Search

Abstract The incorporation of randomness into stochastic computing can provide ample opportunities for applications such as simulated annealing, non‐polynomial hard problem solving, and Bayesian neuron networks. In these cases, a considerable number of random numbers with an accurate and configurable probability distribution function (PDF) are indispensable. Preferably, these random numbers are provided at the hardware level to improve speed, efficiency, and parallelism. In this paper, how spin‐orbit torque magnetic tunnel junctions (SOT‐MTJs) with high barriers are suitable candidates for the desired true random number generators is demonstrated. Not only do these SOT‐MTJs perform excellently in speed and endurance, but their randomness can also be conveniently and precisely controlled by a writing voltage, which makes them a well‐performed Bernoulli bit. By utilizing these SOT‐MTJ‐based Bernoulli bits, any PDF, including Gaussian, uniform, exponential, Chi‐square, and even arbitrarily defined distributions can be realized. These PDF‐configurable true random number generators can then promise to advance the development of stochastic computing and broaden the applications of the SOT‐MTJs.

Abstract Electronic processors are reaching the physical speed ceiling that heralds the era of optical processors. Multifunctional all-optical logic gates (AOLGs) of massively parallel processing are of great importance for large-scale integrated optical processors with speed far in excess of electronics, while are rather challenging due to limited operation bandwidth and multifunctional integration complexity. Here we for the first time experimentally demonstrate a reconfigurable all-in-one broadband AOLG that achieves nine fundamental Boolean logics in a single configuration, enabled by ultrabroadband (400–4000 nm) plasmon-enhanced thermo-optical nonlinearity (TONL) of liquid-metal Galinstan nanodroplet assemblies (GNAs). Due to the unique heterogeneity (broad-range geometry sizes, morphology, assembly profiles), the prepared GNAs exhibit broadband plasmonic opto-thermal effects (hybridization, local heating, energy transfer, etc.), resulting in a huge nonlinear refractive index under the order of 10−4−10−5 within visual-infrared range. Furthermore, a generalized control-signal light route is proposed for the dynamic TONL modulation of reversible spatial-phase shift, based on which nine logic functions are reconfigurable in one single AOLG configuration. Our work will provide a powerful strategy on large-bandwidth all-optical circuits for high-density data processing in the future.

The commercial value of cucumbers is influenced by the presence of spines or trichomes on their fruit, while the trichomes found on other parts of the plant are essential for protecting the cucumber against a range of biotic and abiotic stresses. In our research, we identified a glabrous nwd mutant from EMS-induced cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) mutant lines. This mutant displays a consistent glabrous phenotype across all plant organs. Upon analysis, it was revealed that the nwd mutation is governed by a lone recessive nuclear gene. The nwd plants show a significant reduction in both their photosynthetic capacity and chlorophyll a content when compared to the wild-type. Furthermore, there are notable changes in the antioxidant enzyme activities, soluble protein levels, and malondialdehyde content of the nwd mutant. Genotyping and MutMap approaches identified the CsNWD gene, encoding a VPS protein, as a candidate responsible for the glabrous trait. Transcriptome analysis indicated that 15 trichome-related genes exhibit significant expression changes in the nwd mutant, implying that CsNWD may regulate trichome development through interactions with these genes. This study contributes to the understanding of VPS proteins in trichome initiation and the underlying mechanisms of trichome development.

ContextAnaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is a relatively rare and extensively malignant kind of thyroid carcinoma. The poor prognosis and high mortality rate of ATC can be attributed to its invasive features and undifferentiated phenotype. At present, there is a lack of efficacious therapeutic options. In light of the elevated fatality rate, it is vital to possess a comprehensive comprehension of the scientific terrain pertaining to ATC. To gather the perspectives of different researchers about the topic of ATC treatment, we did a bibliometric network analysis, which offers a comprehensive view of the scholarly literature.MethodologyA systematic search was conducted on the WoSCC database to identify publications pertaining to ATC treatment between the years 2000 and 2023. In this bibliometric investigation, the tools VOSviewers, CiteSpace, and the R package “bibliometrix” were employed to investigate the general attributes, developmental framework, and academic frontiers of the subject matter.Results1223 publications in total, written by 6937 scholars from 53 areas and 1402 institutions and published in 358 scholarly journals, were analyzed. There has been a gradual increase in the quantity of publications pertaining to ATC treatment. The United States and China emerged as the most prominent nations. The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Counseling Center are prominent research institutions in highly productive countries. The journal Thyroid holds a prominent position within its discipline, being widely recognized as both the most popular and highly co-cited publication. According to the available data, Maria Cabanillas has authored the highest number of published articles, while RC Smallridge has received the highest number of co-citations. It turned out that the prevailing keywords encompassed expression, therapy, apoptosis, survival, activation, proliferation, metastasis, and other related terms. Immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and prognostic factors are the emerging research hotspots and trends.ConclusionsThis paper presents a complete overview of research trends and advancements in the treatment of ATC using bibliometric analysis. The acquisition of information will offer vital insights for funding and potential creative strategies in researching the treatment of ATC, which indicates the research frontiers as well as prevalent directions in recent years.

Despite complications were significantly reduced due to the popularity of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in clinical trials, reperfusion injury and chronic cardiac remodeling significantly contribute to poor prognosis and rehabilitation in AMI patients. We revealed the effects of HSP47 on myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury (IRI) and shed light on the underlying molecular mechanism. We generated adult mice with lentivirus-mediated or miRNA (mi1/133TS)-aided cardiac fibroblast-selective HSP47 overexpression. Myocardial IRI was induced by 45-min occlusion of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery followed by 24 h reperfusion in mice, while ischemia-mediated cardiac remodeling was induced by four weeks of reperfusion. Also, the role of HSP47 in fibrogenesis was evaluated in cardiac fibroblasts following hypoxia–reoxygenation (HR). Extensive HSP47 was observed in murine infarcted hearts, human ischemic hearts, and cardiac fibroblasts and accelerated oxidative stress and apoptosis after myocardial IRI. Cardiac fibroblast-selective HSP47 overexpression exacerbated cardiac dysfunction caused by chronic myocardial IRI and presented deteriorative fibrosis and cell proliferation. HSP47 upregulation in cardiac fibroblasts promoted TGFβ1–Smad4 pathway activation and Smad4 deubiquitination by recruiting ubiquitin-specific peptidase 10 (USP10) in fibroblasts. However, cardiac fibroblast specific USP10 deficiency abolished HSP47-mediated fibrogenesis in hearts. Moreover, blockage of HSP47 with Col003 disturbed fibrogenesis in fibroblasts following HR. Altogether, cardiac fibroblast HSP47 aggravates fibrosis post-myocardial IRI by enhancing USP10-dependent Smad4 deubiquitination, which provided a potential strategy for myocardial IRI and cardiac remodeling.

