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Reactive sintering of crushed metals and carbon is advantageous for preparing toughened complete solid‐solution cermets (CSCs). Here, dual‐grained (Ti0.6, W0.4)C–18Ni cermets were prepared using a two‐step carbonization method. High‐energy milling of Ni–Ti–W–C (Ni(Ti0.6, W0.4)4C) mixture afforded NiTiW solid solution, which was then transformed into Ni6W6C by heating at 1250°C. Twinned (Ti, W)C platelets were formed by the carbonization of Ni2W4C during liquid sintering. W atoms that accumulated in the (111) planes of TiC promoted the {111} twin formation, leading to sandwich‐type (Ti, W)C platelets. Dense (Ti0.6, W0.4)C–18Ni cermets were obtained by hot isostatic press sintering in Ar with satisfactory Hv of 12.8 ± 0.2 GPa, high strength of 1960 ± 84 MPa and toughness of 15.80 ± 0.6 MPa·m1/2. A higher sintering temperature or graphite content accelerated the carbonization, resulting in coarser platelets with decreased aspect ratio. This study provides a new approach to modify the microstructure of CSCs and a method for preparing dual‐grained cermets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report investigations on the elasticity of superconducting FeSe using picosecond ultrasonic technique. The tetragonal (001) FeSe thin film, deposited on a processed SrTiO3 substrate by the pulsed laser deposition, exhibits distinct c-axis preferred orientation and single-crystalline features as a result of the x-ray diffraction. The high-quality crystallinity thus enables quantitative examinations of anisotropic stiffness coefficients (C33) of FeSe, correlating to the interatomic interaction in the simplest iron-based superconductor. Our experiment indicates a room-temperature C33 of 40.9 ± 0.4 GPa and material stiffening of 4.3% at low temperatures, which can be explained by the weakening of anharmonic phonon-phonon interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By means of first-principles calculations, we have investigated a size dependence of elastic modulus in single-walled ZnO nanotubes with armchair and zigzag forms. It is found that for these tubes the Young's modulus is increased dramatically with the increased diameters and inversely proportional to the Zn-O bond length. Further, the amount of charge transfer, calculated by the Bader analysis, is introduced to elucidate the strength of bonding between Zn and O atoms in these tubes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Threading dislocation (TD) evolution during patterned GaN nanocolumn (NC) growth and coalescence overgrowth with metal-organic chemical vapor deposition is studied based on the comparisons of NC and coalescence overgrowth samples of different NC cross-section diameters and spacing sizes. From the measurement results of depth-dependent x-ray diffraction and cross-section transmission electron microscopy, it is found that the TD density in an NC depends on the patterned hole size for NC growth. Also, the TD formation at the beginning of coalescence overgrowth is related to the NC spacing size. Although the TD density at the bottom of the overgrown layer is weakly dependent on NC and spacing sizes, at its top surface, the TD density strongly relies on NC size. Among the overgrowth samples of different NC diameters and spacing sizes with a fixed NC diameter/spacing ratio, the one with the smallest size and spacing leads to the lowest TD density, the largest lateral domain size, and the highest photoluminescence efficiency. Also, the optical and crystal qualities at the surfaces of all the overgrowth samples are superior to those of a GaN template. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality coalescence overgrowth of patterned-grown GaN nanocolumns on c-plane sapphire substrate with metal organic chemical vapor deposition is demonstrated. Although domain structures of a tens of micron scale in the overgrown layer can be identified with cathodoluminescence measurement, from atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurement, the surface roughness of the overgrown layer in an area of 5×5 μm2 is as small as 0.411 nm, which is only one-half that of the high-quality GaN thin-film template directly grown on sapphire substrate (the control sample). Based on the AFM and depth-dependent x-ray diffraction measurements near the surface of the overgrown layer, the dislocation density is reduced to the order of 107 cm-2, which is one order of magnitude lower than that of the control sample and two to three orders of magnitude lower than those of ordinary GaN templates for fabricating light-emitting diodes. Also, the lateral domain size, reaching a level of ∼2.7 μm, becomes three times larger than the control sample. Meanwhile, the ratio of photoluminescence intensity at room temperature over that at low temperature of the overgrown sample is at least six times higher than that of the control sample. Although the strain in nanocolumns is almost completely released, a stress of ∼0.66 GPa is rebuilt when the coalescence overgrowth is implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultrafast carrier thermalization in n-type indium nitride (InN) with an electron concentration of 3.8×1018 cm-3 was investigated by femtosecond transient transmission measurements at room temperature with different wavelengths. An extremely fast carrier external thermalization time on the order of 400 fs was observed, which is much faster than all previous reports. This observed femtosecond thermalization time is consistent with a prediction based on a Coulomb screening effect. Through wavelength dependent and power dependent studies, even with a 400 fs thermalization time, we did not observe any evidence of the existence of the hot phonon effect, which agrees with a recent report that a longitudinal optical phonon lifetime could be shorter than 300 fs in specific InN samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We compare the x-ray diffraction (XRD) results of two InGaN/GaN quantum-well (QW) structures to observe the effects of prestrained growth by depositing a low-indium QW before the growth of five high-indium QWs. From the results of reciprocal space mapping, we observe the fully strained condition in the QWs of the control sample. However, in the sample of prestrained growth, the average strain is partially relaxed. By using an XRD fitting algorithm for calibrating QW parameters, we obtain reasonable values for the compositions and thicknesses of the QWs in both samples. In particular, by assuming a nonuniform strain relaxation distribution among the five high-indium QWs in the prestrained sample, we obtain reasonable composition variations among the QWs. The high-indium QW closest to the low-indium one is most strain-relaxed and has the highest indium incorporation, leading to the longest-wavelength emission. The observed red shift with increasing electron penetration depth in the cathodo-luminescence spectra of the prestrained sample is consistent with the distributions of calibrated strain relaxation and indium composition. The results of high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and effective band gap calculation also agree with the above conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picosecond ultrasonic experiments were performed to generate and detect acoustic pulses in piezoelectric (111) epilayers of InxGa(1-x)As, and the longitudinal sound velocities in the [111] direction of InxGa(1-x)As were thus directly determined by controlling the indium content x. We found that the sound velocity exhibits an obvious bowing with different alloy compositions and can be described as a quadratic function of VL(x)=458x2-1451x+5414. This result supports a nonlinear compositional dependence of the elastic constants of InxGa(1-x)As and indicates that the linear-interpolation approximation is inapplicable for estimating sound velocity in this specific case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The immature developments of p-type ZnO and ZnO-related ternary or quaternary compound and the small lattice mismatch between ZnO and GaN stimulate interest in the hybrid growth of ZnO and GaN. In this research, we compared the nanostructures and optical properties of two ZnO thin-film samples grown under the same conditions but on different underlying materials (sapphire and GaN). With the high growth temperature of 450 °C, both samples show domain structures. However, in contrast to the sample of ZnO on sapphire, the sample of ZnO on GaN starts with smaller domains (a few tens of nanometers in width) of almost vertical boundaries at the interface and evolves into larger domains (around 100 nm in width). The 30° twist of the basal plane in ZnO with respect to its underlying sapphire does not occur