog of octupole topological insulator in the electric circuit system. Three-dimensional topolectrical circuits for realizing such topological phases are constructed experimentally. We observe octupole topological states protected by the topology of the bulk, which are localized at the corners. Our results provide conclusive evidence of a form of robustness against disorder and deformation, which is characteristic of octupole topological insulators. Our study opens a new route toward higher-order topological phenomena in three-dimensions and paves the way for employing topolectrical circuitry to study complex topological phenomena., Comment: Physical Review B Rapid Communication

Purpose Corneal alkali burns (CABs) are a common clinical ocular disease, presenting a poor prognosis. Although some long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) reportedly play a key role in epigenetic regulation associated with CABs, studies regarding the lncRNA signature in CABs remain rare and elusive. Methods A CAB model was established in C57BL/6J mice and profiling of lncRNA expressions was performed by RNA-Seq. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were conducted to predicate the related pathological pathways and candidate genes. RT-qPCR was used to verify the expression pattern of lncRNAs and related mRNAs, both in vitro and in vivo. Data were statistically analyzed by GraphPad Prism version 6.0. Results In all, 4436 aberrantly expressed lncRNAs were identified in CAB mice when compared with control mice. In the top 13 aberrantly expressed lncRNAs, Bc037156 and 4930511E03Rik were confirmed as the most significantly altered lncRNAs. Pathway analysis revealed that mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway was most enriched. Following 4930511E03Rik siRNA treated, Srgn, IL-1β and Cxcr2 were significant upregulated in corneal epithelial cells, corneal keratocytes, and bone marrow dendritic cells, with NaOH treatment. Moreover, after Bc037156 siRNA treated, expression levels of IL-1β and Srgn were significantly downregulated in the three cell lines. Conclusions Our study suggests that Bc037156 and 4930511E03Rik may be involved in inflammation, immune response, and neovascularization by regulating Srgn, IL-1β, and Cxcr2 expression after CAB. These candidate lncRNAs and mRNAs may be the potential targets for the treatment strategy of the alkali injured cornea.

The composition and structure of organic sulfur in coal are rather complicated. Thus, no workable method has been adopted to accurately and quantitatively study organic sulfur in coal so far. Coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) is a severe disaster occurring widely in coal industry. It is an extremely complex physical and chemical process as well as a major scientific and technical problem that has always puzzled researchers. Studying the complex chemical reaction of coal by model compounds is a reasonable method extensively recognized and used in the international coal chemistry research field. Model compounds represent certain kinds of specific functional groups in coal. Through an investigation on the reaction mechanism of model compounds, the complex mechanism of coal molecules can be revealed. In this study, in order to better investigate the mechanism of organic sulfur during CSC, representative organic sulfur model compounds containing different organic sulfur functional groups were selected for the low-temperature oxidation experiment and the thermal analysis. Their oxygen consumption amounts and oxidized products concentrations were determined by gas chromatography and infrared analyzer. Besides, the weights and endothermic/exothermic rates of these model compounds during low-temperature oxidation were measured using the thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC) method. In this way, their oxidative and thermodynamic characteristics were revealed. On this basis, the organic sulfur model compounds were uniformly mixed with the coal samples for the low-temperature oxidation experiment in the hope of exploring its effect on oxygen consumption amounts and indicative gas products during CSC. Finally, the mechanism of the interactions between organic sulfur and other reactive groups in coal during low-temperature oxidization were obtained.

Polyaniline (PANI) nanobelts were successfully synthesized by a low temperature induced polymerization method. Morphology results confirmed that p-phenylenediamine and low temperature were vital for the formation of PANI nanobelts. Comparative study between a rotating packed bed (RPB) and a stirring tank reactor demonstrated that high mixing degree of raw materials was beneficial for the growth of uniformly shaped PANI nanobelts. Electrochemical analysis revealed that the PANI nanobelts obtained in RPB possessed a specific capacitance of 304.4F/g at 0.5 A/g and a capacitance retention of 40.65% after 1000 cycles, respectively.

