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Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl (FS), the fruit of Oleaceae plants, as a large part of traditional Chinese medicine, is classified as "Qingqiao (Q)" and "Laoqiao (L)" based on the harvest time. Because the maturation of FS is a gradual process, its accurate identification based on different maturity levels is an important issue.We suggest colorimetric, electronic tongue, and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) characteristic fingerprints to discriminate FS in different harvest periods.First, FS fruits from different harvest times were collected, and then, their colour parameters, E-tongue sensory properties, HPLC characteristic fingerprints, and contents of nominal ingredients were determined. Finally, multivariate statistical analyses, including three-dimensional scatter plots, hierarchical cluster, principal component, linear discriminant, similarity, and partial least squares discriminant analyses were performed.The results demonstrated that the three experimental techniques could effectively discriminate FS based on different harvest times with 100% accuracy. Under the qualitative conditions, nine common peaks were identified in the HPLC fingerprints of 60 samples, among which, six peaks [variable importance in projection (VIP) 1] could be used as index peaks for qualitative identification. In fact, the contents of quality marker components, including forsythin, phillygenin, rutin and forsythoside A, were significant different (P 0.001) at different harvest times. Interestingly, the quality markers not only accurately reflected the maturity of FS but also showed close correlations with the colour parameters and sensory E-tongue responses.In our present investigation, bionic technologies, including a colorimeter, E-tongue analysis, and HPLC characteristic fingerprints, combined with chemometrics, were employed to develop a novel and accurate method for discriminating FS based on different harvest times.

Comprehending how individuals feel when they discuss the vaccine is important for the immunization campaign and outbreak management during a health emergency. Online conversations provide useful information for assessing sentimental and emotional reactions to the evolutions of the pandemic and immunization program. In this study, we employ a corpus of around 58 million English tweets from users in 17 countries that discuss vaccine-related topics in the year 2021. We apply Soft Dynamic Time Warping algorithm and Time Lag Cross-Correlation approach and find that the evolutions of sentiments closely mirror the pandemic statistics. We also examine five topics connected to vaccination and discover that trust is the most predominate feeling, followed by fear, anger, and joy. Some countries reported higher emotional scores on a theme than others (people in Cuba and the United States exhibit higher levels of trust, Pakistanis and Indians express higher levels of joy, Australians and Chinese express higher levels of fear, and Japanese and British people express higher levels of anger). This study report offers a viewpoint on the public’s response to the epidemic and vaccination and aids policy-makers with preventive strategies for a future crisis.

The research around the public’s usage of masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is developing quickly. In this work, we analyzed data from 50 nations to assess the long-term effectiveness of mask policies with different levels using the Poisson regression model and generalized linear mixed model. Over the long term, stricter obligatory mask regulations were linked to more stable patterns and slower increases in Covid-19 case occurrences. The mitigation of disease transmission by mask policies was shown to have substantial major impacts throughout the entire year of 2020, whereas the incidence of illness displays increasing trends over time under various policies. When compared to no mask policy deployment, mask policies might reduce incidence growth by 13.5% to 17.8%, although the incidence under every policy climbed 1.5% to 1.9% on average every ten days. The mask policy is effective in controlling illness, according to the bulk of the data shown above. This result confirms the mask policy’s importance as a governing approach in the context of the worldwide pandemic.

In order to identify the optimum period of spring water-restrictive irrigation for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in the Haihe Plain, China and elucidate its effects on flag leaf senescence and yield formation, field experiments were conducted at the Xinji Experimental Station of Hebei Agricultural University from 2016 to 2019 by using different irrigation regimes in spring, including the conventional regime involving two irrigation periods (control (CK), the 3-leaf unfolding stage and the anthesis stage) and a series of single, restrictive irrigation regimes (SRI) comprising irrigation at the 3-leaf unfolding stage (3LI), 4LI, 5LI, and 6LI. There are five major findings: (1) The senescence (determined by the green leaf area, GLA) in the 4LI treatment occurred moderately earlier than that in CK, showed no significant difference with that in 5LI and 6LI, and occurred significantly later than that in 3LI. (2) Compared with other SRI treatments, the GLA value and photosynthetic rate in 4LI were 14.82 and 20.1% higher, respectively. Microstructural analysis of flag leaf also revealed that the mesophyll cells and chloroplasts were irregularly arranged under drought stress in 3LI and 6LI; however, drought stress had minimal negative effects on the microstructure in 4LI and 5LI. (3) Postponed irrigation in spring could significantly increase superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities in the early stage of grain filling; however, these activities would subsequently decrease. Among the four SRI treatments, the overall enzyme activities were the highest in 4LI, and the combined malondialdehyde (MDA) content in flag leaves in 4LI and 5LI was 14.5% lower on average than that in 3LI and 6LI. (4) The soluble sugar (SS) and proline (Pro) contents in 4LI were the highest among the four SRI treatments; however, they were lower than those in CK. The abscisic acid (ABA) hormone content in 4LI and 5LI was lower than that in 3LI and 6LI, respectively, suggesting a smaller drought stress effect in 4LI and 5LI. (5) In two growing seasons, there was a larger number of spikes per unit area in 4LI (i.e., 13.4% higher than that in 5LI and 6LI) and the 1 000-grain weight in 4LI was the highest among the four SRI treatments (i.e., 6.0% higher than that in the other three SRI treatments). Therefore, a single restrictive irrigation regime at the 4-leaf unfolding stage is recommended to be effective in slowing down the senescence process of flag leaves and achieving high yield.

