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Recent advances in hydrocarbon exploration have been made in the Member Deng-2 marginal microbial mound-bank complex reservoirs of the Dengying Formation in the western Sichuan Basin, SW China, where the depositional process is regarded confusing. The microfacies, construction types, and depositional model of the Member Deng-2 marginal microbial mound-bank complex have been investigated using unmanned aerial vehicle photography, outcrop section investigation, thin section identification, and seismic reflections in the southwestern Sichuan Basin. The microbialite lithologic textures in this region include thrombolite, dendrolite, stromatolite, fenestral stromatolite, spongiostromata stone, oncolite, aggregated grainstone, and botryoidal grapestone. Based on the comprehensive analysis of "depositional fabricselithologyemicrofacies", an association between a fore mound, mound framework, and back mound subfacies has been proposed based on water depth, current direction, energy level and lithologic assemblages. The microfacies of the mound base, mound core, mound flank, mound cap, and mound flat could be recognized among the mound framework subfacies. Two construction types of marginal microbial mound-bank complex have been determined based on deposition location, mound scale, migration direction, and sedimentary facies association. Type Jinkouhe microbial mound constructions (TJMMCs) develop along the windward margin owing to their proximity to the seaward subfacies fore mound, with a northeastwardly migrated microbial mound on top of the mud mound, exhibiting the characteristics of large-sized mounds and small-sized banks in the surrounding area. Type E'bian microbial mound constructions (TEMMCs) primarily occur on the leeward margin, resulting from the presence of onshore back mound subfacies, with the smaller southwestward migrated microbial mounds existing on a thicker microbial flat. The platform margin microbial mound depositional model can be correlated with certain lateral comparison profile and seismic reflection structures in the 2D seismic section, which can provide references for future worldwide exploration. Microbial mounds with larger buildups and thicker vertical reservoirs are typically targeted on the windward margin, while small-sized microbial mounds and flats with better lateral connections are typically focused on the leeward margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the failure mechanism of the composite T-joints subjected to low-velocity-impact (LVI) loading varying impact locations, a methodology composed of improved conventional vacuum-assisted resin infusion (VARI) and LVI testing based on ASTM D 7136 is developed and employed. Moreover, the simulation is conducted to mainly reveal the damage evolution of interlaminar delamination between web and web/skin laminate based on surfacebased cohesive behavior in the commercial software of Abaqus 2020. Further, the effect of LVI loading with various distances from the web laminate to the impact location on the mechanical property and failure mode of the composite T-joints are presented and discussed as well. By comparison, larger vertical cracks and higher residual tensile strength are found in the T-joints impacting the corner. However, the T-joints with the impact point near the corner have lower residual tensile strength and suffer more interlaminar delamination in the interface between web and skin, which is the most critical position of failure. Highlights • GFRP T-joints are manufactured by the vacuum-assisted resin infusion process with a newly designed mold. • The damage evolution in low-velocity-impact tests is presented via the quasi-static tests and finite element simulation. • Larger vertical cracks and higher residual tensile strength are found in the T-joints impacting the corner. • The T-joints with the impact point near the corner have lower residual tensile strength. • Interlaminar delamination in the interface between web and skin is the most critical factor of tensile failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pelvic organ prolapse (POP) is a common gynecological chronic disorder. Human vaginal fibroblasts (HVFs) that maintain the integrity of vaginal wall tissues are essential for keeping pelvic organs in place. Apoptosis and the degradation of the extracellular matrix in HVFs contribute to the progression of POP. The cytokine signal transduction inhibitor 3 (SOCS3) exerts significant regulatory effects on cell signal transduction pathways, thereby affecting various pathological processes. Aims: To explore the role and mechanism of SOCS3 on HVFs in the context of POP. Study Design: In vitro cell lines and human-sample study. Methods: Anterior vaginal wall tissues were obtained from POP or non- POP patients for the analysis of SOCS3 expression. HVFs were isolated from the vaginal tissues of POP patients, and SOCS3 was either overexpressed or knocked down in HVFs via lentivirus infection. Subsequently, the biological function and mechanism of SOCS3 in HVFs were investigated. Results: SOCS3 was highly expressed in the vaginal tissues of POP patients compared to non-POP patients. Functionally, the overexpression of SOCS3 suppressed cell viability while promoting cell apoptosis in HVFs. The overexpression of SOCS3 also accelerated extracellular matrix degradation (decreasing collagen I, collagen III, and elastin, and increasing MMP2 and MMP9). In terms of mechanism, NR4A1 transcriptionally activated SOCS3 by binding to its promoter. Furthermore, rescue experiments revealed that SOCS3 knockdown hindered NR4A1 overexpression-induced cell apoptosis and extracellular matrix degradation in HVFs. Conclusion: SOCS3 mediated the apoptotic and extracellular matrix degradation effects of NR4A1 on HVFs, underlining that the restraining of the SOCS3 expression may be a promising strategy for POP treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The facility-based production method is an important stage in the development of modern agriculture, lifting natural light and temperature restrictions and helping to improve agricultural production efficiency. To address the problems of difficulty and low accuracy in detecting pests and diseases in the dense production environment of tomato facilities, an online diagnosis platform for tomato plant diseases based on deep learning and cluster fusion was proposed by collecting images of eight major prevalent pests and diseases during the growing period of tomatoes in a facility-based environment. The diagnostic platform consists of three main parts: pest and disease information detection, clustering and decision-making of detection results, and platform diagnostic display. Firstly, based on the You Only Look Once (YOLO) algorithm, the key information of the disease was extracted by adding attention module (CBAM), multi-scale feature fusion was performed using weighted bidirectional feature pyramid network (BiFPN), and the overall construction was designed to be compressed and lightweight; Secondly, the k-means clustering algorithm is used to fuse with the deep learning results to output pest identification decision values to further improve the accuracy of identification applications; Finally, a detection platform was designed and developed using Python, including the front-end, back-end, and database of the system to realize online diagnosis and interaction of tomato plant pests and diseases. The experiment shows that the algorithm detects tomato plant diseases and insect pests with mAP (mean Average Precision) of 92.7%, weights of 12.8 Megabyte (M), inference time of 33.6 ms. Compared with the current mainstream single-stage detection series algorithms, the improved algorithm model has achieved better performance; The accuracy rate of the platform diagnosis output pests and diseases information of 91.2% for images and 95.2% for videos. It is a great significance to tomato pest control research and the development of smart agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The basal ganglia are known to be essential for action selection. However, the functional role of basal ganglia direct and indirect pathways in action selection remains unresolved. Here, by employing cell-type-specific neuronal recording and manipulation in mice trained in a choice task, we demonstrate that multiple dynamic interactions from the direct and indirect pathways control the action selection. While the direct pathway regulates the behavioral choice in a linear manner, the indirect pathway exerts a nonlinear inverted-U-shaped control over action selection, depending on the inputs and the network state. We propose a new center (direct)-surround (indirect)-context (indirect) 'Triple-control' functional model of basal ganglia, which can replicate the physiological and behavioral experimental observations that cannot be simply explained by either the traditional 'Go/No-go' or more recent 'Co-activation' model. These findings have important implications on understanding the basal ganglia circuitry and action selection in health and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wettability is an important surface property that deserves to further explore the factors on its alteration. Series of bis-N-heterocyclic quaternary ammonium salts with different spacer length and N-heterocyclic headgroups (morpholinium (BMMB, BMMD and BMMH), piperidinium (BPMH) and piperazinium (BMPMH)) have been synthesized and employed for altering the wettability of vermiculite and its derivates (Vts) treated by Liþ-saturated heating method. