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Photosensitive nanosized metal-organic frameworks (nanoMOFs) with a tunable structure and high porosity have been developed recently as nanophotosensitizers (nanoPSs) for photodynamic therapy (PDT). However, the effect of photodynamic therapy is greatly limited by the fast blood clearance and poor tumor retention of the ordinary nanoPSs. Besides, autophagy, a prosurvival self-cannibalization pathway mediated by autolysosomes, was elevated by cytotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during PDT. Herein, a chloroquine phosphate (CQ)-loaded photosensitive nanoMOF coated by heparin was fabricated for sensitized PDT by increasing the tumor accumulation of nanoPSs and abolishing the self-protective autophagy within cancer cells. After internalization by cancer cells, the encapsulated CQ alkalizes autolysosomes and blocks the postautophagy process, which disarm the vigilant cancer cells irritated by PDT and finally enhance the therapeutic effect. Furthermore, the accompanied antiangiogenesis ability of the heparin coat also helps improve the cancer therapy outcomes. This study would open up new horizons for building heparin-coated nanoMOFs and understanding the role of autophagy in cancer therapy.

Objective To investigate the dynamic regulation of self-assembled aggregations (SAA) in Coptis chinensis (C. chinensis) decoction on the permeability of intestinal tissue and the mechanism underlying. Methods The effects of SAA on berberine (Ber) absorption were respectively analyzed in an in situ intestinal perfusion model and in an Ussing Chamber jejunum model with or without Peyer's patches (PPs). The expression levels of ZO-1, Occludin and Claudin-1 were detected by immunofluorescence to evaluate the tight junction (TJ) between intestinal epithelium cells. The expression levels of T-box-containing protein expressed in T cells, signal transducers and activators of tranion-6, retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt and forkhead box P3 in PPs were detected by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and the secretions of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-17 (IL-17) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in PPs were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, to reflect the differentiation of T lymphocyte in PPs to helper T (Th) cell 1, Th2, Th17 and regulatory T (Treg) cell. To confirm the correlation between SAA in C. chinensis decoction, PPs-associated immunity and intestinal epithelium permeability, SAA were administrated on an Ussing Chamber jejunum model with immunosuppressed PPs and evaluated its influences on intestinal tissue permeability and TJ proteins expression. Results SAA in C. chinensis decoction could dose-dependently promote Ber absorption in jejunum segment, with the participation of PPs. The dose-dependent and dynamical regulations of SAA on permeability of intestinal tissue and TJ proteins expression level between intestinal epithelium cells occurred along with the dynamically changed T lymphocyte differentiation and immune effectors secretion in PPs. The administration of SAA on immunosuppressed PPs exhibited dose-dependent PPs activation, inducing dynamic promotion on intestinal tissue permeability and inhibition on TJ proteins expression. Conclusion SAA can improve the Ber absorption in small intestine, through the PPs-associated immunity induced dynamic regulation on intestinal tissue permeability and TJ proteins expression. These findings might enlighten the research of traditional Chinese medicine decoction.

