Search

Multi-agent system employs the functions of communication, coordination and cooperation among intelligent agents to help people judge and analyze complex phenomena that cannot be directly observed, and it has become an important tool for solving large-scale complex problems. The problem of demand response (DR) in electric power system is difficult to be modeled due to the complicated environment and continuously evolving subjects. Multi-agent system can simulate the operation mechanism of electric power system, thus playing an important role in solving the DR problems. In this study, based on multi-agent simulation, we establish a multi-agent model of residential power market and propose a satisfaction function of residential users about electricity price. We focus on the interaction process among all the agents of power supply side, selling side and demand side and conduct simulation to obtain the selection and decision-making of residential users on different electricity pricing schemes. The results show that multi-agent system is beneficial to analyze, simulate and solve the DR problem in power market. Also, the satisfaction function of residential users on electricity price can support power selling enterprise to better understand the intention of residential users when choosing electricity pricing schemes and participating in DR program.

We report the synthesis and characterization of a myeloperoxidase (MPO)-responsive, biodegradable, and luminescent material derived from functionalized cyclodextrin. The nanoparticle based on this functional material shows notably high and sustainable luminescent signals upon triggering by inflammatory conditions with abnormally elevated reactive oxygen species and MPO. Activated neutrophils during inflammatory responses can be selectively imaged using this nanoprobe, with luminescent signals positively correlated to neutrophil counts. This nanoprobe enables in vivo precise quantification and tracking of the number and dynamics of neutrophils in both superficial and deep tissues in various mouse models of inflammatory diseases, including peritonitis, paw edema, colitis, and acute lung injury. In vitro and in vivo evaluations also demonstrate the safety and biocompatibility of this newly engineered material in its native and nanoparticle forms.

The antibiotic contaminants from drug abuse, aquaculture wastewater and pharmaceutical industry effluent have enormous threat to microecology and human beings. In this paper, a porous hexagonal boron nitride (p-BN), which has high surface area up to 1062.88 m 2 g −1 and abundant pore structure, was prepared and characterized by XRD, SEM, FT-IR and physical-chemical isothermal adsorption. A systematical and comprehensive study of the adsorption kinetics, thermodynamics and isotherms of tetracycline (TC) on p-BN has been completed. Meanwhile, the effects of pH, temperature and salinity were also considered. It still had a rapidly adsorption rate and effective removal percentage (94.25%) to TC at high concentration. The maximum adsorption capacity can achieve to 322.16 mg g −1 at the concentration of 160 mg L −1 . Pseudo-second-order model and intra-particle diffusion model correlate with the experiment data better, the molecular diffusion of TC in the p-BN micropores is the rate-limiting step. Adsorption process was spontaneous and exothermic due to the thermodynamic calculation, lower temperatures is favorable to the adsorption process. Salting out effect made the adsorption capacity increases with the added Na + ion. The adsorption isotherms were more accordant with the Freundlich and Tempkin model. The adsorption mechanisms were mainly π-π interaction and electrostatic force.

Resveratrol and its derivatives have been shown to display beneficial effects to neurodegenerative diseases. However, the molecular mechanism of resveratrol and its derivatives on prion conformational conversion is poorly understood. In this work, the interaction mechanism between prion and resveratrol as well as its derivatives was investigated using steady-state fluorescence quenching, Thioflavin T binding assay, Western blotting, and molecular dynamics simulation. Protein fluorescence quenching method and Thioflavin T assay revealed that resveratrol and its derivatives could interact with prion and interrupt prion fibril formation. Molecular dynamics simulation results indicated that resveratrol can stabilize the PrP127-147 peptide mainly through π-π stacking interactions between resveratrol and Tyr128. The hydrogen bonds interactions between resveratrol and the PrP127-147 peptide could further reduce the flexibility and the propensity to aggregate. The results of this study not only can provide useful information about the interaction mechanism between resveratrol and prion, but also can provide useful clues for further design of new inhibitors inhibiting prion aggregation.

In 2015, China’s oil safety is seriously endangered with its oil dependence on imports exceeding 60% for the first time. One of the most direct and effective ways of improving oil safety is to reduce oil consumption by substituting automotive fuels. This paper, from the perspective of reducing the cost of oil dependence, constructs a conceptual model of substituting automotive fuels and an evaluation model, and studies the substitutive effects of three kinds of substitutive policies in transportation industry: natural gas, ethanol, and methanol, which have been either put into real practice or in the period of demonstration, and are attached great importance by Chinese government. The results show that the international oil price will drop after implementing the alternative fuel policies, and the absolute value of Chinese economy to oil price elasticity is smaller. The three substitutive policies can obviously reduce the cost of oil dependence, among which ethanol does the best, followed by natural gas and methanol, though the effects vary insignificantly. Taking environmental effect, resource and technology of three alternative policies as a whole, this paper suggests that China should promote natural gas alternative policy in short-term.

A novel kind of organic–inorganic hybrid luminescent material has been developed through controllable encapsulation of devise terbium(III) complexes into a porous boron nitride (BN) host. The luminescence of the obtained hybrid materials can be modulated by simply changing the type of ligands in the complexes. Especially, intense green-light-emission has been observed in Tb(acac)3/BN (acac = acetylacetone) and Tb(acac)3phen/BN (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) hybrid materials. A unique synergistic effect between the BN host and Tb complexes has been realized, resulting in efficient energy transfer in the BN-ligands-Tb3+ system. The confinement of terbium complexes into porous BN leads to the hybrid materials demonstrating excellent thermal and photo stabilities. Porous BN host plays an important role for the superior performance of the hybrid materials. The developed organic–inorganic hybrid materials with multifunctional properties are promising for light-emitting applications.

