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ObjectiveMetagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) was used to analyze the etiological distribution of refractory pneumonia in children. We compared its efficacy in pathogen diagnosis against traditional methods to provide a basis for clinical adjustment and treatment.MethodsA total of 60 children with refractory pneumonia treated at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Children’s Hospital Affiliated with the Capital Institute of Paediatrics, from September 2019 to December 2021 were enrolled in this study. Clinical data (including sex, age, laboratory tests, complications, and discharge diagnosis) and lower respiratory tract specimens were collected, including bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), deep sputum, pleural effusion, lung abscess puncture fluid, traditional respiratory pathogens (culture, acid-fast staining, polymerase chain reaction, serological testing, etc.), and mNGS detection methods were used to determine the distribution of pathogens in children with refractory pneumonia and to compare the positive rate and diagnostic efficiency of mNGS and traditional pathogen detection for different types of pathogens.ResultsAmong the 60 children with refractory pneumonia, 43 specimens were positive by mNGS, and 67 strains of pathogens were detected, including 20.90% (14 strains) of which were Mycoplasma pneumoniae, 11.94% (8 strains) were Streptococcus pneumoniae, 7.46% (5 strains) were cytomegalovirus, and 5.97% (4 strains) were Candida albicans. Thirty-nine strains of Mycoplasma pneumoniae (41.03%, 16 strains), Streptococcus pneumoniae (10.26%, 4 strains), Candida albicans (7.69%, 3 strains), and Aspergillus (5.13%, 2 strains) were detected using traditional methods. The positive rate of mNGS detection was 90.48%, and the positive rate of the traditional method was 61.90% (p = 0.050), especially for G+ bacteria. The positive rate of mNGS was greater than that of traditional methods (p 0.05). Due to the small sample size, statistical analysis could not be conducted on viral infections.ConclusionmNGS has higher overall efficacy than traditional methods for the etiological diagnosis of refractory pneumonia in children. The application of mNGS can significantly improve the detection rate of pathogens in children with refractory pneumonia. The sensitivity and negative predictive value of mNGS for detecting G+ bacteria are greater than those of other methods, and it can exclude the original suspected pathogenic bacteria. Unnecessary antibiotic use was reduced, but there was no statistically significant difference in G- bacteria, fungi, or Mycoplasma/Chlamydia.

Abstract Background Myoclonic epilepsy with ragged-red fibers (MERRF) syndrome is a rare inherited mitochondrial disease mainly caused by the m.8344A > G mutation in mitochondrial tRNALys gene, and usually manifested as complex neurological disorders and muscle weakness. Currently, the pathogenic mechanism of this disease has not yet been resolved, and there is no effective therapy for MERRF syndrome. In this study, MERRF patients-derived iPSCs were used to model patient-specific neurons for investigation of the pathogenic mechanism of neurological disorders in mitochondrial disease. Methods MERRF patient-derived iPSCs were differentiated into excitatory glutamatergic neurons to unravel the effects of the m.8344A > G mutation on mitochondrial bioenergetic function, neural-lineage differentiation and neuronal function. By the well-established differentiation protocol and electrophysiological activity assay platform, we examined the pathophysiological behaviors in cortical neurons of MERRF patients. Results We have successfully established the iPSCs-derived neural progenitor cells and cortical-like neurons of patients with MERRF syndrome that retained the heteroplasmy of the m.8344A > G mutation from the patients’ skin fibroblasts and exhibited the phenotype of the mitochondrial disease. MERRF neural cells harboring the m.8344A > G mutation exhibited impaired mitochondrial bioenergetic function, elevated ROS levels and imbalanced expression of antioxidant enzymes. Our findings indicate that neural immaturity and synaptic protein loss led to the impairment of neuronal activity and plasticity in MERRF neurons harboring the m.8344A > G mutation. By electrophysiological recordings, we monitored the in vivo neuronal behaviors of MERRF neurons and found that neurons harboring a high level of the m.8344A > G mutation exhibited impairment of the spontaneous and evoked potential-stimulated neuronal activities. Conclusions We demonstrated for the first time the link of mitochondrial impairment and synaptic dysfunction to neurological defects through impeding synaptic plasticity in excitatory neurons derived from iPSCs of MERRF patients harboring the m.8344A > G mutation. This study has provided new insight into the pathogenic mechanism of the tRNALys gene mutation of mtDNA, which is useful for the development of a patient-specific iPSCs platform for disease modeling and screening of new drugs to treat patients with MERRF syndrome.

Forest fires often pose serious hazards, and the timely monitoring and extinguishing of residual forest fires using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can prevent re-ignition and mitigate the damage caused. Due to the urgency of forest fires, drones need to respond quickly during firefighting operations, while traditional drone formation deployment requires a significant amount of time. This paper proposes a pure azimuth passive positioning strategy for circular UAV formations and utilizes the Deep Q-Network (DQN) algorithm to effectively adjust the formation within a short timeframe. Initially, a passive positioning model for UAVs based on the relationships between the sides and angles of a triangle is established, with the closest point to the ideal position being selected as the position for the UAV to be located. Subsequently, a multi-target optimization model is developed, considering 10 UAVs as an example, with the objective of minimizing the number of adjustments while minimizing the deviation between the ideal and adjusted UAV positions. The DQN algorithm is employed to solve and design experiments for validation, demonstrating that the deviation between the UAV positions and the ideal positions, as well as the number of adjustments, are within acceptable ranges. In comparison to genetic algorithms, it saves approximately 120 s.

The secondary metabolites of marine fungi with rich chemical diversity and biological activity are an important and exciting target for natural product research. This study aimed to investigate the fungal community in Quanzhou Bay, Fujian, and identified 28 strains of marine fungi. A total of 28 strains of marine fungi were screened for small-scale fermentation by the OSMAC (One Strain-Many Compounds) strategy, and 77 EtOAc crude extracts were obtained and assayed for cancer cell inhibition rate. A total of six strains of marine fungi (P-WZ-2, P-WZ-3-2, P-WZ-4, P-WZ-5, P56, and P341) with significant changes in cancer cell inhibition induced by the OSMAC strategy were analysed by UPLC-QTOF-MS. The ACD/MS Structure ID Suite software was used to predict the possible structures with inhibitory effects on cancer cells. A total of 23 compounds were identified, of which 10 compounds have been reported to have potential anticancer activity or cytotoxicity. In this study, the OSMAC strategy was combined with an untargeted metabolomics approach based on UPLC-QTOF-MS to efficiently analyse the effect of changes in culture conditions on anticancer potentials and to rapidly find active substances that inhibit cancer cell growth.

