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Slickwater fracturing fluids are widely used in the development of unconventional oil and gas resources due to the advantages of low cost, low formation damage and high drag reduction performance. However, their performance is severely affected at high temperatures. Drag reducing agent is the key to determine the drag reducing performance of slickwater. In this work, in order to further improve the temperature resistance of slickwater, a temperature-resistant polymeric drag reducing agent (PDRA) was synthesized and used as the basis for preparing the temperature-resistant slickwater. The slickwater system was prepared with the compositions of 0.2 wt% PDRA, 0.05 wt% drainage aid nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether phosphate (NPEP) and 0.5 wt% anti-expansion agent polyepichlorohydrindimethylamine (PDM). The drag reduction ability, rheology properties, temperature and shear resistance ability, and core damage property of slickwater were systematically studied and evaluated. In contrast to on-site drag reducing agent (DRA) and HPAM, the temperature-resistant slickwater demonstrates enhanced drag reduction efficacy at 90 °C, exhibiting superior temperature and shear resistance ability. Notably, the drag reduction retention rate for the slickwater achieved an impressive 90.52% after a 30-min shearing period. Additionally, the core damage is only 5.53%.We expect that this study can broaden the application of slickwater in high-temperature reservoirs and provide a theoretical basis for field applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Poinarelektronmiles Fanti & Damgaard, 2020 is considered as a junior synonym of Burmomiles Fanti, Damgaard & Ellenberger, 2018, since no generic diagnostic differences can be found in their type species except for the elytral length, which is a yet unstable and more ecology-related character. The two hitherto known species of Poinarelektronmiles are transferred to Burmomiles or Sanaungulus Fanti, Damgaard & Ellenberger, 2018, including B. ellenbergeri (Fanti & Damgaard, 2020) comb. nov. and S. cuaroni (Bramanti & Fanti, 2022) comb. nov. Meanwhile, B. dominikiweissbachi (Fanti & Müller, 2022) comb. nov., B. kachinensis (Fanti & Müller, 2022) comb. nov. and B. lethi (Fanti & Damgaard, 2020) comb. nov. are transferred from Sanaungulus. Six Sanaungulus species are suggested to be placed in Cantharidae incertae sedis, including S. electrum Fanti & Müller, 2022, S. franziskaeweissbachae Fanti & Müller, 2022, S. nalae Fanti & Müller, 2022, S. morellii Fanti & Damgaard, 2020, S. rosenzweigi Fanti & Damgaard, 2020 and S. ruicheni (Hsiao & Huang, 2018), due to their absence of antennal appendages in males. The gender identity for S. kirstenaeweissbachae Fanti & Müller, 2022 and S. cuaroni originally defined as females are corrected into males, according to their pectinate antennae. Additionally, four new species, S. marginalis sp. nov., S. longicornis sp. nov., S. elongaticollis sp. nov., and S. undecimus sp. nov., are described and illustrated. These results will significantly complement and expand our knowledge on the Burmite cantharid diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangoes are typical climacteric tropical fruits with accelerated metabolism, degradation, and senescence after harvest due to the accumulation of field heat. Thus, removing field heat as soon as possible after harvest is essential. In addition, a severe postharvest disease of mango, anthracnose, has been reported to be caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, thus decreasing the shelf life and limiting mango export. This study was performed to investigate the effect of delayed precooling on the quality and incidence of anthracnose during storage of Irwin mango at different operational times after the harvest. Therefore, in this study, Irwin was precooled for 30 min at 3, 6, 12, and 24 h postharvest and immediately stored in a cold room at 5°C. The appearance, anthracnose incidence, respiration rate, ethylene production, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and fruit overripening rate were monitored throughout the shelf life. Early precooling was found to delay anthracnose incidence during the shelf life. Furthermore, the fruit respiration rate during the shelf life was negatively correlated with the precooling delay. The respiration rate of fruits precooled for 3 h after harvest was 8.08 mg CO2 kg–1 h–1 and retained a good appearance throughout the shelf life. Their ripening, reduced firmness, and TA were significantly delayed compared with those of fruits with longer precooling delays, which had a firmness of 19 N, TA of 0.29%, and TSS of 12.6°Brix after 30 d of storage at 5°C, while subsequent warming to 20°C for 3 d, the rate of overripening was significantly lower in fruits with precooling delays of 3 and 6 h than in fruits with a precooling delay of 24 h. Thus, precooling mangoes within 3–6 h of harvest will reduce their respiration rate, delay ripening, decrease anthracnose incidence, preserve quality, and prolong storage life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Secondary syphilis is well-known for its protean cutaneous manifestations and therefore very easy to be misdiagnosed. Aim: The current study was to observe the frequency of histopathological features characterizing secondary syphilis, and summarize the diseases most likely to be misdiagnosed. Material and methods: In this study a total of 129 pathological specimens from 114 patients with biopsy-proven secondary syphilis were retrospectively analysed and categorized according to clinicopathologic characteristics. The frequency of histopathological features characterizing secondary syphilis were analysed by comparison with clinical features. Results: We found that in a single sample there is at least one feature or at most 13 features exist concurrently, and most demonstrated between 5 and 9 diagnostic features. Plasma cells (97.6% overall vs. 94.0% < 6 features), endothelial swelling (86.8% vs. 74.0%), epidermis hyperplasia (73.6% vs. 62.0%) especially irregular acanthosis, lymphocytes infiltration (71.3% vs. 52.0%) and interstitial patterns (69% vs. 72.0%) were the most common findings in all cases as well as in cases with < 6 features. Granulomatous inflammation is an uncommon histopathologic pattern in secondary syphilis (12.4%). The rash morphologies of our biopsies mainly manifesting as macules and maculopapules were more likely to have 6 or fewer features, which were not only easily misdiagnosed for pityriasis rosea, tinea and erythema multiforme, but also mostly taken from the trunk and genitalia. Atypical morphologies can be combined with plasma cell infiltration and T. pallidum immunohistochemical stain to confirm the diagnosis. Conclusions: In this study plasma cells from superficial and deep perivascular distribution to nodular infiltration were a crucial clue for diagnosis of secondary syphilis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In this study, we compared the clinical efficacy of endoscope-assisted anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with open ACDF in the treatment of single-segment cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on 52 patients with single-segment cervical spondylotic myelopathy between June 2021 and February 2022, including 33 males and 19 females, with a mean age of 58.42 ± 9.26) years. Among them, 28 patients were treated with endoscope-assisted ACDF (Group A), including 2 cases of C4/5 segment, 16 cases of C5/6 segment, and 10 cases of C6/7 segment; 24 patients were treated with open ACDF (Group B), including 4 cases of C4/5 segment, 11 cases of C5/6 segment, and 9 cases of C6/7 segment. The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, hospital stay, and complications were recorded and compared between the two groups. The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score were used for clinical evaluation during the follow-up in the 1st month and 3rd month after surgery, and at the final follow-up. Results: The 52 patients were followed up on average for 13.04 months (12–17 months). The operation time in Group A and Group B was (105.18 + 8.66) minutes and (81.88 + 6.05) minutes, the intraoperative blood loss was (84.29 + 13.45) mL and (112.92 + 17.81) mL, and the hospital stay was (6.75 + 1.29) days and (7.63 + 1.41) days, respectively. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The VAS and JOA scores in the 1st month and the 3rd month after surgery and the last follow-up significantly improved in both groups compared with those before surgery (P < 0.05). The VAS and JOA scores of Group A in the 1st month, 3rd month after surgery, and the last follow-up were better than those in Group B (P < 0.05). The complication rate in Group A was 7% (2/28), which was not significantly different from the 17% (4/24) in Group B (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Both endoscope-assisted ACDF and open ACDF can achieve satisfactory clinical efficacy in the treatment of single-segment cervical spondylotic myelopathy. Although the operation time of endoscope-assisted ACDF is prolonged, it has the advantages of clear vision, thorough decompression, less blood loss, and reduced risk of nerve damage, and is worthy of clinical promotion and application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fracturing fluid property play a critical role in developing unconventional reservoirs. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) show fascinating potential for property improvement of clean fracturing fluids (CFFs) due to their low-price, low-toxicity, chemical stability and flexible designability. In this work, DESs were synthesized by mixing hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs) and a given hydrogen bond donor (HBD) to explore their underlying influence on CFF properties based on the intermolecular interactions. The hydrogen-bonding, van der Waals and electrostatic interactions between DES components and surfactants improved the CFF properties by promoting the arrangement of surfactants at interface and enhancing the micelle network strength. The HBD enhanced the resistance of CFF for Ca2+ due to coordination-bonding interaction. The DESs composed of choline chloride (ChCl) and malonic acid show great enhancement for surface, rheology, temperature resistance, salt tolerance, drag reduction, and gel-breaking performance of CFFs. The DESs also improved the gel-breaking CFF-oil interactions, increasing the imbibition efficiencies to 44.2% in 74 h. Adjusting HBAs can effectively strengthen the intermolecular interactions (e.g., HBA-surfactant and HBD-surfactant interactions) to improve CFF properties. The DESs developed in this study provide a novel strategy to intensify CFF properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquid-based ionogels emerge as promising candidates for efficient ionic thermoelectric conversion due to their quasi-solid state, giant thermopower, high flexibility, and good stability. P-type ionogels have shown impressive performance; however, the development of n-type ionogels lags behind. Here, an n-type ionogel consisting of polyethylene oxide (PEO), lithium salt, and ionic liquid is developed. Strong coordination of lithium ion with ether oxygen and the anion-rich clusters generated by ion-preferential association promote rapid transport of the anions and boost Eastman entropy change, resulting in a huge negative ionic Seebeck coefficient (-15 millivolts per kelvin) and a high electrical conductivity (1.86 millisiemens per centimeter) at 50% relative humidity. Moreover, dynamic and reversible interactions among the ternary mixtures endow the ionogel with fast autonomous self-healing capability and green recyclability. All PEO-based ionic thermoelectric modules are fabricated, which exhibits outstanding thermal responses (-80 millivolts per kelvin for three p-n pairs), demonstrating great potential for low-grade energy harvesting and ultrasensitive thermal sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Androgen receptor (AR) activation and repression dual-functionality only became known recently and still remains intriguing in prostate cancer (PCa). MYC is a prominent oncogene that functionally entangles with AR signaling in PCa. Further exploration of AR regulatory mechanisms on MYC gene transcription bears clinical and translation significance. Methods: Bioinformatics analysis of PCa cell line and clinical RNA-Seq and ChIP-Seq (chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing) datasets to anchor interactions of AR and MYC transcriptional networks. ChIP-qPCR and 3C (chromosome conformation capture) analyses to probe MYC distal regulation by AR binding sites (ABSs). CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome-editing to specify functions of ABS within the 8q24-MYC locus on androgen-mediated MYC transcription. Global FoxA1 and HoxB13 distribution profiling to advance AR transcriptional mechanisms. Results: Here we recognize AR bi-directional transcription mechanisms by exploiting the prominent 8q24-MYC locus conferring androgen hyper-sensitivity. At ~ 25 Kb downstream of the MYC gene, we identified an undefined ABS, P10. By chromatin analyses, we validated androgen-dependent spatial interaction between P10 and MYC-Promoter (MYC-Pro) and temporal epigenetic repression of these MYC-proximal elements. We next designed a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated double genomic knock-out (KO) strategy to show that P10-KO slightly lessened androgen-elicited MYC transrepression in LNCaP-AR cells. In similar genomic editing assays, androgen-mediated MYC repression became slightly deepened upon KO of P11, an ABS in the PVT1 gene locus highly enriched in AR-binding motifs and peaks. We also investigated multiple ABSs in the established PCAT1 super-enhancer that distally interacts with MYC-Pro for transactivation, with each KO pool consistently shown to relieve androgen-elicited MYC repression. In the end, we systemically assessed androgen effects in the 8q24-MYC locus and along PCa genome to generalize H3K27ac and BRD4 re-distribution from pioneer factors (FoxA1 and HoxB13) to AR sites. Conclusion: Together, we reconciled these observations by unifying AR dual-functions that are mechanistically coupled to and equilibrated by co-factor redistribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additive manufacturing enables the deposition of material in the near-net shape at any desired location on the base plate or shell to improve the structural performance by tailoring the buckling and/or vibration mode shapes. In this study, a stiffened plate with arbitrarily shaped stiffeners is modeled using a nonconformal mesh-based finite element model. Six degrees of freedom are considered for each node of the plate and the stiffener finite element models to enable the couplings between the plate's and stiffeners' in-plane and out-of-plane motions. Displacement compatibility is enforced at the interface between the plate and the stiffeners where several skin-stringer connection approaches, including inverse isoparametric mapping algorithm (IIMA), radial basis function, and thin-plate spline function, are used. Various complex models available in the literature are employed for evaluating the skin-stringer connection approaches. Research studies show that the IIMA-based nonconformal mesh modeling can generate a sparse displacement approximation matrix, which makes it an efficient approach for nonconformal mesh-based modeling. For the stiffened plate with higher stiffeners, the present results agree well with those obtained from the Abaqus/CAE conventional conformal mesh and mesh tie constraint-based nonconformal mesh modeling results, but yield better results than the Abaqus/CAE wrapping mesh approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

H2‐free semi‐hydrogenation at room temperature shows great advantage for replacing the thermocatalytic process in industry owing to the high energy and resource saving, however, remains great challenges. Herein, a tree‐like Pd dendrites array decorated Pd membrane was constructed as the core device in an electrochemistry assisted gas‐fed membrane reactor for butadiene semi‐hydrogenation. It reveals that hydrogen atomic sieving effect of this Pd‐based membrane under electrochemical condition was the key for semi‐hydrogenation. The configuration study of Pd nanostructured membrane demonstrates that the penetration of hydrogen atoms through Pd membrane from electrochemical side to chemical side is affected by the consumption of hydrogen atom in semi‐hydrogenation step. Such atomic sieving property of nanostructured Pd membrane with 5.1 times increase in catalytic active surface area brings above 14 times higher in butadiene conversion than that of bare Pd foil, with ≈90 % of butenes selectivity at butadiene conversion ≈98 % over 300 h of H2‐free reaction under 15 mA cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