Junhao Huang,1 Qinhao Lai,1 Dan Wang,1 Honggang Yin,1 Jingwen Liao,1 Shen Wang,1–3 Fengpeng Xu,1 Xiaohui Hou,2 Min Hu1 1Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Sports and Health Promotion, Scientific Research Center, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Sports and Health, Guangzhou Sport University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Kinesiology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Min HuScientific Research Center, Guangzhou Sport University, 1268 Middle Guangzhou Avenue, Guangzhou 510500, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/fax +86-20-38027669Email whoomin@aliyun.comXiaohui HouDepartment of Sports and Health, Guangzhou Sport University, 1268 Middle Guangzhou Avenue, Guangzhou 510500, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-20-38025087Fax +86-20-38027669Email lilyhxh@163.comPurpose: This study aimed to assess the effects of exercise with dietary restriction on arterial stiffness, central hemodynamics, and cardiac autonomic function in obese adolescents.Patients and methods: Twenty-one obese adolescents completed a 6-week exercise and dietary program. Body composition and metabolic parameters were measured. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) were used to assess central and systemic arterial stiffness, respectively. Using applanation tonometry, the analyses of central hemodynamic parameters [central blood pressure, heart rate (HR), augmentation index normalized at 75 bpm (AIx75), and subendocardial viability ratio (SEVR)] were performed. To determine cardiac autonomic function, heart rate variability (HRV) was analyzed by standard deviation of normal R–R intervals (SDNN), root mean square of successive R–R interval differences (RMSSD), percentage of successive R–R intervals that differed by >50 ms (pNN50), total power (TP), low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) power, and LF/HF ratio.Results: Following the intervention, obese adolescents had reductions in body mass index, body fat percentage, brachial systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and HR; and they had shown improvements in lipid profiles. There were reductions in both cfPWV and baPWV following the intervention. Moreover, there were reductions in AIx75, aortic systolic and diastolic blood pressure and an augmentation in SEVR after intervention. The intervention increased cardiac autonomic function (determined by increased SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50, HF, and reduced LF/HF). Furthermore, we observed a correlation between increased cardiac autonomic function (SDNN, RMSSD, pNN50 and HF) and increased central hemodynamics, as measured by SEVR and AIx75.Conclusion: Obese adolescents had increased central hemodynamics and autonomic function with reduced arterial stiffness after exercise and dietary restriction. Moreover, a positive correlation between an enhancement of cardiac autonomic function and an augmentation in central hemodynamics was found after the intervention.Keywords: obesity, adolescents, exercise, cardiac autonomic function, arterial stiffness, diet

Forcipomyia (Forcipomyia) makanensis Hou sp. n. (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is described and illustrated based on male and female specimens from China. It is characterized by the male aedeagus triangular, with large cone-shaped process at apex, basal arch high, basal arm slender and curved, parameres separate narrower distance at base, cone-shaped apically, and the female subgenital plate pliers-shaped, without lateral process, with two spermathecae, oval, nearly equal. The new species is compared with the similar congener F. (Forcipomyia) lochmocola Zou and Yu, 1991. We provide separate keys for identification of the males and females of the species of subgenus F. (Forcipomyia) Meigen in China.

IntroductionDuring the COVID-19 outbreak, many citizens were asked to stay at home in self-quarantine, which can pose a significant challenge with respect to remaining physically active and maintaining mental health. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of inadequate physical activity, anxiety, and depression and to explore the relationship of physical activity with anxiety and depression symptoms among Chinese college students during quarantine.MethodUsing a web-based cross-sectional survey, we collected data from 1,396 Chinese college students. Anxiety and depression were assessed with the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), respectively. The data on physical activity were collected by types of physical activity and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF).ResultsDuring the COVID-19 outbreak, about 52.3% of Chinese college students had inadequate physical activity. The rates of anxiety and depression symptoms were 31.0 and 41.8%, respectively. A high level of physical activity (β = −0.121, P < 0.001) was significantly closely associated with low anxiety, while a moderate (β = −0.095, P = 0.001), or high (β = −0.179, P < 0.001) level of physical activity was significantly closely associated with reduced depression after adjusting confounding demographic factors. Moreover, specific types of physical activity, such as stretching and resistance training, were negatively correlated with both anxiety and depression; doing household chores was negatively correlated with depression.ConclusionOur findings highlight specific levels and types of home-based physical activities that need to be taken into consideration to protect the mental health of college students during the COVID-19 epidemic.

To investigate the dynamic regulation of self-assembled aggregations (SAA) inThe effects of SAA on berberine (Ber) absorption were respectively analyzed in an in situ intestinal perfusion model and in an Ussing Chamber jejunum model with or without Peyer's patches (PPs). The expression levels of ZO-1, Occludin and Claudin-1 were detected by immunofluorescence to evaluate the tight junction (TJ) between intestinal epithelium cells. The expression levels of T-box-containing protein expressed in T cells, signal transducers and activators of tranion-6, retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γt and forkhead box P3 in PPs were detected by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and the secretions of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-17 (IL-17) and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in PPs were evaluated by immunohistochemistry, to reflect the differentiation of T lymphocyte in PPs to helper T (Th) cell 1, Th2, Th17 and regulatory T (Treg) cell. To confirm the correlation between SAA inSAA inSAA can improve the Ber absorption in small intestine, through the PPs-associated immunity induced dynamic regulation on intestinal tissue permeability and TJ proteins expression. These findings might enlighten the research of traditional Chinese medicine decoction.