This paper discusses the makespan minimization of a production batch within a specific concurrent system, seru production system. A seru production system consists of multiple independent serus. A seru is a compact assembly origination in which products are assembled from-the-beginning-to-the-end without disruptions. One capability of a seru production system is its responsiveness. A performance measure used to evaluate a seru system’s responsiveness is the makespan of production batches assembled within the seru system. This study addresses the makespan minimization problem through an optimal seru loading policy. The problem is formulated as a min-max integer optimization model. An exact dimension-reduction Algorithm is developed to obtain the optimal allocation that minimizes the makespan. We show that the solution space increases very quickly. In contrast, our algorithm is efficient with a polynomial computational complexity of O(n2), where n is the total number of serus in a seru system. To verify the usefulness of the developed exact dimension-reduction algorithm, we compare it with a widely practiced greedy algorithm through experiments. We find that our optimal algorithm is robust in most cases and the greedy algorithm is efficient when variability in production efficiencies is high. This result can guide us to adopt different algorithms in different business environments. If the variability in production efficiencies is high, e.g., new employees and/or new products assembly, the greedy algorithm is efficient. For other cases, our optimal algorithm should be adopted to obtain the minimum makespan. We also extend the method to the application of a rotating seru.

Groundwater holds an important role in the water supply in Linyi city, China. Investigating the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater, and revealing the factors governing groundwater geochemistry, is a primary step for ensuring the safe and rational exploitation of groundwater resources. This study used a self-organizing map (SOM) and multivariate statistical methods to assess groundwater quality in the urban area of Linyi city. Based on the hydrochemical dataset consisting of nine parameters (i.e., pH, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, HCO3−, Cl−, SO42−, and NO3−) from 89 groundwater samples, the SOM was first applied to obtain the weight vectors of the output nodes. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was used for organizing the nodes into four clusters. The node cluster indices were then remapped to the groundwater samples according to the winner node for each sample. The hydrochemical characteristics and factors controlling the groundwater geochemistry of the four clusters were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and graphical methods including Piper and Gibbs diagrams, as well as binary plots of the major ions in groundwater. Results indicated that groundwater geochemistry in this area is primarily governed by water–rock interactions, such as the dissolution of halite, calcite, and gypsum, along with the influence of municipal sewage and the degradation of organic matter. This study demonstrates that the integration of an SOM and multivariate statistical methods improves the understanding of groundwater geochemistry and hydrochemical evolution in complex groundwater flow systems impacted by utilization.

Heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) is a class of HSPs involved in plant growth and development, stress response and regulation. The Hsp70 proteins exist widely in the plant world, but the detail information about Hsp70s is still unclear in cucumber. Based on the available cucumber genome, a total of 12 Hsp70 genes (CsHsp70-1 to CsHsp70-12) were identified in this study, and they were distributed among five out of seven chromosomes. The CsHsp70s were divided into four groups based on a phylogenetic analysis by using protein sequences from cucumber and other plants, and their conserved motifs were relatively conserved. Gene duplication analysis showed that segmental duplication is the main driving force of expansion in cucumber CsHsp70 genes. Promoter analysis of CsHsp70 genes showed that they contained many cis-acting elements involved in hormone and stress responses. Expression analysis by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR indicated that the expression of most CsHsp70 genes was associated with multiple biotic and abiotic stresses in cucumber. This study introduces the characteristics of cucumber CsHsp70 genes and the regulation of their expression levels in various abiotic and biotic stresses, which provided a basis for functional exploration and utilization of CsHsp70 genes in the future.

Comprehensive and quantitative assessment of human physical activity in daily life is valuable for healthcare, especially for those who suffer from obesity and neurological disorders or are at high risk of dementia. Common wearable devices, e.g., smartwatches, are insufficient and inaccurate for monitoring highly dynamic limb movements and assessing human motion. Here, we report a new wearable leg movement monitoring system incorporating a custom-made motion sensor with machine learning algorithm to perceive human motion accurately and comprehensively during diverse walking and running actions. The system enables real-time multimodal perceptions of personal identity, motion state, locomotion speed, and energy expenditure for wearers. A general law of extracting real-time metabolic energy from leg movements is verified although individual gaits show differences. In addition, we propose a novel sensing configuration combining unilateral lower leg movement velocity with its angular rate to achieve high accuracy and good generalizability while simplifying the wearable system. Advanced performances in personal identification (accuracy of 98.7%) and motion-state recognition (accuracy of 93.7%) are demonstrated. The wearable system also exhibites high-precision real-time estimations of locomotion speed (error of 3.04% to 9.68%) and metabolic energy (error of 4.18% to 14.71%) for new subjects across various time-varying conditions. The wearable system allows reliable leg movement monitoring and quantitative assessment of bodily kinematic and kinetic behaviors during daily activities, as well as safe identity authentication by gait parameters, which would greatly facilitate smart life, personal healthcare, and rehabilitation training.