An activated carbon fiber (ACF) cathode was fabricated and used to treat glyphosate containing wastewater by the Electro-Fenton (EF) process. The results showed that glyphosate was rapidly and efficiently degraded and the BOD5/COD ratio was increased to >0.3 implying the feasibility of subsequent treatment of the treated wastewater by biological methods. The results of ion chromatography and HPLC measurements indicated that glyphosate was completely decomposed. Effective OH generation and rapid recycling/recovery of the Fe2+ ions at the cathode were responsible primarily for the high performance of the ACF-EF process. Factors such as inlet oxygen gas flow rate, Fe2+ dosage, initial glyphosate concentration, applied current intensity, and solution pH that may affect the efficiency of the ACF-EF process were further studied and the optimum operation condition was established. Results of SEM/EDX, BET and XPS analysis showed the deposition of highly dispersed fine Fe2O3 particles on the ACF surface during the EF reaction. The possibility of using the Fe2O3-ACF as iron source in the EF process was assessed. Results showed that the Fe2O3-ACF electrode was effective in degrading glyphosate in the EF process. The deposition of Fe2O3 particles on the ACF electrode had no adverse effect on the reusability of the ACF cathode.

The pyrolysis of 14 coals with carbon contents (C%) of 67.5–94.9% are studied in the presence of 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (DHP) at 440 °C. The amounts of stable radicals in the coals and that generated in the pyrolysis are quantified by electron spin resonance (ESR). The amounts of active radicals generated in the pyrolysis are quantified by the amounts of hydrogen donated by DHP. The changes in quantity of these radicals during the pyrolysis are correlated with the parameters representing the coal rank (C%, the amounts of aromatic and aliphatic carbon). It is found that the quantity of stable radicals of the coals in the pyrolysis increases with an increase in C%. The lignites and bituminous coals break up significantly in the first 2 min in the pyrolysis. All the coals contain some rigid structures that do not break at 440 °C and the structure can be categorized to fusinite. The quantities of active radicals generated in the pyrolysis are approximately 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the stable radicals in the coals. The total amounts of cleavable bonds in the coals and the rate constants of the bond cleavage are determined by the first order kinetics.

Motivation The metabolites of exogenous and endogenous compounds play a pivotal role in the domain of metabolism research. However, they are still unclear for most chemicals in our environment. The in silico methods for predicting the site of metabolism (SOM) are considered to be efficient and low-cost in SOM discovery. However, many in silico methods are focused on metabolism processes catalyzed by several specified Cytochromes P450s, and only apply to substrates with special skeleton. A SOM prediction model always deserves more attention, which demands no special requirements to structures of substrates and applies to more metabolic enzymes. Results By incorporating the use of hybrid feature selection techniques (CHI, IG, GR, Relief) and multiple classification procedures (KStar, BN, IBK, J48, RF, SVM, AdaBoostM1, Bagging), SOM prediction models for six oxidation reactions mediated by oxidoreductases were established by the integration of enzyme data and chemical bond information. The advantage of the method is the introduction of unlabeled SOM. We defined the SOM which not reported in the literature as unlabeled SOM, where negative SOM was filtered. Consequently, for each type of reaction, a series of SOM prediction models were built based on information about metabolism of 1237 heterogeneous chemicals. Then optimal models were attained through comparisons among these models. Finally, independent test set was used to validate optimal models. It demonstrated that all models gave accuracies above 0.90. For receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under curve values of all these models over 0.906. The results suggested that these models showed good predicting power. Availability and implementation All the models will be available when contact with wangyun@bucm.edu.cn Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Glial precursor transplantation provides a potential therapy for brain disorders. Before its clinical application, experimental evidence needs to indicate that engrafted glial cells are functionally incorporated into the existing circuits and become essential partners of neurons for executing fundamental brain functions. While previous experiments supporting for their functional integration have been obtained under in vitro conditions using slice preparations, in vivo evidence for such integration is still lacking. Here, we utilized in vivo two-photon Ca(2+) imaging along with immunohistochemistry, fluorescent indicator labeling-based axon tracing and correlated light/electron microscopy to analyze the profiles and the functional status of glial precursor cell-derived astrocytes in adult mouse neocortex. We show that after being transplanted into somatosensory cortex, precursor-derived astrocytes are able to survive for more than a year and respond with Ca(2+) signals to sensory stimulation. These sensory-evoked responses are mediated by functionally-expressed nicotinic receptors and newly-established synaptic contacts with the host cholinergic afferents. Our results provide in vivo evidence for a functional integration of transplanted astrocytes into adult mammalian neocortex, representing a proof-of-principle for sensory cortex remodeling through addition of essential neural elements. Moreover, we provide strong support for the use of glial precursor transplantation to understand glia-related neural development in vivo.