in the sample of ZnO on GaN. Within a domain of ZnO on sapphire, misfit and threading dislocations can be periodically observed along the interface with the separation of about 8 nm. The transition of the lattice structure across the interface between ZnO and GaN was quite smooth, indicating the high heterojunction quality in this sample. The x-ray diffraction results showed that the crystalline quality of ZnO on GaN is slightly better than that of ZnO on sapphire. However, based on the thermal quenching behavior of integrated photoluminescence intensity, we estimated that the optical quality of the two samples is about the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stepped wedge design is often used to evaluate interventions as they are rolled out across schools, health clinics, communities, or other clusters. Most models used in the design and analysis of stepped wedge trials assume that the intervention effect is immediate and constant over time following implementation of the intervention (the “exposure time”). This is known as the IT (immediate treatment effect) assumption. However, recent research has shown that using methods based on the IT assumption when the treatment effect varies over exposure time can give extremely misleading results. In this manuscript, we discuss the need to carefully specify an appropriate measure of the treatment effect when the IT assumption is violated and we show how a stepped wedge trial can be powered when it is anticipated that the treatment effect will vary as a function of the exposure time. Specifically, we describe how to power a trial when the exposure time indicator (ETI) model of Kenny et al. (Statistics in Medicine, 41, 4311–4339, 2022) is used and the estimand of interest is a weighted average of the time-varying treatment effects. We apply these methods to the ADDRESS-BP trial, a type 3 hybrid implementation study designed to address racial disparities in health care by evaluating a practice-based implementation strategy to reduce hypertension in African American communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) has been considered an environmental-friendly phosphate fertilizer without cadmium (Cd) input into soils, but its possibility of Cd fixation in soil needs to be explored. Since direct inoculation results in a rapid decline of the population and activity, we immobilized Bacillus megaterium with maize straw biochar (B-PSB) and investigated its feasibility in remediating Cd-contaminated soil. Pot experiments showed that the application of B-PSB significantly ameliorated the growth of Brassica chinensis under Cd stress, with a fresh weight increased by 59.08% compared to the Cd-control. B-PSB reduced Cd accumulation in Brassica chinensis by 61.69%, and promoted the uptake of P and N by 134.97% and 98.71% respectively. Microbial community analysis showed B-PSB recruited more plant growth-promoting bacteria in near-rhizosphere soil, which provides a favorable microenvironment for both PSB and crops. Column leaching experiments verified that B-PSB achieved the dissolution of stable P while fixing Cd. Batch tests further revealed that biochar served as a successful carrier facilitating the growth of B. megaterium and Cd immobilization. Given the widespread Cd contamination in agricultural soils, our results indicate that B-PSB is a promising soil amendment to secure food safety. [Display omitted] • Biochar-immobilized PSB (B-PSB) is employed to remediate Cd-contaminated soil. • B-PSB showed higher capabilities of P solubilization and Cd fixation than PSB alone. • B-PSB alleviated the toxic effects of Cd and improved Brassica chinensis growth. • B-PSB increased the abundances of plant growth-promoting bacteria in soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cumulative evidence suggests that oxytocin is involved in the male sexual behaviors. However, no significant sexual impairments were observed in oxytocin gene knock-out (KO) mice, suggesting that oxytocin is not necessary for sexual behavior in male mice. To better understand the role of oxytocin in male erection, two types of oxytocin gene KO mice were created. In the first type, the oxytocin gene was deleted in the zygote, while in the second type, the oxytocin gene was mutated in adulthood by injecting the CRISPR/Cas9 AAVs. The results showed that disrupting the oxytocin gene at either the embryonic or adult stage did not affect erection, indicating that oxytocin is not necessary for penile erection. Pharmacologically, injecting oxytocin receptor agonist Carbetocin into the VTA of the oxytocin gene KO mice still evoked penile erection. By employing the Oxt-Ires-Cre mice, we found that specifically activating oxytocinergic neurons through chemogenetics strongly induced penile erection, while inhibiting these neurons blocked the erection responses. Furthermore, ablating PVN oxytocinergic neurons abolished the male erection response. In conclusion, although the neuropeptide oxytocin is not essential for male erection, the activity of oxytocinergic neurons is required. Our results might reflect the redundancy in the central nerve system in the sense that many signals contribute to the activation of oxytocinergic neurons to evoke penile erection during sexual behaviors. • Oxytocin gene was knocked-out by Crispr/Cas9 technique at different stage. • Mutating oxytocin gene at any stage did not influence the male sexual behavior. • Oxytocin receptor agonist still evoked penile erection in OXT-KO mouse. • Chemogenetically activating oxytocinergic neuron led to penile erection. • Inhibiting or ablating oxytocinergic neuron abolished penile erection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mg isotope compositions are widely analyzed using the sample-standard bracketing (SSB) method on MC-ICP-MS. However, it is not clear how accurate and how precise the Mg isotope data could be by using the SSB method on MC-ICP-MS. In this study, we conducted doping experiments to artificially produce a ∼0.03‰ δ26Mg offset to quantitatively evaluate the utility of 2SD, 2SE, and t SE (t is the Student'T) error in identifying subtle isotope variations. The 2SD represents the most conservative estimation for accuracy. For samples with a large number of repeated measurements, the dataset will follow a normal distribution, and accuracy at a 95% confidence level can be measured by ±2SE. For samples with a small number (<9) of repeated measurements, the dataset will follow a t -distribution, and the accuracy at a 95% confidence level can be measured by ± t SE. The results of a series of doping experiments show that the two standard deviations (2SD) of δ26Mg is 0.04‰, which is larger than the artificial 0.03‰ offset. The two-standard error (2SE) and the t SE are both smaller than 0.02‰ when measured by six times, which can both resolve the 0.03‰ offset. Given that Mg isotope analysis is routinely repeated about 3∼5 times in most laboratories, t SE is more robust than 2SE and 2SD in identifying subtle Mg isotope variation. Although we highlight the role of statistics in Mg isotope analysis, the readers should notice that chemical treatment and instrumentation settings are first-order factors that control data quality. [Display omitted] • Better understand the precision and accuracy of δ26Mg analyzed by SSB-MC-ICP-MS. • Different uncertainty expressions for isotope data are evaluated. • Artificial doping experiments show the reliability of t SE for SSB analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sb 2 Te 3 -based thermoelectric thin film is a competitive candidate for preparing thermoelectric thin film devices, which power the wearable electronic devices and chip-sensor of internet-of-things. In this work, a directed thermal diffusion reaction method was applied to synthesize p -type Sb 2 Te 3 thin films synthesis at polyimide flexible substrate with self-assembled growth. A high power factor of 1.94 mWm−1K−2 with excellent flexibility which is very competitive among similar Sb 2 Te 3 based materials by the control of synthesis condition, especially the chemical composition. Meanwhile, the performance of thermoelectric thin film device is limited by contact resistance. Thus the more systematic study of contact resistance, including choice of electrode material for the device was investigated. The results indicate that Mo/Sb 2 Te 3 have the lowest contact resistivity compared with Al/Sb 2 Te 3 and Ni/Sb 2 Te 3. In addition, the fabricated flexible device with Mo electrode has outstanding thermal stability. [Display omitted] • A novel directed thermal diffusion reaction method was applied for p -type Sb 2 Te 3 thin films. • Sb 2 Te 3 thin film controlled by synthesis condition can achieve a high power factor. • The fabricated flexible device with Mo