Summary: Background: Arachidonate 5-lipoxygenase (Alox5) belongs to a class of nonheme iron-containing dioxygenases involved in the catalysis of leukotriene biosynthesis. However, the effects of Alox5 itself on pathological cardiac remodeling and heart failure remain elusive. Methods: The role of Alox5 in pathological cardiac remodeling was investigated by Alox5 genetic depletion, AAV9-mediated overexpression in cardiomyocytes, and a bone marrow (BM) transplantation approach. Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were used to explore the effects of Alox5 in vitro. Molecular and signaling pathways were revealed by CUT &Tag, IP-MS, RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analyses. Findings: Untargeted metabolomics showed that serum 5-HETE (a primary product of Alox5) levels were little changed in patients with cardiac hypertrophy, while Alox5 expression was significantly upregulated in murine hypertensive cardiac samples and human cardiac samples of hypertrophy, which prompted us to test whether high Alox5 levels under hypertensive stimuli were directly associated with pathologic myocardium in an enzymatic activity-independent manner. Herein, we revealed that Alox5 deficiency significantly ameliorated transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced hypertrophy. Cardiomyocyte-specific Alox5 depletion attenuated hypertensive ventricular remodeling. Conversely, cardiac-specifical Alox5 overexpression showed a pro-hypertrophic cardiac phenotype. Ablation of Alox5 in bone marrow-derived cells did not affect pathological cardiac remodeling and heart failure. Mechanically, Runx2 was identified as a target of Alox5. In this regard, Alox5 PEST domain could directly bind to Runx2 PTS domain, promoting nuclear localization of Runx2 in an enzymatic activity-independent manner, simultaneously contributed to liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) of Runx2 at specific domain in the nucleus and increased transcription of EGFR in cardiomyocytes. Runx2 depletion alleviated hypertrophy in Ang II-pretreated Alox5-overexpressing cardiomyocytes. Interpretation: Overall, our study demonstrated that targeting Alox5 exerted a protective effect against cardiac remodeling and heart failure under hypertensive stimuli by disturbing LLPS of Runx2 and substantial reduction of EGFR transcription activation in cardiomyocytes. Our findings suggest that negative modulation of Alox5-Runx2 may provide a therapeutic approach against pathological cardiac remodeling and heart failure. Funding: National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Coagulation is an effective preliminary treatment process for textile wastewater. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the coagulation process, we performed quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) analyses with total organic carbon (TOC) removal rates (Rexp) as an index by three different coagulants (AlCl3, FeCl3, and MgCl2). The experimental results showed that the average Rexp of the three coagulants was 39.12% ± 2.60%, 51.60% ± 2.88%, and 49.95% ± 3.17%. Subsequently, 42 molecular descriptors of dye molecules were calculated by quantitative calculation softwares Gaussian 09, Material Studio 7.0, and Multiwfn 3.7, and then QSAR models were constructed by a multiple linear regression (MLR) method for the three coagulation systems. The developed QSAR models demonstrated excellent stability, robustness, and predictability with values of R2 = 0.7677, 0.8015, and 0.7035, Q2INT = 0.6067, 0.7026, and 0.5898, Q2EXT = 0.5505, 0.5076, and 0.5697, respectively. Based on the analysis of quantum parameters, the coagulation mechanism for AlCl3, FeCl3 is primarily electrostatic adsorption as well as hydrogen bonding, while MgCl2 coagulates dyes mainly by electrostatic adsorption. This study provides an assessment of the removal rules and a feasible method for predicting dye removal rates in AlCl3, FeCl3, and MgCl2 coagulation process.

Irisin, out-membrane part of fibronectin type III domain–containing 5 protein (FNDC5), was activated by Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) during physical exercise in skeletal muscle tissues. Most studies have reported that the concentration of irisin is highly associated with health status. For instance, the level of irisin is significantly lower in patients with obesity, osteoporosis/fractures, muscle atrophy, Alzheimer’s disease, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) but higher in patients with cancer. Irisin can bind to its receptor integrin αV/β5 to induce browning of white fat, maintain glucose stability, keep bone homeostasis, and alleviate cardiac injury. However, it is unclear whether it works by directly binding to its receptors to regulate muscle regeneration, promote neurogenesis, keep liver glucose homeostasis, and inhibit cancer development. Supplementation of recombinant irisin or exercise-activated irisin might be a successful strategy to fight obesity, osteoporosis, muscle atrophy, liver injury, and CVDs in one go. Here, we summarize the publications of FNDC5/irisin from PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Web of Science until March 2022, and we review the role of FNDC5/irisin in physiology and pathology.

Leaf color mutants are the ideal materials to study the regulation mechanisms of chlorophyll biosynthesis and chloroplast development or as markers for crop breeding. In this study, we identified a virescent true leaf mutant se59 from the ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS)-induced mutant lines of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). The se59 mutant showed normal cotyledons, but the true leaf displays light green at early growth stage, which can recover normal green later. The se59 locus was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene. The grana stacking in the chloroplasts of se59 decreased significantly, and both the photosynthetic ability and the photosynthetic pigment contents of the se59 were significantly lower than those of wild type. The results of BSA-seq and genotyping showed that an Invertase/Pectin Methyl Esterase Inhibitor (INV/PMEI) protein encoded by CsSE59 is a candidate gene for the virescent true leaf mutant. The expression level of CsSE59 in stem, leaf and root is high. Based on the transcriptome analysis of the first true leaf of se59 mutant, the expression levels of 17 leaf color related genes changed significantly, suggesting CsSE59 may regulate virescent true leaf by interacting with some of these genes in cucumber. The identification of CsSE59 is helpful to clarify the role of INV/PMEI in chloroplast development and to understand the mechanisms of leaf color variation in cucumber.

The leaf is the main site of photosynthesis and is an important component in shaping the ideal rice plant architecture. Research on leaf morphology and development will lay the foundation for high-yield rice breeding. In this study, we isolated and identified a novel curling leaf mutant, designated curling leaf 1 (cl1). The cl1 mutant exhibited an inward curling phenotype because of the defective development of sclerenchymatous cells on the abaxial side. Meanwhile, the cl1 mutant showed significant reductions in grain yield and thousand-grain weight due to abnormal leaf development. Through map-based cloning, we identified the CL1 gene, which encodes a MYB transcription factor that is highly expressed in leaves. Subcellular localization studies confirmed its typical nuclear localization. Transcriptome analysis revealed a significant differential expression of the genes involved in photosynthesis, leaf morphology, yield formation, and hormone metabolism in the cl1 mutant. Yeast two-hybrid assays demonstrated that CL1 interacts with alpha-tubulin protein SRS5 and AP2/ERF protein MFS. These findings provide theoretical foundations for further elucidating the mechanisms of CL1 in regulating leaf morphology and offer genetic resources for practical applications in high-yield rice breeding.

BackgroundA technique for reconstructing facial units with matching colour, similar texture and sufficient contour is ideal for patients with various facial defects. The current report aimed to present the experience of the authors in facial reconstruction using pre-expanded scalp flaps combined with laser hair removal.MethodsFrom January 2014 to August 2021, 43 patients with different facial defects, such as post-burn scar and congenital nevus, were treated using this surgical technique that involved tissue expansion, scalp flap transfer and laser hair removal. Facial defects were artificially classified into three regions (forehead, n = 19; cheek, n = 15; and lips and chin, n = 9). Pedicle delaying and division were performed in patients who underwent reconstruction with pedicled flaps.ResultsOf the included patients, one presented with haematoma, one with infection and three had distal necrosis after expanded scalp flap transfer. The donor site was primarily closed in all patients. Further, all patients were successfully treated without major complications. The texture, colour and contour of the scalp flap after laser hair removal matched well with the surrounding skin tissues at 2–30-month follow-up.ConclusionReconstruction using pre-expanded scalp flaps combined with laser hair removal is an effective and reliable option for facial reconstruction with excellent colour and texture match.

