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The microstructural evolution of the rail steels manufactured by Hanyang Iron Works was investigated through optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscattered diffraction (EBSD). The OM and SEM images reveal that the microstructures are ferrite with a small amount of pearlite in the rail steel 1904, reticular ferrite and pearlite in the rail steels 1911 and 1921, and full pearlite in the rail steels 1917 and 1919, respectively. The EBSD results show that the rail steel 1904 holds the smallest average grain diameter owing to the pearlite with small size. Moreover, the average grain diameter of the pearlite cluster decreases in the rail steels manufactured after 1908, except for 1921, when it was on the verge of bankruptcy. The rail steels 1917 and 1919 exhibit a higher proportion of low angle grain boundaries and local misorientation with angles lower than 1°. Besides, the grain boundary misorientation holds a lower proportion in the range of 40~50° in the rail steels 1917 and 1919.

Uncontrollable electrochemical deposition of Li

Cucurbit[7]uril (Q[7]) was first used as a dispersant sorbent material in a matrix solid-phase dispersion for the simultaneous extraction of four quaternary ammonium pesticides from vegetables before analysis using high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Q[7] exhibited a better selectivity and adsorption capability for these compounds, which is due to its ability to bind selectively organic molecules into its hydrophobic cavity and to form stable host–guest inclusion complexes. Various parameters affecting the extraction were investigated and optimized, such as sorbent/sample mass ratio, grinding time, rinsing and eluting conditions. Under optimized conditions, the proposed method exhibited a linear response in the concentration range of 1–100 μg·kg−1, satisfactory recoveries for eight types of vegetable samples (>70%), and high repeatability (RSD

Molecularly imprinted stir-bar coatings were created based on a hydroxylcucurbit[7]uril–paraquat inclusion complex. The inclusion complex that contained paraquat (PQ) as a template and monohydroxylcucurbit[7]uril ((OH)Q[7]) as a monomer was preassembled mainly through cavity inclusion interaction of (OH)Q[7] to form a one-dimensional self-assembly structure. The inclusion complex was anchored chemically on the surface of a glass stir bar with hydroxy-terminated poly(dimethylsiloxane) by the sol–gel technique to obtain a molecularly imprinted polymer-coated stir bar (MIP-SB). The molecularly imprinted coating showed specific adsorption for cationic PQ in aqueous media. Other quaternary amine compounds with a similar structure that coexisted in the solution, such as ethyl-viologen, diquat, and difenzoquat, were almost not extracted by the prepared MIP-SB. The sorptive capacity of the MIP-SB for PQ was nearly four times that of the non-imprinted stir bar (NIP-SB). The recognition mechanism indicated that the selectivity and extraction capacity resulted mainly from the imprinted cavity in the polymer that was formed by a one-dimensional assembly structure consisting of the (OH)Q[7]–PQ inclusion complex. The imprinted cavity was complementary to the PQ in shape, size, and functionality. A method to determine PQ in environmental water and vegetable samples was developed by combining MIP-SB sorptive extraction with HPLC-UV. The linear range was from 100 to 10,000 ng L−1 with a 8.2 ng L−1 detection limit for water samples and 0.02–0.85 mg kg−1 with a 0.005 mg kg−1 detection limit for vegetable samples. The limit of detection for both samples was lower than the EU-established maximum residual levels and that of other previously reported methods. The average recoveries were 70.0–96.1% with a relative standard deviation ≤ 7.6%, which showed the successful application in real sample analysis.

Fine-scale population gridded datasets are of great significance in emergency response, resource allocation, and traffic planning. Many studies have developed fine-scale population spatialization m...

