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Improving peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation efficiency to enhance simultaneous generation of radicals and non‐radicals is essential for removing new pollutants (NPs) in complex waters. However, achieving this with standard lattice‐structured heterogeneous catalysts remains challenging due to inefficient electron transfer. Here, CuCo2O4 properties are successfully tuned by controlling lattice distortion, enabling simultaneous PMS oxidation and reduction. Unlike the slow rate of electron transfer in heterogeneous metal catalysts with standard lattice structures, the highly active binary lattice distortion in CuCo2O4 alters the structure and electron distribution, exposes more Cu and Co sites, lowers the PMS adsorption barriers, and realizes the synergistic production of SO4•−/•OH), and 1O2. The k‐value for ciprofloxacin is as high as 17.83 min−1 M−1, 29.42 times higher than that with non‐binary lattice distortion. Additionally, the developed intermittent reactor consistently maintains a removal rate above 95% over five cycles in actual wastewater treatment scenarios. This work provides a new avenue for achieving the removal of new pollutants in complex water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study investigated the value of whole tumor apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) histogram parameters and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) semantic features in predicting meningioma progesterone receptor (PR) expression. Materials and methods: The imaging, pathological, and clinical data of 53 patients with PR-negative meningiomas and 52 patients with PR-positive meningiomas were retrospectively reviewed. The whole tumor was outlined using Firevoxel software, and the ADC histogram parameters were calculated. The differences in ADC histogram parameters and MRI semantic features were compared between the two groups. The predictive values of parameters for PR expression were assessed using receiver operating characteristic curves. The correlation between whole-tumor ADC histogram parameters and PR expression in meningiomas was also analyzed. Results: Grading was able to predict the PR expression in meningiomas (p = 0.012), though the semantic features of MRI were not (all p > 0.05). The mean, Perc.01, Perc.05, Perc.10, Perc.25, and Perc.50 histogram parameters were able to predict meningioma PR expression (all p < 0.05). The predictive performance of the combined histogram parameters improved, and the combination of grade and histogram parameters provided the optimal predictive value, with an area under the curve of 0.849 (95%CI: 0.766–0.911) and sensitivity, specificity, ACC, PPV, and NPV of 73.08%, 81.13%, 77.14%, 79.20%, and 75.40%, respectively. The mean, Perc.01, Perc.05, Perc.10, Perc.25, and Perc.50 histogram parameters were positively correlated with PR expression (all p < 0.05). Conclusion: Whole tumor ADC histogram parameters have additional clinical value in predicting PR expression in meningiomas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of plastic waste poses a pressing environmental challenge. Catalytic conversion stands out as an ideal approach for plastics upcycling, particularly through solar‐driven plastics photoreforming. However, due to the common effects of multiple reactive oxygen species (ROS), selectively generating high‐value chemicals becomes challenging. In this study, we developed a universal strategy to achieve >85 % selective production of diesel olefins (C15–C28) from polyolefin waste plastics via single ROS. Using tetrakis (4‐carboxyphenyl) porphyrin supramolecular (TCPP) with different central metals as an example to regulate single ROS generation, results show Ni‐TCPP facilitates triplet exciton production, yielding 1O2, while Zn‐TCPP generates ⋅O2− due to its strong built‐in electric field (IEF). 1O2 directly dechlorinates polyvinyl chloride (PVC) due to the electro‐negativity of chlorine atoms and the low dissociation energy of C−Cl bonds, while ⋅O2− promotes direct dehydrogenation of polyethylene (PE) due to the electro‐positivity of hydrogen atoms and the high dissociation energy of C−H bonds. This method is universally applicable to various single ROS systems. Installation experiments further affirm the application potential, achieving the highest diesel olefin production of 76.1 μmol h−1. Such a universally adaptive approach holds promise for addressing the global plastic pollution problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective detection of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in different environments and, above all, in biological media, is an important practical issue. To this end, we designed a novel electrochemical sensor for H2O2 detection by introducing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into the porous poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) matrix formed by the thermally activated crosslinking of amino- and epoxy-decorated STAR-PEG precursors. The respective composite PEG-AuNP films could be readily prepared on oxidized Si substrates, separated from them as free-standing nanosheets, and transferred as H2O2 sensing elements onto the working electrode of the electrochemical cell, with the performance of the sensing element relied on the established catalytic activity of AuNPs with respect to H2O2 decomposition. The sensitivity, detection limit, and the operation range of the composite PEG-AuNP sensors were estimated at ~3.4 × 102 μA mM−1 cm−2, 0.17 μM of H2O2, and 20 μM–3.5 mM of H2O2, respectively, which are well comparable with the best values for other types of H2O2 sensors reported recently in literature. The particular advantages of the composite PEG-AuNP sensors are commercial source materials, a simple fabrication procedure, the bioinert character of the PEG matrix, the 3D character of the AuNP assembly, and the possibility of transferring the nanosheet sensing element to any secondary substrate, including the glassy carbon electrode of the electrochemical cell. In particular, the bioinert character of the PEG matrix can be of importance for potential biological and biomedical applications of the designed sensing platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The reversible maneuver that mimics the fluid challenge is a widely used test for evaluating volume responsiveness. However, passive leg raising (PLR) does have certain limitations. The aim of the study is to determine whether the supine transfer test could predict fluid responsiveness in adult patients with acute circulatory failure who do not have intra-abdominal hypertension, by measuring changes in cardiac index (CI). Methods: Single-center, prospective clinical study in a 25-bed surgery intensive care unit at the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. Thirty-four patients who presented with acute circulatory failure and were scheduled for fluid therapy. Every patient underwent supine transfer test and fluid challenge with 500 mL saline for 15–30 min. There were four sequential steps in the protocol: (1) baseline-1: a semi-recumbent position with the head of the bed raised to 45°; (2) supine transfer test: patients were transferred from the 45° semi-recumbent position to the strict supine position; (3) baseline-2: return to baseline-1 position; and (4) fluid challenge: administration of 500 mL saline for 15–30 min. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded at each step with arterial pulse contour analysis (ProAQT/Pulsioflex). A fluid responder was defined as an increase in CI ≥ 15% after fluid challenge. The receiver operating characteristic curve and gray zone were defined for CI. Results: Seventeen patients were fluid challenge. The r value of the linear correlations was 0.73 between the supine transfer test- and fluid challenge-induced relative CI changes. The relative changes in CI induced by supine transfer in predicting fluid responsiveness had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.88 (95% confidence interval 0.72–0.97) and predicted a fluid responder with 76.5% (95% confidence interval 50.1–93.2) sensitivity and 88.2% (95% confidence interval 63.6–98.5) specificity, at a best threshold of 5.5%. Nineteen (55%) patients were in the gray zone (CI ranging from -3 and 8 L/min/m2). Conclusion: The supine transfer test can potentially assist in detecting fluid responsiveness in patients with acute circulatory failure without intra-abdominal hypertension. Nevertheless, the small threshold and the 55% gray zone were noteworthy limitation. Trial registration: Predicting fluid responsiveness with supine transition test (ChiCTR2200058264). Registered 2022–04-04 and last refreshed on 2023–03-26, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=166175. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A unique network of a-NiCo-MOFNWs-P is developed by a two-step pyrolysis strategy, which exhibits superior activity and long-term durability in methanol electrooxidation reactions. [Display omitted] Developing high-performance and low-cost electrocatalysts toward methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is essential for fuel cell applications. Herein, we report a defect engineering strategy integrating amorphization and phosphorization to construct directly interconnected networks of amorphous NiCo-based metal–organic framework nanowires (a-NiCo-MOFNWs) with phosphorus (P) doping. The resulting P-doped a-NiCo-MOFNWs (a-NiCo-MOFNWs-P) network displays superior MOR efficiency and long-term durability over 1000 cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. The special structure of directly interconnected networks and the synergistic effect between the amorphous MOFs and dispersed phosphorus species give rise to abundant exposed active sites, accelerated electron transport, and increased porosity for mass transfer, thus boosting the reaction kinetics of MOR. This work provides additional insights into the network assembly and structural evolution of one-dimensional (1D) MOFs, and also opens up new avenues for the design of highly reactive and robust non-precious metal-based electrocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a review of multicore fiber interferometric sensors is given. Due to the specificity of fiber structure, i.e., multiple cores integrated into only one fiber cladding, multicore fiber (MCF) interferometric sensors exhibit many desirable characteristics compared with traditional fiber interferometric sensors based on single-core fibers, such as structural and functional diversity, high integration, space-division multiplexing capacity, etc. Thanks to the unique advantages, e.g., simple fabrication, compact size, and good robustness, MCF interferometric sensors have been developed to measure various physical and chemical parameters such as temperature, strain, curvature, refractive index, vibration, flow, torsion, etc., among which the extraordinary vector-bending sensing has also been extensively studied by making use of the differential responses between different cores of MCFs. In this paper, different types of MCF interferometric sensors and recent developments are comprehensively reviewed. The basic configurations and operating principles are introduced for each interferometric structure, and, eventually, the performances of various MCF interferometric sensors for different applications are compared, including curvature sensing, vibration sensing, temperature sensing, and refractive index sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation efficiency to generate more radicals is vital to promote the Fenton‐like reaction activity, however, how to promote the PMS adsorption and accelerate the interfacial electron transfer to boost its activation kinetics remains a great challenge. Herein, we prepared Cu‐doped defect‐rich In2O3 (Cu‐In2O3/Ov) catalysts containing asymmetric Cu−Ov−In sites for PMS activation in water purification. The intrinsic catalytic activity is that the side‐on adsorption configuration of the O−O bond (Cu−O−O−In) at the Cu‐Ov‐In sites significantly stretches the O−O bond length. Meanwhile, the Cu‐Ov‐In sites increase the electron density near the Fermi energy level, promoting more and faster electron transfer to the O−O bond for generating more SO4⋅− and ⋅OH. The degradation rate constant of tetracycline achieved by Cu‐In2O3/Ov is 31.8 times faster than In2O3/Ov, and it shows the possibility of membrane reactor for practical wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancing the peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation efficiency to generate more radicals is vital to promote the Fenton‐like reaction activity, however, how to promote the PMS adsorption and accelerate the interfacial electron transfer to boost its activation kinetics remains a great challenge. Herein, we prepared Cu‐doped defect‐rich In2O3 (Cu‐In2O3/Ov) catalysts containing asymmetric Cu−Ov−In sites for PMS activation in water purification. The intrinsic catalytic activity is that the side‐on adsorption configuration of the O−O bond (Cu−O−O−In) at the Cu‐Ov‐In sites significantly stretches the O−O bond length. Meanwhile, the Cu‐Ov‐In sites increase the electron density near the Fermi energy level, promoting more and faster electron transfer to the O−O bond for generating more SO4⋅− and ⋅OH. The degradation rate constant of tetracycline achieved by Cu‐In2O3/Ov is 31.8 times faster than In2O3/Ov, and it shows the possibility of membrane reactor for practical wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High‐resolution ex vivo diffusion MRI (dMRI) can provide exquisite mesoscopic details and microstructural information of the human brain. Microstructural pattern of the anterior part of human hippocampus, however, has not been well elucidated with ex vivo dMRI, either in normal or disease conditions. The present study collected high‐resolution (0.1 mm isotropic) dMRI of post‐mortem anterior hippocampal tissues from four Alzheimer's diseases (AD), three primary age‐related tauopathy (PART), and three healthy control (HC) brains on a 14.1 T spectrometer. We evaluated how AD affected dMRI‐based microstructural features in different layers and subfields of anterior hippocampus. In the HC samples, we found higher anisotropy, lower diffusivity, and more streamlines in the layers within cornu ammonis (CA) than those within dentate gyrus (DG). Comparisons between disease groups showed that (1) anisotropy measurements in the CA layers of AD, especially stratum lacunosum (SL) and stratum radiatum (SR), had higher regional variability than the other two groups; (2) streamline density in the DG layers showed a gradually increased variance from HC to PART to AD; (3) AD also showed the higher variability in terms of inter‐layer connectivity than HC or PART. Moreover, voxelwise correlation analysis between the coregistered dMRI and histopathology images revealed significant correlations between dMRI measurements and the contents of amyloid beta (Aβ)/tau protein in specific layers of AD samples. These findings may reflect layer‐specific microstructural characteristics in different hippocampal subfields at the mesoscopic resolution, which were associated with protein deposition in the anterior hippocampus of AD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) films, fabricated by thermally induced crosslinking of amine- and epoxy-terminated four-arm STAR-PEG precursors, were used as porous and bioinert matrix for single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) immobilization and hybridization. The immobilization relied on the reaction between the amine groups in the films and N-hydroxy succinimide (NHS) ester groups of the NHS-ester-decorated ssDNA. Whereas the amount of reactive amine groups in the films with the standard 1:1 composition of the precursors turned out to be too low for efficient immobilization, it could be increased noticeably using an excess (2:1) concentration of the amine-terminated precursor. The respective films retained the bioinertness of the 1:1 prototype and could be successfully decorated with probe ssDNA, resulting in porous, 3D PEG-ssDNA sensing assemblies. These assemblies exhibited high selectivity with respect to the target ssDNA strands, with a hybridization efficiency of 78–89% for the matching sequences and full inertness for non-complementary strands. The respective strategy can be applied to the fabrication of DNA microarrays and DNA sensors. As a suitable transduction technique, requiring no ssDNA labeling and showing high sensitivity in the PEG-ssDNA case, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The creep in compaction was correlated with the recovery in the relaxation phase. • A unified viscoelastic-plastic model with one set of parameters was proposed. • Elevated temperature and in-plane tension intensify creep/recovery behavior. • Model captured temp. and time-related creep/recovery considering in-plane strain. In the manufacturing process of fiber-reinforced composite materials, the preforming of dry fiber fabrics is typically carried out under specific out-of-plane pressure, in-plane tension, and at designated temperatures. The fabric exhibits significant time and temperature-dependent permanent deformation as well as creep/recovery behavior. Gaining a better understanding of these phenomena and harnessing predictive capabilities will be instrumental in achieving more precise control over fiber volume fraction and material composition. In this paper, creep/recovery experiments and cyclic loading-unloading tests were conducted on CF3031 dry fiber preforms under various in-plane tensions and temperatures, measuring in-plane strains using Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors. Based on this data, a modified Burgers viscoelastic-plastic model has been proposed to describe the time-dependent creep/recovery behavior of dry fiber fabric preforming under the coupled effects of in-plane tension, out-of-plane pressure, and temperature variations. This model employs a single set of equations and parameters to represent the complete creep/recovery process of the material. The experimental results align well with the predicted outcomes across different compression scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• PbTiO 3 -coating TiO 2 nanorod scaffold layers were synthesized via a two-step method. • The CsPbBr 3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on carbon counter electrode were fabricated. • The PSCs based on PbTiO 3 /TiO 2 scaffold layers exhibited improved efficiency and stability. The CsPbBr 3 perovskite solar cells (PSCs) based on carbon counter electrode (CCE) are promising because of the advantages including fabrication simplicity and excellent stability, but their power conversion efficiencies (PCE) are low due to interfacial carrier recombination as the direct contact of the CsPbBr 3 with electron transport materials (ETM). In this paper, PbTiO 3 shells were grown onto TiO 2 nanorods to form PbTiO 3 -coated TiO 2 scaffold layer via a two-step method. The presence of PbTiO 3 could promote crystallinity of the CsPbBr 3 perovskite film and inhibits interface recombination at the CsPbBr 3 /TiO 2 interface. Consequently, the carbon-based CsPbBr 3 solar cells with PbTiO 3 /TiO 2 scaffold layer achieves a high PCE of 7.28%, demonstrating an increase by 19.9% compared with the devices based on TiO 2 NRs. Moreover, the champion devices exhibited excellent stability in ambient air, with the PCE value remaining at 93% over 28 days. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Hollow CdS@Ni(OH) 2 hybrid photocatalysts were synthesized. • The yield of CO was 3.12 mmol g-1h−1 with an apparent quantum efficiency of 2.05 % at 420 nm. • The photocatalytic system and mechanism for CO 2 reduction were investigated. • Structure-activity relationship and the local chemical environment in hollow microreactors were explored. The controllable hollow sphere, serving as an excellent light-trapping cavity, represents one of the most appealing structures in photocatalytic CO 2 reduction but is plagued by limited catalytic active sites. Herein, we report an in situ self-assembly strategy to decorate cadmium sulfide hollow spheres (CdS HS) with ultrathin nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH) 2) nanosheets to boost CO 2 photoreduction. The as-grown CdS@Ni(OH) 2 photocatalyst affords a higher CO yield of 3.12 mmol g-1h−1 and a good apparent quantum efficiency (AQE) of 2.05 % compared with the pristine CdS HS (0.38 mmol g-1h−1). The superior performance could be assigned to the unique hollow nanostructure and the synergistic effect between CdS HS and Ni(OH) 2 nanosheets. The interior CdS HS strengthens the multiple light reflections that leads to optimized light harvesting. The ultrathin Ni(OH) 2 nanosheet shell effectively prevents photocorrosion of CdS while providing a suitable local chemical environment that promotes CO 2 adsorption and activation. Additionally, the close contact interface of CdS@Ni(OH) 2 facilitates efficient separation and migration of photoinduced electrons and holes, thus boosting photocatalytic kinetics. This study presents a facile route for the controllable engineering of hollow microreactors toward CO 2 photoreduction and sheds light on the structure-dependent photocatalytic mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many neuroimaging studies have reported structural and functional abnormalities in the brains of patients with cognitive impairments following stroke, little is known about the pattern of such brain reorganization in poststroke dementia (PSD). The present study was aimed at investigating alterations in spontaneous brain activity and gray matter volume (GMV) in PSD patients. We collected T1-weighted and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 20 PSD patients, 24 poststroke nondementia (PSND) patients, and 21 well-matched normal controls (NCs). We compared the differences among the groups in GMV and the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF). Then, we evaluated the relationship between these brain measures and cognitive assessments and explored the possible distinguisher for PSD by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. PSD patients showed smaller GMV in the right superior temporal gyrus and lower fALFF values in the right inferior frontal gyrus than both PSND patients and NCs, but such differences were not observed between PSND patients and NCs. Moreover, GMV in the left medial prefrontal cortex showed a significant positive correlation with the Mini-Cog assessment in PSD patients, and GMV in the left CPL displayed the highest area under the ROC curve among all the features for classifying PSD versus PSND patients. Our findings suggest that PSD patients show dementia-specific structural and functional alteration patterns, which may help elucidate the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PSD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Esophageal cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Despite the significant progress in the overall treatment of esophageal cancer in recent years, the prognosis for patients who require surgery remains poor. Methods. The present study investigated the clinicopathological features of 503 patients who underwent radical esophagectomy at Huashan Hospital of Fudan University between January 2005 and January 2015. Nomograms that predicted the esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) survival rates were established using the Cox proportional hazard regression model. Discrimination and calibration, which were calculated after bootstrapping, were used as a measure of accuracy. Results. Multivariate analyses were used to select five independent prognostic variables and build the nomogram. These variables were pathological T stage, pathological N factor, rate of positive LNs, history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and postoperative sepsis. The nomogram was built to predict the rates for overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). The concordance index for the nomogram prediction for OS and DFS was 0.720 and 0.707, respectively. Compared to the conventional TNM staging system, the nomogram had better predictive accuracy for survival (OS 0.720 vs. 0.672, P < 0.001 ; DFS 0.707 vs. 0.667; P < 0.001). Conclusions. The present study incorporated pathological T stage, pathological N factor, rate of positive LNs, history of COPD, and postoperative sepsis into a nomogram to predict the OS and DFS of ESCC patients. This practical system may help clinicians in both decision-making and clinical study design. The assessment of lung function for patients with COPD preoperative, and the control of disease progression are needed. Furthermore, the postoperative infection of patients should be controlled. Further studies may help to extend the validation of this method and improve the model through parameter optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that hippocampal atrophy is a hallmark of dementia and can be used to predict the outcome of post-stroke demented (PSD) patients. The hippocampus consists of several subfields but their involvement in the pathophysiology of the PSD remains unclear.Objective: The present study aimed to investigate volumetric alterations of hippocampal subfields in patients with PSD.Methods: High-resolution T1-weighted images were collected from 27 PSD and 28 post-stroke nondemented (PSND) patients who recovered from ischemic stroke, and 17 age-matched normal control (NC). We estimated the volumes of the hippocampal subfields using FreeSurfer 6.0 which segmented the hippocampus into 12 subfields in each hemisphere. The volumetric differences between the groups were evaluated by the two-sample tests after regressing out the age, sex, education, and total intracranial volume.Results: Compared with NC group, PSD group showed smaller volumes in the entire hippocampus and its subfields, and such differences were not found in PSND group. Moreover, we found the dementia-specific atrophy in the left granule cell layer of dentate gyrus (GC-DG) and CA4 in the PSD patients compared with NC and PSND. Regression analysis showed positive correlations between the changes of cognitive performance and the asymmetry index in the CA3/4 and GC-DG of the PSD group. Furthermore, we found that the volumes of hippocampal subfields provided a better classification performance than the entire hippocampus.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the hippocampus is reduced in the PSD patients and it presents a selective subfield involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work involved the precise prediction and in‐depth analysis of cure‐induced warping of T‐shaped parts with inconsistent layup. First, the warping mechanism of this kind of part was studied. Then, a finite element analysis (FEA) that considered the parts' structural characteristics and inconsistent layup using the curing mechanical constitutive model was developed to predict the warping. Following verification of the model's accuracy, the effects of material and structural characteristics on warping were investigated. When designing T‐shaped parts, selecting materials with lower thermal expansion coefficients can help minimize warping. Additionally, increasing the radius of the chamfer at the rib and flange connections is also effective. By taking into account the effects of structural parameters and inconsistent layup by using both classical laminated plate theory and artificial neural networks (ANN), a rapid and accurate surrogate model for warping prediction was finally developed. It was discovered that the two‐layer ANN model performed better than the other two models and could predict warping with accuracy and speed. For the parts analyzed in this work, this model is able to identify the fluctuations of warping captured by FEA. Moreover, by defining deviation as the difference between the predicted values of the surrogate model and the FEA, it can be observed that the majority of deviations for the validation set are within ±1.5 mm. This demonstrates that the two‐layer ANN possesses strong generalization ability and high accuracy in predicting warping. Highlights: The inconsistent layup could significantly affect the T‐shaped part's warping.Cutting off a part's rib may significantly reduce its warping.A rapid and accurate model for warping prediction was developed.The layup and structure's influence could be identified by the two‐layer ANN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to explain the influence of the main geometric parameters on the asymmetric C-shaped composites' curing deformation. A numerical model appropriate for cure simulation was described and verified through experiments. Then, the model was used to evaluate