H2‐free semi‐hydrogenation at room temperature shows great advantage for replacing the thermocatalytic process in industry owing to the high energy and resource saving, however, remains great challenges. Herein, a tree‐like Pd dendrites array decorated Pd membrane was constructed as the core device in an electrochemistry assisted gas‐fed membrane reactor for butadiene semi‐hydrogenation. It reveals that hydrogen atomic sieving effect of this Pd‐based membrane under electrochemical condition was the key for semi‐hydrogenation. The configuration study of Pd nanostructured membrane demonstrates that the penetration of hydrogen atoms through Pd membrane from electrochemical side to chemical side is affected by the consumption of hydrogen atom in semi‐hydrogenation step. Such atomic sieving property of nanostructured Pd membrane with 5.1 times increase in catalytic active surface area brings above 14 times higher in butadiene conversion than that of bare Pd foil, with ≈90 % of butenes selectivity at butadiene conversion ≈98 % over 300 h of H2‐free reaction under 15 mA cm−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The membrane method based on adaptive wettability shows great advantages in oil-water separation. At present, researches focus on the excellent application performance of the membrane material, while the quantitative analysis of interactions in oil-water separation is rarely recognized. Herein, we constructed an adaptable wettability membrane with multiple polymer networks by polydopamine (PDA) and mussel-inspired amphiphilic polymer. Based on the Owens three-probe liquid method, the surface energy of the modified membrane was verified to meet the adaptive wettability conditions, with surface energies (gS) of 147.6 mJ m-2 (superhydrophilic/underwater superoleophobic) and 49.87 mJ m-2 (superhydrophobic/superoleophobic), respectively. The adhesion or repulsion of the membrane to the oil phase under different conditions during the separation process was quantified by the chemical probe AFM technique. In addition, the oil-water selective separation mechanism was further analyzed in a simplified membrane microchannel model. The results show that the different wetting produces capillary additional pressure in opposite directions, resulting in different energies to be overcome when the oil or water passes through the microchannels, thus achieving selective separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coarse-grained heat-affected zone specimens of X80 pipeline steel were produced by welding thermal simulation under different heat inputs of 10, 30, and 55 kJ/cm to study the effects of heat input on microstructure evolution and corrosion characterization. The corrosion resistance of coarse-grained heat-affected zones was poorer than that of base metal due to less homogenous in the former. For 10 kJ/cm coarse-grained heat-affected zone, the corrosion resistance was poorer than the others due to the more adsorption hydrogen around the needle-like martensite/austenite constituents and greater galvanic driving force between the needle-like martensite/austenite constituents and ferrite. In carbonate/bicarbonate solution, better corrosion resistance for coarsegrained heat-affected zones was obtained when the heat input is 30 kJ/cm, which can be attributed to the severe coarse martensite/austenite constituents for 55 kJ/cm coarse-grained heat-affected zone. In the H2S environment, the better corrosion resistance for coarse-grained heat-affected zone was obtained when the heat input is 55 kJ/cm, which can be attributed to the protective effect of corrosion products. In addition, the high content of M/A constituents for 30 kJ/cm CGHAZ was good for hydrogen adsorption, which was adverse to the corrosion resistance in acid environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of industry, Cr has become one of the major heavy metal pollutants in soil, severely impacting soil microecology, among which rhizosphere microorganisms can improve the soil microenvironment to promote plant growth. However, how rhizosphere bacterial communities respond to Cr stress under different cultivation modes remains to be further studied. Therefore, in this study, a greenhouse pot experiment combined with 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing technology was used to study the effects of Cr stress at 200 mg kg−1 on the bacterial community structure and diversity in the rhizosphere soil of Iris tectorum under different cultivation modes. The results showed that the rhizosphere bacterial community diversity index (Shannon and Simpson) and abundance index (Ace and Chao) increased significantly with wetland plant diversity under Cr stress. Moreover, the bacterial community changed by 20.1% due to the addition of Cr, further leading to a 15.9% decrease in the common species of the bacterial community, among which Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Acidobacteriota accounted for more than 74.8% of the total sequence. However, with the increase in plant diversity, the abundance of rhizosphere-dominant bacteria and plant growth-promoting bacteria communities increased significantly. Meanwhile, the symbiotic network analysis found that under the two cultivation modes, the synergistic effect between the dominant bacteria was significantly enhanced, and the soil microenvironment was improved. In addition, through redundancy analysis, it was found that C, N, and P nutrients in uncontaminated soil were the main driving factors of bacterial community succession in the rhizosphere of I. tectorum, and Cr content in contaminated soil was the main driving factor of bacterial community succession in I. tectorum rhizosphere. In summary, the results of this study will provide a basis for the response of the rhizosphere bacterial community to Cr and the interaction between wetland plants and rhizosphere bacteria in the heavy metal restoration of wetland plants under different cultivation modes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is unclear whether associating liver partition and portal vein ligation for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) can be performed in hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients with cirrhosis. We explored the efficacy of ALPPS in HCC patients. Data of 54 patients who underwent ALPPS between August 2014 and July 2020 at three centers were collected. Adverse factors affecting their prognosis were analyzed and subsequently compared with 184 patients who underwent transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Overall survival rates of the ALPPS group at 1, 3, and 5 years were 70.6%, 38.4%, and 31.7%, respectively; corresponding disease-free survival rates were 50.5%, 22.4%, and 19.2%, respectively. The ALPPS group had a significantly greater long-term survival rate than the TACE group (before propensity score matching, P < 0.001; after propensity score matching, P = 0.002). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that multifocal lesions (P = 0.018) and macroscopic vascular invasion (P = 0.001) were prognostic factors for HCC patients who underwent ALPPS. After the propensity score matching, the multifocal lesions (P = 0.031), macroscopic vascular invasion (P = 0.003), and treatment type (ALPPS/TACE) (P = 0.026) were the factors adversely affecting the prognosis of HCC patients. ALPPS was feasible in hepatitis B virus-related HCC patients with cirrhosis and resulted in better survival than TACE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the inhibitory effect of strontium ranelate on alveolar bone resorption in diabetic rats with periodontitis, and the mechanism involved. Methods: Forty-five Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were allocated to 3 groups, viz, diabetic control, diabetic periodontitis, and diabetic periodontitis + strontium ranelate groups. Diabetes was induced via i.v. administration of streptozotocin (STZ) (45 mg/kg). Then, a rat model of periodontitis was established by ligating the neck of the upper left first molar of each rat with a 0.4-mm orthodontic ligation wire. Strontium ranelate or normal saline was administered by gavage. Four weeks later, various indicators were assessed. Results: There was a significantly higher expression level of Mir-21 in the periodontal tissue of diabetic periodontitis rats than in diabetic control rats. In contrast, this parameter was significantly lower in diabetic periodontitis rats than in periodontal tissues of rats in the diabetic periodontitis + strontium ranelate group, while the translations of JAK2 and STAT3 genes were significantly higher in periodontal tissues of diabetic periodontitis rats (p < 0.05). In contrast, there were lower expression levels of JAK2 and STAT3 in diabetic periodontitis group than in diabetic periodontitis + strontium ranelate group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Strontium ranelate increases the expression level of miR-21 and activates JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway, thereby inhibiting the resorption of alveolus bone in rats with diabetes/periodontitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibodies (ANCA) associated glomerulonephritis (AGN) is a group of autoimmune diseases and mono-macrophages are involved in its glomerular injuries. In this study, we aim to investigate the role of CD206+ mono-macrophages in AGN. Methods: 27 AGN patients (14 active