Ovarian hormones reportedly have beneficial effects on affective behaviors. However, the functions of ovarian hormones in neurotransmitter signaling must be identified to understand their role in anxiety and depression. Several studies have provided evidence of the relationship between ovarian hormones and the dopaminergic system, but the interaction between ovarian hormones and dopamine D3 receptor (DRD3) is poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to examine the role of DRD3 in the anxiety-like and depression-like behavioral changes induced by estrogen and progesterone. We subjected D3 receptor knockout (D3KO) and wild-type (WT) mice to a series of behavioral tests. Mice were ovariectomized 4 weeks before testing, and we randomly administered 17β-estradiol (E2, 0.2 mg/kg), progesterone (P4, 10 mg/kg), E2 (0.2 mg/kg) plus P4 (10 mg/kg) or vehicle (VEH, corn oil, 0.2 ml) subcutaneously daily for 9 consecutive days, starting 4 days before the testing day. On the testing day, the mice were injected 30 min prior to behavioral testing. Compared with WT mice in the same treatment group, D3KO mice displayed hyperactivity in the light-dark box test (LDBT) but lower activity in the open field test (OFT). In addition, D3KO mice but not their WT littermates showed behavioral changes after E2 treatment compared with those after VEH treatment in the LDBT only. In depression tests, D3KO-VEH mice displayed significantly longer immobility times than did WT-VEH mice. In addition, only D3KO mice exhibited an obvious decrease in immobility time after E2 and P4 administration. These results indicate that the anxiolytic and antidepressant effects of ovarian hormones can be influenced by DRD3 expression and that DRD3 knockout may induce varying sensitivities to ovarian hormones that depend on various factors, including test paradigms and experiences in animal models. Our research provides a novel insight, i.e., DRD3 may play a role in the efficacy of hormone therapy.

Background: Intravoxel incoherent motion diffusion weighted imaging (IVIM-DWI) can not only observe the diffusion of tissue water molecules but also reflect the blood perfusion information of tissue microcirculation. IVIM-DWI has been applied in many clinical areas. However, few studies have addressed the use of IVIM-DWI for the evaluation of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) response in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients. Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to explore the role of IVIM-DWI for the therapeutic response of TACE for HCC. Materials and Methods: Twenty patients underwent IVIM-DWI scan on a 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging instrument 1 - 3 days before and 30 to 40 days after TACE. The values of IVIM-DWI parameters, including standard apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), pure diffusion coefficient (Dslow), pseudo-diffusion coefficient (Dfast) and perfusion fraction (f) were measured. The values of IVIM-DWI parameters before and after TACE were compared using paired t tests. The values between responsive and non-responsive groups were compared using independent-samples t test. P 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results: After TACE, the ADC and Dslow values in the tumors increased significantly, and the values of Dfast decreased significantly, while the values of f value did not change obviously. The ADC values in responsive group were remarkably higher than those in non-responsive group, the Dfast values in responsive group were significantly lower than those in non-responsive group, but the values of Dslow and f between the two groups were not different significantly. Conclusions: IVIM-DWI parameters can be used as potential markers for the therapeutic response of TACE for HCC.

Lentinula edodes (L. edodes) is a type of edible mushroom which is known to beneficially support the immune system. In this study, three polysaccharide fractions (F1, F2 and F3) were isolated from L. edodes water extracts. Their molecular weights distribution (F1 > F2 > F3) and their immunomodulatory properties were investigated. Thymus index, thickness of footpad, proliferation of splenocytes, immunoglobulin (Ig) content and cytotoxicity of natural killer (NK) cells were measured to evaluate the immunomodulatory effects of the polysaccharides. All three polysaccharide fractions protected host from immunosuppression. F1 had significant effects in enhancing cellular immunity only, while F2 and F3 improved cellular immunity, humoral immunity and innate immunity. The immunomodulatory effects became more significant in the order F1

Effects of compression deformation on the sigma-phase precipitation behavior of B-containing S31254 stainless steel after solution treatment were studied using the Gleeble compression test. The cold and hot processing characteristics of B-containing S31254 stainless steel were evaluated, and the results show that the speed of compression deformation increased the precipitation rate of the sigma phase, and the location of precipitation extended from the austenite grain boundary to the original hot rolling deformation area. During cold deformation at room temperature, the precipitation rate increased when the deformation reached at 40%. Deformation at 950 °C affected precipitation more obviously. At 1074 °C, when the deformation reached 20%, the precipitated phases started increasing, and above this deformation range, precipitation began decreasing. Also, at 1074 °C, the deformation accelerated the precipitation of sigma phase; but with deformation, there was a change in critical temperature for the sigma-phase excursion. The precipitation position of the sigma phase is strongly related to the area of the original hot rolling deformation. With an increase in the deformation amount, precipitates in this region appeared as coarse-grained, skeletal, and network-like features.