To demonstrate the role of glucose oxidase (GOD) on the enzyme-catalyzed production of xylose from SCB hemicellulose, a variant of the GOD gene, which contains two amino acid substitutions, was cloned from Aspergillus niger CICC40179. Three-dimension structure modeling showed that the two variable amino acid residues were positioned on the surface of the protein molecule. The GOD gene was expressed in Pichia pastoris. Approximately 16.31 U/mL of GOD was obtained after 3 days of fermentation in the optimized medium. The catalytic characteristic of GOD was considered to apply in the production of xylose from hemicellulose. The pH value, temperature and the loading of GOD were optimized using the Box–Behnken design to improve the yield of xylose. The xylose yield was increased by 46% in 16 h of hydrolysis by adding GOD when the reaction was conducted under the optimal conditions (pH 5.1, temperature 44.9 °C and 31.68 U GOD per gram substrate). Glucose was not detected in the hydrolysis system supplemented with GOD. This is the first study demonstrating the application of glucose oxidase (GOD) on the enzyme-catalyzed production of xylose from SCB hemicellulose. The newly developed enzymatic hydrolysis system can contribute to the industrial production of xylose.

Introductions Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a significant health issue worldwide. It is a major cause of cirrhosis, HCC and liver failure. A large number of studies showed that host immune responses are the key factor for HBV clearance and persistence. In here, we investigated the role of NK cells in chronic HBV infections. Methods We compared the expression frequency, and functionality of NKGs and KIRs repertoire on NK cells in 170 samples by multi-colour flow cytometry. To further investigate the functionality of the NK cells, we performed K562 target cell killing assay and cytokine driven perforin released assay. Results The percentage of circulation and liver resident NK cells did not significantly alter in HBV patients compared to the healthy controls (HCs). Enrichment of NK cells was observed in the healthy controls but not in the HBV infected patients. The intracellular expression of Granzyme B was significantly reduced in NK cells derived from HBV-infected patients as compared to HCs. No differences were observed in the expression of NKG2A and NKG2C. Interestingly, the levels of NKG2D was significantly increased in the circulating NK cells of HBV infection but not in the liver resident NK cells. The K562 target cell killing ability and IFN-gamma production correlated with the NKG2D expression, particularly in the HBV patients as compared to HCs. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that NK cells activity and status might play an important role in controlling HBV infection.

Fast and slow pyrolysis are good means of biomass transformation. Studying the formation of bio-char is not only helpful to intensify the transformation of biomass, but also to improve its performance. However, little work has been reported on the similarities and differences of bio-chars in fast and slow pyrolysis. We investigated the fast and slow pyrolysis of walnut shell at 400–800 °C to find the evolvement law of bio-char. It was found that the formation mechanism of bio-char in fast pyrolysis is almost the same as that in slow pyrolysis. There are two stages in the formation of bio-char: the generation of free radicals caused by the covalent bond breaking at temperature less than 600 °C; the reduce of free radicals through the condensation reactions from 600 to 800 °C. The contents of various oxygen-containing functional groups presented regularity with the increase of pyrolysis temperature, in which the quinone group increases with the pyrolysis temperature increasing, which phenomenon could be used as a signal to exhibit the stabilization of oxygen in bio-char. The bio-char yields, free radicals and quinone contents are slightly higher in slow pyrolysis. The graphite crystals in bio-char have the tendency of microcrystallization with the increase of temperature, in which progress the fast pyrolysis has superiority at the low temperature.