Background and aims Treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is challenging, because suppressing fibrotic progression has not been achieved consistently by drug candidates currently in clinical trials. The aim of this study was to investigate the molecular interplays underlying NASH-associated fibrosis in a mouse NASH model and human specimens. Methods Mice were divided into 4 groups: Controls; NASH (high fat/Calorie diet plus high fructose and glucose in drinking water, HFCD-HF/G) for 16 weeks; HFCD-HF/G plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) for 16 or 8 weeks. Results Along with NASH progression, fibrotic deposition was documented in HFCD-HF/G-fed mice. Liver succinate content was significantly increased along with decreased expression of succinate dehydrogenase-A (SDH-A) in these mice; whereas, GPR-91 receptor expression was much enhanced in histology compared to control mice, and co-localized histologically with hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Succinate content was increased in fatty acid-overloaded primary hepatocytes with significant oxidant stress and lipotoxicity. Exposure to succinate led to up-regulation of GPR-91 receptor in primary and immortalized HSCs. In contrast, suppression of GPR-91 receptor expression abolished succinate stimulatory role in GPR-91 expression and extracellular matrix production in HSCs. All these changes were minimized or abrogated by DHA supplementation in vivo or in vitro. Moreover, GPR-91 receptor expression correlates with severity of fibrosis in human NASH biopsy specimens. Conclusion Succinate accumulation in steatotoic hepatocytes may result in HSC activation through GPR-91 receptor signalling in NASH progression, and the cross-talk between hepatocytes and HSC through GPR-91 signalling is most likely to be the molecular basis of fibrogenesis in NASH.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of preoperative identification of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for patients with breast cancer. METHODS: The patients with T1–T2N0M0 breast cancer who were scheduled for primary surgical treatment were recruited. All the patients had received a periareolar intradermal injection of an ultrasonic contrast agent (SonoVue, Bracco, Milan, Italy) followed by an ultrasound to identify contrast-enhanced SLNs. A guidewire was deployed to localize the SLN. Methylene blue stain was used to help trace SLNs during the operation. The identification rate and accuracy rate were recorded. The number of SLNs labeled by two methods was counted and compared using Wilcoxon testing. RESULTS: A total of 366 SLNs were detected in 72 patients by methylene blue intraoperatively, with a median of 5 lymph nodes [interquartile range (IQR), 4–6] per patient. A total of 95 SLNs were detected in 63 patients (87.5%) by CEUS, with a median of 1 lymph node (IQR, 1–2) per patient. The number of SLNs detected by CEUS was significantly less than that labeled by the methylene blue staining method (Z=−7.362, P=0000). Pathology confirmed 12 single metastases in all the lymph nodes examined, 10 of which were the only lymph node identified by CEUS. CONCLUSIONS: Periareolar intradermal injection of an ultrasonic contrast agent was an effective and convenient supplementary to localize SLNs. The technique was expected to improve the accuracy of axillary staging with minor surgical trauma and postoperative complications.

Activation of inflammation is an important mechanism in the development of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). This study aims to delineate how mitophagy affects NLRP3 inflammasome activation in hepatic lipotoxicity. Mice were fed a high fat/calorie diet (HFCD) for 24 weeks. Primary rat hepatocytes were treated with palmitic acid (PA) for various periods of time. Mitophagy was measured by protein levels of LC3II and P62. NLRP3, caspase-1, interleukin (IL)-18, and IL-1β at mRNA and protein levels were used as indicators of inflammasome activation. Along with steatotic progression in HFCD-fed mice, ratio of LC3II/β-actin was decreased concurrently with increased levels of liver P62, NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-1β, IL-18, and serum IL-1β levels in late-stage NASH. PA treatment resulted in mitochondrial oxidative stress and initiated mitophagy in primary hepatocytes. The addition of cyclosporine A did not change LC3II/Τοmm20 ratios; but P62 levels were increased after an extended duration of PA exposure, indicating a defect in autophagic activity. Along with impaired mitophagy, mRNA and protein levels of NLRP3, caspase-1, IL-18 and IL-1β were upregulated by PA treatment. Pretreatment with MCC950, N-acetyl cysteine or acetyl-L-carnitine reversed inflammasome activation and a pyroptotic cascade. Additionally, mitophagic flux was partially recovered as indicated by increases in LC3II/Tomm20 ratio, parkin, and PINK1 expression, and decreased P62 expression. The findings suggest that impaired mitophagy triggers hepatic NLRP3 inflammasome activation in a murine NASH model and primary hepatocytes. The new insights into inflammasome activation through mitophagy advance our understanding of how fatty acids elicit lipotoxicity through oxidant stress and autophagy in mitochondria.