Two-dimensional (2-D) boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials have received intensive attention because of their attractive mechanical, thermal and chemical stability. Here we demonstrate, for the first time, the synthesis of ribbon-like hexagonal boron nitride nano-architectures (RLBN) through a simple self-sacrificed template method using the cheap boric acid and melamine as raw materials. After the freeze-drying and thermal decomposition process, uniform ultrathin RLBN with width of 200–500 nm and thick of a few nanometers can be obtained. The RLBN with high quality tremendously improves the mechanical and thermal properties of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) polymer. The decomposition temperature (Td) of PHA increases from 368 °C to 390 °C, while the thermal conductivity increases by 46.0% with RLBN doped. The ductility (strain at break), yield strength and tensile strength of PHA@RLBN composite are also enhanced by 52.3%, 49.4% and 6.01% respectively.

We developed a biomimetic approach for targeted treatment of cardiovascular disease, which is mediated by a yeast-derived microcapsule (YC). Different positively charged nanoprobes and nanotherapies can be efficiently packaged into YC via electrostatic force-driven spontaneous deposition. These nanoparticle-loaded YCs may be rapidly endocytosed by macrophages and maintained in cells for up to one week. After oral delivery of YCs containing fluorescent nanoprobes, their accumulation in aortic plaques and macrophages was observed in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE−/−) mice with established atherosclerotic lesions. This YC-mediated atherosclerotic targeting was realized by transcytotic absorption in the gastrointestinal tract via M cells in Peyer's patches, followed by subsequent endocytosis in resident monocytes/macrophages, and final translocation through recruitment to diseased sites via the lymphatic system. Correspondingly, oral delivery of assembled anti-atherosclerotic nanotherapies packaged in YCs afforded notably potentiated efficacies in ApoE−/− mice. These findings demonstrated that this Trojan horse-like YC mediated nanomedicinal approach may be employed to orally deliver a diverse array of therapies for the management of atherosclerosis and other vascular disorders.

One-pot synthesis method has been proposed for preparing monodispersed and sub-10 nm Pt–Cu worm-like nanowires. The obtained nanowires were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. According to the experiment results, it can be found that the reaction time, the temperature and the amounts of surfactants can influence the morphology of Pt–Cu nanowires. Moreover, the prepared Pt–Cu alloys and commercial Pt black were used as catalysts to test their electrocatalytic activity by means of cyclic voltammetry in a 0.5 M H2SO4 + 1 M CH3OH aqueous solution, and Pt–Cu nanowires exhibited significantly enhanced catalytic activity toward the methanol oxidation compared with commercial Pt black.

The geometries and electronic properties of two new endohedral metalloborofullerenes M 2 @B 80 (M = Sc, Y) were investigated by means of density functional theory computations. The two complexes feature favorable binding energies, suggesting a considerable possibility to be achieved. Sc 2 @B 80 exhibits a flexible metal motion with tunable magnetic moment and may be a promising single molecular magnetic switch. The metal-metal and metal-cage bonding natures were thoroughly disclosed by using various theoretical approaches. Their excellent stabilities were confirmed by the Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics simulations at different temperatures. Finally, infrared spectra and 11 B nuclear magnetic resonance spectra were simulated to assist experimental characterization.

First-principles calculations were carried out to investigate the structural, elastic and electronic properties of a series of ternary carbides with the formula of RTMC2 (R = Sc, Y, Zr; TM = Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu). All the carbides are thermodynamically and mechanically stable. Most of them have cohesive energies and formation enthalpies comparable to those of the previously reported ScCrC2. Their lattice constants are highly dependent on the chemical composition. Their CC bond lengths in the unit cell range widely from 1.3577 Å for YNiC2 to 1.8381 Å for ZrTiC2. All the carbides are nonmagnetic or antiferromagnetic. The slight difference of composition can be reflected in the electronic structure. Generally, the bulk modulus of an early transition metal (TM) containing carbide is higher than that of a late TM containing one. The low hardness and good ductility of the late TM containing carbides are attributed to the delocalized TM d-electrons. Finally, the simple rules for designing ductile ceramics were proposed. Keywords: Elastic properties, First-principles calculations, Chemical bonding, Electronic structure, Ductile ceramics

To investigate the impact of carbon emission reduction paths on energy demand and CO2 emissions in China, in this study, quantitative carbon emission reduction paths in the period 2014–2020 are established by decomposing the target for emissions reduction. An optimization model of energy demand, into which reduction paths are incorporated, is then constructed from a goal-oriented perspective. The results suggest that energy consumption varies under different emission reduction paths. Coal demand is found to be much more sensitive to the choice of emission reduction path than other forms of energy; in particular, it responds strongly to the decreasing reduction path. We conclude that the decreasing reduction path is a better means than the increasing reduction path of achieving China’s emission reduction target for 2020 with the least amount of energy and the least amount of CO2 emissions.

We found that the standard B3LYP and dispersion-corrected B3LYP-D3 methods predicted completely opposite energy order for the Lewis acid–base adducts formed by Ih-C60 or D5h-C70 with normal C2-bound (nNHC) and abnormal C5-bound (aNHC) N-heterocyclic carbenes. By using the validated B3LYP-D3 method and taking the solvent effects into account, the exclusive formations of the nNHC-C60/70 (Li et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2011, 133, 12410–12413) and aNHC-Sc3N@Ih-C80 complexes (Chen et al. Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 2331–2334) in two recent experiments were suggested to be thermodynamically and kinetically controlled, respectively. In contrast to the reported reactions of endohedral metallofullerenes, aNHC-Sc3N@Ih-C80 hardly isomerizes to the low-energy normal adducts under heat treatment probably due to the substantial energy barrier and excess NHC reagent used in the experiment. Furthermore, the highly regioselective addition of aNHC to the triple-hexagon-junction carbon atom of Sc3N@Ih-C80 was rationalized by using the frontier molecular orbital theory.