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherms indicate that all of the bis-N-heterocyclic quaternary ammonium salts have been successfully inserted into the vermiculite layers, leading to the organic monolayer. The results of capillary rise tests combined with Lipophilic to Hydrophilic Ratio (LHR) values unveil the wettability alteration of the organo-Vts. As the layer charge decreases, the hydrophilicity of the organo-Vts gradually increases, which is probably caused by the decline in binding sites. As the result of the change in spacer length of modifier, the wetting properties of morpholinium-based organo-Vts change in order of BMMD-Vts > BMMH-Vts > BMMB-Vts, and difference in N-heterocyclic headgroups leads to the sequence of wettability: BMPMH-Vts > BPMH-Vts > BMMH-Vts. Layer charge of Vt, spacer length and the type of the N-heterocyclic headgroup of modifier have the synergistic effect on the regulation of the wettability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Jurassic Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE, ca. 183 Ma) was accompanied by a major biotic turnover in the oceans and substantial vegetation change on land. The marine biotic crisis has been attributed to several triggers, e.g., anoxia, warming, ocean acidification, yet the processes underlying the collapse of the terrestrial ecosystem are poorly understood. New high-resolution geochemical and palynological data across the T-OAE from a lacustrine succession in North China reveal elevated occurrences of spore dwarfism, asymmetrical Classopollis tetrads, and aberrant spores coeval with increases in heavy metal (Hg, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb, As) abundances. The occurrence of teratological spores and pollen in multiple plant groups suggests overall vegetation-scale ecological pressure. Our data indicate that the combination of a widespread floral crisis with higher terrestrial organic matter oxidation and decomposition, enhanced hydrological cycle, and coeval large-scale volcanism resulted in higher concentrations of toxic heavy metals in terrestrial ecosystems. These heavy metals could poison plants, causing mutations and disrupting their reproductive cycle, and making them more vulnerable to secondary stresses such as climatic extremes and/or habitat shifts, eventually leading to widespread collapse across all terrestrial trophic levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintaining internal osmolality constancy is essential for life. Release of arginine vasopressin (AVP) in response to hyperosmolality is critical. Current hypotheses for osmolality sensors in circumventricular organs (CVOs) of the brain focus on mechanosensitive membrane proteins. The present study demonstrated that intracellular protein kinase WNK1 was involved. Focusing on vascular-organ-of-lamina-terminalis (OVLT) nuclei, we showed that WNK1 kinase was activated by water restriction. Neuron-specific conditional KO (cKO) of Wnk1 caused polyuria with decreased urine osmolality that persisted in water restriction and blunted water restriction-induced AVP release. Wnk1 cKO also blunted mannitol-induced AVP release but had no effect on osmotic thirst response. The role of WNK1 in the osmosensory neurons in CVOs was supported by neuronal pathway tracing. Hyperosmolality-induced increases in action potential firing in OVLT neurons was blunted by Wnk1 deletion or pharmacological WNK inhibitors. Knockdown of Kv3.1 channel in OVLT by shRNA reproduced the phenotypes. Thus, WNK1 in osmosensory neurons in CVOs detects extracellular hypertonicity and mediates the increase in AVP release by activating Kv3.1 and increasing action potential firing from osmosensory neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Both the trans-radial approach (TRA) and the trans-femoral approach (TFA) have been employed for cerebral angiography, but the relative advantages of these two techniques remain uncertain. Aim: To compare the relative safety and efficacy of the TRA and TFA when conducting cerebral angiography. Material and methods: Relevant studies published up to August 2022 were identified in the PubMed, Embase, and Wanfang databases. The rate of successful cerebral angiography was the primary study endpoint, while secondary endpoints included successful puncture rates, operative duration, puncture time, fluoroscopic duration, complication rates, and duration of postoperative recovery. Results: This meta-analysis incorporated 6 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) enrolling 542 and 539 patients who underwent TRA and TFA cerebral angiography, respectively. Comparable pooled successful puncture rates (p = 0.05), successful cerebral angiography rates (p = 1.00), and operative duration (p = 0.10) were observed when comparing these two groups of patients. Relative to the TFA, the TRA was associated with a significantly reduced puncture time (p < 0.00001), a decreased fluoroscopic duration (p < 0.00001), lower rates of complications (p < 0.00001), and more rapid postoperative recovery (p < 0.00001). Significant heterogeneity was found when analyzing the puncture duration (I2 = 98%), operative duration (I2 = 97%), and fluoroscopic duration (I2 = 82%). Conclusions: These results suggest that TRA and TFA cerebral angiography strategies can yield similar rates of successful cerebral angiography outcomes. However, complication rates are lower and postoperative recovery is more rapid for patients who undergo TRA cerebral angiography as compared to TFA cerebral angiography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important free energy source, the membrane voltage (Vm) regulates many essential physiological processes in bacteria. However, in comparison with eukaryotic cells, knowledge of bacterial electrophysiology is very limited. Here, we developed a set of novel genetically encoded bacterial Vm sensors which allow single-cell recording of bacterial Vm dynamics in live cells with high temporal resolution. Using these new sensors, we reveal the electrically "excitable" and "resting" states of bacterial cells dependent on their metabolic status. In the electrically excitable state, frequent hyperpolarization spikes in bacterial Vm are observed, which are regulated by Na+/K+ ratio of the medium and facilitate increased antibiotic tolerance. In the electrically resting state, bacterial Vm displays significant cell-to-cell heterogeneity and is linked to the cell fate after antibiotic treatment. Our findings demonstrate the potential of our newly developed voltage sensors to reveal the underpinning connections between bacterial Vm and antibiotic tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary event (ca. 193 Ma) is recorded as a global perturbation of the carbon cycle, as evidenced by a large negative carbon-isotope excursion recorded in many marine sedimentary successions. Whereas multiple lines of evidence testify that the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary event was associated with environmental and climatic changes, sea-level oscillations, and biotic turnovers in marine settings, the record and effects of the event on continents are poorly known. In this paper, we report a high-resolution δ13Corg record and palynological data from the Lower Jurassic lacustrine succession of the Sichuan Basin that allow a prominent 8‰ negative carbon-isotope excursion to be identified at the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian transition. We therefore interpret this perturbation as the expression of the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary event in the Sichuan Basin, and we propose a correlation with the marine realm. Facies evolution illustrates that the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary event coincided with a phase of expansion of the lacustrine systems. Palynological analyses indicate a sharp shift from arid to humid climate conditions coincident with the carbon-isotope perturbation that supports a scenario of lake expansion driven by increased rainfall. In contrast to observations in the Sichuan Basin, where deep lake conditions persisted across the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary event, a global drop in the sea level is documented at the onset of the isotope perturbation. This suggests that eustatic oscillations due to increased continental water storage in lakes and aquifers in the context of a wetter climate phase may have been associated with the early stages of the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian boundary event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional drug solutions or suspensions, have been shown to treat pain in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA)-induced chronic inflammatory pain in rats, with or without combination with magnetic therapy. In this study, we aimed to prepare, characterize, and evaluate the therapeutic effects of microparticles containing dexamethasone for local administration and treatment of chronic inflammatory pain. The results showed the following; a) Preparation and characterization: two ratios of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) were used. The prepared batches were similar in size and magnetic responsiveness. The microparticle size distribution assessed via electron microscopy suggested a homogeneous distribution and absence of aggregates. Dexamethasone release profiles (microparticles synthesized with a feed ratio of 1:4) showed a sustained release in vitro and good biocompatibility with tissues. b) Therapeutic effect: the treatment effect of dexamethasone-PLGA magnetic microspheres + magnetic therapy was substantially better than that observed for other groups on day 4, as monitored by appearance, mechanical pain threshold, and histological analysis. This type of carrier could be a suitable magnetically retainable local drug delivery system for treating chronic pain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the potential mechanism of complex rose–bergamot essential oil against anxiety accompanied with facial spots through network pharmacology. Methods: The components of rose and bergamot essential oils were determined by GC–MS and obtained from literature, and their action targets were predicted by PubChem, SwissADME and SwissTargetPrediction databases. Using "Anxiety disorder" and "Facial pigmentation" as keywords, the relevant targets of anxiety disorder and facial spots were mined in the databases of DrugBank, TTD, GeneCards, and OMIM. The intersection targets of complex rose–bergamot essential oil and anxiety accompanied with facial spots diseases were obtained by making Venn diagram, respectively. Protein–protein interaction (PPI), Gene Ontology (GO), and Kyoto Encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis of intersection targets were carried out through STRING platform, Metascape, and KEGG Mapper databases. The "complex essential oil‐ component‐ target‐ pathway" network was constructed by Cytoscape software. The key active compounds and core targets were docked by AutoDock software. Results: A total of 34 active components of complex rose–bergamot essential oil and 405 corresponding targets were obtained. The intersection targets of complex essential oil with anxiety disorder and facial spot were 88 and 34, respectively, and the related KEGG pathways were 137 and 123 items, respectively. Neroli acetate, Neroli alcohol, and Linalool in complex rose–bergamot essential oil could play a therapeutic role in anxiety disorder by regulating key targets such as SLC6A4, GRIN2B and DRD2 to participate in the neuroactive ligand‐receptor interaction and serotonergic synapse and other pathways, they also could play a role in the treatment of facial spots by regulating key targets such as EGFR, VEGFA, and PIK3CA in the PI3K‐AKT, JAK–STAT and other signal pathways. The molecular docking between the key compounds and the core targets showed that the binding energy was less than 0 kcal /mol, indicating that the compound and the target could bind stably. Conclusion: Complex rose–bergamot essential oil can play a role in the treatment of anxiety disorder with facial spots through the synergistic mechanism of multicomponent, multitarget, and multipathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chassis of rice transplanter tends to vibrate severely in the severe working environment, causing a severe effect on the operational performance and driving comfort. In order to avoid this situation, this paper constructs a vibration evaluation system of the rice transplanter and carries out experimental analysis. According to the optimal acceleration sensor placement scheme, a test platform system was designed. Taking the high-speed transplanter chassis as the research object, this study carried out the experiments modal analysis and optimization on the chassis. The three-dimensional model of the transplanting machine chassis established by SolidWorks was imported into ANSYS Workbench for finite element modal simulation analysis. Comparing the two modal analyses, it is found that the results data of the two analysis methods were very close. After optimization, the length x1, the section width x2 and the thickness of the hollow beam x3 of the main load-bearing beam of the frame were as follows: x1=1641.5 mm, x2 =26.7 mm, x3=5 mm, respectively. The maximum overshoot of the low-level system was reduced by 28.57%. It has been verified that the vibration of the whole machine has been effectively reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yaks display unique properties of the lung and heart, enabling their adaptation to high‐altitude environments, but the underlying molecular mechanisms are still largely unknown. In the present study, the proteome differences in lung and heart tissues were compared between yak (Bos grunniens) and three cattle strains (Bos taurus, Holstein, Sanjiang and Tibetan cattle) using the sequential window acquisition of all theoretical mass spectra/data‐independent acquisition (SWATH/DIA) proteomic method. In total, 51,755 peptides and 7215 proteins were identified. In the lung tissue, there were 162, 310 and 118 differential abundance proteins (DAPs) in Tibetan, Holstein and Sanjiang cattle compared to yak respectively. In the heart tissue, there were 71, 57 and 78 DAPs in Tibetan, Holstein and Sanjiang cattle compared to yak respectively. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis revealed that the DAPs were enriched for the retinol metabolism and toll‐like receptor categories in lung tissue. The changes in these two pathways may regulate hypoxia‐induced factor and immune function in yaks. Moreover, DAPs in heart tissues were enriched for cardiac muscle contraction, Huntington's disease, chemical carcinogenesis and drug metabolism‐cytochrome P450. Further exploration indicated that yaks may alter cardiac function through regulation of type 2 ryanodine receptor (RyR2) and Ca2+‐release channels. The present results are useful to further develop an understanding of the mechanisms underlying adaptation of animals to high‐altitude conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: A cross-sectional study.Objective: To assess the effectiveness of a new assessment tool, myelopathy-hand functional evaluation system (MFES), in evaluating the hand dysfunction of patients with cervical myelopathy in the 10-second grip-and-release test (10 second G-R test).Summary Of Background Data: Clumsy fingers movement is a common symptom of myelopathy patients. Evaluating the impaired hand function can provide a strong basis in assessing the severity of myelopathy. Currently, no objective and effective evaluation method is widely accepted in clinical practice.Methods: MFES mainly consists of a pair of wise-gloves and a computer with software. One hundred and ninety-eight consecutive participants were asked to wear the wise-gloves and then perform 10 seconds G-R test. The movements of each finger were recorded by MFES and converted into waveforms. Relevant waveform parameters were measured and analyzed. The Japanese Orthopedics Association (JOA) scores of each patient were marked and the maximum spinal cord compression (MSCC) was measured on midsagittal T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Results: Myelopathy patients had a lower number of G-R cycles and a longer time per cycle than healthy subjects. There were significant differences in adduction and abduction time in patients with JOA scores greater than 6, but not in healthy subjects and patients with JOA scores less than 6. The waveforms of ulnar three fingers in myelopathy patients were lower and wider than those in healthy individuals. The average ratio value of wave height to wave width (a/b) could quantitatively reflect such differences of waveforms. According to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, the optimal threshold value of the normal average ratio was more than 1.92. The average a/b value was correlated with the JOA scores of the motor function in the upper extremities (r = 0.842).Conclusion: MFES appears to be an objective and quantitative assessment tool for patients with cervical myelopathy.Level Of Evidence: 3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The controlled release of Li+ was successfully accomplished through the encapsulation of lithium-doped bioglass nanospheres on sulfonated polyetheretherketone. • Polyetheretherketone coated by lithium-doped bioglass nanospheres has anti-inflammatory properties, inducing macrophage polarization to M2 phenotype. • The biofunctionalized polyetheretherketone surface with lithium-doped bioglass nanospheres exhibited enhanced osteogenesis and immunomodulatory osteogenesis properties. Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a frequently utilized orthopedic implant material in clinical settings. However, the adverse inflammatory and immunological reactions due to the PEEK surface after implantation often cause poor osseointegration and thereby hinder its clinical utility. To improve osseointegration and enhance the success rate of PEEK implants, the surface can be biofunctionalized to be immunomodulatory. Consequently, in this study, lithium-doped bioglass nanospheres (Li/BGs) was coated on the sulfonated PEEK surface. Furthermore, we assessed the anti-inflammatory potential of the biofunctionalized PEEK implants and their impact on osteogenesis. In our study, it was observed that the in vitro biofunctionalized PEEK surface exhibited enhanced osteogenesis and immunomodulatory osteogenesis properties, while also effectively suppressing the acute inflammatory response initiated by macrophages. Furthermore, our in vivo experiments demonstrated that the biofunctionalized PEEK surface contributed to improved osteogenesis properties and mitigated the formation of fibrous capsules. Therefore, the in vitro and in vivo results demonstrated that PEEK surface modification with Li/BGs not only changed the disadvantage of being bioinert on the surface but also endowed it with osteoimmunomodulatory regulation and bone-promoting properties. Thus, the biofunctionalized PEEK may be a promising candidate for use as an orthopedic implant in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy seedlings transplanting is an important process in the production of vegetables and economic crops, and the transplanting quality directly affects crop yield. Automatic seedlings transplanting can improve the transplanting efficiency of seedlings. A physical prototype of potted seedling automatic transplanting with a conveyor and a transplanting end-effector was developed in the previous study. This work proposed an automatic transplanting method of healthy potted seedlings, which mainly included a detection part of seedlings growth status and a visual servo control part with the purpose of automatic transplanting seedlings high-efficiently. The seedlings and the tray cell were simultaneously detected for identifying healthy seedlings, damaged seedlings and empty cells using a machine vision algorithm when the tray was moving on the conveyor line. The visual servo model was applied to enable the collaborative operation of the machine vision and the end-effector for determining the position and attitude of grasping seedlings. The experimental results showed that the accuracy rates of the identification of empty tray cells, healthy seedling and unhealthy seedling were 96.42%, 98.77% and 89.95%, respectively. Under the successful identification of the healthy seedling, the accuracy rate of grasping seedling was 96.38%. It indicated that the proposed method can effectively transplant seedlings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research report on membraneless organelles formed by liquid-liquid phase separation increase bacterial fitness. Topics include metastable liquid-structured protein assemblies increase bacterial fitness by enabling cells to tolerate environmental stresses; and quantitative agreement with phase-separated liquid droplet formation driven by interacting proteins under thermal equilibrium that nucleate following diffusive collisions in the cytoplasm.

Alepterolic acid is a natural diterpenoid isolated from Aleuritopteris argentea (S. G. Gmél.) Fée, a fern with potential medicinal activity, used in China as a folk medicine to regulate menstruation and prevent cancer. Nevertheless, there are few reports about the structural modification of this natural product. With the wide application of 1,2,3-triazole derivatives in medicines, pesticides, functional materials, the synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles derivatives has attracted the attention of synthetic chemists. In this article, 23 new derivatives of alepterolic acid combined with 1,2,3-triazole were designed and synthesized by esterification and click chemistry reaction in a fast, conventional and efficient way. All the products were obtained in good yields (72 to 97 %). The structure of these compounds was confirmed by ¹H-, 13C-NMR and mass spectral data. The use of the easily available reactants and the common reaction conditions furnish an efficient method for the synthesis of alepterolic acid derivatives. The preparation of these compounds would enable further biological evaluation in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern facility agriculture, to improve the quality and efficiency of transplanting, the application of transplanting robots based on visual processing is becoming more and more widespread. In order to reduce the damage to plants during the transplanting process and reduce the damage rate of plant stems, leaves and substrates, a transplanting method based on Kinect visual processing combined with an inclined transplanting manipulator was proposed. In the research, the Kinect visual processing was used to obtain and process the seedling height information and leaf edge information, and the working coordinate system of the transplanting manipulator was established and applied to plan the obstacle avoidance path. Combined with the oblique manipulator, the obstacle avoidance transplanting method was proposed. Through the structural design and force analysis of the seedling transplanting device, the key parameters that affect the transplanting quality were obtained, and the optimal transplanting performance parameters were obtained through experiments. In the experiment, with the aid of the Kinect vision processing system, the designed obstacle avoidance transplanting manipulator had a leaf damage degree of 4.70%, a stem bending rate of 16.67%, substrate integrity of 83.45% and a transplanting quality parameter of 87.36%. The time for a single seedling transplanting was (8.32±0.40) s. The experiment result proves that the obstacle avoidance transplanting method based on Kinect visual processing can effectively reduce the damage to seedlings when ensuring the transplanting efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subduction and exhumation processes, interacting with each other, play a key role in crustal recycling. Downgoing oceanic lithosphere constitutes the dominant input at subduction margins, but subduction erosion, the removal of crustal material from the overriding plate, may add additional ingredients and complexity to the subduction factory. Different exhumation models have been proposed to explain how subducted materials are exhumed and therefore contribute to crustal recycling, e.g., exhumation up the subduction channel versus diapiric rise through the mantle wedge that overlies the subducted plate. The recently discovered Baqing eclogite- bearing high-pressure metamorphic complex, central Tibet, China, provides an excellent opportunity to decode the exhumation process, the origin of subduction-related magmatism, and the crustal structure of the North Qiangtang block, in addition to elucidating processes of crustal recycling. Pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) paths and zircon U-Pb ages and trace-element compositions for Baqing high-pressure rocks were used to evaluate exhumation processes and to determine the geochemical and tectonic affinity of the Baqing metamorphic complex. The Baqing metamorphic complex is mainly composed of eclogite, gneiss, and schist. It is located between two geologically distinct terranes--the South Qiangtang block, which has early Paleozoic basement, and the North Qiangtang block, which has Proterozoic basement. In the schist, zircon cores with steep heavy rare earth element (HREE) slopes and oscillatory zoning yielded inherited ages that are similar to detrital zircon ages for the South Qiangtang block schist; in contrast, zircon rims with flat HREE slopes yielded metamorphic ages of 224 Ma that are similar to the metamorphic ages obtained for the Baqing eclogite. In contrast, zircons from the gneiss yielded an upper-intercept age of 1033 ± 32 Ma (interpreted as the crystallization age) and a lower-intercept metamorphic age of 198 ± 4 Ma. Field relations indicate that gneiss and eclogite/amphibolite were exhumed together, so the ~20 m.y. gap between the gneiss and the metabasite metamorphism may indicate a long exhumation duration. In the region, Proterozoic ages of ca. 1000 Ma are known only from the North Qiangtang block; we thus propose that the Baqing gneiss originated from North Qiangtang block Proterozoic basement, which, along with North Qiangtang block Triassic arc magmatic rocks and the discrepancies between ancient and current arc-trench distances, results in estimates of ~20-170 km of Triassic subduction erosion. Results of P-T analyses show that most eclogite, amphibolite, and schist shared a similar clockwise P-T path, different from that of the gneiss, which records a higher geothermal gradient. The clockwise P-T trajectory, long exhumation