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Self-supporting and bifunctional Cu-based electrocatalyst with a unique lamellar structure is fabricated, achieving a low oxygen release reaction potential and low hydrogen evolution reaction potential as well as remarkable durability.

Chemical dealloying is an emerging strategy that can be applied to synthesize porous materials. The structure morphologies of the active materials were precisely regulated by designing the various NaOH corrosion solutions. Three-dimensional micro–nanorods-like structure Ni75Cu25O bimetallic oxide with ultra-high electrochemical properties have been obtained, which used Al65Cu15Ni20 precursors through a dealumination strategy. Meanwhile, three-dimensional micro–nanorods-like structure Ni75Cu25O demonstrates an unusual extraordinary specific capacitance (16.96 F cm−2 at 10 mV s−1) and excellent cycling stability (100.8% retention after 5000 cycles at 10 mV s−1). Here, the transition bimetallic oxides by using the dealloying strategy can be applied to develop novel guidances and ideas for the generation of energy storage devices.

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) are a hopeful noble-metal-free catalysts for water splitting. In this study, we used a three-dimensional nanostructure on nickel substrate to easily synthesize a nickel–cobalt phosphide electrocatalyst (NixCoyP, x = 1, 1.5, 2; y = 1, 1.5, 2) through hydrothermal reaction and in situ phosphorylation. The NiCo1.5 P exhibited relatively excellent oxygen evolution activity performance, and it only needed the overpotentials of 123 mV for HER in 1 M KOH to perform the current densities of 10 mA cm−2. It is worth mentioning that the Ni2CoP exhibited better bifunctional electrocatalyst characteristics. As to water splitting, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) require 197 and 253 mV overpotentials separately to provide a current density of 10 mA cm−2. Its relatively excellent electrochemical performance can be ascribed to the high-density sea urchin-like three-dimensional structure, which provides greater specific surface area and more active site. Besides, Ni2CoP also shows long-term durability lasting 80,000 s, and on this basis, there is no distinct deactivation. This work emphasizes that Ni2P and CoP play a vital role relative to the good activity of HER. Moreover, the unique morphology with self-supported structure provides a larger specific surface area, making it possible the exposure of higher amount of active sites for HER. These self-supported electrocatalysts that do not require a binder could also make the electrode more active and stable. This work, therefore, presents a strategy that is controllable and feasible strategy for the synthesis of bimetallic phosphides with unique morphology and high HER and OER activity.

In this paper, we study the optimal energy efficiency resource allocation for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) in cooperative cognitive radio networks (CCRNs). The optimal design attempts to deploy each secondary receiver (SR) to harvest the energy and to use the signal received from the secondary transmitter (ST) to decode information. For the information transmission, a traditional multiple access scheme, namely, time division multiple access (TDMA) is addressed. For the TDMA-based information transmission, the users are scheduled in non-overlapping time slots to decode information. To tackle the design with the above scenarios, an optimization problem is formulated to maximize the energy efficiency of the secondary system constrained with the uncertainty of channel state information (CSI). To solve this non-convex problem, nonlinear fractional programming is utilized to transform the objective function into a subtractive form. The nonlinear fractional programming is also used to decompose the problem into two convex subproblems, and the probability constraints of signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) are converted into the deterministic ones using integral transformation. A joint optimal time and power allocation (JOTPA) iterative algorithm is proposed to determine the optimum of original non-convex problem. Simulation results have verified the effectiveness of the proposed resource allocation algorithm.

Although successful endoscopic resection of gastric subepithelial tumors (SETs) originating from the muscularis propria (MP) layer has been frequently reported, it requires a relatively complicated technique and has a high perforation rate. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of the snare-assisted endoscopic resection (SAER) method which is performed using a snare and insulated-tip (IT) knife via a single-channel endoscope to reduce the perforation rate. In this study, fifty-six patients with gastric SETs originating from the MP layer treated by the SAER method at three institutions between July 2017 and December 2017 were reviewed. The procedure involved multiple steps as shown in Fig. 2. Data were obtained on demographics, SET features, histopathological diagnoses, procedure time, en bloc resection rate, R0 resection (negative margins) status, and adverse events. Endoscopic resection was successfully performed in all patients. The median overall procedure time was 43.5 min (range 26–106 min). The mean size of resected specimens was 19.73 mm (range 10–33 mm). The overall rate of en bloc resection was 96.4% (54/56). In addition, the perforation rate was 7.1% (4/56), and defects in the stomach wall were very small and easily closed using metallic clips. No postprocedural bleeding occurred in any case. The SAER method is an effective, safe, less costly technique for the removal of some gastric SETs originating from the MP layer with an appropriate size.

