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Attention mechanisms have been widely adopted for image captioning because of their powerful performance. In this paper, we propose a Mask Captioning Network (MaC) consisting of an object layer and a background layer to capture the objects and scenes of an image to generate a sentence. To this end, we leverage the Mask RCNN to detect salient regions at the pixel level instead of a bounding box in the object layer. Meanwhile, in the background layer, a CNN model is used to encode the scene features. In addition, MaC is implemented in both LSTM-based and Transformer-based image captioning architectures. We introduce a mask-guided transformer encoder with additional features to enhance the model. Experimental results show that our model significantly outperforms (with a much richer sentence) baseline models and achieves comparable results with state-of-the-art methods on MSCOCO and Flickr30k datasets. • This paper proposes a new image captioning model consisting of the mask and scene layers. • The idea of the mask layer is to eliminate background information to focus on the image objects only. • The scene layer will focus on generating scene features to ensure that the overall meaning of the images is adapted. • Also, our method can be easily integrated into a transformer-based image captioning model to achieve better performance. • Our method obtains comparable/better results across four popular metrics against SOTA in MSCOCO and Flick30K datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To describe the development of a platform for image collection and annotation that resulted in a multi‐sourced international image dataset of oral lesions to facilitate the development of automated lesion classification algorithms. Materials and Methods: We developed a web‐interface, hosted on a web server to collect oral lesions images from international partners. Further, we developed a customised annotation tool, also a web‐interface for systematic annotation of images to build a rich clinically labelled dataset. We evaluated the sensitivities comparing referral decisions through the annotation process with the clinical diagnosis of the lesions. Results: The image repository hosts 2474 images of oral lesions consisting of oral cancer, oral potentially malignant disorders and other oral lesions that were collected through MeMoSA® UPLOAD. Eight‐hundred images were annotated by seven oral medicine specialists on MeMoSA®ANNOTATE, to mark the lesion and to collect clinical labels. The sensitivity in referral decision for all lesions that required a referral for cancer management/surveillance was moderate to high depending on the type of lesion (64.3%–100%). Conclusion: This is the first description of a database with clinically labelled oral lesions. This database could accelerate the improvement of AI algorithms that can promote the early detection of high‐risk oral lesions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional wheel–rail rolling contact model (3D WRRCM) developed using the explicit finite element method (FEM) can be used to analyze the dynamic performances of wheelsets and tracks while considering the wheelset rotation and translation, as well as the real wheel–rail contact mechanism. When using the FEM with static initialisation (traditional model), the first step is to calculate the static wheel–rail displacement, strain, and stress when applying axle loading on the wheel and neglecting the wheelset rotation and translation. Then, using these results as the initial conditions, the dynamic wheel–rail displacement, strain, and stress are calculated while considering the wheelset rotation and translation by adopting the explicit dynamic solution method. However, obtaining a solution using this traditional method is time consuming, and the solution can be divergent because of the impulse produced by the suddenly increasing wheelset rotation when proceeding from the initial condition to the dynamic. The optimised method developed in this study can solve this problem. A comparison of the results from the traditional and optimised methods reveals that in the optimised method, the softer initial impulse effectively shortens the track length needed for the calculation and improves the solution efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (CE-EUS-FNA) could help clinicians to precisely locate and puncture lesions, but its effect on the diagnostic yield improvement is controversial. We designed this study to observe the additional benefit of using contrast in EUS-guided tissue sampling while performing fine needle biopsy (FNB) instead of FNA, as FNB results in a higher diagnostic accuracy. Method: Patients who underwent EUS-FNB performed by a single medical team from January 2019 to March 2021 were included in this study. We analyzed the cytopathological diagnostic accuracy rate and number of needle passes between groups who underwent FNB with and without contrast. Result: We divided 133 patients who were diagnosed with a malignancy into two groups according to whether they underwent CE-EUS-FNB (n = 48) or conventional EUS-FNB (n = 85). The CE-EUS-FNB group had an equal diagnostic accuracy rate with fewer needle passes compared with the conventional EUS-FNB group. There was no significant trend change in the success cytopathological diagnostic rate for experienced endoscopists for EUS-FNA. Conclusion: CE-EUS-FNB had fewer needle passes but no additional benefit for diagnostic yield improvement. There was no difficult threshold for CE-EUS-FNB for endoscopists who were well trained in conventional FNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Further clinical validation is required to determine whether transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) can replace opioids and be used in combination with remimazolam for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy.A total of 108 outpatients who underwent diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomly divided into three groups: fentanyl plus remimazolam group (group C), TEAS plus remimazolam group (group E), and placebo-TEAS plus remimazolam group (group P). The assessments of patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and pain scale score during the examination constituted the primary endpoints of the study. The secondary endpoints were the time of recovery, recovery of normal behavioral function and discharge, incidence of adverse reactions, and dose of remimazolam.Compared with group C, group E had a greater median score for patient satisfaction at follow-up and a slightly lower median score for physician satisfaction. The pain score of group E was slightly greater than that of group C, but the difference was not significant. However, in group C, the incidence of hypoxemia, the rate of nausea and the severity of vertigo were greater, and the number of patients discharged and resuming normal behavioral function was greater than those in the other two groups. The dose of remimazolam in group C and group E was less than that in group P.TEAS combined with moderate sedation of remimazolam can provide an ideal sedative effect, which preferably suppresses discomfort caused by gastrointestinal endoscopy and has fewer sedation-related complications.ID: NCT05485064; First registration (29/07/2022); Last registration (02/11/2022) (Clinical Trials.gov).Methods: Further clinical validation is required to determine whether transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) can replace opioids and be used in combination with remimazolam for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy.A total of 108 outpatients who underwent diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomly divided into three groups: fentanyl plus remimazolam group (group C), TEAS plus remimazolam group (group E), and placebo-TEAS plus remimazolam group (group P). The assessments of patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and pain scale score during the examination constituted the primary endpoints of the study. The secondary endpoints were the time of recovery, recovery of normal behavioral function and discharge, incidence of adverse reactions, and dose of remimazolam.Compared with group C, group E had a greater median score for patient satisfaction at follow-up and a slightly lower median score for physician satisfaction. The pain score of group E was slightly greater than that of group C, but the difference was not significant. However, in group C, the incidence of hypoxemia, the rate of nausea and the severity of vertigo were greater, and the number of patients discharged and resuming normal behavioral function was greater than those in the other two groups. The dose of remimazolam in group C and group E was less than that in group P.TEAS combined with moderate sedation of remimazolam can provide an ideal sedative effect, which preferably suppresses discomfort caused by gastrointestinal endoscopy and has fewer sedation-related complications.ID: NCT05485064; First registration (29/07/2022); Last registration (02/11/2022) (Clinical Trials.gov).Results: Further clinical validation is required to determine whether transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) can replace opioids and be used in combination with remimazolam for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy.A total of 108 outpatients who underwent diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomly divided into three groups: fentanyl plus remimazolam group (group C), TEAS plus remimazolam group (group E), and placebo-TEAS plus remimazolam group (group P). The assessments of patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and pain scale score during the examination constituted the primary endpoints of the study. The secondary endpoints were the time of recovery, recovery of normal behavioral function and discharge, incidence of adverse reactions, and dose of remimazolam.Compared with group C, group E had a greater median score for patient satisfaction at follow-up and a slightly lower median score for physician satisfaction. The pain score of group E was slightly greater than that of group C, but the difference was not significant. However, in group C, the incidence of hypoxemia, the rate of nausea and the severity of vertigo were greater, and the number of patients discharged and resuming normal behavioral function was greater than those in the other two groups. The dose of remimazolam in group C and group E was less than that in group P.TEAS combined with moderate sedation of remimazolam can provide an ideal sedative effect, which preferably suppresses discomfort caused by gastrointestinal endoscopy and has fewer sedation-related complications.ID: NCT05485064; First registration (29/07/2022); Last registration (02/11/2022) (Clinical Trials.gov).Conclusions: Further clinical validation is required to determine whether transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) can replace opioids and be used in combination with remimazolam for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy.A total of 108 outpatients who underwent diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomly divided into three groups: fentanyl plus remimazolam group (group C), TEAS plus remimazolam group (group E), and placebo-TEAS plus remimazolam group (group P). The assessments of patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and pain scale score during the examination constituted the primary endpoints of the study. The secondary endpoints were the time of recovery, recovery of normal behavioral function and discharge, incidence of adverse reactions, and dose of remimazolam.Compared with group C, group E had a greater median score for patient satisfaction at follow-up and a slightly lower median score for physician satisfaction. The pain score of group E was slightly greater than that of group C, but the difference was not significant. However, in group C, the incidence of hypoxemia, the rate of nausea and the severity of vertigo were greater, and the number of patients discharged and resuming normal behavioral function was greater than those in the other two groups. The dose of remimazolam in group C and group E was less than that in group P.TEAS combined with moderate sedation of remimazolam can provide an ideal sedative effect, which preferably suppresses discomfort caused by gastrointestinal endoscopy and has fewer sedation-related complications.ID: NCT05485064; First registration (29/07/2022); Last registration (02/11/2022) (Clinical Trials.gov).Trial Registration: Further clinical validation is required to determine whether transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) can replace opioids and be used in combination with remimazolam for sedation during gastrointestinal endoscopy.A total of 108 outpatients who underwent diagnostic gastrointestinal endoscopy were randomly divided into three groups: fentanyl plus remimazolam group (group C), TEAS plus remimazolam group (group E), and placebo-TEAS plus remimazolam group (group P). The assessments of patient satisfaction, physician satisfaction, and pain scale score during the examination constituted the primary endpoints of the study. The secondary endpoints were the time of recovery, recovery of normal behavioral function and discharge, incidence of adverse reactions, and dose of remimazolam.Compared with group C, group E had a greater median score for patient satisfaction at follow-up and a slightly lower median score for physician satisfaction. The pain score of group E was slightly greater than that of group C, but the difference was not significant. However, in group C, the incidence of hypoxemia, the rate of nausea and the severity of vertigo were greater, and the number of patients discharged and resuming normal behavioral function was greater than those in the other two groups. The dose of remimazolam in group C and group E was less than that in group P.TEAS combined with moderate sedation of remimazolam can provide an ideal sedative effect, which preferably suppresses discomfort caused by gastrointestinal endoscopy and has fewer sedation-related complications.ID: NCT05485064; First registration (29/07/2022); Last registration (02/11/2022) (Clinical Trials.gov). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosing pancreatic malignancy is challenging, especially in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) is a promising diagnostic procedure for discriminating between malignancy and CP. We aimed to investigate the predictive factors and reliability of computed tomography (CT) and EUS for differentiating pancreatic mass lesions and the diagnostic accuracy of EUS-FNA or FNB in patients with CP. Forty patients with CP, receiving CT and EUS-FNA or FNB for pancreatic mass lesion evaluation, were enrolled in the study. Patients' data, CT and EUS characteristics, image-based diagnosis, cytopathology, and final diagnosis were recorded. EUS was superior to CT in terms of diagnostic accuracy (92.5% vs. 82.5%, p = 0.02). Both CT and EUS showed significant predictive factors (all p < 0.05) with the tumor image hypoattenuation pattern or vessel invasion on CT and pancreatic duct dilatation, or distal pancreatic atrophy on EUS. EUS imaging is a reliable modality for evaluating pancreatic lesions, even with a CP background. The EUS image has a higher diagnostic accuracy than CT. Predicting factors, including hypoechoic pattern, pancreatic duct dilatation, and distal pancreas atrophy, may help to differentiate benign or malignant in patients with CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous popularization and application of TBM equipment and technology in the field of coal mine, aiming at the problems of small torque and small propulsion of existing TBM advanced exploration drilling rigs for coal mine, which is difficult to drill long borehole, and lack of special high-power drilling equipment to match with it, a high-power drilling rig for coal mine TBM is developed. This paper introduces the structure of the drilling rig, analyzes the structure and principle of the luffing mechanism and the rotary table protection device, also the strength of the key parts. Through the application in Guineng Group Heilaga Juxin coal mine shows that this equipment has large torque and propulsion, the hydraulic system and operation mode meet the requirements of long-distance separate layout in TBM. The drilling rig has good stability and high efficiency, and can meet the various needs of long drilling for advanced exploration, which promotes the application of TBM equipment and technology in the field of coal mine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinicians often use endoscopic ultrasonography to survey pancreatic tumors. When endoscopists conduct this examination and find the tumor to be unresectable, a fine-needle biopsy is subsequently performed for tissue confirmation. However, if the tumor is deemed resectable, the necessity of a pre-operative fine-needle biopsy remains debatable. Therefore, we performed a retrospective analysis of a single-center cohort of patients with pancreatic tumors who underwent an endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy or aspiration (EUS-FNB or FNA) between 2020 and 2022. This study focused on patients diagnosed with resectable malignant pancreatic tumors. The exclusion criteria included individuals diagnosed with benign pancreatic lesions and those with unresectable tumors. A total of 68 patients were enrolled in this study. Histological examination revealed that pancreatic adenocarcinoma was the predominant type of tumor (n = 42, 61.8%), followed by neuroendocrine tumors (n = 22, 32.3%), and metastasis (n = 4, 5.9%). Notably, 17 patients had a history of other cancers, with 23.5% being diagnosed with a metastatic tumor rather than primary pancreatic cancer. Therefore, EUS-FNA/FNB is crucial in patients with a resectable pancreatic tumor and a history of cancer to differentiate between a primary and a