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Despite the extensive research on sustainability dimensions, the researcher has not completely addressed all the dimensions of sustainability. Most of the times, sustainability is considered as a whole variable, however, the work on separate dimensions is lacking in the literature. Particularly, human sustainability is rarely addressed by the previous studies. Additionally, various dimensions of sustainability such as social, economic, environmental and human is rarely tested in relation to the organizational resilience. Therefore, to fill this gap, this study considered to examine the role of organizational resilience in social sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and human sustainability in a sample of FMCG employees. The study used non-probability snowball sampling to collect data from managerial level employees. Data analysis is carried out by using SPSS. Findings identified that; organizational resilience has influential role in various dimensions of sustainability. The focus of the policymakers on organizational resilience can increase the socio-economic and environmental sustainability. The operational efficiency can strengthen the relationship between organizational resilience and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately predicting downhole risk before drilling in new exploration areas is one of the difficulties. Using intelligent algorithms to explore the complex relationship between multi-source data and downhole risk is a hot research topic and frontier in this field. However, due to the small number and uneven distribution of drilled wells in new exploration areas and the lack of sample data related to risk, the training model has insufficient generalization ability, and thus the prediction is not effective. In this paper, a drilling risk profile (depth domain) rich in geological and engineering information is constructed by introducing a quantitative evaluation method for drilling risk of drilled wells, which can provide sufficient risk sample data for model training and thus solve the small sample problem. For the problem of uneven distribution of drilling wells in new exploration areas, the concept of virtual wells and their deployment methods were proposed. Besides, two methods for calculating rock mechanical parameters of virtual wells were proposed, and the accuracy and applicability of the two methods are analyzed. The LSTM deep learning model was optimized to tap the quantitative relationship between drilling risk profiles and multi-source data (e.g., seismic, logging, and rock mechanical parameters). The model was validated to have an average relative error of 9.19%. The quantitative prediction of the drilling risk profile of the virtual well was achieved using the trained LSTM model and the calculation of the relevant parameters of the virtual well. Finally, based on the sequential Gaussian simulation method and the risk distribution of drilled and virtual wells, a regional 3D drilling risk model was constructed. The analysis of real cases shows that the addition of virtual wells can significantly improve the identification of regional drilling risks and the prediction accuracy of pre-drill drilling risks in unexplored areas can be improved by up to 21% compared with the 3D risk model constructed based on drilled wells only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large vertical pipes are key structures connecting subsea wells to offshore platforms. However, existing studies mainly focus on small vertical pipes. In a vertical acrylic pipe with 80 mm inner diameter and 11 m height, a high-speed camera was used to visually research the influences of pipe diameters, liquid properties and inlet effect on air-water co-flow characteristic. Different flow regime maps of vertical pipes (diameters are in the range of 50–189 mm) were compared and the critical gas velocity of the transition boundary from bubble to slug flow tended to increase with the increase of diameters at D ≥ 80 mm. Drift-flux models were established in different flow regimes and liquid properties have a significant effect on drift coefficients of bubble flow and slug flow (void fraction α ≤ 0.4). The influence of inlet turbulent effect on the gas-liquid interface distribution gradually weakened and disappeared from the pipe base to 85D, where the flow was fully developed. Slug frequency has a trend of increase first and then decrease with the gas Weber numbers increasing at low liquid superficial velocities (JL ≤ 0.31 m/s). And on the basis of this law, a new slug frequency correlation was proposed. It was found that there was an exponential relationship between the ratio of lengths of Taylor bubble to slug and the void fraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New taxonomic and faunistic data for two species of the genus Acidota Stephens, 1829 from China are provided. A new species from Xizang (Linzhi) is described and illustrated: A. dawai Peng & Chen, sp. nov. Additional data (including photographs of the habitus and the type labels) on the type specimens of taxa described from Japan (A. crenata japonica Watanabe, 1990) and Taiwan (A. montana Smetana, 1993 and A. nivicola Smetana, 1993) are given. A key to Chinese species of Acidota is given. Acidota crenata (Fabricius, 1792) is recorded from Heilongjiang for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L-Ascorbic acid (AsA) is more commonly known as vitamin C and is an indispensable compound for human health. As a major antioxidant, AsA not only maintains redox balance and resists biological and abiotic stress but also regulates plant growth, induces flowering, and delays senescence through complex signal transduction networks. However, AsA content varies greatly in horticultural crops, especially in fruit crops. The AsA content of the highest species is approximately 1,800 times higher than that of the lowest species. There have been significant advancements in the understanding of AsA accumulation in the past 20 years. The most noteworthy accomplishment was the identification of the critical rate-limiting genes for the 2 major AsA synthesis pathways (L-galactose pathway and D-galacturonic acid pathway) in fruit crops. The rate-limiting genes of the former are GMP, GME, GGP, and GPP, and the rate-limiting gene of the latter is GalUR. Moreover, APX, MDHAR, and DHAR are also regarded as key genes in degradation and regeneration pathways. Interestingly, some of these key genes are sensitive to environmental factors, such as GGP being induced by light. The efficiency of enhancing AsA content is high by editing upstream open reading frames (uORF) of the key genes and constructing multi-gene expression vectors. In summary, the AsA metabolism has been well understood in fruit crops, but the transport mechanism of AsA and the synergistic improvement of AsA and other traits is less known, which will be the focus of AsA research in fruit crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognition of the existence of an Andeantype continental margin in southern Tibet prior to its collision with India has provided crucial constraints on the formation of the Tibetan Plateau and South Asian climate evolution. Here, we focused on well-dated Late Cretaceous successions in the Linzhou Basin and determined the elevation changes from sea level to high mountains in the Gangdese magmatic arc in southern Tibet. Our results show that the Linzhou Basin was still submerged in the Tethyan Sea at around 92 Ma when it accumulated Cenomanian (ca. 105-92 Ma) shallow-marine orbitolinid-bearing limestones (Takena Formation); these limestones are unconformably overlain by Campanian (83-78 Ma) fluvial-lacustrine deposits (Shexing Formation) after an ~9 m.y. depositional hiatus. A prominent unconformity between the tightly folded Shexing Formation and gently tilted overlying Paleocene--Eocene Linzizong successions represents the formation of the regional Lhasaplano ca. 70 Ma, which may have been linked to the rise of an Andean-type Gangdese mountain range along the