In this paper, influential parameters on the hydraulic fracturing processes in porous media were investigated. Besides, the simultaneous stimulation of solids, fluids and fractures geomechanical equations were numerically analyzed as a developed 3D model. To do this, the Abacus software was used as a multi-objective program to solve the physical-mechanical symmetry law governing equations, according to the finite element method. Two different layers, A (3104&ndash, 2984 m) and B (4216&ndash, 4326 m), are considered in the model. According to the result of this study, the maximum fracture opening length in the connection of the wall surface is 10 and 9 mm for layer B and layer A, respectively. Moreover, the internal fracture fluid pressure for layer B and layer A is 65 and 53 Mpa. It is indicated that fracture fluid pressure reduced with the increase in fracture propagation length. Consequently, the results of this study would be of benefit for petroleum industries to consider several crucial geomechanical characteristics in hydraulic fractures simultaneously as a developed numerical model for different formation layers to compare a comprehensive analysis between each layer.

Background Although severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and human coronavirus 229E (HCoV-229E) pose a huge threat to human public health, no specific treatment is available. Jinzhen granule (JZ) is a traditional eight ingredients-Chinese medicine with prominent efficacy for treating viral-induced diseases. However, little is known about the antiviral effect and mechanism of JZ against SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E. Purpose This study aimed to reveal the antiviral effects of JZ against SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E, and to further explore the underlying mechanisms regulating the host immune response. Methods The chromatographic separation of JZ was performed using a Shimadzu analytical high-performance liquid chromatograph with UV detection and Alltech ELSD 2000ES. We conducted cytopathic effect (CPE) and plaque reduction assays to evaluate the antiviral effect of JZ. A lethal human angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) transgenic mouse model of SARS-CoV-2 was established to determine the protective effect of JZ on mortality and lung virus titers. Real-time quantitative PCR assays were used to analyze the expression of proinflammatory cytokines in vitro and in vivo. Western blotting was further performed to determine the activities on regulating the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)/MAPK pathway. Finally, mitochondrial membrane potential assays, flow cytometry analysis and western blotting were used to assess the anti-apoptotic potency toward HCoV-229E infection. Results The results showed that 13 chemical components were identified and five peaks were determined and quantitated (gallic acid 1.97 mg/g, baicalin 20.69 mg/g, glycyrrhizic acid 4.92 mg/g, hyodeoxycholic acid 4.86 mg/g, cholic acid 4.07 mg/g). We found that JZ exerted inhibitory potency against SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E in vitro by using CPE and plaque reduction assays, and it was further found that JZ protected mice infected by SARS-CoV-2 from death and inhibited lung virus titers. JZ also significantly decreased the induction of inflammatory cytokines (IL-1α, IL-6, CCL-5 and MIP-1β), similar to the observed in vitro effect. Moreover, JZ suppressed the release of inflammatory cytokines in vitro and it decreased the protein expression of p-p38 MAPK, p-JNK, p-NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα induced by HCoV-229E and increased the expression of IκBα. Notably, JZ significantly protected HCoV-229E-infected Huh-7 cells from mitochondrial damage and decreased apoptotic cells. The activation of the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway was inhibited by JZ, as shown by the reduced expression of cleaved caspase-9, caspase-3 and p-PARP. Conclusions In conclusion, JZ (gallic acid 1.97 mg/g, baicalin 20.69 mg/g, glycyrrhizic acid 4.92 mg/g, hyodeoxycholic acid 4.86 mg/g, cholic acid 4.07 mg/g) exhibited antiviral activities against SARS-CoV-2 and HCoV-229E by regulating the NF-κB/MAPK pathway and the mitochondria-mediated apoptotic pathway. These findings demonstrated the efficacy of JZ against CoVs and suggested JZ treatment as a novel clinical therapeutic strategy for COVID-19.

