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Important estimates were made of the cohesive zone mode (CZM) characteristics used to predict the fracture of Elium composites processed at various temperatures in this study. First, tests for the end notched flexure (ENF) and double cantilever beam (DCB) on composites processed at different temperatures (24°C, 50°C, and 80°C) were performed. Based on the experimental results, the numerical models of damage evolution were developed. And six pairs of cohesive parameters (cohesive strength and cohesive stiffness) to the specified fracture energy release rates were obtained. Then, a Tsai approach was developed to predict the cohesive strength of the Elium composite with various process temperatures based on the obtained parameters. In order to predict the delamination behavior of the Elium composite, the obtained cohesive parameters were then used to a numerical model of short beam shear (SBS). The peak force of the simulations was discovered to be consistent with the outcomes of the tests. The findings served as a reference for damage assessments of Elium composites processed at various temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Methionine dipeptide (Met-Met) could improve milk protein synthesis in bovine epithelia mammary cells and lactating mice, while the effects of Met-Met on lactating dairy cows have not been explored. We hypothesized that supplementation of Met-Met could improve lactation performance of dairy cows. In this study, we elucidated the effects of different forms of Met-Met (rumen-protected and -unprotected) on lactation performance, rumen fermentation and microbiota profile of dairy cows. Results provided the first evidence that Met-Met supplementation can improve lactation performance of dairy cows, and suggested that the rumen-protected form presents greater benefits on milk performance and rumen behavior. Methionine dipeptide (Met-Met) could improve milk protein synthesis in bovine epithelia mammary cells and lactating mice, while the effects of Met-Met on lactation performance, rumen fermentation and microbiota profile in lactating dairy cows have not been explored. For this reason, 60 Chinese lactating Holstein cows were allocated into three treatment groups: control group (CON), 6 g/d methionine dipeptide group (MM), and 6.12 g/d rumen-protected methionine dipeptide group (RPMM). The experiment lasted for 10 weeks to monitor lactation performance, plasma amino acid profile and rumen fermentation parameters and microbiota profile. Results showed that MM increased the energy-corrected milk (ECM), and RPMM increased both milk yield and ECM (p < 0.05). The milk protein concentration and yield were increased by MM and RPMM (p < 0.05). The rumen fermentation showed that RPMM increased total volatile fatty acids, acetate and valerate concentrations (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of Firmicutes, including Succiniclasticum, Selenomonas and Clostridium_XlVa, were enriched and the Prevotella was decreased by RPMM (p < 0.05). In summary, daily supplementing with 6 g of MM or RPMM in lactating dairy cows could improve milk yield and both percentage and yield of milk protein, and RPMM benefited the rumen fermentation and altered the bacterial composition. These results provided the first evidence that Met-Met supplementation can improve lactation performance of dairy cows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: To maintain rice production and increase revenue, rice–duck (RD) farming is a contemporary ecological cycle technology that has been widely used in Asia. However, due to the clustering activity of duck flocks, the consequences of long‐term RD farming on rice growth at different scales are still unknown. Here, we studied RD farming using several different treatments (CK: conventional rice farming; RD1: 667 m2; RD2: 2000 m2; and RD3: 3333 m2). RESULTS: The results demonstrated that the maximum tillers, effective spikes, dry matter accumulation, and lodging index of rice under RD farming were significantly decreased by 17.9%, 9.8%, 14.8%, and 17.8%, respectively, which ultimately caused a significant decrease in yield of 10.6%. However, RD farming significantly increased root oxidation activity and the ear‐bearing tiller rate of rice by 25.5% and 11.1%, respectively, and improved yield stability. For different scales of RD farming, the lodging resistance index of RD1 was significantly lower than that of RD2 and RD3 by 10.0% and 15.2%, respectively, whereas the root oxidation activity and dry matter accumulation of RD2 were significantly higher than those of RD1 and RD3 by 11.1%, 4.7%, 8.6%, and 5.1%, respectively. For rice yield, there was no significant difference among the different scales. CONCLUSION: This long‐term experiment helped elucidate the complicated effects of RD farming at different scales on the growth and yield of rice. It is also critical to consider the economic advantages of different scales of RD farming to assess the impact of this system more thoroughly. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the contact time between droplets and solid surfaces is important in anti-icing surface design. The present work investigates the impact dynamics of nanodroplets on hydrophobic/superhydrophobic surfaces decorated by point textures via molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, aiming to significantly reduce the contact by the point textures. Based on distinguishing outcome regimes into a phase diagram, the point texture is found to not affect the outcome regimes of sticky, bouncing, and splash, whereas the internal rupture regime is significantly enhanced so that the new outcome in this regime, ring-bouncing, which is reported for the first time at the nanoscale, is also significantly reinforced. Impacting nanodroplets with ring-bouncing behaviors have remarkably reduced the contact time due to the saved retraction time via creating a retraction of both inner and outer contact lines. Subsequently, an energy conservation equation from the initial to the bouncing states is established for identifying the boundary of this outcome regime, which shows good agreement with the outcome phase diagram. Finally, impacting nanodroplets with three diameters of 8, 10, and 14 nm are implemented for understanding how the ratio of the droplet size to the texture point affects the reduction of the contact time. The MD results show the cases of 8-nm nanodroplets displaying the best performance of reducing the contact time by 52%, which is superior to current studies in reducing the contact time at the nanoscale. This can be explained by the lower ratio of droplet diameter to texture size leading to a further shorter distance of retraction after the internal rupture and hence a shorter contact time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance threatens the efficacy of colistin as a last-resort antibiotic used to treat infection caused by Gram-negative bacteria (GNB). Given the shortage of new antibiotics, the discovery of adjuvants to existing antibiotics is a promising strategy to combat infections caused by multidrug-resistant (MDR) GNB. This study was designed to investigate the potential synergistic antibacterial activity of bavachin, a bioactive compound extracted from the Psoralea Fructus, combined with colistin against MDR GNB. Herein, the synergistic efficacy in vitro and the therapeutic efficacy of colistin combined with bavachin in vivo were evaluated. The synergistic mechanism was detected by fluorescent probe and the transcript levels of mcr-1. Bavachin combined with colistin showed an excellent synergistic activity against GNB, as the FICI ≤ 0.5. In contrast to colistin alone, combination therapy dramatically increased the survival rate of Galleria mellonella and mice in vivo. Moreover, the combination of bavachin and colistin significantly reduced the amount of bacterial biofilm formation, improved the membrane disruption of colistin and inhibited mcr-1 transcription. These findings show that bavachin is a potential adjuvant of colistin, which may provide a new strategy to combat colistin-resistant bacteria infection with lower doses of colistin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flotation machines and flotation columns are widely used as separation equipment for coal sludge. In order to obtain better flotation results for different particle sizes, the bubble distribution and size in the flow field need to be studied. In this paper, a novel three-phase fluidized bed flotation column (TFC) was designed, and the shear effect of liquid velocity (0.198 m/s, 0.226 m/s, and 0.254 m/s) and static bed height (0.1 m, 0.2 m, and 0.3 m) on the bubbles in the mineralized flow field region was investigated and evaluated for the formation of bubbles by shear in laboratory