The immatures of the biting midge Dasyhelea silvatica are described and illustrated for the first time and a complete description of the adult male and female are provided using scanning electron and compound microscopes. The specimens were collected from flooded soil near a pond in Guizhou Province, China, and reared in the laboratory.

In mammals, the gonad is composed of germ cells and somatic cells. The gonads have the potential of bidirectional differentiation before sex determination. The differentiation of somatic cells in the gonad determines the development of testis or ovary, and this process is regulated by many factors. SRY, SOX9, SOX3, SOX8, SOX10, FGF9/FGFR2, PGD2, AMH, and DMRT1 are involved in the differentiation of testis. By contrast, FOXL2, CTNNB1, RSPO1, WNT4, Follistatin, ERα/β, and BMP2 play important roles in ovary development. If these molecular regulatory networks are damaged by endogenous or exogenous factors, disorders of sex differentiation, even sex reversal, will occur. In this review, the regulation of somatic cell fate during gonad primordium formation and sex determination in mouse model was discussed.

The immatures of the biting midge Dasyhelea silvatica are described and illustrated for the first time and a complete description of the adult male and female are provided using scanning electron and compound microscopes. The specimens were collected from flooded soil near a pond in Guizhou Province, China, and reared in the laboratory.

Yujia Memorial Archway in Jixian County, Hunan Province, can be considered a typical weathered stone artifact. Different ratios of 3-glycidyl ether propyl trimethoxy silane (GPTMS), 3-amino...

A wealth of research has revealed that both sibling absence or presence and sibling relationship are essential contributors to children's theory of mind (ToM) skills. However, almost all these studies were conducted in Western, individualistic countries, and no study has yet focused on the sibling-ToM link in Chinese children. To address these gaps, firstly,113 children without siblings (Mage = 4.38 years, SD = 0.84, 53 boys) and 150 one-sibling children (Mage = 4.24 years, SD = 0.85, 64 boys) from China were compared by an established developmental ToM Scale. This study revealed that sibling status (e.g., children with a sibling vs without a sibling; children with an older or child-aged sibling vs. children with a young sibling) did not influence ToM scores. Moreover, for children with a sibling, positive interactions (but not negative interactions) between sibling dyads were positively associated with children's ToM skills. In conclusion, these findings suggested that the presence of one sibling at home only doesn't necessarily accelerate Chinese children's acquisition of ToM skills. It is the positive interaction between siblings that promotes the development of children's ToM skills.

