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Two novel series of chalcone-based homoserine lactones were synthesized and their quorum sensing (QS) inhibitory activity was evaluated against Pseudomonas aeruginosa in vitro. Furthermore these compounds’ capacity for modulation of the LasR-dependent quorum sensing system of P. aeruginosa was identified. Among these compounds, (S)-2-((4-(3-(4-bromo-2-fluorophenyl) acryloyl) phenyl) amino)-N-(2-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-yl)acetamide exerted the inhibition of LasR-dependent QS system of P. aeruginosa in contrast to brominated furanone C30. Worthy of particular note, this research has delivered novel potent quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs), which strongly inhibit the production of virulence factors in a wild type strain of this pathogenic bacterium.

In this work, a series of numerical simulations have been performed to obtain the steady shapes of red blood cells under a shear force field in the capillary. Two possible classes of steady shapes, the axisymmetric parachute and the non-axisymmetric parachute, are found. If we assume that oxygen diffusion across the red cell membrane is mediated by membrane curvature, it is found that the non-axisymmetric parachute will be more favorable due to its special shape which enables it to have a larger portion of membrane patch capable of releasing oxygen to tissues.

Recently, one type of mesoscale structure called core-periphery (CP) structure has received much attention in complex networks, as the algorithmic detection of such structures makes it possible to discover network features that are not apparent either at the local scale of nodes and edges or at the global scale of summary statistics. The core-periphery structure refers to that core nodes are densely interconnected, while periphery nodes are connected to core nodes to different extents, and periphery nodes are sparsely interconnected. Core-periphery structure containing a single core or multiple cores has been identified in various networks. However, investigation of the detection problems of the core-periphery has not been summarized in the literature. In this paper, we first introduce the definition of the core-periphery structure. The core-periphery structure has been paid more and more attention by researchers in various fields since its introduction, and it has been proved to be a powerful tool to analyze the theory of various topologies in our society, we briefly expounded the application of core-periphery structure in economics, sociology, medicine and other fields, and revealed the huge development potential of this theory. Then, we give a detailed overview of classical detection algorithms since the core-periphery structure theory was proposed. Finally, we give the development characteristics and the possible research directions of the core-periphery detection algorithm.

Qing Hao Gan Cao (QHGC), a Chinese medicinal formula containing Artemisia annua and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, has been used to treat sunstroke and as an antiviral agent for more than 800 years. It has not previously been subject to a toxicological safety evaluation in acute and subacute (28 days) studies. Therefore, the acute and subacute toxicity of an aqueous extract of QHGC were evaluated in vivo. For the QHGC preparation, the botanical raw materials were crushed into pieces and mixed in the ratio of 10:1 in distilled water for 12 h, then boiling three times for 2 h each time. The three decoctions were mixed and filtered, then spray-dried with hot air at 160°C for 30 min, and stored at room temperature. For the acute toxicity test, 72.0 g/kg of QHGC extract was administered by gavage to male and female mice. Body weight, general observations, and autopsy results were recorded. No mortality or toxicity signs were observed during the studies. For the subacute toxicity test, 4.0, 8.0, or 16.0 g/kg/day of QHGC extract was administered to rats for 28 days. General observations and mortality, body weight, biochemical and hematological parameters, organ weight, and pathological morphology were analyzed. The acute and subacute toxicity studies did not show significant changes in body weight, general observations, hematology and biochemical parameters, organ weight, and liver, spleen, stomach, duodenum, testis, ovary, lung, heart, and kidney histopathological analyses. The consumption of QHGC aqueous extract can be considered safe within the conditions of this study.

Sanren decoction (SRD) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine prescription containing eight kinds of materials. SRD has been used mainly in China for more than 200 years for the treatment of respiratory disorders that co-occur with a bad fever after midday.To evaluate the acute and 28-day subacute toxicity of an aqueous extract of SRD using in vivo methods.To determine acute toxicity, SRD was administered by gavage at a dosage of 58.5 g/kg/day to male and female mice for 7 days. To determine subacute toxicity, SRD was administered at 3.3, 6.5, or 13 g/kg/day to male and female rats for 28 days. The general behavior, body weight, biochemical and hematological parameters, organ coefficients and pathological morphology of the treated animals were analyzed.Neither acute nor subacute concentrations of SRD caused significant changes in the body weights, general behavior, hematology and biochemical parameters, organ weights, or histopathological appearances of the liver, kidney, spleen, brain, lung or heart in mice or rats.The administration of SRD can be considered safe within the conditions of this study.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Bei Qi Wu Jia (BQWJ), a modern preparation of a traditional Chinese medicinal formula, is a combination of Radix Astragali and Acanthopanacis Senticosi. Although BQWJ has been used to treat insomnia, fatigue, and loss of appetite, toxicological safety studies are rare in the literature. Aim of the study: To evaluate the acute and subacute toxicity of BQWJ extract after oral administration in mice and rats, respectively. Materials and methods In the acute toxicity study, mice underwent oral administration of 67.5 g extract/kg/day. In the subacute toxicity study, rats underwent a single oral administration of 1.25, 2.5, 5.0, or 10.0 g/kg/day of BQWJ extract for 28 days. The animals’ general behavior, body weight, food intake, biochemical and hematologic parameters, organ coefficients, and pathological morphology were analyzed. Results No evidence of toxicity was observed in the mice after acute exposure to BQWJ extract. The subacute results included no deaths and no changes in general behavior. Although BQWJ extract resulted in some significant changes in other parameters, these alterations cannot be considered treatment-related because they remained within normal ranges throughout the 28 days. Conclusions In conclusion, the oral administration of BQWJ extract at doses of less than 67.5 g/kg/day for 1 day or 10.0 g/kg/day for 28 consecutive days can be considered safe and showed no distinct toxicity or side effects in this study.