Background: Panax ginseng Meyer (P. ginseng), a herb distributed in Korea, China and Japan, exerts benefits on diverse inflammatory conditions. However, the underlying mechanism and active ingredients remains largely unclear. Herein, we aimed to explore the active ingredients of P. ginseng against inflammation and elucidate underlying mechanisms. Methods: Inflammation model was constructed by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in C57BL/6 mice and RAW264.7 macrophages. Molecular docking, molecular dynamics, surface plasmon resonance imaging (SPRi) and immunofluorescence were utilized to predict active component. Results: P. ginseng significantly inhibited LPS-induced lung injury and the expression of pro-inflammatory factors, including TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Additionally, P. ginseng blocked fluorescence-labeled LPS (LPS488) binding to the membranes of RAW264.7 macrophages, the phosphorylation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Furthermore, molecular docking demonstrated that ginsenoside Ro (GRo) docked into the LPS binding site of toll like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD2) complex. Molecular dynamic simulations showed that the MD2-GRo binding conformation was stable. SPRi demonstrated an excellent interaction between TLR4/MD2 complex and GRo (KD value of 1.16 × 10−9 M). GRo significantly inhibited LPS488 binding to cell membranes. Further studies showed that GRo markedly suppressed LPS-triggered lung injury, the transcription and secretion levels of TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Moreover, the phosphorylation of NF-κB and MAPKs as well as the p65 subunit nuclear translocation were inhibited by GRo dose-dependently. Conclusion: Our results suggest that GRo exerts anti-inflammation actions by direct inhibition of TLR4 signaling pathway.

Abstract Wind is one of the cleanest renewable energy resources. Through the “Thousand Wind Turbines Project”, Taiwan is planning to increase the proportion of power generation from renewable energy and has set a target of 5.7 GW for offshore wind by 2025. The effects of future offshore wind farms (OWFs) over the Taiwan Strait on the atmospheric environment have not been evaluated. This study examined the potential effects of proposed OWFs on the atmospheric environment if the OWFs had existed during Tropical Storm Haitang (2017) by using Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. A small set of ensemble simulations was conducted for studying the sensitivity of the ambient conditions in the region to the wind farm locations, the number and density of the turbines, and the initial time of simulations. Following the landfall and northward movement of Tropical Storm Haitang, a series of complex interactions between the typhoon circulation and the wind farm emerged, including small time slots of wake effect and mountain blocking effect. The combination of these rapidly changing OWFs-related effects contributed to a weak reduction in precipitation (− 1.08 mm) and hub-height wind speed (− 0.25 m s−1), as well as minimal warming near the surface (+ 0.13 °C) over southern Taiwan.

Mechanical products are becoming more diversified with the continuous development of precision processing and materials technologies. The friction force generated by the O-ring seal in a hydraulic cylinder was once considered redundant. However, its utilization has recently been proposed. The hardness of the O-ring and the inner diameter of its groove directly affect the normal pressure between the O-ring and the inner wall of the cylinder, thereby affecting the friction behavior. In order to explore this friction behavior, a strain-based friction force measurement system is developed in this study, and the steady-state and dynamic friction values under different working conditions are studied and discussed in depth. This research on the friction behavior in the cylinder provides a theoretical basis for more convenient design and utilization of the friction force generated between the O-ring and the inner wall of the cylinder.

Objective: To investigate the potential mechanisms of the protective effects of Buyang Huanwu decoction (BYHWD) on cardiomyocyte apoptosis after myocardial infarction (MI) and to provide the foundation for the clinical application of BYHWD in preventing and treating cardiomyocyte apoptosis-related disorders after MI. Methods: The MI rat model was established by ligation of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery. After the 20-week treatment with BYHWD, the following parameters were assessed to investigate the protective effects of BYHWD on cardiomyocyte apoptosis after MI, both in vivo and in vitro: mortality rate; heart weight/body weight (HW/BW); transthoracic echocardiography measurements; histopathological analysis; immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis; TUNEL apoptosis assay; caspase-3 activity assay; aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) enzymatic activity assay; malondialdehyde (MDA) content analysis; western blot analysis; MTT assay; and Hoechst 33342/PI apoptosis assay. Results: The mortality of the MI rats was significantly reduced by BYHWD treatment. Furthermore, BYHWD treatment significantly improved the heart function and significantly reduced the HW/BW ratio. Histopathological analysis showed that BYHWD treatment significantly relieved MI-induced cardiac injury and significantly decreased collagen formation. The TUNEL apoptosis assay showed that treatment with BYHWD reduced the cardiomyocyte apoptosis of MI rats in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, BYHWD treatment could significantly inhibit oxidative stress-induced neonatal cardiomyocyte apoptosis, which is consistent with the results of animal experiments in vivo. Interestingly, the ALDH2 activity and protein expression was significantly reduced in the MI model group, while the content of toxic aldehydes, including 4-HNE and MDA, was increased. Importantly, BYHWD enhanced the activity of ALDH2 and the expression of ALDH2 protein and attenuated the content of toxic aldehydes in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, we found that co-treatment with an ALDH2 inhibitor, disulfiram, partially inhibited the cardiomyocyte protective effects of BYHWD. Conclusions: Collectively, our results suggest that BYHWD exerted anti-apoptotic effects in cardiomyocytes after MI by enhancing the ALDH2 activity and protein expression and decreasing the toxic aldehyde content.

In this paper, we introduce and study an implicit coupled system of fuzzy fractional delay differential equations involving fuzzy initial values and fuzzy source functions of triangular type. We assume that these initial values and source functions are triangular fuzzy functions and define the solution of the implicit coupled system as a triangular fuzzy function matrix consisting of real functional matrices. The method of triangular fuzzy function, fractional steps and fuzzy terms separation are used to solve the implicit coupled systems. Further, we prove existence and uniqueness of solution for the considered systems, and also construct a solution algorithm. Finally, an example is given to illustrate our main results and some further work are presented.

Background: Oxidative stress-induced cardiomyocytes apoptosis is a key pathological process in ischemic heart disease. Glutathione reductase (GR) reduces glutathione disulfide to glutathione (GSH) to alleviate oxidative stress. Ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1) prevents the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes; however, the role of GR in this process is unclear. Therefore, the effects of GRb1 on GR were investigated in this study. Methods: The antiapoptotic effects of GRb1 were evaluated in H9C2 cells by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, annexin V/propidium iodide staining, and Western blotting. The antioxidative effects were measured by a reactive oxygen species assay, and GSH levels and GR activity were examined in the presence and absence of the GR inhibitor 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea. Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations were used to investigate the binding of GRb1 to GR. The direct influence of GRb1 on GR was confirmed by recombinant human GR protein. Results: GRb1 pretreatment caused dose-dependent inhibition of tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced cell apoptosis, at a level comparable to that of the positive control N-acetyl-L-cysteine. The binding energy between GRb1 and GR was positive (−6.426 kcal/mol), and the binding was stable. GRb1 significantly reduced reactive oxygen species production and increased GSH level and GR activity without altering GR protein expression in H9C2 cells. Moreover, GRb1 enhanced the recombinant human GR protein activity in vitro, with a half-maximal effective concentration of ≈2.317 μM. Conversely, 1,3-bis-(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea co-treatment significantly abolished the GRb1's apoptotic and antioxidative effects of GRb1 in H9C2 cells. Conclusion: GRb1 is a potential natural GR agonist that protects against oxidative stress–induced apoptosis of H9C2 cells. Keywords: Apoptosis, Ginsenoside Rb1, Glutathione reductase, H9C2, Oxidative stress