electrode has a low contact resistance and a high output power. • This Sb 2 Te 3 thin film device possesses excellent flexibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mycobacterial membrane protein Large 3 (MmpL3), an inner membrane protein, plays a crucial role in the transport of mycolic acids that are essential for the viability of M. tuberculosis and has been a promising therapeutic target for new anti-TB agents. Herein, we report the discovery of pyridine-2-methylamine antitubercular compounds using a structure-based drug design strategy. Compound 62 stands out as the most potent compound with high activity against M. tb strain H37Rv (MIC = 0.016 μg/mL) as well as the clinically isolated strains of MDR/XDR-TB (MIC = 0.0039–0.0625 μg/mL), low Vero cell toxicity (IC 50 ≥ 16 μ g /mL), and moderate liver microsomal stability (CL int = 28 μL/min/mg). Furthermore, the resistant mutant of S288T due to single nucleotide polymorphism in mmpL3 was resistant to pyridine-2-methylamine 62 , demonstrating compound 62 is likely target to MmpL3. [Display omitted] • Utilizing a structure-directed approach, a series of pyridine-2-methylamine compounds were designed and synthesized. • Compound 62 displayed potent antitubercular activity against the clinical isolates of MDR and XDR-TB (MIC = 0.004–0.063 μg/mL). • Compound 62 showed low Vero cytotoxicity and moderate metabolic stability. • Target verification demonstrated compound 62 is likely to target MmpL3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a different types of reactor are operating at the same area and the same period of time, released radionuclides are hard to follow in the environment. In general, isotopic techniques can be used for source localization. To obtain the distribution of hydrogen isotope in soil, eight sampling points were selected along the local dominant wind direction with different distances away from Qinshan Nuclear Power Plant, and soil samples at different depths (0–2, 2–5, 5–10, 10–20, 20–30 cm) were collected in December 2019 and December 2020, respectively. The concentrations of hydrogen isotopes were measured in the soil samples at different depth. The spatial distribution of tritium and deuterium in the surface soil was related to soil properties and the distance from the nuclear power plant. It was found that tritium and deuterium are generally enriched in the upper layer. Determination of the deuterium concentration in the environment may be a new way to trace the released tritium from the reactors. • By studying the distribution of hydrogen isotopes in the soil around nuclear power plants with different types of reactors, the foundation was laid for tracing the sources of tritium in the soil. • Tritium and deuterium were mainly concentrated on the surface soil, and their concentration decreased with the increase in depth. • Tritium and deuterium have different migration rules in soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The origins of interfacial twin boundary (ITB) phases at { 112 } 〈 111 〉 β and { 332 } 〈 113 〉 β twin boundaries (TBs) in β-Ti alloys are not well characterized yet. In this work, the local structural features of TBs plus ITB-ω and ITB-α″ phases are carefully investigated with first-principles calculations. It shows the formation of ITB-ω at (112) [ 11 1 ¯ ] β and (332) [ 11 3 ¯ ] β TBs are favorable in kinetics, especially the former is further favorable in interfacial energy. Both ITB-ω phases are internally driven by the energy reduction induced by the β→ω transformation. Whereas, the formation of ITB-α″ at (332) [ 11 3 ¯ ] β TB is infeasible in kinetics and the ITB-α″ is most likely the accompanying or untransformed α″ particle assisting (332) [ 11 3 ¯ ] β twinning. The formation of ITB phases are highly associated with the types and concentrations of β-stabilizers. The origins and how the ITB-ω and ITB-α″ can be tailored by the β-stabilizers of Mo, Nb and V are clearly demonstrated. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the crystallization kinetics of Cr-Co alloys and providing a quantitative characterization of the microstructure evolution during quenching are of practical significance to their industrial applications. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate the solidification of Cr30Co70 and Cr70Co30 subjected to different cooling rates. Besides, the outcomes are examined for their mechanical responses under uniaxial tensile loading. It is disclosed that slower cooling (⩽1 K ps−1) is beneficial to crystallization, while faster quenching generally leads to disordered structures. In the solidified outcomes, regardless of composition ratios and cooling rates, Co-Co bonding is the most favorable compared with that of Co-Cr and Cr-Cr. As for structural order, the Co-rich alloys exhibit a hexagonal close-packed (hcp) dominant crystalline order, while face-centered cubic (fcc) becomes more advantageous in the remaining cases. Among all the samples, the Cr30Co70 obtained with 0.5 K ps−1 is an exception since it abnormally adopts fcc as a major crystalline order and realizes lower energy than expected. Additionally, under uniaxial tensile loading, a phase transition from fcc or hcp to body-centered cubic (bcc) is identified in the Cr30Co70 samples, while it is absent in the Cr70Co30 ones. These findings can aid in the design, manufacturing, and utilization of Cr-Co alloys in the field of material industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationally constructing and manipulating the in situ formed catalytically active surface of catalysts remains a tremendous challenge for a highly efficient water electrolysis. Herein, an anion and cation co‐induced strategy is presented to modulate in situ catalyst dissolution‐redeposition and to achieve the directional reconstruction of Zn and S co‐doped Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 on iron foams (Zn,S‐Fe2O3‐Fe3O4/IF), for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Benefiting from Zn, S co‐doping and the presence of Fe3O4, a directionally reconstructed surface is obtained. The Fe2O3 in the Zn,S‐Fe2O3‐Fe3O4/IF is directionally reconstructed into FeOOH (Zn,S‐Fe3O4‐FeOOH/IF), in which the S leaching promotes the Fe dissolution and the Zn co‐deposition regulates the activity of the obtained FeOOH. Moreover, the presence of Fe3O4 provides a stable site for FeOOH deposition, and thus causes more FeOOH active components to be formed. Directionally reconstructed Zn,S‐Fe3O4‐FeOOH/IF outperformes many state‐of‐the‐art OER catalysts and demonstrates a remarkable stability. The experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculation results show that the introduction of Zn‐doped FeOOH with abundant oxygen vacancies through directional reconstruction has activated lattice O atoms, facilitating the OER process on the heterojunction surface following the lattice oxygen mechanism (LOM) pathway. This work makes a stride in co‐induced strategy modulating directional reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a micro-ring resonator model based on gallium nitride (GaN) and graphene, which exhibits tunable properties of nonlinearity. It provides a great bandwidth covering from visible to telecommunication band. Especially, based on the characteristic of GaN, it has unique advantages in shorter wavelength, which is used for demonstrating the ultrafast signal processing including wavelength conversion, temporal amplification and pulse compression. Moreover, the tunable signal processing is achieved via the method of applying additional bias voltage to graphene without changing the geometric dimension of the device. These results have significant potential applications of nonlinear optics and optical communications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The febrile infection-related epilepsy syndrome (FIRES) is a catastrophic epileptic encephalopathy which developed the refractory status epilepticus following or during a nonspecific febrile illness. To analyze the short-term and long-term outcome of FIRES in the children, we retrospectively analyzed the related data. The motor outcome was evaluated by modified Rankin scale (mRS). Poor motor outcome was defined as a mRS score of 4 or higher at discharge. Significant motor decline was defined as the mRS difference more than 2 before hospital admission and at discharge. We totally enrolled 25 patients for analysis. Four patients were expired during hospitalization, and one patient was lost to follow-up after discharge. Therefore, a total 20 patients were finally analyzed. The age of disease onset ranged from 1.6 to 17.2 years (mean: 9.6 ± 4.4 years). Newly acquired epilepsy and cognitive deficit occurred in 100% and 61%, respectively. The duration of the anesthetic agents ranged