southern margin of the Lhasa terrane. Using carbonate oxygen isotope and clumped isotope thermometry data from the Shexing Formation paleosols, we quantitatively documented the rise of the Andeantype Gangdese Mountains with a peneplain surface at an elevation of 2.7 + 0.5/-0.9 km above sea level prior to onset of the India-Asia collision ca. 65-63 Ma. This scenario of surface gain may have been an isostatic compensation response to the crust thickening to over 50 km during the Late Cretaceous. Subsequently, the surface isostatically rose to its near-present elevation of ~4.6 km due to the removal of overthickened mantle lithosphere and revival of intense Gangdese magmatism by 56 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recommender systems relieve users from cognitive overloading by predicting preferred items for users. Due to the complexity of interactions between users and items, graph neural networks (GNN) use graph structures to effectively model user–item interactions. However, existing GNN approaches have the following limitations: (1) User reviews are not adequately modeled in graphs. Therefore, user preferences and item properties that are described in user reviews are lost for modeling users and items; and (2) GNNs assume deterministic relations between users and items, which lack the stochastic modeling to estimate the uncertainties in neighbor relations. To mitigate the limitations, we build tripartite graphs to model user reviews as nodes that connect with users and items. We estimate neighbor relations with stochastic variables and propose a Bayesian graph attention network (i.e., ContGraph) to accurately predict user ratings. ContGraph incorporates the prior knowledge of user preferences to regularize the posterior inference of attention weights. Our experimental results show that ContGraph significantly outperforms 13 state-of-the-artmodels and improves the best performing baseline (i.e., ANR) by 5.23% on 25 datasets in the five-core version. Moreover, we show that correctly modeling the semantics of user reviews in graphs can help express the semantics of users and items. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transient vortex dynamics within a microsecond-level acoustic cycle were numerically investigated when an orifice–cavity structure, which is a unit component of an acoustic liner, was subjected to high-intensity acoustic waves. Three-dimensional vortex-acoustic coupling fields were determined by solving the compressible linearized Navier–Stokes equations (LNSEs) and considering the nonlinear thermoviscous effect around the micro-orifice. First, the LNSE results were well validated by literature results in terms of the sound absorption coefficient, reflection coefficient, acoustic resistance, acoustic reactance, acoustic impedance, and the spatial features of acoustically induced vortex structures. Subsequent cross correlation analysis demonstrated that attenuated standing-waves were generated inside the back cavity when the incident acoustic wave propagated across the orifice. Aeroacoustic energy analysis revealed that the periodic production of vortex kinetic energy contributed more to the sound attenuation in the orifice structure than the viscous dissipation effect. Then, the acoustically induced vortex dynamics were characterized in terms of a phase-dependent evolution process, and the formation, convection, and dissipation regions were classified. Finally, dynamic mode decomposition analyses were conducted to extract the dominant vortex structures by determining their frequency spectra. The dominant modes contained large-scale vortices around the orifice, while the high-order modes contained a series of small-scale vortices toward the upstream incident tube and downstream cavity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the modern-like geomorphology and climate pattern of the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau were established still remains unclear. In this study, we apply paired stable isotope compositions of carbonate (d18Oc) and leaf waxderived n-alkanes (d2Halk) from the upper Gazhacun Formation in the Namling Basin to reconstruct the middle Miocene elevation and climate of southern Tibet. Depositional age of the upper Gazhacun Formation has been precisely constrained to between 15.5 Ma and 15.1 Ma by zircon U-Pb ages of dacite interlayers. Paired carbonate derived d18Ow values (-17.9 ± 1.3‰ to -18.3 ± 1.3‰) and leaf-wax derived d2Hw values (-131.5 ± 20‰ to -145.7 ± 20‰) plot on or very close to the global meteoric water line suggesting that these samples experienced little evaporation enrichment and isotopic alternation. Based on these two independent proxies, paleoelevation estimates for the Namling Basin are consistently between 4.6+0.7/-0.8 km and 5.2+0.7/-0.8 km, supporting a high elevation for southern Tibet in the mid-Miocene. Integrated with published paleoelevation estimates for the Himalaya, central and northern Tibet in literature, a near-present elevation across the whole Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau has already been established since the middle Miocene (ca. 15 Ma). Besides, stable isotopic values across the Himalaya-Tibetan Plateau show that the d2Hw values gradually increase northward from the Himalaya to northeastern Tibet, quite similar to that of the present day. This pattern suggests that during the middle Miocene, the Himalaya-Gangdese system may have blocked southerly monsoonal moisture from reaching northern Tibet. Westerlies or local recycling of moisture might be the dominant moisture sources across northern Tibet, with enriched d18Ow and d2Hw precipitation values that could lead to erroneous paleoelevation estimates over central and northern Tibet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the popularization and application of the Internet, information related application technology is constantly infiltrating in the work and life of human beings, playing an unprecedented and increasingly important role. In this paper, in order to completed the application of computer network information security technology management, the author established a security risk quantification model, according to some literature case, determined the operating parameters of genetic algorithm in the specific operation, the data were obtained in the actual system evaluation case, the calculation results using genetic algorithm phase multiplication, matrix method, and proposed the calculation method of risk quantitative model. The final research shows that it is effective and feasible to apply genetic algorithm to network information security technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Background: in recent years, n-3 PUFAs have been confirmed to be associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, but the link between n-3 PUFAs and stroke remains controversial. Objective: this study aimed to evaluate the association between n-3 PUFAs and stroke. Methods: we performed a comprehensive search of the following electronic databases: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and CNKI. Literature screening and quality assessment were performed according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Cochrane's tool was used to assess the methodological components of each study, and the Stata 15.1 software was used to perform the meta-analysis. Results: a total of 18 RCTs were included, and the meta-analysis showed no differences in vascular disease-related death between the n-3 PUFA and control groups (RR, 0.95, 95 % CI: 0.89 to 1.01, p = 0.114 > 0.05). However, there was a significant difference in the lower n-3 PUFA dose subgroup (RR, 0.93, 95 % CI: 0.87 to 0.99, p = 0.034 < 0.05). Oral administration of n-3 PUFAs did not significantly reduce the risk of the following cerebrovascular accidents: stroke (RR = 1.00, 95 % CI: 0.93 to 1.07, p = 0.983 > 0.05), ischemic stroke (RR = 0.99, 95 % CI: 0.896 to 1.094, p = 0.841 > 0.05), hemorrhagic stroke (RR = 1.249, 95 % CI: 0.939 to 1.662, p = 0.127 > 0.05) and TIA (RR = 1.016, 95 % CI: 0.882 to 