The research of carbon-based antivirals is still in its infancy, and their development into safe and effective carbon dots (CDs) with antiviral activity at multiple points in the life cycle of the virus remains to be explored. Here, we report a one-step method to apply curcumin in order to prepare of uniform and stable cationic carbon dots (CCM-CDs) with antiviral properties. The inhibitory effect of CCM-CDs on viral replication was studied by using porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) as a coronavirus model. PEDV is applied as a coronavirus model to study the antiviral effect of as-prepared CCM-CDs on its replication. The cationic CCM-CDs treatment is found obviously to inhibit the proliferation of PEDV compared with the common CDs (EDA-CDs). The CCM-CDs treatment can change the structure of surface protein in viruses, thereby inhibiting viral entry. It can also suppresses the synthesis of negative-strand RNA of the virus, the budding of the virus, and the accumulation of reactive oxygen species by PED...

Prenatal drug exposure altered cognitive function in individuals, and may also impact their offspring's susceptibility to cognitive impairment. The high incidence of methamphetamine (METH) abuse among adolescents and women of childbearing age elevates the importance to determine the influence of maternal METH exposure on cognitive functions in the descendants. We hypothesized that maternal METH exposure affects cognitive behavior in offspring mice by disrupting gene expression associated with neural development. Here, female C57BL/6 mice were exposed to intermittent escalating doses of METH or saline from adolescence to adulthood, and then continued through pregnancy. Interestingly, male but not female offspring exhibited impaired short-term recognition memory and long-term spatial memory retention in novel object recognition and Morris water maze test respectively. Additionally, maternal METH exposure altered neurodevelopmental genes in both male and female offspring, and 12 differentially expressed genes between male and female were observed in the HPC and NAc regions. These differentially expressed genes are involved in neurogenesis, axon guidance, neuron migration and synapse of neural development circuits. Our observations suggest that maternal METH exposure induced differential expression patterns of neurodevelopment-related genes in the HPC and NAc of male and female mice, which may underlie the different cognitive behavior phenotypes in both genders.

The MgO/NaY catalysts prepared by impregnation method were used for the conversion of glucose to fructose in water medium. The effects of MgO loading, reaction temperature, glucose concentration and reaction time on the catalytic performance for the reaction were studied. The activity testing results indicated that fructose could be generated effectively by controlling the components of the catalyst and reaction conditions. The maximal fructose yield of 33.8% with the selectivity of 67.3% was achieved over the 10%MgO/NaY catalyst at 100 °C for 2 h. Moreover, the catalysts were characterized by XRD, BET, and CO2-TPD techniques. The structural property of NaY with higher surface area facilitated glucose conversion, and the modulated basicity of the catalyst with MgO addition contributed to the formation of fructose in the tautomerization of aldose to ketose.

We present a simple, direct method to prepare monohydroxylated cucurbit[7]uril (CB7-OH) through the direct oxidation of its precursor host, cucurbit[7]uril (CB7). Although the conversion takes place in low yield (14%), the isolation of CB7-OH from the reaction mixture is straightforward, and the unreacted CB7 can be easily recovered. ITC measurements with several selected guests confirmed that CB7-OH binds all of them in aqueous solution with similar, albeit slightly lower, binding affinities than those observed with the unmodified CB7 host. ESI mass spectrometric competition experiments are consistent with the ITC measurements. A variety of spectroscopic and voltammetric measurements also verify that the CB7-OH complexes exhibit properties essentially identical to those of the CB7 complexes. DFT computational data also confirm the similar thermodynamic stabilities and structures of the CB7-OH and CB7 inclusion complexes. Finally, the high thermodynamic stability of the CB7-OH complexes was used to improve on the extraction efficiency of stir bar sorptive extraction methods after suitable modification of the active coating with CB7-OH.

In this paper, we focus on the task of small group detection in crowded scenarios. Small groups are widely considered as one of the basic elements in crowds, so it is a major challenge to distinguish group members from the individuals in the crowd. It is also a basic problem in video surveillance and scene understanding. We propose a solution for this task, which could run in real time and could work in both low and medium density crowded scenes. In particular, we build a social force based collision avoidance model on each individual for goal direction prediction, and employ the predicted goal directions instead of traditional positions and velocities in collective motion detection to find group members. We evaluate our approach over three datasets including tens of challenging crowded scenarios. The experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approach is not only highly accurate but also improves the practical property performance compared to other state-of-the-art methods.