from 7 to 149 days (mean: 34.2 ± 36.1 days). The duration of anesthetic agent usage (p = 0.011), refractory epilepsy (p = 0.003), and the use of ketogenic diet (p = 0.004) were significantly associated with the poor long-term motor outcome, and the number of anesthetic agents tended to be associated with the poor long-term motor outcome (p = 0.050). In-hospital mortality was 16%. Significant functional decline at discharge occurred in 100%. However, there was improvement in long-term follow-up. The outcome of FIRES is poor with significant mortality and morbidities. Refractory epilepsy with cognitive deficit in survived cases is common, but improvement is possible. • The FIRES is a epileptic encephalopathy which develops refractory status epilepticus following or during a febrile illness. • The duration of anesthetic agent usage and refractory epilepsy were associated with poor long-term motor outcome. • The outcome of FIRES is poor with significant mortality and morbidities. • Refractory epilepsy with cognitive deficit in survived cases is common, but improvement is possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Optical redox imaging (ORI), based on collecting the endogenous fluorescence of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and oxidized flavoproteins (Fp) containing a redox cofactor flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), provides sensitive indicators of cellular metabolism and redox status. ORI indices (such as NADH, FAD, and their ratio) have been under investigation as potential progression/prognosis biomarkers for cancer. Higher FAD redox ratio (i.e., FAD/(FAD + NADH)) has been associated with higher invasive/metastatic potential in tumor xenografts and cultured cells. This study is to examine whether ORI indices can respond to the modulation of oncogene DEK activities that change cancer cell invasive/metastatic potential.Procedures: Using lentiviral shRNA, DEK gene expression was efficiently knocked down in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells (DEKsh). These DEKsh cells, along with scrambled shRNA-transduced control cells (NTsh), were imaged with a fluorescence microscope. In vitro invasive potential of the DEKsh cells and NTsh cells was also measured in parallel using the transwell assay.Results: FAD and FAD redox ratios in polyclonal cells with DEKsh were significantly lower than that in NTsh control cells. Consistently, the DEKsh cells demonstrated decreased invasive potential than their non-knockdown counterparts NTsh cells.Conclusions: This study provides direct evidence that oncogene activities could mediate ORI-detected cellular redox state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While men are known to be at high risk of recurrent injuries from physical violence, the risk factors in African men have not been investigated. We conducted a matched case-control study to identify factors associated with recurrent injuries from physical violence in The Gambia. Eligible participants were injured male patients aged ≥ 15 years. Over the 12-month study period, 257 cases with recurrent injuries from physical violence, and 257 control patients each from two control groups (violence controls and nonviolence controls) were recruited from eight emergency rooms located in six districts of the Greater Banjul Metropolitan Area, The Gambia. The two control groups matched cases at the same health facility, date of injury, and age, in which violence controls (VCs) experienced only one violence-related injury in the past 12 months and nonviolence controls (NCs) experienced no violence-related injuries. Results of the multivariable conditional logistic regression showed that for both the VC and NC groups, a polygamous family (ORVC, 3.62; ORNC, 2.79), > 8 family members (ORVC, 5.60; ORNC, 4.81), being brought up by a family relative (ORVC, 5.17; ORNC, 2.11), having smoked cigarettes in the past week (ORVC, 3.53; ORNC, 4.03), and perceiving no family support (ORVC, 1.12; ORNC, 1.19) were significantly associated with the occurrence of recurrent violent injuries. Furthermore, compared to the NCs, three additional factors of > 2 male siblings (ORNC, 1.84), low household income (ORNC, 3.11), and alcohol consumption in the past week (ORNC, 4.66) were significantly associated with the occurrence of recurrent violent injuries. These findings may fill in a knowledge gap that will be beneficial for developing effective intervention programs to reduce recurrent injuries from physical violence among African men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided (UG) versus fluoroscopy-guided (FG) percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Methods: A systematic search of PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, and the Cochrane Library was conducted to identify randomized controlled trials that compared UG-PCNL with FG-PCNL, and a meta-analysis of those studies was completed. The primary outcomes assessed were stone-free rate (SFR) and complication rate. Secondary outcomes assessed were the successful access-creation rate, time necessary for entrance into the target calyx, auxiliary procedure rate, transfusion rate, hemoglobin decrease after surgery, surgery duration, and hospital stay. Results: Eight studies comprising 966 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with FG-PCNL, UG-PCNL had comparable stone-free rates [odds ratio (OR) 0.95; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.67–1.35; p = 0.79] irrespective of the patient's position, and a favorable safety profile resulting in a lower complication rate (OR 0.56; 95% CI 0.36–0.86; p = 0.009). No statistical difference was found between UG and FG groups in secondary outcomes. Conclusions: UG-PCNL is as effective as FG-PCNL and has the advantage of lower complication rates. In addition, UG-PCNL could be performed with patients in the supine position without compromising its efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose Many reviews on the internet are contributed their time to evaluate which are largely transparent generally; however, How are these information valuable and useful to visitors before making a purchasing decision? As the reason, there is a need to understand the distal path of visitors concern. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effects of both perceived useful and valuable motivations on visitors' willingness to buy in the distal paths.Design/methodology/approach Web questionnaire survey.Findings Visitors' confirmation was the beginning to impact the intention to buy through only one distal path, perceived value (PV) and satisfaction.Research limitations/implications Even though the author tried his best to design and implement thoughtfully for this research, there are still some limitations. First, the results could be influenced by self-selection bias. The sample of respondents surveyed in this study consisted of young adults (58.90 percent were between the ages 21 and 25 years old), the majority of whom (54.79 percent) were students. Therefore, in the context of this study, the visitors surveyed were young and able to easily access information online. The phenomenon has been, proved by Hsu (2013), found, it still needs to explore further. Second, perceived usefulness did not have a significant impact on satisfaction which consistent with Tao et al. (2009) result. The data represent the response' feeling for now; it needs to be explored further. Third, it would also be worthwhile to investigate any obstacles, such as believable (Cheung et al., 2012) that might reduce the intentions to buy of visitors. Finally, recommendations and promotions have also been found to influence visitors' further purchasing behavior, such as extra buy (Tsao, 2013). These phenomena are worth investigating in future research.Practical implications To inspire visitors, information of reviews can be posted by offering positive or negative suggestions (e.g. good or bad experience); managers should improve their products or services from the suggestions of reviews and need to consider the distinctive influences of various aspects of reviews when promoting products and devising e-marketing strategies. Marketers should recruit and filter reviews to write positive suggestions of their own products or service. IS practitioners should post the reviews might need to provide more detailed information (e.g. the reasons of like or dislike). The posted information from reviews should be accurate, particularly aiming at visitors who are motivated by reviews' suggestions. All proposed measures are particularly important for visitors with sufficient reviews effects. Greater transparency of reviews might be achieved by more explicit reviews information (e.g. via like or dislike statements).Social implications The result provides a basis to generate concrete advice for owners about reviews concern to enhance visitors' PV. It seems sensible to pursue two strategies: first, enhance the visitors' PV to trigger motivation forward, and second, inspire the visitors to progress smoothly in the visiting stage.Originality/value The results of the expectation-confirmation theory applied to reviews recommendations how important to employ for enterprises. These reviews were either directly given by experienced users or at least validated with their help to visitors. Therefore, the value is building the distal bridge between visitors and customers through online general reviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious sleep disorder characterized by repetitive episodes of paused or shallow breathing during sleep. Patients with OSA often have excessive daytime sleepiness. The role of cigarette smoking in OSA remains controversial. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between cigarette smoking and OSA. METHODS In this retrospective chart review, we reviewed 18-month sleep laboratory charts in central Taiwan. We collected data regarding sleep, current cigarette smoking status, sex, age, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, Epworth Sleepiness Scale score, and polysomnographic sleep parameters. In total, 733 subjects were recruited; among these, 151 were smokers and 582 were nonsmokers. RESULTS Smokers had significantly higher apnea--hypopnea index (p<0.001) for non-rapid eye movement sleep stage, higher apnea--hypopnea index (p<0.001) for total sleep time, and higher snore frequency (p<0.001) in t-test analysis. They also demonstrated higher Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores, shorter sleep times, lower percentage of slow-wave (deep) sleep, and longer snore times. However, no significant association was found between cigarette smoking and OSA after adjusting for sex, age, and BMI (OR=1.02, 95% CI: 0.66--1.57). CONCLUSIONS We did not find any significant association between cigarette smoking and OSA after adjusting for age, sex, and BMI. Further well-designed prospective controlled cohort studies might clarify the relationship between cigarette smoking and OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a disturbance compensation model predictive control (MPC) method is proposed to reduce rolling and control heading of a ship with only the rudder. The controller reduces rolling and heading error by estimating the lumped disturbance consisting of external disturbance and model mismatch and compensating its impact on the output with control actions. A disturbance observer is adopted to estimate the lumped disturbance. The MPC controller compensates the lumped disturbance by calculating the control actions considering the effects of the estimated lumped disturbance. Simulations are carried out to verify the performance of the proposed controller, which show that the proposed MPC controller possesses a better disturbance rejection performance compared with an LQR controller under the variation of wave disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Four pairs of enantiomeric β -carboline alkaloids, (+/−)-kumudine A-D, along with their biosynthesis-related compound kumudine E, were obtained from the stems of Picrasma quassioides. Their structures, including the absolute configurations, were determined via extensive spectroscopic data combined with electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopic analyses and quantum mechanical ECD calculations. (+/−)-Kumudine A possessed a scaffold of β -carboline-phenylpropanoid adduct, which were the first examples of this type of β -carboline alkaloid from nature. The cytotoxicity assay against hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B and HepG2 cells was evaluated by SRB assay, which showed that (−)-Kumudine B had stronger effect than its enantiomer (+)-Kumudine B in Hep3B cells. Moreover, further flow cytometry analysis also supported the enantioselectivity between (+)-Kumudine B and (−)-Kumudine B, suggesting that the compounds caused death of hepatoma cells through apoptosis induction. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Nine undescribed β -carboline dimers were isolated from Picrasma quassioides. • Kumudine A was the first example of β -carboline-phenylpropanoid adduct from nature. • (+/−)-Kumudine B showed enantioselective inhibitory activity against Hep3B cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Seven new tirucallane triterpenoids were isolated from Picrasma quassioides. • Compound 1 contains a rare Δ17, 20 double bond. • Compound 2 possessing a novel 5/3 biheterocyclic ring system at the side chain. • All 27 isolates were screened for the cytotoxicity against HepG2 and Hep3B cells. • Compound 3 mediated its activity associated with induce apoptosis of HepG2 cells. Abstract Seven new tirucallane-type triterpenoids (1 – 7), kumuquassin A-G, along with 20 known analogues (8 – 27) were isolated from the stems of Picrasma quassioides. The structures and the absolute configurations of new compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic data, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) spectroscopic analyses and quantum ECD calculations. Notably, kumuquassin A (1) contains a rare Δ17, 20 double bond, kumuquassin B (2) is the first example of tirucallane triterpenoid possessing a 5/3 biheterocyclic ring system at the side chain. All the compounds were screened for the cytotoxicity against two human hepatoma cell lines, HepG2 and Hep3B, and several compounds exhibited promising activity. The most potential compound 3 was selected for cell cycle analysis, which showed that 3 could cause an accumulation of HepG2 cells at subG1 peak. Annexin V-FITC/PI staining further confirmed that compound 3 caused death of hepatoma cells through apoptosis induction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • This paper proposes a novel two-phase damage detection method for structures under a moving load. • The proposed method utilizes both wavelet signal processing and wavelet finite element model for damage detection. • The proposed method consists of two sequential phases, namely localization and quantification. • The proposed method is successfully validates it via a laboratory experiment of a scaled beam structure. Abstract This paper proposes a damage detection method with two phases, namely, localization and quantification, for beam structures subjected to moving load and successfully validates it via a laboratory experiment. Firstly, the discrete wavelet transform (DWT) is applied to decompose the displacement response change induced by a moving vehicle and locate potential structural damages. Then adaptive-scale wavelet finite element model (WFEM) updating is employed to estimate the damage severity in the identified damage regions in a progressive fashion. The elemental scales of WFEM are adaptively changed according to not only the moving vehicle position but also the progressively identified damage regions. Such a method can effectively minimize the number of modeling degree-of-freedoms (DOFs) and updating parameters during optimization. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method is examined through a laboratory experiment with different damage scenarios. The results indicate the proposed method can achieve good consistency between structural modeling, damage scenarios, and load conditions, as well as an optimal tradeoff between damage detection accuracy and efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective: Left-behind children have a high incidence of behavioral problems in some Eastern countries, especially China. We sought to assess the combined effects of physical neglect, a major embodiment of the left-behind phenomenon, and the trauma of being left behind on subsequent behavioral problems. Method: 776 children (including 600 left-behind children) aged 12–16 years were chosen by cluster sampling in rural China. The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire-Short Form and the Conners Teacher Rating Scale were used to evaluate physical neglect and behavioral problems. Results: Left-behind children experienced more physical neglect (mean difference = 0.63; 95%CI 0.15–1.10; P = 0.01) and were more inattentive (mean difference=0.11; 95%CI 0.03–0.19; P = 0.009) than non-left-behind children. Physically neglected left-behind children had higher scores for conduct problems, inattention, and hyperactivity index than non-left-behind without physical neglect group (P < 0.05 for each). Among left-behind children, physical neglect group had significantly more conduct problems than those of controls (mean difference=0.14; 95%CI 0.05–0.23; P = 0.008). Physically