We focus our review on the cross-cultural studies on the development of theory of mind. We present evidence that the acquisition and development of theory of mind is cultural-universal as well as cultural-specific. Although children from different cultural backgrounds pass false belief task at about 4 years old, they show significant difference in timing and sequence in understanding of different mental states. To explore influential factors in the development of children’s theory of mind, more researchers begin to focus on the effect of macroscopic cultural backgrounds. This paper review the cultural differences between East and West in parent-child talk, parental rearing pattern, pedagogical experience and development of executive function, and their relations with children’s theory of mind to understand cultural specificity of Eastern children’s theory of mind acquisition and development. In family parenting practices, Western parents talk more about mental-state terms, and tend to adopt authoritative parenting style. In contrast, Eastern parents refer more actions and its consequences in parent-child talking, and tend to adopt authoritarian parenting style. Mental-state talking can promote children’s attention and cognition to mental state of themselves and others, and thus directly facilitate theory of mind development of Western children. Action-consequence talking, which needs children to infer themselves or others’ mental state, could indirectly facilitate Eastern children’s mental-state understanding. Comparing with authoritarian parents, authoritative parents encourage their children more to question, discuss and argue, which offer more opportunities for Western children to be exposed to mental-state terms, thus promote theory of mind development of Western children. In contrast, authoritarian parenting style chosen by Eastern parents has negative effects on the development of their children’s mental understanding. As for pedagogical experience, Western schools adopt inquiry-teaching model, which characterized by encouraging students to express their views and cooperative learning that facilitated Eastern children’s mental understanding. On the contrary, eastern schools adopt traditional teaching model, which characterized by behavior control and unconditional rule-following that impede the theory of mind development of the Eastern children. Executive function of Oriental children is significantly better than that of the Western peers, but this advantage has not been transformed into the of the theory of mind development. We hypothesize that the combination of executive function and social experience about mental understanding together promote the development of theory of mind. In conclusion, we hold the opinion that “every road leads to Rome”, the Eastern and Western children’s theory of mind may have undergone different development paths. This article, based on the existing literature, presented a cultural model of children’s theory of mind development. Furthermore, some issues arising from this review that we hope will be addressed in future studies. Firstly, there are needs to explore the cross-cultural differences of theory of mind from the developmental perspective. Secondly, we should conduct cross-cultural study to explore the path and effect size of these influential factors of theory of mind. Thirdly, what the impact of cultural exchanges has on the development of children’s theory of mind is an issue that is worth studying. Fourthly, there are needs to explore the indirect effects of social changes on children’s ToM development.

Objectives This meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials aimed to assess the effect of neurofeedback training (NFT) on sport performance and electroencephalography (EEG) power in athletes. Method A computerized search of Web of Science, PsycINFO and PubMed was performed to identify relevant studies, published 1990 through February 1, 2017. The outcome measures were sport performance and EEG power. Two review authors identified eligible studies and extracted data independently. The quality of the included studies was assessed with the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Standard mean differences (SMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated and pooled using a random effects model. Results A total of 10 randomized controlled trials (229 athletes) met the inclusion criteria. Significant effects of NFT were found for sport performance (SMD = 0.65, 95%CI = 0.28 to 1.03, p = .0006) and EEG power (SMD = 0.45, 95%CI = 0.09 to 0.80, p = .01). However, the NFT's effect for sport performance was not significantly different when compared to well-controlled trials with active/placebo control (SMD = 0.51, 95% CI = −0.27 to 1.30, p = .20). Conclusions NFT could make athletes change in EEG power and effectively improve sport performance. Effect of NFT for sport performance was moderated by control group design, that is, when analyses were restricted to active/placebo controls, the efficacy NFT applied in sport performance might be rather weak. Future efforts should focus on standard NFT protocols and better-organized trials.

To face the challenges of keeping healthy in increasing population sizes of both ageing and developing people in China, a fundamental request from the public health is the development of lifespan normative trajectories of brain and behavior. This paper introduces the Chinese Color Nest Project (CCNP 2013–2022), a large-scale ten-year program of modeling brain and behavioral trajectories for human lifespan (6–85 years old). We plan to gradually collect the behavioral and brain imaging data at ages across the lifespan on nationwide and depict the normal trajectory of Chinese brain development across the lifespan, based on the accelerated longitudinal design in the coming next 10 years starting at 2013. Various psychiatric disorders have been demonstrated highly relevant to abnormal events during the neurodevelopment regarding their onset ages of first episodes. Therefore, delineation of normative growth curves of brain and cognition in typically developing children is extremely useful for monitoring, early detecting and intervention of various neurodevelopmental disorders. In this paper, we detailed the developing part of CCNP, devCCNP. It tracked 192 healthy children and adolescents (6–18 years old) in Beibei district of Chongqing for the first 5 years of the full CCNP cohort (2013–2017). To demonstrate the feasibility of implementing the long-term follow-up of CCNP, we here comprehensively document devCCNP in terms of its experimental design, sample strategies, data acquisition and storage as well as some preliminary results and data sharing roadmap for future. Specifically, we first describe the accelerated longitudinal sampling design as well as its exact ratioof sample dropping off during the data collection. Second, we present several initial findings such as canonical growth curves of cortical surface areas of a set of well-established large-scale functional networks of the human brain. Finally, together with records generated by many psychological and behavioral tests, we will provide an individual growing-up report for each family participating the program, initiating the potential guidance on the individual academic and social development. The resources introduced in the current work can provide first-hand data for a series of coming Chinese brain development studies, such as Chinese Standard MRI Brain Templates, Normative Growth Curves of Chinese Brain and Cognition as well as Mapping of Language Areas in Chinese Developing Brain. These would not only offer normative references of the atypical brain and cognition development for Chinese population but also serve as a strong force on accelerating the pace of integrating Chinese brain development into the national brain program or Chinese Brain Project.