AGN, 13 remissive AGN) together with healthy controls (n = 9), disease controls (n = 6) and kidney function adjusted controls (n = 9) from Department of Nephrology, Ruijin hospital were recruited. Flow cytometry was used to study proportion of CD206+ cells in peripheral blood. Immunohistochemistry for CD206 staining was performed and CD206 expression was scored in different kidney regions. Serum soluble CD206 (sCD206) was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). We also generated murine myeloperoxidase (MPO) (muMPO) ANCA by immunizing Mpo−/− mice. Mouse bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) from wild C57BL/6 mice and peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) derived macrophages from healthy donors were treated with MPO ANCA with or without its inhibitor AZD5904 to investigate the effects of MPO-ANCA on CD206 expression. Results: The proportion of peripheral CD206+CD68+ cells in active AGN patients were significantly higher than that in remissive patients (p < 0.001), healthy controls (p < 0.001) and kidney function adjusted controls (p < 0.001). Serum sCD206 level in active AGN patients was higher than that in healthy controls (p < 0.05) and remissive patients (p < 0.01). Immunohistochemistry showed CD206 was highly expressed in different kidney regions including fibrinoid necrosis or crescent formation, glomeruli, periglomerular and tubulointerstitial compartment in active AGN patients in comparison with disease controls. Further studies showed MPO ANCA could induce CD206 expression in BMDMs and PBMC derived macrophages and such effects could be reversed by its inhibitor AZD5904. Conclusion: ANCA could induce CD206 expression on mono-macrophages and CD206+ mono-macrophages are activated in AGN. CD206 might be involved in the pathogenesis of AAV and may be a potential target for the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asian economies in contrast with other developing economies appear to be the lowest in competition when it comes to achieving sustainable development. The reason is connected with energy security and non-renewable energy as these are one of the key issues which are confronted by these nations. Therefore, the current study proclaims to investigate the crucial factors that play a bigger role in sustainable development. These factors are measured in the context of adjusted net savings and the study extracted the data from 10 Asian economies covering the time period of 1990–2020. The study adopted panel estimation, slope heterogeneity, co-integration, and CS-ARDL techniques to estimate the coefficient. Whereas, for robust analysis, AMG and CCEMG techniques were used. The findings revealed that REW energy, economic growth, and financial development altogether enhance adjusted net saving and reduce non-REW energy consumption. It is recommended in the study that the sample countries should adopt the required provisions in renewable sectors. • Renewable energy, financial development, and economic growth increase adjusted net savings. • Energy is a crucial enabler of sustainable development goals (SDGs) since it boosts productivity. • To achieve sustainable development, it has become imperative to meet the ever-increasing energy demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimization of composite laminates requires the satisfaction of constraints where the design ply thicknesses and orientations can only take discrete values prescribed by the manufacturers. Heuristics such as particle swarm or genetic algorithms are inefficient in such cases because they provide suboptimal solutions when the number of design variables is large. They also are computationally expensive in handling the combinatorial nature of the problem. In contrast, with the help of binary decision variables, mixed integer programming can be adopted to optimize such laminates efficiently. This paper presents an approach to reformulate lamination parameters and failure constraints as functions of binary decision variables. The buckling load maximization for a simply supported laminated plate is initially demonstrated using integer linear programming. Next, the laminate weight is minimized by varying the number of plies for a given external bi-axial compressive load and subjected to buckling and material failure constraints. A variation of laminate weight minimization is demonstrated by fixing the number of plies and assuming discrete changes in ply thicknesses. This is achieved using a sequential two-level optimization for laminates having uniform ply thickness. Finally, a scalability study is performed to evaluate the performance of mixed integer programming for different problem sizes. It is demonstrated that all three formulations with integer programming achieve significant performance gain and robustness over standard heuristic solvers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problems that the three-direction uniaxial sequential vibration test cannot effectively simulate the real launch environment of the satellite, and the high cost of the multi-axis shaker and the limitation of engineering application, the multi-axis vibration test scheme based on vector-fixture is proposed. Taking the vibration magnitude of uniaxial vibration test on the satellite mounting surface as equivalent reference, the appropriate vector direction is determined to carry out vector-fixture design. By analyzing the multi-axial vibration test data of the real structure of a satellite, it can be seen that: The "satellite-fixture" mounting surface can reach the set vibration magnitude at low frequencies, and undertest occurs at high frequency due to structural resonance and other factors; By optimizing the control strategy, the degree of over-test and under-test in the three directions can be balanced. According to the mission characteristics and development cycle of micro-nano satellites, this paper provides an efficient vibration test scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatty acid (FA) desaturases, as the key enzymes in lipid metabolism, are responsible for biosynthesis of the unsaturated fatty FAs, which play important roles in maintaining cell membrane integrity and multiple stress responses. Although attention has been drawn to some plant FA desaturase genes, their global landscape in oil crops is still lacking. Here, we performed systematic characterization and phylogenomic synteny network analyses of the FA desaturase gene family in polyploid oil crop B. napus and other 54 species covering major streptophyte lineages. A total of 1653 FA desaturase genes were identified from these plant genomes. Based on the broad-scale family phylogeny and functional domains, we proposed a unified eight-group classification system for angiosperm FA desaturases, and found that the origin of genes responsible for FA desaturation evolved early and some genes were absent in different species. Phylogenomic analyses revealed deeply conserved syntenic relationships within each of the eight FA desaturase groups. B. napus contains up to 93 FA desaturase genes from the eight groups. Recurrent duplication events in Brassicaceae contributed to the expansion of FA desaturase genes in B. napus, leading to further functional diversification. These FA desaturase genes exhibited spatio-temporal specific expression patterns in different tissues of B. napus, and a set of FA desaturase genes seem to be orchestrated by key transcriptional factors during seed development, such as zf-HD, B3, GATA3, PEI1, NFYA7, YAB1 and YAB2. Altogether, our data have inferred the evolutionary trajectory of this important gene family across distinct plant lineages, providing theoretical basis for future manipulation of FA desaturase genes to improve the seed oil quality of B. napus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were quantified in a sediment core from Songhua Lake, a large artificial lake in Northeast China, to investigate their historical deposition behaviors and reconstruct their use history. The total OCPs concentrations ranged from 17.74 to 411.86 ng/g. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDTs) and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were recorded as the dominant components. Historically, OCPs contaminations input were significant during the 1950s with also certainly deposition input in the mid-1960s and 1990s corresponding with historically intense anthropogenic activities with the development of industry and agriculture in the watershed. DDTs records showed that the deposition environment in Songhua Lake was inclined to the aerobic environment before the 1960s and after the mid-1980s. Principal component analysis (PCA) combined with the diagnostic ratios of OCPs and their metabolites indicated DDTs contamination was due to the input of industrial DDT, and HCHs pollution was from the mixture input of industrial HCHs and lindane source. The data analysis from sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) indicated that the ecological risk can be induced by the presence of DDTs, Lindane, and Dieldrin, which posed an adverse toxic ecological threat to benthic and aquatic organisms of relative regions and need to be taken seriously and managed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some fossil Cantharidae from the Burmese amber have been reported, but it is still a poorly investigated group and some unknown taxa remain to be discovered. In this study, we employed comparative morphology and geometric morphometrics to uncover a new catharid genus from the mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber, and further investigate its phylogenetic position within Cantharidae by different cladistic methods. As a result, Brevipterus gen. nov., was defined to accommodate B. strungei (Fanti & Damggard, 2019) comb. nov. transferred from Sanaungulus and another three new species, B. acutiapicis sp. nov., B. abtusiapicis sp. nov. and B. megacephalus sp. nov., and the produced topologies indicate that the new genus is always grouped together with other members of the subfamily Cantharinae. These results will improve our knowledge about Burmite cantharids and provide some more early evidence in reconstructing the phylogeny of Cantharidae. ZooBank LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:8CCFE45E-64C9-443F-A4B9-801655DEF1A8. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To efficiently implement space debris removal missions on geostationary Earth orbit (GEO), a scheduling optimization scheme of multiple hybrid-propulsive servicing spacecraft (SSc) is proposed. In this scheme, a many-to-many task allocation coding model is established to formulate the removal sequences of debris targets with respect to different SSc. And a hybrid-propulsive orbit transfer strategy is developed to implement the debris removal maneuvers to save the propellant consumption and removal time simultaneously via using both electric and chemical propulsion systems. Then, the multiple GEO space debris removal scheduling optimization problem is formulated to minimize the total propellant consumption by exploring the optimal removal sequences and orbit maneuver parameters, subject to the available velocity increment, removal time, and many-to-many task allocation constraints. To effectively solve the scheduling optimization problem involving discrete-continuous mixed variables, a clustering based adaptive differential evolution algorithm with potential individual reservation (CADE-PIR) is proposed. In CADE-PIR, the k-means clustering method and potential individual reservation mutation strategy are employed to promote the convergence rate and performance of exploration and exploitation. In the end, a real-world GEO space debris removal mission with multiple SSc is investigated to demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed optimization scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel electric thruster configuration design optimization scheme to implement efficient station-keeping operations for geostationary satellites. In this work, the electric thrusters are equipped with 4-DOF robotic manipulators to provide flexible control thrust in space, which consumes much less propellant than the conventional station-keeping process using fixed-position electric thrusters. To effectively determine the firing right ascensions and firing durations of each electric thruster during the station-keeping process, a novel station-keeping control strategy is developed in view of the low-thrust feature of electric thrusters and the flexible pointing capacity of robotic manipulators. A low-thrust station-keeping period includes one two-day orbit determination period and six two-day control periods, where the initial orbital elements are determined in the orbit determination period, and the electric thrusters fire to compensate the perturbations in the control periods. Based on the control strategy, the electric thruster configuration design optimization problem is formulated to minimize the total propellant consumption via optimizing the robotic manipulator joint swivel angles and firing durations simultaneously, subject to several practical engineering constraints including the station-keeping accuracy, angular momentum dumping, collision between electric thruster and solar array, and electric thruster plume. Finally, the proposed electric thruster configuration design optimization scheme is applied to real-world station-keeping problems. The simulation results show that the geostationary satellites can be successfully maintained in an assigned station-keeping window using the robotic manipulators based low-thrust station-keeping control strategy. Moreover, the optimized electric thruster configuration with robotic manipulators can save 31.58% propellant consumption compared with that of the conventional configuration owing to the favorable flexibility of control thrust, which demonstrates the effectiveness and practicality of this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil salinization is detrimental to the growth and development of flax and ultimately leads to a decrease in yield. However, the molecular mechanism of linseed response to salt stress is still unclear. In this study, a salt-tolerant (ST) linseed variety STS and a salt-sensitive (SS) variety DYM were selected as experiment materials. Bulk segregation analysis and whole-genome resequencing technologies were performed to map salt tolerance quantitative trait loci (QTL). A total of 38,625 QTL loci were identified. Fifteen genes (which were not annotated in the reference genome) were identified within a 2.597 Mb region in chromosome 1. Two salt tolerance candidate genes Lus.o.m.scaffold91.141 and Lus.o.m. Scaffold1.14 encoding WD40 and cytochrome P450 were identified by predicting protein functions. Previous studies showed that WD40 and cytochrome P450 could significantly improve plant salt stress tolerance. In this paper, results showed that Lus.o.m.scaffold91.141 and Lus.o.m. Scaffold1.14 might be involved in response to salt stress in lineseed. The fine mapping and functional analysis of these genes provide a molecular breeding basis for the genetic improvement of high salt-tolerant linseed varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scaffolding proteins can customize the response of signaling networks to support cell development and behaviors. PleC is a bifunctional histidine kinase whose signaling activity coordinates asymmetric cell division to yield a motile swarmer cell and a stalked cell in the gram-negative bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. Past studies have shown that PleC's switch in activity from kinase to phosphatase correlates with a change in its subcellular localization pattern from diffuse to localized at the new cell pole. Here we investigated how the bacterial scaffolding protein PodJ regulates the subcellular positioning and activity of PleC. We reconstituted the PleC-PodJ signaling complex through both heterologous expressions in Escherichia coli and in vitro studies. In vitro, PodJ phase separates as a biomolecular condensate that recruits PleC and inhibits its kinase activity. We also constructed an in vivo PleC-CcaS chimeric histidine kinase reporter assay and demonstrated using this method that PodJ leverages its intrinsically disordered region to bind to PleC's PAS sensory domain and regulate PleC-CcaS signaling. Regulation of the PleC-CcaS was most robust when PodJ was concentrated at the cell poles and was dependent on the allosteric coupling between PleC-CcaS's PAS sensory domain and its downstream histidine kinase domain. In conclusion, our in vitro biochemical studies suggest that PodJ phase separation may be coupled to changes in PleC enzymatic function. We propose that this coupling of phase separation and allosteric regulation may be a generalizable phenomenon among enzymes associated with biomolecular condensates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable manufacturing has become a global and societal goal. Although its execution is much slower, the manufacturing sector is also slowing down the unsustainable practices. One of the difficulties in the implementation of sustainability is to re-engineer its evaluation for specific fields. This study brings sustainable manufacturing underpinned an overall performance index (OPI) by integrating machinability metrics, sustainability metrics, and their comprehensive sustainability evaluation. It involves quantitative and qualitative factors such as the operator's health, shop floor environment, air quality, chip removal, and surface quality of the product in this assessment