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Background:: Citrus medica is a kind of medicinal and edible plant. It not only contains rich nutrients but also has a variety of therapeutic functions, including relieving pain, harmonizing the stomach, removing dampness, reducing phlegm, cleaning the liver, and relieving qi in traditional Chinese diagnosis. Methods:: The references of C. medica were mainly collected from the online database, such as PubMed, SciFinder, Web of Science, Google Scholar, Elsevier, Willy, SpringLink, and CNKI. The other related references were sorted by consulting books and documents. Results:: This review summarized and analyzed the different types of flavonoids of C. medica, including flavone-O-glycosides, flavone-C-glycosides, dihydroflavone-O-glycosides, flavonol aglycones, flavonoid aglycones, dihydroflavonoid aglycones, and bioflavonoids. The extraction methods of flavonoids were summarized in this review. Meanwhile, the multiple bioactivities of these flavonoids, including anti-atherosclerotic, hypolipidemic, anti-oxidant, hypoglycemic, and other activities. Their structure-activity relationships were reviewed and discussed in this paper. Conclusions:: This review summarized the different extraction methods of diverse flavonoids with multiple bioactivities of C. medica, and their structure-activity relationships were discussed in this paper. This review may provide a valuable reference for researching and exploiting C. medica.

This paper studies the problem of decentralized adaptive output feedback fault detection and control for a class of uncertain nonlinear interconnected systems. The K-filters are designed to estimate the unmeasured state variables of the system. Moreover, the built-in noise dampening filters are introduced to attenuate the influence caused by the measurement noises. Then the fault detection scheme is proposed by designing the residual and threshold signals. Subsequently, by using the backstepping design method, the decentralized switched control strategies are proposed with the help of the neural network approximation technique. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, it is proved strictly that all signals of the resulting closed-loop system are bounded. Finally, a simulation example is presented to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical result.

Extant studies have presented various indexes for evaluating urban carrying capacity (UCC), but there is no consistent perspective on UCC. This paper presents a guiding index framework from a holistic perspective as a reference guidance for evaluating urban carrying capacity (UCC). The framework is developed based upon the theory of sustainable urban development by addressing the fundamental question of what carrying capacities are needed to enable sustainable urban development. The framework is composed of three-layer elements, namely, top-layer pillars, intermediate-layer carriers, and bottom-layer indexes. At top-layer, there are three pillars of UCC, namely, economic carrying capacity, social carrying capacity, and environmental carrying capacity. The intermediate-layer carriers are identified based upon production factors theory, Maslow’s need-hierarchy theory, and environmental factors theory. The bottom-layer presents guiding indexes which are established through comprehensive literature review, references to criteria and expert validation. The three pillars of UCC carry on different functions. Economic capacity is to maintain economic growth, which is generated by utilising effectively economic carriers, such as natural materials, human resources, and capital resources. Socially, a city should have the capacity to meet human needs through providing effective social carriers, such as food, housing, transportation, education, and medical services. Environmentally, a city should be capable to provide quality environment including land, water, and atmosphere. Each carrier is underpinned by several measurable indexes to examine the level of urban carrying capacity. The guidance and rationale of how to apply the proposed UCC guiding index framework are provided across three pillars of urban carrying capacity.

Multi-drug resistance remains a critical issue in cancer treatment that hinders the effective use of chemotherapeutic drugs. The active components of traditional Chinese medicine have been applied as adjuvants to accentuate the anticancer properties of conventional drugs such as cisplatin. However, their application requires further validation and optimization. This study explored the anticancer activity of β-elemene, a natural component of traditional Chinese medical formulations. The effect of β-elemene on the anticancer properties of cisplatin was evaluated in A549 and NCI-H1650 lung cancer cells. Cell apoptosis, stem-like properties, glucose metabolism, multi-drug resistance, and PI3K/AKT/mTOR activation were assessed via flow cytometry, tumorsphere formation, and western blotting. The target genes of β-elemene were predicted using bioinformatics tools and validated in both cell lines. A xenograft model of lung cancer was established in nude mice to evaluate the combined effects of β-elemene and cisplatin in vivo. We found that β-elemene acted synergistically with cisplatin against non-small cell lung cancer cells by promoting apoptosis and impairing glucose metabolism, multi-drug resistance, and stemness maintenance. These effects were mediated by the inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR activation. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that RB1 and TP53 are common target genes associated with lung cancer and β-elemene. The anti-tumorigenic properties of β-elemene were confirmed in vivo, wherein β-elemene, along with cisplatin, significantly suppressed tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model of non-small cell lung cancer. As such, β-elemene acted as an inhibitor of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling and enhanced the anticancer effect of cisplatin by targeting tumor metabolism, chemoresistance, and stem-like behavior. Thus, β-elemene is an effective anticancer adjuvant agent with potential clinical applications.