neglected non-left-behind children had higher scores for conduct problems than those of left-behind children without physical neglect (mean difference=0.31; 95%CI 0.13–0.47; P = 0.003). Among physically neglected children, left-behind children had significantly higher scores for inattention than those of non-left-behind children (mean difference=0.13; 95%CI 0.04–0.22; P = 0.037). Conclusion: Left-behind children have more behavioral problems than non-left-behind children. Physical neglect may result in more severe conduct problems than those associated with staying behind, and staying behind may lead to inattention. Exposure to both may lead to more obvious behavioral problems. Therefore, we should accord more attention to physically neglected and left-behind children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RTx is currently the best treatment for children with ESRD. This study retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of growth after RTx using the pediatric‐to‐pediatric allocation strategy and some factors that may affect it. From March 2012 to August 2016, 8 en bloc and 38 single pediatric RTxs were performed at our center using organs from small pediatric deceased donors (weight < 15 kg). Growth before and after RTx was analyzed according to the height‐for‐age z‐score at RTx, the 3‐year follow‐up, and adulthood and compared between the procedures. The chi‐square test and multiple linear regression analysis were used for statistical analyses. Overall, 79.2% of children were diagnosed with chronic nephritis before RTx; 14.6% of cases were due to congenital urinary tract malformation, and 6.3% of cases were due to unknown causes. All grafts and patients survived postoperatively. The mean estimated GFRs were 92.7 ± 28.6 mL/min/1.73 m2, 100.9 ± 32.3 mL/min/1.73 m2, and 110.1 ± 34.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 at 1, 2, and 3 years' postoperatively, respectively. The children's postoperative growth and development, particularly during the first year postoperatively, improved but were negatively correlated with age and the height‐for‐age z‐score before RTx. The growth of children after RTx was moderate and accelerated during prepubescence. The rate of post‐RTx growth during the first year postoperatively was unrelated to the recipient's sex or duration of dialysis (P > 0.05) but was negatively correlated with age at RTx (r = −0.349, P = 0.043). Future studies on the long‐term outcomes are still needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This research employed an in-situ growth method to fabrication of multi-walled nanotubes (MWCNTs)/Fe 3 O 4 electromagnetic absorber. Such a binary material system is featured with good impedance matching behavior and moderate attenuation ability, thus exhibits excellent electromagnetic absorption properties. The results reveal that MWCNTs/Fe 3 O 4 exhibits distinct polarization relaxation phenomenon which inducted by interface polarization. This intensity of interface polarization is tunable by controlling the contact area of Fe 3 O 4 and MWCNTs. Due to the contribution of interface polarization loss behavior, the MWCNTs/Fe 3 O 4 sample achieves a wide band electromagnetic absorption property which the frequency region with RL < −10 dB can covers 5.7 GHz at 1.5 mm. The method of utilizing interface strategy to boost dielectric loss ability has an efficient way to gain wide band electromagnetic absorber. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • MWCNTs/Fe 3 O 4 shows dual magnetic/dielectric loss ability. • The weight ratio of MWCNTs/Fe 3 O 4 is tunable. • The effective frequency of MWCNTs/Fe 3 O 4 was up to 5.7 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Nanohybrid comprising iron oxide, carbon dots and polyglycerol is fabricated. • The nanohybrid is efficiently internalized into target cells by magnetic attraction. • The internalized nanohybrid emits non-bleaching, multicolor fluorescence. • Pt-based anticancer drug is loaded on the nanohybrid and delivered into tumor cells. Abstract Multifunctional nanohybrids are attracting increasing attention for potential biomedical applications such as bioimaging and drug delivery due to their combined advantages of individual components. However, challenges in the improvement of their synthesis and colloidal stability to facilitate practical biomedical applications still remain. In this work, we report an efficient synthetic approach to fabricate magnetofluorescent nanohybrid (IO-PG-CD) comprising fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) and magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (IOs) through polyglycerol (PG) mediated covalent linkage in aqueous media. CDs and IOs are first grafted with PG layer, and then functionalized with carboxyl and amino groups, respectively. The resulting CD-PG-COOH and IO-PG-NH 2 handled as simple chemical compounds are integrated through EDC/NHS crosslinking to obtain the desired IO-PG-CD nanohybrid. The unprecedented hydrophilicity of PG layer endows IO-PG-CD nanohybrid with excellent colloidal stability in various physiological media, facilitating biomedical applications in vitro and in vivo. IO-PG-CD nanohybrid exhibits low cytotoxicity and its uptake by cells can be obviously enhanced by external magnetic attraction. The internalized IO-PG-CD nanohybrid emits multicolor fluorescence as observed by confocal fluorescence microscopy, demonstrating much better photostability than the nanoparticle labeled with organic dye. Taking advantage of enormous chelating carboxyl groups on the surface of IO-PG-CD nanohybrid, platinum-based anticancer drug was loaded on the surface (IO-PG-CD/Pt) through complexation and delivered into cancer cells in a magnetically enhanced manner, killing the cancer cells efficiently in vitro. Moreover, in vivo cancer therapy indicates that the external magnetic attraction also obviously improves the anticancer efficacy of IO-PG-CD/Pt in HeLa subcutaneous xenografts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapidly developing technologies have increased the prevalence of innovation content dramatically. LINE is one of the famous social networks in Taiwan. Many innovations have improved people satisfaction and willing to use, but these studies have mostly targeted intention to use technologies, however, are rare thinking of people satisfaction as a mediator during the promotion in LINE, such as stickers. Therefore, there is a need to understand what people intention to propagate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of diffusion theory, playfulness and fashion, and satisfaction on people willingness to propagate the members in LINE. After gathering 235 on online questionnaire survey, Amos was applied to evaluate the proposed model and hypotheses. The analytical results presented that satisfaction has mediating effect and playfulness and fashion have moderating effects. Implications of these findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress plays a crucial role in several psychiatric disorders, including anxiety. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we used acute stress (AS) and chronic restraint stress (CRS) models to develop anxiety-like behavior and investigate the role of miR-150 in the hippocampi of mice. Corticosterone levels as well as glutamate receptors in the hippocampus were evaluated. We found that anxiety-like behavior was induced after either AS or CRS, as determined by the open-field test (OFT) and elevated plus-maze test (EPM). Increased corticosterone levels were observed in the blood of AS and CRS groups, while the expression of miR-150 mRNA in the hippocampus was significantly decreased. The expressions of GluN2A, GluR1, GluR2, and V-Glut2 in the hippocampus were decreased after either AS or CRS. Hippocampal GAD67 expression was increased by AS but not CRS, and GluN2B expression was decreased by CRS but not AS. Adult miR-150 knockout mice showed anxiety-like behavior, as assessed by the OFT and EPM. The expressions of GluN2A, GluN2B, GluR1, and GluR2 were also downregulated, but the expression of V-Glut2 was upregulated in the hippocampi of miR-150 knockout mice compared with wild-type mice. Interestingly, we found that the miR-150 knockout mice showed decreased dendrite lengths, dendrite branchings, and numbers of dendrite spines in the hippocampus compared with wild-type mice. These results suggest that miR-150 may influence the synaptic plasticity of the hippocampus and play a significant role in stress-induced anxiety-like behavior in adult mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • 12 acetylene transitions in total, two from cold bands and ten from hot bands, measured between 3335.0–3336.5 cm−1. • Linestrengths and Ar-, N 2 -, CH 4 -, and self-broadening/narrowing