and semi-industrial experiments. The results show that the increase in filling bed height has a very obvious strengthening effect on the reduction of bubble diameter, and after the filling bed height reaches a certain value, the filling bed height will weaken the effect of apparent gas velocity on bubble diameter. The apparent gas velocity has different influencing effects on bubble diameter, and under conditions of low water velocity, the increase in the apparent gas velocity contributes to the reduction of bubble diameter. The conclusions of this study are expected to optimize the operating parameters of the flotation mineralization process and enrich the study of TFC, which can provide a reference for the design of future TFC studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of the current density and holding time on the densification and microstructure of flash-sintered (FS-ed) magnesium aluminate (MgAl 2 O 4) ceramic discs were investigated. The results showed that the MgAl 2 O 4 discs exhibited typical flash characteristics at a furnace temperature of 1350 °C and required a critical electric field of 6500 V/cm. Compared with pressureless sintering, the densification and grain growth were distinctly accelerated in the case of flash sintering. The relative density and grain size of the FS-ed samples increased with increasing current density and holding time; the relative density attained a value of 99.66% when the current density was increased to 50 mA/mm2 and the holding time was 150 s. Additionally, the grain sizes on the positive side were found to be larger than those on the negative side, and the microstructure gradients increased with an increasing holding time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Infectious mononucleosis (IM) is a common infectious disease in children mainly caused by Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection, followed by abnormal immune response, and resulting in serious complications. However, there are few clinical analyses of immune responses in children with IM at different stages. Methods: This study combined EBV serological test and EBV DNA test to diagnose the infection status of children with IM, and the infection status was divided into primary acute IM infection (AIM), primary late IM infection (LIM) and reactivation IM infection (RIM). Results: The results revealed that the absolute numbers of leukocytes and CD8+ T lymphocytes in primary IM infection were significantly higher than those in reactivation infection, while the frequencies of CD4+ T lymphocytes and B cells were significantly lower than those in reactivation infection. In addition, the activities of ALT, AST, α‐HBDH and LDH in liver function indicators in primary infection were significantly increased compared with reactivation infection. Similarly, the EBV DNA levels of the primary infection were significantly higher than that of the reactivation infection. Conclusion: There are differences in immune response at different stages of infection, which can provide guidance for effective treatment in children with IM infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus suis is an emerging zoonotic pathogen that can cause fatal diseases such as meningitis and sepsis in pigs and human beings. The overuse of antibiotics is leading to an increased level of resistance in S. suis, and novel antimicrobial agents or anti-virulence agents for the treatment of infections caused by S. suis are urgently needed. In the present study, we investigated the antibacterial activity, mode of action and anti-virulence effects of floxuridine against S. suis. Floxuridine showed excessive antibacterial activity against S. suis both in vivo and in vitro; 4 × MIC of floxuridine could kill S. suis within 8 h in a time–kill assay. Meanwhile, floxuridine disrupted the membrane structure and permeability of the cytoplasmic membrane. Molecular docking revealed that floxuridine and SLY can be directly bind to each other. Moreover, floxuridine effectively inhibited the hemolytic capacity and expression levels of the virulence-related genes of S. suis. Collectively, these results indicate that the FDA-approved anticancer drug floxuridine is a promising agent and a potential virulence inhibitor against S. suis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The topological phase transitions among normal insulator phase, two kinds of topological insulator phases, and topological semimetal phase are shown based on the non‐Hermitian dimerized Su–Schrieffer–Heeger (SSH) model with the nonreciprocal intercell and long‐range hopping. In contrast to the previous work, it is found that the topological insulator phase in the present SSH model can hold the larger non‐Bloch winding number accompanied by exceptional winding of the generalized Brillouin zone around the gap‐closing points. Compared with the usual topological insulator phase in non‐Hermitian SSH model, the topological insulator with the larger winding number owns two pairs of zero energy modes with a distinct form of edge localization in the gap. The physical mechanism of the distinct edge localization for zero energy modes via a equivalent Hermitian version of the non‐Hermitian SSH model is revealed. Additionally, the process of the phase transition is visualized among normal insulator phase, topological insulator phases, and topological semimetal phase in detail via the evolution of the gap‐closing points on the plane of generalized Brillouin zone. This work further verifies the non‐Bloch theory and enrich the investigation about the topologically nontrivial phase with the larger topological invariant in the non‐Hermitian SSH model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver X receptor α (LXRα), a member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, is identified as a protein activated by ligands that interacts with the promoters of specific genes. It regulates cholesterol, bile acid, and lipid metabolism in normal physiological processes, and it participates in the development of some related diseases. However, many studies have demonstrated that LXRα is also involved in regulating numerous human malignancies. Aberrant LXRα expression is emerging as a fundamental and pivotal factor in cancer cell proliferation, invasion, apoptosis, and metastasis. Herein, we outline the expression levels of LXRα between tumor tissues and normal tissues via the Oncomine and Tumor Immune Estimation Resource (TIMER) 2.0 databases; summarize emerging insights into the roles of LXRα in the development, progression, and treatment of different human cancers and their diversified mechanisms; and highlight that LXRα can be a biomarker and therapeutic target in diverse cancers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: Fundamental principles underlying the design of oxide catalysts, including the influence of crystal structure, and electronic structure on their performance are summarized and analyzed. Challenges associated with developing oxide catalysts and the potential strategies are discussed. The electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) are fundamental processes in a range of energy conversion devices such as fuel cells and metal–air batteries. ORR and OER both have significant activation barriers, which severely limit the overall performance of energy conversion devices that utilize ORR/OER. Meanwhile, ORR is another very important electrochemical reaction involving oxygen that has been widely investigated. ORR occurs in aqueous solutions via two pathways: the direct 4-electron reduction or 2-electron reduction pathways from O2 to water (H2O) or from O2 to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Noble metal electrocatalysts are often used to catalyze OER and ORR, despite the fact that noble metal electrocatalysts have certain intrinsic limitations, such as low storage. Thus, it is urgent to develop more active and stable low-cost electrocatalysts, especially for severe environments (e.g., acidic media). Theoretically, an ideal oxygen electrocatalyst should provide adequate binding to oxygen species. Transition metals not belonging to the platinum group metal-based oxides are a low-cost substance that could give a d orbital for oxygen species binding. As a result, transition metal oxides are regarded as a substitute for typical precious metal oxygen electrocatalysts. However, the development of oxide catalysts for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions still faces significant challenges, e.g., catalytic activity, stability, cost, and reaction mechanism. We discuss the fundamental principles underlying the design of oxide catalysts, including the influence of crystal structure, and electronic structure on their performance. We also discuss the challenges associated with developing oxide catalysts and the potential