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High-temperature vapour-phase acetylation (HTVPA) is a simultaneous acetylation and heat treatment process for wood modification. This study was the first investigation into the impact of HTVPA treatment on the resistance of wood to biological degradation. In the termite resistance test, untreated wood exhibited a mass loss (MLt) of 20.3%, while HTVPA-modified wood showed a reduced MLt of 6.6–3.2%, which decreased with an increase in weight percent gain (WPG), and the termite mortality reached 95–100%. Furthermore, after a 12-week decay resistance test against brown-rot fungi (Laetiporus sulfureus and Fomitopsis pinicola), untreated wood exhibited mass loss (MLd) values of 39.6% and 54.5%, respectively, while HTVPA-modified wood exhibited MLd values of 0.2–0.9% and −0.2–0.3%, respectively, with no significant influence from WPG. Similar results were observed in decay resistance tests against white-rot fungi (Lenzites betulina and Trametes versicolor). The results of this study demonstrated that HTVPA treatment not only effectively enhanced the decay resistance of wood but also offered superior enhancement relative to separate heat treatment or acetylation processes. In addition, all the HTVPA-modified wood specimens prepared in this study met the requirements of the CNS 6717 wood preservative standard, with an MLd of less than 3% for decay-resistant materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The online calibration method for current transformers is an important research direction in the field of smart grids. This article constructs a transformer error prediction model based on spatiotemporal integration. This model draws inspiration from the structure of forgetting gates in gated loop units and combines it with a graph convolutional network (GCN) that is good at capturing the spatial relationships within the graph attention network to construct an adaptive GCN. The spatial module formed by this adaptive GCN is used to model the spatial relationships in the circuit network, and the attention mechanism and gated time convolutional network are combined to form a time module to learn the temporal relationships in the circuit network. The layer that combines the time and space modules is used, which consists of a gating mechanism for spatiotemporal fusion, and a transformer error prediction model based on a spatiotemporal correlation analysis is constructed. Finally, it is verified on a real power grid operation dataset, and compared with the existing prediction methods to analyze its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air quality plays a vital role in people's health, and air quality forecasting can assist in decision making for government planning and sustainable development. In contrast, it is challenging to multi-step forecast accurately due to its complex and nonlinear caused by both temporal and spatial dimensions. Deep models, with their ability to model strong nonlinearities, have become the primary methods for air quality forecasting. However, because of the lack of mechanism-based analysis, uninterpretability forecasting makes decisions risky, especially when the government makes decisions. This paper proposes an interpretable variational Bayesian deep learning model with information self-screening for PM2.5 forecasting. Firstly, based on factors related to PM2.5 concentration, e.g., temperature, humidity, wind speed, spatial distribution, etc., an interpretable multivariate data screening structure for PM2.5 forecasting was established to catch as much helpful information as possible. Secondly, the self-screening layer was implanted in the deep learning network to optimize the selection of input variables. Further, following implantation of the screening layer, a variational Bayesian gated recurrent unit (GRU) network was constructed to overcome the complex distribution of PM2.5 and achieve accurate multi-step forecasting. The high accuracy of the proposed method is verified by PM2.5 data in Beijing, China, which provides an effective way, with multiple factors for PM2.5 forecasting determined using deep learning technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environment and development are major issues of general concern. After much suffering from the harm of environmental pollution, human beings began to pay attention to environmental protection and started to carry out pollutant prediction research. A large number of air pollutant predictions have tried to predict pollutants by revealing their evolution patterns, emphasizing the fitting analysis of time series but ignoring the spatial transmission effect of adjacent areas, leading to low prediction accuracy. To solve this problem, we propose a time series prediction network with the self-optimization ability of a spatio-temporal graph neural network (BGGRU) to mine the changing pattern of the time series and the spatial propagation effect. The proposed network includes spatial and temporal modules. The spatial module uses a graph sampling and aggregation network (GraphSAGE) in order to extract the spatial information of the data. The temporal module uses a Bayesian graph gated recurrent unit (BGraphGRU), which applies a graph network to the gated recurrent unit (GRU) so as to fit the data's temporal