Coagulation is the most widely used method in the treatment of printing and dying wastewater. To better understand the relationship between the coagulation effect and dye molecular structures, quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) analyses were performed to elucidate the factors affecting the coagulation in ferric chloride (FeCl3) coagulation process. First, the coagulation experiments on 38 dye molecules were conducted to determine their color removal rates (Rexp) by FeCl3 under different pH conditions (i.e., pH = 4 and 10). The results showed that the average Rexp of dyes were 41.36% ± 2.40% at pH value of 4 and 55.70% ± 2.83% at pH value of 10. Subsequently, a multiple linear regression (MLR) method was used to construct QSAR models based on Rexp and 42 molecular parameters calculated by Gaussian 09, Materials Studio 7.0 and Multiwfn. The developed QSAR models exhibited excellent stability, reliability, and robustness with values of R2 = 0.7950, 0.8170, Q2INT = 0.6401, 0.7382, Q2EXT = 0.5168, 0.5441, at pH values of 4 and 10, respectively. Through analysis of quantum parameter values, electrostatic adsorption and hydrogen bonding adsorption were primarily responsible for the coagulation process. Therefore, this study could be useful in providing critical information for evaluating the removal efficiency and a feasible way to predict the removal rate of dyes by FeCl3 when no coagulation experiments were conducted.

The TIFY family, a plant-specific gene family with the conserved motif of TIF[F/Y]XG, plays important roles in plant growth, development and abiotic stress response. This family encodes four subfamilies of proteins, including ZIM-like (ZML), TIFY, PPD and JASMONATE ZIM-domain (JAZ). In this study, 17 TIFY family genes were identified in cucumber through genome-wide analysis, including one PPD, two TIFYs, four ZMLs, and 10 JAZs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that TIFY proteins from cucumber and other plant species can be divided into seven groups, which were designated as TIFY, JAZ I–IV, ZML and PPD. An analysis of conserved domain distribution demonstrated that there are four other domains (Jas, CCT, PPD and GATA domains) in CsTIFY proteins. Tissue expression profiling of the CsTIFY genes revealed that some of them displayed development- and tissue-specific expression patterns. Expression analysis based on transcriptome data and qRT-PCR revealed that the expression levels of some cucumber TIFY genes were altered under multiple abiotic stresses. In addition, several CsJAZ genes were downregulated in cucumber plants under root-knot nematode (RKN) infection, suggesting that they negatively affect the resistance response of cucumber to RKN. Our findings lay a foundation for further functional studies of the TIFY family genes in cucumber.

Abstract Human–robot collaboration is playing more and more important roles in current deployments of robotic systems in our lives. Haptic perception and intelligent control are essential to ensure safety and efficiency of human–robot interaction. However, existing robotic sensory and control systems are deficient in terms of performance issues, complexity, and cost. Here, the authors report a multifunctional electronic skin (e‐skin) incorporating multiple perceptions with intelligent robotic control, by which robots can safely and dexterously interact with humans. The e‐skin with a simple and cost‐effective sensory structure has multimodal perceptions of proximity, temperature, contact force, and contact position with broad measuring range, high sensitivity, and fast response. The e‐skin is applied onto robots to accomplish obstacle avoidance, safe and dexterous human–robot interaction, smart teaching, and playing Tai‐Chi, which demonstrate a broad range of applications for intelligent robots equipped with e‐skins.

Background: As common progenitor cells of osteoblasts and adipocytes, bone marrow mesenchymal (stromal) stem cells (BMSCs) play key roles in bone homeostasis, tissue regeneration, and global energy homeostasis; however, the intrinsic mechanism of BMSC differentiation is not well understood. Plasticity in energy metabolism allows BMSCs to match the divergent demands of osteo-adipogenic differentiation. Targeting BMSC metabolic pathways may provide a novel therapeutic perspective for BMSC differentiation unbalance related diseases. Scope of review: This review covers the recent studies of glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids metabolism fuel the BMSC differentiation. We also discuss recent findings about energy metabolism in BMSC differentiation. Major conclusions: Glucose, fatty acids, and amino acids metabolism provide energy to fuel BMSC differentiation. Moreover, some well-known regulators including environmental stress, hormone drugs, and biological and pathological factors may also influence BMSC differentiation by altering metabolism. This offers insight to the significance of metabolism on BMSC fate determination and provides the possibility of treating diseases related to BMSC differentiation, such as obesity and osteoporosis, from a metabolic perspective.

Current wearable motion capture technologies are unable to accurately detect dynamic motion of human limbs due to drift and instability problems. Here, the authors report a wearable motion capture device combining tri-axis velocity sensor and inertial sensors for accurate 3D limb motion capture.

Tonoplast sugar transporters (TSTs) play essential roles in regulating plant growth, development, and response to various biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, a total of three TST genes were identified by a genome-wide analysis in cucumber. Phylogenetic analysis showed that TST proteins from cucumber and other plant species can be classified into five groups, and nearly all TST members in the same groups displayed similar motif distributions, transmembrane (TM) domains, and gene structures. All of the three CsTST genes possess a number of development-, stress-, and hormone-related cis-elements in the promoter sequences. Meanwhile, qRT-PCR assays revealed that the CsTST1 was expressed in fruits, flowers, leaves, and other tissues, and its expression varied significantly under various abiotic stresses such as cold, salt, drought (PEG), and abscisic acid (ABA). Finally, functional analysis of CsTST1 in yeast revealed that it was able to complement the deficiency in galactose, mannose and sucrose transport. These results revealed that CsTST1 can act as a functional sugar transporter to play important roles in cucumber growth and response to abiotic stress probably through affecting carbohydrate distribution.

BTB-TAZ (BT) proteins are plant-specific transcription factors containing a BTB domain and a TAZ domain. They play vital roles in various biological processes and stress responses. In this study, a total of three BT genes (CsBT1-3) were identified from cucumber genome, and they were unevenly distributed in two of the seven chromosomes. Phylogenetic analysis of the BT proteins from cucumber, Arabidopsis, apple, tomato, and rice revealed that these proteins could be distinctly divided into two groups in accordance with their motif distributions. We also determined the structures of BT genes from cucumber, Arabidopsis, and rice to demonstrate their differences. The quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results showed that the CsBT genes displayed differential expression patterns in cucumber tissues, and their expression was regulated by cold, salt, and drought stresses. These findings suggest that CsBT genes may participate in cucumber development and responses to various abiotic stresses.

Human motion monitoring is important in applications of movies, animation, sport training, physical rehabilitation, and human-robot interaction. There is a demand for a simple and easy-to-use method to recognize motions of limbs and trunk. In this paper, we developed a wearable velocity tracking device using two orthogonally-placed micro flow sensors to implement three-dimensional motion velocity measurement. In addition, we proposed a functional link artificial neural network (FLANN) model to extract trunk velocity and relative limb velocity from an absolute limb motion detected by the wearable tracking device according to their different dynamic features. Experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the velocity tracking methodology. Results showed the proposed method with wearable device enables real-time measurements of motion velocities of limb and trunk, which were free of accumulated error, robust for dynamic walking and running, and simple to use.