Sirtuin1 (SIRT1), a class III histone deacetylase, exerts a protective role against kidney injury. However, its functions in renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury remains unclear as yet. In this study, we established acute kidney injury (AKI) rat model through renal ischemia and reperfusion, and the role of SIRT1 in I/R-induced AKI was investigated both in vivo and in vitro. In in vivo study, SIRT1 was expressed in tubular epithelial cells (TECs) and its expression was upregulated after I/R treatment. Meanwhile, our in vitro experiment confirmed that the expression of SIRT1 was also elevated in human renal proximal tubular epithelial (HK2) cells treated with hypoxia and reoxygenation (H/R). Notably, activation of SIRT1 by resveratrol (Res, an activator of SIRT1) could significantly ameliorate renal function and reduce the TECs apoptosis in rats. Likewise, Res intervention also reduced the apoptosis and the production of reactive oxygen species in HK2 cells. Furthermore, we found that the autophagy level was upregulated in I/R injury, which could be raised further through resveratrol intervention; and chloroquine (CQ, an autophagy inhibitor) did reverse these protective effects of SIRT1 activation. Taken together, our results suggest that SIRT1 plays a protective role by autophagy induction in I/R- induced AKI. Its role might serve as a preventive approach in I/R-associated AKI.

Background Rice is a chilling-sensitive crop that would suffer serious damage from low temperatures. Overexpression of the Lsi1 gene (Lsi1-OX) in rice enhances its chilling tolerance. This study revealed that a serine hydroxymethyltransferase (OsSHMT) mainly localised in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is involved in increasing tolerance to chilling. Results A higher transcription level of OsSHMT was detected in Lsi1-OX rice than in the wild type. Histone H1 and nucleic acid binding protein were found to bind to the promoter region of OsSHMT and regulate its expression, and the transcription levels of these proteins were also up-regulated in the Lsi1-OX rice. Moreover, OsSHMT interacts with ATP synthase subunit α, heat shock protein Hsp70, mitochondrial substrate carrier family protein, ascorbate peroxidase 1 and ATP synthase subunit β. Lsi1-encoded protein OsNIP2;1 also interacts with ATP synthase subunit β, and the coordination of these proteins appears to function in reducing reactive oxygen species, as the H2O2 content of transgenic OsSHMT Arabidopsis thaliana was lower than that of the non-transgenic line under chilling treatment. Conclusions Our results indicate that ER-localised OsSHMT plays a role in scavenging H2O2 to enhance the chilling tolerance of Lsi1-OX rice and that ATP synthase subunit β is an intermediate junction between OsNIP2;1 and OsSHMT.

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) produces immune-diversity by inducing somatic hypermutations and class-switch recombinations in human immunoglobulin genes. This role of AID in causing genomic mutations, also can potentially cause somatic mutations in various host genes of non-lymphoid tissues, and contribute to tumorigenesis. The goal of the present study was to investigate whether AID expression was involved in the development or progression of colorectal cancer, and the nuclear expression of p53 protein in cancer cells. We examined the pattern of expression of AID and p53 proteins in 71 colorectal adenomas and 122 sporadic colorectal cancers by immunohistochemistry. AID and p53 expression was detected in 57 (46.7%) and 78 (63.9%) out of 122 colorectal cancers, respectively. Statistically, the expression of the AID protein was not associated with the 5-year survival or clinical and pathological parameters, including tumor stage, location, size, and lymph node metastasis (P > 0.05). However, the expression of the AID protein was associated with tumor differentiation (P = 0.004). In addition, a significant association was observed between AID and the nuclear expression of p53 in colorectal cancers (P = 0.0357). Only 3 (4.2%) of the 71 colorectal adenomas showed immunopostivity for AID, resulting in a significant difference between total colorectal cancers and adenomas (P < 0.001). The p53 expression was detected in 7 (9.9%) out of 71 colorectal adenomas. Statistically, AID protein was not associated with the degree of dysplasia and the nuclear expression of p53 in colorectal adenomas (P > 0.05). These results suggest that aberrant expression of the AID protein might play a role in the development of colorectal cancers.

The development of high-efficiency, low-cost, and earth-abundant electrocatalysts for overall water splitting remains a challenge. In this work, Ni-modified MoS

Background Aohan fine wool sheep (AFWS) is an early fine wool variety breed cultivated in China. The wool has excellent quality and good textile performance. Investigating the molecular mechanisms that regulate wool growth is important for improving wool quality and yield. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs which are widely expressed and can act as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to bind to miRNA. Although circRNA has been studied in many fields, research in sheep wool follicles is limited. To understand the regulation of circRNA in the growth of fine wool sheep, we used RNA-seq to identify circRNAs in sheep shoulder skin at three stages, embryonic day 90 (E90d), embryonic day 120 (E120d), and Birth.Results We identified 8,753circRNAs and found that 1,351 were differentially expressed. We also analyzed the classification and characteristic of the circRNAs in sheep shoulder skin. GO and KEGG were used for source genes of circRNAs, and these were mainly enriched in cellular component organization, regulation of primary metabolic process, tight junctions, and the cGMP-PKG and AMPK signaling pathways. In addition, we predicted interactions between 17 circRNAs and 8 miRNAs using miRanda ( http://www.microrna.org/microrna/home.do ). Based on the significant pathways, we speculate the circ-0005720, circ-0001754, circ-0008036, circ-0004032, circ-0005174, circ-0005519, circ-0007826 may play an important role in regulating wool follicle growth in AFWS. 5 circRNAs were randomly selected to validate the results of the RNA-seq by qRT-PCR.Conclusion Our results provide more information about circRNAs in regulating wool follicle development in AFWS and provide a solid foundation for future experiments.