information. In addition, this study used Bayesian optimization to solve the problem of the model's inaccuracy caused by inappropriate hyperparameters of the model. The high accuracy of the proposed method was verified by the actual PM2.5 data of Beijing, China, which provided an effective method for predicting the PM2.5 concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subduction model of the Neo-Tethys during the Early Cretaceous has always been a controversial topic, and the scarcity of Early Cretaceous magmatic rocks in the southern part of the Gangdese batholith is the main cause of this debate. To address this issue, this article presents new zircon U–Pb chronology, zircon Hf isotope, whole-rock geochemistry and Sr–Nd isotope data for the Early Cretaceous quartz diorite dykes with adakite affinity in Liuqiong, Gongga. Zircon U–Pb dating of three samples yielded ages of c. 141–137 Ma, indicating that the Liuqiong quartz diorite was emplaced in the Early Cretaceous. The whole-rock geochemical analysis shows that the Liuqiong quartz diorite is enriched in large-ion lithophile elements (LILEs) and light rare-earth elements (LREEs) and is depleted in high-field-strength elements (HFSEs), which are related to slab subduction. Additionally, the Liuqiong quartz diorite has high SiO2, Al2O3 and Sr contents, high Sr/Y ratios and low heavy rare-earth element (HREE) and Y contents, which are compatible with typical adakite signatures. The initial 87Sr/86Sr values of the Liuqiong adakite range from 0.705617 to 0.705853, and the whole-rock ϵNd(t) values vary between +5.78 and +6.24. The zircon ϵHf(t) values vary from +11.5 to +16.4. Our results show that the Liuqiong adakite magma was derived from partial melting of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic plate (mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) + sediment + fluid), with some degree of subsequent peridotite interaction within the overlying mantle wedge. Combining regional data, we favour the interpretation that the Neo-Tethyan oceanic crust was subducted at a low angle beneath the Gangdese during the Early Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time, continuous, and long-term marine monitoring data benefits ocean research. This study developed a low-cost, multi-parameter, miniature wave buoy. High spatial and temporal resolution of sea surface parameters, including wind, waves, and current, can be obtained at low cost through the deployment of numerous buoys, thus forming an observation array. Tested in the laboratory water tank, the relative error of water surface slope measurement of the buoy was approximately 5.6% when the slope angle was less than 15°. For frequencies between 0.1 and 1.0 Hz, the measurement of slope spectrum was almost identical to that of the wave gauge. The buoy underestimated the slope spectrum between 1.0–1.56 Hz. A good relationship (r2 = 0.75) was obtained between wind speed at 10 m above sea surface (U10) and the low-pass-filtered mean square slope (LPMSS). After incorporating the wave age into the U10 inversion process, the root mean square error (RMSE) and BIAS were reduced to 1.15 m/s and 0.02 m/s, respectively. The 2D distribution of buoy-measured slope components was used to detect the wind direction, with an RMSE of 23.7°. The spectral tail slope steepened with increasing wind speed at low wind speeds (<7 m/s). A technical flow chart of the miniature wave buoy is proposed to observe the sea surface parameters. This miniature buoy will play an essential complementary role in the growing demand for sea state monitoring, especially in nearshore oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to effectively make up for the defect of service life of re-tired power battery echelon used in microgrids (MGs) and improve the reliability of MGs system, an energy management method based on the energy hub of the electricity heat hydrogen multi-energy storage system (EHH-MESS) is proposed the in the paper. Firstly, considering the uncertain factors such as energy output, load fluctuation, retired power battery life defects and multi energy flow impact, MGs supply-demand balance model is built. Secondly, taking the economy of energy supply as the goal, a control method based on energy hub is proposed, which considers the weight of multi-objective optimization to control MGs. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed energy management method is verified by simulation analysis, which improves the power supply reliability and economy of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous research data have been obtained about the Sumdo Palaeo‐Tethys, but the reports on the occurrence of Permian Ocean islands are relatively scarce. Here, we present the zircon U–Pb geochronology, geochemistry, and in situ zircon Hf isotopic characteristics of the ocean island basalt (OIB)‐type gabbros from Ewulang in Nianqing‐Sumdo, Tibet. The zircon U–Pb age obtained from Ewulang OIB‐type gabbros is 263 Ma (the Middle Permian), representing the formation age of the gabbros. The geochemical characteristics of the samples show no contamination by crustal material. Meanwhile, all samples are enriched in light rare earths (LREEs) and large‐ionic lithophile elements (LILEs), which are similar to the typical OIB. In various geochemical discriminant