A simple, rapid and environmental method named column-free matrix solid-phase dispersion (FMSPD) has been investigated for the extraction of three flavonoids (oroxin A, oroxin B and baicalein) from the seeds of Oroxylum indicum (L.) Vent. In this study, cucurbit[8]uril was used as the sorbent of FMSPD to selectively extract three flavonoid compounds and transferred them into an aqueous solution for direct determination using HPLC-UV based on the recognition interaction of cucurbit[8]uril toward the compounds. The variables that influenced the extraction efficiency were investigated, which include the amount of cucurbit[8]uril, grinding time, volume of water, and pH of the solution. A good linearity was exhibited with correlation coefficients > 0.9991 for all three flavonoids. The intra- and inter-day precisions were 1.7–2.6% and 3.1–5.5%, respectively, and the limit of detection was between 0.1 and 0.18 μg mL–1. The recoveries ranged from 90.8% to 101.4%, with relative standard deviations of 2.9–6.8% under the optimized conditions. The developed method was applied to analyze four kinds of Semen Oroxyli from different regions of China. F- and t-tests showed that the results had no significant difference when comparing the traditional ultrasound-assisted extraction method to the novel FMSPD extraction method, but the method was simpler, faster and did not use organic solvents.

Calcium ions (Ca2+) can trigger coagulation-flocculation process to form macro-flocculated sludge (MFS). Thus, dosing Ca2+-containing reagents into membrane bioreactors (MBRs) is considered as a promising approach to mitigate membrane biofouling. However, a mechanistic understanding of Ca2+ addition to MBR performance remains elucidated, such as physicochemical characteristics of MFS and their functionality variations. Consequently, this study was sought to understand the interplays of Ca2+ addition and MBR performance with a focus on characterizing MFS in detail. Three parallel MBRs were amended with 82, 208 and 410 mg-Ca2+/L final concentrations. Particle size analyses revealed that MFS formation was overall enhanced by the Ca2+ addition and granular sludge with diameters of up to 900 μm was formed in the 410 mg-Ca2+/L scenario. We believed that cationic bridges facilitated by elevated Ca2+ concentrations in conjunction with coagulation-flocculation were primary mechanisms of the formation of large flocs. Moreover, significant portions of soluble proteins and polysaccharides were flocculated and precipitated by Ca2+, which demonstrated a negative correlation between extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) concentrations and the formation of MFS. Furthermore, the population abundancies of Thiotrichaceae, Sphingomonadales and Hyphomicrobiaceae decreased in the sludge with Ca2+ addition resulted in profound changes of the microbial communities in the MBRs. But MBR performance, such as chemical oxygen demand removal (over 90%), showed no variation during the MBR operation. On the contrary, total nitrogen removal was inhibited in the MBRs. It was because the enlarging MFS formed diffusion barriers to prevent organic component from entering into the sludge flocs to be consumed.

Background Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) can induce apoptosis in many regions of the brain including the cortex and hippocampus. However, few studies have focused on apoptosis in the hypothalamus after SAH. Although some antiapoptotic strategies have been developed for SAH, such as anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antibody, the molecular mechanisms underlying this condition have yet to be elucidated. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate whether SAH could induce apoptosis in the hypothalamus and identify the potential molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of anti-TNF-α antibody, as a therapeutic regimen, upon apoptosis. Materials and methods SAH was induced in a rat model. Thirty minutes prior to SAH, anti-TNF-α antibody or U0126, an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) inhibitor, was microinjected into the left lateral cerebral ventricle. In addition, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate was injected intraperitoneally immediately after the anti-TNF-α antibody microinjection. Then, real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the expression of caspase-3, bax, bcl-2, phosphorylated Erk (p-Erk) and Erk. Finally, anxiety-like behavior was identified by using open field. Results Levels of caspase-3, bax and bcl-2, all showed a temporary rise after SAH in the hypothalamus, indicating the induction of apoptosis in this brain region. Interestingly, we found that the microinjection of anti-TNF-α antibody could selectively block the elevated levels of bax, suggesting the potential role of anti-TNF-α antibody in the inhibition of SAH-induced apoptosis in the hypothalamus. Moreover, we found that Erk activation was necessary for apoptosis after SAH and that the microinfusion of anti-TNF-α antibody could inhibit apoptosis by suppressing the increase of p-Erk in the hypothalamus. Finally, our data indicated that the infusion of anti-TNF-α antibody could improve anxiety-like behavior. Conclusion Collectively, our data demonstrate that anti-TNF-α antibody attenuates apoptosis in the hypothalamus by inhibiting the activation of Erk, which plays an important role in the treatment of SAH., Video abstract

