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It has long been believed that skin modes are equivalent to the nontrivial point gap. However, we find that this concomitance can be broken, in that skin modes can be absent or present when the point gap is nontrivial or trivial, respectively, named anomalous non-Hermitian skin effect. This anomalous phenomenon arises whenever unidirectional hopping amplitudes emerge among subsystems, where sub-chains have decoupling-like behaviors and contribute only to the energy levels without particle occupation. The occurrence of anomalous non-Hermitian skin effect is accompanied by changes in open boundary eigenvalues, whose structure exhibits multifold exceptional points and can not be recovered by continuum bands. Moreover, an experimental setup is proposed to simulate this effect. Our results reveal the topologically inequivalence of skin modes and point gap. This effect not only provides a deeper understanding of non-Bloch theory and critical phenomena, but may inspire applications, such as in sensor field. Non-Hermitian skin effect, as an important consequence of a non-Hermitian topological system, has recently attracted great attention. This paper reports an anomalous non-Hermitian skin effect, where the correspondence between skin modes and the non-zero winding number defined within point gaps can be broken, enabling further understanding of the non-Bloch band theory in the non-Hermitian field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The attribute network not only has a complex topology, but its nodes also contain rich attribute information. Attribute network embedding methods extract both network topology and node attribute information to learn low-dimensional embedding of large attribute networks, which are of great importance for network analysis. In this paper, we propose attribute network joint embedding based on global attention (GAJE). First, GAJE uses the structure information of the attribute network to obtain the structure embedding vectors of nodes. Second, we propose a global attention method to obtain the attribute embedding vectors of nodes. This method captures the relationships of different attributes within and between nodes through convolutional neural networks and attention mechanisms, respectively. Finally, GAJE concatenates the structure embedding vectors and the attribute embedding vectors to obtain the final joint embedding vectors which simultaneously reflects the network structure and attributes information. For link prediction and node classification, we compared GAJE with nine well-known network embedding methods in four real datasets. The experimental results show that the algorithm has good attribute network embedding effects. Our tensorflow implementation of the GAJE is available at https://github.com/Andrewsama/GAJE-master. • The network structure and the node attribute are extracted simultaneously. • The global attention mechanism gets the correlation information between the nodes. • Joint training captures the interactions between attribute and structure embeddings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate relation between load and area is of great interest in tribology, especially for large contact fraction, in which the asperity interactions play an import role. The constant mean contact radius obtained in the original Greenwood–Williamson model is adopted in this work; Then, the asperity interactions are dealt with by arranging the random distributed contact spots to hexagon distribution. Finite element simulation is employed to consider only a representative unit with symmetrical boundary conditions, and the corresponding load-area relation is determined up to almost complete contact. For a given contact fraction, interactions induce larger load compared to the GW model without asperity interactions. Furthermore, by comparing with the analytical result given by an incremental contact for small contact fraction, the obtained load-area relation is extended to a general formulation, which shows good agreement with direct finite element simulations. The obtained relations are more general and applicable for a large range of contact fraction. This model provides an efficient method to predict the overall contact response of rough surfaces and reduces the computational burden greatly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

HLA‐C*17:69 differs from HLA‐C*17:01:01:02 by one nucleotide in exon 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorescent polymer nanoparticles (NPs) have great potential as bioimaging and therapeutic agents in the biomedical field. Here, a subtle method is developed to synthesize inherently fluorescent core–shell NPs with diameters less than 100 nm. The permanent fluorescence comes from the rigid conjugated structure between benzene and chloromethyl groups in the crosslinked poly(chloromethylstyrene) (PCMSt) core, which is able to be applied for the determination of Fe3+ with a detection limit of 1.39 × 10−6 m. It is further demonstrated that the galactose modification (poly (6‐O‐acryloyl‐d‐galactose), PADGal) shell can efficiently· facilitate the selective internalization of NPs by human hepatocellular carcinoma cells (HepG2), and the cells are more prone to uptake the NPs with medium crosslinking degree. The hydrophobic anticancer drug 10‐hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) is then loaded onto PADGal@PCMSt NPs. Benefiting from the specific interactions between asialoglycoprotein (ASGP) receptors and the galactose moiety, the PADGal@PCMSt NPs can deliver HCPT with the highest efficiency to HepG2 cells in comparison with the human cervical cancer cells (HeLa), the human alveolar adenocarcinoma basal epithelial cells (A549), the mouse breast cancer cells (4T1), and the mouse fibroblast cells (NIH3T3). The present study provides a new strategy to build small‐size fluorescent polymer NPs with both bioimaging and therapeutic functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GNN-based social recommendation aims to use social network information to improve recommendation performance of traditional user–item interaction network (U–I network). However, in graph neural network information aggregation, both social networks and U–I networks inevitably have noise, which affects accuracy of recommendation results. To reduce the noise impact of network data, we propose Robust Social Recommendation based on Contrastive Learning and Dual-Stage Graph Neural Network (CLDS). First, considering instability of social networks, we propose the social preference network. It is robust and retains only social friend relationships with common preferences. Based on it and U–I network, we construct a social recommendation pre-training model. Next, we propose self-contrastive learning method. The method initializes multiple social network node representations through Gaussian distribution, pre-training and random disturbance, respectively. Then, it uses contrastive learning on the generated multiple node representations to enhance the robustness of node representation. Finally, CLDS avoids directly capturing potentially user–user and item–item information in U–I networks which is incomplete and untrusted. And instead, it only extracts user–item information to reduce the noise generated by GNN-based U–I network information aggregation. We conduct experiments under the open-source real network dataset. The experimental results show that CLDS outperforms state-of-art methods in social recommendation. The code is available at: https://github.com/Andrewsama/CLDS-master. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the midterm outcomes and the capsular healing in patients who had interportal capsulotomy versus periportal capsulotomy of hip arthroscopy. Methods: Retrospectively reviewed 33 patients with labral tear received hip arthroscopy, with an average age of 41 (27‐67) years, including 13 cases of Cam deformity and three cases of Pincer deformity. All patients had positive sign of flexion adduction internal rotation or flexion abduction external rotation. With MRI and radiographic (CT, X plain) imageological examination. MRI showed that all patients had labral tear. Radiographic finding (CT, X plain) showed the pathological changes of acetabular and femoral neck osteophyte. One group with 23 patients were treated with periportal capsulotomy. Another group with 10 patients were treated with interportal capsulotomy. All patients did not close the capsule. Clinical outcomes were measured with the Hip Outcome Score Activities of Daily Living (HOS‐ADL) and the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), patient satisfaction measured with visual analogue scale (VAS). The healing of the capsule was evaluated by MRI. MRI showed continuous capsular indicated healing, discontinuous capsular indicated unhealing. Postoperatively 6 months, mHHS and HOS‐ADL were obtained. Randomized controlled trials were used in this study for analysis. Results: All patients were followed up with average time of 9.3 months(3‐29 months). The postoperative symptoms were obviously relieved, the VAS decreased from (4.9 ± 0.6) to (1.2 ± 0.2) after 3 months postoperative. Follow up 6 months post‐operation, patients in the interportal group, the mHHS and HOS‐ADL scores improvement were respectively 69.4 ± 9.3 & 70 ± 8.8 pre‐operation, and 92.5 ± 5.0 & 86.6 ± 5.4 post‐operation (P < 0.05); Patients in the periportal group, the mHHS and HOS‐ADL scores improvement were respectively 69.9 ± 15.8, 68.1 ± 15.0 pre‐operation, and 90.1 ± 9.3 & 86.7 ± 7.9 post‐operation (P < 0.05).The differences were statistically significant. Six months after operation, MRI showed that 23 patients with periportal capsulotomy, the capsule have healed, without other complications. Three of the ten patients with interportal capsulotomy were healed and seven were not. Conclusion: Interportal and periportal capsulotomy had good outcomes. The technique of periportal capsulotomy had little damage to the joint capsule. Although the capsule did not close, the capsule healed well in postoperative follow‐up. The nonunion rate of the joint capsule was high in the interportal capsulotomy without close the capsule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a one-dimensional optical lattice model to simulate and explore two-dimensional topological phases with ultracold atoms, considering the phases of the hopping strengths as an extra dimension. It is shown that the model exhibits nontrivial phases, and corresponding two chiral-edge states. Moreover, we demonstrate the connections between changes in the topological invariants and the Dirac points. Furthermore, the topological order detected by the particle pumping approach in cold atoms is also investigated. The results obtained here provide a feasible and flexible method of simulating and exploring high-dimensional topological phases in low-dimension systems via the controllable phase of the hopping strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been rapid progresses in biodiversity science of China in recent two decades. These progresses have been achieved in six key respects: species catalogue, origination and evolution of biodiversity, biodiversity maintenance and its relationships with ecosystem functioning and services, threats to biodiversity and biodiversity's responses to global change, biodiversity and ecological security, and construction of research platforms. However, we still lack theoretical breakthrough in biodiversity science. For further progresses, we propose to: (1) translate basic biodiversity research into biodiversity conservation for sustainable utilization; (2) strengthen application of advanced technologies, including high-throughput sequencing, genomics, and remote sensing; and (3) strengthen and expand international collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA replication forks in eukaryotic cells stall at a variety of replication barriers. Stalling forks require strict cellular regulations to prevent fork collapse. However, the mechanism underlying these cellular regulations is poorly understood. In this study, a cellular mechanism was uncovered that regulates chromatin structures to stabilize stalling forks. When replication forks stall, H2BK33, a newly identified acetylation site, is deacetylated and H3K9 trimethylated in the nucleosomes surrounding stalling forks, which results in chromatin compaction around forks. Acetylation-mimic H2BK33Q and its deacetylase clr6-1 mutations compromise this fork stalling-induced chromatin compaction, cause physical separation of replicative helicase and DNA polymerases, and significantly increase the frequency of stalling fork collapse. Furthermore, this fork stalling-induced H2BK33 deacetylation is independent of checkpoint. In summary, these results suggest that eukaryotic cells have developed a cellular mechanism that stabilizes stalling forks by targeting nucleosomes and inducing chromatin compaction around stalling forks. This mechanism is named the "Chromsfork" control: Chromatin Compaction Stabilizes Stalling Replication Forks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanowires have many technological applications as manipulators, force sensors and probes in nano-electromechanical systems. With the increasing ratio of surface area to bulk, surface effects play an important role in the mechanical response of nanowires. In this paper, we consider the influence of residual surface stress and surface elasticity on the postbuckling state of nanowires. The geometric nonlinear finite deformation theory is adopted to describe the large deflection and the midplane stretching in postbuckling, and the shooting method is employed to obtain the postbuckling path and the buckled configurations. This study might be helpful to accurately calibrate the nanowire-based force sensors and design nanowire-based devices in a wide range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining quantitative electrical information with scanning probe microscopy techniques poses a significant challenge since the nature of the probe/sample contact is frequently unkown. For example, obtaining quantitative kinetic data from the recently developed atomic force microscopy (AFM) impedance technique requires normalization by the probe/sample contact area. In this