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a massive global health crisis. The rapid transmission rate of the virus, as well as the lack of effective medications and vaccines, has posed serious challenges to controlling the spread of the disease. Dealing with this public health crisis has required major changes in people&rsquo, s behavior, including the adoption of social distancing measures such as avoiding meeting with family members and friends, crowded places, and public transportation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors associated with the adoption of these behaviors in China and Israel. We relied on the 3Cs model that has been used to predict the adoption of a specific preventive behavior (vaccinations) with the goal of testing its applicability to other preventive behaviors such as in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The model indicates that confidence in social institutions, complacency (fear of and assessments about the risk of becoming ill) and constraints (levels of self-efficacy and confidence in being able to engage in the behaviors) are predictors of adopting preventive behaviors. Data were collected in China and Israel through an online survey of the population (n = 1406). We used latent variables and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses derived from the 3Cs model. The findings indicate that there are some differences in the types of preventive behaviors adopted in the two countries. In Israel, higher levels of confidence predicted the adoption of avoidant behaviors and more constraints predicted engaging in fewer avoidant behaviors. In China, more constraints also contributed to the adoption of fewer avoidant behaviors, but people&rsquo, s level of confidence fully mediated this result. The multi-group analysis indicated that the conceptualized model fits the Chinese and Israeli data reasonably well. The findings suggest that the 3Cs model can be generalized from getting vaccinated to adopting avoidant behaviors and that the model can be used across cultures and countries.

Background No FDA-approved medications are available for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The present study aimed to assess the effects of Hepalatide, a sodium taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (NTCP) receptor-binding agent, on metabolic and histopathologic changes of a mouse model of NASH caused by high fat/calorie diet plus high fructose/glucose in drinking water (HFCD-HF/G) for 16 weeks. Methods Male mice were randomly divided into 4 groups: controls (normal diet), HFCD-HF/G group, HFCD-HF/G plus low or high dose of Hepalatide (20 or 60 mg/kg, LH or HH, s.c. from 9 to 16 weeks). Results Compared to HFCD-HF/G-fed mice, serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels in mice fed HFCD-HF/G plus LH or HH were decreased. The treatment with Hepalatide decreased serum alanine aminotransferase levels significantly. Liver histology and TUNEL staining showed that Hepalatide remarkably attenuated inflammation, hepatocellular steatosis and apoptosis. Hepalatide treatment decreased fasting blood glucose, serum insulin and HOMA insulin resistance index in the HH group. Moreover, Masson’s staining, semi-quantitative score of fibrosis, and hydroxyproline content demonstrated that Hepalatide mitigated fibrotic progression in this murine NASH model. Additionally, most components of liver and few serum bile acids were increased in mice treated with HH. Conclusion Hepalatide effectively alleviated the pathological process, metabolic profile, hepatocellular steatosis and injury, insulin resistance, halted hepatic fibrotic progression in a mouse model of NASH, most likely through the increase of serum bile acids.

This article investigates how to use the estimation of distribution algorithm based on Levy flight to solve the set-union knapsack problem (SUKP). First, the mathematical model of the SUKP is introduced. Then, a quadratic greedy repair and optimization algorithm (Q-GROA), which deals with infeasible solutions, is proposed. Thereby, a new approach, the estimation of distribution algorithm based on Levy flight (LFEDA) combined with the Q-GROA is also proposed to solve the SUKP. A number of experiments are performed on the SUKP datasets to evaluate the performance of our proposed model. The results verify that the proposed method is significantly better than other algorithms with respect to the solution's performance.