A growing number of studies have reported the beneficial effect of exercise on human social behavior. The mirror neuron system (MNS) plays a critical role in a variety of social behaviors from imitation to empathy. However, neuroimaging investigations into the effects of exercise on the MNS remain unexplored. To address this question, our study determined the effect of moderate-intensity exercise on the MNS using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Specifically, 23 right-handed young individuals were asked to perform a table-setting task that included action execution and action observation before and after a 25-min exercise session on a cycle ergometer at moderate intensity (65% VO2peak). The control condition was the same task performed without exercise. Cortical hemodynamic changes in the four primary brain regions of the MNS were monitored with fNIRS, using a modified probe configuration that covered all four MNS regions in the left hemisphere. We used a region of interest (ROI)-based group analysis to determine which regions were activated during action execution and action observation. Following a session of moderate-intensity exercise, we found a significant increase in activation in all four MNS regions, namely the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), premotor cortex (PMC), superior parietal lobule (SPL), and rostral inferior parietal lobule (IPL). This result indicated a positive effect of exercise on the MNS, specifically that moderate-intensity exercise could activate the MNS.

The fourth instar larva and pupa of Dasyheleaalula Yu, 2005 are described and illustrated using a Scanning Electron Microscope. The adult male and female of this species are redescribed. Immatures were collected from flooded soil near a pond in Xiaojiawan village, Guizhou province, China and reared in the laboratory. The studied material is deposited in the Insect Collection of Zunyi Medical University.

The fourth instar larva and pupa of Dasyheleaalula Yu, 2005 are described and illustrated using a Scanning Electron Microscope. The adult male and female of this species are redescribed. Immatures were collected from flooded soil near a pond in Xiaojiawan village, Guizhou province, China and reared in the laboratory. The studied material is deposited in the Insect Collection of Zunyi Medical University.

Chinese species in the genus Nycheuma Fennah, 1964a (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Delphacidae: Delphacinae: Delphacini) are revised to include three species: Nycheuma cognatum (Muir, 1917), Nycheuma dimorpha (Matsumura, 1910) and Nycheuma nilotica Linnavuori, 1973. Nycheuma coctum Yang, 1989 is placed in synonymy with Nycheuma nilotica Linnavuori, 1973. Nycheuma dimorpha (Matsumura, 1910) is newly recorded from China. The generic characteristics are redefined. The main morphological characters, male genitalia of 3 species are described or redescribed and illustrated. A key to Chinese species in the genus is provided.

Non-coding RNAs are critical regulators of tumor biology. nc886, a recently identified non-coding RNA, is overexpressed in some tumors, but undetected in others. However, the precise role of nc886 remains unclear in cervical cancers. In this study, we found that nc886, major vault protein (MVP), and E2F1 exhibited coordinate expression as they were silenced in normal tissues but overexpressed in cervical cancer tissues. We subsequently demonstrate that nc886 upregulation was a critical response to chemotherapy treatment of cervical cancer cells. Mechanistically, inhibition of nc886 increased chemosensitivity, induced apoptosis, and suppressed the protein expression of MVP, a critical regulator of drug resistance. Furthermore, we identify E2F1 as a key transcription regulator of nc886 that directly interacts and modulates promoter activity. Taken together, we demonstrate that E2F1 sufficiently promotes nc886 transcription and in turn MVP expression to drive drug resistance in cervical cancer cells.