metastatic tumor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pneumonia is often associated with hyperin-flammation. Despite the disproportionate incidence of Covid-19 among underserved and racial and ethnic minority populations, the safety and efficacy of the anti-inter-leukin-6 receptor antibody tocilizumab in patients from these populations who are hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia are unclear. METHODS We randomly assigned (in a 2:1 ratio) patients hospitalized with Covid-19 pneumonia who were not receiving mechanical ventilation to receive standard care plus one or two doses of either tocilizumab (8 mg per kilogram of body weight intravenously) or placebo. Site selection was focused on the inclusion of sites enrolling high-risk and minority populations. The primary outcome was mechanical ventilation or death by day 28. RESULTS A total of 389 patients underwent randomization, and the modified intention-to-treat population included 249 patients in the tocilizumab group and 128 patients in the placebo group; 56.0% were Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% were Black, 12.7% were American Indian or Alaska Native, 12.7% were non-Hispanic White, and 3.7% were of other or unknown race or ethnic group. The cumulative percentage of patients who had received mechanical ventilation or who had died by day 28 was 12.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 8.5 to 16.9) in the tocilizumab group and 19.3% (95% CI, 13.3 to 27.4) in the placebo group (hazard ratio for mechanical ventilation or death, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.97; P=0.04 by the log-rank test). Clinical failure as assessed in a time-to-event analysis favored tocilizumab over placebo (hazard ratio, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.93). Death from any cause by day 28 occurred in 10.4% of the patients in the tocilizumab group and 8.6% of those in the placebo group (weighted difference, 2.0 percentage points; 95% CI, -5.2 to 7.8). In the safety population, serious adverse events occurred in 38 of 250 patients (15.2%) in the tocilizumab group and 25 of 127 patients (19.7%) in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS In hospitalized patients with Covid-19 pneumonia who were not receiving mechanical ventilation, tocilizumab reduced the likelihood of progression to the composite outcome of mechanical ventilation or death, but it did not improve survival. No new safety signals were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, author uncover death associated protein 3 (DAP3) as a potent repressor of editing and a strong oncogene in cancer. It discusses the suppression of adenosine-to-inosine RNA editome by death associated protein 3 (DAP3) promotes cancer progression. It mentions the negative regulation of editing mechanism by which DAP3 promotes cancer development.

The grain-boundary (GB) mobility relates the GB velocity to the driving force. While the GB velocity is normally associated with motion of the GB normal to the GB plane, there is often a tangential motion of one grain with respect to the other across a GB; i.e., the GB velocity is a vector. GB motion can be driven by a jump in chemical potential across a GB or by shear applied parallel to the GB plane; the driving force has three components. Hence, the GB mobility must be a tensor (the off-diagonal components indicate shear coupling). Performing molecular dynamics (MD) simulations on a symmetric-tilt GB in copper, we demonstrate that all six components of the GB mobility tensor are nonzero (the mobility tensor is symmetric, as required by Onsager). We demonstrate that some of these mobility components increase with temperature, while, surprisingly, others decrease. We develop a disconnection dynamics-based statistical model that suggests that GB mobilities follow an Arrhenius relation with respect to temperature T below a critical temperature Tc and decrease as 1=T above it. Tc is related to the operative disconnection mode(s) and its (their) energetics. For any GB, which disconnection modes dominate depends on the nature of the driving force and the mobility component of interest. Finally, we examine the impact of the generalization of the mobility for applications in classical capillarity-driven grain growth. We demonstrate that stress generation during GB migration (shear coupling) necessarily slows grain growth and reduces GB mobility in polycrystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four new alkali metal aluminum/gallium iodates, namely A2M(IO3)4(H0.5IO3)2 (A = K, Rb and M = Al, Ga), have been successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction and structurally characterized through single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. These compounds are isostructural and crystallize in the P1¯ space group (no. 2) with one formula unit in each unit cell. The rare half-protonated H0.5IO3 building units were identified, and their structure feature isolated [M(IO3)4(H0.5IO3)2]2− anions, which are separated by alkali metal cations. The optical diffuse reflectance spectroscopy measurements associated with the Tauc analysis showed direct energy gaps, which are in good agreement with the theoretical calculation prediction. Moreover, this study also indicates that the electronic properties of these compounds are mainly determined by the IO3 and H0.5IO3 anionic units, and the alkali metal cations show a remarkable effect on their energy gap values, whereas the impacts of the group 13 elements aluminum and gallium are insignificant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is a standard procedure used to obtain tissue samples for diagnosis of solid retroperitoneal tumours. However, this procedure demands high technical expertise and requires a strong learning curve. Our aim was to identify factors associated with false-negative EUS-FNA results during the learning for endoscopists. Methods: Our retrospective analysis was based on the EUS-FNA specimens collected by two novice endoscopists in 200 patients with retroperitoneal lesions who had confirmed image- or tissue-based diagnoses of malignancy or benign lesions. Results: In the first 40 performances endoscopists, the false-negative diagnostic rate of EUS-FNA was higher among patients with chronic pancreatitis than in patients without chronic pancreatitis. Patients who underwent FNA through the trans-duodenal puncture route also had lower success cytological diagnosis rate than through the trans-gastric puncture route. The rate of successful cytological diagnoses with EUS-FNA improved after 40 procedures and was not influenced by chronic pancreatitis presentation or difference puncture route. Conclusion: Regarding the learning curve, more than 40 procedures were required to achieve a stable success rate of EUS-FNA. Chronic pancreatitis and trans-duodenal puncture route are the predictive factors for a false-negative FNA cytological result during learning. Trial registration: This was a retrospective study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation criteria play a key role in assessing the performances of hydrological models. Most previous criteria are based on the standard least square method, which assumes model residuals to be homoscedastic and is, therefore, not suitable for assessing cases with heteroscedastic residuals. Here, we compared a heteroscedastic and symmetric efficiency (HSE) criterion with the Nash--Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) and the heteroscedastic maximum-likelihood estimator (HMLE) by running a monthly water balancemodel with four parameters (i.e., the abcd model) in 138 basins located in the continental United States derived from the Model Parameter Estimation Experiment dataset. The results show that compared to the NSE, the HSE and HMLE are both more effective for stabilizing variance and producing more uniform performances with flow magnitude, and the latter is slightly more effective than the former on stabilizing the residual heteroscedasticity, with the aid of an additional parameter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Tendon motion, which is commonly observed using ultrasound imaging, is one of the most important features used in tendinopathy diagnosis. However, speckle noise and out-of-plane issues make the tracking process difficult. Manual tracking is usually time consuming and often yields inconsistent results between users.Methods: To automatically track tendon motion in ultrasound images, we developed a new method that combines the advantages of optical flow and multi-kernel block matching. For every pair of adjacent image frames, the optical flow is computed and used to estimate the accumulated displacement. The proposed method selects the frame interval adaptively based on this displacement. Multi-kernel block matching is then computed on the two selected frames, and, to reduce tracking errors, the detailed displacements of the frames in between are interpolated based on the optical flow