Ovarian cancer is the most malignant gynecologic neoplasm in women and has the worst prognosis of all cancer types in women based on the 5-year survival rates. A previous study indicated that mangiferin exerts an anti-neoplastic effect on human ovarian cancer cells by targeting Notch3. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that Notch signaling is a functionally important downstream effector of Yes-associated protein (YAP), therefore it was hypothesized that YAP may be involved in the antitumor effect of mangiferin. The present study aimed to further reveal the mangiferin-mediated inhibitory effect on ovarian cancer and investigate the molecular anticancer mechanism of mangiferin. Based on the in vitro data, accompanied with the significantly reduced cell proliferation of mangiferin-treated cells compared with mangiferin-treated YAP-overexpressed cells (P

Cronobacter spp. are foodborne pathogens that can infect and cause life-threatening diseases in all age groups, particularly in infants and immunocompromised elderly. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility, and molecular characteristics of Cronobacter spp. isolates in edible mushrooms collected from 44 cities in China. In total, 668 edible mushrooms were collected from traditional retail markets and supermarkets and were analyzed by quantitative methods, PCR-based serotyping, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Among the 668 samples tested, 89 (13.32%) were positive for Cronobacter spp., and the contamination levels exceeded the 110 most probable number (MPN)/g in 13.48% (12/89) of the samples. Flammulina velutipes samples had the highest contamination rate of 17.54% (37/211), whereas Hypsizygus marmoreus samples had the lowest contamination rate of 3.28% (2/61). Ten serotypes were identified among 115 isolates, of which the C. sakazakii serogroup O1 (n = 32) was the primary serotype. MLST indicated that there was quite high genetic diversity in Cronobacter spp. and 72 sequence types were identified, 17 of which were new. Notably, C. sakazakii ST148 (n = 10) was the most prevalent, followed by C. malonaticus ST7 (n = 5). Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that the majority of Cronobacter spp. strains were susceptible to the 16 antibiotics tested. However, a portion of isolates exhibited relatively high resistance to cephalothin, with resistance and intermediate rates of 93.91 and 6.09%, respectively. One isolate (cro300A) was multidrug-resistant, with resistance to five antibiotics. Overall, this large-scale study revealed the relatively high prevalence and high genetic diversity of Cronobacter spp. on edible mushrooms in China, indicating a potential public health concern. To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale and systematic study on the prevalence of Cronobacter spp. on edible mushrooms in China, and the findings can provide valuable information that can guide the establishment of effective measures for the control and precaution of Cronobacter spp on edible mushrooms during production processes.

The liver is one of the most important immunological organs that remains tolerogenic in homeostasis yet promotes rapid responses to pathogens in the presence of a systemic infection. The composition of leucocytes in the liver is highly distinct from that of the blood and other lymphoid organs, particularly with respect to enrichment of innate T cells, i.e., invariant NKT cells (iNKT cells) and Mucosal-Associated Invariant T cells (MAIT cells). In recent years, studies have revealed insights into their biology and potential roles in maintaining the immune-environment in the liver. As the primary liver-resident immune cells, they are emerging as significant players in the human immune system and are associated with an increasing number of clinical diseases. As such, innate T cells are promising targets for modifying host defense and inflammation of various liver diseases, including viral, autoimmune, and those of tumor origin. In this review, we emphasize and discuss some of the recent discoveries and advances in the biology of innate T cells, their recruitment and diversity in the liver, and their role in various liver diseases, postulating on their potential application in immunotherapy.

miRNA sequencing was applied in this work to screen miRNA biomarkers related to β