The natural environmental degradation is especially challenging the rapid urbanization areas where urban development needs to swallow traffic noise and pollution of atmospheric environment caused by transportation development. Coordinated development of transportation and environment is very necessary for sustainable urban development. This study examined the coupling coordination development situation among the four municipalities in China. The results show that: (1) the value of transportation carrying capacity (TCC) in Tianjin and Chongqing show a fluctuating upward and TCC in Beijing and Shanghai present a decreasing trend for the surveyed period. (2) The value of environment carrying capacity (ECC) in Chongqing and Shanghai show a fluctuating increasing trend and ECC in Tianjin and Beijing decreased slightly. (3) The coupling development characteristics of the four municipalities are obvious, and the elements in each system interact with each other during the surveyed time period. Nevertheless, the degree of coordination between TCC and ECC in each city is lower, especially in Beijing.

Cities are facing various challenges in the process of urbanization. Land carrying capacity is an important basis for sustainable development, especially for mountainous mega cities. This study aims at formulating a framework to evaluate land carrying capacity of the mountainous mega city, 26 indicators are selected and classified as four subsystems including population, economy, eco-environment and construction. A mountainous mega city in China, Chongqing, is selected as a case to demonstrate this framework. The results show that there is a volatile increasing trend for land comprehensive carrying capacity in Chongqing during 2008–2017, different subsystems have different trends. This research can provide evaluation underpinnings for managers and planners of mountainous mega cities to optimize the sustainable urban development.

Tourism is an important part of urban economic development and can contribute to environmental protection. It is still great significance to the sustainable development of cities. This paper formulates an assessment model of urban tourism resource carrying capacity (UTRCC) from the “carrier-load” perspective. This model can be used to assess whether the urban tourism resources overloaded in the process towards sustainable urban development. The model provides references for sustainable urban tourism planning, development and management.

More and more city want to practice low carbon city, different cities have different background and need different measures in order to achieve their specific LCC objective, so tailor-made measures for each city are needed. Low carbon city (LCC) measures must be selected in a way which have suitable for the characteristics of the city. This paper introduces an innovation method for setting LCC measure by using the Experience mining method. Chengdu are chosen as case cities to show the application of this method. The key findings from this study are: experience mining method can help different cities to select suitable measure to guide their LCC practice and the demonstration of the case city has further shown the effectiveness of this method. This paper provides a reference for urban decision makers to practice low-carbon, and can propose policy suggestions that conform to the characteristics of low-carbon construction for different cities.

Bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis remains a major cause of economic loss in cattle industries worldwide. However, the pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Post-translation modifications (PTM) such as phosphorylation play a crucial role in pathogenesis. While the change of transcriptome and proteome during the interaction between M. bovis and cattle were studied, there are no reports on the phosphoproteome change. We apply Tandem Mass Tag-based (TMT) quantitative proteomics coupled with immobilized metal-chelated affinity chromatography (IMAC) enrichment to obtain the quantified phosphorylation in vivo of M. bovis infected cattle lung tissue. The phosphorylated proteins are widespread in the nucleus, cytoplasm and plasma membrane. By using a change fold of 1.2, 165 phosphosites from 147 proteins were enriched, with 88 upregulated and 77 downregulated sites respectively. We further constructed the protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks of STAT3, SRRM2 and IRS-1 based on their number of differential phosphorylation sites and KEGG pathways. Similar patterns of gene expression dynamics of selected genes were observed in Mycobacterium tuberculosis infected human sample GEO dataset, implicating crucial roles of these genes in pathogenic Mycobacteria - host interaction. The first phosphorproteome reveals the relationship between bovine tuberculosis and glucose metabolism, and will help further refinement of target proteins for mechanistic study.