Diversity and its maintaining mechanism (community assembly) shift along resource availability gradients at local and regional levels. It is necessary to identify key natural factors shaping community assembly or diversity patterns, so that understanding the patterns of diversity and assembly along these factors across local to regional scales. In this study, we investigated the six local sites of plant community in Qinling Mountains region. Based on the relative importance of environmental factors in shaping the phylogenetic diversity, a complex resource availability gradient was established to assess taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity and assembly patterns along it at local or regional scale separately. Phylogenetic analyses and the biodiversity index were estimated along environmental gradients as well, to assess the difference between change tendencies along natural environmental and resource availability gradients. We found that 1) elevation was the most important regional-scale environmental predictor of phylogeny of community; 2) taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity studies showed similar patterns along both resource and elevational gradients at regional scale, and that diversity at local scale may differ regardless of gradients; 3) at the regional level, phylogenetic structures revealed convergent tendencies along the elevational gradient across different species pools. Phylogenetic assembly patterns along the elevation gradient at the local scale differed from the patterns at the regional scale, with consistent clustering tending to overspread along the resource availability gradient. In conclusion, resource availability shaped community assembly at the regional level. Local patterns of diversity influenced regional patterns differently because of variation in the colonization history or assembly process. Owing to varying assembly patterns along simple environmental gradients, it is vital to establish a complex resource availability gradient to dissect the real assembly mechanism or biodiversity patterns operating in local to regional-scale processes. These findings may provide valuable reference about forest restoration and management.

Increasingly, tropical studies based on aboveground traits have suggested that lianas have a more acquisitive strategy than trees, thereby possibly explaining the increase in lianas relative to trees in many tropical forests under global change. However, few studies have tested whether this pattern can be extended to root traits and temperate forests. In this study, we sampled 61 temperate liana-host tree pairs and quantified 11 commonly studied functional traits representative of plant economics in roots, stems, and leaves; we aimed to determine whether root, stem and leaf traits are coordinated across lifeforms, and whether temperate lianas are also characterized by more fast and acquisitive traits than trees. Our results showed that leaf and stem traits were coordinated across lifeforms but not with root traits, suggesting that aboveground plant economics is not always correlated with belowground economics, and leaf and stem economic spectra cannot be expanded to the root directly. Compared with host trees, lianas had more acquisitive leaf and stem traits, such as higher specific leaf area and lower leaf dry matter content, leaf carbon content, leaf mass per area, and wood density, suggesting that lianas have a more acquisitive strategy than host trees in the temperate forest. The differences between lianas and trees in plant strategy may drive their contrasting responses to the changing temperate forest environment under global change.

Tissue expansion is widely used to obtain new skin tissue for repairing defects in the clinical practice of plastic surgery. One major complication can be dermal thinning during expansion, which usually leads to skin rupture. Collagen synthesis can determine dermal thickness and can be influenced by macrophage polarization during expansion. The aim of the study was to test whether pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) could be a modulator of collagen synthesis in fibroblasts by regulating macrophage polarization during skin expansion. Our results showed that PEDF mRNA expression was increased in expanded human and mouse epidermis. PEDF protein levels were elevated in the subcutaneous exudates of a rat skin expansion model. Increased PEDF mRNA expression was accompanied by dermal thinning during a three-week expansion protocol. Subcutaneous injection of PEDF in vivo further resulted in dermal thinning and cell number increase of M1 macrophage in the expanded skin. PEDF also promoted macrophage polarization in vitro to the M1 subtype under hypoxic conditions. PEDF did not influence collagen gene expression in fibroblasts directly, but attenuated collagen synthesis in a macrophage-mediated manner. Additionally, blockage of PEDF receptors on macrophages with inhibitors rescued collagen synthesis in fibroblasts. Our research demonstrated PEDF elevation in expanded skin leads to dermal thinning through M1 macrophage-mediated collagen synthesis inhibition in fibroblasts. Our results could form a basis for the development of novel strategies to improve skin integrity in expanded skin by using PEDF.

Motion velocity, acceleration, and energy expenditure estimations are important in quantitative assessments for physical recovery and exercise-based interventions for post-stroke patients with partial losses of neurological functions. This paper proposes a novel wearable motion estimation device using a micro flow sensor, which realizes motion velocity, acceleration detection, and energy expenditure estimation for human limb motion. A homemade micro thermal flow sensor is used to detect motion velocity. Jerk-Kalman based algorithm is proposed to extract motion acceleration from the flow sensor outputs. Motion velocity and acceleration are used to estimate energy expenditure of limb motion. Calibration experiments and application cases are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the methodology. The micro flow sensor based motion estimation method is free of accumulated error, robust for dynamic motion measurement, and provides a promising auxiliary approach for evaluating energy expenditures of human limbs in rehabilitation training.

Tonoplast sugar transporters (TSTs) usually act as antiporters to import sugars across the tonoplast and play essential roles in regulating diverse growth and developmental processes as well as in response to various abiotic stresses in plants. In this study, a putative TST gene named CsTST2 was isolated and characterized from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). CsTST2 possesses a 2202-bp open reading frame encoding a highly hydrophobic protein of 733 amino acids with a molecular weight (MW) of 78.30 kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.13. Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis suggested that CsTST2 has the highest identity and closest phylogenetic relationship with CmTST2 and ClTST2. Expression analysis with transcriptome data revealed that CsTST2 has differential expression patterns in various tissues and developmental stages. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) showed that CsTST2 is responsive to various abiotic stresses, inducing salt, drought and cold. Yeast complementation assays indicated that CsTST2 can mediate the uptake of fructose, galactose, mannose and sucrose. These findings suggest that CsTST2 is a functional TST in cucumber, and lay a foundation for revealing the relationship of carbohydrate distribution and abiotic stress in the growth and development of cucumber.