The homeostasis of the gut microbiome is crucial for human health and for liver function. However, it has not been established whether the gut microbiome influence hepatic progenitor cells (HPCs). HPCs are capable of self‐renewal and differentiate into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes; however, HPCs are normally quiescent and are rare in adults. After sustained liver damage, a ductular reaction occurs, and the number of HPCs is substantially increased. Here, we administered five broad‐spectrum antibiotics for 14 days to deplete the gut microbiomes of male C57BL/6 mice, and we measured the plasma aminotransferases and other biochemical indices. The expression levels of two HPC markers, SRY‐related high mobility group‐box gene 9 (Sox9) and cytokeratin (CK), were also measured. The plasma aminotransferase activities were not affected, but the triglyceride, lactate dehydrogenase, low‐density lipoprotein, and high‐density lipoprotein concentrations were significantly altered; this suggests that liver function is affected by the composition of the gut microbiome. The mRNA expression of Sox9 was significantly higher in the treated mice than it was in the control mice (p, While many studies have investigated the liver pathology associated with gut microbiome dysbiosis. I have not come across a paper that deals with hepatic progenitor cells (HPC) activation and microbiome dysbiosis. We found depletion of gut microbiota could induce HPCs activation and the mechanism underlying this phenomenon may associate with inflammatory factors.

Environmental innovation is an important way to low-carbon economic growth. Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) can produce reverse technology transfer to promote innovation. This study aims to examine whether OFDI to developed countries can transfer reverse green technology and promote the environmental innovation of manufacturing enterprises in emerging economies (EEs). Based on the technology gap theory, resource bricolage theory, resource-based view, and Potter hypothesis, this study constructs a conceptual model including the direct effect of OFDI on environmental innovation and the moderating effects of the knowledge level of the host country, multinational strategy, absorptive capacity, and environmental regulation. To verify the model, we also use a panel dataset of 424 Chinese manufacturing enterprises during 2010–2017, and the results indicate that OFDI to developed countries can produce reverse green technology transfer and promote parent companies’ environmental innovation. The knowledge level of the host country and multinational strategy can further improve the impacts on environmental product innovation. However, absorptive capacity and environmental regulation in EEs do not play a significant moderating role. Consequently, this study expands the application scope of existing theories and enriches the theoretical basis of the relationship between OFDI and environmental innovation.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of germacrone (GM) and dexmedetomidine (DEX) in treating type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). A high-fat diet (HFD)-induced T2DM rat model was established. The experimental rats were divided into the control group, HFD group, GM treatment group, DEX treatment group and GM + DEX treatment group. In addition, adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) inhibitor compound C (CC) was used to inhibit AMPKα1 expression. All rats received their respective treatment daily for 21 days. Blood glucose and lipid levels, apoptosis of hepatic cells, and levels of inflammatory factors and oxidative stress indicators in serum samples were evaluated. Protein expression of AMPKα1 and its downstream targets were also investigated. Results demonstrated that blood glucose concentration, blood lipid indicators (endothelin, total cholesterol, triglyceride and low density lipoprotein cholesterol), cell apoptosis in liver tissues, total oxidant status, malondialdehyde, interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and IL-1β levels in serum were increased in the high-fat group compared to the control but decreased following GM and/or DEX treatment. By contrast, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and antioxidative stress indicator superoxide dismutase (SOD) were decreased in the high-fat group but increased following GM and/or DEX treatment. Protein expression of AMPKα1 and the catabolic genes carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α and acyl coenzyme A were decreased whilst anabolic genes, including sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c, fatty acid synthase and diacylglycerol acyltransferase-2, were increased in the HFD group. These effects were attenuated by GM and/or DEX treatment. AMPKα1 inhibition resulted in decreased SOD and increased cell apoptosis in liver tissues as well as increased IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β levels compared with the HFD group. However, these effects were abolished following treatment with CC, GM and DEX together. Taken together these results indicated that GM worked synergistically with DEX to attenuate symptoms of high-fat-induced T2DM, with the effect potentially involving an increase in AMPKα1 expression.

The development of efficient, stable, and low-cost catalytic material for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is currently highly desirable but challenging. In this work, based on first-principles calculation, the stabilities, catalytic activities and catalytic mechanisms of isolated Au atom supported on defective porous BN (p-BN) have been studied in detail. The results reveal that the defective p-BN anchor Au atom strongly to ensure the stability of Au/p-BN. Based on frontier molecular orbital and charge-density analysis, isolated Au atom supported on porous BN with VN defect (Au/p-BN-VN) is an effective ORR catalyst. Especially, the low barriers of the formation (0.38 eV) and dissociation (0.31 eV) of *OOH and the instability of H2O2 on Au/p-BN-VN catalyst suggest that ORR proceeds via 4-electron pathway. Along the favorable pathway, the reduction of O2 to *OOH is the rate-limiting step with the largest activation barrier of 0.38 eV and the maximum free energy change is 1.88 eV. Our results provide a useful guidance for the design and fabrication of new Au-base catalyst with high-efficiency and are beneficial for the developing of novel isolated metal atom catalysts for ORR.