the influence of different parameters instead of experiments. It was found that the mold's radius has the most significant effect on the deformation. Apart from the central angle, all other parameters have a similar impact on the twist angles. While the in-plane twist angle constantly increases in relation to the center angle, the out-of-plane twist angle initially increases and then drops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to produce variant composite structures that can precisely maintain equilibrium after changing stable states. A rapid and precise prediction method for the cure‐induced bi‐stable warping was developed, and the inverse design for the required part's structural and material parameters was investigated. Firstly, the mechanism causing the warping was investigated. Then, in order to acquire basic data for a data‐driven model to achieve rapid and accurate warping prediction, a finite element analysis (FEA) was developed, with most of the prediction deviations being under 10%. Additionally, deformation forms of variant parts with various layups and shapes were studied to offer guidance for the different shape requirements. The structural and material parameters were analyzed using the response surface methodology and sensitivity analysis. After removing parameters like all rubbery properties with low influence, basic data from the parameterized FEA was utilized to build a precise proxy model. Finally, for the variant structures requiring reasonable shape forms, the inverse design of the material, layup, and sizes can be achieved using the proxy model and the non‐dominated sorting genetic algorithm II. All optimization results were validated using FEA or experiments. The deformation form in the two steady states of each case meets the specifications. The shape difference between the produced part and the required shape is less than 5 mm, and the design deviation for the maximum deformation is less than 10%. Consequently, the rapid prediction and inverse design methods for the bi‐stable shape of variant composite parts were effective and accurate. Highlights: All the rubbery properties are almost uncorrelated to the bi‐stable warping.The proxy model can rapidly and precisely predict the bi‐stable shape.The inverse design can be achieved for a part requiring proper bi‐stable shapes.The design part can precisely maintain equilibrium with the required shapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies have indicated alterations of brain morphology in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD); however, how ASD influences the topological organization of the brain cortex at different developmental stages is not yet well characterized. In this study, we used structural images of 492 high‐functioning participants in the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database acquired from 17 international imaging centers, including 75 autistic children (age 7–11 years), 91 adolescents with ASD (age 12–17 years), and 80 young adults with ASD (age 18–29 years), and 246 typically developing controls (TDCs) that were age, gender, handedness, and full‐scale IQ matched. Cortical thickness (CT) and surface area (SA) were extracted and the covariance between cortical regions across participants were treated as a network to examine developmental patterns of the cortical topological organization at different stages. A center‐paired resampling strategy was developed to control the center bias during the permutation test. Compared with the TDCs, network of SA (but not CT) of individuals with ASD showed reduced small‐worldness in childhood, and the network hubs were reorganized in the adulthood such that hubs inclined to connect with nonhub nodes and demonstrated more dispersed spatial distribution. Furthermore, the SA network of the ASD cohort exhibited increased segregation of the inferior parietal lobule and prefrontal cortex, and insular‐opercular cortex in all three age groups, resulting in the emergence of two unique modules in the autistic brain. Our findings suggested that individuals with ASD may undergo remarkable remodeling of the cortical topology from childhood to adulthood, which may be associated with the altered social and cognitive functions in ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• AOS patients showed several state-specific connectivity decreases within the mirror neuron system (MNS) network. • The dFC between left middle temporal gyrus and left V5 negatively correlated with clinical assessments across AOS patients. • Social dysfunctions in AOS patients may be associated with the altered dFCs within the MNS and mentalizing networks. Previous studies based on an assumption of connectivity stationarity reported disconnections in mirror neuron system (MNS) and mentalizing networks of schizophrenic brains with social cognitive disruptions. However, recent studies demonstrated that functional brain connections are dynamic, and static connectivity metrics fail to capture time-varying properties of functional connections. The present study used a dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) method to test whether alterations of functional connectivity in the two networks are time-varying in adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AOS) patients. We collected resting-state fMRI data from 28 patients with AOS and 22 matched healthy controls. Static functional connectivity and dFC were used to explore the connectivity difference in the MNS and mentalizing networks between the two groups, respectively. Then a Pearson's correlation analysis between the connectivity showing intergroup differences and clinical scores was conducted in the AOS group. Compared with static functional connectivity analyses, dFC revealed state-specific connectivity decreases within the MNS network in the AOS group. Additionally, the dFC between the left middle temporal gyrus and left V5 was negatively correlated with the item2 of PANSS negative scores across all the AOS patients. Our findings suggest that social dysfunctions in AOS patients may be associated with the altered integrity and interaction of the MNS and mentalizing networks, and the functional impairments in the MNS are dynamic over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous‐wave laser (λ = 532 nm) was irradiated on Ag+‐exchanged glass surfaces to precipitate PbS quantum dots (QDs) of various diameters. TEM images combined with element mapping results confirmed the formation and size distribution of PbS QDs. Photoluminescence spectra red‐shifted from 1336 nm to 1635 nm with increases in power density and duration of laser irradiation. Three representative irradiation conditions are proposed to realize broadband photoluminescence from one glass rod to cover the 1.3‐1.7 μm communication window. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fumonisin B1 (FB1) contamination in cereals and cereal products remains an important aspect of food safety because of its wide distribution and the potential health hazard. However, only a few microorganisms have been reported to effectively degrade FB1. In this present study, a bacterial consortium SAAS79 with highly FB1-degrading activity was isolated from the spent mushroom compost. The combination of antibiotic-driven selection and 16S rDNA sequencing identified the Pseudomonas genus as the key FB1-degrading member. The microbial consortium could degrade more than 90% of 10 μg/mL FB1 after incubation for 24 h at pH of 5–7 and temperature of 28–35 °C. The enzymes from the intracellular space were proved to be responsible for FB1 degradation, which eliminated about 90% of 10 μg/mL FB1 in 3 h. Besides, liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF/MS) analysis identified two degradation products of FB1, and their toxicity on the monkey kidney cells (MARC-145) was significantly lower (p < 0.05) compared with the parent FB1. Overall, the consortium SAAS79 and its crude enzymes may be a potential choice for the decontamination of FB1 in the feed and food industry. Also, the bacterial consortium provides a new source of genes for the development of enzymatic detoxification agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancies complicated by preexisting maternal diabetes mellitus are associated with a higher risk of birth defects in infants, known as diabetic embryopathy. The common defects seen in the central nervous system result from failure of neural tube closure. The formation of neural tube defects (NTDs) is associated with excessive programmed cell death (apoptosis) in the neuroepithelium under hyperglycemia-induced intracellular stress conditions. The early cellular response to hyperglycemia remains to be identified. We hypothesize that hyperglycemia may disturb intracellular calcium (Ca2+) homeostasis, which perturbs organelle function and apoptotic regulation, resulting in increased apoptosis and embryonic NTDs. In an animal model of diabetic embryopathy, we performed Ca2+ imaging and observed significant increases in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+] i) in the embryonic neural epithelium. Blocking T-type Ca2+ channels with mibefradil, but not L-type with verapamil, significantly blunted the increases in [Ca2+] i , implicating an involvement of channel type-dependent Ca2+ influx in hyperglycemia-perturbed Ca2+ homeostasis. Treatment of diabetic pregnant mice with mibefradil during neurulation significantly reduced NTD rates in the embryos. This effect was associated with decreases in apoptosis, alleviation of endoplasmic reticulum stress, and increases of anti-apoptotic factors. Taken together, our data