There are varieties of murine models of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with different pathophysiologic characteristics. For preclinical assessment, a standardized model would allow comparisons of various pharmacotherapeutic candidates in efficacy, pharmacokinetics, pharmaco-metabolism, and adverse effects under a same system. The present study aims to characterize murine NASH models by comparing end-points of major abnormalities. NASH was induced by feeding high fructose/glucose in drinking water (HF/G), high-fat/calorie diet (HFCD), and in combination (HFCD-HF/G) in mice for 8 or 16 weeks. HF/G feeding caused a minimal fat accumulation and increase in free fatty acids (FFA). In contrast, HFCD-HF/G feeding resulted in a remarkable increase in body weight, subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue, macrosteatosis with a nearly seven-fold increase in triglyceride and FFA content, accompanied with marked hepatocellular injury, inflammatory responses, fibrosis, and insulin resistance, and represented as typical NASH in histopathology, metabolic, and adipokine profiles in a progressive manner. Meanwhile, mice fed HFCD displayed significant steatosis, necroptosis, fibrosis, insulin resistance, metabolic, and adipokine profiles, and the extent is less than those fed HFCD-HF/G. Significant MCP-1, CCR-2, and NLRP-1/3 activation were found in mice fed HFCD and HFCD-HF/G for 16 weeks, whereas gene expression of CPT-1 and ACOX-1 was down-regulated in these two groups in comparison to the controls. Nuclear receptors, such as SREBP-1c, FXR, LXR-α, PPAR-α, and PPAR-γ, were strikingly elevated in the HFCD-HF/G group. In conclusion, feeding HFCD-HF/G resulted in a reliable NASH model in mice with remarkable necroptosis, steatosis, fibrosis, and insulin resistance as well as a disordered profile of lipid metabolism and adipokine, and HFCD caused significant NASH features in histopathology and metabolic profiles only at a late stage. Whereas HF/G feeding barely led to minimal fat accumulation, some changes at molecular levels and metabolic disturbance in mice.

Adsorption and dissociation processes of gas molecules on bulk materials and nanomaterials are essential for catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2). In this work, we systematically investigated the CO2 adsorption and dissociation on low index surfaces of different transition metals by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. A comparison study demonstrates that the open surfaces (Fe(100), Ni(100), Ni(110), Rh(100), and Ir(100)) have stronger interactions with CO2 molecules than the close-packed surfaces. The order of energy barriers for CO2 dissociation is Fe(110), Ir(100) Fe(110) > Ru(0001) > Os(0001) > Ir(100), Rh(100) > Ni(110) > Co(0001) > Rh(111), Ir(111) > Ni(100), Ni(111) > Cu(100) > Pt(111) > Cu(111), Pd(111). In addition, we found that the change trend of adsor...

Rhodamine B was successfully reacted with ethylenediamine and acetylacetone to obtain a fluorescent chelator, for use as a selective fluorescent sensor to monitor Fe(III) levels in organisms without damage. RA has a strong specificity for Fe3+, the highest sensitivity with a detection limit of 10−6 mol/L, and a reaction stabilization time of 20 min. Thus, this sensor can be used for the quantitative and non-destructive determination of Fe (III) in biosomes.

A middle/low-temperature coal tar from Northern Shaanxi Province (M/LTCTNSP) was extracted with petroleum ether, and the resulting extract was analyzed by three mass spectrometers. The main group components detected by gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer (GC/MS) are aliphatics, arenes, oxygen-containing organic compounds (OCOCs), and nitrogen-containing organic compounds (NCOCs). In total, nearly 1000 aliphatics, arenes, OCOCs (mainly O1 and O2), NCOCs and sulfur-containing organnic compouds (SCOCs) were detected by the two-dimensional gas chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometer (GC×GC/TOF-MS). The relative abundances (RAs) of NCOCs, OCOCs, and SCOCs detected by ESI Orbitrap-mass spectrometry in the positive ion mode are 80.8%, 16.1%, and 3.1%, While in the negative ion mode, the RAs of OCOCs and NCOCs are 85.6%, and 14.4%, respectively. The condensation degree of aromatics and existing forms of heteroatoms were also examined.

In this work, we proposed a design principle that the shape selectivity of zeolite topologies on the methanol to olefin (MTO) intermediates controls products selectivity. We used such principle to screen zeolite topologies by grand canonical Monte Carlo (GCMC) simulations to find optimal topologies. The results show that the hexamethylbenzene (M1) and 1,2,3,5-tetramethylbenzene (M1′) respectively function as the core intermediate for the topologies of zeolites rho (RHO), chabazite (CHA) and socony mobil–five (MFI) to produce both ethylene and propylene. The topology of sunbury zeolite-four (SZR) can selectively generate ethylene through the M1′ while the topologies of zeolites instituto de tecnologia quimica valencia-fifty (IFY) and aluminophosphate-twenty two (AWW) can selectively produce propylene through respective M1 and M1′. We also found that the order of adsorption amounts of naphthalene is consistent with the severity order of coke deposition of zeolites MFI, deca-dodecasil 3R (DDR), edinburgh univerisity-one (EUO), beta polymorph A (*BEA) and faujasite (FAU). We further investigated the resistance to naphthalene of screened zeolite topologies and found that the topologies of AWW and SZR zeolites are superior to DDR zeolite.