Hyperspectral LiDAR (HSL) possesses the advantages of the LiDAR and the hyperspectral detection, and detects ranging and spectrum information synchronously, by one HSL system. The data fusion is also avoided. At present, the spectrum range of reported HSLs usually covers only 500 nm-1000 nm (from visual (VIS) to near infrared (NIR) band). However, there is requirement to extend the spectrum range to short wave infrared (SWIR) band, which often contains more useful spectral information. In this paper, a HSL covering the spectrum from VIS to SWIR is reported. In the HSL, the echoes are divided into two sections and are detected by the different optoelectronic devices, of which the spectral response ranges are respectively compatible to the corresponding echoes. The HSL detection experiment in the laboratory was carried out. The waveforms of the echoes were analyzed, and the spectra of different targets were measured by the HSL. The experiment results demonstrate the capability of the prototyped HSL that obtaining the ranging information and the spectrum information of the targets in VIS-SWIR bands synchronously.

Cronobacter strains harboring the CRISPR-Cas system are important foodborne pathogens causing serious neonatal infections. However, the specific role of the CRISPR-Cas system in bacterial evolution remains relatively unexplored. In this study, we investigated the impact of the CRISPR-Cas system on Cronobacter evolution and obtained 137 new whole-genome Cronobacter sequences by next-generation sequencing technology. Among the strains examined ( n = 240), 90.6% (193/213) of prevalent species Cronobacter sakazakii , Cronobacter malonaticus , and Cronobacter dublinensis strains had intact CRISPR-Cas systems. Two rare species, Cronobacter condimenti ( n = 2) and Cronobacter universalis ( n = 6), lacked and preserved the CRISPR-Cas system at a low frequency (1/6), respectively. These results suggest that the presence of one CRISPR-Cas system is important for a Cronobacter species to maintain genome homeostasis for survival. The Cronobacter ancestral strain is likely to have harbored both subtype I-E and I-F CRISPR-Cas systems; during the long evolutionary process, subtype I-E was retained while subtype I-F selectively degenerated in Cronobacter species and was even lost by the major Cronobacter pathovars. Moreover, significantly higher CRISPR activity was observed in the plant-associated species C . dublinensis than in the virulence-related species C. sakazakii and C . malonaticus . Similar spacers of CRISPR arrays were rarely found among species, suggesting intensive change through adaptive acquisition and loss. Differentiated CRISPR activity appears to be the product of environmental selective pressure and might contribute to the bidirectional divergence and speciation of Cronobacter . IMPORTANCE This study reports the evolutionary history of Cronobacter under the selective pressure of the CRISPR-Cas system. One CRISPR-Cas system in Cronobacter is important for maintaining genome homeostasis, whereas two types of systems may be redundant and not conducive to acquiring beneficial DNA for environmental adaptation and pathogenicity. Differentiated CRISPR activity has contributed to the bidirectional divergence and genetic diversity of Cronobacter . This perspective makes a significant contribution to the literature by providing new insights into CRISPR-Cas systems in general, while further expanding the roles of CRISPR beyond conferring adaptive immunity and demonstrating a link to adaptation and species divergence in a genus. Moreover, our study provides new insights into the balance between genome homeostasis and the uptake of beneficial DNA related to CRISPR-based activity in the evolution of Cronobacter .