The research on land circulation problems are put forward and a whole set of survey methods for land transfer is designed in this paper. By studying the main factors that influence the willingness of land transfer, combining with the investigation of land transfer intention, logistic regression analysis theory is used to analyze the land transfer intention and relevant influencing factors. The research shows that the satisfaction degree of land income, land circulation patterns are clear or not and the intention of land transfer are the intrinsic factors to promote the land transfer intention. The purchase of houses in the city, the demand for medical services in the city and the willingness of the land transfer are the external factors that promote the land circulation. Finally, several main conclusions and suggestions on land circulation are given.

In this paper, we study the optimal design for simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) in cognitive radio networks (CRNs), where each secondary receiver (SR) can harvest energy and decode information using the signals received from the secondary transmitter (ST). It is assumed that the ST and SR adopt orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation. Each SR uses the power splitting (PS) to coordinate the process of energy harvesting (EH) and information decoding (ID). The optimization problem of maximizing the energy efficiency of the secondary system is formulated. In particular, in order to accurately analyze the uncertain channel state information (CSI) and improve the performance of wireless networks in dynamic environments, the probability constraints are introduced. To settle this non-convex problem, the nonlinear fractional programming is utilized. Then we decompose the equivalent optimization problem into two convex subproblems, and the probability constraints of signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) are converted to deterministic ones by integral transformation. An efficient iterative algorithm for robust resource allocation is presented. Finally, simulation results have verified the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

We demonstrate a tapered optical fiber interferometer integrated electrophoretic trace mixture separating and on-line detecting device. In this design, we first introduce tapered optical fiber interferometer into electrophoresis system to dynamically on-line monitor the separation of the proteins. The tapered optical fiber interferometer is embedded into the separating medium of the electrophoresis system. The mixture of the proteins with negative charge driven by electric field in the separation gel can be separated and contact with the embedded fiber taper. When the separated components pass through the taper, the refractive index (RI) of the gel around the taper was dynamically adjusted and the interference spectra will present a reversible shift. To visually display the on-line separation and detection process, two kinds of simple proteins of Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and Chicken egg albumin (CEA) labeled with fluorescence indicator are adopted as the analytes in the device. Results show that a trace amount of the proteins (5 μl) can be completely separated in the separation gel. Simultaneously, when each component contacts with the tapered region of the optical fiber, interference spectra immediately presents an obvious change because of the dynamic change of the refractive index of the transparent polymer gel. In addition, the complex fixing and developing steps in traditional electrophoresis analysis can be replaced by on-line detection through interference spectra. Then, simultaneous separating treatment and dynamic detection of the proteins are first realized in this experiment. Significantly, this fiber taper integrated separating and on-line detecting device can find great potentials in various analysis fields involves composite samples such as DNA separation and even the virus and cell research.

A field experiment was carried out to compare the responses to ozone (O 3 ) in two common herbaceous plant species, Plantago major L. and Sonchus oleraceus L., by building open-top growth chambers in situ to simulate O 3 stress (+ O 3 , 85 ± 5 ppb, 9 hr/day for 30 days) in a lowland habitat in Inner Mongolia, Northern China. Responses to O 3 of gas exchange, chlorophyll a fluorescence, leaf pigment content, antioxidant capability, soluble protein content, membrane lipid peroxidation and dark respiration ( R d ) were analyzed. Results showed that elevated O 3 exposure significantly reduced the light-saturated net photosynthesis ( P Nsat ), stomatal conductance ( g s ) and transpiration rate ( E ) in both species. Although non-significant interactive effect between species and O 3 on P Nsat was analyzed, the reduction in P Nsat in S. oleraceus might be due primarily to the higher fraction of close PSII reaction centers and impaired activities of plant mesophyll cells as evidences by decreased maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry after dark adapted state ( F v / F m ) and unchanged intercellular CO 2 concentration ( C i ). Besides, biochemical analysis showed that S. oleraceus had lower antioxidant ability compared to P. major . As a result, S. oleraceus was damaged to the larger extent in terms of lipid peroxidation and visible O 3 injury, indicating that S. oleraceus was more sensitive to O 3 than P. major . Our results indicated that wild herbaceous plant species growing in a lowland habitat in sandy grassland were sensitive to O 3 stress and S. oleraceus can be considered as one of the bio-indicators for high O 3 concentration in semi-arid grassland of northern China.