process. In this attempt, the application of the framework is presented for the assessment of sustainability through a case study with different green and hybrid lubri-cooling technologies in machining processes. These technologies have the potential to contribute to cleaner production by reducing the consumption of cutting fluid, cutting tools, energy, and carbon emissions. Considering these state-of-the-art cooling technologies, this research aims to explore their advantages and promote their application in engineering fields, thereby opening new possibilities for sustainable manufacturing practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several popular time-frequency techniques, including the Wigner-Ville distribution, smoothed pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution, wavelet transform, synchrosqueezing transform, Hilbert-Huang transform, and Gabor-Wigner transform, are investigated to determine how well they can identify damage to structures. In this work, a synchroextracting transform (SET) based on the short-time Fourier transform is proposed for estimating post-earthquake structural damage. The performance of SET for artificially generated signals and actual earthquake signals is examined with existing methods. Amongst other tested techniques, SET improves frequency resolution to a great extent by lowering the influence of smearing along the time-frequency plane. Hence, interpretation and readability with the proposed method are improved, and small changes in the time-varying frequency characteristics of the damaged buildings are easily detected through the SET method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is very crucial to solve the Reynolds equation quickly and accurately using the numerical methods in the research field of fluid lubrication. For the static Reynolds equation of self‐acting gas journal bearings, the typical solution algorithm of the finite difference method is put forward and a new solution algorithm of the finite difference method is proposed. Secondly, the Reynolds equation is solved numerically with the same parameters and the pressure distribution of gas bearings is obtained. Finally, the numerical solution from the new solution algorithm can be obtained with less number of iterations and the less computing time under the different computational grids and bearing numbers. Therefore, the new solution algorithm of the finite difference method is superior to the typical solution algorithm of the finite difference method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Rapamycin was shown to reduce transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) expression, inhibit the Mammalian target of rapamycin function, and prevent TGF-β1-induced pulmonary fibrosis. Rapamycin-eluting stents (RES) were successfully used to prevent coronary artery restenosis. Urethral stricture is one of the most challenging problems in urology. Thus, combining the pharmacological effects of rapamycin and the mechanical support of the stent on the urethra may prevent urethral stricture formation. However, the use of RES for urethral stricture treatment has not been studied. Aims: To observe the effects of RES in urethral stricture in a rabbit model. Study Design: Animal experimentation. Methods: Twenty adult male New Zealand rabbits were randomly divided into control, urethral stricture model, bare-metal stent, and RES groups. The rabbits in the control group underwent urethroscopy alone without electrocoagulation. The rabbit model of urethral stricture was established by electrocoagulation using a self-made electrocoagulation device under direct vision using ureteroscopy. After model establishment, the rabbits in the bare-metal stent and RES groups received stent placement by ureteroscopy. On day 30, retrograde urethrography was performed to assess urethral stricture formation, ureteroscopy to remove the stents, and histological examinations to assess the degree of fibrosis. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis were used to evaluate the expression levels of TGF-β1, Smad3, and matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1). Results: Urethral stricture formation was seen in the model group, whereas not in the bare-metal stent group. The bare-metal stents did not displace but were difficult to remove. In the RES group, RES was dislodged in itself at postoperative day 27 in one rabbit, whereas successfully removed by ureteroscopy in the remaining four rabbits, and urethral stricture formation was not seen on retrograde urethrography after stent removal. Histological examination revealed a large number of dense fibroblasts and blue-stained collagen fibers in the bare-metal stent group, whereas the number of fibroblasts and collagen fibers under the mucosa was reduced in the RES group. RT-qPCR and Western blot analyses showed that the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression of TGF-β1and Smad3 was significantly decreased, and mRNA and protein expression of MMP1 was significantly increased in the RES group than that in the model (P < 0.001) and bare-metal stent groups (P < 0.001). Conclusion: RES can effectively prevent electrocoagulation-induced urethral stricture in rabbits. The mechanism may be related to the effect of rapamycin on inhibiting TGF-β1 and Smad3 expression and promoting MMP1 expression in urethral tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A molecular design approach for ML-MOF collectors was established. • ML-MOF collectors were constructed by incorporating novel ligands into Pb–BHA. • The Pb–BHA–SDS and Pb–BHA–OHA were predicted to be promising collectors. • The design results were confirmed by the collecting-ability index and selectivity index. Metal–organic framework (MOF) collectors formed by the coordination of lead ions and benzohydroxamic acid (Pb–BHA) are favorably selective for the flotation separation of calcium-containing minerals. However, the large dosage requirement and foam instability have hindered the industrial applications of MOF collectors. To enhance the collecting ability and hydrophobicity of the Pb–BHA structure, this paper introduces new ligands to form multiple ligand–MOF (ML–MOF) collectors. Through a molecular-design approach, the study analyzes the crystal and electronic structures of the target and gangue minerals, calculates the quantum chemical properties of the organic ligands, constructs the ML–MOF collectors, and determines the interaction strengths between the ML–MOF collectors and mineral surfaces to predict the flotation performances. Finally, the flotation performance of the newly developed collector is confirmed through a series of micro-flotation tests. Among the ML–MOF collectors constructed with four candidate ligands—octylhydroxamic acid (OHA), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), oleic acid, and styrene phosphonic acid—Pb–BHA–SDS and Pb–BHA–OHA excellently and selectively absorbed scheelite, wolframite, and cassiterite in flotation. In addition, they form stable froths and can be applied at low dosage. The correctness of the design results was quantified in terms of their collecting-ability index and selectivity index obtained in a flotation test. The proposed design methodology realizes ML–MOF collectors for the flotation separation of complex multi-mineral systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel gold nanoparticle (Do-AuNP) was successfully synthesized from water extracts of traditional Chinese medicine Dendrobium officinale (DO) without using any extra chemicals regents. The physicochemical properties of Do-AuNPs were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy. The amount of DO extract on the AuNPs was about 13%. In order to evaluate the anti-tumor efficiency and biosafety, the inhibitory rate of HepG2 cells and survival rate of L02 cells were performed in vitro, and the immunohistochemical analysis of H&E, Ki-67, and TUNEL staining were conducted in vivo. Our results demonstrated that Do-AuNP had better anti-tumor efficiency compared with DO extraction alone without increasing toxicity in vivo and in vitro. The present study provides useful information for Do-AuNP as a new nanomedicine for liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is an important foodborne pathogen in aquatic products that can survive long term in an oligotrophic environment and maintain pathogenicity. In this study, the growth curves of 38 strains of V. parahaemolyticus (pathogenic and environmental strains) under different oligotrophic conditions (tryptone soy broth [TSB] and TSB medium diluted 2, 4, and 6 times) were simulated and their growth heterogeneities were compared. The growth kinetic parameters (maximum specific growth rate and lag time) were calculated by the modified Gompertz model. The results showed that