paper, a methodology is proposed that enables the extraction of quantitative information from the AFM impedance technique. This methodology applies results from nanoindentation experiments and contact mechanics theory to characterize AFM probe contacts. Using these results, probe/sample contact forces (which can be accurately measured in the AFM) may be converted into probe/sample contact area estimates. These contact area estimates, when included in model of the probe/sample contact, enable the extraction of quantitative data. This methodology is applied to the recently developed AFM impedance measurement technique, enabling a quantitative study of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at nanometer length scales. Using the AFM impedance system, kinetic data for the (ORR) at nanoscale Platinum/Nafion contacts is extracted. The kinetic data obtained from the AFM impedance technique match previous bulk measurements—affirming the technique’s quantitative potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Many soft biological tissues possess a considerable surface stress, which plays a significant role in their biophysical functions, but most previous methods for characterizing their mechanical properties have neglected the effects of surface stress. In this work, we investigate the micropipette aspiration method to measure the mechanical properties of soft tissues and cells with surface effects. The neo-Hookean constitutive model is adopted to describe the hyperelasticity of the measured biological material, and the surface effect is taken into account by the finite element method. It is found that when the pipette radius or aspiration length is comparable to the elastocapillary length, surface energy may distinctly alter the aspiration response. Generally, both the aspiration length and the bulk normal stress decrease with increasing surface energy, and thus neglecting the surface energy would lead to an overestimation of elastic modulus. Through dimensional analysis and numerical simulations, we provide an explicit relation between the imposed pressure and the aspiration length. This method can be applied to determine the mechanical properties of soft biological tissues and organs, e.g., livers, tumors and embryos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) is associated with various malignancies and infects >90% of the global population. EBV latent proteins are expressed in numerous EBV‐associated cancers and contribute to carcinogenesis, making them critical therapeutic targets for these cancers. Thus, this study aims to develop mRNA‐based therapeutic vaccines that express the T‐cell‐epitope‐rich domain of truncated latent proteins of EBV, including truncatedlatent membrane protein 2A (Trunc‐LMP2A), truncated EBV nuclear antigen 1 (Trunc‐EBNA1), and Trunc‐EBNA3A. The vaccines effectively activate both cellular and humoral immunity in mice and show promising results in suppressing tumor progression and improving survival time in tumor‐bearing mice. Furthermore, it is observed that the truncated forms of the antigens, Trunc‐LMP2A, Trunc‐EBNA1, and Trunc‐EBNA3A, are more effective than full‐length antigens in activating antigen‐specific immune responses. In summary, the findings demonstrate the effectiveness of mRNA‐based therapeutic vaccines targeting the T‐cell‐epitope‐rich domain of EBV latent proteins and providing new treatment options for EBV‐associated cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) in colorectal cancer provides important opportunities for the development of future miRNA‑based therapies. The present study aimed to assess the role of miRNA‑630 (miR‑630) expression in colorectal cancer. HCT116 human colorectal cancer cells were transfected with miR‑630 inhibitor, mimic or control miRNA, and the effects of miR‑630 dysregulation on cell viability, proliferation and apoptosis were analyzed using MTT and bromodeoxyuridine assays, and an annexin V‑fluorescein isothiocyanate cell apoptosis kit, respectively. In addition, the changes in the protein expression of proliferation‑associated and AKT signaling pathway proteins were analyzed by western blot analysis. The results of the present study demonstrated that overexpression of miR‑630 significantly promoted HCT116 cell proliferation however inhibited apoptosis. Furthermore, miR‑630 overexpression reduced the protein expression of p27, BCL2‑associated X apoptosis regulator, procaspase‑3 and active caspase‑3, and increased the levels of phosphorylated‑AKT and BCL2 apoptosis regulator. The suppression of miR‑630 led to the opposite results. In conclusion, the present findings suggested that miR‑630 may function as an oncogenic miRNA in colorectal cancer, and may promote cellular proliferation and inhibit apoptosis, through the regulation of the expression of p27 and the AKT signaling pathway. The present study suggested that the inhibition of miR‑630 may have potential as an alternative therapeutic strategy for the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the problem of hydrogen sulfide odor pollution caused by gypsum-containing construction waste landfill, the hydrogen sulfide production mechanism and environmental hazards of construction waste landfill were investigated, the international policies and prevention measures on the treatment and disposal of construction waste containing gypsum were researched. Suggestions and references for the management of the gypsum-containing construction waste in China were proposed from the perspectives of traducing the mixed landfill of construction waste and household waste, drawing on the best and feasible control technical ideas, and strengthening the utilization of the construction waste resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This meta-analysis was conducted given the contradictory findings from studies on the influence of diabetes duration or age at onset on mortality in patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Methods: Electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, and CINHAL) were comprehensively searched to identify relevant studies until October 31, 2022. All of the selected articles contained statistics on hazard ratios, relative risks (RRs), or odds ratios, or data for estimating the association between diabetes duration or age at onset and total mortality in IDDM patients. Regardless the heterogeneity assessed by the I2 statistic, pooled RRs and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for total mortality were acquired via random effect meta-analysis with inverse variance weighting. Results: This meta-analysis finally included 19 studies involving 122, 842 individuals. Both age at onset and diabetes duration were positively associated with an increased mortality rate in IDDM patients. Specifically, the pooled RRs for age at onset and diabetes duration were 1.89 (95%CI 1.43–2.50) and 1.89 (95%CI 1.16–3.09) respectively. Subgroup analyses revealed that only prepubertal onset was associated with a greater survival advantage than pubertal or postpubertal onset. Conclusions: The findings of this meta-analysis and systematic review suggest that a later age at onset or longer diabetes