Background Bladder cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases with high recurrence rates worldwide. Although immunotherapy has been applied in bladder cancer for a long period of time, the tumor-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) in bladder cancer has not been systematical investigated. Methods CIBERSORT, a versatile computational method for quantifying cell fractions from bulk tissue gene expression profiles (GEPs), was applied to calculate the TIICs fraction proportion in normal bladder tissues and in bladder cancer tissues with the TCGA data. Results compared to normal bladder tissue, B cells naïve, T cells CD4 memory resting and Mast cells resting fractions proportion decreased, and NK resting, macrophages M0 and macrophages M1 increased. In BLCAs tissue, pro-tumorigenic related immune cells were negatively correlated with anti-tumor immune cells. New tumor with locoregional had high fraction proportion of macrophages M0 and macrophages M1. Dendritic cells activated, Monocytes, macrophages M1, Tregs and T cells follicular helper significantly increased in low grade BLCAs. Tregs had a high proportion in BLCAs patients accepted low radiation dose. Conclusions This study indicates that macrophages M2 and Tregs could be the promising immunotherapy targets combined radiotherapy in BLCAs. The result provides valuable information to understand the immunity status in BLCAs.

Stimulated by the recent successful synthesis and crystallographic characterization of the first diuranium carbide endohedral metallofullerene (EMF) U

Mitochondrial outer membrane (MOM) encloses inner compartments of mitochondria and integrates cytoplasmic signals to regulate essential mitochondrial processes, such as protein import, dynamics, metabolism, cell death, etc. A substantial understanding of MOM associated proteostatic stresses and quality control pathways has been obtained in recent years. Six MOM associated protein degradation (MAD) pathways center on three AAA ATPases: Cdc48 in the cytoplasm, Msp1 integral to MOM, and Yme1 integral to the inner membrane. These pathways survey MOM proteome from the cytoplasmic and the inter-membrane space (IMS) sides. They detect and degrade MOM proteins with misfolded cytoplasmic and IMS domains, remove mistargeted tail-anchored proteins, and clear mitochondrial precursor proteins clogged in the TOM import complex. These MOM associated protein quality control pathways collaboratively maintain mitochondrial proteostasis and cell viability.

In this study, we identified cadmium (Cd) as a potential endocrine disruptor that impairs laying performance, egg quality, and eggshell deposition and induces oxidative stress and inflammation in the eggshell glands of laying hens. A total of 480 38-wk-old laying hens were randomly assigned into 5 groups that were fed a basal diet (control) or a basal diet supplemented with Cd (provided as CdCl2·2.5 H2O) at 7.5, 15, 30, and 60 mg Cd per kg feed for 9 wk. The results showed that, when compared with the control group, a low dose of dietary Cd (7.5 mg/kg) had positive effects on egg quality by improving albumen height, Haugh unit, yolk color, and shell thickness at the third or ninth week. However, with the increase in the dose and duration of Cd exposure, the laying performance, egg quality, and activities of eggshell gland antioxidant enzymes (catalase [CAT], glutathione peroxide [GSH-Px]), and ATPase (Na+/K+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase, and Mg2+-ATPase) deteriorated, and the activity of total nitric oxide synthase (T-NOS) and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) increased significantly (P < 0.05). The histopathology and real-time quantitative PCR results showed that Cd induced endometrial epithelial cell proliferation accompanied by upregulation of the mRNA levels of progesterone receptor (PgR) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), downregulation of the mRNA levels of estrogen receptor α (ERα) and interleukin 6 (IL6), and inflammation of the eggshell gland accompanied by significantly increased expression of complement C3 and pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) (P < 0.05). In addition, the ultrastructure of the eggshell showed that dietary supplementation with 7.5 mg/kg Cd increased the palisade layer and total thickness of the shell, but with the increase in dietary Cd supplementation (30 and 60 mg/kg) the thickness of the palisade layer and mammillary layer decreased significantly (P < 0.05), and the outer surface of the eggshell became rougher. Correspondingly, the expression of calbindin 1 (CALB1), ovocalyxin-32 (OCX-32), ovocalyxin-36 (OCX-36), osteopontin (SPP1), and ovocledidin-17 (OC-17) decreased significantly (P < 0.05) with increasing dietary Cd supplementation. Conclusively, the present study demonstrates that dietary supplementation with Cd negatively affects laying performance, egg quality, and eggshell deposition by disturbing the metabolism of eggshell glands in laying hens but has a positive effect on egg quality at low doses.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a grievous neurology-related disorder that causes many devastating symptoms. This research planned to dig the function and latent mechanisms of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) ANRIL on hydrogen peroxide (H

Chitosan (CS) is an attractive bio-adsorbent in pollutant removal due to its environment-friendly properties and abundant adsorption sites. However, the weak mechanical properties and strong dissolubility in acidic conditions of CS hinder its wide application. Herein, a facile method was proposed to fabricate polydopamine (PDA) and CS cross-linked graphene oxide (GO) (GO/CS/PDA) composite aerogel for Cr (VI) removal. GO was cross-linked with CS, forming a reinforced and three-dimensional macroporous structure; the introduced PDA was simultaneously cross-linked with CS and GO, providing more abundant nanopores and active sites for Cr(VI) removal. Based on the batch experiment results, GO/CS/PDA exhibited an optimized mass ratio (1:20:2) of GO, CS, and PDA for the most effective Cr(VI) adsorption; the adsorption removal rate of Cr(VI) was pH dependent, with the highest removal rate at pH = 3.0. The pseudo-second-order kinetic and Freundlich models were more suitable for fitting the adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms, respectively, and the maximum adsorption capacity for GO/CS/PDA was 312.05 mg/g at 298 K. Thermodynamics parameters indicated that the adsorption was a spontaneous and exothermic process. The excellent mechanical integrity and reusable adsorption performance of GO/CS/PDA promise the adsorbent with satisfactory reusability.

