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The current-induced magnetization switching (CIMS) was successfully observed in epitaxial L10-FePt/CrxPt1−x (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) heterostructures grown by molecular beam epitaxy with large perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. With increasing Cr content, the critical switching current density (Jc) in FePt/CrxPt1−x heterostructures exhibited a decreasing trend, where it was greatly reduced by 69% in FePt/Cr (3d) films compared to FePt/Pt (5d) films with strong spin–orbit coupling. Furthermore, the same switching polarities were observed for all FePt/CrxPt1−x samples, indicating that the orbital Hall effect played a dominant role in CIMS for FePt/Cr films because of opposite spin Hall angles for Cr and Pt. Our results will put forward the applications of L10-FePt in collaboration with the orbital Hall effect from 3d metals in current-controlled magnetic random access memory and neuromorphic computing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rivers play a key role in ecosystems and society. With the development of local economies, the Haihe River Basin has been affected and threatened by human activities. It is necessary and important to develop a river health evaluation system and to quantitatively evaluate the river health status. In this study, we collected samples from 37 sites along the Haihe River Basin and assessed the health with ten indices which indicated its physical, chemical, and biological conditions. The weight of each index was estimated by using the principal component analysis (PCA). The integrated index of river health was constructed to assess the health status. The results showed that the whole Haihe River Basin health was in the fair category. The numbers of sites in healthy, sub-healthy, fair, sub-sick and sick categories were 1, 17, 13, 3, and 3, respectively. DO (dissolved oxygen), benthic integrated biotic index and physical habitat had positive effects on the river health, while nutrients and organic matter had negative effects on river health. The research results not only provide scientific basis and technical support for further research but guidance and suggestions for government to improve the river health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the major role of benzoylureas (BPUs) in the control of pests in agricultural and forestry, their molecular mechanisms have in most cases remained elusive. BPUs cause molting impairments and were thought to interfere with chitin biosynthesis. Here, chlorbenzuron-treated Hyphantria cunea was subjected to extensive transcriptomic and proteomic analyses to investigate the toxicological mechanisms by which BPUs induce abortive molting and decrease chitin in insects. Following chlorbenzuron treatment, the transcriptomic analysis yielded 1973 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), while the proteomic analysis yielded 714 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). The DEGs and DEPs were functionally annotated using Gene Ontology (GO) and analyzed using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway database. Comprehensive transcript and protein analyses revealed that DEGs and DEPs were co-regulated in insect cuticle biosynthesis and detoxification metabolism. Of note, these genes and proteins, as well as their associated dysregulated pathways, could be promising targets for research into the precise action site of BPUs. This research provides large-scale omics data that can be used to better understand the overall mechanism of action of BPUs and the cause of death in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Linezolid is a synthetic oxazolidinone antimicrobial drug with a broad spectrum and a unique mechanism of inhibiting resistant pathogenic strains, and it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in April 2000. Several different systemic side effects were reported after the use of this medication. In this article, we report a case in which a syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) was developed after linezolid treatment was started. CASE PRESENTATION: We present the case of a 79-year-old woman who developed severe hyponatremia during linezolid treatment (0.6 g i.v. q12 h) after undergoing hemiarthroplasty for left femoral neck fracture. The patient's baseline serum sodium upon admission (138 mmol/L) decreased to 118 mmol/L, urine sodium was 102 mmol/L, plasma osmolality was 248 mOsm/kg and urine osmolarity was 310 mOsm/kg at day 4, thus a diagnosis of SIADH was made. The patient was not taking any other medication known to cause SIADH, and she did not present a comorbidity that could explain her condition. Her serum sodium increased to 135 and 137 mmol/L, respectively, 11 and 12 days after cessation of linezolid, strongly suggesting that SIADH was the cause in this case. CONCLUSIONS: This is the fourth case of linezolid-induced SIADH. A thorough workup was essential for the diagnosis to correctly differentiate between SIADH and other causes of hyponatremia, which helped us properly conducting follow-up treatments. SIADH is a rare but serious side effect of linezolid, and practicing physicians should be aware of this complication. It is necessary to periodically monitor the serum sodium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of thermodynamic calculations in the evaluation of external hydrostatic pressure effects on the Au-Ge binary phase diagram and on the arsenic sublimation reveals that pressure up to 7 kilobars can produce only slight modifications in the phase diagram. This is confirmed by an experimental investigation of eutectic Au-28 annealed at 7 kilobars and 500 degrees Celsius. The annealing also yields a pure Ge phase at the surface of the film in an amorphous state. Significant modifications in the phase diagram generally do not occur since Ar prevents As from undergoing sublimation.