Renewable energy provides an effective solution to the problem existing between energy and environmental protection. Tidal energy has great potential as a form of renewable energy. Tidal current generation (TCG) technology is the earliest renewable energy power generation technology. The advancement of science and technology has led to TCG rapidly developing since its emergence in the last century. This paper investigates the development of TCG in recent years based on the key components of TCG systems, both in terms of tidal energy harvesting research and power generation unit research. A summary of tidal energy harvesting is presented, investigating the main tidal energy harvesting units currently available. In addition, research on generators and generator control is summarized. Lastly, a comparison between horizontal and vertical axis turbines is carried out, and predictions are made about the future trends in TCG development. The purpose of this review is to summarize the research status and research methods of key components in tidal energy power generation technology and to provide insight into the research of tidal energy-related technologies.

Background: Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease that primarily affects the exocrine glands, leading to glandular dysfunction. The hallmark symptoms of SS are dry eyes and mouth, compromising the quality of life of patients and decreasing their capacity to perform their daily activities.Objective: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of the herbal formula SS-1 for its potential therapeutic benefits for patients with Sjögren’s syndrome.Materials and Methods: The bioactivity profile of SS-1 was determined using four different SS-1 concentrations across 12 human primary cell systems of the BioMAP profile. After that, a randomized, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled trial was performed including 57 patients treated with SS-1 for 28 weeks.Results: Biologically multiplexed activity profiling in cell-based models indicated that SS-1 exerted anti-proliferative activity in B cells and promoted anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory activity. In the clinical trial, Schirmer’s test results revealed significant improvements in both eyes, with increases of 3.42 mm (95% CI, 2.44–4.41 mm) and 3.45 mm (95% CI, 2.32–4.59 mm), respectively, and a significant reduction in artificial tear use, which was −1.38 times/day, 95% CI, −1.95 to −0.81 times/day. Moreover, the increases in B-cell activating factor (BAFF) and B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) levels were dampened by 53.20% (295.29 versus 555.02 pg/ml) and 58.33% (99.16 versus 169.99 pg/ml), respectively.Conclusion: SS-1 treatment significantly inhibited B-cell maturation antigen. No serious drug-related adverse effects were observed. Oral SS-1 administration may be a complementary treatment for Sjögren’s syndrome.

Abstract The plant microbiome supports plant growth, fitness, and resistance against climate change. Trifolium pratense (red clover), an important forage legume crop, positively contributes to ecosystem sustainability. However, T. pratense is known to have limited adaptive ability toward climate change. Here, the T. pratense microbiomes (including both bacteria and fungi) of the rhizosphere and the root, shoot, and flower endospheres were comparatively examined using metabarcoding in a field located in Central Germany that mimics the climate conditions projected for the next 50–70 years in comparison with the current climate conditions. Additionally, the ecological functions and metabolic genes of the microbial communities colonizing each plant compartment were predicted using FUNGuild, FAPROTAX, and Tax4Fun annotation tools. Our results showed that the individual plant compartments were colonized by specific microbes. The bacterial and fungal community compositions of the belowground plant compartments did not vary under future climate conditions. However, future climate conditions slightly altered the relative abundances of specific fungal classes of the aboveground compartments. We predicted several microbial functional genes of the T. pratense microbiome involved in plant growth processes, such as biofertilization (nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, and siderophore biosynthesis) and biostimulation (phytohormone and auxin production). Our findings indicated that T. pratense microbiomes show a degree of resilience to future climate changes. Additionally, microbes inhabiting T. pratense may not only contribute to plant growth promotion but also to ecosystem sustainability.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is an aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis that highly expresses phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK). The PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK signaling pathways play a crucial role in HCC tumor formation, cell cycle, apoptosis and survival. However, no effective targeted therapies against these pathways is available, mainly due to the extensive and complex negative feedback loops between them. Here we used CK-3, a dual blocker of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK pathways, against HCC cell lines to verify its anti-tumor activity in vitro. CK-3 exhibited cytotoxic activity against HCC, as demonstrated with MTT and colony formation assays. The anti-metastatic potential of CK-3 was demonstrated with wound healing and cell invasion assays. The ability of CK-3 to block both the PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK pathways was also confirmed. CK-3 induced the apoptosis of Hep3B cells, while Bel7402 cells died via mitotic catastrophe (MC). Oral administration of CK-3 also inhibited the subcutaneous growth of BEL7402 cells in nude mice. Simultaneous PI3K/AKT/mTOR and MAPK/ERK pathway inhibition with CK-3 may be superior to single pathway monotherapies by inhibiting their feedback-regulation, and represents a potential treatment for HCC.

Abstract Background Endolithic microbes in coral skeletons are known to be a nutrient source for the coral host. In addition to aerobic endolithic algae and Cyanobacteria, which are usually described in the various corals and form a green layer beneath coral tissues, the anaerobic photoautotrophic green sulfur bacteria (GSB) Prosthecochloris is dominant in the skeleton of Isopora palifera. However, due to inherent challenges in studying anaerobic microbes in coral skeleton, the reason for its niche preference and function are largely unknown. Results This study characterized a diverse and dynamic community of endolithic microbes shaped by the availability of light and oxygen. In addition, anaerobic bacteria isolated from the coral skeleton were cultured for the first time to experimentally clarify the role of these GSB. This characterization includes GSB’s abundance, genetic and genomic profiles, organelle structure, and specific metabolic functions and activity. Our results explain the advantages endolithic GSB receive from living in coral skeletons, the potential metabolic role of a clade of coral-associated Prosthecochloris (CAP) in the skeleton, and the nitrogen fixation ability of CAP. Conclusion We suggest that the endolithic microbial community in coral skeletons is diverse and dynamic and that light and oxygen are two crucial factors for shaping it. This study is the first to demonstrate the ability of nitrogen uptake by specific coral-associated endolithic bacteria and shed light on the role of endolithic bacteria in coral skeletons.