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to investigate effects of dietary zinc methionine (Zn-Met) supplementation on laying performance, zinc (Zn) status, intestinal morphology, and Zn transporters in laying hens compared with zinc sulfate (ZnSO4 ). A total of 384 Hyline Grey laying hens (38 weeks old) with similar performance (1.42 ± 0.07 kg) were randomly allotted to four dietary treatments and fed with a basal diet (control) or the basal diet supplemented with Zn, either as Zn-Met at 40 and 80 mg Zn/kilogram diet or as ZnSO4 at 80 mg Zn/kilogram diet, for 10 weeks. RESULTS There was no difference in egg weight, egg production, feed intake, and feed conversation ratio among all groups (P > 0.05). Compared with the control, Zn contents were increased (P 0.05) in Zn contents in liver, duodenum, and jejunum between diets supplemented with Zn-Met or ZnSO4 at 80 mg Zn/kilogram diet. Compared with the control and the ZnSO4 group (80 mg Zn/kilogram diet), supplementation with Zn-Met of 80 mg Zn/kilogram diet increased (P

Developing efficient and earth-abundant electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is still a big challenge. Here, perovskite La0.4Sr0.6Ni0.5Fe0.5O3 nanoparticles were rationally designed and synthesized by the sol-gel method with an average size around 25 nm, and it has a remarkable intrinsically activity and stability in 1 M KOH solution. Compared with other perovskite (LaNiO3, LaFeO3, and LaNi0.5Fe0.5O3) catalysts, La0.4Sr0.6Ni0.5Fe0.5O3 exhibits superior OER performance, smaller tafel slope and lower overpotential. The high electrochemical performance of La0.4Sr0.6Ni0.5Fe0.5O3 is attributed to its optimized e g filling (~1.2), as well as the excellent conductivity. This study demonstrates co-doping process is an effective way for increasing the intrinsic catalytic activity of the perovskite.

Succinylcholine (Sch) is the only depolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent widely used for rapid sequence induction in emergency rooms. Unfortunately, a variety of (sometimes lethal) adverse effects, such as hyperkalemia and cardiac arrest, are associated with its use, and currently there are no specific antidotes to reverse Sch or to treat these side-effects. Methods: The binding behaviors of Sch and several synthetic receptors, including cucurbit[7]uril, sulfo-calix[4]arene and water-soluble carboxylatopillar[6]arene (WP[6]), were first investigated. With a mouse model, a leathal dose of Sch was selected for evaluation of the antidotal effects of these synthetic receptors on Sch induced mortality. The antidotal effects of a selected synthetic receptor, WP[6], on Sch induced cardiac arrhythmias, hyperkalemia, rhabdomyolysis and paralysis were subsequently evaluated with rat and mouse models. The reversal mechanism was also investigated at a cellular level. Results: All of these macrocyclic molecules exhibited relatively high binding affinities with Sch in vitro. In a Sch-overdosed mouse model, immediate injection of these synthetic receptors right after Sch administration increased the overall survival rate, with WP[6] standing out with the most effective antidotal effects. In addition, administration of WP[6] also reversed the paralysis induced by Sch in a mouse model. Moreover, infusion of WP[6] to Sch-overdosed rats reduced the incidence of cardiac arrhythmia, inhibited the otherwise abnormally high serum potassium levels, and relieved the muscular damage. At the cellular level, WP[6] reversed the Sch induced depolarization and reduced the efflux of intracellular potassium. Conclusion: Synthetic receptors, particularly WP[6], exhibited high binding affinities towards Sch, and presented a significant potential as supramolecular therapeutics to treat the various side effects of Sch by specifically sequestering Sch in vivo.

The conserved AAA‐ATPase Msp1 is embedded in the outer mitochondrial membrane and removes mislocalized tail‐anchored (TA) proteins upon dysfunction of the guided entry of tail‐anchored (GET) pathway. It remains unclear how Msp1 recognizes its substrates. Here, we extensively characterize Msp1 and its substrates, including the mitochondrially targeted Pex15Δ30, and full‐length Pex15, which mislocalizes to mitochondria upon dysfunction of Pex19 but not the GET pathway. Moreover, we identify two new substrates, Frt1 and Ysy6. Our results suggest that mislocalized TA proteins expose hydrophobic surfaces in the cytoplasm and are recognized by Msp1 through conserved hydrophobic residues. Introducing a hydrophobic patch into mitochondrial TA proteins transforms them into Msp1 substrates. In addition, Pex15Δ30 and Frt1 contain basic inter‐membrane space (IMS) residues critical for their mitochondrial mistargeting. Remarkably, Msp1 recognizes this feature through the acidic D12 residue in its IMS domain. This dual‐recognition mechanism involving interactions at the cytoplasmic and IMS domains of Msp1 and substrates greatly facilitates substrate recognition and is required by Msp1 to safeguard mitochondrial functions.

Understanding household natural gas consumption patterns and their influencing factors can help implement specific energy consumption policies and improve energy efficiency. Based on a dataset of natural gas consumption bills for 3995 households in Hefei city, China, this study identifies different household gas consumption patterns using intelligent cluster analysis, taking into account the increasing block tariffs (IBTs) and temperature factors. Subsequently, the survey data of 348 households are matched with the billing and weather data to explore the key drivers of natural gas consumption patterns in different households. The results show that (1) household gas consumption patterns can be divided into four types: a single-point spike, double-point flat-peak, micro-peak, and linear. Among them, single-point spike type consumers and double-point flat-peak type consumers belong to the second and third levels of consumers with high gas consumption, and consumers using wall-hung boilers account for a high proportion of households. (2) For the whole sample, both the IBT policy and the temperature have a significant negative impact on household gas consumption. In terms of different types of consumers, micro-peak and linear consumers are more sensitive to the IBT policy, whereas temperature has the greatest impact on the gas consumption of single-point peak consumers.