Abstract Background Tissue expansion is a procedure that promotes skin regeneration by mechanical stretch. During the stress and relaxation cycle, the skin undergoes a repeated microtrauma which triggers an immune response leading to the recruitment of macrophages to repair the damaged tissue. Macrophages have been found to be necessary for tissue repair and wound healing, but their effects on skin regeneration during mechanical stretch remain unclear. Methods The dynamic changes of macrophages in the rat skin tissues undergoing expansion were quantitatively determined by immunohistochemistry staining. The area of the expanded skin, skin thickness, dermal collagen density, cell proliferation and tissue vascularization were examined to determine the effects of macrophages on the expanding skin. The phenotypes of macrophages and the growth factors related to skin regeneration were also examined to evaluate the underlying mechanisms for the involvement of macrophages in skin regeneration. As a comparison, the tissue samples of expanding skin in which the macrophages were depleted by topically utilizing clodronate liposomes were also evaluated. Results The number of skin macrophages in skin maintained in the high level during the skin expansion compared to non-expanded skin. We found that a switch from an M1- to M2-dominant response during tissue expansion. After the macrophages were depleted, the skin regeneration was inhibited, as evidenced by a smaller expansion area, thinner skin layers and decreased cell proliferation rate, collagen synthesis and, skin vascularization. The secretion of epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were decreased when macrophages were depleted. Conclusions Our findings suggest that macrophages are necessary for skin regeneration during tissue expansion. Modulating inflammation may provide a key therapeutic strategy to promote skin growth under mechanical strain.

The MADS-box family genes are important transcription factors that play essential roles in plant growth and development. In this study, a MADS-box gene, CsMADS02, was identified and functionally characterized in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). CsMADS02 encoded a typical SEP MADS-box protein which contained a MADS-box, a K-box, an I region and a C region, as well as two short conserved SEP motifs. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that the CsMADS02 protein belonged to the SEP3 subfamily and was highly homologous to other published plant SEP proteins. Expression analyses revealed that CsMADS02 was primarily expressed in flowers and ovaries, and differentially expressed during the development of male and female flowers. Ectopic overexpression of CsMADS02 caused earlier flowering of Arabidopsis. In addition, morphological changes were also observed in transgenic plants, including curled and fewer rosette leaves. These findings suggest that CsMADS02 is a potential regulator of the flowering time and leaf morphology in cucumber.

SIMILAR TO RCD-ONE (SRO) is a plant-specific small protein family that controls many biological processes including physiological development and stress responses. The SRO gene family has been studied in several plant species, but no detailed characterization and expression profiles of this important gene family were performed in cucumber. In this study, we characterize the SRO genes in cucumber, and determined their transcript levels in various tissues and under exposure to diverse biotic and abiotic stressors. Four SRO genes (named as CsSRO1–CsSRO4) were identified and isolated, which were distributed on three different chromosomes. Gene duplication analysis showed that only one pair of segmental duplication event was identified, but no tandem duplication events were detected. All CsSROs consist of the PARP domain and a C-terminal RST domain, while the N-terminal WWE domain was only present in CsSRO2 and CsSRO4. SROs from 15 plant species are divided into two groups (I and II), and group I can be further divided into four subgroups (Ia to Id) according to the phylogenetic tree. The conserved motif and gene structure analyses showed that SROs within the same branch of the phylogenetic tree have analogous conserved motifs configuration and gene structures. However, SRO genes possessed variable numbers of introns in different subgroups, which may affect the evolution of new family members. RNA-Seq data and qRT-PCR results showed that the four CsSRO genes have distinct expression pattern in various tissues and under diverse stresses, suggesting their multiple functions in plant growth and stress responses. The findings provide a basis for further research aiming at functional characterization of the regulatory mechanism to reveal the roles of CsSRO genes in developmental and stress-related processes of cucumber.

Calcium ions are important second messengers, playing an important role in the signal transduction pathways. Hyperosmolality gated calcium-permeable channels (OSCA) gene family members play critical modulating roles in response to osmotic-related abiotic stress as well as other abiotic and biotic stresses, which has been reported in many plant species such as Arabidopsis, rice, maize, and wheat. However, there has been no report about the identification and expression profile of the OSCA genes in cucumber. In this study, a total of nine OSCA genes were identified, which are unevenly distributed on the six chromosomes of cucumber. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the OSCAs of cucumber, Arabidopsis, rice and maize were clustered into four clades. The motif arrangement of CsOSCAs was strongly conserved, and the CsOSCA genes in each group had similar genetic structure. A total of 11 and 10 types of cis-elements related to hormone and stress, respectively, were identified in the promoter regions of CsOSCA genes. Gene expression analysis indicated that the CsOSCA genes have different expression patterns in various tissues, and some of them were regulated by three osmotic-related abiotic stresses (salt, drought and ABA) and three biotic stresses (powdery mildew, downy mildew, and root-knot nematode). As the first genome-wide identification and characterization of the OSCA gene family in cucumber, this study lays a foundation for research on the biological function and evolutionary process of this gene family, which is of great significance for exploiting stress resistant cucumber varieties.

As a class of zinc finger transcription factors, B-box (BBX) proteins play diverse roles in numerous biological processes, and they have been identified in a series of plant species in recent years. However, the roles of BBX genes in regulating cucumber growth regulation and stress response have not yet been established. Here, a total of 22 BBX family genes were identified via an analysis of the latest cucumber genome data, which were classified into five groups (I–V) on the basis of their phylogenetic features and number of B-box domains and CCT domains. The CsBBX genes were unevenly distributed across the seven cucumber chromosomes, and segmental duplication was found to play a significant role in the expansion of the cucumber BBX gene family. Gene structure and motif composition analysis suggested that the evolutionarily close CsBBXs have similar conserved motif composition and gene structure. Most CsBBX genes possessed 1–3 introns, and intron gain rather than intron loss could contribute to the different structures of CsBBX genes across different groups during their evolution. Promoter analysis revealed the presence of 13 kinds of hormone-related and nine kinds of stress-related cis-regulatory elements in the promoter regions of these CsBBX genes. Expression analysis via RNA-seq and qRT-PCR suggested that the CsBBX genes exhibit differential expression in different tissues and in response to various abiotic and biotic stresses. This work constitutes a starting point for further revealing the function of the CsBBX genes and sheds light on the potential molecular mechanism of stress resistance in cucumber.

Exposure to high altitude environment leads to skeletal muscle atrophy. As a hormone secreted by skeletal muscles after exercise, irisin contributes to promoting muscle regeneration and ameliorating skeletal muscle atrophy, but its role in hypoxia-induced skeletal muscle atrophy is still unclear. Our results showed that 4 w of hypoxia exposure significantly reduced body weight and gastrocnemius muscle mass of mice, as well as grip strength and the duration time of treadmill exercise. Hypoxic treatment increased HIF-1α expression and decreased both the circulation level of irisin and its precursor protein FNDC5 expression in skeletal muscle. In in vitro, CoCl2-induced chemical hypoxia and 1% O2 ambient hypoxia both reduced FNDC5, along with the increase in HIF-1α. Moreover, the decline in the area and diameter of myotubes caused by hypoxia were rescued by inhibiting HIF-1α via YC-1. Collectively, our research indicated that FNDC5/irisin was negatively regulated by HIF-1α and could participate in the regulation of muscle atrophy caused by hypoxia.