Cardiovascular disease, a disease caused by many pathogenic factors, is one of the most common causes of death worldwide, and oxidative stress plays a major role in its pathophysiology. Tanshinone I (Tan I), a natural compound with cardiovascular protective effects, is one of the main active compounds extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza. Here, we investigated whether Tan I could attenuate oxidative stress and oxidative stress–induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis through Nrf2/MAPK signaling in vivo and in vitro. We found that Tan I treatment protected cardiomyocytes against oxidative stress and oxidative stress–induced apoptosis, based on the detection of relevant oxidation indexes such as reactive oxygen species, superoxide dismutase, malondialdehyde, and apoptosis, including cell viability and apoptosis-related protein expression. We further examined the mechanisms underlying these effects, determining that Tan I activated nuclear factor erythroid 2 (NFE2)–related factor 2 (Nrf2) transcription into the nucleus and dose-dependently promoted the expression of Nrf2, while inhibiting MAPK signaling activation, including P38 MAPK, SAPK/JNK, and ERK1/2. Nrf2 inhibitors in H9C2 cells and Nrf2 knockout mice demonstrated aggravated oxidative stress and oxidative stress–induced cardiomyocyte injury; Tan I treatment suppressed these effects in H9C2 cells; however, its protective effect was inhibited in Nrf2 knockout mice. Additionally, the analysis of surface plasmon resonance demonstrated that Tan I could directly target Nrf2 and act as a potential Nrf2 agonist. Collectively, these data strongly indicated that Tan I might inhibit oxidative stress and oxidative stress–induced cardiomyocyte injury through modulation of Nrf2 signaling, thus supporting the potential therapeutic application of Tan I for oxidative stress–induced CVDs.

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (BEF) is a central issue in soil and microbial ecology. To date, most belowground BEF studies focus on the diversity of microbes analyzed by barcoding on total DNA, which targets both active and inactive microbes. This approach creates a bias as it mixes the part of the microbiome currently steering processes that provide actual ecosystem functions with the part not directly involved. Using experimental extensive grasslands under current and future climate, we used the bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) immunocapture technique combined with pair-end Illumina sequencing to characterize both total and active microbiomes (including both bacteria and fungi) in the rhizosphere of Trifolium pratense. Rhizosphere function was assessed by measuring the activity of three microbial extracellular enzymes (β-glucosidase, N-acetyl-glucosaminidase, and acid phosphatase), which play central roles in the C, N, and P acquisition. We showed that the richness of overall and specific functional groups of active microbes in rhizosphere soil significantly correlated with the measured enzyme activities, while total microbial richness did not. Active microbes of the rhizosphere represented 42.8 and 32.1% of the total bacterial and fungal taxa, respectively, and were taxonomically and functionally diverse. Nitrogen fixing bacteria were highly active in this system with 71% of the total operational taxonomic units (OTUs) assigned to this group detected as active. We found the total and active microbiomes to display different responses to variations in soil physicochemical factors in the grassland, but with some degree of resistance to a manipulation mimicking future climate. Our findings provide critical insights into the role of active microbes in defining soil ecosystem functions in a grassland ecosystem. We demonstrate that the relationship between biodiversity-ecosystem functioning in soil may be stronger than previously thought.

IntroductionStudies on the association between adiponectin and leptin and anxiety and depression among postmenopausal women are limited. Therefore, the present study specifically evaluates the mutual relationships between adiponectin and leptin and anxiety and depression in postmenopausal women.Participants and designIn this cross-sectional study, a total of 190 women aged 40-65 years were enrolled. Depression symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and anxiety symptoms were evaluated using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). Fasting specimens were collected to measure sex hormone, glucose, insulin, and adipokine levels. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate the associations between depression and anxiety and adipocyte-derived hormones.SettingsThe study was performed in a hospital medical center.ResultsAmong 190 enrolled postmenopausal women, Spearman's rank correlation analysis revealed significant correlations between CES-D and HAM-A (r = 0.715, P < 0.0001), between CES-D and adiponectin (p = 0.009) and leptin (p = 0.015), and between HAM-A and adiponectin (p = 0.01) and leptin (p = 0.001). The subjects with CES-D ≥ 16 and with HAM-A ≥ 18 had higher adiponectin levels than those with CES-D < 16 and HAM-A < 18, respectively. After adjusting for age, body mass index, exercise, alanine amino transferase and parameters of lipid profiles, Log adiponectin levels were found to be significantly associated with both CES-D and HAM-A, and Log leptin levels were only significantly associated with HAM-A.ConclusionsThe data show that adiponectin and leptin levels are significantly associated with depression and anxiety symptoms. These results suggest that higher adiponectin and lower leptin levels may serve as potential markers related to anxiety and mood in postmenopausal women. More future research that is designed to deal with the important confounders (e.g., population heterogeneity) is needed to investigate comprehensively on these associations.

Background Women with unilateral breast cancer are at an increased risk for the development of contralateral breast cancers. We hypothesis that combined breast MRI would detect more contralateral synchronous breast cancer than conventional imaging alone, and resulted in less contralateral metachronous breast cancer during follow-up. Methods We retrospectively collected two groups of breast cancer patients diagnosed from 2009 to 2013 for evaluating the effectiveness and value of adding pre-operative breast MRI to conventional breast images (mammography and sonography) for detection of contralateral synchronous breast cancer. The new metachronous contralateral breast cancer diagnosed during follow-up was prospectively evaluated and compared. Results Group A (n = 733) comprised patients who underwent conventional preoperative imaging and group B (n = 735) combined with MRI were enrolled and compared. Seventy (9.5%) of the group B patients were found to have contralateral lesions detected by breast MRI, and 65.7% of these lesions only visible with MRI. The positive predictive value of breast MRI detected contralateral lesions was 48.8%. With the addition of breast MRI to conventional imaging studies, more surgical excisions were performed in contralateral breasts (6% (44/735) versus 1.4% (10/733), P< 0.01), more synchronous contralateral breast cancer detected (2.9% (21/735) versus 1.1% (8/733), P = 0.02), and resulted in numerical less (2.2% (16/714) versus 3% (22/725), p = 0.3) metachronous contralateral breast cancer during a mean follow-up of 102 months. Conclusions Our study provides useful estimates of the pre-operative breast MRI for the increased detection of contralateral synchronous breast cancer and less subsequent contralateral metachronous breast cancer.

Background: Mitochondrial biogenesis occurs in response to chronic stresses as an adaptation to the increased energy demands and often renders cells more refractive to subsequent injuries which is referred to as preconditioning. This phenomenon is observed in several non-neuronal cell types, but it is not yet fully established in neurons, although it is fundamentally important for neuroprotection and could be exploited for therapeutic purposes. Methods: This study was designed to examine whether the preconditioning treatment with hypoxia or nitric oxide could trigger biogenesis in undifferentiated and differentiated neuronal cells (rat PC12 and human NT2 cells) as well as in primary mouse cortical neurons. Results: The results showed that both preconditioning paradigms induced mitochondrial biogenesis in undifferentiated cell lines, as indicated by an increase of mitochondrial mass (measured by flow cytometry of NAO fluorescence) and increased expression of genes required for mitochondrial biogenesis (Nrf1, Nrf2, Tfam, Nfκb1) and function (Cox3, Hk1). All these changes translated into an increase in the organelle copy number from an average of 20–40 to 40–60 mitochondria per cell. The preconditioning treatments also rendered the cells significantly less sensitive to the subsequent oxidative stress challenge brought about by oxygen/glucose deprivation, consistent with their improved cellular energy status. Mitochondrial biogenesis was abolished when preconditioning treatments were performed in the presence of antioxidants (vitamin E or CoQ10), indicating clearly that ROS-signaling pathway(s) played a critical role in the induction of this phenomenon in undifferentiated cells. However, mitochondrial biogenesis could not be re-initiated by preconditioning treatments in any of the post-mitotic neuronal cells tested, i.e., neither rat PC12 cells differentiated with NGF, human NT2 cells differentiated with retinoic acid nor mouse primary cortical neurons. Instead, differentiated neurons had a much higher organelle copy number per cell than their undifferentiated counterparts (100–130 mitochondria per neuron vs. 20–40 in proliferating cells), and this feature was not altered by preconditioning. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates that mitochondrial biogenesis occurred during the differentiation process resulting in more beneficial energy status and improved tolerance to oxidative stress in neurons, putting in doubt whether additional enhancement of this phenomenon could be achieved and successfully exploited as a way for better neuroprotection.