1.170, p = 0.824 > 0.05). The levels of TC (SMD, -0.167, 95 % CI: -0.193 to -0.141, p = 0 < 0.05) and TG (SMD, -0.065, 95 % CI: -0.087 to -0.042, p = 0 < 0.05) in the n-3 PUFA group were significantly decreased, but no significant improvement in the LDL (SMD, 0.022, 95 % CI: 0.005 to 0.040, p = 0.889 > 0.05) and HDL (SMD, 0.008, 95 % CI: -0.009 to 0.025, p = 0.368 > 0.05) levels was observed. Conclusion: this systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that treatment with low-dose n-3 PUFAs can reduce cerebrovascular disease-related death. After the oral administration of n-3 PUFAs, the levels of TC and TG decreased significantly, but n-3 PUFAs did not prevent the occurrence of cerebrovascular accidents or improve LDL or HDL levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet has already become a medium for people to access information, express their views, and connect with one another through various media and tools as a result of its rapid global development. Web 2.0 has become increasingly important in people's daily lives. With the passing of time, many online communities, such as blogs, forums, and websites, are becoming more interactive. Individuals can easily express their opinions publicly and see what others say about their opinions. In a social network, an opinion leader is a powerful individual who is an expert in a particular field and has a large number of people who follow his or her comments or ideas. Companies and governments may contact the most powerful people after discovering them in order to influence sales or guide public opinion, respectively. In heterogeneous communication networks, opinion leaders serve as an influencer for the acceptance and dissemination of new products and users in marketing. Others' drives, values, perceptions, motivations, and actions can be influenced by opinion leaders. These influences have a major effect on other customers' policymaking processes. Opinion leaders come in a variety of demographic shapes; in general, they are committed, ambitious, and dynamic individuals with excellent academic and social edifications who persuade customers through their expert knowledge. Opinions and values are the most important variables in human experiences in social phenomena. The method of assessing opinions is extremely difficult since people often change their minds when speaking with others. The study of the evolution and formation of opinions in a social group is known as opinion dynamics, and it is based on collective decision-making. The bounded confidence rule is one of the intrinsic interaction principles in the dynamics of human actions. Many models have been created to date to explore the dynamics of leaders' decision-making. Due to the social network's high complexity and the randomness and contingency of their behavior, identifying opinion leaders in the network is difficult. Organizations and entrepreneurs must choose which opinion leaders to partner with to gain a deeper understanding of how to communicate with them to promote various goods and services. For the opinion leader's selection optimization, the proposed framework feature-based opinion leader selection is utilized using the ant colony optimization technique that selects the best opinion leader based on their unique features. The proposed method will address the opinion leader selection problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-pressure pneumatic pilot-driven on/off valve (HPPV) that quickly switches an air inlet line on and off was designed to meet the requirements of a compressed air ejection device with high pressure, high flow rate, and continuous ejection. An HPPV multi-physics field simulation model was established using AMESim simulation software based on the bond graph modeling approach that considered mechanical, gas flow, pipe heat exchange, and pilot valve operation, and experiments were conducted to check the simulation model accuracy. The effects of real gas thermodynamics, pipeline heat exchange, and pilot valve operation on the simulation model accuracy and those of different initial parameter conditions on the dynamic characteristics of the HPPV were investigated in the validated simulation model. The results indicated that the tolerance between simulation and experiment was less than 7.3%, so the simulation model was realistic and reliable. In addition, among the different influencing factors, the pipeline heat transfer significantly affected the simulation model accuracy, and the tolerance between the simulation results without considering the pipeline heat exchange and the experimental results exceeded 10%. The real gas thermal effect slightly affected the simulation model accuracy, and the tolerance between the simulation results under the action of each gas state equation was less than 3%. The pilot valve operation affected only the opening and closing moments of the HPPV and had no effect on the simulation model accuracy. The dynamic characteristics of the HPPV were stable and reliable under different initial parameter conditions. [Display omitted] • The HPPV were designed and the performances of it was experimented to verify. • The simulation method in this paper can well predict the HPPV behaviors. • The factors affecting the modeling accuracy of HPPV were investigated. • The dynamic characteristics of the HPPV under different conditions are revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shear band propagation is the internal cause of the deformation and failure of landslides and is associated with much of the damage and loss of life. Understanding how the shear band develops will affect the process of slope deformation is thus of great interest. However, little investigation has been conducted studying the correlation between the slope deformation and the shear band propagation due to the inability to see through the shear band in traditional soil materials. By using transparent soil as a surrogate of natural cement soil, we achieve the visualization of the shear band in a laboratory slope model test, in which the failure was deliberately triggered by top-loading. The temporal evolution of the shear band length and the slope deformation are measured by tracking the tip of shear band and the feature points on slope surface using a commercial software After Effects. The spatial distribution of the shear band thickness and spatial deformation of the slope surface are separately measured based on the image measurement technology in OpenCV and PIVlab, respectively. The results suggest that the geometry of the shear band has a significant influence on the slope deformation. In particular, the velocity of the slope deformation changes synchronously with the speed of the shear band evolution. The spatial differentiation of the slope deformation exhibits a high correlation with the shear band thickness. This is the first time observing that the slope deformation at different locations can be combined to assess the slope stability more precisely by revealing the evolution of shear band geometry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactions of laser-ablated Mo and W atoms with the N2O molecules in excess argon have been investigated using matrix-isolation infrared spectroscopy. In the reaction of the N2O molecule with the Mo atom, the absorptions at 1960.3 and 934.4 cm-1 are assigned to the N–N and Mo–O stretching vibrations of the OMoNN complex, respectively. An analogous OWNN complex has also been observed in the W+N2O reaction. Infrared spectroscopy also provides evidence for the formation of the OW(NN)2 complexes. Density functional theory calculations have been performed on the products. Overall agreement between the experimental and calculated vibrational frequencies, relative absorption intensities, and isotopic shifts supports the identification of these species from the matrix infrared spectra. Furthermore, a plausible reaction mechanism for the formation of these products has been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Making use of the molecular closed-orbit theory and a new model