β-elemene has been evidenced to suppress the development of numerous cancers including lung cancer. Previous research has found that in A549 cells, β-elemene increased the expression of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) α (AMPKα), which negatively regulates the Warburg effect. Bioinformatics predicted that binding sites exist between AMPKα and miR-301a-3p, an miRNA that has shown oncogenic function in many cancers. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of β-elemene on the Warburg effect in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells and its mechanism. Herein, the expression of miR-301a-3p was evaluated in NSCLC cells. Then, miR-301a-3p was overexpressed or silenced by mimics or inhibitors, respectively, followed by treatment with AMPK agonists or antagonists. NSCLC cells subjected to miR-301a-3p overexpression or inhibition were further treated with β-elemene. The results demonstrated that AMPKα was targeted and negatively regulated by miR-301a-3p. AMPKα agonists attenuated the Warburg effect in NSCLC cells induced by miR-301a-3p, as evidenced by the decrease in glucose level, lactic acid level, and expression of metabolism-related enzymes (glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1), hexokinase 1 (HK1), and lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA)). Additionally, β-elemene suppressed the expression of miR-301a-3p, enhanced that of AMPKα, and inhibited the Warburg effect in NSCLC cells. The results indicated that β-elemene attenuates the Warburg effect in NSCLC cells, possibly by mediating the miR-301a-3p/AMPKα axis.

BackgroundMycobacterium bovis(M. bovis) is the principal causative agent of bovine tuberculosis; however, it may also cause serious infection in human being. Type I IFN is a key factor in reducing viral multiplication and modulating host immune response against viral infection. However, the regulatory pathways of Type I IFN signaling duringM. bovisinfection are not yet fully explored. Here, we investigate the role of Type I IFN signaling in the pathogenesis ofM. bovisinfection in mice.MethodsC57BL/6 mice were treated with IFNAR1-blocking antibody or Isotype control 24 h beforeM. bovisinfection. After 21 and 84 days of infection, mice were sacrificed and the role of Type I IFN signaling in the pathogenesis ofM. boviswas investigated. ELISA and qRT-PCR were performed to detect the expression of Type I IFNs and related genes. Lung lesions induced byM. boviswere assessed by histopathological examination. Viable bacterial count was determined by CFU assay.ResultsWe observed an abundant expression of Type I IFNs in the serum and lung tissues ofM. bovisinfected mice. In vivo blockade of Type I IFN signaling reduced the recruitment of neutrophils to the lung tissue, mediated the activation of macrophages leading to an increased pro-inflammatory profile and regulated the inflammatory cytokine production. However, no impact was observed on T cell activation and recruitment in the early acute phase of infection. Additionally, blocking of type I IFN signaling reduced bacterial burden in the infected mice as compared to untreated infected mice.ConclusionsAltogether, our results reveal that Type I IFN mediates a balance betweenM. bovis-mediated inflammatory reaction and host defense mechanism. Thus, modulating Type I IFN signaling could be exploited as a therapeutic strategy against a large repertoire of inflammatory disorders including tuberculosis.

Carbon emission reduction in the Chinese cities can make significant contributions to the mission of global emission reduction. Therefore, the promotion of low-carbon cities (LCC) in China is of great importance to achieve this mission. This paper examines the performance of practicing LCC in China by conducting a temporal-spatial evolution analysis on LCC performance. By combining the entropy weight method and the linear weighted sum method, the LCC performance score is calculated to help establish performance grades. The quartile method and the Boston matrix method are used to conduct temporal analysis and spatial analysis respectively. The data employed in this study were collected from 34 cities in China for the period from 2006 to 2018. The findings are as follows: (1) The overall LCC performance in China has been improved in recent years and the implementation of the low carbon pilot project (LCPP) has made contributions to this improvement. (2) The LCC performance of those cities in Southern China is generally better than that in Northern cities. (3) Good LCC performance cities are those economically developed cities, in which the industrial structure is dominated by low carbon industries. This study provides a holistic picture of the LCC practice in China and also provides supportive references for policymakers to make tailor-made measures to improve the LCC performance internationally.

Cities with different development backgrounds and characteristics will set different objectives for promoting low carbon city practice, including overall, dimensional, and executable objectives. Therefore, a method is needed to ensure that the selected indicators are tailor-made and can correspond to objectives. The existing methods for selecting LCC indicators are not objective-based. This paper introduces an innovative method for setting LCC indicators by using the Management by Objectives (MBO) method to enable the achievement of LCC objectives. Two case cities are used to demonstrate the application of the MBO-based indicator setting method. The main conclusion can be drawn from this study as follows. Firstly, different cities should apply different indicators to guide their LCC practice as they have different backgrounds. Secondly, the MBO method can help different cities to set tailor-made indicators to guide their LCC practice towards their LCC objectives. It is emphasized that indicators applicable to different cities should not be selected discriminately. Thirdly, there are three basic procedures in applying the MBO based indicator setting method, namely, identification of the overall LCC objectives, decomposition of the overall LCC objectives into the dimensional and executable LCC objectives, and selection of indicators for evaluating executable LCC objectives. The application of the MBO based indicator setting method can help the cities choose a set of indicators most suitable to local conditions to guide the LCC practice towards achieving their LCC objective defined locally.