For displacement expanders, the irreversible losses include leakage, friction, heat dissipation, and flow resistance. Currently, the research on the heat loss of expanders is scarce, especially with regards to experimental studies. In this paper, the experimental research on the heat loss of the single screw expander (SSE) for the Organic Rankine Cycle was carried out under different working conditions, in the summer and winter, respectively. In each set of experiments, there were five cases, and the temperatures of the working fluids at the inlet of the expander were 83, 93, 103, 113, and 123°C, respectively. The heat removed by the lubricating oil was also measured throughout the experimental period. The experimental results showed that the amount of heat loss was not comparable to the output power and enthalpy difference between the inlet and outlet of the SSE. The proportion of the heat dissipated by the casing was only 30% ranging from 0.11 to 0.28 kW. Comparing the experimental results in summer and winter, the heat loss in summer was lower than in winter, but the variation in output power showed an opposite trend. It was also shown that heat loss was not a main factor affecting the performance of SSEs.

Background: Oxidative stress-induced apoptosis plays an important role in the development of heart failure. 3,5-Dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-diCQA), a phenolic compound, has shown protective effects against oxidative stress in many diseases. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-apoptosis potential of 3,5-diCQA in cardiomyocyte cells under oxidative stress and explore its underlying mechanisms. Design: A model of tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)-induced apoptosis in a cardiomyocyte cell line (H9C2) was established. Cell viabilities on cell lines were determined by 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The apoptosis was measured by hoechst33342 and propidium iodide (PI) fluorescent staining. PI (in red) stained the regions of cell apoptosis; Hoechet33342 (in blue) stained the nuclei. The Western blot was used to determine the expressions of related proteins such as p-PI3K: phosphorylated phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (p-PI3K), phosphorylated Serine and Threonine kinase AKT (p-AKT), p-PTEN, Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3. Afterward, a PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, was applied to confirm the influence of the PI3K/Akt pathway on TBHP-treated cells of 3,5-diCQA. Then, H9C2 cells were pre-incubated with 3,5-diCQA alone to determine if the expression of activated PI3K/Akt signaling was mediated by 3,5-diCQA in H9C2 cells. Results: The results showed that TBHP resulted in an increase in cardiomyocyte apoptosis, whereas 3,5-diCQA treatment protected cells from TBHP-induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, 3,5-diCQA decreased expressions of Bax and caspase-3 but increased the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt in TBHP-treated cells, which are the key molecules mediating cell survival, whereas phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) phosphorylation was unchanged. Importantly, pre-incubation with a PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) partly abolished the anti-apoptosis effects of 3,5-diCQA. Further, 3,5-diCQA enhanced the phosphorylation levels of PI3K and Akt in H9C2 cells directly, while LY294002 attenuated the effects of 3,5-diCQA on PI3K and Akt. Conclusion: This study suggested that 3,5-diCQA rescued myocardium from apoptosis by increasing the activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

MERRF syndrome is predominantly caused by A8344G mutation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), affecting MT-TK gene, which impairs the mitochondrial electron transport chain function. Here, we report the generation of two isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, TVGH-iPSC-MRF-Mlow and TVGH-iPSC-MRF-Mhigh, from the skin fibroblasts of a female MERRF patient harboring mtDNA A8344G mutation by using retrovirus transduction system. Both cell lines share the same genetic background except containing different proportions of mtDNA with the A8344G mutation. Both cell lines exhibited the pluripotency and capacity to differentiate into three germ layers.

Mitochondrial defects are associated with clinical manifestations from common diseases to rare genetic disorders. Myoclonus epilepsy associated with ragged-red fibers (MERRF) syndrome results from an A to G transition at nucleotide position 8344 in the tRNALys gene of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and is characterized by myoclonus, myopathy and severe neurological symptoms. In this study, Sendai reprogramming method was used to generate an iPS cell line carrying the A8344G mutation of mtDNA from a MERRF patient. This patient-specific iPSC line expressed pluripotent stem cell markers, possessed normal karyotype, and displayed the capability to differentiate into mature cells in three germ layers.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are heterogeneous cells with stem cell-like properties that are responsible for therapeutic resistance, recurrence, and metastasis, and are the major cause for cancer treatment failure. Since CSCs have distinct metabolic characteristics that plays an important role in cancer development and progression, targeting metabolic pathways of CSCs appears to be a promising therapeutic approach for cancer treatment. Here we classify and discuss the unique metabolisms that CSCs rely on for energy production and survival, including mitochondrial respiration, glycolysis, glutaminolysis, and fatty acid metabolism. Because of metabolic plasticity, CSCs can switch between these metabolisms to acquire energy for tumor progression in different microenvironments compare to the rest of tumor bulk. Thus, we highlight the specific conditions and factors that promote or suppress CSCs properties to portray distinct metabolic phenotypes that attribute to CSCs in common cancers. Identification and characterization of the features in these metabolisms can offer new anticancer opportunities and improve the prognosis of cancer. However, the therapeutic window of metabolic inhibitors used alone or in combination may be rather narrow due to cytotoxicity to normal cells. In this review, we present current findings of potential targets in these four metabolic pathways for the development of more effective and alternative strategies to eradicate CSCs and treat cancer more effectively in the future.

Sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) is a prevalent form of deafness commonly arising from damage to the cochlear sensory hair cells and degeneration of the spiral ganglion neurons. In this study, Sendai virus was used to generate an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line from a 39-year-old female patient diagnosed with severe-to-profound, non-syndromic SNHL. The patient also carries a A1555G mutation in the mitochondrial 12S ribosome RNA gene (MTRNR1). This iPSC line was verified to express pluripotent markers, possess normal karyotype, harbor the specific mutation and demonstrated the capacity to differentiate into three germ layers.