The present study aimed at evaluating and comparing the diagnostic performance of B-mode ultrasound (US), elastography score (ES), and strain ratio (SR) for the differentiation of breast lesions. This retrospective study enrolled 431 lesions from 417 in-hospital patients. All patients were examined with both conventional ultrasound and elastography. Two experienced radiologists reviewed ultrasound and elasticity images. The histopathologic result obtained from ultrasound-guided core biopsy or operation excisions were used as the reference standard. Pathologic examination revealed 276 malignant lesions (64%) and 155 benign lesions (36%). A cut-off point of 4.15 (area under the curve, 0.891) allowed significant differentiation of malignant and benign lesions. ROC (receiver-operating characteristic) curves showed a higher value for combination of B-mode ultrasound and elastography for the diagnosis of breast lesions. Conventional ultrasound combined elastography showed high sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy for group II lesions (10mm

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis is considered as a precancerous condition. However, hepatic carcinogenesis from NASH is poorly understood. This study aims to investigate the activation of pluripotent genes (c-Myc, Oct-4, KLF-4, and Nanog) and morphogenic gene (Gli-1) in hepatic progenitor cells from patient specimens and in an animal model to determine the possibility of normal stem/progenitor cells becoming the origin of NASH-HCC. In this study, expression of pluripotent and morphogenic genes in human NASH-HCC tissues was significantly upregulated compared to adjacent non-tumor liver tissues. After feeding high-fat/calorie diet plus high fructose/glucose in drinking water (HFC diet plus HF/G) for up to 12 months, mice developed obesity, insulin resistance, and steatohepatitis with significant necroptotic inflammation and fibrotic progression, as well as occurrence of hyperplastic nodules with dysplasia; and this model represents pathohistologically as a transition from NASH to NASH-HCC in a pre-carcinomatous stage. High expression of pluripotent and morphogenic genes was immunohistochemically visualized in the dysplasia areas of mouse liver, where there were many OV-6-positive cells, indicating proliferation of HOCs in NASH with fibrotic progression. Moreover, oncogenic transcription factors (c-Myc, KLF-4, and Nanog) were co-localized in these hepatic progenitor cells. In conclusion, pluripotent and morphogenic genes may contribute to the reprogramming of hepatic progenitor cells in driving these cells to be the origin of NASH-HCC in a steatotic and inflamed microenvironment.

As a member of Electroactive Polymers (EAPs), dielectric elastomer (DE) has shown considerable potential for energy harvesting applications. After the basic principle of DE energy harvesting is studied, a multi-layer DE generator using VHB 4910 (3M, USA) is specially designed and fabricated. Then, an improved energy harvesting circuit is designed to make use of harvested electrical energy. Finally, energy harvesting experiments are implemented under the constant charge (open-circuit) condition and the results prove that the multi-layer DE generator fabricated can produce enough energy to constantly drive a light emitting diode. The harvested electrical energy has good consistent with generated electrical energy and the maximum energy harvesting efficiency ηh can reach 89%.

Composites of continuous glass fiber reinforced impact polypropylene copolymer (IPC) were prepared by using a cross-head impregnation mold by a self-designed die fixed on a single screw extruder, and were chopped into Long fiber/IPC pellets approximately 12 mm in length. The effect of preheat temperature and pulling speed on the mechanical properties of the composites were studied and micrographs of fracture surface of impact specimens for the composites were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Mechanical properties of the composites were best at 200 °C of the preheated temperature, for the better interfacial adhesion between glass and matrix resin, and that proved by the SEM. Meanwhile, mechanical properties of the composites decreasing with the increasing of pulling speed, for the impregnation effect degraded.

In this study, silvergrass (SV) reinforced high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites were prepared. The effects of polymeric methylene diphenyl diisocyanate (PMDI), slivergrass fibers (SV) content on the thermal, crystalline properties of wood plastic composites (WPCs) were investigated. It was found that Compared with the untreated WPCs, the thermal stability of the composites after incorporation of PMDI treated SV fibers was significantly improved. Moreover, the results show that with PMDI treated composites, SV was an effective heterogeneous nucleating agent.

In this study,silvergrass (SV) reinforced high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites (WPCs) were prepared by injection molding. The effects of maleated polyethylene (MAPE), Slivergrass fibers (SV) content on the thermal, crystalline properties of WPCs were investigated. It was found that compared with the untreated WPCs, the thermal stability of the composites after incorporation of MAPE was significantly improved. Moreover, the results show that with MAPE adding, SV was an effective heterogeneous nucleating agent.

In this study, alfalfa protein modified by sodium hydroxide was used to prepare adhesive. The effect on the bonding property by adding different amount of sodium hydroxide was discussed. The upper limit using temperature of alfalfa protein-based adhesive was increased and its bonding property was improved after the protein modified by sodium hydroxide. The adhesive prepared by alfalfa protein modified by 6% sodium hydroxide had the best bonding strength of 2.5MPa.