duration is associated with increased risk of total mortality in IDDM patients. However, this conclusion shall be interpreted with caution due to the possibility of residual confounding and be confirmed in the future by well-designed studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Granular materials are characterized by large collections of discrete particles, where the particleparticle interactions are significantly more important than the particle-fluid interactions. The current kinetic theory captures fairly accurately the granular flow behavior in the dilute case, when only binary interactions are significant, but is not accurate at all in the dense flow regime, where multiparticle interactions and contacts must be modeled. To improve the kinetic theory results for granular flows in the dense flow regime, we propose a Modified Kinetic Theory (MKT) model that utilizes the contact duration or cutoff time to account for the complex particle-particle interactions in the dense regime. The contact duration model, also called TC model, was originally proposed by Luding and McNamara ["How to handle the inelastic collapse of a dissipative hard-sphere gas with the TC model," Granular Matter 1, 113 (1998)] to solve the inelastic collapse issue existing in the inelastic hard sphere model. This model defines a cutoff time tc such that dissipation is not counted if the time between two consecutive contacts is less than tc. As shown in their study, the use of a cutoff time tc can also reduce the dissipation during multi-particle contacts. In this paper we relate the TC model with the Discrete Element Method (DEM) by choosing the cutoff time tc to be the duration of contact calculated from the linear-spring-dashpot soft-sphere model of the DEM. We examine two types of granular flows, simple shear flow and the plane shear flow, and compare the results of the classical kinetic theory model, the present MKT model, and the DEM model. We show that the MKT model entails a significant improvement over the kinetic theory model for simple shear flows at inertial regimes. With the MKT model the calculations are close to the DEM results at solid fractions as high as 0.57. Even for the plane shear flows, where shear rate and solid fraction are inhomogeneous, the results of the MKT model agree very well with the DEM results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemotherapy is one of the major strategies for cancer treatment. Several antineoplastic drugs including vinorelbine (VRB) are commonly intravenously infused and liable to cause serious phlebitis. The therapeutic drugs for preventing this complication are limited. In this study, the mechanism of baicalein (BCN) was investigated on VRB-induced phlebitis in vivo and vascular endothelial cell injury in vitro . Treatment with BCN obviously attenuated vascular endothelial cell loss, edema, inflammatory cell infiltration and blood clots, and reduced the serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and ICAM-1 in the rabbit model of phlebitis induced by intravenous injection of VRB compared with vehicle. Further tests in vitro demonstrated that BCN lessened VRB-induced endothelial cell apoptosis, decreased intracellular ROS levels, suppressed phosphorylation of p38 and eventually inhibited activation of NF-κB signaling pathway. And these effects could be reversed by p38 agonist P79350. These results suggested that BCN exerted the protective effects against VRB-induced endothelial disruption in the rabbit model of phlebitis via inhibition of intracellular ROS generation and inactivation of p38/NF-κB pathway, leading to the decreased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Thus, BCN could be used as a potential agent for the treatment of phlebitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. CD146 is a membrane signal receptor in tumor-induced angiogenesis. However, limited studies have focused on the CD146 promoter polymorphisms in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Purpose. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms located in the promoter region of the CD146 gene and characteristics of ccRCC in Chinese population. The association between the CD146 promoter polymorphisms and CD146 expression was also investigated in ccRCC. Materials and Methods. A total of 600 samples including 300 ccRCC patients and 300 healthy controls were collected for analysis of the CD146 promoter polymorphisms by direct sequence. The CD146 expressions were measured by qRT-PCR. Results. We had not found any significant differences in genotypic and allelic frequencies of CD146 promoter polymorphisms between ccRCC patients and controls. The rs3923594 was associated with stage and metastasis (300 cases) and recurrence (263 cases) of ccRCC in Chinese population. A significant association was also observed between the rs3923594 and CD146 expression (227 cases) in ccRCC. Conclusions. CD146 promoter polymorphisms were not associated with the risk of ccRCC in Chinese population. The rs3923594 was an independent predictor of recurrence in Chinese patients with localized ccRCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (KI)n–(n= 1–4) and K(KI)n–(n=1–3) clusters were studiedby negative ion photoelectron spectroscopy and ab initio calculations.Comparison between the theoretical vertical detachment energies andthe experimental values revealed that multiple isomers may coexistin the experiments. The existence of two isomers for K(KI)−and K(KI)2–were confirmed directlyby isomer-depletion experiments, in which the low adiabatic detachmentenergy isomers were depleted by a 1064 nm laser beam before the anionswere photodetached by a 532 nm laser beam. Our results show that themost stable structures of the K(KI)−, (KI)2–, and K(KI)2–anionsare chain structures, while those of their neutral counterparts areplanar. Three-dimensional structures start to appear at n= 3 for (KI)n–/0andK(KI)n–/0. In the K(KI)n–cluster anions, the excesselectron is localized on the extra K atom and forms an electron pairwith the existing s electron of the K atom; the resulting negativelycharged K prefers to interact with the other positively charged Katoms rather than with the I atoms. Both the anionic and neutral (KI)4clusters have cuboid structures, which may be regarded asthe smallest structural motif of KI crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study described a rare case of malignant conversion of a solitary papilloma in the trachea, in addition to reviewing the current literature. A 54-year-old male presented with a cough, sputum and dyspnea. Chest computed tomography revealed a mediastinal soft-tissue mass in the trachea. A tumor biopsy, performed using a flexible bronchofiberscope, identified a squamous cell papilloma with moderate to severe atypical hyperplasia, as well as the formation of squamous cell carcinoma. Polymerase chain reaction analysis did not detect presence of human papilloma virus in the tumor. The patient was subsequently treated with radiotherapy and no evidence of recurrence was observed during a two-year follow-up period. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to describe the malignant conversion of a solitary papilloma in the trachea, which was subsequently treated with radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we investigated the mechanism of O 2 tolerance of Klebsiella oxytoca HP1 H 2 -evolving hydrogenase 3 (KHyd3) by mutational analysis and three-dimensional structure modeling. Results revealed that certain surface amino acid residues of KHyd3 large subunit, in particular those at the outer entrance of the gas channel, have a visible effect on its oxygen tolerance. Additionally, solution pH, immobilization and O 2 partial pressure also affect KHyd3 O 2 -tolerance to some extent. We propose that the extent of KHyd3 O 2 -tolerance is determined by a balance between the rate of O 2 access to the active center through gas channels and the deoxidation rate of the oxidized active center. Based on our findings, two higher O 2 -tolerant KHyd3 mutations G300E and G300M were developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to solve the problems of strongly nonlinear, multivariable coupling and complexities of the exact analytical model for the switched reluctance motor(SRM), the traditional fuzzy and PI control methods were investigated. After the analysis of system model, the linearly and nonlinearly relationship were established between the plant and controller. A method called hybrid fuzzy PI arithmetic was presented to design a speed controller. A simulation program of switched reluctance drive system (SRD) based on Ansoft and Matlab-simulink was developed. The relationship between behavior of hybrid fuzzy PI controller and SRM performance was studied under different feedback error circumstances. The controller stabilization performance and SRM static/dynamic performance were evaluated at the same time. The physical verification experimental results indicate that both static/dynamic performance and robustness of SRD are improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Systemic steroid therapy (SST) for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) is considered the only effective treatment, but the results are not satisfactory in clinical practice. Intratympanic steroid (ITS) treatment has been adopted as a salvage treatment for patients in whom previous SST failed. However, the uncertain results of ITS treatment as a salvage treatment present patients with the dilemma of accepting or refusing ITS treatment. The goal of this study was to review relevant studies and analyze the pooled data to determine whether ITS treatment is effective for SSNHL after the failure of SST. Methods: A literature search of the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases to May 2014 was performed without restrictions regarding the language of publication. The studies were screened after reading the abstract and full text. Only prospective, randomized, controlled trials that evaluated the effect of ITS therapy on SSNHL adult patients after SST failed were included in the meta-analysis. Improvements in pure tone averages and the number of patients with no improvement were extracted and entered into Rev- Man software to meta-analyze the overall effect of ITS on SSNHL after SST failed. Findings: A total of 543 studies were identified, and 41 of these studies were found to be eligible and related to ITS therapy after SST failed. Ultimately, 5 randomized, controlled trials containing data from 102 patients in the ITS group and 101 control subject were included. The pooled results revealed that ITS therapy was able to improve the hearing levels of SSNHL patients who had responded poorly to SST. Implications: ITS therapy might be an effective approach to the treatment of SSNHL after SST fails. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogenase is the key point of H 2 -based biotechnology. However, the O 2 -sensitivity largely hinders its applications in biofuel cells and biological H 2 production. Therefore, substantial breakthrough on understanding the molecular basis of O 2 -sensitivity and developing more O 2 -tolerant hydrogenases are urgently required. In this study, we found adding extra cysteines to the vicinity of the proximal Fe–S cluster to the NiFe active centre could largely enhance oxygen tolerance of hydrogen-evolving hydrogenase 3 from Klebsiella oxytoca HP1 ( Ko Hyd3), through homologous sequence comparison and site-directed mutagenesis. Ratio of aerobic hydrogen yield to anaerobic hydrogen yield (RHH) of Gly47Cys (Gly47 was replaced with Cys47), Gly50Cys, Gly113Cys, Gly120Cys and Gly50Cys–Gly120Cys (double exchange) were increased by 46.99%, 42.15%, 59.19%, 44.74% and 78.72%, respectively, comparing with that of wild type. Moreover, TiO 2 - Ko Hyd3 (Gly47Cys, Gly50Cys, Gly113Cys, Gly120Cys and Gly50Cys–Gly120Cys) particles acted well in UV light-driven H 2 production from water. These results revealed that extra cysteines nearby Fe–S clusters had significant effects on oxygen tolerance of Ko Hyd3. It also provided a promising way to produce O 2 -tolerant hydrogenase as biocatalysts in biofuel cells or H 2 production by photolysis of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haff disease is a syndrome consisting of unexplained rhabdomyolysis. Patients suffering from Haff disease report having eaten fish within 24 hours before the onset of illness. Most patients survive and recover quickly. The present study is the first report of Haff disease complicated by multiple organ failure after crayfish consumption. A 66-year-old Chinese man ate cooked crayfish on the night of June 23, 2013. He arrived at our hospital 2 days later and was admitted to the intensive care unit. After admission, the patient was diagnosed with Haff disease complicated by multiple organ failure. Despite supportive and symptomatic treatments, the condition of the patient deteriorated, and he died due to his illness. Haff disease is a rare clinical syndrome that is sometimes misdiagnosed. Early diagnosis and proper treatment are essential to prevent progression to multiple organ failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The simulation of particulate flows for industrial applications often requires the use of two-fluid models, where the solid particles are considered as a separately continuous phase. One of the underlining uncertainties in the use of the two-fluid models in multiphase computations comes from the boundary condition of the solid phase. Typically, the gas or liquid fluid boundary condition at a solid wall is the so called no-slip condition, which has been widely accepted to be valid for single-phase fluid dynamics provided that the Knudsen number is low. However, the boundary condition for the solid phase is not well understood. The no-slip condition at a solid boundary is not a valid assumption for the solid phase. Instead, several researchers advocate a slip condition as a more appropriate boundary condition. However, the question on the selection of an exact slip length or a slip velocity coefficient is still unanswered. Experimental or numerical simulation data are needed in order to determinate the slip boundary condition that is applicable to a two-fluid model. In this paper, we investigate the motion of a number of