strategies to overcome these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing is an important tool for the quantitative estimation of forest carbon stock. This study presents a multiscale, object-based method for the estimation of aboveground carbon stock in Moso bamboo forests. The method differs from conventional pixel-based approaches and is more suitable for Chinese forest management inventory. This research indicates that the construction of a SPOT-6 multiscale hierarchy with the 30 scale as the optimal segmentation scale achieves accurate information extraction for Moso bamboo forests. The producer's and user's accuracy are 88.89% and 86.96%, respectively. A random generalized linear model (RGLM), constructed using the multiscale hierarchy, can accurately estimate carbon storage of the bamboo forest in the study area, with a fitting and test accuracy (R2) of 0.74 and 0.64, respectively. In contrast, pixel-based methods using the RGLM model have a fitting and prediction accuracy of 0.24 and 0.01, respectively; thus, the object-based RGLM is a major improvement. The multiscale object hierarchy correctly analyzed the multiscale correlation and responses of bamboo forest elements to carbon storage. Objects at the 30 scale responded to the microstructure of the bamboo forest and had the strongest correlation between estimated carbon storage and measured values. Objects at the 60 scale did not directly inherit the forest information, so the response to the measured carbon storage of the bamboo forest was the smallest. Objects at the 90 scale serve as super-objects containing the forest feature information and have a significant correlation with the measured carbon storage. Therefore, in this study, a carbon storage estimation model was constructed based on the multiscale characteristics of the bamboo forest so as to analyze correlations and greatly improve the fitting and prediction accuracy of carbon storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) especially in acidic media remains the major challenge that still requires significant advances, both in material design and mechanistic exploration. In this study, the incorporation of cobalt in Y2‐xCoxRu2O7−δ results in an ultrahigh OER activity because of the charge redistribution at eg orbitals between Ru and Co atoms. The Y1.75Co0.25Ru2O7−δ electrocatalyst exhibits an extremely small overpotential of 275 mV in 0.5 m H2SO4 at the current density of 10 mA cm−2, which is smaller than that of parent Y2Ru2O7−δ (360 mV) and commercial RuO2 (286 mV) catalysts. The systematic investigation of the composition related to OER activity shows that the Co substitution will also bring other effective changes, such as reducing the bandgap, and creating oxygen vacancies, which result in fast OER charge transfer. Meanwhile, the strengthening of the bond hybridization between the d orbitals of metal (Y and Ru) and the 2p orbitals of O will intrinsically enhance the chemical stability. Finally, theoretical calculations indicate that cobalt substitution reduces the theoretical overpotential both through an adsorbate evolution mechanism and a lattice oxygen‐mediated mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most prevalent malignant tumors worldwide that poses a significant threat to human health. The multifunctional regulator known as Hepatitis B virus X-protein (HBx) interacts with host factors, modulating gene transcription and signaling pathways and contributing to hepatocellular carcinogenesis. The p90 ribosomal S6 kinase 2 (RSK2) is a member of the 90 kDa ribosomal S6 kinase family involved in various intracellular processes and cancer pathogenesis. At present, the role and mechanism of RSK2 in the development of HBx-induced HCC are not yet clear. In this study, we found that HBx upregulates the expression of RSK2 in HBV-HCC tissues, HepG2, and SMMC-7721 cells. We further observed that reducing the expression of RSK2 inhibited HCC cell proliferation. In HCC cell lines with stable HBx expression, RSK2 knockdown impaired the ability of HBx to promote cell proliferation. The extracellularly regulated protein kinases (ERK) 1/2 signaling pathway, rather than the p38 signaling pathway, mediated HBx-induced upregulation of RSK2 expression. Additionally, RSK2 and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element binding protein (CREB) were highly expressed and positively correlated in HBV-HCC tissues and associated with tumor size. This study showed that HBx upregulates the expression of RSK2 and CREB by activating the ERK1/2 signaling pathway, promoting the proliferation of HCC cells. Furthermore, we identified RSK2 and CREB as potential prognostic markers for HCC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Streptococcus suis, an encapsulated zoonotic pathogen, has been reported to cause a variety of infectious diseases, such as meningitis and streptococcal-toxic-shock-like syndrome. Increasing antimicrobial resistance has triggered the need for new treatments. In the present study, we found that isopropoxy benzene guanidine (IBG) significantly attenuated the effects caused by S. suis infection, in vivo and in vitro, by killing S. suis and reducing S. suis pathogenicity. Further studies showed that IBG disrupted the integrity of S. suis cell membranes and increased the permeability of S. suis cell membranes, leading to an imbalance in proton motive force and the accumulation of intracellular ATP. Meanwhile, IBG antagonized the hemolysis activity of suilysin and decreased the expression of Sly gene. In vivo, IBG improved the viability of S. suis SS3-infected mice by reducing tissue bacterial load. In conclusion, IBG is a promising compound for the treatment of S. suis infections, given its antibacterial and anti-hemolysis activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Fischer-Tropsch (FT) synthesis, a process used to convert synthesis gas into hydrocarbons. The precise mechanistic steps of this reaction are still debated, but recent research has reported periodic rate-and-selectivity oscillations in the FT reaction over a Co/Ce-oxide powder catalyst. These oscillations were accompanied by temperature variations and were attributed to Arrhenius factors associated with C-O bond breaking. The findings suggest the possibility of generating self-sustained oscillatory behavior in the FT reaction, which could lead to enhanced reaction rates and selectivity. This research has the potential to inspire further investigation into kinetic instabilities in complex catalytic reactions and the development of dynamic catalyst design strategies. [Extracted from the article]

[Display omitted] In the present work, we designed and synthesized a cationic cyano-substituted p-phenylenevinylene derivative (PPTA), which can form supramolecular assemblies through electrostatic interaction with a type of polyelectrolyte material anionic guar gum (GP5A). A polyelectrolyte-based artificial light-harvesting system (LHS) was constructed by selecting a fluorescent dye sulforhodamine 101 (SR101) that matched its energy level as an energy acceptor. The energy harvested by the acceptors was used in the aqueous phase cross dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) reaction with a yield of up to 87%. In addition, the general applicability of polyelectrolyte materials to build artificial LHS was demonstrated by three other polyelectrolyte materials sodium polyphenylene sulfonate (RSS), sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), and sodium polyacrylate (PAAS), in which the CDC reaction was also carried out by these three LHSs and obtained high yields. This work not only provides a new method to construct LHSs by using polyelectrolyte materials, but also provides a beneficial exploration for further applying the energy harvested in LHSs to the field of photocatalysis in an aqueous solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tandem occlusion accounts for 10%–20% of all large vessel occlusion strokes and often yields a poor recanalization rate. The endovascular treatment of tandem lesions is still controversial. This study uses an endovascular treatment strategy, "guided catheter recovery balloon (GRB)" for the treatment of acute anterior circulation tandem occlusion. A retrospective design was adopted. The population included patients with acute tandem occlusion who received emergency GRB endovascular treatment. And the choice of stenting was made based on intraoperative radiography imaging. Recanalization was evaluated by the thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score after the operation. Three-month modified Rankin Scale follow-up results were recorded, and modified Rankin Scale ≤2 was considered favorable recovery. A total of 55 patients aged 66.9 ± 8.5 years were enrolled, 37 of whom received stenting. The mean overall