Pulsed magnetic field gradients generated by gradient coils are widely used in signal location in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, gradient coils can also induce eddy currents in final magnetic field in the nearby conducting structures which lead to distortion and artifact in images, misguiding clinical diagnosis. We tried in our laboratory to measure the magnetic field of gradient-induced eddy current in 1.5 T superconducting magnetic resonance imaging device; and extracted key parameters including amplitude and time constant of exponential terms according to inductance-resistance series mathematical module. These parameters of both self-induced component and crossing component are useful to design digital filters to implement pulse pre-emphasize to reshape the waveform. A measure device that is a basement equipped with phantoms and receiving coils was designed and placed in the isocenter of the magnetic field. By applying testing sequence, contrast experiments were carried out in a superconducting magnet before and after eddy current compensation. Sets of one dimension signal were obtained as raw data to calculate gradient-induced eddy currents. Curve fitting by least squares method was also done to match inductance-resistance series module. The results also illustrated that pulse pre-emphasize measurement with digital filter was correct and effective in reducing eddy current effect. Pre-emphasize waveform was developed based on system function. The usefulness of pre-emphasize measurement in reducing eddy current was confirmed and the improvement was also presented. All these are valuable for reducing artifact in magnetic resonance imaging device.脉冲梯度磁场由梯度线圈产生，广泛用于磁共振成像设备的信号定位系统中。但该脉冲也会同时在线圈周围导体结构中感应出涡流场，从而导致总磁场改变，使图像出现变形或伪影，影响临床诊断。本文通过实验测量了 1.5 T 超导磁共振成像设备中脉冲梯度导致的涡流场；根据电感-电阻串联模型，分析了其数学模型，该模型表明涡流磁场可以由独立项和交叉项组成；然后本文定量测定了每项指数函数的振幅和时间常数等关键参数，为设计数字滤波器以进行预加重和波形整形提供了依据。本文涉及的测量是在设计的专用工装上进行，它由基于中心对称的六个方向上的水模和各自的射频接收线圈构成，通过加载测试序列可以得到有无涡流的原始一维数据，经计算可将其转化为有意义的采样数据。根据本文研究提及的数学模型，将采样数据用最小二乘法拟合后表明，数据符合电感-电阻串联模型，涡流效应确实存在。通过对比实验同时也进一步证实，用数字滤波器对脉冲进行预加重后，涡流场被有效减小。本文建立了系统函数的数学模型，验证了预加重在减小涡流上的实用价值，提出了改进办法，为磁共振设备减轻涡流效应提供了参考。.

Urination (also called micturition) is thought to be regulated by a neural network that is distributed in both subcortical and cortical regions. Previously, urination-related neurons have been identified in subcortical structures such as the pontine micturition center (also known as Barrington's nucleus). However, the origin of the descending cortical pathway and how it interfaces with this subcortical circuit to permit voluntary initiation of urination remain elusive. Here we identified a small cluster of layer 5 neurons in the primary motor cortex whose activities tightly correlate with the onset of urination in freely behaving mice and increase dramatically during territorial marking. Optogenetically activating these neurons elicits contraction of the bladder and initiates urination, through their projections to the pontine micturition center, while silencing or ablating them impairs urination and causes retention of urine. Together these results reveal a novel cortical component upstream of the pontine micturition center that is critically involved in urination.

The real-time processing based on embedded system will enhance the application capability of stereo imaging for LiDAR and hyperspectral sensor. The task partitioning and scheduling strategies for embedded multiprocessor system starts relatively late, compared with that for PC computer. In this paper, aimed at embedded multi-core processing platform, a parallel model for stereo imaging is studied and verified. After analyzing the computing amount, throughout capacity and buffering requirements, a two-stage pipeline parallel model based on message transmission is established. This model can be applied to fast stereo imaging for airborne sensors with various characteristics. To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the parallel model, a parallel software was designed using test flight data, based on the 8-core DSP processor TMS320C6678. The results indicate that the design performed well in workload distribution and had a speed-up ratio up to 6.4.