Development of novel antiviral reagents is of great importance for the control of virus spread. Here, Ag2S nanoclusters (NCs) were proved for the first time to possess highly efficient antiviral activity by using porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) as a model of coronavirus. Analyses of virus titers showed that Ag2S NCs significantly suppressed the infection of PEDV by about 3 orders of magnitude at the noncytotoxic concentration at 12 h postinfection, which was further confirmed by the expression of viral proteins. Mechanism investigations indicated that Ag2S NCs treatment inhibits the synthesis of viral negative-strand RNA and viral budding. Ag2S NCs treatment was also found to positively regulate the generation of IFN-stimulating genes (ISGs) and the expression of proinflammation cytokines, which might prevent PEDV infection. This study suggest the novel underlying of Ag2S NCs as a promising therapeutic drug for coronavirus.

To evaluate the suitability of HR3C and 22Cr–25Ni–2.5Al AFA steels as the heat-resistant alloys, the oxidation behavior of them was investigated in air at 700, 800, 900 and 1000 °C. The evolution of oxide layer on the surface and subsurface was investigated using a combination of compositional/elemental (SEM, EDS) and structural (XRD, GDOES) techniques. A dense and continuous Cr2O3 healing layer on the HR3C was formed at the temperature of 700 or 800 °C, but the Cr2O3 oxide film on HR3C was unstable and partly converted into a less protective MnCr2O4 with the increase in temperature to 900 or 1000 °C. The composition and structure of oxide film of 22Cr–25Ni–2.5Al AFA steels are significantly different to the HR3C alloys. The outer layer oxides transformed from Cr2O3 to Al-containing oxides, leading to a better oxidation resistance at 700 or 800 °C compared to HR3C. Further, the oxide films consist of internal Al2O3 and AlN underneath the outer loose layer after 22Cr–25Ni–2.5Al AFA oxidized at 900 or 1000 °C. It can be proved that the internal oxidation and nitrogen would make 22Cr–25Ni–2.5Al AFA steels have worse oxidation resistance than HR3C alloys at 900 or 1000 °C.

A series of novel propargylamine-modified pyrimidinylthiourea derivatives ( 1–3 ) were designed and synthesized as multifunctional agents for Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapy, and their potential was evaluated through various biological experiments. Among these derivatives, compound 1b displayed good selective inhibitory activity against AChE ( vs BuChE, IC 50 = 0.324 μM, SI > 123) and MAO-B ( vs MAO-A, IC 50 = 1.427 μM, SI > 35). Molecular docking study showed that the pyrimidinylthiourea moiety of 1b could bind to the catalytic active site (CAS) of AChE, and the propargylamine moiety interacted directly with the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) of MAO-B. Moreover, 1b demonstrated mild antioxidant ability, good copper chelating property, effective inhibitory activity against Cu 2+ -induced A β 1−42 aggregation, moderate neuroprotection, low cytotoxicity, and appropriate blood−brain barrier (BBB) permeability in vitro and was capable of ameliorating scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in mice. These results indicated that 1b has the potential to be a multifunctional candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