potential for the Rydberg molecule, we calculated the recurrence spectra of HeH+ molecule ion in a magnetic field for different quantum defects. The Fourier transformed spectra of HeH+ molecule ion have allowed direct comparison between peaks in the spectra and the scaled action values of closed orbits of the excited electron in the external fields. We find that the spectral modulations can be analyzed in terms of the scattering of the excited electron on the molecular core. Unlike the case of the Rydberg atom where the elastic scattering is predominant, modulations produced by inelastic scattering are also vital to the photoabsorption spectrum of Rydberg molecule. Our results are in good agreement with the quantum results, which suggest that our method is correct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of carbon monoxide with 3d metal dimers (scandium through zinc) has been examined using six different exchange-correlation density functionals. Results are compared to the relevant experimental values and to other theoretical investigations when available, and the overall agreement has been obtained. The BP86 functional gives calculated C–O stretching vibrational frequencies much closer to the experimental values than the B3P86, B3LYP, mPW1PW91, and PBE1PBE functionals, and furthermore, replacing the correlation part by the Lee–Yang–Parr correlation functional yields essentially the same results. It is generally found that on going from left to right across the 3d metal series, the preference for geometrical configuration is from side-on-bonded mode to bridging, and then to terminal, whereas Ni2CO adopts bridging mode. Particularly, the present computation reveals a significant tendency toward four-electron donor carbonyl groups with metal-oxygen bonds with the early transition metals scandium and titanium. The C–O stretching vibrational frequencies in the ground states of M2CO (M=Sc to Zn) increase generally from the left to the right side of the Periodic Table. The binding energies exhibit an overall decrease trend. These general trends in the interaction of carbon monoxide with 3d metal dimers mirror the main features of CO adsorption on transition metal surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To observe the effect of painless abdominal acupuncture on obstetric and gynecological urinary retention. Method: Sixty patients with postpartum urinary retention were randomly divided into two groups. The observation group (30 cases) was treated with painless abdominal acupuncture; and, the control group (30 cases) was treated with neostigmine acupoint injection. Result: The effective rate of the observation group was 96.67%, which was significantly better than that of the control group (76.67%). Conclusion: Painless abdominal acupuncture shows obvious improvement in the clinical symptoms of patients with obstetric and gynecological urinary retention. It also produces a good curative effect, and is worthy of clinical promotion and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious environmental problems, growing demand for energy, and the pursuit of environmental-friendly, sustainable, and effective energy technologies to store and transform clean energy have all drawn great attention recently. As a part of the special issue “Energy Research in National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)” this review systematically summarizes the research progress of metal–organic framework (MOF) composites and derivatives in energy applications, including catalytic CO oxidation, liquid-phase chemical hydrogen storage, and electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Furthermore, the correlation between MOF-based structures, synthetic strategies, and their corresponding performances is carefully discussed. The further scope and opportunities, expected improvements and challenges are also discussed. This review will not only benefit development of more feasible protocols to fabricate nanostructures for energy systems but also stimulate further interest in MOF composites and derivatives, for energy applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effect of blebbistatin (BLEB, a selective myosin inhibitor) on regulating contractility and growth of prostate cells and to provide insight into possible mechanisms associated with these actions. BLEB was incubated with cell lines of BPH-1 and WPMY-1, and intraprostatically injected into rats. Cell growthwas determined by flow cytometry, and in vitro organ bath studies were performed to exploremuscle contractility. Smoothmuscle (SM) myosin isoform (SM1/2, SM-A/B, and LC17a/b) expression was determined via competitive reverse transcriptase PCR. SM myosin heavy chain (MHC), non-muscle (NM) MHC isoforms (NMMHC-A and NMMHC-B), and proteins related to cell apoptosis were further analyzed via Western blotting. Masson's trichrome staining was applied to tissue sections. BLEB could dose-dependently trigger apoptosis and retard the growth of BPH-1 and WPMY-1. Consistent with in vitro effect, administration of BLEB to the prostate could decrease rat prostatic epithelial and SM cells via increased apoptosis. Western blotting confirmed the effects of BLEB on inducing apoptosis through a mechanism involving MLC20 dephosphorylation with down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of BAX and cleaved caspase 3. Meanwhile, NMMHC-A and NMMHC-B, the downstream proteins of MLC20, were found significantly attenuated in BPH-1 and WPMY-1 cells, as well as rat prostate tissues. Additionally, BLEB decreased SM cell number and SM MHC expression, along with attenuated phenylephrine-induced contraction and altered prostate SMM isoform composition with up-regulation of SM-B and down-regulation of LC17a, favoring a faster contraction. Our novel data demonstrate BLEB regulated myosin expression and functional activity. The mechanism involved MLC20 dephosphorylation and altered SMM isoform composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deep suboccipital muscles has been shown to connect the spinal dura mater via dense connective tissue termed the myodural bridge (MDB). The MDB has both physiological and clinical implications. Data on morphological and imaging anatomical parameters of the deep suboccipital muscles are scare. In this study, T2-weighted images of rectus capitis posterior major (RCPma) and obliqus capitis inferior (OCI) of 109 healthy adults were obtained by 0-degree sagittal and 30-degree oblique sagittal continuous MRI scanning of the head and neck of the subjects. Sectional area parameters of the RCPma and the OCI were measured. The 0-degree sagittal section was measured with 5 mm bias from the median sagittal plane, the sectional area of the RCPma was 186.34± 55.02 mm2 on the left, and 202.35± 59.76 mm2 on the right. The sectional area of OCI was 221.72± 68.99 mm2 on the left, and 224.92± 61.34 mm2 on the right; At the section with 30-degree bias from the oblique sagittal plane, the sectional area of RCPma was 183.30± 42.24 mm2 in males, and 133.05± 26.44 mm2 in females. The sectional area of OCI was 254.81± 46.20 mm2 in males, and 167.42± 27.85 mm2 in females. Significant sex difference exists in the sectional areas of the RCPma and OCI, the values of the male subjects were predominantly larger (P < 0.05), however there were no age-related significant difference. The sectional area of RCPma is bilateral asymmetric, the RCPma on the right side is larger than that of the left side (P < 0.05), but the OCI is bilaterally symmetric (P >0.05). The MRI image features, imaging anatomical data and sexual dimorphism of the RCPma and the OCI are presented in this study. This imaging anatomical data will be useful for functional and clinical studies on the RCPma, OCI, and the MDB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research has been carried out to elicit the mechanism of antiangiogenic activity of a fusion peptide P2. Peptide P2 was designed by the connection of a heptapeptide MMP inhibitor to ES-2, a fragment of Endostatin. In a previous study, P2 demonstrated strong antiangiogenic