suggest an important role of Ca2+ influx in hyperglycemia-induced NTDs and of T-type Ca2+ channels as a potential target to prevent birth defects in diabetic pregnancies. • Diabetes mellitus in pregnancy can cause neural tube defects (NTDs) in offspring. • Maternal hyperglycemia increases intracellular Ca2+ level in the embryo. • Blockade of T-type Ca2+ channel blunts the elevation of intracellular Ca2+. • Treatment with a Ca2+ channel blocker reduces cellular stress, apoptosis, and NTDs. • Elevation of Ca2+ may be an early response to hyperglycemia and a target for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Ultrafine-grained Ti–6Al–4V alloy with high mechanical properties in both strength and elongation was prepared by equal channel angular pressing and following pulsed electric current treatment. The mechanical properties of Ti–6Al–4V alloy were investigated by tensile tests at room temperature. Elongation of the samples treated by pulsed electric current and annealing was considerably increased by 66.5% and 20.8%, respectively. The plasticity of ECAP deformed Ti–6Al–4V alloy was significantly improved by pulsed electric current while the strength still remained relatively high. Comparing with conventional equal channel angular pressing and following annealing process, uniform fully recrystallization microstructure with fine grains, increasing proportion of beta phase and decreasing dislocation density was obtained at a relatively low temperature during a short time with the help of pulsed electric current. This study proves that the pulsed electric current provoked a fast recrystallization and phase transformation process of a titanium alloy produced by equal channel angular pressing. Highlights • Ti–6Al–4V alloy was treated by pulsed electric current and annealing. • Recrystallization and phase transformation were induced by pulsed electric current. • Plasticity of ECAP deformed Ti–6Al–4V alloy was improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A recent study has reported that schizophrenia patients show an uncoupled association between intraventricular brain temperature (BT) and cerebral blood flow (CBF). CBF has been found to be closely coupled with spontaneous brain activities (SBAs) derived from resting-state BOLD fMRI metrics. Yet, it is unclear so far whether the relationship between the intraventricular BT and the SBAs may change in patients with adolescent-onset schizophrenia (AOS) compared with that in healthy controls (HCs). Methods: The present study recruited 28 first-episode, drug-naïve AOS patients and 22 matched HCs. We measured the temperature of the lateral ventricles (LV) using diffusion-weighted imaging thermometry and measured SBAs using both regional homogeneity and amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation methods. A nonparametric Wilcoxon rank sum test was used to detect the difference in intraventricular BT between AOS patients and HCs with LV volume, age, and sex as covariates. We also evaluated the relationship between the intraventricular BT and the SBAs using partial correlation analysis controlling for LV volume, age, and sex. Results: We found that HCs showed a significant negative correlation between the intraventricular BT and the local SBAs in the bilateral putamina and left superior temporal gyrus, while such a correlation was absent in AOS patients. Additionally, no significant difference between the two groups was found in the intraventricular BT. Conclusion: These findings suggest that AOS patients may experience an uncoupling between intraventricular BT and SBAs in several schizophrenia-related brain areas, which may be associated with the altered relationships among intraventricular BT, CBF, and metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Institutionalized German teaching in China has a history of about 150 years which can be divided into four stages based on literature analysis. In terms of historical stages, traditional foreign language didactics and methodology are also reflected in German language teaching in China. At the same time, Chinese elements make great contributions under certain social circumstances to this teaching. As a result, German didactics and methodology in China gains typical Chinese characteristics and peculiarities. With the help of a qualitative content analysis of texts of the category So Say the Scholars of the magazine We Learn German, this article sorts out the experiences of German teaching in China and finally reveals a German didactics and methodology working out with Chinese characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we report the convenient preparation of graphene/gold nanoparticle-decorating filter membrane, which could be directly used as electrode for H2O2 sensing. The graphene oxide and chloroauric acid are reduced by L-ascorbic acid before covering the paper substrate. The reduced graphene oxide/gold nanoparticle-paper material is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The paper composite could be cut into piece and directly used as electrochemical sensor. The electrochemical experimental results show that the paper sensor has satisfying performances in sensing H2O2 with the detection limit of 15 μM and the linear range is 8.53-17.35 mM. This work would propose a novel strategy for the applications of graphene in the fields of electroanalysis and sensing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging evidence has suggested that abnormalities in regional spontaneous brain activity following stroke may be detected by intrinsic low‐frequency oscillations (LFO) in resting‐state functional MRI (R‐fMRI). However, the relationship between hand function outcomes following stroke and local LFO synchronization in different frequency bands is poorly understood. In this study, we performed R‐fMRI to examine the regional homogeneity (ReHo) at three different frequency bands (slow‐5:.01–.027 Hz; slow‐4:.027–.08 Hz; and typical band:.01–.1 Hz) in 26 stroke patients with completely paralyzed hands (CPH) and 26 matched patients with partially paralyzed hands (PPH). Compared to the PPH group, decreased ReHo in the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobes and the contralesional cerebellum anterior lobe was observed in the slow‐5 band and the slow‐4 band in the CPH group, respectively. The mean ReHo values in these regions were positively correlated with the Fugl‐Meyer assessment (FMA) scores. In contrast, increased ReHo in the contralesional supplementary motor area and the contralesional superior temporal gyrus was observed in the slow‐4 band and the slow‐5 band, respectively. The mean ReHo values in these regions were negatively correlated with the FMA scores. Importantly, significant interactions were identified between the frequency bands and the subgroups of patients in the contralesional precentral gyrus and middle frontal gyrus. These findings indicate that frequency‐dependent R‐fMRI patterns may serve as potential biomarkers of the neural substrates associated with hand function outcomes following stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Motor functions are supported through functional integration across the extended motor system network. Individuals following stroke often show deficits on motor performance requiring coordination of multiple brain networks; however, the assessment of connectivity patterns after stroke was still unclear. This study aimed to investigate the changes in intra‐ and inter‐network functional connectivity (FC) of multiple networks following stroke and further correlate FC with motor performance. Thirty‐three left subcortical chronic stroke patients and 34 healthy controls underwent resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Eleven resting‐state networks were identified via independent component analysis (ICA). Compared with healthy controls, the stroke group showed abnormal FC within the motor network (MN), visual network (VN), dorsal attention network (DAN), and executive control network (ECN). Additionally, the FC values of the ipsilesional inferior parietal lobule (IPL) within the ECN were negatively correlated with the Fugl‐Meyer Assessment (FMA) scores (hand + wrist). With respect to inter‐network interactions, the ipsilesional frontoparietal network (FPN) decreased FC with the MN and DAN; the contralesional FPN decreased FC with the ECN, but it increased FC with the default mode network (DMN); and the posterior DMN decreased FC with the VN. In sum, this study demonstrated the coexistence of intra‐ and inter‐network alterations associated with motor‐visual attention and high‐order cognitive control function in chronic stroke, which might provide insights into brain network plasticity following stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyglycerol (PG) based surfaces materials and surfaces are well-established bio-compatible materials. Crosslinking of the dendrimeric molecules via their OH groups improves their mechanical stability up to the point that free-standing materials can be attained. Here, we investigate the effect of different crosslinkers on PG films regarding their biorepulsivity and mechanical properties. For this purpose, PG films with different thicknesses (15, 50 and 100 nm) were prepared by polymerizing glycidol in a ring-opening polymerization onto hydroxyl-terminated Si substrates. These films were then crosslinked using ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDGE), divinyl sulfone (DVS), glutaraldehyde (GA), 1,11-di(mesyloxy)−3,6,9-trioxaundecane (TEG-Ms 2) or 1,11-dibromo-3,6,9-trioxaundecane (TEG-Br 2), respectively. While DVS, TEG-Ms 2 , and