recanalization time was 46 minutes. Fifty (90.9%) patients achieved successful recanalization with a thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score of 2b-3. At the 3-month follow-up, the number of patients with favorable functional recovery was 28 (50.9%). The presence of hypertension was correlated with a favorable recovery outcome: 82.1% of the favorable recovery population had hypertension, and 55.6% of the unfavorable outcome population had hypertension (P = 0.033). There was no statistically significant association between stent application and favorable recovery outcomes (P = 0.504). GRB technique showed a high recanalization rate when applied to the treatment of acute anterior circulation tandem occlusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aircraft manufacturing industry faces a severe problem of machining distortion. Machining distortion is caused primarily by residual stresses. The energy conversion during the machining process is the essence of residual stress leading to machining distortion. This paper uses the energy principle to analyze the mechanism of machining distortion of long beam parts, pointing out that during stress redistribution, part of the strain energy is released to do work, and the result of stress redistribution is consistent with the principle of minimum potential energy. The energy concept is used to develop a theoretical model of stress redistribution. A theoretical model of stress redistribution based on the energy principle is proposed. A model is proposed for predicting machining distortion during the machining of long beam-like parts, and the model's accuracy is demonstrated using a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Leishmaniasis is a zoonotic disease caused by Leishmania spp. and spreads through sandfly bites. Owing to the wide range of nonspecific clinical symptoms, patients with leishmaniasis are frequently misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed. Methods The study participants were 7 metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS)–diagnosed patients with leishmaniasis who could not be diagnosed using conventional methods. Clinical data were retrospectively collected and analyzed. When searching PubMed for mNGS and leishmaniasis, 8 peer-reviewed case reports in English were retrieved. Results A total of 7 patients with recurrent fever, pancytopenia, and significant splenomegaly were included in this study. Only 3 individuals tested positive for rK39. Two individuals, 1 of whom was HIV-positive, had Leishmania amastigotes identified in their bone marrow. However, all patients' blood mNGS findings pointed to Leishmania infection, and they were finally diagnosed with leishmaniasis. Sodium stibogluconate therapy with a short course of amphotericin B was administered to all patients. The prognosis for the remaining patients was good, except for 1 who died of multiple organ failure. Conclusions mNGS could be used to identify leishmaniasis, particularly in patients who are difficult to diagnose using conventional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the introduction of a low-carbon economy, corporate performance is no longer limited to the evaluation of internal economic benefits but has become the performance of corporate sustainable development, adding environmental and social factors. Now, the whole world is paying attention to low consumption and low emission. As the main economic pillar of society, the enterprise undertakes the biggest low-carbon task. In order to develop the economy in the longer term and meet the needs of society, enterprises must combine green innovation to evaluate the performance of sustainable development. However, because the previous model's analysis of performance will produce distortion effects, the data error is also relatively large. Therefore, in order to solve these problems and make performance analysis more realistic, this paper deeply discusses the issue of green innovation and enterprise sustainable development performance. Using the method of the SBM-DEA model, it analyzes the performance comparison of enterprises without and with the expected output and conducts a comparison experiment. The result shows that in 2017, the efficiency of company A without unexpected output was 0.6943. The efficiency with undesired output is 0.6643. In 2018, the efficiency of the enterprise without undesired output is 1, and the efficiency with undesired output is 1. After applying the model, it is obvious that the efficiency of computing performance has been greatly improved. Therefore, in order to better study the sustainable development performance of enterprises, the SBM-DEA model should be focused on. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For a real robot system, it is not easy to use the deep neural networks to approximate the unknown nonlinear dynamics online due to limited computing resources, meanwhile the saturation of the motor also makes it difficult for the system to achieve the desired control effect. In this paper, a method combining spectral normalized deep neural networks and prescribed performance controller with saturated indicator is proposed to solve the problems of insufficient computing resources and input saturation in practical robot system control. Firstly, a low computational cost offline learning spectral normalized deep neural network with rectified linear unit activation is applied in nonlinear dynamics identification to reduce the learning computation burden. The unknown nonlinear dynamics of the robot system including Coriolis force and friction dynamics can be approximated well with good generalization ability by spectral normalized deep neural networks, and the boundedness of the approximation error can be guaranteed by the Lipschitz constraint. Subsequently, a prescribed performance controller with a saturation indicator is also introduced to improve the transient performance of the robot system and eliminate the influence of input saturation. Besides, the closed-loop stability is also proved via the Lyapunov approach. The simulation and experiment results show that the proposed method can achieve good tracking performance and better generalization capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the adsorption method and micro-nano bubble (MNB) technology were combined to improve the efficiency of organic pollutant removal from dye wastewater. The adsorption properties of Congo red (CR) on raw coal and semi-coke (SC) with and without MNBs were studied. The mesoporosity of the coal strongly increased after the heat treatment, which was conducive to the adsorption of macromolecular organics, such as CR, and the specific surface area increased greatly from 2.787 m2/g to 80.512 m2/g. MNBs could improve the adsorption of both raw coal and SC under different pH levels, temperatures and dosages. With the use of MNBs, the adsorption capacity of SC reached 169.49 mg/g, which was much larger than that of the raw coal at 15.75 mg/g. The MNBs effectively reduced the adsorption time from 240 to 20 min. In addition, the MNBs could ensure the adsorbent maintained a good adsorption effect across a wide pH range. The removal rate was above 90% in an acidic environment and above 70% in an alkaline environment. MBs can effectively improve the rate of adsorption of pollutants by adsorbents. SC was obtained from low-rank coal through a rapid one-step heating treatment and was used as a kind of cheap adsorbent. The method is thus simple and easy to implement in the industrial context and has the potential for industrial promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The material technology industrialization model is in promoting the adjustment of the financial market industrial economic structure. The experiment realized the adjustment of industrial economic structure by the adsorption of nano materials. TiO2-rGO was prepared firstly, and then Mn dioxide nanoparticles (HM NPs) were synthesized. The specific surface area and pore volume were determined by N2 adsorption BET method. The infrared spectrum was obtained by infrared spectrometer (MA). The sample was heated to 900°C at 10°C to determine TGA. In order to explore the surface composition and chemical element state of the material, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used with monochromatic al Ka ray. The structure and composition of the substance can be deduced by characterization. The Zr metal organic framework was applied to the adsorption of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) in water. he experimental data show that the degradation efficiency of metronidazole is the best in the presence of visible light and hydrogen peroxide, which can reach about 80% in 60 minutes. The results show that nano materials and nanotechnology can promote the adjustment of economic