A checklist of the subgenus Culicoides (Avaritia Fox) (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) in China, currently including 57 species, is provided. Their full citations, more detailed locations of the type locality, and distribution of each species by province, and/or state of each species are also provided. Culicoides (Avaritia) fenggangensis Liu & Hou, sp. n. is described and illustrated, based on both male and female specimens from China. The new species is compared with its similar congeners, C. (A.) comparis Liu & Yu, 2005 and C. (A.) dentiformis McDonald & Lu, 1972.

Most of the previous task functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies found abnormalities in distributed brain regions in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and few studies investigated the brain network dysfunction from the system level. In this meta-analysis, we aimed to examine brain network dysfunction in MCI and AD. We systematically searched task-based fMRI studies in MCI and AD published between January 1990 and January 2014. Activation likelihood estimation meta-analyses were conducted to compare the significant group differences in brain activation, the significant voxels were overlaid onto seven referenced neuronal cortical networks derived from the resting-state fMRI data of 1,000 healthy participants. Thirty-nine task-based fMRI studies (697 MCI patients and 628 healthy controls) were included in MCI-related meta-analysis while 36 task-based fMRI studies (421 AD patients and 512 healthy controls) were included in AD-related meta-analysis. The meta-analytic results revealed that MCI and AD showed abnormal regional brain activation as well as large-scale brain networks. MCI patients showed hypoactivation in default, frontoparietal, and visual networks relative to healthy controls, whereas AD-related hypoactivation mainly located in visual, default, and ventral attention networks relative to healthy controls. Both MCI-related and AD-related hyperactivation fell in frontoparietal, ventral attention, default, and somatomotor networks relative to healthy controls. MCI and AD presented different pathological while shared similar compensatory large-scale networks in fulfilling the cognitive tasks. These system-level findings are helpful to link the fundamental declines of cognitive tasks to brain networks in MCI and AD.

The chemical and the anatomical features of the archeological bamboo strips of China from four different periods were compared with the non-degraded fresh bamboo to understand the deterioration process. Unprocessed bamboo strips, isolated hemicelluloses and lignin fractions were analyzed with wet chemical analysis, GC, FTIR, UV and XRD to investigate the chemical degradation. It was found that the crystalline cellulose and the polyxylose degraded with increasing age, leaving the amorphous cellulose and the lignin with syringyl moieties modified as the main residual cell wall materials. Serious degradation of p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid were detected and indicated the cleavage of the linkage between the lignin and the carbohydrate, which might facilitate the degradation of carbohydrate. The anatomical analysis with SEM and TEM revealed the vanishing of the parenchymatous ground tissue and vessels and the cellulose microfibrils in the multilayered secondary wall. The differences in lignin content and in tissue density (cell thickness/cell size) between the parenchyma cells and the sclerenchymatous fiber cells fundamentally led to the formation of the unique anatomical structure of the archeological bamboo strips which was composed of parallel solid bundles. The effects of the chemical and the anatomical degradation on the mechanical properties were also discussed.

The planthopper genus Neometopina Yang (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae: Delphacinae: Delphacini) is revised to include 2 species: Neometopina penghuensis Yang, 1989 (China: Guizhou: Maolan), and Neometopina orientalis (Qin & Zhang) comb. n. (China: Hainan: Bawangling) (transferred from Laminatopina Qin & Zhang). The included species are described and illustrated, and a key to species is provided.