oligotrophic conditions affected the growth variability of strains, and the coefficient of variation of all strains reached the maximum in the 4-fold dilution of TSB. Under different oligotrophic conditions, the lag time of the pathogenic strains was shorter than that of the environmental strains, whereas the maximum specific growth rate of the environmental strains was greater. This indicated that pathogenic strains were more adaptable to the nutrient-deficient environment. The analysis of different genotypes revealed that the strains with genotype tlh+/tdh+/trh- showed greater growth variability in oligotrophic environments. These results provided theoretical support for the accuracy of the risk assessment of aquatic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Head injury model validation has evolved from against pressure to relative brain-skull displacement, and more recently, against marker-based strain. However, there are concerns on strain data quality. In this study, we parametrically investigate how displacement random errors and synchronization errors propagate into strain. Embedded markers from four representative configurations are used to form unique and nonoverlapping tetrahedrons, triangles, and linear elements. Marker displacements are then separately subjected to up to ±10% random displacement errors and up to ±2 ms synchronization errors. Based on 100 random trials in each perturbation test, we find that smaller strain errors relative to the baseline peak strains are significantly associated with larger element sizes (volume, area, or length; p <0.05). When displacement errors are capped at the two extreme levels, the earlier "column" and "cluster" configurations provide few usable elements with relative strain error under an empirical threshold of 20%, while about 30-80% of elements in recent "repeatable" and "uniform" configurations are considered otherwise usable. Overall, denser markers are desired to provide exhaustive pairwise linear elements with a range of sizes to balance the need for larger elements to minimize strain error but smaller elements to increase the spatial resolution in strain sampling. Their signed strains also provide unique and unambiguous information on tissue tension and compression. This study may provide useful insights into the scrutinization of existing experimental data for head injury model strain validation and to inform how best to design new experiments in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of two total solids contents (TS) and two inocula were studied for the semi-continuous high-solids anaerobic digestion (HS-AD) of cassava pulp under mesophilic conditions (35 ± 2 °C). In the 1.0-L bioreactors, two TS of 15% and 20% with digestate as a sole inoculum were chosen to run the HS-AD, and two inocula (the digestate from the AD of cassava pulp and sewage sludge) were used separately under TS 20%. All treatments were carried out at the organic matter loading rates (OLRs) of from 3.0 to 10.0 kg volatile solids (VS)/(m³·d), with each phase of 6 days followed by two 3-days phases of no feeding and then low OLR of 6.5 kg VS/(m³·d). Compared with TS 15%, the bioreactors of TS 20% with the digestate had a higher buffering capability to alleviate the rapid acidification and a higher level of the specific methane yields (SMYs) of from 0.212 to 0.233 m³/(kgVSadded) at the OLRs of 4.0 to 6.5 kgVS/(m³·d), while TS 15% obtained the highest SMY of from 0.152 to 0.182 m³/(kgVSadded) at the OLR of 4.0, 6.5, and 8.0 kgVS/(m³·d). In contrast, sewage sludge did not restrain the rapid acidification and only yielded quite small SMYs under TS 20%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of Zr(SO4)2/SiO2 solid acid catalysts with different Zr(SO4)2 loadings were prepared by water-soluble-impregnation method at room temperature. Then, the prepared catalysts were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrum, X-ray diffraction, adsorption/desorption of N2, and temperature-programmed desorption of NH3. The results showed that the active component Zr(SO4)2 was successfully adhered to the mesoporous SiO2, and the acid amount of Zr(SO4)2/SiO2 increased with the increasing of the Zr(SO4)2 loadings. Finally, the wheat stalk was used as raw material and depolymerized over Zr(SO4)2/SiO2 to produce ethyl levulinate (EL). The reaction mixture was separated and purified by filtration and vacuum distillation. The kinetic characteristics and the reaction pathway were also studied. A comparative study showed that 20 wt.% Zr(SO4)2/SiO2 exhibited higher catalytic activity. When reaction temperature, time, catalyst dosage and Zr(SO4)2 loadings were 190 °C, 50 min, 20 wt.% and 30 wt.%, the EL yield reached a maximum of 17.14%. The relative content of EL exceeded 90% after three steps of distillation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systematic profiling studies have implicated regulators of pre-mRNA splicing as important disease determinants in gastric cancer (GC), but the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. Here we focused on hnRNPA2B1 splicing factor-dependent mechanisms governing GC development. Methods: The expression of hnRNPA2B1 was analyzed among the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets of GC and validated at mRNA level. The function of hnRNPA2B1 in GC cells was analyzed and its downstream gene was identified using RNA immunoprecipitation. Further, effect of hnRNPA2B1 on BIRC5 alternative splicing was investigated. Results: We show that overexpression of hnRNPA2B1 in GC is correlated with poor survival, and hnRNPA2B1 is required for maintaining GC malignant phenotype by promoting cell proliferation, inhibiting cell apoptosis and increasing cell metastasis. Mechanistically, hnRNPA2B1 co-expressed with several core spliceosome components and controls alternative splicing of anti-apoptotic factor BIRC5. BIRC5 isoform 202 (BIRC5-202) played the oncogenic function in GC cells, and overexpression of the BIRC5-202 transcript partly rescued the decrease in cisplatin resistance induced by downregulation of hnRNPA2B1. Conclusions: We demonstrate that hnRNPA2B1 regulates BIRC5 splicing and might act as a therapeutic target of chemo-resistant GC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Systematic profiling studies have implicated regulators of pre-mRNA splicing as important disease determinants in gastric cancer (GC), but the underlying mechanisms have remained elusive. Here we focused on hnRNPA2B1 splicing factor-dependent mechanisms governing GC development. Methods: The expression of hnRNPA2B1 was analyzed among the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) datasets of GC and validated at mRNA level. The function of hnRNPA2B1 in GC cells was analyzed and its downstream gene was identified using RNA immunoprecipitation. Further, effect of hnRNPA2B1 on BIRC5 alternative splicing was investigated. Results: We show that overexpression of hnRNPA2B1 in GC is correlated with poor survival, and hnRNPA2B1 is required for maintaining GC malignant phenotype by promoting cell proliferation, inhibiting cell apoptosis and increasing cell metastasis. Mechanistically, hnRNPA2B1 co-expressed with several core spliceosome components and controls alternative splicing of anti-apoptotic factor BIRC5. BIRC5 isoform 202 (BIRC5-202) played the oncogenic function in GC cells, and overexpression of the BIRC5-202 transcript partly rescued the decrease in cisplatin resistance induced by downregulation of hnRNPA2B1. Conclusions: We demonstrate that hnRNPA2B1 regulates BIRC5 splicing and might act as a therapeutic target of chemo-resistant GC cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental learning difficulties are among the prevalent exceptionalities school learners have today. In this regard, identification and placement are among the facilitators of later successful intervention for these groups of learners (West-Olatunji, Shure, Pringle, Adams, Lewis & Cholewa, 2010). However, there are not enough resources such as tools to measure the learners' difficulties (Alim, Abdallah, Ramaroson, Sidikou & Van de Wiel, 2007) available. The tools, which objectively help a professional to identify a learner's level of difficulty is an essential resource, however, they are scarce. With this study we aimed to develop an observation card to determine the prevalence of developmental learning difficulties among primary school students in Sana'a City, Yemen. A 24-item tool was used and analysed to test its psychometric properties. A total of 238 students with ages ranging from 6 to 13 years participated in the study. The findings of the study suggest the final formulation of the items to be included in the observation card that can measure the prevalence of this exceptionality through the use of observation scores. The observed raw