Nontuberculosis mycobacteria are widespread in the environment and some are zoonotic. 320 tissue samples with visible lesions were obtained from dairy cows and examined by histopathology. Eleven samples showed typical granulomatous lesions and a total of 8 strains were cultured. Three genes (16S rRNA, hsp65 and rpoB) were sequenced for species identification. All mycobacterial isolates were tested for rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol, streptomycin, capreomycin, kanamycin, para-aminosalicylic acid susceptibility. Six strains were identified as M. fortuitum, 1 was M. avium, 1 was M. conceptionense, isolated from cattle for the first time. Seven of the 8 isolated strains showed multiple drug resistance.

Objective. To investigate the effect of Xuan Bi Tong Yu Fang (XBTYF) on angiogenesis via the vascular endothelial growth factor- (VEGF-) Notch1/delta-like 4 (Dll4) pathway. Materials and Methods. Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: control, sham-operated, myocardial ischemia model, and XBTYF treatment at 3.2, 1.6, and 0.8 g/kg. Electrocardiography was performed to evaluate the successful establishment of the model. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and transmission electron microscopy were carried out to observe the morphology and mitochondrial structure in myocardial cells, respectively. TUNEL staining was performed to assess the degree of cell apoptosis. The expression of VEGF-A, Notch1, Dll4, Bcl2, Bax, caspase 3, caspase 9, and cytochrome-c (Cyt-c) was observed by western blot. Results. XBTYF inhibited changes to the morphology and mitochondrial structure in cardiomyocyte and reduced cell apoptosis. Compared with the model group, XBTYF at all doses (3.2, 1.6, and 0.8 g/kg) reduced the expression of Notch1, Dll4, Bax, caspase 3, caspase 9, and Cyt-c, whereas expression of VEGF-A and Bcl2 was increased. Conclusion. XBTYF attenuated mitochondrial damage and cell apoptosis while promoting the angiogenesis of cardiomyocyte. The associated mechanism may be related to the VEGF-Notch1/Dll4 pathway.

Carbon emissions are considered as major factor affecting sustainable urban development. Cities have been promoting low carbon city (LCC) strategies to reduce carbon emissions and various methods have been introduced to assess the performance of LCC strategies. However, most of the existing assessment methods focus on overall LCC performance at city level, but the effects of individual dimensions like industrial structure and energy efficiency are ignored. The research question in this study therefore is whether an alternative method can be established to measure both the overall and dimensional LCC performance. This paper introduces a method for assessing LCC performance by using Capability Maturity Model (CMM), which is called LCC-CMM. The proposed method of LCC-CMM can help identify LCC maturity grade through assessing the performance of individual LCC dimensions which contributes to overall performance. There are four procedures in applying LCC-CMM, including to identify the Key Process Areas (KPAs) in the context of LCC, denoted as LCC-KPAs, to define the indicators for measuring the performance of LCC-KPAs, to calculate the performance score for each LCC-KPA, and to define criteria for specifying different grades of LCC capability maturity. The proposed method is proven effective through a case demonstration. The method can help policy makers to identify weak areas in LCC practice and introduce tailor-made policy measures to improve the weak areas.

Research interests in urban carrying capacity (UCC) in the contemporary urbanizing China have been growing in recent years, which results in the development of a large body of related articles. This research examines the research evolution in the discipline of UCC in the Chinese context. It is considered important to understand this research evolution thus future research trend can be perceived. The study was conducted in the framework of sustainable urban development. The research evolution of UCC is captured and portrayed by introducing two novel parameters, namely, scaling attention (SA) and relative attention (RA). The bibliometric analysis approach is used to conduct the analysis. The data used for analysis are retrieved from two databases of China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Web of Science (WoS). The research findings suggest that: 1) the research works on UCC in the specificity of Chinese context have been increasing significantly in recent years across three sustainable development categories of social, economic and environmental carrying capacity; 2) the research attention on UCC was only contributed to the dimension of land carrying capacity in economic category in China before 1985, and the research works on the dimensions of medical service, education, culture, safety, employment in social category emerged latest since 2010; 3) the research within the category of environmental carrying capacity has been attracting increasingly more attention in recent years than that within social and economic categories. In particular, the dimensions of land, water and ecology in environmental category are highly attended in the survey period; 4) the overall highly attended UCC dimensions in literature include water carrying capacity, land carrying capacity, transportation carrying capacity and tourism carrying capacity.