results.Results: In the experiments, cadaver data were used to evaluate the tracking results. The mean absolute error was less than 0.05 mm. The proposed method also tracked the motion of tendons in vivo, which provides useful information for clinical diagnosis.Conclusion: The proposed method provides a new index for adaptively determining the frame interval. Compared with other methods, the proposed method yields tracking results that are significantly more accurate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The present work concerns calcium pyroselenites CaSe 2 O 5 with two independent crystal structures, their difference physical properties and phase transformations. α-CaSe 2 O 5 in orthorhombic form shows 2D calcium oxide anionic layers whereas new compound β-CaSe 2 O 5 crystallizes in monoclinic space group C 2 /c. It's a new structure type with 1D calcium oxide thick chains which are further connected by Se 2 O 5 dimers. Rietveld refinement indicates that the weight fraction for α/β-CaSe 2 O 5 mixture phase was found to be 84.5% and 15.5% for α- and β-CaSe 2 O 5 , respectively. Optical diffuse reflectance spectrum coupled with Kubelka–Munk fit gives a result that α-CaSe 2 O 5 adopts direct optical transition model while β-CaSe 2 O 5 is an indirect semiconductor. The experimental result matches well with the prediction of theory calculation. The optical bandgap values were fitted to be 4.74 and 4.12 eV for α- and β-CaSe 2 O 5 , respectively. Thermal analysis coupled with variable temperature powder XRD indicates the phase transformation between these two phases. Graphical abstract β-CaSe 2 O 5 features a new structure which was reported for the first time. Compare with hyper-symmetric of α-CaSe 2 O 5 , structural differences lead into the changes for their physical performances. Optical properties analysis indicates that α-CaSe 2 O 5 is a direct bandgap semiconductor whereas β-CaSe 2 O 5 features an indirect optical transition. Thermal analysis coupled with variable temperature powder XRD indicates the phase transformation of two phases. fx1 Highlights • β-CaSe 2 O 5 was reported for the first time. • Pure α-CaSe 2 O 5 was obtained under a rapid microwave-assist reaction conditions. • α-CaSe 2 O 5 features a direct optical transition model whereas β-CaSe 2 O 5 is an indirect semiconductor. • Thermal analysis coupled with variable temperature powder XRD indicates the phase transformation of two phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new alkali boroselenites RbSe3B2O9(OH) and CsSe3B2O9(OH) have been synthesized by traditional solid-state reactions. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction study indicated that they are isostructural and adopt a new type of structure, which crystallizes in the noncentrosymmetric space group P212121. Optical diffuse reflectance spectrum studies emphasized that both are indirect optical transitions with values of 3.79 and 4.17 eV for RbSe3B2O9(OH) and CsSe3B2O9(OH), respectively. Optical analysis revealed a broad transparency window in the 0.3–8.5 μm region for both compounds. In addition, RbSe3B2O9(OH) featured a relatively weak second-harmonic-generation response, and for CsSe3B2O9(OH), the response is 0.8-times that of KH2PO4. Theoretical calculations of band structure, density of state, and linear and nonlinear optical properties were also performed to get insight into the relationships between electronic structures and their optical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A broad range of pesticides have been reported to interfere with the normal function of the thyroid endocrine system. However, the precise mechanism(s) of action has not yet been thoroughly elucidated. In this study, 21 pesticides were assessed for their binding interactions and the potential to disrupt thyroid homeostasis. In the GH3 luciferase reporter gene assays, 5 of the pesticides tested had agonistic effects in the order of procymidone > imidacloprid > mancozeb > fluroxypyr > atrazine. 11 pesticides inhibited luciferase activity of T3 to varying degrees, demonstrating their antagonistic activity. And there are 4 pesticides showed mixed effects when treated with different concentrations. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor technique was used to directly measure the binding interactions of these pesticides to the human thyroid hormone receptor (hTR). 13 pesticides were observed to bind directly with TR, with a KD ranging from 4.80E-08 M to 9.44E-07 M. The association and disassociation of the hTR/pesticide complex revealed 2 distinctive binding modes between the agonists and antagonists. At the same time, a different binding mode was displayed by the pesticides showed mix agonist and antagonist activity. In addition, the molecular docking simulation analyses indicated that the interaction energy calculated by CDOCKER for the agonists and antagonists correlated well with the KD values measured by the surface plasmon resonance assay. These results help to explain the differences of the TR activities of these tested pesticides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alzheimer's disease (AD), with a typical pathological hallmark of amyloid‑beta (Aβ)‑containing plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, is one of the most common types of chronic neurodegenerative diseases. Aβ oligomers serve a crucial role in the pathogenesis of AD, and lead to neuronal loss. However, the precise mechanism of Aβ oligomers in AD remains to be elucidated. The present study demonstrated that 10 μM Aβ‑42 activated the caspase signaling pathway, and induced significant apoptosis in primary cultured mouse cerebral cortical neurons. The results of reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blotting demonstrated that Aβ‑42 (10 μM) also significantly upregulated the transcription and expression of the mitochondrial fission protein dynamin‑related protein 1 (Drp1), and downregulated the transcription and expression of mitochondrial fusion proteins, including mitofusin 1/2 (Mfn1/2) and mitochondrial dynamin like GTPase (OPA‑1). Neurons were transfected with pDsRed2‑Mito for mitochondrial imaging, which revealed that 10 μM Aβ‑42 induced mitochondrial fission in cortical neurons. In addition, 2',7'‑dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate and tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester staining indicated that Aβ‑42 increased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential in neurons. Inhibition of Drp1 activity by Mdivi‑1 efficiently prevented Aβ‑42‑induced ROS production and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. Loss of mitochondrial membrane potential may activate PTEN‑induced putative kinase 1 (Pink1), the prominent sensor for mitochondrial damage, and trigger the process of mitophagy to remove the damaged mitochondria. In the present study, western blotting revealed that the levels of autophagy marker microtubule‑associated proteins 1A/1B light chain 3B (LC3B) and Pink1 were upregulated after Aβ‑42 stimulation. In conclusion, these data indicated that Aβ‑42 induces neuronal apoptosis by targeting mitochondria, including promotion of mitochondrial fission, disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential, increasing intracellular ROS level and activation of the process of mitophagy. Therefore, mitochondria may represent a potential therapeutic target for AD in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early Cambrian problematica Xianguangia sinica, Chengjiangopenna wangii, and Galeaplumosus abilus from the Chengjiang biota (Yunnan, China) have caused much controversy in the past and their phylogenetic placements remain unresolved. Here we show, based on exceptionally preserved material (85 new specimens plus type material), that specimens previously assigned to these three species are in fact parts of the same organism and propose that C. wangii and G. abilus are junior synonyms of X. sinica. Our reconstruction of the complete animal reveals an extinct body plan that combines the characteristics of the three described species and is distinct from all known fossil and living taxa. This animal resembled a cnidarian polyp in overall morphology and having a gastric cavity partitioned by septum-like structures. However, it possessed an additional body cavity within its holdfast, an anchoring pit on the basal disk, and feather-like tentacles with densely ciliated pinnules arranged in an alternating pattern, indicating that it was a suspension feeder rather than a predatory actiniarian. Phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony suggest that X. sinica is a stem-group cnidarian. This relationship implies that the last common ancestor of X. sinica and crown cnidarians was probably a benthic, polypoid animal with a partitioned gastric cavity and a single mouth/anus opening. This extinct body plan suggests that feeding strategies of stem cnidarians may have been drastically different from that of their crown relatives, which are almost