structure of financial market industry, and have a great impetus to the entire financial industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a newly discovered way of cell death, pyroptosis has been gradually discovered in acute and chronic kidney disease. Existing studies have shown that reactive oxygen species (ROS) can induce pyroptosis and release a large number of inflammatory mediators, resulting in kidney damage. As a transcription factor, transcription factor EB(TFEB) can regulate mitochondrial energy metabolism, reduce the production of ROS, and reduce the inflammatory damage of vascular endothelial cells. In a high-glucose environment, whether TFEB can regulate oxidative stress in HK-2 cells, thereby reducing pyroptosis, has not yet been studied. This study found that in HK-2 cells, with the prolongation of high concentration glucose stimulation, the expression level of TFEB showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing; and nuclear translocation of TFEB expression occurred within 24 h. In high-glucose environment, the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins gradually increased over time, while the expression of anti-oxidative stress proteins superoxide dismutase2(SOD2)and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase 1(NQO1) showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing. After TFEB was transfected with overexpression plasmid, the expression levels of SOD2 and NQO1 increased significantly, and the expression of pyroptosis-related proteins decreased. Observed under a confocal microscope after Mitosox red staining, the expression of ROS in the TFEB overexpression group decreased. After down-regulating the expression of TFEB, the expression of ROS increased. The research results suggested that in HK-2 cells in the high glucose environment, TFEB may affect the pyroptosis by regulating the expression of antioxidant enzymes SOD2 and NQO1, which provides a new therapeutic idea for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. • TFEB regulates mitochondrial ROS accumulation and oxidative stress response by regulating the expression of SOD2 and NQO1. • High glucose induced the increase of pyroptosis-related protein and mRNA expression in HK-2 cells in a time-dependent manner. • TFEB can regulate the production of ROS in mitochondria by regulating the expression of SOD2 and NQO1, and regulate the expression of pyroptosis-related protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical education (PE) is, in general, one of the most important skills developed for human healthiness. Many barriers exist in society to improve the performance in Chinese physical activities. Furthermore, the incorporation of 5G communication network technology is becoming a trend in the increase of physical activity in China on a daily basis. Physical exercise may assist Chinese people to enhance their mental abilities, self-concept, and goal orientation and avoid mental illnesses such as sadness and anxiety. Physical exercise without education is like having a body but no soul. There is no doubt about the value of physical education and other types of exercise in the educational system. In this paper, we propose refined physical education teaching based on 5G network technology to obtain everlasting data without termination. First, we preprocess the sports dataset using a stacked denoising autoencoder (SDAE), and a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) is utilized for the feature extraction process. A random forest approach (RFA) is then used in the selection of the features. Furthermore, we adopted a CNN-based upgraded classifier for classification and efficient data allocation (EDA) algorithm for storing data generated by the 5G network. Experimental results reveal that our proposed method outperforms the baseline methods by a huge margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity has become a worldwide issue and is accompanied by serious complications. Western high energy diet has been identified to be a major factor contributing to the current obesity pandemic. Thus, it is important to optimize dietary composition, bioactive substances, and agents to prevent and treat obesity. To date, extracts from plants, such as vegetables, tea, fruits, and Chinese herbal medicine, have been showed to have the abilities of regulating adipogenesis and attenuating obesity. These plant extracts mainly contain polyphenols, alkaloids, and terpenoids, which could play a significant role in anti-obesity through various signaling pathways and gut microbiota. Those reported anti-obesity mechanisms mainly include inhibiting white adipose tissue growth and lipogenesis, promoting lipolysis, brown/beige adipose tissue development, and muscle thermogenesis. In this review, we summarize the plant extracts and their possible mechanisms responsible for their anti-obesity effects. Based on the current findings, dietary plant extracts and foods containing these bioactive compounds can be potential preventive or therapeutic agents for obesity and its related metabolic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose. This study examined the importance of hematological parameters as prognostic markers for people with esophageal cancer receiving radical concurrent chemoradiation. Methods. 106 patients with esophageal cancer are included in this study. Cox regression analysis, Kaplan-Meier method, and chi-square test were used to analyze our data. Results. The median follow-up time for patients was 15.5 months (3-55). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that age, the change of platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (ΔPLR), and the change rate of circulating lymphocyte count (ΔCLC%) were independent influencing factors of OS and DFS. The patients were grouped according to the median of ΔPLR and ΔCLC%, and analysis showed that a higher ΔPLR and a higher ΔCLC% was related to poor OS and DFS (P < 0.001 , P < 0.001 and P < 0.001 , P < 0.001). By subgroup analysis, the OS of T1-4N1-2 were better in the low ΔPLR group than the high one (P = 0.03 , P < 0.001 , P = 0.001 , P < 0.001 , and P = 0.008). DFS of T3-4N1-2 in the low ΔPLR group were better than the high one (P < 0.001 , P = 0.016 and P < 0.001 , P = 0.022). For patients with T1-4N0-2, the OS in the low ΔCLC% group were better than in the high ΔCLC% group (P = 0.01 , P < 0.001 , P < 0.002 , P = 0.012 , P < 0.001 , and P = 0.024). For T1-4N1-2, the DFS were better in the low ΔCLC% group than others (P = 0.042 , P < 0.001 , P < 0.001 , P < 0.001 , and P = 0.006). Conclusion. ΔPLR and ΔCLC% are independent factors of OS and DFS, and a lower ΔPLR and ΔCLC% are associated with a better OS and DFS. And T3-4N1-2 patients in the low ΔPLR group and low ΔCLC% group have greater survival benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Akebia trifoliata is a fascinating economic and medicinal plant that produces functionally unisexual flowers due to stamen/pistil abortion during flower development, and the genetic regulation pathway of this process remain completely unknown. Here, 10 AktWOXs were identified for the first time, all contained a highly conserved homeodomain. AktWOXs were divided into three clades, each with the same or similar intron, exon, and motifs distribution. Many cis-elements related to stress response, growth and development, and hormone response were found in the AktWOXs promoter region. In addition, four candidate genes AktWOX8 , AktWOX11 , AktWOX13.2 and AktWUS that might be involved in unisexual flowers development were screened, all of which were located in the nucleus and showed transcriptional activation activity. Yeast one-hybrid showed that both AktKNU and AktAG1, the potential core transcription factors in the activity termination pathway of flower meristem stem cells, could bind to the promoter region of AktWUS. Dual-luciferase assay further confirmed that only AktKNU inhibited the expression of AktWUS. Collectively, this study revealed the mechanism of AktWUS that might affect the formation of unisexual flowers by regulating the timely termination of flower meristem in A. trifoliata. • We firstly carried out the genome-wide identification of AktWOX transcription factors in Akebia trifoliata. • Four AktWOX genes were identified as key candidates for unisexual flowers development of A. trifoliata. • AktKNU and AktAG1 could bind to the promoter region of AktWUS , while only the AktKNU inhibited AktWUS activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) is a common disease with ulcers in oral cavity which may trigger chewing, speaking, and swallowing difficulties to patients. Treatment of RAS is primarily aimed at pain relief and the promotion of wound healing. However, few agents have been found to have definite effect in the management of RAS and most of the medicinal products may cause adverse reactions or other disadvantages, which makes their clinical usage questionable. The purpose of this randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT) was to assess the clinical effect of diode laser and traditional medication treatment on RAS. In this study, 56 patients were randomly assigned to two groups (n = 28). Laser group was treated using diode laser (810 nm, 1.0 W, CW, irradiation time 20 s for 3 applications) once daily for continuous 3 days. Medication group was treated with triamcinolone acetonide 0.1% three times a day until the lesion was healed. Spontaneous and functional pain level on the third day of treatment was significantly less in the laser group. Significant difference was observed with respect to healing time; however, the order of difference is small albeit of statistical significance. Diode laser with the chosen parameters had better effects on pain relief and no distinct advantage on wound healing comparing with medication. Trial registration number: ChiCTR2000030298; date of registration: 26 February 2020 (retrospectively registered). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the regulatory network of long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) in osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Methods: The gene expression profile GSE74089 of ONFH and microRNA (miRNA) expression profile of GSE89587 were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. The GSE74089 contained four ONFH samples and four controls. The GSE89587 included 10 ONFH samples and 10 control samples. The differentially expressed lncRNAs (DE‐lncRNAs) and DE‐mRNAs between ONFH group and control group were identified from GSE74089 using the limma package based on criteria of adjusted P value <0.05 and |log fold change (FC)| ≥2. The DEmiRNAs between ONFH group and control group were screened from GSE89587 on the basis of adjusted P value <0.05. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway for DE‐mRNAs were analyzed using DAVID 6.7 and GSEA 3.0, respectively. Coexpressed lncRNA‐mRNA pairs were identified by corr.test method in R based on the criteria of adjusted P value <0.01 and |r| ≥ 0.9. A ceRNA network was constructed and visualized using cytoscape 3.7.0 by integrating the DE‐lncRNA, DE‐miRNA, and DEmRNA data. The key mRNAs and lncRNAs in the ceRNA network were further validated in an independent dataset of GSE123568. Results: Based on our analysis, a total of 28 DE‐lncRNAs, 1403 DE‐mRNAs, and 134 DE‐miRNAs were identified, respectively. The DE‐mRNAs were significantly enriched in the function of "skeletal system development," "collagen fibril organization," "blood vessel development," and "regulation of nervous system development." Besides, 72 KEGG pathways, including eight active pathways and 64 suppressed pathways were identified, including which immune pathway was the most significantly activated one and which ribosome‐related function was the most suppressed. A co‐expression network including 161 DE‐mRNAs and 16 DE‐lncRNAs was built. Highly connected nodes were identified among lncRNAs such as H19, C20orf203, LINC00355, SFTA3, CRNDE, CASC2, LINC00494, C9orf163, C10orf91, and LINC00301. The ceRNA network indicated that lncRNA H19 functioned as a ceRNA of hsa‐miR‐519b‐3p and hsa‐miR‐296‐5p in ANKH and ECHDC1 regulation; lncRNA C9orf163 functioned as a ceRNA of hsa‐miR‐424‐5p in CCNT1 regulation. The expression trends of ANKH, CCNT1, and C9orf163 were successfully validated in independent dataset of GSE123568. Conclusion: The ceRNAs of lncRNA H19‐ hsa‐miR‐519b‐3p/hsa‐miR‐296‐5p‐ANKH and lncRNA c9orf163‐ hsa‐miR‐424‐5p‐CCNT1 might play important roles in ONFH development. Our research provided an understanding of the important role of lncRNA–related ceRNAs in ONFH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mn-doped BaCeO 3 series composite oxide catalysts were prepared by a sol-gel method. The low-temperature catalytic methane combustion activity test of BaCe 1-x Mn x O 3-δ series composite oxide catalysts at low temperature (200-600 °C) was studied in a fixed bed reactor. The physical properties of the catalyst were characterized by XRD, SEM, particle size analysis and specific surface area measurement, and the conductivity of the sample was measured by AC impedance spectroscopy. Research shows that: the perovskite phase composite oxide catalyst was successfully prepared by the sol-gel method, and the prepared perovskite phase catalyst has good catalytic performance and high temperature stability. The catalytic performance of the catalyst changes with the conductivity, which shows a proportional relationship; when the temperature is lower than 650 °C, Mn doping significantly improves the catalytic activity of the BaCeO 3 catalyst for methane combustion. The catalytic activity increases initially and then decreases with the doping amount of Mn. When the doping amount is 0.4 the catalyst has the best catalytic activity, with the ignition temperature of methane at as low as 249.7 °C, and the catalytic methane complete conversion temperature T 90 (The corresponding temperature when CH 4 conversion rate is 90%) at 423.2 °C. This work is of considerable referential importance in the optimization design of catalysts for CH 4 combustion at low temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are widely used as energy storage technology in emerging markets such as electric vehicles. The development of anode materials that can replace graphite materials is a hotspot of current research. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as a kind of important porous inorganic organic hybrid crystals, have been developed and used as anode materials for LIBs. MOFs can be used as precursors for transition metal oxides (TMOs) with nanostructures based on unique properties such as their unique structure and morphological characteristic, and controllable skeleton composition. In this review, the application and recent progress of MOFs and their derived TMOs in anode materials for LIBs are reviewed. Attention is also paid to their electrochemical mechanisms and the mechanism of the cyclic capacity enhancement phenomenon. Finally, the challenges of MOFs and their derived TMOs as LIBs anode materials are discussed, and modification strategies to improve their electrochemical performance are analyzed and summarized. [Display omitted] • The recent progress of MOFs in anode materials for LIBs is reviewed. • The cycle capacity enhancement phenomenon of MOFs is discussed. • Summarize the advantages and disadvantages of five modification strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of the global society, people's demand for lithium is increasing. Recovering valuable lithium from waste lithium-ion batteries and fly ash is essential for environmental protection and energy saving. We have developed a new imprinted capacitance deionization technology (N@Li+-IPDI), which can selectively recover lithium ion from acidic solution (pH = 2) under complex environment. The recovery capacity of N@Li+-IPDI electrode material was up to 20.26 mg/g. Separation of Li+ from Na+, K+, and Al3+ was achieved based on the size effect. Separation from Mg2+ was due to the higher hydration energy of Mg2+ (1940 kJ/mol) than Li+ (510 kJ/mol). After 5 regeneration cycles, recovery effect of N@Li+-IPDI was 93.42 % of original. Through density functional theory (DFT) modeling, bond length of Li+-O was 2.04–2.05 Å, and adsorption energy of 2H12C4-Li+ (−33.66 Kcal/mol) was the largest among the five ions. In addition, energy and structure of deprotonation process were studied, and the energy required for deprotonation was 6.33 kJ/mol, which was the reason Li+ adsorption is difficult in acidic environment. This research provides a new green ion recovery technology with excellent selectivity, high adsorption and conductivity for Li+ recovery in acid solution, to meet the challenge of growing demand for lithium. [Display omitted] • Ion imprinting technology and capacitive deionization technology are combined. • The maximum adsorption capacity of the N@Li+-IPDI is up to 20.26 mg/g under pH = 2. • Crown ether protonation was effectively overcome under electric field. • Adsorption energy of Li+ (−33.66 Kcal/mol) was the largest among cations. • The energy required for deprotonation was 6.33 kJ/mol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the target highlights scattering in underwater multipath channels, the underwater target echoes are generally considered as a superposition of sub-echoes, which are represented by different amplitude attenuation factors, time delays and Doppler factors, and the superposition usually degrades the target velocity estimation performance greatly. With a developed multi-highlight target echo model in underwater multipath channels, and