China will form its carbon market in 2017 to focus on the allocation of regional carbon emission quota in order to cope with global warming. The rationality of the regional allocation has become an important consideration for the government in ensuring stable growth in different regions that are experiencing disparity in resource endowment and economic status. Based on constructing the quota allocation indicator system for carbon emission, the emission quota for each province in different scenarios and schemes in 2020 is simulated by the multifactor hybrid weighted Shannon entropy allocation model. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) The top 5 secondary-level indicators that influence provincial quota allocation in weight are as follows: per capita energy consumption, openness, per capita carbon emission, per capita disposable income, and energy intensity. (2) The ratio of carbon emission in 2020 is different from that in 2013 in many scenarios, and the variation is scenario 2 > scenario 1 > scenario 3, with Hubei and Guangdong the provinces with the largest increase and decrease ratios, respectively. (3) In the same scenario, the quota allocation varies in different reduction criteria emphases; if the government emphasizes reduction efficiency, scheme 1 will show obvious adjustment, that is, Hunan, Hubei, Guizhou, and Yunnan will have the largest decrease. The amounts are 4.28, 8.31, 4.04, and 5.97 million tons, respectively.

To study the relationship between China's regional economic development and industrial carbon emission, reveal the major influencing factors and mechanism of carbon emission change in all regions, and provide theoretical evidence for governments to formulate emission reduction strategies and policies, big data analysis and the Tapio extended model were adopted to quantitatively analyse the decoupling relationship between carbon emission and economic growth in eight major regions of China between 1996 and 2012. Logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) was also applied to decompose the main factors affecting carbon emission change in all regions. The results show that (1) the proportions of industrial energy related to carbon emissions in central China and the Beijing-Tianjin region decreased year by year while the opposite was the case in coastal areas of northern China. Furthermore, the proportions in other regions basically remained unchanged; (2) a weak decoupling relation between industry energy carbon emission and economic growth was found in most regions except in northwest China during the period 1996–2000, southwest China, south and north coastal regions during the period 2001–2005, Beijing and Tianjin during the period 2010–2012. Energy consumption decoupling factors exerted a consistent positive effect on industry energy carbon emission decoupling, with decoupling impact greater than emission factors; (3) the overall level of carbon emission reduction technology in China was low and backwards, and limited contributions have been made to economic growth and industry energy carbon emission decoupling. Development emphases of decoupling should be put on energy-saving technology promotion, industry structure upgrading and energy structure improvement in the future; (4) economic intensity effect has exerted the most powerful positive influence on carbon emissions, except in developed areas, and the positive effect was weaker than that in other regions.

Hollow cauliflower-like WO 3 nanostructures have been successfully synthesized via a facile hydrothermal process. The 3D novel structure is assembled by lots of non-uniform hexagonal WO 3 nanorods, which shows the porosity surface and the hollow interiors. According to the time-dependent morphology evolution process, a possible formation mechanism was proposed. Gas sensing investigations reveal that the sample sensor exhibits excellent CO sensing properties at 270 °C, which may substantially benefit from the (001) reactive surfaces of hexagonal phase and the hollow porous structure.

BACKGROUND Anastomotic leakage (AL) is a serious complication after anterior resection. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of microvascular density (MVD) in AL and to develop a nomogram to accurately predict AL. METHODS This study retrospectively enrolled 477 consecutive patients who underwent anterior resection for rectal cancer from January 2011 to January 2019. Tissue samples of the resection margins were assessed for MVD. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to identify the risk factors for AL. RESULTS The incidence of clinical AL was 6.7%. MVD in the distal margin was associated with AL (P

Big Data has been widely used in all aspects of society. For solving the problem of massive data storing and analyzing, many big data solutions have been proposed. Spark is the newer solution of the universal parallel framework which like Hadoop MapReduce. Compare the Hadoop, Spark’s performance has been increased significantly. As a data analysis framework, researchers are particularly concerned about its performance. So in this paper, we use a stochastic process algebra (PEPA) to model the Spark architecture. This model will give the usability of the compositional approach in modeling and analysis Spark architecture. This research obtains an algorithm that generated the service flow of the PEPA model. In the end, we will state the benefit of this compositional method in modeling a large parallel system.