exclusively predators, and reveals that the morphological disparity of total-group Cnidaria is greater than previously assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kurtz-Perry powder technique (KPPT) is widely utilized for the rapid characterization of newly grown nonlinear optical (NLO) materials available in pristine powder form. It assesses the effective nonlinear susceptibility of randomly oriented powder in comparison with a reference material. This technique becomes especially versatile when equipped with a broad wavelength range and intensity tunability because it provides key NLO properties of the materials under investigation, such as the frequency dispersion of the NLO susceptibility, phase-matching (PM) range, and laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT) as a guideline. In this study, wavelength-dependent NLO experiments (λ = 1100 – 3700 nm) were conducted on polycrystalline LiInSe 2 , prepared by high-temperature, solid-state synthesis. Our LiInSe 2 was found to be phase-matchable for λ > 2500 nm and the effective NLO susceptibility was estimated as 20.0 ± 1.9 pm/V, assessed at the static limit using commercial-grade single crystals of AgGaS 2 and AgGaSe 2 that were ground to powders. Alternatively, the effective NLO susceptibility was determined to be twice as large, ~40 pm/V, when utilizing a homemade, microcrystalline AgGaSe 2 reference at the static limit. This severe overestimation of the NLO susceptibility that can occur while working with a homemade standard underscores the importance of using a commercial-grade reference with the KPPT. Furthermore, this study also discusses the LIDT of LiInSe 2 based on intensity-dependent SHG at 1064 nm with picosecond pulses, and compares with those of the commercial-grade AgGaS 2 and AgGaSe 2 , determined under identical conditions. As defect levels can cause widely varying apparent color, thus optical bandgap, in LiInSe 2 , this study stresses the importance of using a high-quality standard when exploiting the KPPT for NLO materials characterization. The role of defects is discussed in terms of χ 2 , phase matching onset and LIDT, parameters that predominantly affect the evaluation of new NLO materials. [Display omitted] • A high-quality NLO reference is necessary for the Kurtz-Perry powder technique. • Broadband measurements best characterize the behavior of candidate NLO materials. • The laser-induced damage threshold of LiInSe 2 is 1.0 GW/cm2 (λ = 1064 nm, τ = 30 ps). • LiInSe 2 has a χ(2) value of ~20 pm/V and is phase matchable for λ > 2500 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pd-catalyzed regioselective coupling of γ-C(sp³)-H bonds of oxalyl amide-protected amino acids with heteroaryl and aryl iodides is reported. A wide variety of iodides are tolerated, giving the corresponding products in moderate to good yields. Various oxalyl amide-protected amino acids were compatible in this C-H transformation, thus representing a practical method for constructing non-natural amino acid derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We reported the synthesis and crystal structures of alkali metal and alkali-earth metal phosphite, namely, CsV 2 (H 3 O)(HPO 3 ) 4 ( 1 ), and Ba 3 V 2 (HPO 3 ) 6 ( 2 ). Both compounds were prepared by hydrothermal reactions and feature unique new structures. They both exhibit 3D complicated frameworks based on VO 6 octahedra which are connected by HPO 3 tetrahedra via corner-sharing. Alkali or alkali earth metal cations are filled in the different channels of the frameworks. Topological analysis shows that the framework of CsV 2 (H 3 O) (HPO 3 ) 4 ( 1 ) is a new 3,3,3,4,5-connected network with the Schläfli symbol of {4.6 2 } 2 {4 2 .6 6 .8 2 }{6 3 }{6 5 .8}. The investigations of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and magnetic measurement on CsV 2 (H 3 O)(HPO 3 ) 4 suggest a +3 oxidation state of the vanadium ions in compound 1 . Photocatalytic performance was evaluated by photocatalytic H 2 evolution and degradation of methylene blue, which shows that both compounds exhibit activity under visible-light irradiation. IR spectrum, UV–vis-NIR spectrum and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of compounds were also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The early Cambrian pentamerous microfossil Olivooides/Punctatus in South China, which is characterized by a diagnostic stellate tubular apex, has been well-known for its almost complete development sequence that can be confidently traced from embryos and hatched juveniles, to conical adults. However, its zoological affinity remains highly controversial. Here we describe the internal microanatomic structures of the soft-body inside the peridermal theca of Olivooides multisulcatus Qian, 1977, including interradial pairs of tentacles, adradial and perradial fremila, perradial oral marginal lappets and twins of perradial gastric saccule-like humps as well as a circular velarium with striated coronal muscles. Particularly, one specimen shows bifurcated velarial canals along the bell aperture. Both the components of the soft-body and the external theca (or cyst) are arranged in perfect pentaradial symmetry. These characteristics are more compatible with those of living cubomedusans and co-occurring Cambrian athecate embryonic cubozoans. Concerning the presence of peridermal theca, Olivooides most likely represents an extinct thecate stem-group cubomedusae but devoid of both perradial eyes and specialized pedalia. The well-grown soft body inside the peridermal tube displays a set of mixed features of both polyp and medusa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report a convenient methodology for the synthesis of fluorinated 1,4,5-substituted 1,2,3-triazoles. The azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction of internal alkynes catalyzed by a ruthenium complex efficiently afforded 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl- and (trifluoromethyl)thiosubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles. Two types of internal alkyne, 1-aryl-2- (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)acetylenes and 1-aryl-2-[(trifluoromethyl) thio]acetylenes, were used. This ruthenium-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction was highly regioselective giving 4-aryl-5-(2,2,2- trifluoroethyl)- or 4-aryl-5-[(trifluoromethyl)thio]-1H-1,2,3-triazoles. Various functionalities were tolerated in the alkyl and aryl azides by this Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. All the triazoles were characterized by ¹H, 13C, and 19F NMR, IR, and HRMS (or elemental analysis). Several triazoles were characterized by single-crystal X-ray structural analysis to confirm the regioselectivity of 1,2,3-triazole formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for palladium-catalyzed oxalyl amide-directed arylation of α-unsubstituted aliphatic amines with aryl iodides has been developed. A wide variety of aryl iodides are tolerated in this transformation, affording various γ-arylpropylamine derivatives. Heterocyclic iodides can also be competent reagents in this γ-C(sp³)-H bonds transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Correction for ‘Infrared nonlinear optical properties of lithium-containing diamond-like semiconductors Li2ZnGeSe4 and Li2ZnSnSe4’ by Jian-Han Zhang et al., Dalton Trans., 2015, 44, 11212–11222. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new lithium-containing diamond-like semiconductors, Li2ZnGeSe4 and Li2ZnSnSe4, have been prepared by high-temperature, solid-state synthesis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction reveals that both compounds adopt the wurtz–kesterite structure type, crystallizing in the noncentrosymmetric space group Pn. X-ray powder diffraction coupled with Rietveld refinement indicates the high degree of phase purity in which the materials are prepared. Both compounds display optical bandgaps around 1.8 eV, wide optical transparency windows from 0.7 to 25 μm and type-I phase matched second harmonic generation starting at 2500 nm and persisting deeper into the infrared. Using the Kurtz powder method, the second-order nonlinear optical coefficient, χ(2), was estimated to be 19 and 23 pm V−1 for Li2ZnGeSe4 and Li2ZnSnSe4, respectively. Using a 1064 nm incident laser beam with a pulse width (τ) of 30 ps both compounds exhibit a laser damage threshold of 0.3 GW cm−2, which is higher than that of the AgGaSe2 reference material measured under identical conditions. Differential thermal analysis shows that the title compounds are stable up to 684 and 736 °C, respectively. These properties collectively demonstrate that Li2ZnGeSe4 and Li2ZnSnSe4 have great potential for applications in tunable laser systems, especially in the infrared and even up to the terahertz regime. Electronic structure calculations using a plane-wave pseudopotential method within density functional theory provide insight regarding the nature of the bandgap and bonding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct coupling of N-H with C-H has aroused great attention in the last decades; during which the directing-group-assisted intramolecular C-N bond formation via transition metal has been achieved significant progress. Herein, we highlight the recent development in the directing-group-assisted intramolecular amination for amine substrates to build the important N-containing heterocyclic compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An imbalance of metal ions is implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We investigated the relationship between the annual mortality of AD and ionic concentration (iron, zinc, copper, and aluminum) in the soil in mainland China. The AD annual mortality data were from 26 provinces and 3 municipal districts within mainland China between the years 1991 and 2000 and provided by the National Death Cause Surveillance Database of China. The ionic concentration in soil was provided by the China State Environmental Protection Bureau, which was published in 1990. The results showed that the relative risk of mortality in the regions with the highest copper concentrations (60-80 mg/kg) reached 2.634 (95% CI: 2.626-2.642) compared with the regions that had the lowest copper concentrations. The relative risk was 1.292 (95% CI: 1.290-1.294) and 1.248 (95% CI: 1.245-1.251) when the soil iron concentrations exceeded 3 mg/kg and 4 mg/kg, respectively. When the soil zinc concentration was over 100 mg/kg and 200 mg/kg, the relative risk was 1.870 (95% CI: 1.859-1.881) and 2.289 (95% CI: 2.276-2.304), respectively. However, the relative risk was 0.560 (95% CI: 0.559-0.561), 0.604 (95% CI: 0.603-0.605), and 0.267 (95% CI: 0.265-0.268) when the soil aluminum concentration was over 6 mg/kg, 7 mg/kg, and 8 mg/kg, respectively. This study suggests that high concentrations of iron and copper in the soil might be associated with the high AD annual mortality in this region in China, while aluminum had no association with AD mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, microstructure and mechanical properties of a friction stir welded 18Cr-2Mo ferritic stainless steel thick plate were investigated. The 5.4 mm thick plates with excellent properties were welded at a constant rotational speed and a changeable welding speed using a composite tool featuring a chosen volume fraction of cubic boron nitride (cBN) in a W-Re matrix. The high-quality welds were successfully produced with optimised welding parameters, and studied by means of optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) and standard hardness and impact toughness testing. The results show that microstructure and mechanical properties of the joints are affected greatly, which is mainly related to the remarkably fine-grained microstructure of equiaxed ferrite that is observed in the friction stir welded joint. Meanwhile, the ratios of low-angle grain boundary in the stir zone regions significantly increase, and the texture turns strong. Compared with the base material, mechanical properties of the joint are maintained in a comparatively high level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our exploration in vanadate selenites by using boric acid flux method has successfully lead into a new phase, namely, γ-V 2 Se 2 O 9. Single crystal X-ray diffraction indicates its a new structure which crystallizes in monoclinic space group P 2 1 /c with a lattice parameter of a ​= ​7.4857 (12) Å, b ​= ​7.4388 (8) Å, c ​= ​13.042 (2) Å, β ​= ​106.619 (9)°. Its crystal structure features novel 2D electroneutral [V 2 Se 2 O 9 ] layers composed of 1D [V 2 SeO 9 ]4- chains that are further bridged by Se (1)O 3 triangular pyramids. [V 2 SeO 9 ]4- chain consist corner-sharing of VO 6 and tridentate Se (2)O 3. Unlike previously reported α - and β -V 2 Se 2 O 9 with isolated [V 4 O 18 ]16− tetramers, corner-sharing of VO 6 octahedra lead into a 1D [V 2 O 9 ]8- chain in γ-V 2 Se 2 O 9. X-ray powder diffraction and thermal behavior analysis were performed to study its phase purity and thermal stability. Optical diffuse reflectance spectra associated with Tauc's fitting indicates a direct bandgap semiconductor with an energy value of 2.34 ​eV, which consistent with the theoretical prediction. As a compare, the electronic bandgaps of three polymorphs were studied and shows a sequence of α -V 2 Se 2 O 9 < β -V 2 Se 2 O 9 <γ-V 2 Se 2 O 9. Density of states were also calculated to reveal the origin of the bandgaps and bond interactions. [Display omitted] γ-V 2 Se 2 O 9 was obtained by boric acid flux method in vanadate selenite system. Its crystal structure features novel 2D electroneutral [V 2 Se 2 O 9 ] layers composed of 1D [V 2 SeO 9 ]4- chains that are further bridged by Se (1)O 3 triangular pyramids. [V 2 SeO 9 ]4- chain consist corner-sharing of VO 6 and tridentate Se (2)O 3. UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy coupled with Tauc's analysis indicates a direct semiconductor with a bandgap value of 2.34 ​eV, and its energy transition type was further supported by first-principles electronic structure calculation. • γ-V 2 Se 2 O 9 was obtained by boric acid flux method for the first time. • Unlike α - and β -V 2 Se 2 O 9 with isolated [V 4 O 18 ]16− tetramers, corner-sharing of VO 6 forms 1D [V 2 O 9 ]8- chains in γ-V 2 Se 2 O 9. • UV–Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy coupled with Tauc's fitting indicates γ-V 2 Se 2 O 9 as a direct bandgap of 2.34 ​eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We propose a key-based strategy that provides reliable, preventive and timely IP protection for image captioning task. • We empirically show the effectiveness of our approach against various attacks and prove the ownership of the model. • To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to propose IP protection on image captioning model. By and large, existing Intellectual Property (IP) protection on deep neural networks typically i) focus on image classification task only, and ii) follow a standard digital watermarking framework that was conventionally used to protect the ownership of multimedia and video content. This paper demonstrates that the current digital watermarking framework is insufficient to protect image captioning tasks that are often regarded as one of the frontiers AI problems. As a remedy, this paper studies and proposes two different embedding schemes in the hidden memory state of a recurrent neural network to protect the image captioning model. From empirical points, we prove that a forged key will yield an unusable image captioning model, defeating the purpose of infringement. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to propose ownership protection on image captioning task. Also, extensive experiments show that the proposed method does not compromise the original image captioning performance on all common captioning metrics on Flickr30k and MS-COCO datasets, and at the same time it is able to withstand both removal and ambiguity attacks. Code is available at https://github.com/jianhanlim/ipr-imagecaptioning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, braze joining of SiC ceramics using a Ti–Si as the interlayer was first obtained at 1500 °C under pressureless condition in a conventional graphite heater furnace, and the shear strength of the resulted SiC joint was only 2.7 ± 1.2 MPa. Results showed that the joining condition could be improved by adding metallic infiltration of Fe, Co, and Ni to Ti–Si interlayer and the shear strength was significantly increased to 73.7 ± 11.7 MPa under the same processing conditions employed in this study. The joining mechanism was then proposed based on thermodynamics calculation, elements mapping as well as the microstructural analysis. In a graphite vapor environment, decomposition of the interlayer (Ti 3 SiC 2) was readily promoted as compared to tungsten or molybdenum vapor environment. The decomposed products (Si) would easily dissolve into the liquid phase of Fe, Co, and Ni. Therefore, the infiltration of the above metallic elements would promote the decomposition of the Ti 3 SiC 2 phase by decreasing the partial pressure of Si. However, the pores, which was produced by the graphite environment as well as the infiltration of the above metallic elements, provided a route for the diffusion of Fe, Co, and Ni elements. Results of this study showed that a robust SiC joint could be obtained by the decomposition of the interlayer first and then the densification of the interlayer under the same process with the metallic infiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new boroantimonates, namely, KSbB2O6 and BaSb2B4Ol2, have been successfully synthesized through high-temperature solid state reactions. Their structures feature two types of novel anionic 3D frameworks composed of ID chains of corner-sharing SbO6 octahedra that are interconnected by B2O5 groups. The ID chains of comer-sharing Sb06 octahedra in polar KSbB206 (space group Cc) are extended along the c-axis, whereas