coefficients reported for two cold band transitions with Voigt, Rautian, and Galatry fits. • Linestrengths and self-broadening coefficients reported for ten hot band transitions with Voigt fits. • Temperature-dependence of lineshape parameters measured above room temperature. Abstract Knowledge of the acetylene spectrum is important for astrophysics, atmospheric, and combustion chemistry research. Twelve acetylene transitions across eleven bands have been studied between 3335.0 and 3336.5 cm−1 with a tunable interband cascade laser. Linestrengths and temperature-dependent lineshape parameters, including collisional broadening and narrowing, are reported through Voigt, Rautian, and Galatry lineshape fits to two strong cold band transitions. Measurements were made in pure acetylene, as well as with diluents argon, nitrogen, and methane, over a temperature range of 296–637 K and pressures of 5–90 Torr. Linestrengths and temperature-dependent self-broadening coefficients are also reported for ten weak hot band transitions through Voigt lineshape fits, measured between 296–513 K and 5–20 Torr. Line parameter measurements are found to be in good agreement with the literature and extend experimental lineshape studies of acetylene into new rovibrational bands, a sparsely-studied temperature regime, and a new perturber: methane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scutellarin (1) possesses protective effects against neuronal injury, while 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3), as the main metabolite of scutellarin in vivo, has not been reported about its protective effects previously. The present study mainly investigated whether the neural injury caused by ischemia/reperfusion would be influenced by different doses of 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3). The results of behavioral, neurological, and histological examinations indicated that 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) could improve neuronal injury, and exhibit significant difference among the various doses. More importantly, 6-O-methyl-scutellarein (3) had better protective effects than scutellarin in rat cerebral ischemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an intestinal inflammatory disorder. Exogenous hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) donors such as diallyl trisulfide (DATS) have been used as anti-inflammatory mediators. However, an ideal method of administering DATS has yet to be established owing to its poor water solubility. Herein, a self-spray coating system that is derived from a DATS-loaded capsule with foaming capability (CAP-w-FC) is proposed for treating colitis. Following the rectal administration of CAP-w-FC into rats bearing colitis and its subsequent dissolution in the intestinal fluid, a spray coating system is self-assembled in situ. This system greatly promotes the dissolution of the poorly water-soluble DATS by producing nano-scaled micellar particles that are sprayed onto the large luminal surface of the colorectal tract. Following the internalization of the micellar particles by colon epithelial cells, their loaded DATS reacts with intracellular glutathione to yield H 2 S. This exogenous H 2 S then diffuses through plasma membranes to carry out its biological functions, including suppressing the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines, inhibiting the adhesion of macrophages on the vascular endothelium, and repairing colonic inflamed tissues. Analytical results demonstrate that this self-spray coating system may be used as a unique drug delivery technique for covering the large colorectal surface to treat IBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xerostomia and hyposalivation are debilitating side effects for patients treated with ionizing radiation for head and neck cancer. Despite technological advances, collateral damage to the salivary glands remains a significant problem for patients and severely diminishes their quality of life. During the wound healing process, restoration of junctional contacts is necessary to maintain polarity, structural integrity, and orientation cues for secretion. However, little is known about whether these structural molecules are impacted following radiation damage and more importantly, during tissue restoration. We evaluated changes in adherens junctions and cytoskeletal regulators in an injury model where mice were irradiated with 5 Gy and a restoration model where mice injected postradiation with insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) are capable of restoring salivary function. Using coimmunoprecipitation, there is a decrease in epithelial (E)-cadherin bound to β-catenin following damage that is restored to untreated levels with IGF1. Via its adaptor proteins, β-catenin links the cadherins to the cytoskeleton and part of this regulation is mediated through Rho-associated coiled-coil containing kinase (ROCK) signaling. In our radiation model, filamentous (F)-actin organization is fragmented, and there is an induction of ROCK activity. However, a ROCK inhibitor, Y-27632, prevents E-cadherin/β-catenin dissociation following radiation treatment. These findings illustrate that radiation induces a ROCK-dependent disruption of the cadherin-catenin complex and alters F-actin organization at stages of damage when hyposalivation is observed. Understanding the regulation of these components will be critical in the discovery of therapeutics that have the potential to restore function in polarized epithelium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Hippocampal neuronal network activity is regulated by stiffness of extracellular matrix. • Modulation of substrate stiffness on neuronal network activity is dependent on a specific type of ECM protein. • Stiff substrate enhance voltage-gated Ca2+ channel function, synaptic connectivity, and spontaneous Ca2+oscillations. Abstract Neuronal growth, differentiation, extension, branching and neural network activity are strongly influenced by the mechanical property of extracellular matrix (ECM). However, the mechanism by which substrate stiffness regulates a neural network activity, and the importance of ECM composition in conferring substrate stiffness sensing have not been explored. To address this question, the hippocampal neurons were seeded on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate with different stiffness, which were coated with fibronectin and laminin respectively. Our results show that voltage-gated Ca2+ channel currents are greater in neurons on the stiff substrate than on the soft substrate. In addition, the neurons exhibit a greater increase of Ca2+ currents on laminin-coated stiff substrate than on those coated with fibronectin, indicating that the composition of ECM can modulate responses to substrate stiffness of neurons. Paired patch-clamp recordings have shown that upregulation of neural effective synaptic connectivity is greater on the laminin-coated stiff substrate than on the fibronectin-coated ones. Consistently, laminin-coated stiff substrate enhances Ca2+ oscillations of neurons is greater that compared with the fibronectin-coated ones. Our study demonstrates that a direct role for substrate stiffness in regulating neuronal network activity and indicate that this modulation is dependent on a specific type of ECM protein, which should be taken into account for the design of biomaterials for neuronal tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract β -Carboline alkaloids in Picrasma quassioides (D. Don) Benn. have been proven to possess inhibitory activity against various cancer cells. However, their effect on hepatocellular carcinoma and structure-activity relationships (SAR) have not been systematically reported. In this work, bioactivity-directed fractionation of P. quassioides led to the separation of active fraction A2–2. A total of 39 β -carbolines, including 4 new ones (1–4), were obtained from the active fraction. Moreover, all the isolated compounds were identified in the active fraction A2–2 by LC-MS. The cytotoxicity on HepG2 and Hep3B cells of all compounds was screened by MTT assay, and the SAR were established. The SAR were also supported by the apoptosis ratio of HepG2 cells using flow cytometry analysis after treatment with potential compounds 1 , 2 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 29 , 36 and 38. It suggested that these active compounds caused death of hepatoma cells through apoptosis induction. In addition, further study revealed that compounds 12, 29, 36 significantly activated caspase-3 in HepG2 cells. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVES Upper mediastinal lymph node dissection (LND)—especially along the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RN)—is the most challenging part of oesophageal cancer surgery. We investigated whether thoracoscopic RN LND may be safely performed in patients with oesophageal cancer who had undergone chemoradiotherapy (CRT). METHODS Patients with oesophageal cancer who had undergone thoracoscopic RN LND (n  = 103) were divided into 2 groups according to whether they had prior treatment with CRT or not [the CRT group (n  = 65) vs the upfront surgery group (n  = 38), respectively]. All patients were operated on by a single surgeon. Intergroup comparisons were made in terms of (i) the number of dissected nodes, (ii) rates of RN palsy and (iii) rates of perioperative complications. The learning curve for the RN LND procedure was investigated using the cumulative sum method. RESULTS RN LND after CRT was more technically challenging when performed in the left side. Complete skeletonization of the left RN was achieved only in 66.2% of patients in the CRT group (vs 86.8% in the upfront surgery group; P  = 0.022). The rate of postoperative left side RN palsy was significantly higher in the CRT group (26.6%) than in the upfront surgery group (7.9%, P  = 0.022), albeit resulting in neither higher pneumonia rates nor longer hospital stays. The cumulative sum analysis revealed a steep learning curve for left RN LND in the CRT group. Unfortunately, an acceptable proficiency (left RN palsy rate: 15%) was not achievable even after treatment in 65 cases. CONCLUSIONS Thoracoscopic RN LND is safe but poses significant challenges in CRT-treated patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Both refractory convulsive status epilepticus (SE) and super-refractory SE are medical emergencies. However, there are limited data on super-refractory SE in children. Thus, this study focuses on characterizing the demographics, outcomes, and prognostic factors for super-refractory SE in children. Methods This study was a retrospective analysis of super-refractory SE treated in a tertiary referral center in Taiwan. The functional outcome was evaluated by modified Rankin scale (mRS). Significant functional decline was defined as an mRS difference (before hospital admission and at discharge) of more than 2. The variates and the follow-up mRS values were then analyzed statistically. Results We enrolled 134 patients with 191 episodes of convulsive SE and identified 30 patients with 38 episodes of convulsive super-refractory SE. The incidence of convulsive super-refractory SE in the group with SE was 19.9%, and the age ranged from 2.5 months to 17 years. In-hospital mortality was 13.3%, which was much lower than that of adult cohorts. Newly acquired epilepsy and cognitive deficit occurred in 100% and 88.5%, respectively. Newly acquired epilepsy, as a sequel of super-refractory SE, was observed in all 18 patients (100%) who survived and had no history of epilepsy. Significant functional decline (mRS difference of more than 2) at discharge occurred in 76.7%. Poor functional outcome was associated with acute symptomatic etiology (P < 0.001) and the number of anesthetic agents (P = 0.002). The functional outcome improved after 1 year of follow-up in our population. Conclusions Super-refractory SE is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in children. However, the in-hospital mortality rate is much lower compared with adults. The functional outcome in children is associated with acute symptomatic etiology and the number of anesthetic agents and may improve after long-term follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural frequencies are attractive in structural damage detection as they can be conveniently measured and are usually less contaminated by experimental noise. However, generally natural frequencies alone are not sufficient for a unique solution when applied in finite element model (FEM) updating based damage detection. In view of this, a damage detection method by using a parked vehicle induced frequencies variation is proposed in this paper. Firstly the phenomenon of frequency variation caused by a parked vehicle is illustrated via a simulated simply supported beam. Then a FEM updating based damage detection method is proposed by using measured frequencies of the vehicle-bridge system with the vehicle parked at different locations. Numerical and experimental examples with different damage scenarios are conducted to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. The results indicated that it possesses the ability of taking advantage of the high accuracy and overcomes the insufficient quantity of the natural frequencies for damage detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, a new indium (In)-based coordination polymer [In(hip)](DMF)2(H2O)3 (1, DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide) was successfully prepared by a solvothermal reaction of In(NO3)3·6H2O and 5-hydroxyisophthalic acid (H3hip) in a mixed solvent of DMF and H2O with the presence of NaCl as a template. Complex 1 was characterized by elemental analysis (EA), single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and the results reveal that complex 1 shows a two-dimensional (2D) grid-like network with considerable solvent accessible volume that was generated from the packing of the 2D layers via the AB pattern. Furthermore, complex 1 could be downsized into nanoscale particles with the aid of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). In addition, the anticancer activities of 1 and the nanoscale 1 were probed via the 3-(4,5)-dimethylthiahiazo (-z-y1)-3,5-di-phenytetrazoliumromide (MTT) assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Novel unit prediction method for efficient HEVC-to-SHVC transcoding is proposed. • Two proposed techniques are early termination and adaptive confidence interval. • We are among the first to propose a fast HEVC-to-SHVC transcoding framework. • Proposed method reduces encoding time of SHVC by 74.14% almost without quality loss. To support good video quality of experiences in heterogeneous environments, transcoding an existed HEVC (high efficiency video coding) video bitstream to a SHVC (scalability extension of HEVC) bitstream with quality scalability is highly required. A straightforward way is to first fully decode the input HEVC bitstream and then fully re-encode it with the SHVC encoder, which requires a tremendous computational complexity. To solve the problem, in this paper, a coding unit complexity (CUC)-based prediction method for predictions of CU (coding unit) depth and PU (prediction unit) mode for efficient HEVC-to-SHVC transcoding with quality scalability is proposed to significantly reduce the transcoding complexity. The proposed method contains two prediction techniques, including (i) early termination and (ii) adaptive confidence interval, and predicts the CU depth and PU mode relying on the decoded information from the input HEVC bitstream. Experimental results have shown that the proposed method significantly outperforms the traditional HEVC-to-SHVC method by 74.14% on average in reductions of encoding time for SHVC enhancement layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depression is a common mental health problem among children, and autonomy-granting parenting was found to be an important predictor of child depression. Besides, important psychological strengths such as hope and life satisfaction were suggested to be protective factors for children’s development of depression. However, few studies explored the role of autonomy-granting parenting on child depression in Chinese families and the protective roles of hope and life satisfaction on the relationship. The present study examined the association between autonomy-granting parenting and children’s depression, and the moderating effects of hope and life satisfaction on the relationship among Chinese children in Hong Kong. Participants were 439 children in primary school Grade 4 to 6 in Hong Kong based on convenience sampling. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to assess the relationship among hope, life satisfaction, autonomy-granting parenting and children’s depression. Results showed that hope, life satisfaction and autonomy-granting parenting were all significantly and negatively correlated with depression. The moderation analysis showed that both life satisfaction and hope moderated the relationship between autonomy-granting parenting and children’s depression. The current findings firstly provide evidence for the negative association between autonomy-granting parenting and child depression in Chinese context. It also showed that hope and life satisfaction were two important protective factors for children’s development of depressive symptoms under the lower autonomy-granting parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]