A new method involving matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) and dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (DLLME) was optimized with the aid of stoichiometry and applied to the extraction, purification, and determination of benzimidazole residues in vegetables. Carbendazim, thiabendazole, and thiophanate-methyl were selectively extracted from vegetables using cucurbit[7]uril as the MSPD extractant and transferred to an aqueous solution, then further enriched using DLLME with acetonitrile and chloroform as dispersive and extraction solvents, respectively. The optimal extraction conditions of MSPD and DLLME were selected by two-level full-factorial design and central-composite design (CCD). The developed method (MSPD–DLLME–HPLC–UV) showed good linearity in the range of 0.025–5 μg/g, with R2 > 0.9984. Intra- and interday precisions were 5.3–10.9% and 10.6–12.4%, respectively, and the limit of detection was between 0.004 and 0.007 μg/g of fresh weight. This method was applied to the analysis of four different types of vegetables, and the recoveries ranged from 65.4% to 124.0%. The method was environmentally friendly, easy to operate, and sensitive.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the importance of the deployment of digital detection surveillance systems to support early warning and monitoring of infectious diseases. These opportunities create a “double-edge sword,” as the ethical governance of such approaches often lags behind technological achievements. Objective The aim was to investigate ethical issues identified from utilizing artificial intelligence–augmented surveillance or early warning systems to monitor and detect common or novel infectious disease outbreaks. Methods In a number of databases, we searched relevant articles that addressed ethical issues of using artificial intelligence, digital surveillance systems, early warning systems, and/or big data analytics technology for detecting, monitoring, or tracing infectious diseases according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, and further identified and analyzed them with a theoretical framework. Results This systematic review identified 29 articles presented in 6 major themes clustered under individual, organizational, and societal levels, including awareness of implementing digital surveillance, digital integrity, trust, privacy and confidentiality, civil rights, and governance. While these measures were understandable during a pandemic, the public had concerns about receiving inadequate information; unclear governance frameworks; and lack of privacy protection, data integrity, and autonomy when utilizing infectious disease digital surveillance. The barriers to engagement could widen existing health care disparities or digital divides by underrepresenting vulnerable and at-risk populations, and patients’ highly sensitive data, such as their movements and contacts, could be exposed to outside sources, impinging significantly upon basic human and civil rights. Conclusions Our findings inform ethical considerations for service delivery models for medical practitioners and policymakers involved in the use of digital surveillance for infectious disease spread, and provide a basis for a global governance structure. Trial Registration PROSPERO CRD42021259180; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?RecordID=259180

The aim of this study was to prepare palonosetron hydrochloride poly (D, l -lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres suitable for long-term administration. PLGA as the carrier material and the emulsion-solvent evaporation method were used to prepare three types of palonosetron hydrochloride or palonosetron microspheres: F1 palonosetron hydrochloride W/O/W hydrogel PLGA microspheres, F2 palonosetron O/W PLGA microspheres and F3 palonosetron S/W/O/W hydrogel PLGA microspheres. Among these, F1 showed the best sustained-release behavior, as well as a high drug loading (2.99%) and encapsulation efficiency (78.86%), and a long release period (60 days in vitro). The drug release in vitro was affected by the burst release of the drug and the degradation and erosion of PLGA, as well as being dependent on the properties of the hydrogel, which could make the release rate slower and more stable. In addition, the blood concentration in rats was steady (35.74–1.16 ng/mL) and prolonged (7 days). Meanwhile, the formulation could achieve dual-depot sustained release, whereby Pal dispersed in the PLGA matrix in the early stage diffused to form the first peak at the 12th hour, while Pal concentrated in the hydrogel matrix diffused in the later stage to form the second peak on day 2. Furthermore, this formulation exhibited the best biocompatibility. Thus, W/O/W PLGA microspheres containing a temperature-sensitive hydrogel in the inner water phase showed great potential for palonosetron hydrochloride delivery.

There is a lack of a systematic method for determining the optimal sampling scale based on the purposes of soil pollution investigations (purposeinvest) and the factors influencing of pollutants, which could affect the accuracy of determining pollution scope of the pollution. Therefore, in this study, both the purposeinvest and the influencing factors were considered to determine the optimal sampling scale. The conclusions were obtained through geostatistical and spatial analysis. (1) The optimal sampling scale should account for 3% of the range of the pollutants, which can identify pollution information and minimize sampling costs. (2) The optimal sampling scale should be set to 3% of the range of the main factor influencing the pollutants in the absence of prior pollution information. (3) The greater the influences of the factors on the pollutants, the closer the optimal sampling scale calculated according to the influencing factors will be to that calculated based on the purposeinvest. (4) The method of determination based on both the purposeinvest and the influencing factors was concluded to be rational and reliable based on validation and advantage analysis. These results provide a method for soil pollution investigation that can minimize costs and improve the representativeness of the sample sites.