(1) Background: Within this study, we assessed the effects of acupuncture on heart rate variability (HRV) in Chinese post-stroke patients. (2) Methods: In 30 Chinese post-stroke patients (14 f, 16 m; mean age ± SD 64.3 ± 3.8 years; range 40 – 80 years) electrocardiographic signals before, during and after acupuncture at the left Weizhong acupoint (BL40) were recorded in Harbin and analyzed in Graz using teleacupuncture via internet. HRV data were analyzed in the time and frequency domain and a protocol from Austria was sent to the team in China immediately after the treatment and recording session. (3) Results: The standard deviation of normal to normal (SDNN) and total power of HRV (TP) didn’t change significantly during and after acupuncture (P>0.05), whereas high frequency (HF) decreased significantly during and after acupuncture (P

Urban resources environment carrying capacity (URECC) is considered as a significant yardstick for guiding the practice towards sustainable urban development. It helps measure the interaction between human activities and urban resources environment system. Although existing studies on URECC have made great progress, there is still no consensus on the definition and evaluation method for URECC. In line with this background, this study proposes a theoretical method named URECC-LC from the load-and-carrier innovative perspective. In developing this method, urban resources environment is considered as a system, and the novel concepts of urban loads (UL) and urban carriers (UC) are introduced. Subsequently, the measurement of URECC is built up by incorporating both urban loads and carriers. This new method can be applied to evaluate effectively and properly the state of URECC. Several novel insights for this innovative method are highlighted as: (a) sustainable development based URECC assessment; (b) extension of URECC implication to urban resilience; (c) virtual threshold for measuring the limitation of URECC. Taking urban water resources environment as an example, a case demonstration with reference to cities Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing in China is conducted, and the case results shows: (1) Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin represents a URECC deficit state for water resources environment almost every year (2004–2017) and Chongqing shows a URECC surplus state during the whole surveyed period; (2) the resilience of urban water resources environment is differing between the four case cities; (3) Shanghai has the highest possibility (risk) for water resources environment carrying capacity to be overloaded, and the water resources environment carrying capacity in Chongqing has been less utilized. The demonstration conducted proves that the introduced URECC-LC method is applicable and effective in evaluating URECC. And this new method provides significant theoretical basis for studying urban resources environments.

It is important that the correct amounts of GluN2 subunits are maintained, as they determine NMDAR functional properties, which are crucial to neuronal communication, synaptogenesis and cognitive function. The transcriptional repressor RE1 silencing transcription factor (REST) is critical for the postnatal developmental switch in NMDARs. However, the mechanisms triggering REST and the link between NMDARs and REST are unclear. Here we show a new physiological essential role for cellular prion protein (PrPC) in REST-dependent homeostasis and the developmental switch of NMDARs. REST and REST-associated proteins were overactivated in the hippocampi of Prnp knockout mice (Prnp 0/0 ) compared with wild-type Prnp (Prnp +/+ ) mice. This coincided with the disruption of the normal developmental switch from GluN2B-to-GluN2A in vivo. PrPC co-located with REST under physiological environments and mediated the translocation of REST in conditioners of NMDARs in vitro in Prnp +/+ hippocampal neurons. Regardless of whether REST was knocked down or overexpressed, deletion of PrPC not only disrupted REST-mediated distribution of mitochondria, but also prevented REST-regulated expression of GluN2B and GluN2A in Prnp 0/0 . Importantly, these effects were rescued after overexpression of full-length PrPC through restoration of NMDAR2 subunits and their distributions in dendritic processes in Prnp 0/0 . Consistently, knockdown of PrPC in Prnp +/+ had a similar effect on Prnp 0/0 . Furthermore, PrPC colocalized with both GluN2B and GluN2A in Prnp +/+ . For the first time, we demonstrate that PrPC is essential for REST-regulated NMDARs. Confirming the regulation of NMDAR-modulating mechanisms could provide novel therapeutic targets against dysfunctions of glutamatergic transmission in the nervous system.

