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The current firm-driven business model innovation (FDBMI) has found its limits. The aim of this research is to explore the user-driven business model innovation (UDBMI) adopting the ethnographic in...

A new and rapid synthetic method toward polymer phenylethnylcopper (PPECu) nanowires is developed. PPECu nanowires have been firstly fabricated through using ascorbic acid instead of methanol as reducing agent. The preparation time of PPECu can be decreased from 48 to 2 h, even at a lower temperature. Ag/PPECu nanocomposites were prepared by the in situ reaction of PPECu and Ag (NH3)2+ ions with different concentrations. Ag/PPECu photocatalysts showed high visible-light H2 production activity, which originated from the combined action of electrons transfer, sacrificing reagent and SPR effect of Ag nanoparticles.

In the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM), multi-objective optimisation by ratio analysis (MOORA) plus the full multiplicative form (MULTIMOORA) are a useful method, which has the flexibility an...

Accurate land use information is the basis for scientific research related to carbon cycle analysis, hydro-climatic modelling, soil degradation assessment, etc. It is also an indispensable basic information for local land management departments in land use planning and management. With development in big data and internet network, Google Earth Engine (GEE), a cloud-based computing platform allows users to perform satellite images processing more efficiently. This study aims to improve the land use mapping in a tropical region based on the GEE platform. Seven satellite images and indices combinations include Landsat 8 (C1), Sentinel-2 (C2), Landsat 8+Sentinel-2 (C3), Landsat 8+Indices (C4), Sentinel-2+Indices (C5), Landsat 8+Sentinel-2+Indices (C6), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)+Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI)+Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI)+Elevation (C7) were developed to evaluate the best combination for land use mapping in the Johor River Basin (JRB), Malaysia. The Random Forest (RF) algorithm was used to classify the land use land cover (LULC) with 222 training samples and 78 verification samples obtained through the Google Earth Pro higher resolution satellite images and field samplings. The results show that the overall accuracies of all the seven combinations are mostly more than 75%, ranging from 72% (C1) to 86% (C6). The findings show that adding of additional indices information before the land use classification helps to increase the overall accuracy significantly. For instance, the overall accuracy of the C6 combination is 14% higher than that of the Landsat 8 image solely. This study can act as a reference to effectively improve the land use mapping in cloud-prone tropical regions. Keywords: Google Earth Engine, Image combination, Johor River Basin, Land Use, Malaysia, Random Forest

Background: To perform an analysis of mean diffusivity(MD)、mean kurtosis(MK) demonstrating the diagnostic value of diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) with respect to rectal carcinoma. Methods: A total of thirty-nine rectal carcinoma cases and thirty-nine healthy subjects (Normal control group) were enrolled in our study. All the subjects underwent multi-parameter (DWI, DKI )magnetic resonance examination. The acquired images were individually analysed by two readers. The obtained images were input into the corresponding software, then an analysis of the subjects’ apparent diffusion coefficient(ADC), MD and MK values was performed. A receiver-operating charasterictic (ROC) analysis was used to assess the diagnostic efficiency of the MK, MD and ADC parameters. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to contrast the parameters in both groups. Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyse the correlation between ADC and MD, MK. The Kappa consistency test was used to evaluate the consistency between each reader’s evaluation. Results: Reflecting their diagnostic values with respect to rectal carcinoma, the AUC for MK, MD, and ADC were 0.911, 0.888, and 0.827 (all P Conclusion: The ADC、MK and MD parameters were effective in diagnosing rectal carcinoma. Moreover, the MK and MD parameters were found to provide even more valid information regarding the microenvironment with a higher diagnostic performance.