duration, lack of significant heating during exhumation, and the South Qiangtang block affinity of the schist (host rock of the Baqing eclogite) are consistent with subduction-channel exhumation rather than diapiric rise through the mantle wedge. Geochemical similarities between the North Qiangtang block Triassic subductionrelated rocks and the Baqing gneiss may signal the involvement of unexhumed Baqing metamorphic complex in the recycling of the Qiangtang crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Healthy vegetable seedlings are surviving seedlings with good biological characteristics. Selective planting of healthy seedlings in the mechanized transplanting process can effectively avoid the reduction in yield caused by missed planting. Aiming at the current transplanting machinery that cannot achieve the selective planting of healthy seedlings, a healthy seedling intelligent sorting and transplanting system was proposed. The system consisted of a seedling delivery mechanism, sorting mechanism, photoelectric sensor, image sensor, PLC control system, and computer control system. It can realize automatic transmission of seedling trays, automatically identify the information of healthy seedlings in the trays and selectively transplant them. Also it can reduce the missed planting rate caused by the poor quality of plug seedlings after planting and the lack of seedlings in the hole. A sorting test of plug seedlings was carried out for the age-appropriate pepper plug seedlings cultivated in the factory. The results showed that the system had an average recognition accuracy rate of 89.14% and an average sorting success rate of 93.20% in the process of sorting suitable age pepper plug seedlings. The whole system can identify, sort and transplant the plug seedlings of appropriate age according to healthy information, and effectively avoid missing planting. This research can provide technical support for the intelligent upgrade of transplanting equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stargardt disease (STGD) is the most common form of juvenile macular dystrophy associated with progressive central vision loss, and is agenetically and clinically heterogeneous disease. Molecular diagnosis is of great significance in aiding the clinical diagnosis, helping to determine the phenotypic severity and visual prognosis. In the present study, we determined the clinical and genetic features of seven childhood-onset and three adult-onset Chinese STGD families. We performed capture next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the probands and searched for potentially disease-causing genetic variants in previously identified retinal or macular dystrophy genes. Methods: In all, ten unrelated Chinese families were enrolled. Panel-based NGS was performed to identify potentially disease-causing genetic variants in previously identified retinal or macular dystrophy genes, including the five known STGD genes (ABCA4, PROM1, PRPH2, VMD2, and ELOVL4). Variant analysis, Sanger validation, and segregation tests were utilized to validate the disease-causing mutations in these families. Results: Using systematic data analysis with an established bioinformatics pipeline and segregation analysis, 17 pathogenic mutations in ABCA4 were identified in the 10 STGD families. Four of these mutations were novel: c.371delG, c.681T > G, c.5509C > T, and EX37del. Childhood-onset STGD was associated with severe visual loss, generalized retinal dysfunction and was due to more severe variants in ABCA4 than those found in adult-onset disease. Conclusions: We expand the existing spectrum of STGD and reveal the genotype-phenotype relationships of the ABCA4 mutations in Chinese patients. Childhood-onset STGD lies at the severe end of the spectrum of ABCA4-associated retinal phenotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yak is an important livestock animal for the people indigenous to the harsh, oxygen‐limited Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau and Hindu Kush ranges of the Himalayas. The yak genome was sequenced in 2012, but its assembly was fragmented because of the inherent limitations of the Illumina sequencing technology used to analyse it. An accurate and complete reference genome is essential for the study of genetic variations in this species. Long‐read sequences are more complete than their short‐read counterparts and have been successfully applied towards high‐quality genome assembly for various species. In this study, we present a high‐quality chromosome‐scale yak genome assembly (BosGru_PB_v1.0) constructed with long‐read sequencing and chromatin interaction technologies. Compared to an existing yak genome assembly (BosGru_v2.0), BosGru_PB_v1.0 shows substantially improved chromosome sequence continuity, reduced repetitive structure ambiguity, and gene model completeness. To characterize genetic variation in yak, we generated de novo genome assemblies based on Illumina short reads for seven recognized domestic yak breeds in Tibet and Sichuan and one wild yak from Hoh Xil. We compared these eight assemblies to the BosGru_PB_v1.0 genome, obtained a comprehensive map of yak genetic diversity at the whole‐genome level, and identified several protein‐coding genes absent from the BosGru_PB_v1.0 assembly. Despite the genetic bottleneck experienced by wild yak, their diversity was nonetheless higher than that of domestic yak. Here, we identified breed‐specific sequences and genes by whole‐genome alignment, which may facilitate yak breed identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural course of multiple myeloma (MM) varies greatly between patients. The Revised MM International Staging System (R-ISS) identifies high-risk patients, but it is unsuitable for assessing minimal residual disease (MRD). Furthermore, the focal location of myeloma cells and clonal evolution often produce false negative results in flow cytometry. Extracellular microRNA (miRNA/miR) expression levels are stable in bodily fluids, and are retrievable and measurable from fresh or archived serum or plasma samples. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the clinical utility of circulating miRNA levels in patients with MM, particularly miR-451a, which is commonly downregulated in MM, and whether it could predict the prognosis and relapse of patients with MM. In total, 66 patients with MM, stratified using the R-ISS criteria, were recruited, while 10 healthy subjects (transplantation donors) were enrolled as controls. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was used to evaluate miR-451a expression in bone marrow (BM) and in the circulation. IL-6 levels were measured using ELISA, while western blotting was conducted to analyze the protein expression levels of the IL-6 receptor (IL-6R). During follow-up, MRD was assessed via multiparameter flow cytometry (MFC). miR-451a was identified to target IL-6R using a dual-luciferase reporter assay. Circulating miR-451a levels were low in patients with MM, and was found to be 0.39 times that of the control group (U=4.00; P<0.001). Among the 66 patients with MM, the median level of miR-451a was 0.73 and 0.41 times that of the control group in R-ISS stage I MM (15 patients) and R-ISS stage II stage (17 patients), respectively; patients with R-ISS stage III MM (34 patients) had the lowest level, at 0.24 times the value of the control group. Circulating miR-451a levels had a strong positive correlation with miR-451a levels in BM, but negatively correlated with IL-6 and IL-6R levels. After two courses of consolidation chemotherapy, 19 patients achieved complete remission, 10 of whom presented steady circulating miR-451a levels during follow-up; the other nine patients had an abrupt decrease in circulating miR-451a levels. The turning points in the trend appeared 4-8 weeks before positive results were obtained via MFC, and 4-16 weeks before clinical relapse. Moreover, miR-451a overexpression notably downregulated the expression of the IL-6R mRNA and protein. Collectively, circulating miR-451a levels potentially represent a novel biomarker to monitor MRD and predict relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dear Editor, Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was first reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and has since spread around the globe affecting over 20 million people with a death toll surpassing 700,000. Collapsing glomerulopathy in a patient with COVID-19. Further investigation into the development of CG in the setting of COVID-19 is critical in order to gain a better understanding of patient outcomes and determine optimal management for affected individuals. [Extracted from the article]