LiMnPO4/C powders have been prepared by a solid-state method with sucrose as carbon source. The structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance of the LiMnPO4/C samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), galvanostatic charge and discharge, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The LiMnPO4/C sample prepared by the two-step solid-state method exhibits a specific capacity of 156 mA h g−1 after 40 cycles, and over 90 % of the initial capacity can be retained with a charge-discharge rate of 0.5 C and a voltage range of 2.5–4.4 V at 50 °C. The improvement of electrochemical performance attributes to the highly uniform distribution of the minimizing particle size as well as the superior electrical conductivity of the carbon-coated nano-LiMnPO4 materials by facile two-step solid-state synthesis.

Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis) is a member of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) complex causing bovine tuberculosis (TB) and imposing a high zoonotic threat to human health. Kallikreins (KLKs) belong to a subgroup of secreted serine proteases. As their role is established in various physiological and pathological processes, it is likely that KLKs expression may mediate a host immune response against the M. bovis infection. In the current study, we report in vivo and in vitro upregulation of KLK12 in the M. bovis infection. To define the role of KLK12 in immune response regulation of murine macrophages, we produced KLK12 knockdown bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs) by using siRNA transfection. Interestingly, the knockdown of KLK12 resulted in a significant downregulation of autophagy and apoptosis in M. bovis infected BMDMs. Furthermore, we demonstrated that this KLK12 mediated regulation of autophagy and apoptosis involves mTOR/AMPK/TSC2 and BAX/Bcl-2/Cytochrome c/Caspase 3 pathways, respectively. Similarly, inflammatory cytokines IL-1&beta, IL-6, IL-12 and TNF-&alpha, were significantly downregulated in KLK12 knockdown macrophages but the difference in IL-10 and IFN-&beta, expression was non-significant. Taken together, these findings suggest that upregulation of KLK12 in M. bovis infected murine macrophages plays a substantial role in the protective immune response regulation by modulating autophagy, apoptosis and pro-inflammatory pathways. To our knowledge, this is the first report on expression and the role of KLK12 in the M. bovis infection and the data may contribute to a new paradigm for diagnosis and treatment of bovine TB.

Morphology-controlled LiMn 0.9 Fe 0.1 PO 4 nanoplatelets as high performance cathode material for lithium ion batteries have been synthesized via a simple ascorbic acid-assisted solvothermal process in water-ethanol solvent. The phase structure and morphology of the products were characterized by XRD, SEM and TEM. The results reveal that decreasing the crystallite size along b -axis direction and increasing the surface area of (010) plane can shorten Li + diffusion path and increase the electrode reaction activity. The LiMn 0.9 Fe 0.1 PO 4 nanoplatelet holds the high capacity of 145 mA h g −1 , 134 mA h g −1 , 119 mA h g −1 , 97 mA h g −1 and 68 mA h g −1 at 0.1 C, 0.5 C, 1 C, 5 C and 10 C respectively, and it can retain 75% of the initial reversible capacity even after 100 cycles at 10 C rate.

It is widely accepted that different strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis have variable degrees of pathogenicity and induce different immune responses in infected hosts. Similarly, different strains of Mycobacterium bovis have been identified but there is a lack of information regarding the degree of pathogenicity of these strains and their ability to provoke host immune responses. Therefore, in the current study, we used a mouse model to evaluate various factors involved in the severity of disease progression and the induction of immune responses by two strains of M. bovis isolated from cattle. Mice were infected with both strains of M. bovis at different colony-forming unit (CFU) via inhalation. Gross and histological findings revealed more severe lesions in the lung and spleen of mice infected with M. bovis N strain than those infected with M. bovis C68004 strain. In addition, high levels of interferon-&gamma, (IFN-&gamma, ), interleukin-17 (IL-17), and IL-22 production were observed in the serum samples of mice infected with M. bovis N strain. Comparative genomic analysis showed the existence of 750 single nucleotide polymorphisms and 145 small insertions/deletions between the two strains. After matching with the Virulence Factors Database, mutations were found in 29 genes, which relate to 17 virulence factors. Moreover, we found an increased number of virulent factors in M. bovis N strain as compared to M. bovis C68004 strain. Taken together, our data reveal that variation in the level of pathogenicity is due to the mutation in the virulence factors of M. bovis N strain. Therefore, a better understanding of the mechanisms of mutation in the virulence factors will ultimately contribute to the development of new strategies for the control of M. bovis infection.