To determine optimal gestational weight gain (GWG) for the Chinese population.Live singleton deliveries at the largest maternal & childcare hospital in northwest China from 2010 to 2012 were analyzed retrospectively. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the lowest aggregated risk of interested perinatal outcomes based on Chinese adult body mass index (BMI) categories.Eight thousand eight hundred seventy enrolled parturients were divided into 4 groups according to their prepregnancy BMI: underweight (21.31%, BMI

Ligand protected noble metal nanoclusters have unique physical and chemical properties and the effects of metal nanoclusters on photoluminescence and energy transfer process for fluorescence molecules are still unclear. In this work, we prepared silver nanoclusters (Ag NCs) with different emission wavelengths (blue, green and red emission) and investigated the energy transfer process between Ag NCs and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC). The photoluminescence of FITC can be regulated by the Ag NCs due to various electrons transfer and energy transfer processes between Ag NCs and FITC. The FITC can serve as electrons donor or acceptor which determines the electrons transfer direction between FITC and Ag NCs with different emissions. Astonishingly, the photobleaching of FITC can be effectively inhibited after interacting with Ag NCs, which will surely be of profound significance to the application of FITC.

The joint distribution of wind speed and direction is one of basic characters of wind load, the distribution function at the location of building have to be acquired before structural wind resistance reliability analysis. In this paper, the joint probability distribution function was further studied based on previous references. An analytical method of joint probability density function of wind speed and wind direction from extreme value sample is proposed in this paper. By using this method, the probability distribution feature of any wind direction can be easily calculated which is of great benefits for safety and reliability analysis of wind-resistant structures. Then the joint probability of wind speed and direction near a civil structure was derived on the basis of datum sampled from weather station on the assumption that the wind direction and gradient wind speed of the weather station is same as that at location of the civil building. The data of wind speed and corresponding direction from Shanghai Baoshan weather stations were analysed as a case according to the method discussed in this paper. The conclusions in this paper is useful for analysis of reliability of structural wind resistance.

1. The primary objective of this experiment was to estimate the toxic effects of arsenic (As) supplementation in feed on laying performance, As retention by eggs and organs, serum biochemical indices and endocrine hormones in laying hens. 2. A total of 320 "Jinghong Number 1" hens, 56-week-old, were randomly allocated into four treatments of four replicates with 20 layers in each. Graded arsenical was added to the basal diet in the experimental diets at As levels of 0, 17, 34 and 51 mg/kg, respectively. The trial lasted for 9 weeks including 1 week for acclimatisation. 3. Supplementation of dietary As for eight weeks had no effect on laying performance. As retention in albumen, yolk, egg, liver and kidney increased as As levels increased The level of serum phosphorus (P) was minimised at the 17 mg As/kg group. The activity of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) increased linearly. No differences were observed for levels of serum calcium (Ca), alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT). Concentrations of estradiol (E

N-Halamine-based antibacterial materials play a significant role in controlling microbial contamination, but their practical applications are limited because of their complicated synthetic process and indistinct antibacterial actions. In this study, novel antibacterial N-halamine-containing polymer fibers were synthesized via an one-step electrospinning of N-halamine-containing polymers without any additives. By adjusting the concentration of precursor and the molecular weight of polymers, the morphology and size of the as-spun N-halamine-containing fibers can be regulated. The as-spun fibers showed antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. After an antibacterial assessment using different biochemical techniques, a combined mechanism of contact/release co-determined killing action was evidenced for the as-spun N-halamine-containing fibers. With the aid of contact action and/or release action, this combined mechanism can allow N-halamines to attack bacteria, making the as-spun fibers wide in the application of antibacterial fields, whatever it is in dry or wet environment. Also, a recycle antibacterial test demonstrated that the as-spun fibers can still offer antibacterial property after five recycle experiments.

Conversion coatings on Ti-6Al-4V alloy was prepared through chemical modification in phytic acid and ammonium fluoride mixed solution. The influences of pH, time and the composition of solution on the microstructure of alloy surface were investigated. Scanning electron microscopy was used to observe the microstructure. The chemical composition of alloy surface before and after modification was investigated by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The results indicated that a conversion coating could be formed on the Ti-6Al-4V alloy in a mixed solution of phytic acid and ammonium fluoride, the growth and microstructure of the conversion coatings were critically dependent on the pH, time and concentration of phytic acid and ammonium fluoride. In 100 mg/ml phytic acid containing 125 mg/ml ammonium fluoride solution with a pH of 6, a compact conversion coating with the thickness of about 4.7 μm formed after 30 min immersion on Ti-6Al-4V alloy surface. The preliminary evaluation of bioactivity of conversion coating was performed by in vitro cell experiments. The results showed that this chemical modification method is a promising surface modification technique for Ti-6Al-4V alloy inplants.