Existing dehazing methods based on convolutional neural networks estimate the transmission map by treating channel‐wise features equally, which lacks flexibility in handling different types of haze information, leading to the poor representational ability of the network. Besides, the scene lights are predicted by an even illumination prior which does not work for a real situation. To solve these problems, the authors propose a dense residual channel attention network (DRCAN) for estimating the transmission map and use an image segmentation strategy to predict scene lights. Specifically, DRCAN is built based on the proposed dense residual block (DRB) and dense residual channel attention block (DRCAB). DRB extracts the hierarchical features with increasing receptive fields. DRCAB makes the network focus on the features containing heavy haze information. After the transmission map is estimated, fuzzy partition entropy combined with graph cuts is used to segment the transmission map into scene regions covered with varying scene lights. This strategy not only considers the fuzzy intensities of the low‐contrast transmission map but also takes spatial correlation into account. Finally, a clear image is obtained by the transmission map and varying scene lights. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our method is comparable to most of existing methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: On the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, known as the roof ridge of the world, the yak is a precious cattle species that has been indispensable to the human beings living in this high-altitude area. However, the origin of domestication, dispersal route, and the divergence of domestic yaks from different areas are poorly understood. Results: Here, we resequenced the genome of 91 domestic yak individuals from 31 populations and 1 wild yaks throughout China. Using a population genomics approach, we observed considerable genetic variation. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that the earliest domestications of yak occurred in the south-eastern QTP, followed by dispersal to the west QTP and northeast to SiChuang, Gansu, and Qinghai by two routes. Interestingly, we also found potential associations between the distribution of some breeds and historical trade routes such as the Silk Road and Tang-Tibet Ancient Road. Selective analysis identified 11 genes showing differentiation between domesticated and wild yaks and the potentially positively selected genes in each group were identified and compared among domesticated groups. We also detected an unbalanced pattern of introgression among domestic yak, wild yak, and Tibetan cattle. Conclusions: Our research revealed population genetic evidence for three groups of domestic yaks. In addition to providing genomic evidence for the domestication history of yaks, we identified potential selected genes and introgression, which provide a theoretical basis and resources for the selective breeding of superior characters and high-quality yak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluorizoline (FLZ) binds to prohibitin-1 and -2 (PHB1/2), which are pleiotropic scaffold proteins known to affect signaling pathways involved in several intracellular processes. However, it is not yet clear how FLZ exerts its effect. Here, we show that exposure of three different human cancer cell lines to FLZ increases the phosphorylation of key translation factors, particularly of initiation factor 2 (eIF2) and elongation factor 2 (eEF2), modifications that inhibit their activities. FLZ also impaired signaling through mTOR complex 1, which also regulates the translational machinery, e.g. through the eIF4E-binding protein 4E-BP1. In line with these findings, FLZ potently inhibited protein synthesis. We noted that the first phase of this inhibition involves very rapid eEF2 phosphorylation, which is catalyzed by a dedicated Ca21-dependent protein kinase, eEF2 kinase (eEF2K). We also demonstrate that FLZ induces a swift and marked rise in intracellular Ca2+ levels, likely explaining the effects on eEF2. Disruption of normal Ca2+ homeostasis can also induce endoplasmic reticulum stress, and our results suggest that induction of this stress response contributes to the increased phosphorylation of eIF2, likely because of activation of the eIF2-modifying kinase PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK).We show that FLZ induces cancer cell death and that this effect involves contributions from the phosphorylation of both eEF2 and eIF2. Our findings provide important new insights into the biological effects of FLZ and thus the roles of PHBs, specifically in regulating Ca2+ levels, cellular protein synthesis, and cell survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Computational fluid dynamics is used to study the effect of temperature on flow structure and disk friction loss for different working fluids in a high temperature molten salt pump, which is used for concentrating solar power, the velocity profile and pressure distribution in the first stage of the pump model and the effect of the fluid property on the ring leakage, disk friction loss as well as the shear stress distribution on shroud are analyzed for the pure water and the molten salt with temperature 300 ? and 565 ?, respectively. The main findings can be concluded as: the working fluids have little effect on pump performance and internal velocity distribution whereas the pressure of the flow field would increase with the fluid density, with the increase of the fluid viscosity, the shear stress inside the ring also increases and the total leakage can be eliminated evidently, the increase of the fluid density and viscosity show the significant responsibility for the disk friction loss, in which the fluid viscosity also increases the disk friction loss, and the viscosity is one of the most influential factors for the shroud shear stress and it can be observed that the shear stress on front shroud is higher than that on the rear shroud. It is believed that the present work can deep the understandings of the fluid structures inside the molten salt pump, which can provide some guidelines to improve the pump performance and optimize the pump structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve the efficiency and quality of transplanting vegetables in dry land, based on the seedling technology, transplanting effect and analysis of the planting process, a potted vegetable seedlings transplanting machine was designed. It mainly comprised rotary disc type feeding mechanism, five-bar duckbill type planting mechanism (simulated duckbill mechanism, disc cam, connecting rod, crank, fork, cable) and power transmission system. Based on the physical parameters of the seedlings and design requirements, it was determined that the diameter of the duckbill was D=90 mm, the opening and closing angle was 25°, and the taper angle was 17°. A test bench with adjustable parameters was built by analyzing the structure of the planting mechanism and the motion of the working process. The digital speckle technique was used to optimize the parameters, so that the length of the crankshaft I was S1=100 mm, the length of the crankshaft II was S2= 80 mm, the length of the connecting rod I was S3=140 mm, the length of the connecting rod II was S4=260 mm, the length of rod to connecting the rack was S6=314 mm, and the height of planting track was H=450 mm. According to the above parameters and the control requirements of the duckbill mechanism, the cam stroke was determined to be S=15 mm. And the initial phase difference between the two cams was 180°. The experiment was carried out with pepper seedlings as transplanting objects. The results showed that when the planting frequency was 50-70 plants/min, the seedling upright rate was 93%-91.1%, the planting depth qualified rate was 96%-92%. The leakage rate was 0-0.26%, the variation coefficient of plant spacing was 0.37%-0.67%, the injury rate was 0%, and the mechanical damage degree of the mining surface was 2.43-3.77 mm/m2. The machine can effectively improve the quality of transplanting, which can meet the production needs and design requirements of the mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of laser deep penetration welding and hydraulic bulging is the most advanced production technology of honeycomb plate heat exchanger in the world. The micro-shape and heat transfer effect of the heat exchanger of honeycomb plate are mainly determined by the distribution mode of welding spot, weld shape and welding point arrangement. Therefore, the important principle of the honeycomb plate heat exchanger processing is to improve the pressure as much as possible to form turbulence while ensuring the welding quality. In the present experimental work, the effect of different weld shape and weld distribution of honeycomb plate heat exchanger produced by 06cr19n10 plate using hydraulic bulging and laser deep penetration welding on hydraulic bulging effect was studied carefully. The results showed that the optimal arrangement method is the equilateral triangle. The welding process parameters were optimized to increase the welding strength. The results showed that when the welding power was 2.1 kW, the bonding strength of the weld was the highest, at 52.70 kN. When the welding power was 2.2 kW and the gap between the welding points was 30 mm, the tensile strength of the honeycomb plate was the best, at 19.0 MPa. The results of this paper provide experimental support for industrial production of honeycomb plate heat exchanger. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To investigate the gastroprotective effect of Alpinia conchigera rhizome in an ulcer rat model. Method: Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with ethanol extract of Alpinia conchigera at doses of 75 and 150 mg/kg body weight. After 28 days, the rats were sacrificed. Ulcer index, total acidity, pH, hemoglobin levels, and hemorrhagic lesions were determined through macroscopic assessment and histopathological examination. The levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT), and inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6) were also determined. Results: Alpinia conchigera significantly reduced ulcer index, total acidity, pH and hemoglobin levels (p < 0.05). Results from histology revealed that the extract protected the mucosa from lesions. Moreover, the extract significantly enhanced gastric mucosal activities of SOD and CAT, and decreased LPO levels and plasma concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These results validate the traditional claims on the gastroprotective effects of Alpinia conchigera as revealed through its antioxidant and ulcer-healing properties by stimulation of important cellular mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor realization of agronomic standards, low level of automation, time-consuming and labor-intensive farming are the main problems in traditional production process of vegetable. In order to improve vegetable cultivation intelligent and intensive level,reduce waste of production resources, an intelligent vegetable cultivation device was designed based on APP control, internet communications and image recognition technology, with the functions of remote control, precision sowing, quantitative dosing of liquid materials and weed recognition. The device mainly includes farming executing part, image processing part, STM32 microcontroller, and the APP which sends a command and control the device to work on the corresponding farming work. The precision seeding sowing worked through the gantry positioning and the cooperation of magnetic coupling tools and gas-suction sowing tools. By controlling the pump running time and monitoring flow volume with PVDF pressure sensor installed in the liquid pipeline interface, the liquid material was delivered quantitatively. Weed images were collected by CCD camera and recognition algorithm was developed based on BP neural network to obtain the weed location information. The test results show that the error rate of sowing was 2.75%, the passing rate of the plant spacing was up to 97.2%, no miss sowing occurs during the test; the error of the liquid delivery was within ± 5.8 g; true positive rate, true negative rate and accuracy of weed recognition were above 95%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electric seeder for small-size vegetable seeds was designed based on the power drive and the optical fiber detection technology. The seeder is driven by electric power during the sowing process. At the same time, using the fiber sensor technology to monitor the sowing condition, the seeder is more efficient with high seeding precision in terms of different seed sizes. In order to achieve the precision seeding for the 2-10 mm seeds, the driving motor is equipped in the rear crackle. The power drive reduces pollution and dyeing. Also the other components of the electric seeder were modularly designed. The seeder was designed with buckle, which could be quickly disassembled on the sowing machine to replace the sowing wheel. It can quickly adjust row spacing and sowing depth during sowing process to meet the requirements of agricultural planting. Field test was carried out for coriander, pakchoi, and radish on the accuracy and monitoring of the system, respectively. The results showed that during the field operation, the sowing precision of the sowing machine was 95%. When the seeder worked at the speeds of 3 km/h and 4 km/h, the relative error of the monitoring precision of the system was less than 6%. This system can meet the real-time monitoring requirements of the seed metering device and improve the quality of the sowing work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the authors address a challenging problem of aesthetic image classification, which is to label an input image as high- or low-aesthetic quality. We take both the local and global features of images into consideration. A novel deep convolutional neural network named ILGNet is proposed, which combines both the inception modules and a connected layer of both local and global features. The ILGnet is based on GoogLeNet. Thus, it is easy to use a pre-trained GoogLeNet for large-scale image classification problem and fine tune their connected layers on a large-scale database of aesthetic-related images: AVA, i.e. domain adaptation. The experiments reveal that their model achieves the state of the arts in AVA database. Both the training and testing speeds of their model are higher than those of the original GoogLeNet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ordered PdCu and Co doped PdCu nanoparticles have been synthesized on graphene oxide (GO). The obtained Co–PdCu/GO composites were used to fabricate a H2O2 electrochemical sensor which exhibits an ultralow LOD (limit of detection) of 1.2 nM and an extra broad linear range of 5 nM–5.774 mM, and has been used to detect H2O2 in living cells successfully. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This article aimed to study the role of sevoflurane pre-conditioning in hepatic ischemia–reperfusion and its potential mechanism.Methods: Rat liver ischemia–reperfusion model was constructed. Serum TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-10, and IL-6 concentrations were detected by ELISA. Malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and nitric oxide (NO) in liver homogenate were determined. Hematoxylin–Eosin (HE) staining, Tunel, and immunohistochemistry were performed. Ischemia–reperfusion hepatocyte model was established. Cells transfection was conducted. Apoptosis was observed by flow cytometry. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting analysis were used.Results: Compared with I/R group, liver damage degree, liver cell apoptosis, and glucose regulatory protein 78 (Grp78) expression was obviously reduced in rats of SEV group. TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 concentrations were also significantly increased (P<0.01). MDA and NO concentrations were dramatically lower (P<0.01) and SOD concentration was significantly higher (P<0.01). Apoptosis rate, Grp78, PERK, eIF2α, and p-c-JNK/JNK expression was also significantly decreased (P<0.01). Sevoflurane significantly reduced apoptosis and expression of PERK, eIF2α, p-c-JNK/JNK by inhibiting the expression of Grp78 (P<0.01).Conclusion: Sevoflurane relieves hepatic ischemia–reperfusion injury by inhibiting the expression of Grp78. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the effectiveness of a DNA vaccine for S. agalactiae that was delivered by mannose-based polyethyleneimine (Man-PEI). The results showed that Man-PEI/pcDNA-Sip stimulated a higher serum antibody titer compared to control or other vaccine groups (p < 0.05). Additionally, it induced higher expression of immune-related genes, and increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (AKP). Furthermore, the Man-PEI/pcDNA-Sip group showed an improved relative percent survival (RPS) of 85.71%. These results demonstrate the potential value of Man-PEI as a vaccine delivery vehicle, and suggest that it can be effective in boosting the immune protective rate induced by pcDNA-Sip vaccines. • We constructed a targeted delivery method for DNA vaccine by mannose-based polyethyleneimine (Man-PEI). • The relative percent survival (RPS) of Man-PEI/pcDNA-sip group was 85.71%. • Man-PEI can boost immune protective rate induced by the pcDNA-sip vaccine against S. agalactiae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, low degree of automation seriously affects the working efficiency and quality in vegetable transplanting. As one of the most important vegetables in China even in the world, tomato was taken as the research object in this study. An automatic single-row transplanting device was designed, based on the statistical analysis of the physical and mechanical properties of tomato seedlings of a typical variety. Based on the technology of mechatronics, the device integrated the functions of transporting seedling tray, automatic seedling extraction and mechanical planting. The kinematics orthogonality solution combined with the dynamic sequence solution method was used to optimize and analyze the kinematic parameters of the automatic seeding mechanism, and the "sickle" trajectory was obtained. According to the position and movement requirement for taking and dropping seedling, the mechanical conditions and the working parameters of key execution parts were obtained by using analytic drawing method to analyze the