particles near a vertical solid wall, while the particles are in fluidization by a uniform flow. By applying a direct numerical simulation (DNS), the positions and velocities of a total of 500 particles, initially randomly distributed in a 0.20 m x 0.80 m bed, are being tracked and analyzed at each time step. It is found that the motion of particles is highly unsteady. However, the time- and vertical-space averaged values of the particle velocities converge, yielding velocity profiles that can be used to deduce the particle slip length close to a solid wall. The simulation results show a significant amount downward particle slip close to a vertical wall, with the slip velocity increasing as the fluidization velocity increases. However, a negative slip length of approximately 1.2 particle diameters appears to exist. This slip length was found to be insensitive to the values of the fluidization velocity. We also obtained a power-law relationship between the fluidization velocity and fluid/solid fraction, yielding an exponent coefficient of 4.24 for circular particles. The fluidization of 10,000 particles by a jet flow has also been investigated. Significant slip velocity is also observed at the wall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the choice of oscillator resonant circuit parameters depends mostly on experience, we propose nonlinear differential equations to describe an oscillator based on an equivalent circuit of the oscillator and then to describe the internal electrical noise of the oscillator by introducing a stochastic term that establishes a nonlinear stochastic differential equation to analyse the oscillator's behavior. For optimization of the oscillator resonant circuit parameters, first, we used Advanced Design System (simulation software of the Agilent company) to verify the conclusion, and then, using a 10MHz Pierce crystal oscillator, provided experimental evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the finite-time stabilization and finite-time H∞ control problems of a class of nonlinear Hamiltonian descriptor systems with applications to affine nonlinear descriptor systems. Via an appropriate state feedback, an equivalent nonlinear dissipative Hamiltonian differential-algebraic system is first obtained. With the obtained dissipative form, a finite-time stabilization control design procedure is then presented, based on which a finite-time H∞ controller is designed for the system with external disturbances. Finally, the obtained results for Hamiltonian descriptor systems are applied to affine nonlinear descriptor systems. Simulation results on nonlinear circuit system show the effectiveness of the controllers proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the problem of event-driven observer-based output feedback control of linear systems. Contrary to normal sampled-data control systems, where the controller is updated periodically, in event-driven systems, it is updated only when an "event" happens, and a typical event is defined as some error signals exceeding a given threshold. Both continuous- and discrete-time event detector cases are considered. It is shown that even with the significantly reduced sampling frequency, the global uniform ultimate boundedness of the event-driven closed-loop systems can also be guaranteed. A numerical example is finally used to illustrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An instrumental analysis experiment was introduced : simultaneous identification and quantitative determination of components in Paracetamol, Aminophenazone, Caffeine and Chlorphenamine Maleate Tablets using 1HNuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. This paper introduces the purpose, procedure and effect of this experiment. Qualitative and quantitative analyses are based on resonance characteristics of the functional groups and the integral ratio of selected signals belonging to different compounds, respectively. This method covers the main points of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which will help students learn this part better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The laminar forced convection of a heated rotating sphere in air has been studied using a three-dimensional immersed boundary based direct numerical simulation method. A regular Eulerian grid is used to solve the modified momentum and energy equations for the entire flow region simultaneously. In the region that is occupied by the rotating sphere, a moving Lagrangian grid is used, which tracks the rotational motion of the parti-cle. A force density function or an energy density function is introduced to represent the momentum interaction or thermal interaction between the sphere and fluid. This numeri-cal method is validated by comparing simulation results with analytical solutions of heat diffusion problem and other published experimental data. The flow structures and the mean Nusselt numbers for flow Reynolds number ranging from 0 to 1000 are obtained. We compared our simulation results of the mean Nusselt numbers with the correlations from the literature and found a good agreement for flow Reynolds number greater than 500; however, a significant discrepancy arises at flow Reynolds number below 500. This leads us to develop a new equation that correlates the mean Nusselt number of a heated rotating sphere for flows of 0 < Re < 500. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biofuels production from lignocellulose hydrolysates by microbe fermentation has merited attention because of the mild reaction conditions involved and the clean nature of the process. In this work, xylulokinase (XK) and xylose isomerase (XI) were overexpressed in Klebsiella oxytoca HP1 to enhance hydrogen production by the fermentation of xylose. The recombinant strains exhibited higher enzyme activity of XI or XK compared with the wild strain. Hydrogen production from pure xylose, xylose/glucose mixtures and bamboo stalk hydrolysate was significantly enhanced with the overexpression of XI and XK in K. oxytoca HP1 in terms of total hydrogen yield (THY), hydrogen yield per mole substrate (HYPM) and hydrogen production rate (HPR). The HYPM of K. oxytoca HP1/xylB and K. oxytoca HP1/xylA reached 1.93 ± 0.05 and 2.46 ± 0.05 mol H2/mol xylose, respectively in pure xylose, while the value for the wild strain was 1.68 ± 0.04 mol H2/mol xylose. The xylose consumption rate (XCR) for the recombinant strain was significantly higher than that for the wild strain, particularly in the early stage of fermentation. Relative to the wild type, hydrogen yield (HY) from 1 g of preprocessed bamboo powder of HP1/xylB and HP1/xylA increased by 33.04 and 41.31%, respectively. It was concluded that overexpression of XK or XI was able to promote hydrogen production from xylose and xylose/glucose mixtures by simultaneously increasing the utilization efficiency of xylose and weakening the inhibitory effect of glucose on xylose use. In addition, the results indicated that overexpression technology was an effective way to further increase hydrogen production from lignocellulosic hydrolysates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. To investigate