score had been standardised by its deviation from the sample's mean. Further, the findings reveal that there were statistically significant differences in the respondents' level of difficulties in terms of their gender and grade. Recommendations of the study are presented in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The microstructure of Ti-6-4 components produced by additive manufacturing suffers from the coarse and elongated prior-β grain, which leads to a decrease of the tensile behavior and the occurrence of anisotropy. To understand and control the grain evolution, a multiscale simulation is applied to investigate the relationship between the grain selection, growth orientation, and the molten pool morphology with the different deposition layer numbers and processing parameters. The accuracy of the simulation is validated by experiments in both qualitative and quantitative ways. Results show that when the grain with unfavorable orientation loses the competitive growth with its neighbors, there will be a great chance that the blocked grain is eliminated in the following layer-and-layer deposition, which leads to the increase of the grain width. The size of the molten pool increases remarkably as the layer number increases, which lays a heavy burden on the stability of the molten pool. The analytical relationship between the molten pool morphology and the grain growth orientation is also deduced. The flat molten pool causes the grains with the <001> direction close to the building direction to have greater survival potential. Besides, decreasing the line power energy shows little effect on the stability of the molten pool and the grain growth orientation, especially when the deposited layer number is large. The revealing mechanisms will help in understanding and further controlling the grain evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to determine whether tetrandrine could attenuate left ventricular dysfunction and remodeling in rats with myocardial infarction. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups (n=5/group) as follows: i) Healthy control group; ii) sham operation group; iii) myocardial infarction model group; iv) myocardial infarction + low-dose tetrandrine group (10 mg/kg); v) myocardial infarction + medium-dose tetrandrine group (50 mg/kg); and vi) myocardial infarction + high-dose tetrandrine group (80 mg/kg). Left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVIDd), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVIDs), ejection fraction (EF%) and left ventricular fractional shortening rate (FS%) were measured using ultrasonography. The pathological changes were observed by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. Left ventricular tissue section TUNEL staining was also performed. Furthermore, the triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC), high density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in the arterial blood were examined by biochemical testing. Expression levels of intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis-related proteins including ryanodine receptor calmodulin, CaM-dependent protein kinase IIδ, protein kinase A, FK506 binding protein 12.6 were measured using western blot analysis. Ultrasonography results showed that in the myocardial infarction model rats, the levels of LVIDd and LVIDs were significantly higher; however, the levels of EF% and FS% were lower compared with those in the sham operation group, which was alleviated by tetrandrine. H&E results showed that tetrandrine alleviated the pathological characteristics of myocardial infarction model rats. Furthermore, tetrandrine significantly inhibited myocardial cell apoptosis in rats with myocardial infarction. Tetrandrine significantly inhibited the levels of TG, TC and LDL and increased the levels of HDL in the arterial blood of rats with myocardial infarction. These findings revealed that tetrandrine could attenuate left ventricular dysfunction in rats with myocardial infarction, which might be associated with intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated changes in the caecal microbial composition and metabolic compounds of broiler chickens weighing approximately 0.8-1.5 kg. Arbor Acres (AA) broilers (n =186) were divided into four groups (A-D) according to body weight on day 35. The results showed that there were significant differences in the average daily feed intake (ADFI), average daily gain (ADG) and feed-to-gain ratio (F:G) of chickens (P < 0.05). The abundance of 11 genera were found to be significantly different in the four groups (P < 0.05). The broilers with poor performance had increased levels of D-mannose, hexadecanoic acid, cholesterol, L-valine, L-leucine, glutamic acid, glucopyranose, α-D-allopyranose and phosphoric acid (P < 0.05) in the cecum. Microbial compositions were different in the ceca of broilers with different growth performances and higher growth performance correlated with changes in metabolic pathways related to energy, amino acids and others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate the combined enhancing effects of microbubble-contrast SonoVue and oxytocin on high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation of adenomyosis. Methods: 330 patients with adenomyosis were randomly assigned to SonoVue and oxytocin group (group A, n = 82), oxytocin (group B, n = 85), SonoVue (group C, n = 81), or the control (group D, n = 82) for HIFU ablation. In group A, oxytocin was dripped 0.32 IU/min, and HIFU ablation was started one minute after SonoVue injection. In group B, oxytocin was dripped 0.32 IU/min during ablation. In group C, HIFU ablation was started one minute after SonoVue injection. In group D, neither oxytocin nor SonoVue was applied. The clinical data, treatment results, and complications were analyzed. Results: All participants underwent HIFU treatment safely, and the mean energy efficiency factor (EEF) in the four groups was 4.7 ± 0.9J/mm3, 8.5 ± 0.6J/mm3, 8.9 ± 0.7J/mm3, and 12.6 ± 1.8J/mm3, respectively, with the mean ablation time (AT) of 633.7 ± 55.1 s, 874.2 ± 65.6 s, 936.3 ± 85.2 s, and 1103.2 ± 96.2 s, respectively. The non-perfused volume ratios (NPVR) were 90.4 ± 8.8%, 88.7 ± 9.1%, 89.4 ± 7.2%, 80.5 ± 7.9%, respectively. In addition, EEF and AT were the shortest in group A (p < 0.05). NPVR was significantly higher in group A than in the control group D (p < 0.05). The incidence rates of adverse events were not significantly different in the four groups (p > 0.05). Conclusions: Compared to the control group, oxytocin combined with SonoVue in HIFU for adenomyosis can significantly decrease the energy and time needed for the ablation and safely enhance the treatment efficiency by improving the cavitation and heating of HIFU ablation and increasing the non-perfused volume ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MCFB exhibits improved mechanical strength when compared to CFB. • MICP technology leads to a notable increment in the particle size of fine tailings in MCFB. • The primary cementation mechanisms differ between MCFB and CFB. The extensive exploitation of metal mines has resulted in the generation of vast quantities of fine tailings, posing significant environmental challenges such as surface subsidence and deposition. The conventional cemented backfill technology, which has been widely used for tailings processing, requires substantial cement consumption and thus leads to escalated economic costs and carbon emissions. In this paper, we propose a pollution-free alternative, Microbial-Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) technology, as a promising solution for sustainable mine filling. The study employs microscopic and macroscopic analysis techniques, including laser diffraction particle size (LDPS) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), to investigate the inner structure and mechanical properties of the microbial cemented fine tailing backfill (MCFB). Key parameters such as unconfined compressive strength (UCS), CaCO 3 content and porosity are examined, with a focus on the effects of bacterial solution dosage and curing time. The results reveal that the MICP-processed fine tailings exhibit an increase in particle size by approximately 292.1% compared to their original size. Furthermore, MCFB specimens demonstrates significantly enhanced UCS and decreasing porosity under comparable conditions, surpassing the performance of traditional cemented fine tailings backfill (CFB) specimens. Microscopic analysis highlights that the strength development in MCFB predominantly arises from the cementation effects of MICP-induced CaCO 3 , primarily in the form of calcite, rather than the cementation effects resulting from hydration products (C-S-H) in conventional CFB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]