Chinese historic silk fabrics dated from the Warring States Period (B.C. 475–B.C. 221), the Han Dynasty (B.C. 202–A.D. 220) and the Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1368–A.D. 1644) as well as artificial aged silk specimens were examined by SEM, TEM, amino acid analysis, FTIR, WAXD, SAED and DSC to investigate the degradation mechanism for the purpose of conservation. The variations of the relative concentrations of Gly and Ala and the crystallinity revealed that the degradation mainly occurred at the amorphous region at the initial degradation stage; both the amorphous and the crystalline regions were degraded at the same speed at the late degradation stage. Combined with the fact that the mechanical strength decreased over the degradation process, it could be concluded that the degradation of both the amorphous and the crystalline regions contributed to the decrease of the mechanical strength. During the degradation process, the morphology of the cross-section of the silk fiber was found to change from stacking particles to lamellar sheets, with decreasing size of segments of silk fibril. The changes of morphology and degree of orientation during the degradation process exhibited correlations with the change of secondary structure, which was greatly affected by aging method. The change of thermal stability exhibited correlations with both the secondary structure and the degree of orientation.

The scientific research achievements are evaluated based on the BP neural network method which is developed in this paper. According to the analysis and consult with the well-known experts, set up the evaluation index system of scientific research achievements, and based on it, the BP neural network model which is used to evaluate the scientific research achievements is established. Through an actual example, in order to improve the solution efficiency, use the Matlab software to solve the model and get the evaluation result of the scientific research achievements in the example. The evaluation result has high accuracy and could meet the basic actual needs. The evaluation method which is set up in this paper will benefit to our country's evaluation index system of the scientific research achievements and will promote the development of evaluation methods of the scientific research achievements.

Increasing neuroimaging evidence suggests that autism patients exhibit abnormal brain structure and function. We used the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE) sample to analyze locally focal (~8 mm) functional connectivity of 223 autism patients and 285 normal controls from 15 international sites using a recently developed surface-based approach. We observed enhanced local connectivity in the middle frontal cortex, left precuneus, and right superior temporal sulcus, and reduced local connectivity in the right insular cortex. The local connectivity in the right middle frontal gyrus was positively correlated with the total score of the autism diagnostic observation schedule whereas the local connectivity within the right superior temporal sulcus was positively correlated with total subscores of both the communication and the stereotyped behaviors and restricted interests of the schedule. Finally, significant interactions between age and clinical diagnosis were detected in the left precuneus. These findings replicated previous observations that used a volume-based approach and suggested possible neuropathological impairments of local information processing in the frontal, temporal, parietal, and insular cortices. Novel site-variability analysis demonstrated high reproducibility of our findings across the 15 international sites. The age-disease interaction provides a potential target region for future studies to further elucidate the neurodevelopmental mechanisms of autism.

The relationship between the iodine intake level of a population and the occurrence of thyroid diseases is U-shaped. When excessive iodine is ingested, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism associated with goiter might develop. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of Se supplementation on the depression of type 1 deiodinase (D1) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) activities caused by excessive iodine. D1 activity was assayed by the method with 125I-rT3 as a substrate. Compared to the effect of iodine alone, iodine in combination with selenium increased the activities of D1 and GSHPx. The addition of selenium alleviated the toxic effects of iodine excess on the activities of D1 and GSHPx.

Efforts to identify meaningful functional imaging-based biomarkers are limited by the ability to reliably characterize inter-individual differences in human brain function. Although a growing number of connectomics-based measures are reported to have moderate to high test-retest reliability, the variability in data acquisition, experimental designs, and analytic methods precludes the ability to generalize results. The Consortium for Reliability and Reproducibility (CoRR) is working to address this challenge and establish test-retest reliability as a minimum standard for methods development in functional connectomics. Specifically, CoRR has aggregated 1,629 typical individuals’ resting state fMRI (rfMRI) data (5,093 rfMRI scans) from 18 international sites, and is openly sharing them via the International Data-sharing Neuroimaging Initiative (INDI). To allow researchers to generate various estimates of reliability and reproducibility, a variety of data acquisition procedures and experimental designs are included. Similarly, to enable users to assess the impact of commonly encountered artifacts (for example, motion) on characterizations of inter-individual variation, datasets of varying quality are included.