promoter methylation in the deleted in lung and esophageal cancer 1 (DLEC1) gene in Chinese patients with gastric cancer. Methods. A total of 227 patients with gastric cancer were enrolled. The methylations of the promoter regions of DLEC1 and ACTB were determined using quantitative methylation-specific PCR. The DLEC1 methylation was compared to the clinicopathological variables of gastric cancer. Results. DLEC1 methylation was not associated with the clinicopathological variables of gastric cancer. Patients with DLEC1-hypermethylated gastric cancer had significantly higher recurrence rate than those with DLEC1-hypomethylated gastric cancer (P = 0.025; hazard ratio = 2.43). Conclusions. Methylation of DELC1 promoter may be a valuable predictor for recurrence in Chinese patients with gastric cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyze the expression of zinc-finger E-box-binding homeobox 1 (ZEB1) in endometrial biopsy and its correlation with preoperative characteristics, including lymph node metastases in patient with endometrial cancer. Methods. Using quantitative RT-PCR, ZEB1 expressions in endometrial biopsy from 452 patients were measured. The relationship between ZEB1 expression and preoperative characteristics was analyzed. Results. ZEB1 expressions were significantly associated with subtype, grade, myometrial invasion, and lymph node metastases. Lymph node metastases could be identified with a sensitivity of 57.8% at specificity of 74.1% by ZEB1 expression in endometrial biopsy. Based on combination of preoperative characteristics and ZEB1 expression, lymph node metastases could be identified with a sensitivity of 62.1% at specificity of 96.2% prior to hysterectomy. Conclusion. ZEB1 expression in endometrial biopsy could help physicians to better predict the lymph node metastasis in patients with endometrial cancer prior to hysterectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental problem of heat and mass transfer from a slightly deformed sphere at low but finite Peclet numbers in Stokes flow is solved by a combined regular and singular perturbation method. The deformed sphere is assumed to be axisymmetric and its shape is described by a power series in a small parameter; the correction to the Nusselt number due to the deformation of the sphere is obtained through a regular perturbation with respect to this parameter. On the contrary, the correction to the Nusselt number due to the small Peclet number is derived by applying a singular perturbation method. The ana-lytical solution is derived for the averaged Nusselt number in terms of the Peclet number and the deformation parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma membrane NADPH oxidases (Noxs) are key producers of reactive oxygen species under both normal and stress conditions in plants. We demonstrate that at least eleven genes in the genome of rice (Oryza sativa L.) were predicted to encode Nox proteins, including nine genes (OsNox1-9) that encode typical Noxs and two that encode ancient Nox forms (ferric reduction oxidase 1 and 7, OsFRO1 and OsFRO7). Phylogenetic analysis divided the Noxs from nine plant species into six subfamilies, with rice Nox genes distributed among subfamilies I to V. Gene expression analysis using semi-quantitative RT-PCR and real-time qRT-PCR indicated that the expression of rice Nox genes depends on organs and environmental conditions. Exogenous calcium strongly stimulated the expression of OsNox3, OsNox5, OsNox7, and OsNox8, but depressed the expression of OsFRO1. Drought stress substantially upregulated the expression of OsNox1-3, OsNox5, OsNox9, and OsFRO1, but downregulated OsNox6. High temperature upregulated OsNox5-9, but significantly downregulated OsNox1-3 and OsFRO1. NaCl treatment increased the expression of OsNox2, OsNox8, OsFRO1, and OsFRO7, but decreased that of OsNox1, OsNox3, OsNox5, and OsNox6. These results suggest that the expression profiles of rice Nox genes have unique stress-response characteristics, reflecting their related but distinct functions in response to different environmental stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stabilisation problem for a class of single-input discrete-time switched control systems is considered based on common diagonal quadratic Lyapunov functions and switched diagonal quadratic Lyapunov functions, respectively. Sufficient conditions for diagonal stabilisation of the concerned systems are derived in terms of linear inequalities. Numerical examples are finally used to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PURPOSE: The objective of this study is to determine whether or not plasma cfDNA levels can predict efficacy of sorafenib in patient with metastatic cRCC. MATERIALSANDMETHODS:Plasma cfDNAlevelswere quantified by quantitative real-time PCRat six different time-points (before treatment, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, and 24 weeks) in 18 metastatic cRCC patients receiving sorafenib, as assessed by CT examination according to RECIST 1.1. RESULTS: A significantly lower plasma cfDNA level, measured from 8 weeks to 24 weeks, was found in patients with remission or stable disease than in those with progression. Higher levels in plasma cfDNA levels during the course of treatment indicated poor outcome. For predicting progression, a sensitivity of 66.7% was achieved at 100% specificity using cfDNA levels at 8 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Monitoring of plasma cfDNA levels during the course of sorafenib therapy could identify metastatic cRCC patients who are likely to exhibit a poor response at an early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dimer of acrylic acid can exist in two forms, depending on the entgegen or zusammen orientations of the two allyl groups. The latter one (zusammen) has a permanent value of the μb dipole moment component, which allowed measuring its pulsed jet Fourier transform microwave (MW) spectrum. From the tunneling splitting, originating in the concerted proton transfer of the two carboxylic hydrogen atoms and measured for four isotopologues of such a bimolecule, we could determine the barrier and dynamics of the proton transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Eupolyphaga sinensis Walker popularly known as “preferred drug to regulate blood flow” are traditionally used in folk medicine in the treatment of ecchymoma, posttraumatic wound, hepatic fibrosis and tumor. Aim of the study: To characterize chemical compositions and to evaluate the antitumor and immunomodulatory of Eupolyphaga sinensis Walker ethanol extract (ESEE) in hepatocarcinoma H22 bearing mice. Materials and methods: ESEE was obtained by ethanol reflux extraction and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) after methylation. ICR mice were treated with ESEE for 14 consecutive days at doses of 31mg/kg (low-dose), 62mg/kg (mid-dose) and 124mg/kg (high-dose) after H22 tumor cells were implanted. At the end of the experiments, the tumor weight of each mouse was measured. Levels of serum TNF-α and IFN-γ was assayed by ELISA. Protein expressions of Bax, Bcl-2 and caspases-3 were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Chemical