Developing cost-effective and binder-free bifunctional electrocatalysts to boost the hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions are crucial for overall water splitting. In this work, three-dimensional hierarchical Mn-Co-P/NF electrodes on nickel foam are synthesized by electrodeposition and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) firstly. Provide an excellent and controllable synthesis method by controlling the electrodeposition time and phosphating temperature. The Mn-Co-P composite exhibits the characteristics of vertically grown porous nanosheets, which can effectively expose the active sites. Benefit from the rational design with in-situ growth of functional materials and the unique structure, the Mn-Co-P/NF presents excellent electrocatalytic activities and stability with lower overpotentials of 63 mV and 310 mV to deliver 10 mA cm−2 for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and 10 mA cm−2 for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), respectively. Moreover, when directly used as a positive electrode and a negative electrode to form an electrocatalytic device to complete the overall water splitting, Mn-Co-P/NF merely requires a small cell voltage of 1.70 V to obtain 20 mA cm−2. This work offers a controllable method to design and synthesize highly efficient and stable transition metal phosphide catalysts for overall water splitting and other catalytic fields.

In recent years, the core-shell heterostructure has been considered as one of the most promising candidates for the next generation of electrode materials, which can not only shorten the ion diffusion distance, but also increase the contact area between the electrode and the electrolyte. Herein, two different morphologies of NiCo2O4 nanomaterials were prepared by hydrothermal-calcination method, and then the hybrid structure consisting of needle-like NiCo2O4 core and Ni-Co layered double hydroxide (Ni-Co LDH) shell is composited on carbon fiber cloth (CFC) by constant current electrodeposition as electrode materials. The resultant NiCo2O4@Ni-Co LDH core-shell hybrid arrays exhibits the specific capacitance of 4901.8 m F cm−2 at the current density of 2 mA cm−2, which is much higher than that of needle NiCo2O4 and flake Ni-Co LDH. At the same time, the obtained NiCo2O4@Ni-Co LDH as the positive electrode while the activated (AC) serves as the negative electrode, which is used to assemble the all-solid flexible asymmetric supercapacitor. It delivers an energy density of 0.859 mW h cm-3 at the power density of 2 mA cm−2, as well as an excellent cycling performance with capacitance retention of 92.3 % after 5000 cycles at 16 mA cm−2. These results suggest that this core-shell structured material could be a promising electrode for supercapacitors.

Flower-like WO 3 hierarchical architecture has been successfully synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method. The morphology and structure were investigated via X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The results indicated that the flower-like WO 3 were self-assembled by many ultrathin petal-like nanosheets with thickness of several nanometers. A possible formation mechanism of 3D hierarchical architecture was proposed on basis of time dependent experiments. In addition, the well-defined WO 3 hierarchical architectures exhibited high response and good selectivity to ethanol at 300 °C with fast response (5–7 s) and recovery (6–9 s) properties, which might substantially benefit from their layer-by-layer ultrathin petal structure.

As a major contributor of carbon emission in the world, China should focus on the balance between the universality of development and regional heterogeneity of carbon discharge during the transformation toward low-carbon economy. To reveal the differences among interprovincial industry energy’s carbon emissions, some relevant data of carbon emissions in 29 provinces and municipalities during the period of 1996–2012 are selected in this study. Based on the Logarithmic Mean Divisia index decomposition model and hierarchical clustering method, the 29 provinces were clustered in turn by four time intervals according to some indicators, including economic intensity, energy intensity, industry structure, energy structure, demographic effect, and carbon density influence. Research results show that during 1996–2000, economic intensity has a strong positive driving effect on carbon emissions in such eastern provinces as Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, and other seven inland provinces, such as Hunan and Hubei. Demographic effects have strong pulling effects on carbon emissions in municipalities and eastern coastal provinces, and they also exert strong negative effects on carbon emissions in Anhui, Guangxi, Guizhou, and Sichuan in the first three time intervals. During the four periods, highly energy-efficient provinces are Jiangsu, Guangdong, Sichuan, Shandong, Hubei, etc., whose carbon emissions are significantly inhibited by their energy intensity, whereas inefficient provinces are concentrated in western regions, like Guangxi, Hainan, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang, etc.