TEG-Br 2 resulted in slightly thinned films, presumably due to loss of unbound material, increase of film thickness was observed with GA and, in particular, EDGDE, what can be explained by the different crosslinking mechanisms. The biorepulsive properties of the crosslinked PG films were characterized by water contact angle (WCA) goniometry and various adsorption assays involving proteins (serum albumine, fibrinogen, γ-globulin) and bacteria (E. coli), showing that some crosslinkers (EGDGE, DVS) improved the biorepulsive properties, while others deteriorated them (TEG-Ms 2 , TEG-Br 2 , GA). As the crosslinking stabilized the films, it was possible to use a lift-off procedure to obtain free-standing membranes if the thickness of the films was 50 nm or larger. Their mechanical properties were examined with a bulge test showing high elasticities, with the Young's moduli increasing in the order GA ≈ EDGDE < TEG-Br 2 ≈ TEG-Ms 2 < DVS. [Display omitted] • Hyperbranched polyglycerol films can be crosslinked to attain mechanically stable layers which can be lifted off. • The effects of different crosslinkers on the biorepulsive and mechanical properties were studied. • The different crosslinkers allow for an independent optimization of biorepulsivity and elasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foodborne poisoning caused by the cyclopeptide toxins-producing mushroom species seriously endangers human life health. In recent years discovery of new cyclopeptides is getting more attention not only for their toxicity but also for their specific bioactivity. In this study, a combined strategy using liquid chromatography tandem high resolution mass spectrometry and the feature-based molecular networking analysis was established to identify the known cyclopeptide toxins and discover new cyclopeptides in the cyclopeptide toxins-producing mushroom species. The specific fragmentation behaviors of the known cyclopeptide toxins were systematically annotated. Four new phallotoxin analogues were identified for the first time, the chemical structures of which were completely deduced. Moreover, the chemical profiles of the toxic cyclopeptides in lethal mushroom Amanita and Lepiota species were investigated by the self-built cyclopeptides database. The developed strategy could be utilized as a useful tool for identifying the cyclopeptide toxins-induced food poisoning, as well as aid in the discovery of more unknown cyclopeptides. • A strategy based on UPLC-HRMS and molecular networking was developed for the identification and discovery of cyclopeptide toxins in lethal mushroom. • The specific fragmentation behaviors of cyclopeptide toxins were annotated. • Four new phallotoxin analogues were discovered for the first time. • A 26 cyclopeptides database was established for the chemical profile analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The geometric imperfections in honeycomb cells inevitably arise during the manufacturing process and can affect the honeycomb's mechanical performance. Hence, it is critical to identify and quantify the geometric imperfections and characterize the effects of these imperfections on the effective mechanical properties of honeycomb. In this study, the geometric imperfections inside the honeycomb were identified from micro-CT scan data. Using the obtained geometric topology, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based method was employed in combination with the composite pixel method to predict the effective in-plane elastic properties of honeycomb at large elastic deformations. The results of the nonlinear homogenized prediction were compared with the experimental data and the prediction values from analytical models to investigate the effects of geometric imperfections. It was found that the predictions from the FFT-based method agreed well with the experimental results. However, the predictions from the analytical models significantly overestimated or underestimated the elastic properties, indicating that the geometric imperfections inside the honeycomb significantly influence its in-plane elastic properties. • The geometric imperfections inside the honeycomb were identified and quantified. • An FFT-based method with a composite pixel technique was proposed to predict the in-plane elastic properties of honeycombs. • The effects of geometric imperfections on the in-plane elastic properties of the honeycomb were evaluated quantitatively. • It is necessary to introduce the effect of geometric imperfections to guarantee calculation precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with persistent somatoform pain disorder (PSPD) usually experience various functional impairments in pain, emotion, and cognition, which cannot be fully explained by a physiological process or a physical disorder. However, it is still not clear for the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of PSPD. The present study aimed to explore the intra- and inter-network functional connectivity (FC) differences between PSPD patients and healthy controls (HCs). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed in 13 PSPD patients and 23 age- and gender-matched HCs. We used independent component analysis on resting-state fMRI data to calculate intra- and inter-network FCs, and we used the two-sample t-test to detect the FC differences between groups. Spearman correlation analysis was employed to evaluate the correlations between FCs and clinical assessments. As compared to HCs, PSPD patients showed decreased coactivations in the right superior temporal gyrus within the anterior default-mode network and the anterior cingulate cortex within the salience network, and increased coactivations in the bilateral supplementary motor areas within the sensorimotor network and both the left posterior cingulate cortex and the medial prefrontal cortex within the anterior default-mode network. In addition, we found that the PSPD patients showed decreased FNCs between sensorimotor network and audio network as well as visual network, between default-mode network and executive control network as well as audio network and between salience network and executive control network as well as right frontoparietal network, and increased FNCs between sensorimotor network and left frontoparietal network, salience network as well as cerebellum network, which were negatively correlated with the clinical assessments in PSPD patients. Our findings suggest that PSPD patients experience large-scale reorganization at the level of the functional networks, which suggests a possible mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of PSPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho 3+ /Y 3+ co-doped BaF 2 nanocrystals were precipitated in oxyfluoride glasses through conventional melt-quenching and subsequent thermal treatment. X-ray diffraction patterns, transmission electron microscope images and absorption spectra confirmed the incorporation of Ho 3+ /Y 3+ ions into BaF 2 nanocrystals in glass-ceramics. With the gradual substitution of Ho 3+ ions by Y 3+ ions, concentration dependent energy transfer between excited Ho 3+ ions were suppressed and relative emission intensity at 1.2 μm band was enhanced. The maximum emission cross-section calculated was 0.60 × 10 −20 cm 2 in BH1-GC specimen, indicating that Ho 3+ /Y 3+ co-doped glass-ceramics have a great potential for the development of 1.2 μm band gain medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of Aspergillus and Penicillium species during the fermentation process of rice wine is inevitable. The toxic secondary metabolites produced by the two fungi need to be practically monitored for rice wine safety. In this study, we developed a fast and simple vortex-assisted dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (VADLLME) for the extraction and preconcentration of major Aspergillus and Penicillium mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin B2, aflatoxin G1, aflatoxin G2, ochratoxin A, mycophenolic acid, sterigmatocystin and verruculogen) in rice wine. The key parameters affecting the extraction efficiency of VADLLME procedure (pH value, type and volume of extraction and dispersive solvents) were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) combined with Box-Behnken design (BBD) and desirability function. Target compounds were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Under the optimum conditions, good linearity ( R 2 >0.99) was achieved for all the analytes in the concentration range of 0.5–100 μg/L. The recoveries for spiked samples at three concentration levels were between 84.5% and 111.2%, with the relative standard deviations (RSD) lower than 20%. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.05 to 0.5 μg/L and from 0.1 to 1.0 μg/L, respectively. Simplicity in operation, low cost and low usage of organic solvents were the major advantages of the developed method. The method was successfully applied to the analysis of rice wine samples. It was found that mycophenolic acid had high incidence rate in rice wine, which needed to be continuously monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cascaded asymmetric photonic crystal Mach-Zehnder filter structure is proposed to improve the quality factor ( Q value) and the sensitivity of the tunable optical filter. The mathematical relationship between the output wavelength of M-Z filter and the voltage applied on the multilayer PZT is established. The simulation results show that the full width at half maximum can be decreased from 17 nm to 9 nm, in addition, the transmission peak wavelength varies by adjusting the applied voltage and the sensitivity can attain to 0.7 nm/V by using the multilayer PZT, which can achieve tunable filtering effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary motor cortex (M1) is often abnormally recruited in stroke patients with motor disabilities. However, little is known about the alterations in the causal connectivity of M1 following stroke. The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the effective connectivity of the ipsilesional M1 is disturbed in stroke patients who show different outcomes in hand motor function. 