Aims Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) plays a pivotal role at the center of the fibrogenic progression in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, it is poorly understood that how various molecules interact within HSCs during the progression of NASH to fibrosis. The aim of the present study is to delineate how inflammasome molecules, hedgehog signaling and autophagy provoke HSC activation using palmitic acid (PA) as a major insult. Main methods Inflammasome activation, hedgehog signaling activity and autophagy in PA-exposed HSCs were determined to investigate their role in activation of human and rodent HSC lines or primary HSCs. Key findings PA treatment elicited HSC activation reflected by increased mRNA levels of transforming growth factor-β1, connective tissue growth factor, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and procollagen type I (α1). In addition, expression levels of NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) and hedgehog signaling transcription factor Gli-1 were increased in PA-exposed HSCs. It's evident that PA treatment resulted in increased production of light chain 3-II and autophagosomes, as well as enhanced autophagy flux reflected by transduction of an adeno-associated viral vector. Whereas, reduced autophagy, which is often seen in the late stage of NASH, provoked inflammasome activation. Moreover, suppressing the Hh signaling pathway by LDE225 blocked production of light chain 3-II and autophagy flux. Significance Saturated fatty acids, such as PA, stimulate HSC activation through inflammasomes and hedgehog signaling. Meanwhile, compromised autophagy may facilitate HSC activation, implicating valuable candidates for pharmacologic intervention against the progression of fibrogenesis in NASH.

This paper studies on the electromagnetic transient model of doubly-fed wind turbine grid-side converter under the imbalanced grid condition. And on this basis, the paper analysis the impact of doubly-fed converter when grid voltage asymmetric drop. It puts forward a dual PLL and dual current control combination of doubly-fed converter grid side control strategy. This strategy achieves grid voltage positive and negative sequence fast separation when asymmetric grid voltage drop occur, achieves the active output power secondary fluctuate suppression under the imbalanced grid voltage condition, avoids DC voltage rise at the fault moment and also achieves converter reactive power support under the imbalanced grid fault. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed control strategy is correct and with the application value of engineering

A membrane-aerated bioreactor (MABR) has the technical feasibility of water treatment. This paper systematically studies the main operating conditions impact on the MABR process of dealing with wastewater to determine the optimum operating conditions, and made the possible implementation of the technology program. The results lay a good foundation for further research and development of MABR treatment process and technology.

To compare the areas of human liver horizontal sections with computed tomography (CT) images and to evaluate whether the subsegments determined by CT are consistent with the actual anatomy. Six human cadaver livers were made into horizontal slices with multislice spiral CT three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction was used during infusion process. Each liver segment was displayed using different color, and 3D images of the portal and hepatic vein were reconstructed. Each segmental area was measured on CT-reconstructed images, which were compared with the actual area on the sections of the same liver. The measurements were performed at four key levels namely: (1) the three hepatic veins, (2) the left, and (3) the right branch of portal vein (PV), and (4) caudal to the bifurcation of the PV. By dividing the sum of these areas by the total area of the liver, the authors got the percentage of the incorrectly determined subsegmental areas. In addition to these percentage values, the maximum distances of the radiologically determined intersegmental boundaries from the true anatomic boundaries were measured. On the four key levels, an average of 28.64 ± 10.26% of the hepatic area of CT images was attributed to an incorrect segment. The mean-maximum error between artificial segments on images and actual anatomical segments was 3.81 ± 1.37 cm. The correlation between radiological segmenting method and actual anatomy was poor. The hepatic segments being divided strictly according to the branching point of the PV could be more informative during liver segmental resection. Clin. Anat. 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In this paper, calcium and magnesium fouling on membrane distillation process was investigated. The effect of less soluble salts with single component or multi component on flux and membrane fouling was examined, by means of synthesizing seawater. The results showed that the fouling caused by calcium carbonate and calcium sulfate was mainly formed by the attachment of the insoluble substance on the fibers. The calcium sulfate caused the blocking at inlet hole of the module. If there were less soluble salts with multi components in the feed, calcium carbonate was the main form of the fouling.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding small RNAs that regulate gene expression by translational repression or transcript degradation. Thus far, a large number of miRNAs have been identified from model plant species and the quantity of miRNAs has been functionally characterized in diverse plants. However, the molecular characterizations of the conserved miRNAs are still largely elusive in wheat. In this study, 32 wheat miRNAs (TaMIRs) currently released in the Sanger miRBase (the microRNA database) were selected to evaluate the expression patterns under conditions of non-stress (CK) and salt stress treatment. Based on the analysis of semiquantitative RT-PCR and quantitative real qRT-PCR, TaMIR159a, TaMIR160, TaMIR167, TaMIR174, TaMIR399, TaMIR408, TaMIR11124 and TaMIR1133 were found to have responses to salinity stress, with an upregulated pattern under salt stress treatment. Based on a BLAST search against the NCBI GenBank database, the potential targets of the salt-inducible wheat miRNAs were predicted. Except for TaMIR399 not being identified to have the putative target genes, other salt-inducible TaMIRs were found to possess 2 to 7 putative target genes. Together, our results suggest that a subset of miRNAs are involved in the mediation of salt stress signaling responses in wheat via their roles on the regulation of acted target genes at post-transcriptional and translation levels.