As one of the most common liver disorders worldwide, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) begins with the abnormal accumulation of triglyceride (TG) in the liver and can lead to inflammation and fibrosis. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) NEAT1 was reported to promote NAFLD progress. However, its molecular mechanism in NAFLD was not fully clear. In vitro cellular model of NAFLD was established with BRL3A cell treated by free fatty acid (FFA). Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was carried out to assess cell proliferation. The expression of mRNA and protein of inflammation and fibrosis in BRL3A cell was detected by qRT-PCR and Western blot. Bioinformatics and dual-luciferase reporter assays were used to predict and validate the interaction between NEAT1 and miR-506 as well as GLI3 and miR-506. NEAT1 was upregulated while miR-506 was downregulated in the progression of NAFLD. Meanwhile, NEAT1 and miR-506 were proved to regulate fibrosis, inflammatory response, and lipid metabolism. Knockdown of NEAT1 inhibited GLI3 expression and promoted miR-506 expression, Overexpression of miR-506 inhibited NEAT1 and GLI3 expression. Moreover, dual-luciferase reporter assays proved that miR-506 could bind to NEAT1 and GLI3, whereas NEAT1 could sponge miR-506 to regulate GLI3 expression. lncRNA NEAT1 could regulate fibrosis, inflammatory response, and lipid metabolism via the miR-506/GLI3 axis as a ceRNA, which is a novel mechanistic role in the regulation of NAFLD. These results provide a new potential treatment target for NAFLD.

UAV technology has been widely used in the field of surveying and mapping, but mostly fixed wing. The equipment is expensive and the operation technology is complicated. Operator needs systematical...

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia among older people, could not be prevented, halted, or reversed up till now. A large body of pharmacological study has revealed that Liuwei Dihuang decoction (LW), a classical traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, possesses potential therapeutic effects on AD. LW-AFC is key fractions from LW. Method: Cognition ability was evaluated by behavioral experiments. Using multiplex bead analysis, radioimmunoassay, immunochemiluminometry and ELISA to determine levels of cytokines and hormones. The splenocyte proliferation and peripheral lymphocyte subsets was investigated by 3 H-thymidine incorporation and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. Results: This study showed the treatment of LW-AFC slowed the aging process of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 strain (SAMP8), a robust model sporadic AD or late-onset/age-related AD. LW-AFC had ameliorative effects on spontaneous locomotor activity, object recognition memory, spatial learning and memory, passive and active avoidance impairment in SAMP8 mice. Administration of LW-AFC restored the imbalance of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, enhanced the proliferation of splenocytes, corrected the disorder of lymphocyte subsets, and regulated the abnormal production of cytokine in SAMP8 mice. Effects of LW-AFC on pharmacodynamics and neuroendocrine immunomodulation network in SAMP8 mice were better than memantine and donepezil. Conclusion: This data indicated LW-AFC may be a promising therapeutic medicine for AD.

Although there were considerable advances in the anti-aging medical field, it is short of therapeutic drug for anti-aging. Mounting evidence indicates that the immunosenescence is the key physiopathological mechanism of aging. This study showed the treatment of LW-AFC, an herbal medicine, decreased the grading score of senescence, increased weight, prolonged average life span and ameliorated spatial memory impairment in 12- and 24-month-old senescence accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) strain. And these anti-aging effects of LW-AFC were more excellent than melatonin. The administration of LW-AFC enhanced ConA- and LPS-induced splenocyte proliferation in aged SAMR1 mice. The treatment of LW-AFC not only reversed the decreased the proportions of helper T cells, suppressor T cells and B cells, the increased regulatory T cells in the peripheral blood of old SAMR1 mice, but also could modulate the abnormal secretion of IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-17, IL-23, GM-CSF, IFN-γ, TNF-α, TNF-β, RANTES, eotaxin, MCP-1, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10 and G-CSF. These data indicated that LW-AFC reversed the immunosenescence status by restoring immunodeficiency and decreasing chronic inflammation and suggested LW-AFC may be an effective anti-aging agent.

Linear feature detection in digital images is an important low-level operationin computer vision that has many applications. In remote sensing tasks, it can be usedto extract roads, railroads, and rivers from satellite or low-resolution aerialimages,which can be used for the capture or update of data for geographic information andnavigation systems. In addition, it is useful in medical imaging for the extraction ofblood vessels from an X-ray angiography or the bones in the skull from a CT or MRimage. It also can be applied in horticulture for underground plant root detection inminirhizotron images.