With the development of industries, copper nanoparticles (Cu NPs) have been abundantly discharged into natural water and may threaten the safety of aquatic environments. The stability (such as homoaggregation and heteroaggregation) of Cu NPs in aqueous phase may affect their toxicity. Turbiscan, including three kinds of data processing methods (transmitted intensity (T), variation of average transmitted intensity (ΔT) and Turbiscan stability index (TSI), were used to investigate the homoaggregation and heteroaggregation of Cu NPs with humic acid (HA) and kaolin in aqueous phase. T and TSI were used to analyze Cu NPs-kaolin and Cu NPs-HA-kaolin systems, respectively, whereas T and ΔT were used to analyze Cu NPs and Cu NPs-HA systems. Results showed that the stability of the system is influenced by the dissolution and sedimentation of Cu NPs, and the aggregation and sedimentation of Cu NPs, HA and kaolin. When pH is 4, the dissolution of Cu NPs is the main factor affecting the system stability. Kaolin may reduce the stability of system by sedimentation or impeding the dissolution of Cu NPs. When pH is 8, the aggregation and sedimentation of Cu NPs mainly affect the system stability. Kaolin renders the system unstable by promoting the aggregation of Cu NPs. In addition, HA improves the stability of the system by inhibiting the aggregation of Cu NPs and kaolin when pH = 4 and 8. Ionic strength reduces the stability of system by condensing electric double layer. Therefore, Turbiscan can be used to study both homoaggregation and heteroaggregation in a relatively long period (12 h), and three kinds of data processing methods can be applied based on the properties of the samples.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the model that explains the new venture emergence in China by examining the effects of experience and innovativeness of entrepreneurial opportunities on the new venture emergence, as well as the moderating effect of munificence. Design/methodology/approach Based on the dynamic data from the Chinese Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (CPSED) where nascent entrepreneurs were randomly sampled and were followed for three years, this paper uses the COX proportional hazard model to answer the research questions. Findings Those who have successful entrepreneurial experience are able to more rapidly create new ventures, whereas the relevant industry experience and innovativeness of entrepreneurial opportunities have a negative effect on the new venture emergence. Moreover, munificence negatively moderates the effects of entrepreneurial experience and innovativeness of entrepreneurial opportunities on the new venture emergence. Research limitations/implications This paper only measures whether entrepreneurs have relevant industry experience, and does not reflect on the different degrees of it. In addition, small time interval of dynamic follow-up survey may bias the results. Practical implications This paper revealed that not all kinds of experience promote the venture emergence, and a more innovative entrepreneurial opportunity is not always better. Entrepreneurs should accumulate experience and evaluate innovativeness of entrepreneurial opportunities rationally. Originality/value New venture emergence relies on the mutual influence of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial opportunities and entrepreneurial environment. However, most studies explored the new venture emergence from a single perspective which led to a plethora of conflicting conclusions. This paper attempts to examine the effects of experience and innovativeness of entrepreneurial opportunities on the venture emergence, as well as the moderate effect of munificence.

Testicular cancer is the most common solid malignancy among young men. We downloaded data of testicular cancer patients from The Cancer Genome Atlas database to find novel genes in the testicular cancer microenviroment based on ESTIMATE algorithm-derived immune scores. A total of 156 cases of testicular cancer were included in this study and 165 cases of normal testicular tissues were used. We divided the testicular cancer patients into high- and low-score groups based on their immune scores. We identified 1,226 differentially expressed genes (fold change > 2, false discovery rate < 0.05), including 688 downregulated genes and 538 upregulated genes, between these two groups. The top Gene Ontology terms were involved in the immune response-regulating cell surface receptor signaling pathway, immune response-activating cell surface receptor signaling pathway, external side of the plasma membrane, and receptor ligand activity. By performing the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis, we demonstrated that cAMP signaling pathway was highly enriched among these differentially expressed genes. High expression of LINC01564, LINC02208, ODAM, RNA5SP111, and RNU6-196P were found to be associated with poor overall survival. The expression of genes was further validated by the Human Protein Atlas and only ALB and IFNG were demonstrated to be differentially expressed between testis tissue and testicular cancer tissue.