mechanical condition of seedling collecting mechanism. The transplanting experiment was conducted at room temperature of 25°C, and the age and moisture content of the seedlings were 40 d and 55%, respectively. The results showed that the highest success rate was 92.59%, and the lowest rate of leakage was 23.13%, when the transplanting frequency was 60 plants/min. The lowest success rate was 77.78%, and the highest rate of leakage was 38.75%, when transplanting frequency was 120 plants/min. When the transplanting frequency is between 60-90 plants/min, the device can meet the requirement of high speed transplanting for potted vegetable seedling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both chiral OFm monosubstituted cyclo(l-Glu-l-Glu) and cyclo(d-Glu-d-Glu) display a robust gelation ability in a variety of organic solvents and water. In contrast to an individual enantiomer, their racemate can form rapidly recoverable thixotropic hydrogels with a remarkably shorter thixotropic recovery time. This unexpected thixotropic behavior is induced by the random arrangement of d- and l-enantiomers in the cell units, leading to the formation of "pseudoracemate", noncrystalline self-assemblies in the resulting 3D fibrous network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handling uncertainty in an appropriate manner during the real operation of a cyber-physical system (CPS) is critical. Uncertain production scheduling as a part of CPS uncertainty issues should attract more attention. In this paper, a Mixed Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) uncertain model for batch process is formulated based on a unit-specific event-based continuous-time modeling method. Utility uncertainty and uncertain relationship between production rate and utility supply are described by fuzzy theory. The uncertain scheduling model is converted into deterministic model by mathematical method. Through one numerical example, the accuracy and practicability of the proposed model is proved. Fuzzy scheduling model can supply valuable decision options for enterprise managers to make decision more accurate and practical. The impact and selection of some key parameters of fuzzy scheduling model are elaborated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase transformation in anisotropic nanocrystals is critical for enhanced surface properties of bimetallic catalysts. In this work, we report a series of phase transformed PtFe nanocomposites as catalysts for facile oxidation of glycerol to value-added tartronic acid at mild operating conditions. The lattice mismatch between Pt and Fe intrinsically drives structure reconstruction from face centered cubic (fcc) to ordered and lattice distorted face centered tetragonal (fct) phase. Surface characterization reveals that there exists an interdiffusion of Pt and Fe during phase transformation and a downward shift of binding energy for Pt species. Such transformation induces the formation of strained PtFe nanocomposites and enhanced structural coherence leading to 3-fold enhancement in catalytic activity for one-pot glycerol oxidation to tartronic acid compared with the fcc structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have shown that cyclooxygenase-2, a key enzyme that converts arachidonic acid to prostaglandins, is involved in anxiety and cognitive processes, but few studies have investigated the effects of chronic administration of cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors on anxiety, learning and memory under normal physiological conditions. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of chronic administration of parecoxib, a cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, on anxiety behavior and memory performance under normal physiological conditions and to explore the possible neural mechanism underlying parecoxib-mediated effects. Methods: Adult male ICR mice were randomly divided into four groups: the control group and three parecoxib groups. Mice received normal saline or parecoxib (2.5, 5.0 or 10 mg/kg) intraperitoneal injection once a day for 21 days, respectively. Elevated plus-maze, novel object recognition and Y maze tests were conducted on day 23, 24 and 26, respectively. Four additional groups that received same drug treatment were used to measure synaptophysin protein levels by western blot and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) levels by ELISA in the amygdala and hippocampus on day 26. Results: Chronic parecoxib exerted an anxiolytic-like effect in the plus-maze test test, and enhanced memory performance in the novel object recognition and Y maze tests. Western blot analysis showed that chronic parecoxib down-regulated synaptophysin levels in the amygdala and up-regulated synaptophysin levels in the hippocampus. ELISA assay showed that chronic parecoxib inhibited PGE2 in the hippocampus but not amygdala. Conclusions: Chronic parecoxib exerts anxiolytic-like and memory enhancing effects, which might be mediated through differential modulation of synaptophysin and PGE2 in the amygdala and hippocampus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folic acid (FA), which is necessary for normal cell division of mammals, has been implicated to be involved in many tumors. Dietary FA intake has been reported to be associated with a lower risk of nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC). However, the molecular mechanisms of FA in NPC cells remain unclear. In the present study, we found that FA treatment dose dependently inhibited the proliferation, invasion and migration of NPC cells, via folate receptor α (FRα). We further found that FA, bound to FRα, induced the activation of MEK/ERK1/2, and increased the expressions of TSLC1 and E-cadherin. Moreover, blocking of ERK1/2 activation attenuated FA-mediated increase in TSLC1 expression. In addition, knockdown of TSLC1 abolished the FA-mediated inhibition of cell proliferation, invasion and migration, and suppressed the FA-mediated increase oinE-cadherin expression in NPC cells. Taken together, our data suggest that FA treatment inhibits NPC cell proliferation and invasion via activation of FRα/ERK1/2/ TSLC1 signaling pathway. Therefore, FA could be explored as a therapeutic drug for the treatment of NPC, and TSLC1 may act as a tumor suppressor in NPC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is one of the most abundant reactive oxygen species (ROS), which plays dual roles as a toxic byproduct of cell metabolism and a regulatory signal molecule in plant development and stress response. Populus simonii × Populus nigra is an important cultivated forest species with resistance to cold, drought, insect and disease, and also a key model plant for forest genetic engineering. In this study, H2O2 response in P. simonii × P. nigra leaves was investigated using physiological and proteomics approaches. The seedlings of 50-day-old P. simonii × P. nigra under H2O2 stress exhibited stressful phenotypes, such as increase of in vivo H2O2 content, decrease of photosynthetic rate, elevated osmolytes, antioxidant accumulation, as well as increased activities of several ROS scavenging enzymes. Besides, 81 H2O2-responsive proteins were identified in the poplar leaves. The diverse abundant patterns of these proteins highlight the H2O2-responsive pathways in leaves, including 14-3-3 protein and nucleoside diphosphate kinase (NDPK)-mediated signaling, modulation of thylakoid membrane structure, enhancement of various ROS scavenging pathways, decrease of photosynthesis, dynamics of proteins conformation, and changes in carbohydrate and other metabolisms. This study provides valuable information for understanding H2O2-responsive mechanisms in leaves of P. simonii × P. nigra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) promote metastasis of breast cancer cells that can differentiate into carcinoma-associated cells in tumor microenvironments. However, the precise mechanism is poorly understood. This study shows that interaction of ADSCs with breast cancer MCF-7 cells changes the level of metastasis-related functional proteins in MCF-7 cells, as well as that of oncogenes in ADSCs. ADSCs were isolated from adipose tissues of patients. The interaction of ADSCs with MCF-7 cells was performed by coculturing ADSCs (or MCF-7 cells) with exosomes derived from MCF-7 cells (or ADSCs). Exosomes were labeled by DiI. In cocultures, migration-related regulators in MCF-7 cells were significantly enhanced in both protein (Smad, Slug, Snail1/2, Twist1, N-cadherin, vimentin) and mRNA (SMAD, SLUG, SNAIL1/2, TWIST1, N-cadherin, and vimentin) levels. The expression levels of oncogenes (RAS and HER-2) and an antioncogene gene (P53) in ADSCs were upregulated and downregulated, respectively. Interestingly, variation tendencies of the molecules were more conspicuous in inflammatory circumstances than without. In conclusion, interaction of MCF-7 cells with ADSCs increases the levels of a series of metastasis-related functional proteins in MCF-7 cells and enhances the expression of oncogenes in ADSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]