Glycosylation is one of the most common eukaryotic post-translational modifications, and aberrant glycosylation has been linked to many diseases. However, glycosylation and glycome analysis is a significantly challenging task. Although several lines of evidence have indicated that protein glycosylation is defective in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), only a few studies have focused on AD glycomics. The etiology of AD is unclear and there are no effective disease-modifying treatments for AD. In this study, we found that the object recognition memory, passive avoidance, and spatial learning and memory of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) strain, an AD animal model, were deficient, and LW-AFC, which was prepared from the traditional Chinese medicine prescription Liuwei Dihuang decoction, showed beneficial effects on the deterioration of cognitive capability in SAMP8 mice. Forty-three and 56 N-glycan were identified in the cerebral cortex and serum of SAMP8 mice, respectively. The N-glycan profile in SAMP8 mice was significantly different from that of senescence accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) strains, the control of SAMP8 mice. Treatment with LW-AFC modulated the abundance of 21 and 6 N-glycan in the cerebral cortex and serum of SAMP8 mice, respectively. The abundance of (Hex)3(HexNAc)5(Fuc)1(Neu5Ac)1 and (Hex)2(HexNAc)4 decreased in the cerebral cortex and serum of SAMP8 mice compared with SAMR1 mice, decreases that were significantly correlated with learning and memory measures. The administration of LW-AFC could reverse or increase these levels in SAMP8 mice. These results indicated that the effects of LW-AFC on cognitive impairments in SAMP8 mice might be through modulation of N-glycan patterns, and LW-AFC may be a potential anti-AD agent.

This paper is aimed as a contribution to the process of upgrading old industrial clusters towards a new status of innovative clusters. The concept of ‘lock-in’ is followed as it applies to a specific resource-based industrial cluster, to assess the value of this concept in the degradation of such clusters in a Chinese context. After identifying factors leading to the lock-in situation, we introduce the analytical framework of He–Xie Management Theory to investigate the potential role of this emerging management theory in promoting transition from old industrial clusters to innovative regions.

Comparative embryonic studies are the most effective way to discern phylogenetic changes. To gain insight into the constitution and evolution of mammalian somatosensory thalamic nuclei, we first studied how calbindin (CB) and parvalbumin (PV) immunoreactivities appear during embryonic development in the first-order relaying somatosensory nuclei, i.e., the ventral posteromedial (VPM) and posterolateral (VPL) nuclei, and their neighboring higher-order modulatory regions, including the ventromedial or ventrolateral nucleus, posterior, and the reticular nucleus. The results indicated that cell bodies that were immunoreactive for CB were found earlier (embryonic day 12 [E12]) in the dorsal thalamus than were cells positive for PV (E14), and the adult somatosensory thalamus was characterized by complementary CB and PV distributions with PV dominance in the first-order relaying nuclei and CB dominance in the higher-order regions. We then labeled proliferating cells with [(3) H]-thymidine from E11 to 19 and found that the onset of neurogenesis began later (E12) in the first-order relaying nuclei than in the higher-order regions (E11). Using double-labeling with [(3) H]-thymidine autoradiography and CB or PV immunohistochemistry, we found that CB neurons were born earlier (E11-12) than PV neurons (E12-13) in the studied areas. Thus, similar to auditory nuclei, the first and the higher-order somatosensory nuclei exhibited significant distinctions in CB/PV immunohistochemistry and birthdates during embryonic development. These data, combined with the results of a cladistic analysis of the thalamic somatosensory nuclei, are discussed from an evolutionary perspective of sensory nuclei.

Substance P (SP) and methionine-enkephalin (ENK) have been reported to appear in song control nuclei of oscine species. However, it remains unknown whether or not SP and ENK location in song control nuclei is correlated with song behavior. To address this issue, the present study first measured two variables for song complexity, i.e., song repertoire sizes, and syllable repertoire sizes in 11 oscine species. Then, we examined the distribution of SP and ENK in four control nuclei, two in the motor pathway, i.e., HVC and the robust nucleus of arcopallium (RA), and the other two in the forebrain pathway, i.e., Area X and the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (LMAN). Finally, we measured the relative amounts of immunoreactivity for SP and ENK in song control nuclei, and tested whether they were correlated with song complexity. Our results showed that: (1) SP and ENK were broadly distributed in the song control nuclei of studied species. However, SP immunohistochemistry was more robust in comparison with ENK, and SP is generally more abundant in the two song learning nuclei than those in the two song producing ones; (2) SP and ENK staining patterns in song control nuclei did not show any obvious phylogenetic relationship among studied oscine species; (3) there was a significant correlation between the relative amounts of immunoreactivity for SP and the song and syllable repertoire sizes. Our results suggest that SP or ENK might be involved in song behavior, such as birdsong learning or memory.