In this study, the antibacterial characteristics and mechanism of Cordyceps cicadae polysaccharide were determined. A water-soluble polysaccharide from Cordyceps cicadae was separated, and antibacterial activity against common pathogens was investigated by Oxford cup method. To investigate its antibacterial mechanism, the change of bacterial (Escherichia coli as the indicator bacteria) growth curve, electric conductivity, alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and β-galactosidase activity were measured. And the mycoprotein, membrane protein were also studied. The results showed that Cordyceps cicadae polysaccharide had strong antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, Staphyloccocus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella paratyphi and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) to Escherichia coli was 0.10 mg/mL. In addition, the electric conductivity, AKP and β-galactosidase activity in microbial broth increased. The growth curve, mycoprotein, membrane protein changed. Our results revealed that Cordyceps cicadae polysaccharide exerted its bactericidal activity by damaging bacterial cell wall and cell membranes, increasing the cell permeability which resulted in the structural lesions and release of cell components, thus led to cell death.

Short-read next generation sequencing (NGS) platforms can easily and quickly generate thousands to hundreds of thousands of sequences per sample. However, the limited length of these sequences can cause problems during fungal taxonomic identification. Here we validate the use of Pacbio sequencing, a long-read NGS method, for characterizing the fungal community (mycobiome) of Castanopsis carlesii deadwood. We report the successful use of Pacbio sequencing to generate long-read sequences of the full-length (500–780 bp) fungal ITS regions of the C. carlesii mycobiome. Our results show that the studied deadwood mycobiome is taxonomically and functionally diverse, with an average of 85 fungal OTUs representing five functional groups (animal endosymbionts, endophytes, mycoparasites, plant pathogens, and saprotrophs). Based on relative abundance data, Basidiomycota were the most frequently detected phyla (50% of total sequences), followed by unidentified phyla, and Ascomycota. However, based on presence/absence data, the most OTU-rich phyla were Ascomycota (58% of total OTUs, 72 OTUs) followed by Basidiomycota and unidentified phyla. The majority of fungal OTUs were identified as saprotrophs (70% of successfully function-assigned OTUs) followed by plant pathogens. Finally, we used phylogenetic analysis based on the full-length ITS sequences to confirm the species identification of 14/36 OTUs with high bootstrap support (99–100%). Based on the numbers of sequence reads obtained per sample, which ranged from 3,047 to 13,463, we conclude that Pacbio sequencing can be a powerful tool for characterizing moderate- and possibly high-complexity fungal communities.

The optical characteristics of copper ion detection, such as the photometric absorbance of specific wavelengths, exhibit significant intensity change upon incident light into the aqueous solutions with different concentrations of metal ions due to the electron transition in the orbit. In this study, we developed a low-cost, small-size and fast-response photoelectric sensing prototype as an optic sensor for copper (Cu) ions detection by utilizing the principle of optical absorption. We quantified the change of optical absorbance from infra-red (IR) light emitting diodes (LEDs) upon different concentrations of copper ions and the transmitted optical signals were transferred to the corresponding output voltage through a phototransistor and circuit integrated in the photoelectric sensing system. The optic sensor for copper (Cu) ions demonstrated not only excellent specificity with other metal ions such as cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe) and chloride (Cl) ions in the same aqueous solution but also satisfactory linearity and reproducibility. The sensitivity of the preliminary sensing system for copper ions was 29 mV/ppm from 0 to 1000 ppm. In addition, significant ion-selective characteristics and anti-interference capability were also observed in the experiments by the proposed approach.

Coupling systems play a vital role in hydraulic power transmission equipment. In recent years, flat-face coupling systems have been extensively studied due to their environment friendly features. The difficulty of the connection process of hydraulic equipment increases with the increase in their working pressure. To improve the convenience of making high-pressure connections, a novel flat-face coupling system is proposed in this article. In the proposed design, which is based on the conventional flat-face coupling system, the resistance caused by high hydraulic fluid pressure during coupling is drastically reduced by the addition of an instantaneous pressure relief module. In this study, the theoretical model of the system kinetics is established to illustrate the operational mechanism of the novel design, and a series of computational fluid dynamics numerical investigations based on the novel dynamic mesh technology and Ansys Mosaic meshing technology are implemented to verify the rationality of the proposed design. Additionally, an optimal design of the novel flat-face coupling system is proposed to reduce the energy loss during hydraulic power transmission.

Graphite felt (GF) is a multi-functional material and is widely used as electrodes of electrochemical devices for energy and environmental applications. However, due to the inherent hydrophobicity of graphite felt, it must be hydrophilically pretreated to obtain good electrochemical activity. Metal oxides coating is one of the feasible methods to modify the surface of GF, and in order to ensure that the metal oxides have a better conductivity for obtaining higher electrochemical activity, a subsequent H2 heat-treatment process is usually adopted. In this study, atomic layer deposition (ALD) is used to deposit TiO2 nanocoating on graphite felt (GF) for surface modification without any H2 thermal post-treatment. The results show that the ALD-TiO2-modified GF (ALD-TiO2/GF) owns excellent hydrophilicity. Moreover, the ALD-TiO2/GF exhibits excellent electrochemical properties of low equivalent series resistance (Rs), low charge-transfer resistance (Rct), and high electrochemical activity. It demonstrates that ALD is an applicable technique for modifying the GF surface. In addition, it can be reasonably imagined that not only TiO2 film can effectively modify the GF surface, but also other metal oxides grown by ALD with nanoscale-thickness can also obtain the same benefits. We anticipate this work to be a starting point for modifying GF surface by using ALD with metal oxides nanocoating.

A novel design of a vibration energy absorbing mechanism (VEAM) that is based on multi-physics (magnetic spring, hydraulic system, structural dynamics, etc.) for cable vibration is proposed. The minimum working force of the hydraulic cylinder has been exploited in this design in order to combine a non-linear stiffness vibration isolation module that is composed of permanent magnetic springs with hydraulic viscous vibration damping modules. In response to different environmental vibration impacts, VEAM can automatically switch the vibration control modes without an electronic mechanism. Additionally, the non-contact design effectively reduces the wear that is induced by the reciprocating motion of the small amplitude of the hydraulic viscous dampers. The proposed mechanism is explained and a theoretical model is established. The transmissibility of the two modules at a single degree of freedom is derived using the harmonic balance method. After that, a series of variable control numerical simulations were performed for each important parameter. Empirical rules for designing the system were created by comparing the influence of each parameter on the vibration isolation performance of the entire system.

We carried out a wind tunnel experiment to examine the power generation efficiency of a stand-alone miniature wind turbine and its wake characteristics at different tip speed ratios (TSRs) under the same mean inflow velocity. Resistors in the electrical circuit were adjusted to control the TSRs to 0.9, 1.5, 3.0, 4.1, 5.2, and 5.9. The currents were measured to estimate the turbine power outputs versus the TSRs and then establish the actual power generation coefficient Cp distribution. To calculate the mechanical power coefficient, a new estimation method of the mechanical torque constant is proposed. A reverse calibration on the blade rotation speed was performed with given electrical voltages and currents that are used to estimate the mechanical power coefficient Cp, mech. In the experiment, the maximum Cp,mech was approximately 0.358 (corresponding to the maximum Cp of 0.212) at the TSR of 4.1. Significant findings indicate that the turbine at the TSR of 5.2 produces a smaller torque but a larger power output compared with that at the TSR of 3.0. This comparison further displays that the turbine at the TSR of 5.2, even with larger power output, still produces a turbine wake that has smaller velocity deficits and smaller turbulence intensity than that at the TSR of 3.0. This behavior demonstrates the significance of the blade-rotation control (i.e., pitch regulation) system to the turbine operation in a large wind farm for raising the overall farm power productivity.