analysis revealed the presence of 6 components that account for 97.55% of fatty acids, indicating the occurrence of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Oral administration of ESEE could inhibit tumor growth, promote Th1 type cytokine productions (TNF-α and IFN-γ) and induce apoptosis of hepatocarcinoma via increase of Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and activation of caspases-3. Oral administration of ESEE in a dosage of 6.2g/kg did not lead to toxic effects in mice. Conclusions: ESEE was effective in inhibiting tumor growth in vivo and could also serve as immunoadjuvant for tumor therapy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We investigate the hydrodynamic drag force on a viscous sphere in a fluid of different viscosities at small but finite Reynolds numbers when interfacial slip is present at the surface of the sphere. The sphere is small enough for it to retain its spherical shape, as is the case with most small droplets. By using a singular perturbation method, the exterior flow field of the droplet is decomposed into an inner region, where the viscous effects dominate, and an outer region, where the inertia is important. The interior flow of the viscous sphere is also solved analytically. By applying appropriate boundary conditions to the surface of the viscous sphere and matching the conditions between the inner and outer flow fields, stream functions up to the order of Re² log Re for both the exterior and the interior flow are obtained. Thus, an analytical expression for the drag force coefficient of the viscous droplet is derived. This general expression yields, as special cases, several other expressions that are applicable to spheres that translate rectilinearly under more restrictive conditions. One of the practical conclusions from this study is that the presence of interfacial slip can significantly reduce the drag force on a droplet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the robust H∞ filtering problem of nonlinear stochastic systems with time delay appearing in state equation, measurement, and controlled output, where the state is governed by a stochastic Itô-type equation. Based on a nonlinear stochastic bounded real lemma and an exponential estimate formula, an exponential (asymptotic) mean square H∞ filtering design of nonlinear stochastic time-delay systems is presented via solving a Hamilton-Jacobi inequality. As one corollary, for linear stochastic time-delay systems, a Luenberger-type filter is obtained by solving a linear matrix inequality. Two simulation examples are finally given to show the effectiveness of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Link duration is a main factor in determining the transmission capacity between two encounter nodes in delay-tolerant networks (DTNs). Existing research on DTN transmission capacity usually assumes that a node can immediately discover the nodes that move into its transmission range. Under this assumption, the link duration in DTNs is determined by the moving speed and transmission distance of encounter nodes. However, this assumption may be invalid in realistic DTNs, where the nodes use a contact-probing protocol to detect their neighbors. In this paper, we investigate the impact of contact-probing mechanisms on link duration and, thus, the transmission capacity of DTNs. We first derive the probability distribution of link duration and analyze the impact of contact-probing mechanisms on the total link durations. Based on this approach, we derive the theoretical node throughput and energy consumption and explore their tradeoff. In addition, we provide a framework for computing the optimal contact-probing frequency under energy limitations and adjust the probing frequency according to the node-encountering rate. Simulation experiments based on the Opportunistic Network Environment simulator validates the correctness and the accuracy of our analytical model. Our analytical results provide insights into how contact probing affects the DTN transmission capacity and energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Surface effects on the transverse vibration and axial buckling of double-nanobeam-system(DNBS) are examined based on a refined Euler-Bernoulli beam model. For three typical deformationmodes of DNBS, we derive the natural frequency and critical axial load accounting for both surface elasticity and residual surface tension, respectively. It is found that surface effects get quite important when the cross-sectional size of beams shrinks to nanometers. No matter for vibration or axial buckling, surface effects are just the same in three deformation modes and usually enhance the natural frequency and critical load. However, the interaction between beams is clearly distinct in different deformation modes. This study might be helpful for the design of nano-optomechanical systems and nanoelectromechanical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase noise is the most important parameter in many oscillators. In this paper, based on nonlinear stochastic differential equation for phase noise analysis approach is proposed. And then discusses and compares the influence of two different sources of noise in the Van Der Pol oscillator adopted this method. One source of noise is a white noise process, which is a genuinely stochastic process; the other source of noise is actually a deterministic system, which exhibits chaotic behavior in some regions. The behavior of the oscillator under different conditions is investigated numerically. It is shown that the phase noise of the oscillator is affected more by noise arising from chaos than by noise arising from the genuine stochastic process at the same noise intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate power bus model is essential for predicting noise coupling in high-speed printed circuit board (PCB) and package designs. With a complex multilayer structure, the power bus is often modeled using numerical simulation methods. However, full-wave approaches are computationally inefficient, or even infeasible for extremely complicated geometries. Fortunately, the segmentation method makes it possible to combine different types of models together, and both simulation accuracy and efficiency can be obtained through this “divide-and-conquer” strategy. After segmentation, one of the fundamental blocks is a parallel plane pair. For this block, analytical expressions for the impedance (Z) matrix are available for a rectangular plane pair and some special triangular plane pairs. The combination of the cavity model with the segmentation technique has been known to be an efficient way to analyze irregularly shaped multilayer structures. In this paper, this approach is further extended to the general multilayer structures with overlapping planes. Noise-coupling mechanisms are then studied, and the two main coupling mechanisms, the plane edge coupling and the via coupling, are further characterized. Engineering implications on reducing noise coupling in a practical multilayer PCB are discussed through a series of simulation examples. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]