those in the centrosymmetric BaSb2B40!2 (space group C2/c) are propagated along the [101] direction. The K+ ions are located at the ID tunnels of the anionic frameworks along both b- and c-axis, whereas Ba2+ ions are located at the 1D tunnels of the anionic frameworks along both the a- and c-axis. KSbB2O6 is a polar material that displays weak SHG response, whereas BaSb2B4O12 is centrosymmetric and not SHG active. Studies on dieir optical properties, thermal stability, and band structure calculations based on DFT methods have been also performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background MicroRNAs (miRNAs), involving in various biological and metabolic processes, have been discovered and analyzed in quite a number of plants species, such as Arabidopsis, rice and other plants. However, there have been few reports about grapevine miRNAs in response to gibberelline (GA3). Results Solexa technology was used to sequence small RNA libraries constructed from grapevine berries treated with GA3 and the control. A total of 122 known and 90 novel grapevine miRNAs (Vvi-miRNAs) were identified. Totally, 137 ones were found to be clearly responsive to GA3, among which 58 were down-regulated, 51 were up-regulated, 21 could only be detected in the control, and seven were only detected in the treatment. Subsequently, we found that 28 of them were differentially regulated by GA3, with 12 conserved and 16 novel Vvi-miRNAs, based on the analysis of qRT-PCR essays. There existed some consistency in expression levels of GA3-responsive Vvi-miRNAs between high throughput sequencing and qRT-PCR essays. In addition, 117 target genes for 29 novel miRNAs were predicted. Conclusions Deep sequencing of short RNAs from grapevine berries treated with GA3 and the control identified 137 GA3-responsive miRNAs, among which 28 exhibited different expression profiles of response to GA3 in the diverse developmental stages of grapevine berries. These identified Vvi-miRNAs might be involved in the grapevine berry development and response to environmental stresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel multiagent system (MAS) has been proposed to integrate individual UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) to form a UAV team which can accomplish complex missions with better efficiency and effect. The MAS based UAV team control is more able to conquer dynamic situations and enhance the performance of any single UAV. In this paper, the MAS proposed and established combines the reacting and thinking abilities to be an initiative and autonomous hybrid system which can solve missions involving coordinated flight and cooperative operation. The MAS uses BDI model to support its logical perception and to classify the different missions; then the missions will be allocated by utilizing auction mechanism after analyzing dynamic parameters. Prim potential algorithm, particle swarm algorithm, and reallocation mechanism are proposed to realize the rational decomposing and optimal allocation in order to reach the maximum profit. After simulation, the MAS has been proved to be able to promote the success ratio and raise the robustness, while realizing feasibility of coordinated flight and optimality of cooperative mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) is frequently present in indoor dust and can be detected in human milk. In order to evaluate the effects of TDCPP on vertebrate development, zebrafish embryos/larvae were used as an animal model to examine developmental phenotypes and explore possible mechanisms of toxicity by employing microarrays and iTRAQ labeling quantitative proteomics. The results demonstrated that treatment with TDCPP (3 μM) from 0.75 h postfertilization (hpf) inhibited cell rearrangement at 4 hpf, caused delay in epiboly at 5.7 and 8.5 hpf, and led to abnormal development (e.g., short tail, reduced body size) and lethality between 14 and 45 hpf, which might be related with altered expression of genes regulating embryogenesis. Furthermore, trunk curvature was observed as the main phenotype in 96 hpf zebrafish larvae exposed to 1 or 3 μM TDCPP, possibly by changing somite formation and expression of proteins related to fast muscle and cartilage development. Collectively, our results suggest that exposure to TDCPP causes developmental toxicity in vertebrates and warrant the need for studies to evaluate the potential health risks of TDCPP to developing human embryos/infants/children, due to its frequent presence in indoor dust and potential for human exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rebound behavior of fly ash particles normally impacting a planar surface is investigated by using a dynamic model. The three forms of soft sphere physical model are obtained using static/quasi-static contact mechanics and energy dissipation theory. The influences of the particle size, the incident velocity of the particle on the damping coefficient and the impact contact time are all examined. We also predict the critical velocity for three particle sizes. It is found that the variation of the damping coefficient (ɳ) with the normal incident velocity (vin) can be roughly divided into the three parts. In the first part, ɳ decreases with increasing vin. In the second part, ɳ is little changed with increasing vin. In the third part, ɳ rapidly increases with increasing vin. For smaller impact velocities, the viscoelastic effect plays a dominant role in the impact process, while for higher incident velocities; the energy dissipation depends mainly on plastic deformation. In addition, the critical velocity shows a distinct dependence on the particle size. Finally, the contact displacement-contact time curves are examined. The work provides a solid basis for the development of a discrete-element-method approach to study ash deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite a significant 30% ten-year readmission rate for SBO patients, investigations into recurrent risk factors after non-operative management are scarce. The study aims to generate a risk factor scoring system, the 'Small Bowel Obstruction Recurrence Score' (SBORS), predicting 6-month recurrence of small bowel obstruction (SBO) after successful non-surgical management in patients who have history of intra-abdominal surgery. Methods: We analyzed data from patients aged ≥ 18 with a history of intra-abdominal surgery and diagnosed with SBO (ICD-9 code: 560, 568) and were successful treated non-surgically between 2004 and 2008. Participants were divided into model-derivation (80%) and validation (20%) group. Results: We analyzed 23,901 patients and developed the SBORS based on factors including the length of hospital stay > 4 days, previous operations > once, hemiplegia, extra-abdominal and intra-abdominal malignancy, esophagogastric surgery and intestino-colonic surgery. Scores > 2 indicated higher rates and risks of recurrence within 6 months (12.96% vs. 7.27%, OR 1.898, p < 0.001 in model-derivation group, 12.60% vs. 7.05%, OR 1.901, p < 0.001 in validation group) with a significantly increased risk of mortality and operative events for recurrent episodes. The SBORS model demonstrated good calibration and acceptable discrimination, with an area under curve values of 0.607 and 0.599 for the score generation and validation group, respectively. Conclusions: We established the effective 'SBORS' to predict 6-month SBO recurrence risk in patients who have history of intra-abdominal surgery and have been successfully managed non-surgically for the initial obstruction event. Those with scores > 2 face higher recurrence rates and operative risks after successful non-surgical management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During nerve regeneration, neurite growth is regulated by both intrinsic molecules and extracellular factors. Here, we found that inhibitor 5 of protein phosphatase 1 (IPP5), a newly identified inhibitory subunit of protein phosphatase 1 (PP1), inhibited neurite growth in primary sensory neurons as an intrinsic regulator. IPP5 was highly expressed in the primary sensory neurons of rat dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and was downregulated after sciatic nerve axotomy. Knocking down IPP5 with specific shRNA increased the length of the longest neurite, the total neurite length and the number of neurite ends in cultured rat DRG neurons. Mutation of the PP1-docking motif K8IQF11 or the PP1-inhibiting motif at Thr34 eliminated the IPP5-induced inhibition of neurite growth. Furthermore, biochemical experiments showed that IPP5 interacted with type I transforming growth factor-β receptor (TβRI) and PP1 and enhanced transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad signaling in a PP1-dependent manner. Overexpressing IPP5 in DRG neurons aggravated TGF-β-induced inhibition of neurite growth, which was abolished by blocking PP1 or IPP5 binding to PP1. Blockage of TGF-β signaling with the TβRI inhibitor SB431542 or Smad2 shRNA attenuated the IPP5-induced inhibition of neurite growth. Thus, these data indicate that selectively expressed IPP5 inhibits neurite growth by maintaining TGF-β signaling in primary sensory neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Borogermanates are a class of very important compounds in materials chemistry. In this paper, the syntheses, structures, and properties of metal borogermanates are reviewed. Organically templated borogermanates with zeolite-like open-frameworks show potential applications as microporous materials. Many compounds in alkali or alkaline-earth borogermanate systems are structurally acentric or polar, some of which exhibit excellent Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) coefficients, wide transparency regions, and high optical-damage thresholds as well as excellent thermal stability. Most of the lanthanide borogermanates are structurally centrosymmetric and not SHG active; however, they are able to emit strong luminescence in visible or near-IR region. In the B-rich compounds, BO3 and BO4 groups can be polymerized into a variety of discrete polynuclear anionic cluster units or extended architectures via B–O–B bridges; whereas in the Ge-rich compounds, GeO4 and GeO6 polyhedra can also be polymerized. The combinations of borate and germinate afforded rich structural and topological types. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: Common bile duct stones are a frequent complication of gallstones. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and sphincterotomy are often performed to evaluate the etiology of obstructive jaundice and for concomitant therapeutic removal of common bile duct stones. We aimed to evaluate the recurrence rate of cholangitis or cholecystitis after endoscopic lithotripsy with gallstones in situ and to identify associated predictive factors. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 183 patients who had received endoscopic lithotripsy between July 2007 and June 2010. We divided patients into two groups: One group who had received subsequent cholecystectomy ( n=66) and one observational group ( n=117). Patients with previous cholecystectomy or without gallstones were excluded. All included patients were followed up at our outpatient department. Our end point was the presence of symptoms of recurrent cholangitis or cholecystitis. Results: Subjects included 86 males and 97 females with a mean age of 62.5±16.3 years (range, 43-81 years). Cholangitis or cholecystitis recurred in 6 patients in the cholecystectomy group and 30 patients in the observational group. Findings revealed a lower recurrence rate and longer recurrence-free period in patients who received subsequent cholecystectomy. The recurrence rate of the observational group was significantly higher than that of the cholecystectomy group (25.6% versus 9.1%, P=.007). Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses revealed that common bile duct dilatation was an independent predictive factor for recurrence. Conclusions: Cholecystectomy is recommended after endoscopic lithotripsy. Common bile duct dilatation is associated with the rate of recurrent cholangitis or cholecystitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ferritin binds specifically and saturably to a variety of cell types, and recently several ferritin receptors have been cloned. TIM-2 is a specific receptor for H ferritin (HFt) in the mouse. TIM-2 is a member of the T cell immunoglobulin and mucin domain containing (TIM) protein family and plays an important role in immunity. The expression of TIM-2 outside of the immune system indicates that this receptor may have broader roles. We tested whether ferritin binding to TIM-2 can serve as an iron delivery mechanism. TIM-2 was transfected into normal (TCMK-1) mouse kidney cells, where it was appropriately expressed on the cell surface. HFt was labeled with 55Fe and 55Fe-HFt was incubated with TIM-2 positive cells or controls. 55Fe-HFt uptake was observed only in TIM-2 positive cells. HFt uptake was also seen in A20 B cells, which express endogenous TIM-2. TIM-2 levels were not increased by iron chelation. Uptake of 55Fe-HFt was specific and temperaturedependent. HFt taken up by TIM-2 positive cells transited through the endosome and eventually entered a lysosomal compartment, distinguishing the HFt pathway from that of transferrin, the classical vehicle for cellular iron delivery. Iron delivered following binding of HFt to TIM-2 entered the cytosol and became metabolically available, resulting in increased levels of endogenous intracellular ferritin. We conclude that TIM-2 can function as an iron uptake pathway [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines relationships among locus of control, God-mediated locus of control, attitudes towards science, and scientific knowledge (evolutionary biology), and demographic markers among students at a Historically Black University (North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University). Studies indicate that African Americans of all socioeconomic groups tend to score higher on fatalism, external locus of control, and religiosity measures than other groups in the United States (Schieman 2006; Krause 2007; Wade 1996; Powe, Daniels, and Finnie 2005). However, the impact of this on African American college students' attitudes towards evolutionary biology has not been examined. For this study, students' attitudes toward religious fatalism were determined via the Berrenberg personal control scale (Berrenberg 1987) and correlated with scales of attitudes toward and knowledge of evolutionary biology. The results indicate that student religious fatalism is relatively low while their overall attitudes toward evolutionary biology are negative and general knowledge of evolution is low. The relationship between F1 and F2 personal control subscales and attitude toward, and knowledge of, science is significantly negative, while the positive F3 personal control subscale relationship with attitude towards science is repeated. Interestingly, this group of students displayed a significantly negative relationship between their attitude toward evolutionary science and their knowledge of evolutionary science. The implications of these data are discussed in the light of modern secularist and postmodern post-secularist theory. These results contribute to the sociological study of African American Millennials, college students, and HBCUs, the role and function of religion in human lives, the role and function of fatalism in human lives, and the predictive power of competing theories of modern culture (modern secularist, postmodern fractural, and social psychological). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new barium borogermanates with two types of novel structures, namely, Ba3[Ge2B7O16(OH)2](OH)(H2O) and Ba3Ge2B6O16, have been synthesized by hydrothermal or high-temperature solid-state reactions. They represent the first examples of alkaline-earth borogermanates. Ba3[Ge2B7O16(OH)2](OH)(H2O) crystallized in a polar space group Cc. Its structure features a novel three-dimensional anionic framework composed of [B7O16(OH)2]13- polyanions that are bridged by Ge atoms with one-dimensional (1D) 10-membered-ring (MR) tunnels along the b axis. The BaII cations, hydroxide ions, and water molecules are located at the above tunnels. Ba3Ge2B6O16 crystallizes in centrosymmetric space group P1¯. Its structure exhibits a thick layer composed of circular B6O16 units connected by GeO4 tetrahedra via corner sharing, forming 1D 4- and 6-MR tunnels along the c axis. Ba1 ions reside in the tunnels of the 6-MRs, whereas Ba2 ions are located at the interlayer space. Both compounds feature new types of topological structures. Second-harmonic-generation (SHG) measurements indicate that Ba3[Ge2B7O16(OH)2](OH)(H2O) displays a weak SHG response of about 0.3 times that of KH2PO4. Optical, thermal stability, and ferroelectric properties as well as theoretical calculations have also been performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three novel rubidium borogermanates with three types of noncentrosymmetric structures, namely, RbGeB3O7, Rb2GeB4O9, and Rb4Ge3B6O17, have been synthesized by high-temperature solid-state reactions in platinum crucibles. The structure of RbGeB3O7 features a three-dimensional (3D) anionic framework composed of cyclic B3O7 groups corner-sharing GeO4 tetrahedra. The structure of Rb2GeB4O9 shows a 3D anionic framework based on B4O9 clusters connected by GeO4 tetrahedra via corner sharing. The structure of Rb4Ge3B6O17 is a novel 3D anionic framework composed of cyclic B3O8 groups, Ge2O7 dimers, and GeO4 tetrahedra that are interconnected via corner sharing. Second harmonic generation (SHG) measurements indicate that RbGeB3O7, Rb2GeB4O9, and Rb4Ge3B6O17 display moderate SHG responses that are approximately 1.3, 2.0, and 1.3 × KH2PO4 (KDP), respectively, which are slightly smaller than those from theoretical calculations (about 3.7, 2.8, and 2.4 × KDP, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]