Cortical and subcortical mechanosensation of breathing can be measured by short respiratory occlusions. However, the corresponding neural substrates involved in the respiratory sensation elicited by a respiratory mechanical stimulus remained unclear. Therefore, we applied the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique to study cortical activations of respiratory mechanosensation. We hypothesized that thalamus, frontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, and inferior parietal cortex would be significantly activated in response to respiratory mechanical stimuli. We recruited 23 healthy adults to participate in our event-designed fMRI experiment. During the 12-min scan, participants breathed with a specialized face-mask. Single respiratory occlusions of 150 ms were delivered every 2–4 breaths. At least 32 successful occlusions were collected for data analysis. The results showed significant neural activations in the thalamus, supramarginal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal triangularis, and caudate (AlphaSim corrected p < 0.05). In addition, subjective ratings of breathlessness were significantly correlated with the levels of neural activations in bilateral thalamus, right caudate, right supramarginal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, left inferior triangularis. Our results demonstrated cortical sources of respiratory sensations elicited by the inspiratory occlusion paradigm in healthy adults were located in the thalamus, supramarginal gyrus, and the middle frontal cortex, inferior frontal triangularis, suggesting subcortical, and cortical neural sources of the respiratory mechanosensation are thalamo-cortical based, especially the connections to the premotor area, middle and ventro-lateral prefrontal cortex, as well as the somatosensory association cortex. Finally, level of neural activation in thalamus is associated with the subjective rating of breathlessness, suggesting respiratory sensory information is gated at the thalamic level.

We investigated cfr-positive and -negative MRSA strains isolated from animals and humans in different geographical areas of China, from 2011 to 2016. Twenty cfr-positive strains (15.6%) were identified from 128 MRSA strains including 17 from food animals and three from humans. The resistance rates and prevalence of the tested antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the cfr-positive MRSA isolates were higher than that in the cfr-negative MRSA isolates. All cfr-positive MRSA isolates were co-carrying fexA and ermC, and had significantly higher optrA incidence rate vs. the cfr-negative isolates (P < 0.05). In addition, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) assays showed that ST9 and spa-type t899 were the most prevalent ST and spa types in the study strains. However, all of the 20 cfr-positive and 10 randomly selected cfr-negative MRSA isolates were clonally unrelated as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analyses. Importantly, the cfr gene was successfully transferred to a recipient Staphylococcus aureus strain RN4220 from 13 of the 20 cfr-positive MRSA isolates by electroporation. Among these 13 cfr-positive MRSA isolates, two different genetic contexts surrounding cfr were determined and each was associated with one type of cfr-carrying plasmids. Of note, the predominant genetic context of cfr was found to be a Tn558 variant and locate on large plasmids (∼50 kb) co-harboring fexA in 11 of the 13 MRSA isolates. Furthermore, the cfr gene was also identified on small plasmids (∼ 7.1 kb) that co-carried ermC in two of the 13 MRSA isolates. Our results demonstrated a high occurrence of multi-drug resistance in cfr-positive MRSA isolates, and the spread of cfr might be attributed to horizontal dissemination of similar cfr-carrying transposons and plasmids.

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and migration play a critical role in the development of arterial remodeling during various vascular diseases including atherosclerosis, hypertension, and related diseases. Luteolin is a food-derived flavonoid that exerts protective effects on cardiovascular diseases. Here, we investigated whether transforming growth factor-β receptor 1 (TGFBR1) signaling underlies the inhibitory effects of luteolin on VSMC proliferation and migration. We found that luteolin reduced the proliferation and migration of VSMCs, specifically A7r5 and HASMC cells, in a dose-dependent manner, based on MTS and EdU, and Transwell and wound healing assays, respectively. We also demonstrated that it inhibited the expression of proliferation-related proteins including PCNA and Cyclin D1, as well as the migration-related proteins MMP2 and MMP9, in a dose-dependent manner by western blotting. In addition, luteolin dose-dependently inhibited the phosphorylation of TGFBR1, Smad2, and Smad3. Notably, adenovirus-mediated overexpression of TGFBR1 enhanced TGFBR1, Smad2, and Smad3 activation in VSMCs and partially blocked the inhibitory effect of luteolin on TGFBR1, Smad2, and Smad3. Moreover, overexpression of TGFBR1 rescued the inhibitory effects of luteolin on the proliferation and migration of VSMCs. Additionally, molecular docking showed that this compound could dock onto an agonist binding site of TGFBR1, and that the binding energy between luteolin and TGFBR1 was -10.194 kcal/mol. Simulations of molecular dynamics showed that TGFBR1-luteolin binding was stable. Collectively, these data demonstrated that luteolin might inhibit VSMC proliferation and migration by suppressing TGFBR1 signaling.

Microorganisms are critical to maintaining stratified biogeochemical characteristics in meromictic lakes; however, their community composition and potential roles in nutrient cycling are not thoroughly described. Both metagenomics and metaviromics were used to determine the composition and capacity of archaea, bacteria, and viruses along the water column in the landlocked meromictic Lake Shunet in Siberia. Deep sequencing of 265 Gb and high-quality assembly revealed a near-complete genome corresponding to Nonlabens sp. sh3vir. in a viral sample and 38 bacterial bins (0.2–5.3 Mb each). The mixolimnion (3.0 m) had the most diverse archaeal, bacterial, and viral communities, followed by the monimolimnion (5.5 m) and chemocline (5.0 m). The bacterial and archaeal communities were dominated by Thiocapsa and Methanococcoides, respectively, whereas the viral community was dominated by Siphoviridae. The archaeal and bacterial assemblages and the associated energy metabolism were significantly related to the various depths, in accordance with the stratification of physicochemical parameters. Reconstructed elemental nutrient cycles of the three layers were interconnected, including co-occurrence of denitrification and nitrogen fixation in each layer and involved unique processes due to specific biogeochemical properties at the respective depths. According to the gene annotation, several pre-dominant yet unknown and uncultured bacteria also play potentially important roles in nutrient cycling. Reciprocal BLAST analysis revealed that the viruses were specific to the host archaea and bacteria in the mixolimnion. This study provides insights into the bacterial, archaeal, and viral assemblages and the corresponding capacity potentials in Lake Shunet, one of the three meromictic lakes in central Asia. Lake Shunet was determined to harbor specific and diverse viral, bacterial, and archaeal communities that intimately interacted, revealing patterns shaped by indigenous physicochemical parameters.