and antitumor effect, and the current work explains the antiangiogenic mechanism of P2 through endothelial cell proliferation and apoptosis. In our study, it was shown that P2 inhibited HUVECs proliferation at a low serum concentration and this effect might be achieved through arresting cell cycle by decreasing the expression level of Cyclin D1. In addition, P2 was found to induce apoptosis of HUVECs. Using Western blot, it was indicated that P2 induced the cleavage of Caspase-3, the hallmark protease of apoptosis. The activation and expression of the upstream regulator Caspase-9 can also be affected by P2 treatment. Furthermore, P2 reduced the protein level of antiangiogenic factors Bcl-xL and Bcl-2. These results revealed that P2 regulates endothelial cell apoptosis through intrinsic apoptotic pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast and slow earthquakes are two modes of energy release by the slip in tectonic fault rupture. Although fast and slow slips were observed in the laboratory stick-slip experiments, due to the sampling rate limitation, the details of the fault thickness variation were poorly understood. Especially, why a single fault would show different modes of slip remains elusive. Herein, we report on ring shear experiments with an ultrahigh sampling rate (10 MHz) that illuminate the different physical processes between fast and slow slip events. We show that the duration of slips ranged from dozens to hundreds of milliseconds. Fast slip events are characterized by continuous large-amplitude AE (acoustic emission) and somewhat intricate variation of the sample thickness: A short compaction pulse during the rapid release of stress is followed by dilation and vibrations of the sample thickness. As the slip ends, the thickness of the sample first recovers by slow compaction and then dilates again before nucleation of the following slip event. In contrast, during slow slip events, the shear stress reduction is accompanied by intermittent bursts of low-amplitude AE and sample dilation. We observed the detailed thickness variation during slips and found that dilation occurs during both fast and slow slips, which is consistent with natural observations of coseismic dilatation. This study may be used to reveal the mechanism of fault slips during fast and slow earthquakes, which explain the potential effect of fast and slow slips on stress redistribution and structural rearrangement in faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distance vector-hop (DV-hop) is a classical node localisation method for wireless sensor networks. Its main advantages are ease of use and excellent scalability, but its shortcomings are also very prominent for the high requirements on the network topology and low localisation accuracy in practical applications. An amended DV-hop strategy is provided to improve the shortcomings of the classical DV-hop including two aspects: one is that an N-gram model is adopted to amend the distances between unknown nodes and beacons and the other is that a weighed Levenberg-Marquardt method is adopted to optimise the unknown nodes' initial positions. Simulation results show that compared with the original DV-hop method and the other two typical improved methods, our proposed strategy improves the adaptability of the DV-hop class methods to network topology changes, and the localisation accuracy is significantly enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The boil-off gas (BOG) generation at LNG (liquefied natural gas) exporting terminals is significant and should be minimized and/or recycled efficiently and effectively. In this work, the study of BOG generation, minimization, and recovery has been performed for a typical LNG plant with C3MR (propane precooled mixed refrigerant) process, storage facility, loading facility, and LNG ship with four moss-type spherical tanks. Plant-wide dynamic simulations are employed to quantify dynamic BOG generations during loading and holding mode, under various LNG temperatures at LNG exporting terminals. On the basis of multiple case studies, optimum LNG temperatures under different LNG subcooling and BOG recovery strategies have been identified for the sake of total energy consumptions. This study provides valuable information about the effect of LNG subcooling temperature on BOG generation, which would help in operating LNG plants at optimum conditions and economically minimize BOG generation and recovering BOG at LNG exporting terminals. Conceivably, the resultant benefits are not only for the environmental sustainability (reduce emissions), but also for the LNG industry sustainability (save raw materials/energy and increase productivity). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of ethylene epoxidation over methyltrioxorhenium (MTO) catalyst could save the world from global warming since the epoxidation reaction never produces carbon dioxide as byproduct. Unlike the conventional gas epoxidation reaction with oxygen, this reaction takes place in the (ethylene) gas-expanded liquid solvent phase (methanol) while the reaction oxidant is hydrogen peroxide. The reaction takes place at temperatures and pressures close to the ethylene critical point (Pc = 50.42 bar; Tc = 48.56 °F) (Gas Encyclopedia by Air Liquide, https://encyclopedia.airliquide.com/ethylene). In this paper, an optimized design and operation for MTO based ethylene oxide (EO) production processes has been developed, which has less manufacturing costs compared with the one from the current literature ( Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2013, 52, 18−29). The developed EO system could produce 200,000 tons of ethylene oxide per year at a purity of 99.9%. It has two reactors for ethylene epoxidation and hydrogen peroxide decomposition, one flash drum, and three distillation columns for product and recycled material purification. The design has secured the safety of the operation by not presenting oxygen and flammable vapor mixtures in any of the process equipment. The EO manufacturing costs $0.52 per pound, and the fixed capital investment of the project is $66,240,000, which is estimated to be paid back after 7.3 years, while the net present value is $56,900,000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ultrashort polarization splitter based on dual-core photonic crystal fibers with gold wire has been proposed. Based on the beam propagation method with anisotropic perfectly matched layers, its polarization splitter coupling length, coupling length ratio, extinction ratio (ER), and bandwidth are numerically investigated. When the gold thread is filled in the fiber, the surface of the gold wire will produce the surface plasmon polaritons, which has certain influence on the beam propagation. A polarization splitter with shorter length and greater working bandwidth can be obtained by filling the gold wire. Numerical results demonstrate that the polarization splitter possesses extremely the length of 290 µmand high ER of -56.5 dB at the wavelength of 1.55 µm. Moreover, the polarization splitter is proposed to achieve ER better than -10 dB and a bandwidth of 19.2 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different scale tests to explore the influence of fiberglass mesh on the fire behavior of expanded polystyrene (EPS) have been conducted. Micro scale combustion calorimeter to measure the heat release rate per unit mass, heat release capacity, and the total heat release of EPS and as well as the fiberglass for milligram specimen mass has been used. Cone colorimeter bench scale burning tests with the EPS specimens and EPS-fiberglass compound specimens have been carried out. The heat release rate per unit area, ignition times, and the derived minimum igniting heat fluxes were determined. Comparative burning tests on the fire spread tendency of EPS and EPS-fiberglass compound specimens have been carried out. It was established that the fiberglass mesh stabilizes the EPS fire as a wick fire due to the adherence of the melting polystyrene adheres to the fiberglass mesh and this causes an upwards fire spread. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel visible-light-induced aza-pinacol rearrangement was developed for the first time. In this approach, the addition of the N-centered radical to the C═C bond of alkylidenecyclopropanes delivers a variety of cyclobutanimines and γ-butyrolactones, with all-carbon quaternary centers via the ring expansion of the cyclopropyl group, in moderate to good yields under mild reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with sharp boundary regularity estimates in homogenization of the Dirichlet problem for Stokes systems. We obtain Lipschitz estimates for the velocity and L∞ estimate for the pressure, under some reasonable smoothness assumption on rapidly oscillating periodic coefficients. We find a new way to obtain the sharp u niform boundary L∞ estimates without imposing the symmetry assumption on coefficients. Additionally, we emphasize that the estimate for the pressure does require the O(ε1/2) convergence rate, locally at least, compared to O(ελ) for the velocity with λ ∊ (0,1/2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of combined general‑epidural anesthesia (CGEA) and total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) on cellular immunity and prognosis in patients with non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in a Chinese population. One‑hundred and twenty NSCLC patients were randomly divided into a TIVA group (n=60) and a CGEA group (n=60) using a random number table. All patients underwent video‑assisted thoracoscopic surgery for radical resection. Blood pressure (BP) and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) were measured. Post‑operative analgesic effects were evaluated with a visual analog scale pain score. Flow cytometry was applied to measure T lymphocyte subsets [cluster of differentiation (CD)3+, CD4+, CD8+ and CD4+/CD8+] and natural killer cell CD56+. A 3‑year follow‑up was conducted to observe the prognosis. The analgesic effects of CGEA were identified to be better than those of TIVA. Compared with the TIVA group, the CGEA group demonstrated a shorter time of spontaneous breathing recovery, eyes opening, and extubation, lower heart rate, blood pressure and mean arterial pressure, and higher SpO2. At 24 and 48 h after surgery, CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ and CD56+ in the CGEA group were higher than those in the TIVA group. At 72 h after surgery, CD3+, CD4+, CD4+/CD8+ in the CGEA group were higher than those in the TIVA group. These results indicate that CGEA and TIVA effected cellular immunity, and CGEA had a reduced effect on cellular immunity and improved postoperative analgesic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An eight-port antenna array designed for future 5G 2.6 GHz band (2550-2650 MHz) for multi-input multi-output (MIMO) in the smartphone applications is presented. In order to enhance the port isolation and reduce correlation between antennas, square loop radiating strip with orthogonal polarisation is employed. The proposed antenna array is composed of four pairs of uniform antenna elements that are symmetrically placed at the four corners of the main board, and each antenna pair includes a communal square loop and two independently coupled feeding strips. By exciting the square loop from the two feeding strips, respectively, two orthogonally polarised waves are generated. Thus, four horizontally polarised and four vertically polarised antennas are achieved in total. Due to this feature, coupling between antenna pairs is reduced and the MIMO performances are enhanced. A prototype of the proposed antenna array was fabricated, and the experimental results show good impedance matching and acceptable isolation measured across the bands of interest. The MIMO performances such as envelope correlation coefficient, mean effective gain, multiplexing efficiency and channel capacity are also calculated. Besides, simulations of the antenna shifted to 3.5 GHz are also performed. The consistent performances indicate that the proposed structure has good scalability and is promising for future 5G smartphone applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melt/shrink effects on the fire behavior of low density thermoplastic foam have been studied in a cone calorimeter. The experiments have been performed with four samples of expanded polystyrene foams having different thicknesses and two extruded polystyrene foams. Decrease in surface area and increase in density, characterizing the melt/shrink effect have been measured at different incident heat fluxes. Three of these foams tested have been also examined by burning tests at an incident heat flux of 50 kW/m2. It was assessed that the fire behavior predictions based the current literature models provided incorrect results if the cone test results were applied directly. However, the correct models provided adequate results when the initial burning area and the density of the molten foam were used to correct the initial cone calorimeter data. This communication refers to the fact that both the effective burning area and the density of the molten foam affect the cone calorimeter data, which requires consequent corrections to attain adequate predictions of models about the materials fire behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past findings confirm that the Rectus Capitis Posterior minor (RCPmi) is connected to the cervical spinal dura mater via the Myodural Bridge (MDB) through the posterior antlanto-occipital interspace. It is hypothesized to perform some functions. Furthermore, some clinical studies found that the pathology of RCPmi might be related to chronic headaches. But few studies were related to the morphological parameters of the RCPmi. It would be conducive to performing clinical researches on the RCPmi and MDB. To explore the optimal section for measuring the RCPmi by MRI and provide imaging anatomy parameters of the RCPmi for clinical research. The RCPmi was measured in the dissection of 10 formalin-fixed cadaver specimens. The morphological parameters of the RCPmi were obtained. Based on these parameters, T2-weighted images of the RCPmi were collected from 109 healthy adults by using the MRIs with different oblique sagittal scanning angles. The parameters of length and area of the RCPmi on the scanning sections were measured using MRI workstation and Mimics software. The length of RCPmi reached a maximum at 30 degrees scanning leaned from the posterior median line through the dens of the axis in oblique sagittal section. At this scanning section, the length of RCPmi was 21.2 ± 2.6 mm in males and 19.3 ± 2.4 mm in females and the area of RCPmi was 91.9 ± 27.2 mm2 in males and 73.3 ± 22 mm2 in females. These parameters of RCPmi were present with significant gender differences (P < 0.05) but was not age related. Thirty degrees leaned from the median line was suggested to be the optimum scanning angle to display the RCPmi in oblique sagittal section. The reference values of length and area of the RCPmi were established for studies of hypertrophy or amyotrophy of the RCPmi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To explore the role of leonurine in the regulation of synovial inflammation and joint destruction inRA. Methods. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes were isolated from synovial tissue from RA patients. Pro-inflammatory cytokine and MMP expression was evaluated using real-time PCR and a cytometric bead array. Cell migration and invasion in vitro were measured using the Boyden chamber method and the scratch assay, respectively. Protein expression was measured by western blotting. Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) nuclear translocation was detected by immunofluorescence. The in vivo effect of leonurine was evaluated in mice with CIA. Results. Leonurine treatment significantly decreased the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and TNFα) and MMPs (MMP-1 and MMP-3) and suppressed the migration and invasion of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes. The molecular analysis revealed that leonurine impaired TNFα-induced NF-κB signalling by inhibiting the phosphorylation and degradation of inhibitor of NF-κB alpha (IκBα) and subsequently preventing the nuclear translocation of the NF-κB p65 subunit. Leonurine also inhibited the p38 and Jun N-terminal kinase mitogen-activated protein kinases signalling pathways without affecting ERK signalling. Intraperitoneal injection of leonurine reduced synovial inflammation, joint destruction and the serum IL-1β, IL-6 and TNFα levels in mice with CIA. Conclusion. Our findings show that leonurine reduces synovial inflammation and joint destruction in RA through the NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinases pathways. Leonurine has potential as a therapeutic agent for RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conspectus To meet the ever-increasing energy demand, the development of effective, renewable, and environmentally friendly sources of alternative energy is imperative. Hydrogen (H2) is a renewable, clean energy carrier, which exhibits a threefold energy density compared to gasoline; H2 is considered one of the most promising alternative energy carriers for enabling a secure, clean energy future. However, the realization of a hydrogen economy is restricted by several unresolved issues. Particularly, one of the most difficult challenges is the development of a safe, efficient hydrogen storage and delivery system. To this end, hydrogen storage techniques based on liquid-phase chemical hydrogen storage materials have become an attractive choice. Formic acid (FA) with a high volumetric capacity of 53 g H2/L demonstrates promise as a safe, convenient liquid hydrogen carrier. However, generating H2 from FA in a controlled manner at ambient temperature is still challenging, which primarily depends on the catalyst used. Hence, for practical purposes, it is imperative to develop high-performance heterogeneous catalysts for the dehydrogenation of FA. Ultrasmall metal NPs with a high surface-to-volume ratio and "clean" surface, and hence a high density of active sites exposed to reactants, are of significance for heterogeneous catalysis. However, the size of these "clean" ultrasmall metal NPs inevitably increase, and these particles undergo aggregation during synthesis and catalysis because of their high surface energy. The immobilization of metal NPs into appropriate support materials affords considerable advantages for catalytic applications, which not only offers spatial confinement to control the nucleation and growth of particles, but also prevents them from aggregation; hence, catalytic performance is significantly enhanced. In addition, the functionalization of the support with electron-rich groups is beneficial to the formation of intermediates for FA dehydrogenation, which in turn promotes the catalytic performance. In this Account, studies of hydrogen generation from FA using heterogeneous catalysts were reviewed, mainly focusing on the results reported by our group. By varying support materials (metal-organic frameworks, silica, graphene, and porous carbons) and synthetic strategies, a wide range of highly active metal NP catalysts for efficient H2 generation from FA under mild conditions were developed. In addition, the design and synthetic strategies were described, by which the size and composition of the NPs, as well as the well-defined NPs-support interactions, can be controlled for the enhancement of catalytic performance for the FA dehydrogenation. Furthermore, the performance of the prepared catalysts for the effective release of H2 from FA for the purpose of liquid-phase chemical hydrogen storage was discussed. Finally, the challenges, expected improvements, and future opportunities in this research area were summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging as a new family of hybrid crystalline materials, bimetallic porous metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have received great attention in gas storage and separation. We present a critical perspective on the construction of bimetallic MOFs, involving one-step synthesis and postsynthetic modification, and their applications in gas storage and separation. In particular, several examples of bimetallic MOFs have been provided to better understand of why such MOFs are so unique for these applications. We hope that the present perspective will inspire chemists working in this area to rationally design/develop new bimetallic MOFs for advanced applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tsaoling Landslide in Taiwan has captured attentions of researchers worldwide due to its frequent catastrophic failure and distinctive features. Thanks to the launch of TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X (TSX/TDX) constellation, retrieval of global DEM with high spatial resolution and accuracy becomes possible, which is extremely useful for the study of natural hazards (e.g., landslides) globally. We attempt here for the first time to track recent landslide movements in Tsaoling Taiwan by analyzing DEM time series reconstructed from TSX/TDX image pairs. Quality improvement of InSAR derived DEM through an iterated differential operation is addressed during the data processing. Five cliffs and the Chingshui River are selected to determine the spatial pattern of morphologic changes of the landslide. The results show that: (a) A large amount of collapses occurred on dip slopes in the period from 2011 to 2014 and on surrounding debris deposits during the rainy seasons; (b) The average recession rate of the Chunqui Cliff decreased from 24.4 m/yr to 19.6 m/yr compared with the result between 1999 and 2009; (c) The Tsaoling Landslide has lost 6.90 × 106 m³ of soil from November of 2011 to April of 2014, which shows a positive correlation of 0.853 with rainfall; (d) The Chingshui River is undergoing a gradual bed erosion with a volumes of 1.84 × 106 m³. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A photocatalytic cascade cyclization of 1,7-enynes with acyl chlorides has been established. This method offers an operationally simple access to diverse fused pyran derivatives with a broad substrate scope in high yields from simple acyl chlorides via an acyl radical intermediate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic hohlraum (DH) is an approach to Inertial Confinement Fusion, and its X-ray radiation can be widely used in high energy density physics. The shock wave in dynamic hohlraum is important because it heats the foam to high radiation temperatures. Here, we proposed a simple model to describe the shock wave in the dynamic hohlraum. Based on the Rocket ablation model, this simple shock model connects the wire-array implosion phase and the shock formation phase. We also use the experimental result of dynamic hohlraum with a heavy foam mass acquired on primary test stand to verify this model. This simple shock model helps researchers to estimate when and where the collision happens so that researchers could understand the physics in DH more clearly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Powdery mildew (PM) is one of the most severe fungal diseases of cucurbits, but the molecular mechanisms underlying PM resistance in cucumber remain elusive. In this study, we developed a PM resistant segment substitution line SSL508-28 that carried a segment on chromosome five representing the Pm5.1 locus from PM resistant donor Jin5-508 using marker-assisted backcrossing of an elite PM susceptible cucumber inbred line D8. Results: Whole-genome resequencing of SSL508-28, Jin5-508 and D8 was performed to identify the exact boundaries of the breakpoints for this introgression because of the low density of available single sequence repeat markers. This led to the identification of a ~6.8 Mb substituted segment predicted to contain 856 genes. RNA-seq was used to study gene expression differences in PM treated (plants harvested 48 h after inoculation) and untreated (control) SSL508-28 and D8 lines. Exactly 1,248 and 1,325 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in SSL508-28 and D8, respectively. Of those, 88 DEGs were located in the ~6.8 Mb segment interval. Based on expression data and annotation, we identified 8 potential candidate genes that may participate in PM resistance afforded by Pm5.1, including two tandemly arrayed genes encoding receptor protein kinases, two transcription factors, two genes encoding remorin proteins, one gene encoding a P-type ATPase and one gene encoding a 70 kDa heat shock protein. The transcriptome data also revealed a complex regulatory network for Pm5. 