23 patients with left-hemisphere subcortical stroke were selected and divided into two subgroups: partially paralyzed hands (PPH) and completely paralyzed hands (CPH). Further, 24 matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. A voxel-wise Granger causality analysis (GCA) on the resting-state fMRI data between the ipsilesional M1 and the whole brain was performed to explore differences between the three groups. Our results showed that the influence from the frontoparietal cortices to ipsilesional M1 was diminished in both stroke subgroups and the influence from ipsilesional M1 to the sensorimotor cortices decreased greater in the CPH group than in the PPH group. Moreover, compared with the PPH group, the decreased influence from ipsilesional M1 to the contralesional cerebellum and from the contralesional superior parietal lobe to ipsilesional M1 were observed in the CPH group, and their GCA values were positively correlated with the FMA scores; Conversely, the increased influence from ipsilesional M1 to the ipsilesional middle frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus were observed, whose GCA values were negatively correlated with the FMA scores. This study suggests that the abnormalities of casual flow in the ipsilesional M1 are related to the severity of stroke-hand dysfunction, providing valuable information to understand the deficits in resting-state effective connectivity of motor execution and the frontoparietal motor control network during brain plasticity following stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The honeycomb manufacturing process involves complex and inter-related procedures spanning multiple physics domains and scales. The geometry heterogeneity in honeycomb cells inevitably exists and propagates to the uncertainty of the honeycomb's mechanical performance. Quantitatively characterizing the effect of cell geometry variability on the effective mechanical properties of honeycomb hence becomes critically important. In this study, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) based method was developed to predict the effective in-plane elastic properties of irregular hexagonal honeycomb. The honeycomb geometry heterogeneity was identified with a digital image technology by examining a large number of cells. Correlation analysis on the resulting statistical data enables determining the interdependence of cell wall lengths and angles. Using a Representative Unit Cell (RUC) with varying cell wall lengths and angles, an analytical function for the effective in-plane elastic parameters was established by incorporating the dependencies. The statistical quantification of cell geometry and the propagation of RUC's elastic characteristics were further integrated into the FFT-based multiscale framework for predicting the in-plane elastic moduli of irregular honeycomb. The tensile and shear tests on the irregular honeycombs, together with the corresponding finite element analysis, were used to verify the proposed method. Both experimental and numerical results confirmed that the uncertainty of elastic moduli achieved by the FFT-based method provides a reasonable estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prenylated rab acceptor 1 domain family member 2 (PRAF2) acts as an oncogene and is closely related to the occurrence and development of various tumors. The present study aimed to clarify the functional relevance of PRAF2 in the biological behaviors of breast cancer by determining the expression of PRAF2 in breast cancer tissues and the corresponding adjacent tissues. The gene phenotypes of PRAF2 in patients with breast cancer in The Cancer Genome Atlas database were predicted using a cancer data online analysis website: The University of Alabama at Birmingham Cancer Data Analaysis Portal (UALCAN). The mRNA and protein expression of PRAF2 was further examined in 37 pairs of fresh frozen breast cancer tissues and adjacent non-tumor tissues by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blotting. High expression of PRAF2 was verified by RT-qPCR in the breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, and small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology was used to silence PRAF2. In the in vitro cell functional experiment, three groups were used: Negative control (NC) group, siRNA-NC group and siRNA-PRAF2 group. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) and colony formation assays were conducted to analyze the effect of downregulation of PRAF2 on the proliferation of breast cancer cells. Transwell invasion and cell scratch assays were performed to examine the effect of downregulation of PRAF2 on the invasion and migration of breast cancer cells. UALCAN analysis results indicated that PRAF2 expression was upregulated in breast cancer compared with normal tissue samples (P<0.001). High expression of PRAF2 in breast cancer was associated with TNM stage and regional lymph node metastasis. RT-qPCR results showed increased mRNA expression of PRAF2 in clinical tissue samples from 37 patients with breast cancer, compared with normal adjacent tissues (P<0.001). Protein expression of PRAF2 was also shown to be higher in the breast cancer MCF-7 cells than in the MDA-MB-231 cells. Western blotting analysis combined with ImageJ software quantification showed that the relative expression of PRAF2 protein was significantly higher in clinical tissue samples from 37 patients with breast cancer (1.9750±0.0103) than that in normal adjacent tissues (0.9818±0.0140) (P<0.001). Western blotting analysis results indicated that transfection with siRNA PRAF2 in MCF-7 cells decreased PRAF2 expression (P<0.001). The results of CCK-8 and colony formation assays revealed that downregulation of PRAF2 expression suppressed the proliferation of MCF-7 cells (P<0.05 and P<0.001, respectively). In addition, Transwell invasion and cell scratch assay results showed that downregulation of PRAF2 expression in MCF-7 cells repressed invasion and migration of cancer cells (P<0.001). Overall, PRAF2 expression was significantly higher in breast cancer tissues than normal adjacent tissues, and was closely related to TNM stage and regional lymph node metastasis in breast cancer. PRAF2 was found to act as an oncogene that is able to promote breast cancer cell proliferation and invasion. Thus, PRAF2 may be a potential prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer and a potential target for the treatment of breast cancer metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The combined effects of bending curvature, loading angle, and thickness on the crushing response of curved honeycombs were clarified in detail. • A macroscopic yield criterion for the initial yield stress of curved honeycombs was presented. • A novel inverse parameter identification method was proposed for the macroscopic yield criterion of curved honeycombs. This paper investigated the initial yield behavior of curved honeycombs under combined shear-compression loads with particular attention to the curvature, loading angle, and honeycomb thickness effects. A detailed finite element model was introduced to analyze the mechanical response and deformation mechanism of curved honeycombs and then verified through experiments using a specially designed set-up. It was found that the curvature had a significant effect on the crushing response. As the curvature increased, the initial peak stress reduced by 16.20%. The out-of-plane loading angle ranging from 0º to 15º had little effect on the crushing behavior, whereas it became more pronounced for the angles larger than 15º. In comparison, the effect of in-plane loading angle fluctuating between 0º and 60º was more significant. Based on the obtained data, a macroscopic yield criterion for the initial yield stress of curved honeycombs was proposed. A novel inverse parameter identification approach for curved honeycombs was proposed to determine the induced parameters conveniently. The current study gave insight into the performance change of honeycombs with specific curvature and could be used to develop its constitutive models under complex loads. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lepiota brunneoincarnata -induced mushroom poisoning has occurred widely in some areas of the world in recent years, resulting in high mortality and posing potential health risks to humans and pets. However, a rapid and sensitive method for the identification of L. brunneoincarnata is scarce. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) combined with visual dye reaction or lateral flow dipstick (LFD) was established for rapid on-site detection of L. brunneoincarnata. Simple DNA extraction was completed by the heating lysis method within 15 min. In addition, a specific LAMP primer set was designed targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence of L. brunneoincarnata , with no cross-reactivity against 22 other mushroom species. Sensitivity evaluation showed that the detection limits of visual LAMP and LAMP-LFD assays were 10 and 0.1 pg/μL genomic DNA of L. brunneoincarnata, respectively. Moreover, the developed method was successfully applied to cooked mushroom and simulated vomitus, with detection limits of 1% admixture for the visual LAMP assay and 0.1% admixture for the LAMP-LFD assay. The whole detection protocol can be completed in 60 min without expensive instruments, which is suitable for the rapid identification of Lepiota brunneoincarnata -induced mushroom poisoning in the field. • Visual LAMP-based method was developed for rapid identification of Lepiota brunneoincarnata. • Heating lysis method was employed for rapid DNA extraction. • The detection protocol with high sensitivity can be completed in 60 min. • The developed method was successfully applied on cooked mushroom and simulated vomitus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mushroom poisoning is becoming a serious food safety and public health issue due to its high morbidity and mortality in some parts of the world. Identifying mushroom toxins at an early stage of suspected intoxication is crucial for therapeutic decision making. Ibotenic acid, muscimol, 2-amino-4,5-hexadienoic acid and 2-amino-4-pentynoic acid are a group of amino group-containing mushroom toxins that can lead to hallucination and neurotoxicity on humans. However, there is no method established for simultaneous detection of the four toxins. In this present study, a new derivatization method was developed for the determination of these toxins in mushroom and urine samples by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). After sample extraction the extract was directly derivatized by using 9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl chloride and multiple factors affecting derivatization reaction were systematically optimized to enhance method sensitivity. Furthermore, liquid-liquid extraction with dichloromethane was employed for purification of the derivatized products. The method was fully validated for linearity, sensitivity, recovery and precision. Recoveries of four mushroom toxins were in the range of 85%–101% for urine and 82%–108% for mushroom. The limits of quantification were from 0.05 to 1 μg/L in urine and 1–20 μg/kg in mushroom. In addition, the developed method was successfully applied on mushroom samples treated by cooking and digesting with artificial gastric juice, demonstrating that vomitus as well as cooked mushroom and its soup can be used as the valuable materials for identifying mushroom poisoning caused by these four toxins. • A new derivatization method was developed for simultaneous determination of four mushroom toxins in mushroom and urine. • Derivatization reactions employing Fmoc-Cl were systematically optimized. • This fully validated method was simpler and faster. • Vomitus as well as cooked mushroom and its soup were valuable materials for identifying mushroom poisoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The analysis of veterinary drugs in organic fertilizers is crucial for an assessment of potential risks to soil microbial communities and human health. We develop a robust and sensitive method to quantitatively determine 19 veterinary drugs (amantadine, sulfonamides and fluoroquinolones) in organic fertilizers. The method involved a simple solid-liquid extraction step using the combination of acetonitrile and McIlvaine buffer as extraction solvent, followed by cleanup with a solid-phase extraction cartridge containing polymeric mixed-mode anion-exchange sorbents. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) was used to separate and detect target analytes. We particularly focused on the optimization of sample clean-up step: different diluents and dilution factors were tested. The developed method was validated in terms of linearity, recovery, precision, sensitivity and specificity. The recoveries of all the drugs ranged from 70.9% to 112.7% at three concentration levels, with the intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviation lower than 15.7%. The limits of quantification were between 1.0 and 10.0 μg/kg for all the drugs. Matrix effect was minimized by matrix-matched calibration curves. The analytical method was successfully applied for the survey of veterinary drugs contamination in 20 compost samples. The results indicated that fluoroquinolones had higher incidence rate and mean concentration levels ranging from 31.9 to 308.7 μg/kg compared with other drugs. We expect the method will provide the basis for risk assessment of veterinary drugs in organic fertilizers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recovery of motor functions is accompanied by brain reorganization, and identifying the inter-hemispheric interaction post stroke will conduce to more targeted treatments. However, the alterations of bi-hemispheric coordination pattern between homologous areas in the whole brain for chronic stroke patients were still unclear. The present study focuses on the functional connectivity (FC) of mirror regions of the whole brain to investigate the inter-hemispheric interaction using a new fMRI method named voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC). Thirty left subcortical chronic stroke patients with pure motor deficits and 37 well-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent resting-state fMRI scans. We employed a VMHC analysis to determine the brain areas showed significant differences between groups in FC between homologous regions, and we explored the relationships between the mean VMHC of each survived area and clinical tests within patient group using Pearson correlation. In addition, the brain areas showed significant correlations between the mean VMHC and clinical tests were defined as the seed regions for whole brain FC analysis. Relative to HCs, patients group displayed lower VMHC in the precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, calcarine gyrus, thalamus, cerebellum anterior lobe, and cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL). Moreover, the VMHC of CPL was positively correlated with the Fugl–Meyer Score of hand (FMA-H), while a negative correlation between illness duration and the VMHC of this region was also detected. Furthermore, we found that when compared with HCs, the right CPL exhibited reduced FC with the left precentral gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, middle temporal gyrus, thalamus and hippocampus. Our results suggest that the functional coordination across hemispheres is impaired in chronic stroke patients, and increased VMHC of the CPL is significantly associated with higher FMA-H scores. These findings may be helpful in understanding the mechanism of hand deficit after stroke, and the CPL may serve as a target region for hand rehabilitation following stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Y 3+ /Er 3+ ions co-doped oxyfluoride glass-ceramics were investigated to realize efficient 2.7 μm emission. Incorporation of Er 3+ ions into the fluoride nanocrystals was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction patterns, absorption spectra, emission spectra and Judd-Ofelt analysis. With an increase in the Y 3+ /Er 3+ ratio, radiative lifetime, quantum efficiency and emission cross section of the 2.7 μm emission from Er 3+ ions were greatly improved, due to the reduced effective concentration of Er 3+ ions and suppressed cross relaxation processes among Er 3+ ions in the fluoride nanocrystals. Compared to other Er 3+ -doped glasses, Y 3+ /Er 3+ co-doped oxyfluoride glass-ceramics showed a promising potential for gain medium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Persistent somatoform pain disorder (PSPD) is a mental disorder un-associated with any somatic injury and can cause severe somatosensory and emotional impairments in patients. However, so far, the neuro-pathophysiological mechanism of the functional impairments in PSPD is still unclear. The present study assesses the difference in regional spontaneous activity between PSPD and healthy controls (HC) during a resting state, in order to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying PSPD. Resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data were obtained from 13 PSPD patients and 23 age- and gender-matched HC subjects in this study. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was used to measure regional homogeneity (ReHo), and a two-sample t-test was subsequently performed to investigate the ReHo difference between PSPD and HC. Additionally, the correlations between the mean ReHo of each survived area and the clinical assessments were further analyzed. Compared with the HC group, patients with PSPD exhibited decreased ReHo in the bilateral primary somatosensory cortex, posterior cerebellum, and occipital lobe, while increased ReHo in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and default mode network (including the medial PFC, right inferior parietal lobe (IPL), and left supramarginal gyrus). In addition, significant positive correlations were found between the mean ReHo of both right IPL and left supramarginal gyrus and participants’ Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) scores, and between the mean ReHo of the left middle frontal gyrus and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) scores. Our results suggest that abnormal spontaneous brain activity in specific brain regions during a resting state may be associated with the dysfunctions in pain, memory and emotional processing commonly observed in patients with PSPD. These findings help us to understand the neural mechanisms underlying PSPD and suggest that the ReHo metric could be used as a clinical marker for PSPD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]