Li2FeSiO4/C cathode materials have been prepared using the conventional solid-state method by varying the sintering temperature (650 °C, 700 °C and 750 °C), and the structure and electrochemical performance of Li2FeSiO4/C materials are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), galvanostatic charge–discharge tests, respectively. The results show that Li2FeSiO4 nano-crystals with a diameter of about 6–8 nm are inbedded in the amorphous carbon, and the Li2FeSiO4/C material obtained at 700 °C exhibits an initial discharge capacity of 195 mA h g−1 at 1/16 C in the potential range of 1.5–4.8 V. The excellent electrochemical performance of Li2FeSiO4/C attributes to the improvement of conductivity and reduction of impurity by the optimization of the sintering temperature.

With the increase of the ratio between signal bandwidth and carrier frequency in the synthetic aperture sonar system, most of conventional imaging algorithms cannot be used for their narrow band approximation inherently. This paper analyzes the determining factors in designing an effective chirp scaling (CS)-based algorithms for focusing the wideband and wide swath synthetic aperture data. Based on the analysis, it is a great potential in designing an effective CS-based wideband and wide swath algorithm for taking into account the higher-order terms with respect to the range baseband frequency in the approximation of the 2-D spectrum and taking into account the higher-order range-variant terms in the approximation of the equivalent chirp rate. The results of simulation show the effectiveness of the theory analysis.

Increasing amounts of lanthanum (La) is released into aquatic environments. However, little information is available on the influence of La on aquatic plants. In this study, physiological and ultrastructural responses of Hydrocharis dubia (Bl.) Backer leaves to elevated concentrations of La (up to 160 μM) were investigated. The accumulation of La was found to be increased in a concentration-dependent manner. La disturbed the intrinsic balance of nutrient elements (P, Mg, Ca, Fe, K, and Zn). Pigment content decreased with the rise of the La concentrations and the EC(50) value for chlorophyll was 20 μM on day 7. The antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, catalase, reduced ascorbate, and reduced glutathione) exhibited varied response to the La treatments. Malondialdehyde content enhanced gradually at all La concentrations. The enhancement in proline content was found in a concentration-dependent manner. The amounts of three polypeptides with apparent molecular weights of 61.9, 51.5, and 16.7 kDa, respectively, were gradually diminished, as well as one existing polypeptides with apparent molecular weight of 22.3 kDa, elevating in response to increasing La concentrations. Significant damage to the chloroplast, mitochondrion, and nucleus was imposed by La indicated a general disarray in the cellular functions. The negative effects of La on H. dubia unequivocally indicate that La could exert an adverse influence on aquatic ecosystem and should lead to a more careful discharge of such elements into water environment.

It has been shown in previous studies that the autonomic nervous system can be affected by acupuncture. Within this study, teleacupuncture between China and Austria is used for quantifying the effects of heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in 33 Chinese patients (27 females, 6 males; mean age ± SD49.5±13.1years; range 22–72 years) suffering from depression. Electrocardiographic signals before, during, and after acupuncture at the acupoint Baihui (GV20) were recorded in Harbin and analyzed in Graz using teleacupuncture. HRV data were analyzed in the time and frequency domain. Mean HR decreased significantly (P<0.05) during and after acupuncture, whereas total HRV increased significantly after the third acupuncture stimulation period (P<0.05) and also 5–10 minutes after (P<0.05) acupuncture. The study shows that HRV could be a useful parameter for quantifying clinical effects of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system.

In previous studies by the same research group it has been shown in post-stroke patients that the autonomic system can be affected by acupuncture. Within this study, teleacupuncture between China and Austria is used for quantifying the effects of heart rate variability (HRV) in Chinese patients suffering from depression. In 22 Chinese depression patients (17 f, 5 m; mean age ± SD 52.3 ± 10.6 years; range 31 - 70 years) electrocardiographic signals before, during and after acupuncture at the acupoint Jianshi (PC 5) were recorded in Harbin and analyzed in Graz using teleacupuncture via internet. HRV data were analyzed in the time and frequency domain and a protocol from Austria was sent to the team in China immediately after the treatment and recording session. Mean heart rate decreased significantly (p < 0.001) during and after acupuncture, whereas total HRV increased significantly during (p < 0.034) and after (p < 0.001) acupuncture, always immediately following manual needle stimulation. Furthermore, there is a marked decrease in balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity (low frequency/high frequency HRV ratio) during treatment. This study shows that HRV could be a useful parameter for quantifying clinical effects of acupuncture on the autonomic nervous system. Teleacupuncture between China and Austria over a distance of more than 8,500 km has been successfully used.