Wu et al. show that Doa1 recognizes and recruits ubiquitinated mitochondrial outer-membrane proteins to the Cdc48–proteasome degradation pathway. Doa1 deficiency sensitizes cells to mitochondrial oxidative stress., Mitochondria-associated degradation (MAD) mediated by the Cdc48 complex and proteasome degrades ubiquitinated mitochondrial outer-membrane proteins. MAD is critical for mitochondrial proteostasis, but it remains poorly characterized. We identified several mitochondrial Cdc48 substrates and developed a genetic screen assay to uncover regulators of the Cdc48-dependent MAD pathway. Surprisingly, we identified Doa1, a substrate-processing factor of Cdc48 that inhibits the degradation of some Cdc48 substrates, as a critical mediator of the turnover of mitochondrial Cdc48 substrates. Deletion of DOA1 causes the accumulation and mislocalization of substrates on mitochondria. Profiling of Cdc48 cofactors shows that Doa1 and Cdc48-Ufd1-Npl4 form a functional complex mediating MAD. Biochemically, Doa1 interacts with ubiquitinated substrates and facilitates substrate recruitment to the Cdc48-Ufd1-Npl4 complex. Functionally, Doa1 is critical for cell survival under mitochondrial oxidative stress, but not ER stress, conditions. Collectively, our results demonstrate the essential role of the Doa1–Cdc48-Ufd1-Npl4 complex in mitochondrial proteostasis and suggest that Doa1 plays dual roles on the Cdc48 complex.

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary ME and CP levels on laying performance, egg quality and serum biochemical indices of Fengda-1 layers. In a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement, 2,400 Fengda-1 layers (32 wk of age) were randomly assigned to 6 experimental diets with 2,650 and 2,750 kcal of ME/kg of diet, each containing 14.50%, 15.00% and 15.50% CP, respectively. Each dietary treatment was replicated 5 times, and feed and water were provided ad libitum. The trial lasted for 10 wk, including a 2-week acclimation period and an 8-week experimental period. Our results showed that ADFI decreased as the ME level of diet increased from 2,650 to 2,750 kcal/kg (P 0.05). Based on the data under the experimental conditions, the optimal dietary ME and CP levels of Fengda-1 layers are 2,650 kcal/kg and 15.00% (33 to 41 wk of age).

In this paper, hollow carbon-doped titania composite spheres were prepared through a template-assisted method. The hollow spheres were obtained via deposition of inorganic shell on the surface of polymer latex template with Ti(OBu)4 as precursor and then freeze-drying process was used to reduce breaking and fragments during calcinations. After calcinations in Ar atmosphere, carbon layer was coated onto the surface of hollow microspheres by adsorption to the resulting hollow black spheres with various crystalline structures at different calcination temperatures. The hollow spheres were characterized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, thermo gravimetric analysis, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, X-ray diffraction, ultraviolet and visible absorption and electrophoresis apparatus. The results showed that the hollow TiO2/C spheres were monodisperse and average diameters were 220 nm approximately. Furthermore, the new kind of composite material was applied to electrophoretic display as black particles. The electrophoretic mobility and zeta value in Isopar-G were −2.60e−006 cm2 V−1 s−1 and −35.31 mV respectively, which illustrated its potential application prospect in development of electrophoretic ink.

The present paper proposes a multi-agent simulation model for analyzing the peak-shaving efficiency of natural gas TOU (time-of-use) pricing for residential consumers. Firstly, a natural gas price sensitivity function has been explored according to gas consumption characteristics of residential users, which establishes the residential users demand response model from the perspective of consumer psychology. Secondly, a TOU pricing multi-agent simulation system has been developed, which mainly includes a government agent, a gas operator agent, and seven residential user agents of different income level. Finally, this study takes Zhengzhou city in China as an example to simulate the dynamic change process of running states in the UGPN (Urban Gas Pipeline Network) under the residential users TOU pricing policy. The simulation results indicate that the maximum peak-valley load difference can be reduced by 11.12%, given the residential users' response to TOU tariffs, by shifting load and electricity substitution. The TOU price also increases benefits of gas operators, and reduces residential consumers' energy expenditure. Furthermore, the small ratio of the residential users' consumption will lead to the low peak-valley load difference, but poor peak shaving efficiency and little gas operators' benefits. In addition, the expenditure on energy changes among different kinds of consumers; that is, the high and low income households have a large increased ratio, while the middle income households have a low increased ratio.

For the first time, the rather challenging full-color electrophoretic display was successfully achieved by colored hollow nanoparticles containing mixed transition metal oxides synthesized via improved emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization and the Pechini sol–gel process. The obtained nanoparticles bear a unique hollow structure with a uniform size of 250 nm and rare fragmentation, as well as bright color. They can migrate rapidly in the electrophoretic fluid, as indicated by the measured zeta potential from −58 to −80 mV and electrophoretic mobility from −3.966 × 10−6 to −5.121 × 10−6 cm2 V−1 s−1. Electrophoretic ink prototype devices were successfully assembled by mixing these hollow nanoparticles (as colorants) and TiO2 white particles (as contrast) in a dielectric solvent. Significantly, under an applied bias voltage of 30 V, the devices exhibited excellent performance of high contrast ratio and quick response and thus may find practical application in vivid tricolor electrophoretic displays.

As the first study on metal carbide/cyanide boron clusterfullerenes, the geometries, energies, stabilities and electronic properties of four novel scandium cluster-containing B80 buckyball derivatives, namely Sc2C2@B80, Sc3C2@B80, Sc3CN@B80 and Sc3C2CN@B80, were investigated by means of density functional theory computations. The rather favorable binding energies, which are very close to those of the experimentally abundant carbon fullerene analogues, suggest a considerable possibility to realize these doped boron clusterfullerenes. Their intracluster and cluster-cage bonding natures were thoroughly revealed by various theoretical approaches. In contrast to carbon clusterfullerenes, in which the encaged non-metal atoms mainly play a stabilizing role in the metal clusters, the encapsulated carbon and nitrogen atoms inside the B80 cage covalently bond to the boron framework, resulting in strong cluster-cage interactions. Furthermore, infrared spectra and (11)B nuclear magnetic resonance spectra were simulated and fingerprint peaks were proposed to assist future experimental characterization.