Boson peaks (BP) have been observed from phonon specific heats in 10 studied amorphous alloys. Two Einstein-type vibration modes were proposed in this work and all data can be fitted well. By measuring and analyzing local atomic structures of studied amorphous alloys and 56 reported amorphous alloys, it is found that (a) the BP originates from local harmonic vibration modes associated with the lengths of short-range order (SRO) and medium-range order (MRO) in amorphous alloys, and (b) the atomic packing in amorphous alloys follows a universal scaling law, i.e., the ratios of SRO and MRO lengths to solvent atomic diameter are 3 and 7, respectively, which exact match with length ratios of BP vibration frequencies to Debye frequency for the studied amorphous alloys. This finding provides a new perspective for atomic packing in amorphous materials, and has significant implications for quantitative description of the local atomic orders and understanding the structure-property relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Aerosol‐generating procedures such as tracheal intubation and extubation pose a potential risk to healthcare workers because of the possibility of airborne transmission of infection. Detailed characterisation of aerosol quantities, particle size and generating activities has been undertaken in a number of simulations but not in actual clinical practice. The aim of this study was to determine whether the processes of facemask ventilation, tracheal intubation and extubation generate aerosols in clinical practice, and to characterise any aerosols produced. In this observational study, patients scheduled to undergo elective endonasal pituitary surgery without symptoms of COVID‐19 were recruited. Airway management including tracheal intubation and extubation was performed in a standard positive pressure operating room with aerosols detected using laser‐based particle image velocimetry to detect larger particles, and spectrometry with continuous air sampling to detect smaller particles. A total of 482,960 data points were assessed for complete procedures in three patients. Facemask ventilation, tracheal tube insertion and cuff inflation generated small particles 30–300 times above background noise that remained suspended in airflows and spread from the patient's facial region throughout the confines of the operating theatre. Safe clinical practice of these procedures should reflect these particle profiles. This adds to data that inform decisions regarding the appropriate precautions to take in a real‐world setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Osteosarcoma (OS) is a frequently occurred tumor. Recently, increasing reports disclosed that long non-coding RNA taurine upregulated gene 1 (TUG1) was associated with OS development. Nevertheless, the precise regulatory pattern was not completely understood. Hence, we aimed to investigate the biological role of TUG1 in OS tumorigenesis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The levels of TUG1, microRNA-140-5p (miR-140-5p), and Pro-filin 2 (PFN2) were measured via quantitative Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR), and the protein level of PNF2 was assessed using Western blot. In addition, MTT assay was employed to detect the ability of cell proliferation in MG63 and U2OS cells. Cell migration and invasion were estimated adopting transwell assay. Moreover, the Dual-Luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify the interrelation between miR-140-5p and TUG1 or PFN2. RESULTS: TUG1 and PFN2 levels were evidently upregulated in OS tissues and cell lines. The knockdown of either TUG1 or PFN2 could restrain cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in OS cells. In addition, miR-140-5p was a target of TUG1 to regulate PFN2. The functions of PFN2 knockdown in cell behaviors were rescued after co-transfection with either miR-140-5p inhibitor or overexpression vector of TUG1. Importantly, TUG1 silencing could impede tumor progression in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: TUG1 modulated cell proliferation, migration, and invasion via miR-140-5p/ PFN2 axis in OS progression, which might trigger the development of therapeutic strategies for the treatment of OS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of micro ribonucleic acid-132 (miR-132) in cisplatin (DDP) resistance and metastasis of ovarian cancer and its related mechanisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were applied to detect the expression levels of miR-132 and B lymphoma Mo-MLV insertion region 1 homolog (Bmi-1) in maternal SKOV3 cells and cisplatin-resistant SKOV3/DDP cells. SKOV3/DDP cells were transfected with miR-132 mimic and miR-132 mimic negative control (NC). QRT-PCR and Western blotting were used to detect the expression changes in Bmi-1, and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was adopted to detect the sensitivity of cells to DDP after transfection with miR-132 mimic. The effect of transfection on the apoptosis was detected via flow cytometry, and that on cell invasion and migration abilities were examined using wound healing assay and transwell assay. Bmi-1 wild-type (wt) and mutant-type (mut) luciferase reporter plasmids were co-transfected with miRNA-132 mimic or miRNA-132 NC, and luciferase activity was analyzed by dual-luciferase reporter system. RESULTS: QRT-PCR and Western blotting results manifested that the miR-132 expression level in SKOV3/DDP cells was significantly