based on the great performance of cepstrum and autocorrelation for time delay estimation, a target velocity estimation method is proposed in this paper, where the transmitted signal of the active sonar is designed to be a combined signal. In this method, the received echo is subjected to matched filter first, then the autocorrelation and cepstrum are applied successively to the echo. Since the cepstrum and autocorrelation exist peaks at the same location, they are found to be useful for improving the accuracy of the target velocity estimation. The proposed method is compared with the conventional matched filter method in both simulations and experiments. The results demonstrate that using a lower computational effort, the proposed method can estimate the target velocity more precisely at a lower signal-to-noise ratio. • Multi-highlight target echoes considering underwater multipath propagation. • Estimation of target velocity and suppression of multipath using cepstrum. • Noise resistance of the cepstrum is improved using matched filter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reduce the environmental hazards of red mud (RM) and realize its resource utilization, in this study, RM-based iron-carbon micro-electrolysis material (RM-MEM) were prepared by a carbothermal reduction process using RM as raw material. The influence of the preparation conditions on the phase transformation and structural characteristics of the RM-MEM were investigated during the reduction process. The ability of RM-MEM to remove organic pollutants from wastewater was evaluated. The results showed that RM-MEM prepared at a reduction temperature of 1100 °C, a reduction time of 50 min and a coal dosage of 50% had the best removal effect for the degradation of methylene blue (MB). When the initial MB concentration was 20 mg L−1, the amount of RM-MEM material was 4 g L−1, the initial pH was 7, and the degradation efficiency reached 99.75% after 60 min. When RM-MEM is split into carbon free and iron free parts for use, the degradation effect becomes worse. Compared to other materials, RM-MEM has lower cost and better degradation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed that hematite was transformed to zero-valent iron with the increase in the roasting temperature. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy spectroscopy (EDS) analysis showed that micron-sized ZVI particles were formed in the RM-MEM, and increasing the carbon thermal reduction temperature was beneficial to the growth of zero-valent iron particles. [Display omitted] • Waste-derived iron carbon micro-electrocatalyst by carbon thermal reduction method. • Iron carbon micro-electrocatalyst shows high efficiency in the degradation of MB. • Iron carbon micro-electrocatalyst shows the potential for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer (BC) poses one of the major threats to female's health worldwide. Immune infiltration in BC is a key representative of the tumor microenvironment and has been proven highly relevant for prognosis. The role of the FREM1 (FRAS1‐Related Extracellular Matrix 1) gene in carcinoma has not studied, moreover, the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. This study aims to investigate the expression profile and potential action of FREM1 on BC progression. We applied series of bioinformatic methods as well as immunohistochemistry (IHC) and immunofluorescence (IF) to analyze FREM1 expression profile, its relationship with clinicopathological characteristics, impact on clinical outcomes, relevant functions, correlation with immune infiltration in BC. The results demonstrated that FREM1 had a dramatically reduced expression in BC tissues, possessed an inverse correlation with stage, age, and metastasis, and exhibited a higher level in invasive lobular breast carcinoma than in ductal one. Furthermore, decreased FREM1 expression was often associated with estrogen receptor (ER)/progesterone receptor (PR) negative and triple negative breast carcinoma (TNBC) status while human epidermal growth factor 2 (Her‐2) positive status, and considerably correlated with a worse overall survival (OS) and recurrence‐free survival (RFS). Meanwhile, the univariate/multivariate Cox model revealed that low‐FREM1 expression can be an independent prognostic factor for BC. Additionally, FREM1 was mainly involved in the cell metabolism and immune cells infiltration. Moreover, IHC and IF demonstrated a positive correlation of its expression with the immune infiltrating levels of CD4+, CD8+ T cells, and CD86+ M1 macrophages while a negative correlation with CD68+ pan‐macrophages and CD163+ M2 macrophages. These findings suggest that FREM1 can be a potential biomarker for evaluating the immune infiltrating status, and the BC prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Vitamin E (tocochromanol) is a lipid-soluble antioxidant and an essential nutrient for human health. Among cereal crops, barley (Hordeum vulgare) contains a high level of vitamin E, which includes both tocopherols and tocotrienols. Although the vitamin E biosynthetic pathway has been characterized in dicots, such as Arabidopsis , which only accumulate tocopherols, knowledge regarding vitamin E biosynthesis in monocots is limited because of the lack of functional mutants. This study aimed to obtain gene knockout mutants to elucidate the genetic control of vitamin E composition in barley. Methods Targeted knockout mutations of HvHPT and HvHGGT in barley were created with CRISPR/Cas9-enabled genome editing. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was performed to analyse the content of tocochromanol isomers in transgene-free homozygous Hvhpt and Hvhggt mutants. Key Results Mutagenesis efficiency among T0 regenerated plantlets was 50–65 % as a result of two simultaneously expressed guide RNAs targeting each gene; most of the mutations were stably inherited by the next generation. The transgene-free homozygous mutants of Hvhpt and Hvhggt exhibited decreased grain size and weight, and the HvHGGT mutation led to a shrunken phenotype and significantly lower total starch content in grains. HPLC analysis revealed that targeted mutation of HvHPT significantly reduced the content of both tocopherols and tocotrienols, whereas mutations in HvHGGT completely blocked tocotrienol biosynthesis in barley grains. Transient overexpression of an HvHPT homologue in tobacco leaves significantly increased the production of γ- and δ-tocopherols, which may partly explain why targeted mutation of HvHPT in barley grains did not eliminate tocopherol production. Conclusions Our results functionally validated that HvHGGT is the only committed gene for the production of tocotrienols, whereas HvHPT is partly responsible for tocopherol biosynthesis in barley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report an attempt to reveal the nonlinear dynamic behavior of a classical rotating pendulum system subjected to combined excitations of constant force and periodic excitation. The unperturbed system characterized by strong irrational nonlinearity bears significant similarities to the coupling of a simple pendulum and a smooth and discontinuous (SD) oscillator, especially the phase trajectory with coexistence of Duffing-type and pendulum-type homoclinic orbits. In order to learn the effect of constant force on this pendulum system, all types of phase portraits are displayed by means of the Hamiltonian function with large constant excitation especially the transitions of complex singular closed orbits. Under sufficiently small perturbations of the viscous damping and constant excitation, the Melnikov method is used to analyze the global structure of the phase space and the feature of trajectories. It is shown, both theoretically and numerically, that this system undergoes a homoclinic bifurcation and then bifurcates a unique attracting rotating limit cycle. Finally, the estimation of the chaotic threshold of the rotating pendulum system with multiple excitations is calculated and the predicted periodic and chaotic motions can be shown by applying numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological insulators are internally insulating but allow topologically protected surface waves at the boundary. In this work, the photonic analogue of topologically protected surface states in gyro‐electromagnetic metamaterials are discovered. It is analytically and numerically demonstrated that the surface waves appear not only in the k‐space common gap regions between the bulk states of the metamaterials and the vacuum state, but even can exist in an infinitely extended k‐space. Such surface waves have extremely large wave vectors along the propagation direction with high field localization on the surface. It is believed that the high field localization of surface waves could improve the compactness