Ag/Fe multilayers with well compositional modulation periodicity of 4–60 nm were prepared at room temperature by evaporation deposition using an ultra high vacuum (UHV) chamber. Their microstructure and hardness were investigated using XRD, TEM and nanoindentation. The fcc/bcc type multilayers show a textured polycrystalline growth with Ag (111) and Fe (110) in Ag layers and Fe layers, respectively. The hardness increases with decreasing periodicity and approaches the maximum of 6.36 GPa at the periodicity of 4 nm. The peak hardness is 1.51 times mixture value. The experimental results are well explained by the dislocation-image force-based model developed by Lehoczky.

In this paper, we report the multiferroic and piezoelectric behavior observed in transition-metal doped ZnO films. The experimental results indicated that the Co-doped ZnO films deposited by magnetron sputtering possess a Curie temperature higher than 700K, and the magnetic moments of Co are intimatedly correlated to the doping concentration and the substrate. A giant magnetic moment of 6.1 B/Co is observed in (4 at.%) Co-doped ZnO films. Ferroelectric and ferromagnetic behaviors simultaneously were also obtained in V and Cr doped ZnO films on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO2/Si(100) substrates by reactive sputtering method, revealing a multiferroic nature. The high piezoelectric d33 coefficient 80-120 pm/V has also been achieved by Cr and V substitutions, which could make Cr-doped or V-doped ZnO a promising material in piezoelectric devices.

Effects of hydroxybenzoic acid, an important autotoxic substance in roots, on plant growth, photosynthesis and Fusarium oxysporum occurrence in succession cropping of strawberry were evaluated in this paper. It was found that plant growth was negatively regulated by hydroxybenzoic acid or inoculation with F. oxysporum. Compared with these single factor treatments, the combination of the hydroxybenzoic acid treatment and F. oxysporum inoculation caused more severe inhibition in plant growth, greatly enhanced the occurrence of disease symptoms, and significantly decreased the chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, stomatal conductance and intercellular CO2 concentration. In the meantime, the chlorophyll fluorescence parameters in strawberry were also significantly affected. After the application of hydroxybenzoic acid, the original chlorophyll fluorescence rapidly increased, resulting in a combined corresponding decrease in the maximum chlorophyll fluorescence and the chlorophyll fluorescence transformation efficiency. The effects of hydroxybenzoic acid treatment on the above chlorophyll fluorescence parameters from inoculation were delayed. Similarly, the coordination of hydroxybenzoic acid and F. oxysporum showed an elevated negative effect on the degree of inhibition of leaf photosynthesis more than the single factor treatments.

Technique of homologous recombination based gene targeting developed in the late 1980s and won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2007. However, this technique could only performed in mice which embryonic stem (ES) cells could keep in the potential of multifunction in vitro. Therefore gene knockout technology was difficult to be applied in other species of animals for a long time. Since 2008, with the development of the new technologies, such as the new ES cell gene targeting, zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9 (CRISPR/Cas9), building gene knockout in large and medium animals models which are similar to human in disease research becomes possible. This review describes some new gene knockout technologies in large and medium animal models for recent years.

In this study, we discuss the predictive value of different content of HBsAg in different stages of neotal venous blood on failure of blocking mother to infant transmission of HBV.150 infants born of chronically HBV infected mothers who were positive of both HBsAg and HBeAg and who also had a HBV DNA virus load above 10(5) copies/ml were enrolled. These infants were given hepatitis B virus immune globin (HBIG) 200 IU immediately after birth and were given hepatitis B vaccine 10 or 20 microg at brith, 1 month and 6 months after birth. HBV serological index of these infants were test at birth, 1 month and 7 months after birth respectively. Different content of HBsAg in different stages of neonatal venus blood were analyzed to predict the failure of blocking mother to infant transmission of HBV.11 infants failed in blocking of HBV mother to infant transmission. The positive rate of HBsAg at birth, 1 month and 7 months after birth were 41.26%, 10.49% and 7.69% respectively, and were 97.90%, 65.73% and 13.29% of HBeAg. The positive predictive value of HBsAgor = 0.05 and HBsAgor = 1 IU/ml at birth were 18.64% and 70% respectively, and were 73.33% and 100% one month after birth.Infants with HBsAgor = 1 IU/ml at birth should be suspicious of failure on blocking HBV mother-to-infant transmission and it should be more credible if the infant has HBsAgor = 1 IU/ml one month after birth. How to improve the blocking rate of neonates who were positive of HBsAg at birth and one month after birth should be the focus of our future research.