BACKGROUND Exendin-4, one of the most widely used antidiabetic drugs, has recently been reported to have potential antitumor effects in cancers. Prostate cancer (PC) is one of the most common cancers in male patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, and radiotherapy plays a vital role in the therapy of PC. Whether exendin-4 has the potential to enhance PC response to ionizing radiation (IR) remains unknown. We aimed to explore whether exendin-4 radiosensitizes PC cells. METHODS GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) expression in PC tissue samples and cell lines were analyzed, Human prostate cancer cells (PC3 and LNCap) were treated with IR and exendin-4, and subjected to proliferation, clone formation, cell cycle, immunoblotting, and immunohistochemical analysis. An in situ prostate tumor of animal model was established. RESULTS We found that GLP-1R was expressed in human PC tissues and cell lines. 1-100 nM exendin-4 promoted the anti-proliferation effects of IR in vitro and in vivo, and enhanced radiation-induced G2/M cycle arrest in PC cells in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, Ex-4 increased AMPK phosphorylation, decrease the levels of p-mTOR, cyclin B, and p34cdc2 . CONCLUSIONS Our study suggested exendin-4 radiosensitizes PC cells via activation of AMPK A and subsequent inhibition of p-mTOR, cyclin B, and p34cdc2 activation.

Flupyradifurone is a member of a novel class of insecticides that possess excellent insecticidal activities. Halogen-containing phenyl groups are important and indispensable structural components of many pesticides. However, replacement of the difluoromethyl group of flupyradifurone with halogen-containing phenyl groups has not been reported. Hence, a series of novel butenolide derivatives containing phenyl groups were synthesized and bioassayed to discover novel compounds with excellent insecticidal activities.Some target molecules exhibited good insecticidal activities against Aphis craccivora. Among the title compounds, 4cc showed the best insecticidal activities with an 50% lethal concentration (LCThis work can be used to further investigate the mechanism underlying the insecticidal activity of butenolide derivatives and develop potential novel butenolide insecticides. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Studying and understanding team performance is very important for sports, games, health and any applications that involve a team of users. It is affected by team behaviour or cognition. Usually a team with a good shared cognition can perform better and achieve the set goal faster. Having a good team with a good shared behaviour is even more crucial in health care environments, especially for laprascopic surgery applications. Analyzing team cognition is a new area of research. In this paper, we study the team cognition between two surgeons, who performed a laparascopic simulation operation, by analyzing their eye tracking data spatially and temporally. We used Cross Recurrence Analysis (CRA) and overlap analysis to find spatio-temporal features that can be used to distinguish between a good performer team and a bad performer team. Dual eye tracking data for twenty two dyad teams were recorded during the simulation and then the teams were divided into good performer and poor performer teams based on the time to finish the task. We then analyze the signals to find common features for good performer teams. The results of this research indicates that the good performer teams show a smaller delay as well as have a higher overlap in the eyegaze signals compared to poor performer teams.

This work reports an approach for imaging the localization, distribution, and level of miRNA in different organelles based on an activated fluorescence signal triggered by an alteration of the specific binding-induced conformation of the designed activatable probe. We selected miR-150 as an miRNA example to image its localization, distribution, and level in human cervical cancer cells (HeLa cells). The results indicate that miR-150 is localized and distributed in different subcellular organelles (mainly in mitochondria and lysosomes) and that its levels (actually its concentrations) in lysosomes are higher than those in mitochondria in both HeLa and MCF-7 cells. Moreover, the level of miRNA in cells is displayed in a height-dependent (in z-direction) manner. This approach can also be used to image the localization and distribution of various miRNAs (such as miR-150 and miR-214) in different organelles in cancer cells simultaneously. The probes exhibit high resistance to cellular endo- and exonucleases, with high specificity; the capability of avoiding false signals, with a high signal-to-background ratio; and a good ability to operate in complicated environments. The developed approach may provide a useful tool for studying the localization and distribution and evaluating the level of multiple tumor-related miRNAs in cells.

Summary The ability to remember and to navigate to safe places is necessary for survival. Place navigation is known to involve medial entorhinal cortex (MEC)-hippocampal connections. However, learning-dependent changes in neuronal activity in the distinct circuits remain unknown. Here, by using optic fiber photometry in freely behaving mice, we discovered the experience-dependent induction of a persistent-task-associated (PTA) activity. This PTA activity critically depends on learned visual cues and builds up selectively in the MEC layer II-dentate gyrus, but not in the MEC layer III-CA1 pathway, and its optogenetic suppression disrupts navigation to the target location. The findings suggest that the visual system, the MEC layer II, and the dentate gyrus are essential hubs of a memory circuit for visually guided navigation., Highlights • Fiber photometry allows for recording MEC-DG projection in freely moving mice • A persistent-task-associated (PTA) activity is induced in the MECII-DG pathway • PTA activity requires visual inputs throughout navigation to the learned place • Photoinhibition of the MECII-DG activity causes a disruption of navigation, Qin et al. identify a persistent-task-associated activity selectively in the medial entorhinal cortex layer II-hippocampal dentate gyrus pathway in freely moving mice after place learning. They find that this activity is required for navigation to the learned place.