lower than that in SKOV3 cells, while the expression level of Bmi-1 in SKOV3/DDP cells was significantly higher than that in SKOV3 cells. The overexpression of miR-132 could reduce the expression level of Bmi-1 in SKOV3/DDP cells, increase the sensitivity of SKOV3/DDP cells to DDP, and inhibit cell invasion and metastasis. Data detected by the luciferase activity revealed that miR-132 could bind to the three prime untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the Bmi-1 gene and negatively regulate the protein expression. CONCLUSIONS: MiR-132 may regulate ovarian cancer's sensitivity to DDP and inhibit its invasion and metastasis by targeted regulation on Bmi-1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Heat stable antifungal factor (HSAF) is considered to be a potential biological pesticide due to its broad antifungal activity and novel mode of action. However, few studies have reported on HSAF production during fermentation. Thus, this work was executed to optimize the medium composition to maximize HSAF production by Lysobacter enzymogenes OH11, with soybean flour, glucose and CaCl2 identified as suitable nutrients with concentrations of 8·00, 7·89 and 0·72 g l−1 respectively. Simultaneously, the quantitative analysis of HSAF production was established by eliminating the emulsification problem, and the highest HSAF production was determined to be 356·34 ± 13·86 mg l−1 using the optimized medium, 12‐fold higher than when using the 10% TSB medium (29·34 ± 2·57 mg l−1). Furthermore, the cost of this medium was assessed and nearly 31‐fold lower than that of 10% TSB. This study suggests that the optimized medium is not only effective but also economical for HSAF production. Significance and Impact of the Study: Significance and Impact of the Study: Heat stable antifungal factor (HSAF) exhibits a potent and broad antifungal activity with a novel mode of action. Increased production and reduced cost of raw materials are particularly important for the future production of HSAF, however, no report was involved in these studies. This study aimed to improve the production of HSAF with cheap raw materials through the medium optimization, which would lay the foundation for the application of HSAF in biological control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene supported Pd oxide-rich (PdOx-rich) Pd nanoparticles (Pd/NS-rGO) are synthesized by microwave-assisted ascorbic acid reduction method. Raman spectrum reveals that the introduced NS co-doping could introduce more defects on the graphene surface. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectrum, SEM and TEM images indicate that the synthesized PdOx-rich Pd particles are well-dispersed on NS co-doped graphene surface. Cyclic voltammograms curves illustrate that the Pd/NS-rGO catalyst exhibits a larger electrochemically active surface area (35.7 m2 g−1) and higher positive current density (1,054.0 mA mg−1 Pd) than other catalysts prepared by similar methods. The Pd/NS-rGO catalyst also reveals superior anti-poisoning intermediate species ability and amazing stability. The electrocatalytic mechanism is also detailedly discussed and the designed Pd/NS-rGO catalyst has opened up a new insight and methodology for the construction of a high performance and stability ethanol electrocatalysts in corrosive alkaline environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon emission has grown into a pressing issue around the world, arousing customer green awareness about emission in production of merchandise. As a major source of emission, the manufacturing supply chain has obligations and needs to reduce emission substantially. Indeed, reducing emission per product item enhances the green image of the product brand which is vital to the product sustainability in the market. Nevertheless, such endeavours require increasing low-carbon investment by the manufacturers and cooperation with the retailers, in addition to their traditional order quantity decisions. In this paper, we analyse the decision behaviour of manufacturers and retailers under the impacts of customer green awareness, with an aim to provide analytical and management insights into a profitable and sustainable supply chain. We propose three EOQ-based supply chain models, namely the centralised, decentralised and coordinated models, in which a manufacturer and a retailer make decisions for optimality of product sustainability and order quantity correspondingly. The centralised model is analysed as an ideal benchmark. While in the decentralised model, the decision route is assumed to be a classical Stackelberg Game, with the retailer being the leader and the manufacturer as the follower. Analytical solutions and properties are proposed for them respectively. After revealing the performance disparities and value loss in the decentralised supply chain, a cost-sharing contract of low-carbon investment is designed to help coordinate the supply chain. Numerical experiments validate that the coordinated supply chain can bring about win-win benefits with a dramatical increase in product sustainability. Moreover, increased market demand, wholesale price, and cost-sharing percentage all jack up the product sustainability. Several management insights are proposed to guide supply chain's decisions. It is found that a decentralised supply chain with coordination can enhance business sustainability and profitability close to an ideal, centralised one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]