A narrow-linewidth photonic crystal fiber (PCF) laser operating at room temperature with two Bragg gratings integrated directly is demonstrated. Fabrication of the Bragg grating in a photonic crystal fiber is investigated experimentally by phase mask method. Under the optimal experiment condition, we fabricate the optical fiber grating with four obvious peaks. Moreover, a continuous-wave all fiber laser operation at 1549.6nm of a diode-pumped PCF laser is fabricated. A constrained bandwidth of 50 pm is formed through locking the laser on the overlapping peak of one Bragg grating with the side lobes of the other. It is possible to achieve a high stability and beam quality laser, which has a great application potential in optical communication field in future.

To compare the areas of human liver horizontal sections with computed tomography (CT) images and to evaluate whether the subsegments determined by CT are consistent with the actual anatomy. Six human cadaver livers were made into horizontal slices with multislice spiral CT three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction was used during infusion process. Each liver segment was displayed using different color, and 3D images of the portal and hepatic vein were reconstructed. Each segmental area was measured on CT-reconstructed images, which were compared with the actual area on the sections of the same liver. The measurements were performed at four key levels namely: (1) the three hepatic veins, (2) the left, and (3) the right branch of portal vein (PV), and (4) caudal to the bifurcation of the PV. By dividing the sum of these areas by the total area of the liver, the authors got the percentage of the incorrectly determined subsegmental areas. In addition to these percentage values, the maximum distances of the radiologically determined intersegmental boundaries from the true anatomic boundaries were measured. On the four key levels, an average of 28.64 ± 10.26% of the hepatic area of CT images was attributed to an incorrect segment. The mean-maximum error between artificial segments on images and actual anatomical segments was 3.81 ± 1.37 cm. The correlation between radiological segmenting method and actual anatomy was poor. The hepatic segments being divided strictly according to the branching point of the PV could be more informative during liver segmental resection.

Until now there has been no definitive anatomical study of the boundary between hepatic subsegments IVa and IVb. In this study, we used a multicolor segmental corrosion cast technique and a multicolor segmental technique on plastinated slices, in combination with helical CT three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction on 15 donated fresh isolated human liver specimens. The corrosion cast technique was carried out on eight of these specimens, and the remaining seven livers were used to make horizontal plastinated slices. Examination of these specimens and observation of 20 additional liver corrosion cast specimens showed that all boundaries between hepatic segments were complex, undulating scissures rather than simple, flat planes. We also found that there was an obvious boundary between subsegments IVa and IVb, such that subsegment IVa laid posterosuperior to subsegment IVb. A tributary of a hepatic vein passed through the boundary between subsegments IVa and IVb, and could serve as an anatomical landmark of this boundary. Clin. Anat. 21:439–446, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The charge transfer interactions of Azithromycin and 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ) or chloranilic acid (CL) were investigated by spectrophotometry. The apparent molar absorptivity of TCNQ complex is 2.7 x 10(4) L x mol(-1) x cm(-1) at 743 nm, and 5.0 x 10(4) L x mol(-1) x cm(-1) at 842 nm; and that of CL complex is 2.4 x 10(3) L x mol(-1) x cm(-1). Beers law is obeyed in the concentration range of 0-30 mg x L(-1) for TCNQ method, and 5-225 mg x L(-1) for CL method. The relative standard deviations of the two methods are 1.0% and 1.4% (n = 6), respectively. The composition of complex of Azithromycin with 7,7,8,8-tetracyanoquinodimethane or chloranilic acid is 1 : 2. This proposed method has been applied to the determination of Azithromycin in tablets with satisfactory results.

To explore the clinical value of 64-slice spiral CT for spinal structure assessment in elderly patients with osteoporosis.The computed radiography (CR) films and 64-slice spiral CT isotropic scanning images of 40 patients who had been diagnosed as osteoporosis by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups according to their T-scores by DXA: group A (T-score was -1.0 - (-2.5)); and B group (T-score was below -2.5).The diagnostic results of axial CT images combined with multi-planar reconstruction (MPR) was negatively correlated with the measurement results of DXA in the diagnosis of spinal osteoporosis, and such correlation was higher in group B than in group A. Compared with CR films, axial CT images combining with MPR showed superior effectiveness in the diagnosis of osteoporosis.64-slice spiral CT is better than CR in diagnosis of osteoporosis. CT-MPR and 3D reconstruction not only can be used to diagnose osteoporosis early, but also to observe the changes of skeleton's shape and overall structure.