Germins and germin-like proteins (GLPs) are glycoproteins closely associated with plant development and stress response in the plant kingdom. Here, we carried out genome-wide identification and expression analysis of the GLP gene family in cucumber to study their possible functions. A total of 38 GLP genes were identified in cucumber, which could be mapped to six out of the seven cucumber chromosomes. A phylogenetic analysis of the GLP members from cucumber, Arabidopsis and rice showed that these GLPs could be divided into six groups, and cucumber GLPs in the same group had highly similar conserved motif distribution and gene structure. Gene duplication analysis revealed that six cucumber GLP genes were located in the segmental duplication regions of cucumber chromosomes, while 14 genes were associated with tandem duplications. Tissue expression profiles of cucumber GLP genes showed that many genes were preferentially expressed in specific tissues. In addition, some cucumber GLP genes were differentially expressed under salt, drought and ABA treatments, as well as under DM inoculation. Our results provide important information for the functional identification of GLP genes in the growth, development and stress response of cucumber.

Abstract As the group II LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins, dehydrins (DHNs) play an important role in plant growth and development, as well as in response to abiotic or biotic stress challenges. In this study, a DHN gene named CsLEA11 was identified and characterized from Cucumis sativus. Sequence analysis of CsLEA11 showed that it is a Y3SK2-type DHN protein rich in hydrophilic amino acids. Expression analyses revealed that the transcription of CsLEA11 could be significantly induced by heat and cold stress. The recombinant plasmid was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 and isopropy-β-d-thiogalactoside (IPTG) was used to induce recombinant E. coli to express CsLEA11 gene. Overexpression of CsLEA11 in E. coli enhanced cell viability and conferred tolerance to heat and cold stress. Furthermore, CsLEA11 protein could protect the activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) under heat stress. Taken together, our data demonstrate that CsLEA11 might function in tolerance of cucumber to heat and cold stress.

Catalase (CAT) is a key scavenging enzyme for the degradation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and plays an important role in the tolerance to diverse abiotic stresses in many different organisms. In this study, we characterized the function of a catalase gene (CsCAT3) previously isolated from Cucumis sativus in the defence against a variety of stresses. Protein alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that CsCAT3 was clustered in the dicot group and shared 41%–95% identity with other plant CATs. Expression analyses revealed that the expression of CsCAT3 was induced by diverse abiotic stresses such as heat, polyethylene glycol, cold and NaCl treatment, as well as by signalling molecules such as abscisic acid (ABA) and H2O2. An Escherichia coli heterologous expression system was constructed to characterize the function of CsCAT3 in vitro. Its overexpression in E. coli could increase the tolerance to heat, cold, salinity and osmotic conditions. These results indicate that CsCAT3 plays important roles in abiotic stress tolerance and that CsCAT3 confers tolerance in E. coli recombinants against abiotic stresses, which may be due to the increased activities of antioxidant enzymes that reduce the oxidative damage caused by stress conditions.

Aims. GDF-15 is considered to be an important biomarker for cardiovascular events, but the differences in serum GDF-15 levels between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients and non-AMI patients warrant further investigation. Methods. A cohort of 409 subjects was enrolled in the current study. The Syntax score was calculated from the baseline coronary angiography results by using online methods. Blood samples were obtained at the start of the study for an assessment of GDF-15 by using ELISA methods. Results. Patients with AMI had significantly higher levels of serum GDF-15 (Wilcox test, P < 0.001), Syntax scores (Wilcox test, P = 0.006), and left ventricular ejection fractions (LEVF, Wilcox test, P< 0.001). However, no significant differences were present among the other clinical characteristics. The logistical regression analysis indicated that serum GDF-15 levels (P=0.01534) were independent predictors of non-AMI and AMI after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, and LVEF. Conclusions. Elevated serum levels of GDF-15 are independently associated with the risk of MI, and GDF-15 may serve as a protective factor for MI in the cardiovascular system.

Stress-associated proteins (SAPs) are a class of zinc finger proteins that confer tolerance to a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses in diverse plant species. However, in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), very little is known about the roles of SAP gene family members in regulating plant growth, development, and stress responses. In this study, a total of 12 SAP genes (named as CsSAP1-CsSAP12) were identified in the cucumber genome, which were unevenly distributed on six chromosomes. Gene duplication analysis detected one tandem duplication and two segmental duplication events. Phylogenetic analysis of SAP proteins from cucumber and other plants suggested that they could be divided into seven groups (sub-families), and proteins in the same group generally had the same arrangement of AN1 (ZnF-AN1) and A20 (ZnF-A20) domains. Most of the CsSAP genes were intronless and harbored a number of stress- and hormone-responsive cis-elements in their promoter regions. Tissue expression analysis showed that the CsSAP genes had a broad spectrum of expression in different tissues, and some of them displayed remarkable alteration in expression during fruit development. RT-qPCR results indicated that all the selected CsSAP genes displayed transcriptional responses to cold, drought, and salt stresses. These results enable the first comprehensive description of the SAP gene family in cucumber and lay a solid foundation for future research on the biological functions of CsSAP genes.

The nuclear factor Y (NF-Y) transcription factors (TFs) play vital regulatory roles in diverse developmental processes and responses to abiotic stresses in plants. However, the NF-Y genes remain largely unknown in cucumber. In this study, based on phylogenetic and protein structure analyses, we identified 27 CsaNF-Y members of this gene family in the cucumber genome, including 7 NF-YAs, 13 NF-YBs, and 7 NF-YCs. Their chromosome locations, gene structures, conserved domains, gene duplication, and promoter regions containing stress- and hormone-responsive cis-elements were also analyzed. As reported earlier, RNA-seq data showed that the expression of some CsaNF-Y genes was tissue-specific and varied during fruit development. The qRT-PCR results showed that all the detected CsaNF-Y genes were differentially regulated by drought and salt stress. Taken together, our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of CsaNF-Y genes in the development and abiotic stress response of cucumber and lay the foundation for future crop improvement.

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) proteins are widely present in the plant kingdom and play important roles in different biological processes. However, little is known about the SOD genes in cucumber. In this study, night SOD genes were identified from cucumber (Cucumis sativus) using bioinformatics-based methods, including 5 Cu/ZnSODs, 3 FeSODs, and 1 MnSOD. Gene structure and motif analysis indicated that most of the SOD genes have relatively conserved exon/intron arrangement and motif composition. Phylogenetic analyses with SODs from cucumber and several other species revealed that these SOD proteins can be traced back to two ancestral SODs before the divergence of monocot and dicot plants. Many cis-elements related to stress responses and plant hormones were found in the promoter sequence of each CsSOD gene. Gene expression analysis revealed that most of the CsSOD genes are expressed in almost all the tested tissues. qRT-PCR analysis of 8 selected CsSOD genes showed that these genes could respond to heat, cold, osmotic, and salt stresses. Our results provide a basis for further functional research on SOD gene family in cucumber and facilitate their potential applications in the genetic improvement of cucumber.