A detailed study has been carried out on monohydroxycucurbit[7]uril-based stir-bar sorptive extraction (SBSE). A polydimethylsiloxane coating was produced by a sol–gel technique and doped with monohydroxycucurbit[7]uril ((HO)1Q [7]) as a selective sorbent phase. (HO)1Q [7] was chemically bound to the sol–gel silica substrate through hydrolysis and polycondensation. The coating possesses a porous surface, shows strong solvent resistance and good thermal stability, and has a long lifespan. Four groups of compounds, with polarities ranging from apolar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to polar ketones, aromatic amines and phenols, were selected as test analytes. They were extracted with the coated stir bar, then desorbed with methanol and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. The limits of detection range between 1.3 and 15 μg L−1, the linear ranges extend from 5 to 10,000 μg L−1, and the relative recoveries from spiked samples range between 76.4 and 97.9%. The intraday relative standard deviations range from 2.3 to 8.6% (for n = 3, at 500 μg L−1). Compared with a commercial PDMS-coated stir bar and a polyether sulfone-coated stir bar, the new stir bar shows wider applicability and better extraction efficiency for each group of compounds. In addition, the stir bar can simultaneously extract mixtures of chemicals of different polarities. This endows it with the potential for recovering a broad group of polar organic compounds.

Machine learning, as the core of artificial intelligence, is also the fundamental reason for computer intelligence, and has been widely used in the field of artificial intelligence. With the improvement of computer's ability to process data, deep learning has been highlighted in the field of machine learning. More and more researchers have joined in the theoretical research and applied research of deep learning. And image recognition and classification are very important applications. This paper first compares deep learning with traditional machine learning methods, then introduces the development process of deep learning, studies and analyses the network structure of deep learning such as deep belief network, convolution neural network and recursive neural network, expounds the application of deep learning in image recognition and classification, and puts forward the deep learning in image recognition and classification. The problems encountered in the application of recognition and classification and the corresponding solutions are discussed. Finally, the research status of in-depth learning in image recognition and classification is summarized and prospected.

Exposure of particulate matter of2.5 μm (PM80 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 8 groups: Sedentary (S), Exercise (E), Sedentary+ Low concentration PM1) Compared with S group, following changes occurred in various S + PMIn summary, the results suggest that acute PM

In order to promote the development of ultra-supercritical technology, the optimum composition design of three new alumina-forming austenitic heat-resistant steels, based on Fe&ndash, 22Cr&ndash, 25Ni (wt. %), with low cost and excellent performance, and used for 700 &deg, C ultra-supercritical unit was carried out using Thermo-Calc software. A comparison of the mechanical properties presented that with increasing Al content, the plasticity of the system was further improved. Based on the composition system, a systematic investigation regarding the structure stability, thermodynamic properties, and mechanical properties of these new steels was carried out to reveal possible strengthening and toughening mechanisms by employing the first-principles method. Calculation results showed that when Al existed in the Fe&ndash, Cr&ndash, Ni alloy system as a solid solution, the new structures were stable, especially under high temperature. The solution of Al and Al + Si could increase the value of B/G, namely improving the plasticity of the system, particularly in case of alloying with Al + Si. The inclusion of Si in the Fe&ndash, Ni&ndash, Al system was conducive to further improving the plasticity without affecting the strength, which provided references for the subsequent optimum composition design and performance regulation of alumina-forming austenitic heat-resistant steels.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the application of a carbon arc lamp on wound healing in a rat cutaneous full-thickness wound model.In clinical practice, wound healing has been promoted by irradiation with a carbon arc lamp. However, the corresponding mechanism has not been clearly defined.A cutaneous full-thickness wound on the back of rats was irradiated using a carbon arc lamp at a wavelength peak range of 620-740 nm with 54 J/cmIrradiation by the carbon arc lamp significantly accelerated wound healing. The wound-healing rate in the treated group at day 21 was 98.42% ± 0.56%, compared with 93.58% ± 1.26% in the control group (p 0.05). Significant increases in the length of epithelial edges, collagen content, and microvessel density were observed in the wound sites in the treated group at days 7, 14, and 21 (p 0.05). Moreover, the number of BrdU-labeled cells increased in the wound edge at days 7 and 14 due to irradiation (p 0.05).The results demonstrated that the carbon arc lamp can promote wound healing together with improvement in its quality by stimulating cell proliferation.