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The hydrogen-disordered structure of ice, Ic, makes it difficult to analyze the vibrational normal modes in the far-infrared region (i.e., the molecular translation band). To clarify the origin of the energy-splitting of hydrogen bond vibrations in this area, a 64-molecule supercell was constructed and calculated using first-principles density functional theory. The results were in good agreement with inelastic neutron scattering experiments and our previous study of a hydrogen-ordered ice Ic model. Assisted by analytic equations, we concluded that the origin of the two hydrogen bond peaks in real ice Ic is consistent with that of hydrogen-ordered ice Ic: the peaks originate from two kinds of normal mode vibration. We categorize the four peaks in the far-infrared region recorded from inelastic neutron scattering experiments as the acoustic peak, the superposition peak, the two-hydrogen bond peak and the four-hydrogen bond peak. We conclude that the existence of two intrinsic hydrogen bond vibration modes represents a general rule among the ice family, except ice X.

It was reported that a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study observed the adsorption geometry of a water monomer and a tetramer on NaCl(100) film. Based on first-principles density functional theory (DFT), the adsorption behavior of water on the NaCl surface was simulated with CASTEP code. The results showed that the water monomer almost lay on the NaCl(001) surface with one O–H bond tilted slightly downward. This was quite different from the STM observations. In fact, the experimental observation was influenced by the Au(111) substrate, which showed an upright form. A recent report on observations of two-dimensional ice structure on Au(111) substrate verified our simulations. However, the water tetramer formed a stable quadrate structure on the surface, which was consistent with observation. The intermolecular hydrogen bonds present more strength than surface adsorption. The simulations presented a clearer picture than experimental observations.

The Phase Gradient Autofocus (PGA) algorithm can remove the high order phase error effectively, which is of great significance to get high resolution images in real-time processing. While PGA usually needs iteration, which necessitates long working hours. In addition, the performances of the algorithm are not stable in different scene applications. This severely constrains the application of PGA in real-time processing. Isolated scatter selection and windowing are two important algorithmic steps of Phase Gradient Autofocus Algorithm. Therefore, this paper presents an isolated scatter selection method based on sample mean and a windowing method based on pulse envelope. These two methods are highly adaptable to data, which would make the algorithm obtain better stability and need less iteration. The adaptability of the improved PGA is demonstrated with the experimental results of real radar data.

The vibrational spectrum of ice II was investigated using the CASTEP code based on first-principles density functional theory (DFT). Based on good agreement with inelastic neutron scattering (INS), infrared (IR), and Raman experimental data, we discuss the translation, libration, bending, and stretching band using normal modes analysis method. In the translation band, we found that the four-bond and two-bond molecular vibration modes constitute three main peaks in accordance with INS ranging from 117 to 318 cm−1. We also discovered that the lower frequencies are cluster vibrations that may overlap with acoustic phonons. Whale et al. found in ice XV that some intramolecular vibrational modes include many isolated-molecule stretches of only one O−H bond, whereas the other O−H bond does not vibrate. This phenomenon is very common in ice II, and we attribute it to local tetrahedral deformation. The pathway of combining normal mode analysis with experimental spectra leads to scientific assignments.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) seriously affects the daily life of people. The whole plant of Artemisia ordosica Krasch. (AOK) has been used in folk medicine. This study aimed to investigate the in vivo anti-RA effects of AOK extract (AOKE) on collagen-induced arthritis in rats., Methods: AOKE (400, 200, or 100 mg/kg) was administered orally to animals for 30 days. Body weight, paw swelling, arthritis index, thymus, and spleen indices, and pathological changes were assessed for effects of AOKE on RA. Furthermore, the inflammatory cytokines in rat serum were detected. In addition, the expressions of STAT3, Caspase-3, Galectin-3, and S100A9 in synovial tissue were researched using immunohistochemistry., Key Findings: The AOKE significantly reduced the arthritis indices, paw swelling, spleen, and thymus indices. Meanwhile, AOKE (400 mg/kg) decreased the levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-17A, and increased the level of IL-10 in rat serum. Histopathological examination showed that AOKE reduced inflammatory cell infiltration and cartilage erosion. Then, AOKE decreased the expressions of STAT3, Galectin-3, S100A9, and increased the expression of Caspase-3., Conclusion: AOKE had interesting anti-RA activity in rats, which deserved further research for the development and clinical use of this medicinal resource., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

A satisfactory cure rate for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is difficult to achieve through traditional immunotherapy. RCC has a relatively high spontaneous regression rate due to tumor immune escape. However, tumor‑derived exosomes (TEXs), which effectively carry tumor‑associated antigens (TAAs) and trigger stronger antigen‑specific tumor immunity against autologous tumors than against other tumors, have been widely viewed as attractive potential vaccines for tumor treatment, although improvements are needed. Therefore, in our study, we determined whether RenCa cell‑derived exosome (RDE)‑stimulated CD8+ T cells exert a stronger specific cytotoxic effect on autologous tumor cells than on other types of tumor cells through the Fas ligand (FasL)/Fas signaling pathway, and whether the combination of RDE‑stimulated CD8+ T cells with GM‑CSF and IL‑12 enhances the anticancer effect. The results showed that RDEs were isolated, as expected, and promoted an increased percentage of CD8+/CD4+ T cells. RDE‑stimulated CD8+ T cells also more effectively facilitated cytotoxicity against RenCa cells when combined with GM‑CSF and IL‑12 in vitro. Furthermore, immunization with RDEs restrained the growth of RenCa tumors in mouse models, and facilitated the stimulation of a stronger specific cytotoxic CD8+ T cell response via the FasL/Fas signaling pathway in vitro. However, these results were observed less frequently for other types of tumor cells after treatment with RDEs, suggesting that RDEs depend on their antigen specificity to trigger antitumor immune responses. These findings revealed that RDE‑stimulated CD8+ T cells combined with GM‑CSF and IL‑12 can more effectively exert a stronger cytotoxic effect than RDEs alone and that RDEs can induce immunization more effectively against renal cortical adenocarcinoma than against other types of cancer. Therefore, according to our study, exosomes are promising potential vaccines, and the combination of exosome‑stimulated CD8+ T cells with GM‑CSF and IL‑12 may be a novel strategy for the treatment of RCC.

Long Wavelength Near InfraRed (LW-NIR) spectrometer has wide applications. Miniaturization and low-cost are two major goals of the development of LW-NIR spectrometer in the industrial or research community. Under the background that having a trend of spectrometer miniaturization and integration, method and main problems involved in miniaturization of LW-NIR spectrometer through MEMS scanning mirror, such as the design strategy of the light-splitting optical system, selection considerations of the MEMS scanning mirror, design method of the preamplifier circuit, etc, have been presented in detail. A prototype of miniaturized LW-NIR spectrometer, with the spectrum range of detection of 900-2,055 nm, is designed and implemented using MEMS scanning mirror, InGaAs single detector unit with high sensitivity. Littrow optical layout is used for its light-splitting optical system, and the spectral resolution is between 9.4-16 nm at 1,000-1,965 nm detection wavelength range. The prototype is successfully applied in LW-NIR spectrum measurement on pure water and ethanol aqueous solution, and a forecast analysis on ethanol aqueous solution concentration is also demonstrated. Through adopting MEMS scanning mirror into the spectrometer system, the complexity of the mechanical scanning fixtures and its controlling mechanism is greatly reduced therefore the size of the spectrometer is reduced. Furthermore, due to MEMS scanning mirror technology, LW-NIR spectrometer with single InGaAs detector is achieved, thus the cost reduction of the NIR spectrometer system is also realized because the expensive InGaAs arrays are avoided.