Several specific physical properties of alloys can be determined by first-principles (typically via density functional theory, DFT) due to the enormous gain in high-performance computing over the last decades. This article is devoted to the discussion of the high-throughput approach to band structures calculations. We present the computational key for the auto-generation band structure on the high-throughput calculating platform. This method is based on a standard creation of k-point paths for band. This standardization is automatic and fully integrated for the 14 Bravais lattices, the conventional and primitive unit cells, and the coordinates of the high symmetry k-path in the Brillouin zones. Some band structures for transition metal doped Hexaborides are given as example.

Electrochemical cycling stabilities were compared for undoped and Al/Co dual-doped spinel LiMn2O4 synthesized by solid state reactions. We observed the suppression of particle fracture in Al/Co dual-doped LiMn2O4 during charge/discharge cycling and its distinguishable particle morphology with respect to the undoped material. Systematic first-principles calculations were performed on undoped, Al or Co single-doped, and Al/Co dual-doped LiMn2O4 to investigate their structural differences at the atomistic level. We reveal that while Jahn-Teller distortion associated with the Mn(3+)O6 octahedron is the origin of the lattice strain, the networking -i.e. the distribution of mixed valence Mn ions - is much more important to release the lattice strain, and thus to alleviating particle cracking. The calculations showed that the lattice mismatching between Li(+) intercalation and deintercalation of LiMn2O4 can be significantly reduced by dual-doping, and therefore also the volumetric shrinkage during delithiation. This may account for the near disappearance of cracks on the surface of Al/Co-LiMn2O4 after 350 cycles, while some obvious cracks have developed in undoped LiMn2O4 at similar particle size even after 50 cycles. Correspondingly, Al/Co dual-doped LiMn2O4 showed a good cycling stability with a capacity retention of 84.1% after 350 cycles at a rate of 1C, 8% higher than the undoped phase.

The effects of the synthesis temperature, the synthesis time and the nature of the transition-metal hydroxide precursors on the physical and electrochemical properties of Li(Ni 1− x − y Co x Mn y )O 2 synthesized using solid-state reactions are studied. Higher synthesis temperature results in larger primary and secondary particle sizes, a lower tap density and a broader secondary particle size distribution. Increase in reaction time improves the crystallinity and the cyclability. A smaller primary particle size of the precursor leads to a larger primary particle size of Li(Ni 1− x − y Co x Mn y )O 2 . Li(Ni 1− x − y Co x Mn y )O 2 with a better crystallinity, a well-defined layered structure and a better cation ordering exhibits a higher capacity, a better cycling performance and rate capability. The optimized synthesis conditions for precursors NCMOH111-α and NCMOH424-a is 950 °C for 12 h and 950 °C for 9 h, respectively. NCM111-α-950-12h delivers a discharge capacity of 165.5 mAh g −1 during the initial cycle at a rate of 0.1C with a columbic efficiency of 87%, a 3C rate capability of 91.25% and a 1C capacity retention rate of 98.25% after 40 cycles.

Benchmarking as yardsticks for system design and evaluation, has developed a long period and plays a pivotal role in many domains, such as database systems and high performance computing. Through prolonged and unremitting efforts, benchmarks on these domains have been reaching their maturity gradually. However, in terms of emerging scenarios of big data, its different properties in data volume, data types, data processing requirements and techniques, make that existing benchmarks are rarely appropriate for big data systems and further make us wonder how to define a good big data benchmark. In this paper, we revisit successful benchmarks in other domains from two perspectives: benchmarking principles which define fundamental rules, and methodologies which guide the benchmark constructions. Further, we conclude the benchmarking principle and methodology on big data benchmarking from a recent open-source effort – BigDataBench.

Li(Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 )O 2 layered materials were synthesized by solid-state reaction using Li 2 CO 3 and three transition-metal hydroxide precursors of composition (Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 )(OH) 2 (NMC Hydroxide) with different physical properties. Characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electrochemical testing, etc., the final Li(Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 )O 2 products showed different physical and electrochemical properties depending on their synthesis temperatures and the properties of transition-metal hydroxide precursors were got. Higher reaction temperature results in bigger primary particle size (PPS) and broader size distribution. Precursor with smaller PPS results in larger PPS when synthesized at the same condition. The electrochemical performance is related to the physical properties of Li(Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 )O 2 . Better crystallized and cation ordered layered material has higher initial capacity while smaller and uniform PPS results in higher capacity retention rate. The Li(Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 )O 2 synthesized at 880 °C for 10 h in atmosphere using (Ni 0.5 Co 0.2 Mn 0.3 )(OH) 2 with smallest PPS size as the starting precursor showed the best overall electrochemical properties with a high discharge capacity over 171 mAh/g with a capacity retention >96% after 50 cycles at 1 C rate in a half battery and tap density about 2.7 g/cm 3 .

Nature language processing is an important part in data mining, which counts a lot in the internet age. Feature extraction effects the accuracy of text classification. This paper proposes a method of iterative feature space evolution to optimize the result. Adjusting the extended dictionary and the stop word list, we optimize the feature space time and again to get a better classifier model. The final result has a higher classification accuracy than the original experiment.