Since sky background radiation luminance is a critical parameter of atmospheric optics, it is very important for space target detection and identification. In order to study sky background radiation luminance characteristic, the factors that influenced sky background radiation luminance were analyzed. A method which is used to evaluate sky background radiation luminance based on Image Color Index was put forward. It is valid and possible in the initial test. The method can be compared with other measurement method of sky background radiation luminance, It is as the datum which also could be used to analyses and contrast spectrum characteristic of the atmospheric aerosol particle.

Background.Previous volume-based regional homogeneity (ReHo) studies neglected the intersubject variability in cortical folding patterns. Recently, surface-based ReHo was developed to reduce the intersubject variability and to increase statistical power. The present study used this novel surface-based ReHo approach to explore the brain functional activity differences between first-episode, drug-naïve MDD patients and healthy controls.Methods.Thirty-three first-episode, drug-naïve MDD patients and 32 healthy controls participated in structural and resting-state fMRI scans. MDD patients were rated with a 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression prior to the scan.Results.In comparison with the healthy controls, MDD patients showed reduced surface-based ReHo in the left insula. There was no increase in surface-based ReHo in MDD patients. The surface-based ReHo value in the left insula was not significantly correlated with the clinical information or the depressive scores in the MDD group.Conclusions.The decreased surface-based ReHo in the left insula in MDD may lead to the abnormal top-down cortical-limbic regulation of emotional and cognitive information. The surface-based ReHo may be a useful index to explore the pathophysiological mechanism of MDD.

The transport mechanisms of the reverse leakage current in the UV light-emitting diodes (380 nm) are investigated by the temperature-dependent current-voltage measurement first. Three possible transport mechanisms, the space-limited-charge conduction, the variable-range hopping and the Poole—Frenkel emission, are proposed to explain the transport process of the reverse leakage current above 295 K, respectively. With the in-depth investigation, the former two transport mechanisms are excluded. It is found that the experimental data agree well with the Poole—Frenkel emission model. Furthermore, the activation energies of the traps that cause the reverse leakage current are extracted, which are 0.05 eV, 0.09 eV, and 0.11 eV, respectively. This indicates that at least three types of trap states are located below the bottom of the conduction band in the depletion region of the UV LEDs.

In this paper, the principle of discharge-based pulsed I–V technique is introduced. By using it, the energy and spatial distributions of electron traps within the 4-nm HfO2 layer have been extracted. Two peaks are observed, which are located at ΔE ~ −1.0 eV and −1.43 eV, respectively. It is found that the former one is close to the SiO2/HfO2 interface and the latter one is close to the gate electrode. It is also observed that the maximum discharge time has little effect on the energy distribution. Finally, the impact of electrical stress on the HfO2 layer is also studied. During stress, no new electron traps and interface states are generated. Meanwhile, the electrical stress also has no impact on the energy and spatial distribution of as-grown traps. The results provide valuable information for theoretical modeling establishment, material assessment, and reliability improvement for advanced semiconductor devices.

Based on the background of the banking industry in China, this paper establishes Cournot, Bertrand and Stackelberg mixed oligopoly competition models with deposit and interest rates as strategic variables between a representative state-owned bank and a representative foreign bank. We discuss and compare the equilibrium deposits, interest rates and profits in different market structures. More importantly, considering the endogenous timing setup and taking the extended game with observable delay as the basic model, we analyze the competition results of the mixed duopoly at different market structures and make numerical simulations in order to get the outcomes of the extended game. It is found that, in the deposit competition with endogenous timing, if two banks have the same deposit return rate, the simultaneous move could become the final result; If the deposit return of the foreign bank is more than twice that of the state-owned bank, all SPNEs of the extended game are sequential, i.e one bank will lead, the other will follow. If the state-owned bank’s profit in Cournot is larger than that of the state-owned bank as the Stackelberg follower, the only SPNE will be (E, L), i.e. the state-owned bank will lead and the foreign bank will follow. Additionally, in the interest rate competition with endogenous timing, if the degree of nationalization is no larger than 75% as well as two banks have the same deposit return rate, the final SPNEs of the extended game are sequential and the simultaneous move can not become the SPNE.