Searching for inexpensive electrocatalysts for hydrogen and oxygen evolution reaction (HER, OER) with high activity has attracted considerable research interests in the past years. Herein, we report a self-supported electrode of the monolithic copper oxides directly on Cu wires [CW@CuI/IINPs, as a working electrode ] for full splitting water. In alkaline solution, with the electrode, OER occurs at the potential scope of 0.00 ~ +0.21 V and HER happens at the range of + 0.85 ~ +1.25 V with rough gas releasing. The activity of the electrode can be retrieved during the interactive electrochemical processes of OER and HER, which process shows decent stability. It is possible to save energy in industrial electrolysis water with the proposed electrode. The phenomena remind us of reassessing electrocatalytic ability of copper oxides or other metal oxides and provide a new design idea for metal wire-based electrodes for water splitting with low energy consumption.

A previous study implied that long intergenic non-coding RNA 1410 (LINC01410) promotes angiogenesis and metastasis of gastric cancer. However, the role of LINC01410 in colon cancer (CC) has remained elusive. In the present study, LINC01410 was identified to be highly expressed in CC tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. It was indicated that high expression of LINC01410 in CC tissues was associated with poor prognosis. Further functional study suggested that LINC01410 knockdown significantly reduced the proliferation and invasive capacity of HT-29 and SW620 cells, and inhibited the cell cycle. Regarding the mechanism, LINC01410 was indicated to serve as a sponge for microRNA (miR)-3128, as evidenced by a luciferase reporter assay. Furthermore, knockdown of LINC01410 significantly increased the levels of miR-3128. In addition, miR-3128 was markedly downregulated in CC tissues compared with that in adjacent normal tissues. A rescue assay revealed that inhibition of miR-3128 significantly abrogated the effects of LINC01410 knockdown on CC cell proliferation and invasion. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that LINC01410 functions as an oncogene in CC, at least in part by directly inhibiting miR-3128.

In this paper, we consider a multi-pair amplify-and-forward (AF) massive MIMO system, where an eavesdropper (Eve) can intercept the information which sent to multiple destination users form multiple source users via a relay. The system performance will be analyzed for different power-scaling laws when zero-forcing reception/zero-forcing transmission (ZFT/ZFR) is employed at the relay. And minimum mean-square-error (MMSE) estimator is utilized due to imperfect channel state information (CSI). Analytical results reveal that with the number of relay antennas tending to infinity, the user’s achievable rate will increase to a fixed value, and the eavesdropping information will decrease to a fixed value. Simulation results well validate analytical results.

Effect of total glucosides of paeony on the changes of IL-4 and ICAM-1 levels in eczema mouse model serum was investigated. A total of 38 KM mice of SPF grade were divided into 3 groups: the control group (n=10), the model group (n=15) and the treatment group (n=13). The pathological model of chronic eczema in mouse right ear was induced using dinitrochlorobenzene acetone solution. Two ears of mice in the control group and the left ear of mice in the model and treatment groups were smeared with acetone as control. The mice in the treatment group were treated by administration with total glucoside of paeony. The changes of IL-4 and ICAM-1 levels were measured using caudal vein blood collection. The mouse ear weight was measured and the relationship among IL-4 and ICAM-1 levels, ear thickness and treatment time was analyzed. Mouse ear thickness in the model group was higher than that in the treatment and control groups (P

Bike Sharing Systems (BSSs) are recently becoming flourishing in many cities across the global as technical improvements in the operation combined with increased prevailing environmental and health awareness. This paper focuses on the performance analysis for station-free bike sharing systems, and we construct the formal model of BSSs using stochastic process algebra PEPA, and evaluate the travel time, capacity planning and utilization. With performance analysis results for the station-free BSS, resource scheduling can be easily achieved and service quality can be greatly improved.