Glycosylation is one of the most common eukaryotic post-translational modifications, and aberrant glycosylation has been linked to many diseases. However, glycosylation and glycome analysis is a significantly challenging task. Although several lines of evidence have indicated that protein glycosylation is defective in Alzheimer's disease (AD), only a few studies have focused on AD glycomics. The etiology of AD is unclear and there are no effective disease-modifying treatments for AD. In this study, we found that the object recognition memory, passive avoidance, and spatial learning and memory of senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) strain, an AD animal model, were deficient, and LW-AFC, which was prepared from the traditional Chinese medicine prescription Liuwei Dihuang decoction, showed beneficial effects on the deterioration of cognitive capability in SAMP8 mice. Forty-three and 56 N-glycan were identified in the cerebral cortex and serum of SAMP8 mice, respectively. The N-glycan profile in SAMP8 mice was significantly different from that of senescence accelerated mouse resistant 1 (SAMR1) strains, the control of SAMP8 mice. Treatment with LW-AFC modulated the abundance of 21 and 6 N-glycan in the cerebral cortex and serum of SAMP8 mice, respectively. The abundance of (Hex)3(HexNAc)5(Fuc)1(Neu5Ac)1 and (Hex)2(HexNAc)4 decreased in the cerebral cortex and serum of SAMP8 mice compared with SAMR1 mice, decreases that were significantly correlated with learning and memory measures. The administration of LW-AFC could reverse or increase these levels in SAMP8 mice. These results indicated that the effects of LW-AFC on cognitive impairments in SAMP8 mice might be through modulation of N-glycan patterns, and LW-AFC may be a potential anti-AD agent.

The dependence of opto-electronical characteristics in organic light-emitting devices on the thickness of Alq3 emitter layer was studied, where MoO3, NPB, and Alq3 were used as hole injector, hole transporter, and emitter/electron transporter, respectively. By increasing the thickness of Alq3 layer from 20 to 100 nm, the device current decreased gradually, and the EL spectra of devices performed a little red shift with an obvious broadening in long wavelength range but a little decrease in intensity of short wavelength range. The authors simulated the EL spectra using the photoluminescence (PL) spectra of Alq3 as Alq3 intrinsic emission, which coincided with the experimental EL spectra well. The simulated results suggested that the effect of interference takes the major role in broadening the long wavelength range of EL spectra, and the distribution of emission zone largely affects the profile of EL spectra in short wavelength range.

Cellular proliferation within the ventricular zone (VZ) may contribute to sex differences through the net addition of neurons in song control nuclei. To address this issue, we administered [ 3 H]thymidine to Bengalese finches of both sexes, and estradiol benzoate (EB) to females 15 days post hatching. The birds were killed 2 h later to examine thymidine labeled cells within the VZ at three brain levels, HVC, anterior commissure and Area X. Our results indicated that: (1) cell proliferation in the VZ was significantly higher in the three studied brain levels in males and EB implant females relative to intact or empty implant females, respectively; (2) proliferation in the dorsal half of the VZ, in proximity to HVC, was notably higher than that in the ventral half of the VZ; (3) proliferation in the ventral VZ (VVZ), which is relatively close to Area X was higher relative to other subregions of VZ (dorsal and intermediate). Our study suggests that sex differences in cell proliferation in the VZ may contribute to the net growth of HVC and Area X in males, and estradiol may play an important role in sexual difference in cellular proliferation within the VZ.