1-mediated PM resistance that may involve multiple signal regulators and transducers, cell wall modifications and the salicylic acid signaling pathway. Conclusion: These findings shed light on the cucumber PM defense mechanisms mediated by Pm5.1 and provided valuable information for the fine mapping of Pm5.1 and breeding of cucumber with enhanced resistance to PM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to detect the early expression of macrophage-inducible C-type lectin (Mincle) and investigate its role in the innate immune response of fungal keratitis (FK). Methodology: Wistar rats were used to make fungal keratitis models. The inflammatory responses and corneal lesions were observed by slitlamp microscope.RT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, and immunofluorescence were used to detect the expression of Mincle in the rat corneal epithelium. The expression of eight cytokines (CXCL1, CXCL2, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, CCL2, CCL3) were detected by real-time RTPCR and immunohistochemistry. Lastly, corneal epithelium of 54 patients with Aspergillus fumigatus keratitis and 13 ocular trauma patients were collected to detect expression of Mincle by real-time RT-PCR, and 12 FK and 10 ocular trauma paraffin samples were collected to confirm expression of Mincle by immunohistochemistry. Results: The expression of Mincle was significantly upregulated at 4, 8, 16, and 24 hours after fungal infection. There were significant differences in the expression of the eight inflammatory cytokines between the blank control group and the fungus-infected group. Mincle expression was correlated with the expression of TNF-a, IL-1β, IL-10, and CCL3 in the cornea. The mRNA expressions of Mincle in the corneas of both normal and FK patients were significantly different. Conclusions: The expression of Mincle increases significantly during the early period of Aspergillus fumigatus infection, while expression of eight corresponding cytokines changes. Mincle, as a pattern recognition receptor, may play a role in the early innate immune response of the corneal resistance against fungus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on experiments in which a magnetically driven plasma jet was used to hit a 500 μm thick planar aluminum target. The plasma jet was produced by using a 50 μm thick aluminum radial foil, which was subjected to 4 MA, 90 ns rising time current on the primary test stand pulsed power facility. The subsequent magnetic bubbles propagate with radial velocity reaching 200 km/s and an axial velocity of 230 km/s. After the plasma knocks onto the target, a shock forms in the target. When the shock gets to the backside of the target, we measure the velocity of the moving surface using dual laser heterodyne velocimetry. By using the Hugoniot relations, we know that the plasma jet produced a pressure of 33 GPa. According to the measured pressure and the velocity of the plasma jet, the density of the jet can be also roughly estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper extends the results obtained by Kenig, Lin, and Shen [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal., 203 (2012), pp. 1009--1036] to more general elliptic homogenization problems in two perspectives: lower order terms in the operator and no smoothness on th e coefficients. We do not repeat their arguments. Instead we find the new weighted-type estimates for the smoothing operator at scale e, and combining some techniques developed by Shen in [preprint, arXiv:1505.00694v1, 2015] leads to our main results. In addition, we also obtain sharp O(ε) convergence rates in Lp with p = 2d/(d - 1), which were originally established by Shen for elasticity systems in [preprint, arXiv:1505.00694v1, 2015]. Also, this work may be regarded as the extension of [T. Suslina, Mathematika, 59 (2013), pp. 463-476; T. Suslina SIAM J. Math. Anal, 45 (2013), pp. 3453-3493] developed by Suslina concerned with the bounded Lipschitz domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel efficient approach to optically pure bridging chiral calix[4]arenes through a homologous anionic ortho-Fries rearrangement of inherently chiral calix[4]arenes was presented for the first time. As a result, two pairs of N,N′-dimethylformamidyl-substituted bridging chiral p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene enantiomers were facilely obtained. Their absolute configurations were determined through ROESY analysis, ECD comparison, and X-ray crystallographic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Saikosaponin (SS) A is a compound with various pharmacological properties and is easily degraded into SS-B1 and SS-G under acid conditions. In the present work, two new degradation products of SS-A, formed under acid hydrolytic conditions, were detected and isolated using analytical and semi-preparative liquid chromatography technology; furthermore, their structures were characterized as hydroxy-saikosaponin A and SS-B2 by spectral analysis, which is not only essential in stability-indicating method development and validation, but also could be used as a worst case scenario to assess the analytical method performance of SS-A. Moreover, their structural transformation pathways are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical model of Z-pinch driven magneto-Rayleigh-Taylor instability is proposed based on the particle drift point of view, which can explain the helical instability structure observed in premagnetized imploding liner experiments. It is demonstrated that all possible drift motions, including polarization drift, gradient drift, and curvature drift, which can lead to charge separations, each will attribute to an effective gravity acceleration. Theoretical predictions given by this model are dramatically different from those given by previous theories which have been readily recovered in the theory presented here as a limiting case. The theory shows qualitative agreement with available experimental data of the pitch angle and provides certain predictions to be verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 68-year-old man presented with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The glycoprotein/IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist tirofiban was administered to the patient to treat a right coronary artery slow flow detected during percutaneous coronary intervention. The patient developed very severe thrombocytopenia 8 h after tirofiban infusion with no signs of bleeding. Antiplatelet medication was discontinued immediately, methylprednisolone was administered and platelets were transfused. Thrombopoietin (TPO) was also applied to the patient as recommended by a hematology consultant. As a result, the patient had in-stent thrombosis and cerebral infarction, then another sirolimus-eluting stent was implanted in the proximal right coronary artery and intensive anti-platelet as well as intermittent dehydration to reduce intracranial pressure, and protection of the nervous system function treatment was also provided. The patient was left with a decreased muscle strength in the right limb muscle and fine movement disorder, which may have lead to a poor prognosis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of tirofiban-induced severe thrombocytopenia with secondary in-stent thrombosis and cerebral infarction from China. The experience of the diagnosis and treatment of this case may shed some light on the clinical use of TPO in tirofiban-induced thrombocytopenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]