of photonic devices and facilitate the integration of photonic circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supplementing chicken feed with antibiotics can improve survival and prevent disease outbreaks. However, overuse of antibiotics may promote the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Recently, antimicrobial peptides have been proposed as alternatives to antibiotics in animal husbandry. Here, we evaluate the effects of antimicrobial peptide, Epinephelus lanceolatus piscidin (EP), in Gallus gallus domesticus. The gene encoding EP was isolated, sequenced, codon-optimized and cloned into a Pichia pastoris recombinant protein expression system. The expressed recombinant EP (rEP) was then used as a dietary supplement for G. g. domesticus; overall health, growth performance and immunity were assessed. Supernatant from rEP-expressing yeast showed in vitro antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, according to an inhibition-zone diameter (mm) assay. Moreover, the antimicrobial peptide function of rEP was temperature independent. The fermentation broth yielded a spray-dried powder formulation containing 262.9 μg EP/g powder, and LC-MS/MS (tandem MS) analysis confirmed that rEP had a molecular weight of 4279 Da, as expected for the 34-amino acid peptide; the DNA sequence of the expression vector was also validated. We then evaluated rEP as a feed additive for G. g. domesticus. Treatment groups included control, basal diet and rEP at different doses (0.75, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0 and 12%). Compared to control, rEP supplementation increased G. g. domesticus weight gain, feed efficiency, IL-10 and IFN-γ production. Our results suggest that crude rEP could provide an alternative to traditional antibiotic feed additives for G. g. domesticus, serving to enhance growth and health of the animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ZW10 interacting kinetochore protein (ZWINT) is an essential component for the mitotic spindle checkpoint and has been reported to be upregulated in numerous types of human cancer. Nonetheless, its role in breast cancer (BC) remains unclear. Herein, it was demonstrated that the expression of ZWINT was significantly higher in BC than in normal breast tissues, on the basis of integrated analysis of bioinformatics studies, cancer database analyses and immunohistochemical detection. Elevated ZWINT levels were associated with a number of clinicopathological characteristics in patients with BC. These characteristics include: i) Positive human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expression; ii) triple-negative BC; iii) younger age; iv) basal-like subtype; and v) greater Scarff-Bloom-Richardson grades. Additionally, prognostic analysis indicated that shorter relapse-free survival, overall survival and metastatic relapse-free survival may be associated with high ZWINT expression. A total of 16 pathways associated with high ZWINT expression, including Myc targets V1/2, DNA repair and mitotic spindle pathways, were identified using Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. In addition, a positive correlation between cyclin-dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) and ZWINT mRNA expression was identified by co-expression analysis. The present study suggested that ZWINT may serve as an effective prognostic biomarker for BC. In addition, ZWINT may be implicated in the CDK1-mediated initiation and progression of BC. However, further research is required to understand the role of ZWINT in BC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is one of the severest complications in the development of diabetes with a characteristic of intraretinal new vessel formation. Our present study attempts to probe into the involvement of Yes‐associated protein 1 (YAP1) in retinal microvascular endothelial cells (RMECs) and the underlying mechanism. The DR mouse model was induced by streptozotocin injection and a high‐glucose/high‐fat diet. After that, with the utilization of the Pearson's correlation analysis, the correlation between YAP1 and metastasis‐associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) was analyzed. The relationship between microRNA‐200b‐3p (miR‐200b‐3p) and MALAT1 or vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) was then validated. Finally, the cellular processes including the abilities of proliferation, migration, as well as tube formation, were evaluated after the alteration of YAP1, MALAT1, and miR‐200b‐3p expression. YAP1 was observed to be highly expressed in retinas from DR mice, which promoted the cellular processes of RMECs through upregulating the MALAT1 expression. It was further confirmed that MALAT1 could sponge miR‐200b‐3p, and miR‐200b‐3p directly targeted VEGFA. When YAP1 was silenced, the RMEC proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis in the retina of DR mice were reduced. From these data, we conclude that YAP1 may exert some promotive effects on the development of DR through its regulation of the MALAT1/miR‐200b‐3p/VEGFA axis, highlighting that YAP1 silencing may be instrumental for the therapeutic targeting of DR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane technologies have been widely investigated for CO 2 separation, especially inorganic membranes which could overcome the barrier of low melting point, and then been applied for combustion activities. Compared with molecular sieving membranes (MSMs), the mechanism during CO 2 separation process on electrolyte membranes (EMs) is more complicated. Mixed ionic and electronic conductors, such as perovskite oxides, has been proved with superior activity than oxygen ion conductors because of the additional surface reaction path. To further demonstrate the applicability of perovskite oxides contained membrane for CO 2 separation, in this work, CO 2 transport via La 0.6 Sr 0.4 Co 0.2 Fe 0.8 O 3-δ and carbonates composite membrane with hollow fiber microstructure was thoroughly investigated under various gas flow directions. This membrane presents the best permeability when CO 2 +N 2 (feed gas) flows at shell side and He (sweep gas) flows at tube side in parallel model. In addition, it also presents excellent thermal shock resistance after six times rising and cooling operation with almost no performance degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus, characterized by abnormal retinal angiogenesis. MicroRNA‐203‐3p (miR‐203‐3p) was found to be down‐regulated in a murine model of proliferative retinopathy. This study was performed to explore the role of miR‐203a‐3p in retinal angiogenesis of PDR. Firstly, a rat OIR model, which was used to mimic PDR, was established and the OIR rats were treated with scrambled control or miR‐203a‐3p agomir by intravitreal injection. The results showed that the level of miR‐203a‐3p was decreased in OIR rats, and forced over‐expression of miR‐203a‐3p inhibited OIR‐induced retinal angiogenesis as evidenced by reduced blood vessel profiles and CD31 expression. OIR‐induced up‐regulation of VEGFA, HIF‐α, PCNA, and MMPs in the retina was also counteracted by miR‐203a‐3p. Additionally, high glucose (HG)‐induced proliferation, migration and tube formation of human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRMECs) were also dampened by the up‐regulation of miR‐203a‐3p. Dual‐luciferase reporter assay showed that miR‐203a‐3p could specifically bind to the 3′UTR of VEGFA and HIF‐1α. Over‐expression of VEGFA or HIF‐1α restored the tube formation activity of HRMECs suppressed by miR‐203a‐3p. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that up‐regulation of miR‐203a‐3p might inhibit pathological retinal angiogenesis of PDR by targeting VEGFA and HIF‐1α. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Recently, the reported Perovskite/Ruddlesden‐Popper composite with significant improvement of oxygen surface kinetics has been adopted into gas separation process. Here, we report a novel La0.7Sr0.3FeO3 − δ/(La0.5Sr0.5)2CoO4 + δ (LSF‐LSC) composite hollow fiber membrane (HFM), which was characterized by X‐ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and thermal expansion test, etc. The O2 permeation test results indicated that, under sweeping gas of pure He (100 mL min−1), the composite HFM exhibited the superior O2 permeability (0.72 mL min−1 cm−2) at the temperature of 950°C with respect to the single La0.7Sr0.3FeO3 − δ (LSF) membrane, acid‐etched membrane, and (La0.5Sr0.5)2CoO4 + δ (LSC)‐coated membrane. Moreover, the composite membrane exhibited high CO2 tolerance as well as phase stability. The generation of hetero‐interface between Ruddlesden‐Popper phase and perovskite phase could be responsible for the improvement of the oxygen transportation over the fabricated composite membrane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]