Background Vitiligo is an acquired pigmentary disorder of unknown etiology that is clinically characterized by the development of white macules in the skin related to the selective loss of melanocytes in those areas. Evidence shows that mitochondria might be a unifying target of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, cytokine production, catecholamine release and/or alteration of Ca 2+ metabolism that leads to melanocyte loss. Objective To assess the protective effect of calcipotriol on mitochondria of human melanocytes by investigating their dendritic morphology under oxidative stress. Methods Human melanocytes were treated with 0.05% H 2 O 2 as well as various concentrations of calcipotriol, after which the retraction velocity of melanocyte dendrites was assessed. Detection of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was performed as were the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ). Ultrastructural changes of mitochondria in melanocytes were observed by transmission electron microscopy. In addition, the expression of Beclin1, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), dynamin related protein 1 (Drp1), mitofusin 1 (Mfn1) and mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), which are related to autophagy and mitochondrial dynamics, were analyzed by Western blot. Results Calcipotriol reduced the retraction velocity of melanocyte dendrites. In addition, calcipotriol, from 20nM to 80nM, decreased the level of MDA, increased the activity of SOD, suppressed the reduction of MMP and recovered Ca 2+ homeostasis by reducing [Ca 2+ ] i in a concentration-dependent manner. Observation by transmission electron microscopy suggested that calcipotriol might reduce the injury of mitochondria in melanocytes under oxidative stress. Furthermore, the expression of Beclin1, LC3-II/LC3-I, Mfn2 and Drp1 was higher in the calcipotriol-treated melanocytes than in the control or H 2 O 2 -treated melanocytes. The level of Mfn1 was almost unchanged, but was higher at a concentration of 80nM calcipotriol than in any other condition. The expression of Mfn2 and Drp1 decreased with increasing calcipotriol concentration. Conclusion Our study demonstrates the antioxidative effect of calcipotriol on melanocytes against oxidative damage. Moreover, calcipotriol could be a promising drug delivery strategy to protect melanocytes against oxidative damage in vitiligo through autophagy or mitophagy.

Jiao, Cui, Wang, and Xu (2014) developed a ranking of overseas Chines strategy scholars in terms of their contributions to the strategy research. Such a ranking is interesting not only because it provides a clear picture of the academic contributions of overseas Chinese scholars, but also because it can help the universities and scholars in mainland China to develop collaborative ties with overseas Chinese scholars in a more targeted manner. To complement and extend the work by Jiao et al. (2014), we have adopted a different, but more systematic approach to ranking the overseas Chinese strategy scholars. First, we have generated the list of overseas Chines strategy scholars by checking all of their publications in eight academic journals that are most relevant to the domain of strategy or strategic management. Though this approach is more timeconsuming, it will not miss any potentially important scholars in the analysis. Second, we have focused on the strategy-relevant articles published in the eight academic journals by the overseas Chinese scholars. To that end, we selected only the eight most strategy-relevant journals rather than covering all top-tier business Asia Pac J Manag (2015) 32:1085–1108 DOI 10.1007/s10490-015-9432-1

Keratin biosorbents were prepared by reprocessing the deposits produced from chicken feathers after soluble keratin extraction. Biosorption of Cr(VI) ions onto the obtained biosorbents from aqueous solution was studied. Experimental factors affecting biosorption process such as pH and initial concentration of Cr(VI) ions were investigated. Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin–Radushkevich (D–R) isotherm models were used to describe the biosorption process for Cr(VI) ions. The results showed that Langmuir model better fit the experimental data than the Freundlich and D–R models, and the maximum monolayer biosorption capacity for Cr(VI) ions was found to be 21.35 mg/g at pH 6, 200 mg/L initial concentration of Cr(VI) ions and 30°C. The free energy was calculated as 11.35 kJ/mol from the D–R model, indicating that the biosorption of Cr(VI) occurred chemically. This result was also confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared regarding the changes in morphology and surface structure of the biosorbents before and after Cr(VI) biosorption. Overall, the deposits generated from chicken feathers after soluble keratin extraction, which currently treated as wastes, should be regarded as a favorable alternative for the removal of Cr(VI) ions from aqueous solution.