The production of labeled precursors in adult female Melanocorypha mongolica and Lonchura striata were investigated by using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) and ABC immunohistochemical method to mark new synthesized DNA. Then, the distribution of newborn precursor was compared between the two kinds of songbirds. The results reveal that: 1) During 1-4 days after BrdU intramuscular injection, there were a great number of labeled cells in lateral ventricular zone (LVZ),and forming proliferation 'hot spots' in the ventricular zone (VZ) of the ventral striatum and neostriatum. The newborn labeled precursor in the two adult songbirds originated from ventricular zone in telencephalon. In the two adult songbirds, there were a great number of labeled precursors in the ventricular zone (VZ) of the medial striatum and lateral striatum and forming proliferation 'the first hot spots'; in the top of LVZ and forming proliferation 'the second hot spots'. In Melanocorypha mongolica,there were a lot of labeled precursors in the tail of VZ in lateral striatum and forming proliferation 'the third hot spots'. But in Lonchura striata, there were a small number BrdU labeled precursors in the tail of VZ. 2) From 5 days after BrdU intramuscular injection in Melanocorypha mongolica, a great number of labeled precursors in the LVZ began to migrate into the other region of the telencephalon. During 5-30 day after BrdU intramuscular injection, some of labeled cells emerged into the nucleus of high vocal center (HVc), and robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA) in Melanocorypha mongolica. But there were no BrdU labeled cells in the HVc and RA in female Lonchura striata during the 30 days after BrdU intramuscular injection. New neurons, which are added to HVc and RA continuously in adult female Melanocorypha mongolica, may be necessary for learning the new songs of adult male birds. HVc and RA of adult Lonchura striata have few new neurons to replace older neurons.

The expression of substance P in the vocal control and auditory nuclei was investigated by wsing immunohistochemical methods, and the gray density of numerical value was measured with the image processing system in females and males of Carduelis spinus. Then, the distribution and the gray density of substance P were compared between males and females. The results indicate that: 1) Substance P labeled terminal and part cells were distributed in the Area X; 2) Substance P labeled cells were distributed in the nucleus high vocal center (HVc), magnocellular nucleus of the anterior neostriatum (MAN), robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA) and dorsolateral nucleus of the anterior thalamus (DLM); 3) Substance P labeled terminal and fibers were distributed in the vocal control nuclei such as nucleus dorsalis medialis (DM) and the nucleus hypoglossi, pars tracheosyringealis (nXI-Its), and in the auditory nuclei such as the nucleus ovidalisashell (Ov shell), the shell regions of mesencephalicus lateralis, pars dorsalis (MLd shell) and the nucleus intercollicularis (ICo). The values of gray degree of substance P labeled cells or fibers were significantly higher in males than that in females. The present study indicates that the distribution of substance P exhibits significantly sexual difference in the songbird. The presence of substance P in most auditory and vocal control nuclei suggests that substance P may play an important physiological role in the auditory perception and vocal production.

Background Accumulating evidence implicates the neuroendocrine immunomodulation (NIM) network in the physiopathological mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Notably, we previously revealed that the NIM network is dysregulated in the PrP-hAβPPswe/PS1ΔE9 (APP/PS1) transgenic mouse model of AD. Methods After treatment with a novel Liuwei Dihuang formula (LW-AFC), mice were cognitively evaluated in behavioral experiments. Neuron loss, amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition, and Aβ level were analyzed using Nissl staining, immunofluorescence, and an AlphaLISA assay, respectively. Multiplex bead analysis, a radioimmunoassay, immunochemiluminometry, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to measure cytokine and hormone levels. Lymphocyte subsets were detected using flow cytometry. Data between two groups were compared using a Student’s t test. Comparison of the data from multiple groups against one group was performed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by a Dunnett’s post hoc test or a two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance with a Tukey multiple comparisons test. Results LW-AFC ameliorated the cognitive impairment observed in APP/PS1 mice, including the impairment of object recognition memory, spatial learning and memory, and active and passive avoidance. In addition, LW-AFC alleviated the neuron loss in the hippocampus, suppressed Aβ deposition in the brain, and reduced the concentration of Aβ1–42 in the hippocampus and plasma of APP/PS1 mice. LW-AFC treatment also significantly decreased the secretion of corticotropin-releasing hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone in the hypothalamus, and adrenocorticotropic hormone, luteinizing hormone, and follicle-stimulating hormone in the pituitary. Moreover, LW-AFC increased CD8+CD28+ T cells, and reduced CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells in the spleen lymphocytes, downregulated interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-23, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, and tumor necrosis factor-α and -β, and upregulated IL-4 and granulocyte colony stimulating factor in the plasma of APP/PS1 mice. Conclusions LW-AFC ameliorated the behavioral and pathological deterioration of APP/PS1 transgenic mice via the restoration of the NIM network to a greater extent than either memantine or donepezil, which supports the use of LW-AFC as a potential agent for AD therapy.