The circulation pump in an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) increases the pressure of the liquid working fluid from low condensing pressure to high evaporating pressure, and the expander utilizes the pressure difference to generate work. A portion of the expander output power is used to offset the consumed pumping work, and the rest of the expander power is exactly the net work produced by the ORC system. Because of the relatively great theoretical pumping work and very low efficiency of the circulation pump reported in previous papers, the characteristics of the expander power used for offsetting the pumping work need serious consideration. In particular, the present work examines those characteristics. It is found that the characteristics of the expander power used for offsetting the pumping work are satisfactory only under the condition that the working fluid absorbs sufficient heat in the evaporator and its specific volume at the evaporator outlet is larger than or equal to a threshold value.

Mangrove forest trees play important ecological functions at the interface between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. However, despite playing crucial roles in plant health and productivity, there is little information on microbiomes of the tree species in mangrove ecosystems. Thus, in this study we aimed to characterize the microbiome in soil (rhizosphere) and plant (root, stem, and leaf endosphere) compartments of the widely distributed mangrove tree Rhizophora stylosa. Surprisingly, bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were only confidently detected in rhizosphere soil, while fungal OTUs were detected in all soil and plant compartments. The major detected bacterial phyla were affiliated to Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, and Chloroflexi. Several nitrogen-fixing bacterial OTUs were detected, and the presence of nitrogen-fixing bacteria was confirmed by nifH gene based-PCR in all rhizosphere soil samples, indicating their involvement in N acquisition in the focal mangrove ecosystem. We detected taxonomically (54 families, 83 genera) and functionally diverse fungi in the R. stylosa mycobiome. Ascomycota (mainly Dothideomycetes, Eurotiomycetes, Sordariomycetes) were most diverse in the mycobiome, accounting for 86% of total detected fungal OTUs. We found significant differences in fungal taxonomic and functional community composition among the soil and plant compartments. We also detected significant differences in fungal OTU richness (p < 0.002) and community composition (p < 0.001) among plant compartments. The results provide the first information on the microbiome of rhizosphere soil to leaf compartments of mangrove trees and associated indications of ecological functions in mangrove ecosystems.

In this study, large-eddy simulations (LESs) were performed to investigate the effects of changing wind direction on the turbine wakes and associated power losses in the Horns Rev offshore wind farm. In the LES framework, the turbulent subgrid-scale stresses are parameterized using a tuning-free Lagrangian scale-dependent dynamic model, and the turbine-induced forces are computed using a dynamic actuator-disk model with rotation (ADM-R). This dynamic ADM-R couples blade-element theory with a turbine-specific relation between the blade angular velocity and the shaft torque to compute simultaneously turbine angular velocity and power output. A total of 67 simulations were performed for a wide range of wind direction angles. Results from the simulations show a strong impact of wind direction on the spatial distribution of turbine-wake characteristics, such as velocity deficit and turbulence intensity. This can be explained by the fact that changing the wind angle can be viewed as changing the wind farm layout relative to the incoming wind, while keeping the same wind turbine density. Of particular importance is the effect of wind direction on the distance available for the wakes to recover and expand before encountering other downwind turbines (in full-wake or partial-wake interactions), which affects the power losses from those turbines. As a result, even small changes in wind direction angle can have strong impacts on the total wind farm power output. For example, a change in wind direction of just 10° from the worst-case full-wake condition is found to increase the total power output by as much as 43%. This has important implications for the design of wind farms and the management of the temporal variability of their power output.

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of two different teaching methods on learning effectiveness. OpenCourseWare was integrated into the flipped classroom model (experimental group) and distance learning (control group). Learning effectiveness encompassed learning achievement, teacher-student interactions, and learning satisfaction. The experimental method was supplemented with qualitative interviews. Overall, 181 freshmen taking a course on physics were allowed to choose their own class based on their preferred teaching method (experimental or control group). The findings indicated that learners in the experimental group scored higher for learning achievement. When selecting a teaching method, if sufficient resources are available, it is suggested that teachers provide learners with the combination of OCW and flipped classroom. Although there was no significant between-group difference in terms of teacher-student interactions and learning satisfaction, the interactions in the flipped classroom had positive effect on students’ learning achievement. The use of the flipped classroom model allows for adequate teacher-student interactions, as teachers can provide guidance and assistance to students in person, while there are greater opportunities for collaborative learning among learners. In addition, since the flipped classroom model emphasizes the process of learning rather than its outcomes, information technology tools should be used to keep detailed records and follow the learning process in order to assess various aspects of the learners’ growth. The results of this study can serve as a reference for future studies on the flipped classroom model and OpenCourseWare, as well as for teachers and researchers in related fields.

Meromictic lakes located in landlocked steppes of central Asia (~2500 km inland) have unique geophysiochemical characteristics compared to other meromictic lakes. To characterize their bacteria and elucidate relationships between those bacteria and surrounding environments, water samples were collected from three saline meromictic lakes (Lakes Shira, Shunet and Oigon) in the border between Siberia and the West Mongolia, near the center of Asia. Based on in-depth tag pyrosequencing, bacterial communities were highly variable and dissimilar among lakes and between oxic and anoxic layers within individual lakes. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Cyanobacteria, Actinobacteria and Firmicutes were the most abundant phyla, whereas three genera of purple sulfur bacteria (a novel genus, Thiocapsa and Halochromatium) were predominant bacterial components in the anoxic layer of Lake Shira (~20.6% of relative abundance), Lake Shunet (~27.1%) and Lake Oigon (~9.25%), respectively. However, few known green sulfur bacteria were detected. Notably, 3.94% of all sequencing reads were classified into 19 candidate divisions, which was especially high (23.12%) in the anoxic layer of Lake Shunet. Furthermore, several hydro-parameters (temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, H2S and salinity) were associated (P< 0.05) with variations in dominant bacterial groups. In conclusion, based on highly variable bacterial composition in water layers or lakes, we inferred that the meromictic ecosystem was characterized by high diversity and heterogenous niches.

A numerical study of atmospheric turbulence effects on wind-turbine wakes is presented. Large-eddy simulations of neutrally-stratified atmospheric boundary layer flows through stand-alone wind turbines were performed over homogeneous flat surfaces with four different aerodynamic roughness lengths. Emphasis is placed on the structure and characteristics of turbine wakes in the cases where the incident flows to the turbine have the same mean velocity at the hub height but different mean wind shears and turbulence intensity levels. The simulation results show that the different turbulence intensity levels of the incoming flow lead to considerable influence on the spatial distribution of the mean velocity deficit, turbulence intensity, and turbulent shear stress in the wake region. In particular, when the turbulence intensity level of the incoming flow is higher, the turbine-induced wake (velocity deficit) recovers faster, and the locations of the maximum turbulence intensity and turbulent stress are closer to the turbine. A detailed analysis of the turbulence kinetic energy budget in the wakes reveals also an important effect of the incoming flow turbulence level on the magnitude and spatial distribution of the shear production and transport terms.