Different morphologies of ZnO nanomaterials (long nanofibers, rod-like short nanofibers and nano-powders) were successfully synthesized by electrospinning process and chemical precipitation, respectively. A comparative ethanol sensing study among the three samples were also performed. The results indicate that the ZnO long nanofiber sensor shows desirable response to ethanol at 270 °C with good stability, which is attributed to the long nanofiber structures. This sample also presents good selectivity and fast response–recovery properties (7–9 and 9–11 s, respectively). The ethanol sensing mechanism and the advantages of the long nanofiber structure in sensing materials were also discussed.

Feather is a kind of waste and hardly to be degraded in the environment. Thermoplastic film was made from feather by mechanical method with enhancing the temperature and pressure to 160°C, 5 MPa, respectively. Glycerol was added as plasticizer in various amounts in mass ratio of 10, 20, 40, 60, and 80%, respectively. During film preparation, influence glycerol content on film’s mechanical property was studied, and 40% was chosen as the best ratio. Film with the best mechanical property was used to adsorb Cr(VI) in aqueous solution. Effects of temperature, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, and pH on adsorption were studied. The adsorption was endothermic and fitted to both Langmuir and Freundlich models, and the process contained both physical and chemical adsorptions. The biggest removal rate was 99.1%, and the best absorption capacity was 75.45 mg/g at 60°C. After adsorption, there appeared many particles on the surface of the film that can be seen in SEM. FT-IR was used to study the chemi...

Given studies have shown that Artemisinin (ART) reduces cancer cell proliferation, migration, invasion, tumorigenesis and metastasis. In this study, we evaluated the roles of ART in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) progression. We measured the eff ;ects of ART on cancer cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion and tumorigenesis. CCK-8 assay demonstrated that ART inhibited cell growth with IC50 values 31.30 ± 0.73 μM in UMRC-2 and 23.97 ± 0.92 μM in CAKI-2, respectively. Colony formation assay shown that ART inhibited cell colony formation. Transwell migration and invasion assay shown that ART inhibited RCC migration and invasion. Realtime-qPCR assay shown that ART decreased the mRNA levels of proliferation related genes c-Myc, cyclin D1 and PCNA, and reduced the mRNA levels of mesenchymal genes N-cadherin, Vimentin and Snail, but increased the mRNA levels of epithelial marker E-cadherin. Moreover, ART inhibited AKT signaling pathway. In the presence of AKT inhibitor VIII, a pan-AKT inhibitor, ART reduced more cell proliferation, migration and invasion than in the absence of AKT inhibitor VIII, suggesting combination of ART and AKT inhibitor enhanced the anti-cancer effects of ART. Furthermore, the in vivo xenograft tumor model results suggested that ART decreased tumor size and weight, and suppressed AKT signaling. Taken together, our results indicated that ART inhibited ccRCC cell proliferation, colony formation, migration, invasion and tumorigenesis. Combination of ART and AKT inhibitor enhanced the anti-cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion.

Feather wastes generated from poultry farms will pose a problem for disposal, but they are sustainable resources of keratin. Reduction is one of the commonly used methods to obtain soluble keratin from feather. However, the residues generated during feather reduction reaction were rarely investigated. In this study, the residues were transformed into a porous and flexible sponge film by freeze-drying without pretreatment or addition of cross-linking agents. Glycerol was used to alter the physical and chemical characteristics of the sponge film. The film was characterized with a fiber strong stretch instrument, a Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer, scanning electron microscopy, an elemental analyzer, a differential scanning calorimeter and an automatic air permeability apparatus. Tensile strength and melting point of the sponge film with the optimum glycerol content were 6.2 MPa and 170°C respectively. Due to air permeability of 368 mm/s, the film can potentially be used in medicine, biology, textile, environmental technology, and so on. It is ecologically friendly and will produce additional benefits from the renewable materials. The film was utilized as adsorbents to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions and as a filtering material for air pollution. Its maximum Cr(VI) uptake capacity was about 148.8 mg/g and the removal rate of PM10 was 98.3%.