This study examines the cleavage of covalent bonds and the radical behavior in the pyrolysis of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose at 350, 400, and 440 °C. In the presence of a sufficient amount of a hydrogen donor solvent, i.e., 9,10-dihydrophenanthrene (DHP), the quantity of covalent bonds cleaved is determined, and the quantity of stable radicals formed is measured. It is found that more than 99.9% of the radicals generated in the pyrolysis are coupled to hydrogen donated by DHP. The pyrolysis of the biomass can be characterized as cleavage of two types of covalent bonds, weak and strong. The cleavage of the weak bonds dominates the pyrolysis in the early stage, less than 10 min at 440 °C, whereas that of the strong bonds becomes significant in the later stage, and its rate is promoted by DHP. The amounts of the weak bonds are 0.89 × 10–2, 0.63 × 10–2, and 0.68 × 10–2 mol/g in lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose, respectively. These values correspond to the sum of the Cal–O and Cal–Cal bonds linking...

Coal pyrolysis is regarded by many as a simple method to produce liquid fuels and chemicals and has been studied extensively in the past. However, fast coal pyrolysis technologies intended for higher tar yields and higher productivities, in comparison to the successful slow pyrolysis technologies, had common problems such as poor tar quality and plugging of the volatile products lines. The failing of many technical efforts in solving these problems calls for more fundamental studies, especially on the reaction of volatiles in major pyrolysis reactors. This is because that thermal cleavage of covalent bonds in coal that generates volatiles is a single step and depends mainly on the temperature of the coal, while the reactions of the volatiles involve multiple steps and depend on many factors especially the gas phase temperature that is generally higher than that of the coal due to the large temperature gradient in fast pyrolysis reactors. This article analyzes temperature increases in volatiles’ upon their generation from coal in various pyrolysis reactors and correlates the temperature increases with tar yield and composition. Experimental results on reaction of volatiles are also presented to enlighten the importance of the volatiles’ reactions.

Many studies tried to correlate coal pyrolysis conditions with reactivity of tars produced, but few analyzed the radical concentration of tars. This work studies pyrolysis of four coals, with carbon contents in a range of 74–82 wt %, in a fixed-bed tubular reactor at three heating rates and three N2-purging rates. The changes in the radical concentration of tars under various conditions, such as in solvents (hexane or tetrahydrofuran) or at high temperatures (300, 350, 400, and 450 °C), are analyzed. The effect of pyrolysis conditions on the radical concentration of tars is ascribed to the temperature difference between the gas phase and the coal in the reactor, which results in further cracking of tars. The difference in the radical concentration in tars obtained from pyrolysis of different coals is elaborated in a viewpoint of the coal structure and pyrolysis mechanism.

Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has been used for treating insomnia for centuries. The most used CHM for insomnia was Polygonum multiflorum. However, the molecular mechanism for CHM preventing insomnia is unknown. Stilbene glucoside (THSG), an important active component of P. multiflorum, may play an important role for treating insomnia. To test the hypothesis, Kunming mice were treated with different dosages of THSG. To examine the sleep duration, a computer-controlled sleep-wake detection system was implemented. Electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) electrodes were implanted to determine sleep-wake state. RT-PCR and Western blot was used to measure the levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and saliva alpha amylase. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to identify the strength of correlation between the variables. The results showed that THSG significantly prolonged the sleep time of the mice (p