Members of the ERF transcription-factor family participate in a number of biological processes, viz., responses to hormones, adaptation to biotic and abiotic stress, metabolism regulation, beneficial symbiotic interactions, cell differentiation and developmental processes. So far, no tissue-expression profile of any cucumber ERF protein has been reported in detail. Recent completion of the cucumber full-genome sequence has come to facilitate, not only genome-wide analysis of ERF family members in cucumbers themselves, but also a comparative analysis with those in Arabidopsis and rice. In this study, 103 hypothetical ERF family genes in the cucumber genome were identified, phylogenetic analysis indicating their classification into 10 groups, designated I to X. Motif analysis further indicated that most of the conserved motifs outside the AP2/ERF domain, are selectively distributed among the specific clades in the phylogenetic tree. From chromosomal localization and genome distribution analysis, it appears that tandem-duplication may have contributed to CsERF gene expansion. Intron/exon structure analysis indicated that a few CsERFs still conserved the former intron-position patterns existent in the common ancestor of monocots and eudicots. Expression analysis revealed the widespread distribution of the cucumber ERF gene family within plant tissues, thereby implying the probability of their performing various roles therein. Furthermore, members of some groups presented mutually similar expression patterns that might be related to their phylogenetic groups.

The AGL15 subfamily MADS-box proteins play vital roles in various developmental processes, such as floral transition, somatic embryogenesis, and leaf and fruit development. In this work, an AtAGL15 ortholog, CsMADS26, was cloned from cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). The open reading frame (ORF) of CsMADS26 is 669 bp in length, encoding a predicted protein of 222 amino acids. The CsMADS26 protein contains a highly conserved MADS-box domain and a variable C domain, as well as less conserved I and K domains. Phylogenetic relationship analysis revealed that CsMADS26 was clustered into the AGL15 clade of AGL15 subfamily. Expression analysis based on qRT-PCR showed that CsMADS26 is mainly expressed in reproductive organs including flowers and fruits. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants with ectopic expression of CsMADS26 exhibited curled rosette and cauline leaves, and the leaf size was much smaller than that of wild-type (WT) plants. These results provide clues for the functional characterization of CsMADS26 in the future.

Micromachined fluid inertial sensors are an important class of inertial sensors, which mainly includes thermal accelerometers and fluid gyroscopes, which have now been developed since the end of the last century for about 20 years. Compared with conventional silicon or quartz inertial sensors, the fluid inertial sensors use a fluid instead of a solid proof mass as the moving and sensitive element, and thus offer advantages of simple structures, low cost, high shock resistance, and large measurement ranges while the sensitivity and bandwidth are not competitive. Many studies and various designs have been reported in the past two decades. This review firstly introduces the working principles of fluid inertial sensors, followed by the relevant research developments. The micromachined thermal accelerometers based on thermal convection have developed maturely and become commercialized. However, the micromachined fluid gyroscopes, which are based on jet flow or thermal flow, are less mature. The key issues and technologies of the thermal accelerometers, mainly including bandwidth, temperature compensation, monolithic integration of tri-axis accelerometers and strategies for high production yields are also summarized and discussed. For the micromachined fluid gyroscopes, improving integration and sensitivity, reducing thermal errors and cross coupling errors are the issues of most concern.

Chlorogenic acid, a natural phenolic acid present in fruits and plants, provides beneficial effects for human health. The objectives of this study were to investigate whether chlorogenic acid (CHA) could improve the intestinal barrier integrity for weaned rats with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge. Thirty-two weaned male Sprague Dawley rats (21 ± 1 d of age; 62.26 ± 2.73 g) were selected and randomly allotted to four treatments, including weaned rat control, LPS-challenged and chlorogenic acid (CHA) supplemented group (orally 20 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg body). Dietary supplementation with CHA decreased (P

Abstract Catalase (CAT) is a common antioxidant enzyme in almost all living organisms. Currently, detailed reports on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) CAT (CsCAT) genes and tissue expression profiling are limited. In the present study, four candidate CsCAT genes were identified in cucumber. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that CsCAT1-CsCAT3 are closely related to Arabidopsis AtCAT1-AtCAT3, but no obvious counterpart was observed for CsCAT4. Intron/exon structure analysis revealed that only one of the 15 positions was completely conserved. Motif analysis showed that, unlike the CAT genes of other species, none of CsCAT genes contained all 10 motifs. Expression data showed that transcripts of all of the CsCAT genes, except CsCAT4, were detected in five tissues. Moreover, their transcription levels displayed differences under different stress treatments.

Lip language recognition urgently needs wearable and easy-to-use interfaces for interference-free and high-fidelity lip-reading acquisition and to develop accompanying data-efficient decoder-modeling methods. Existing solutions suffer from unreliable lip reading, are data hungry, and exhibit poor generalization. Here, we propose a wearable lip language decoding technology that enables interference-free and high-fidelity acquisition of lip movements and data-efficient recognition of fluent lip language based on wearable motion capture and continuous lip speech movement reconstruction. The method allows us to artificially generate any wanted continuous speech datasets from a very limited corpus of word samples from users. By using these artificial datasets to train the decoder, we achieve an average accuracy of 92.0% across individuals (n = 7) for actual continuous and fluent lip speech recognition for 93 English sentences, even observing no training burn on users because all training datasets are artificially generated. Our method greatly minimizes users' training/learning load and presents a data-efficient and easy-to-use paradigm for lip language recognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flywheel-type dual-stator permanent magnet starter generator combines engine flywheel and starter generator rotor into a single unit, which has the advantages of high efficiency, high power density, and compact structure. This paper proposes a new type of dual-stator permanent magnet starter generator topology in which the two stators are concentric and share the same permanent magnet rotor. Equivalent magnetic circuit modeling of the inner stator's magnetic field, outer stator's magnetic field, and synthetic magnetic field using the equivalent magnetic circuit method list the system of flux equations and solve the main magnetic flux, leakage flux, and leakage coefficient, and the results show that the equivalent magnetic circuit method has smaller error and higher accuracy than the finite element method. The harmonic electric potential of the starter generator is modeled and analyzed. The permanent magnet rotor and inner and outer stator structures are optimized to obtain the optimal parameters, and the prototype is manufactured and tested. The optimized starter generator no-load induced electromotive force fundamental amplitude is improved. The induced electromotive force harmonic distortion rate is reduced, and the output performance of the whole generator is significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]