Bioaccumulation, subcellular distribution, and acute toxicity of yttrium (Y) were evaluated in Nymphoides peltata. The effects of Y concentrations of 1–5 mg L−1 applied for 4 days were assessed by measuring changes in photosynthetic pigments, nutrient contents, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, and ultrastructure. The accumulation of Y in subcellular fractions decreased in the order of cell wall > organelle > soluble fraction. Much more Y was located in cellulose and pectin than in other biomacromolecules. The content of some mineral elements (Mg, Ca, Fe, Mn, and Mo) increased in N. peltata, but there was an opposite effect for P and K. Meanwhile, ascorbate, and catalase activity decreased significantly for all Y concentrations. In contrast, peroxidase activity was induced, while initial rises in superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione content were followed by subsequent declines. Morphological symptoms of senescence, such as chlorosis and damage to chloroplasts and mitochondria, were observed even at the lowest Y concentration. Pigment content decreased as the Y concentration rose and the calculated EC50 and MPC of Y for N. peltata were 2 and 0.2 mg L−1 after 4 days of exposure, respectively. The results showed that exogenous Y was highly available in water and that its high concentration in water bodies might produce harmful effects on aquatic organisms. N. peltata is proposed as a biomonitor for the assessment of metal pollution in aquatic ecosystems.

This high-tech “teleacupuncture study” describes a neurovegetative ear acupressure effect in patients with chronic insomnia by using heart rate variability analysis. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements in 31 patients (mean age ± SD: 54.3 ± 10.6 years) were performed under standardized conditions in Harbin, China, and the data analysis was performed in Graz, Austria. Similar to our previous clinical and basic teleacupuncture research works, the electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded by an HRV Medilog AR12 system during ear acupressure of the Shenmen point on the left ear. HR decreased significantly ( ) during and after acupressure stimulation. The effect was not visible after the first stimulation, rather it appeared in the phase following the second acupressure stimulation (10 min after the first stimulation). Total HRV showed significant stimulation-dependent increases ( ), immediately after each acupressure stimulation with a maximum after the third stimulation (20 min after the first stimulation), but there was no long-lasting effect. The present results can serve as a solid basis for the further investigations of auricular point stimulation for noninvasive complementary use in treating insomnia.

Lithium ion batteries are currently being considered for using in a wide range of aerospace applications[1]. Batteries for these aerospace applications, such as aircraft and UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), are required to operate at high rates(up to 15C or higher) and low temperatures (-40°C or lower). To address these requirements, a series of experiments have been undertaken to empirically determine those factors that limit the performance. For example, a reference electrode is introduced in the battery. The reference electrode enables the diagnosis of individual electrodes. The voltage profile of 50C high power pulse discharge is shown in Figure 1 left. The result indicates that the positive voltage drops from 4.500V to 2.638V, and that the negative voltage rises from 0.083V to 0.689V, which means that the positive electrode dominates the polarization. Hence, further experiments would be aimed at the positive side, such as the weight loading and diverse positive materials. The voltage profile of 5C pulse discharge at -40°C is described in Figure 1 right. The result indicates that the positive voltage drops from 4.500V to 3.595V, and that the negative voltage increases from 0.054V to 0.925V, which means that the majority of the polarization is ascribed to the positive side and negative side, no dominations could be seen from that result. In order to reveal the limiting factors, further experiments could be aimed at the electrolyte or the separator possibly. Fig. 1 Voltage profile for 50C pulse discharge at 25°C and Voltage profile for 5C pulse discharge at -40°C References [1] Richard Van Noorden.Nature.507 (2014)26-28. Figure 1

This second part of a series of Sino-European high-tech acupuncture studies describes the first clinical transcontinental teleacupuncture measurements in patients with insomnia. Heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) measurements in 28 patients (mean age ± SD: 41.9 ± 14.6 years) were performed under standardized conditions in Harbin, China, and the data analysis was performed in Graz, Austria. Similar to the first part of the series, the electrocardiograms (ECGs) were recorded by an HRV Medilog AR12 system during acupuncture of the Shenmen point (HT7) on the left hand. HR decreased significantly (P<0.001) during and after acupuncture stimulation of the HT7 acupuncture point. Total HRV increased significantly (P<0.05) immediately after acupuncture stimulation, but there was no long-lasting effect. The values of the low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) band increased significantly after the stimulation compared to baseline values; however, the LF/HF ratio showed no significant changes. Together with the results of previous studies, the present results can serve as a solid basis for further development of acupressure or acupuncture stimulation equipment for complementary use in treating insomnia.