diagrams, all samples fall into the fields of OIB and related tectonic settings, indicating that the rocks were formed in the oceanic island environment within the oceanic plate. Various geochemical indicators imply that the OIB‐type gabbros may originate from mantle plume and the in situ zircon εHf(t) values of Ewulang gabbros range from −0.34 to +4.30, suggesting that the magmas derived from an enriched mantle source. Combined with regional data and previous studies, this article further confirms that Sumdo Palaeo‐Tethys extends west to Nianqing‐Sumdo area and the Tangjia (Zhikong)‐Sumdo Palaeo‐Tethys was still an ocean basin with a certain scale during the Middle Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phase-locked loop (PLL) of a phase-shifting power supply for the power system is designed in this paper. Taking the industrial frequency current as the reference signal, the input and output characteristics of the phase-frequency detector with charge pump are analyzed. In addition, the transfer function of the PLL system is analyzed by combining the passive second-order low-pass filter and the voltage-controlled oscillator. As a result, the influence of parameters such as charge pump current, phase margin, and loop bandwidth on the performance of the PLL is investigated, and the optimal parameters of each section are obtained. The results show that the optimized PLL has a locking time of 0.75 s, a pull-out range of 63.16 Hz, and a locking range of 43.82 Hz, with high stability and noise immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gold-silver core-shell nanoparticles (Au@Ag NPs) were prepared by two successive reductions in a seed-growth method. The Au@Ag NPs are used as both a colorimetric and Raman spectroscopic probe for ultrasensitive determination of H2O2 and glucose. It is found that H2O2 (as produced from glucose by the action of glucose oxidase) can directly oxidize and gradually corrode the silver shell of the Au@Ag NPs. This results in a drop in the surface plasmon resonance absorbance at 400 nm, and the color of the solution changes from brownish yellow to purple. Without adding any additional chromogenic agents, the color change can be visually observed and detected photometrically. Silver NPs also are an excellent surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrate. Due to corrosion of the silver shell, the SERS intensity (measured at 1083 cm−1) gradually decreases with increasing glucose concentration. The detection limits are 300 nM of glucose for the colorimetric assays, and 20 nM for the SERS assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Sulfonic acid functionalized biochar with hydrophobic network and high-concentration sulfonic acid is obtained by diazonium reduction method. Highlights • A sulfonated biochar was prepared by diazo reduction grafting of amino-arenesulfonic acid. • The novel sulfonated biochar have a strong hydrophobic network and high acidity. • The hydrophobicity and acidity is increased with the length of arene. • The catalyst was active and stable for the esterification and transesterification reactions. • The catalyst was active and selective for alkylation of 2-methylfuran with cyclopentanone. Abstract Sulfonic acid functional strong acidic catalysts are largely used in various chemical reactions. However, in many reactions with water as product, the catalytic activity and selectivity are unsatisfactory, because hydrophilic acid sites of SO 3 H would suffer from acidity decreasing and some hydrolysis side reactions would occur via water adsorption. Herein, a novel hydrophobic arenesulfonic acid functionalized biochar was successfully prepared for the first time by one-pot diazo reduction method of biochar with amino-arenesulfonic acid (such as, 4-aminbenzenesulfonic acid, 4-amino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid, 8-amino-1-naphthalenesulfonic acid, 4-amino-3-hydroxy-1-naphthalenesulphonic acid). It has a large specific surface area of 200–400 m2/g, a hydrophobic network with water contact angle higher than 120° and a higher concentration of sulfonic acid over 1.0 mmol/g. Moreover, the hydrophobicity-oleophilicity and acidity are increased with the arene length and grafting amount of arenesulfonic acid. In the esterification reaction of fatty acid with methanol as well as the transesterification reaction of glycerol trioleate with methanol for the production of biodiesel, the sulfonated biochar shows a higher conversion of 96.7% for esterification and 86.3% for transesterification compared with amberlyst-15 (86.7%, 39.9%) and traditional sulfonation biochar-SO 3 H (27.4%, 32.6%). In the alkylation reaction of 2-methylfuran with cyclopentanone for the production of high-density biofuel, its catalytic efficiency with target product yield of 76.1% is higher than that of amberlyst-15 (50.2%) and traditional sulfonation biochar-SO 3 H (13.2%), because of its hydrophobicity and strong acidity. Furthermore, the catalyst is stable and shows an excellent cycle performance after 6 runs. The successful preparation of hydrophobic biochar-based acidic catalysts not only provides a new way for high-value utilization of biochar, but also eliminates the negative effect of water on many catalytic reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphic abstract This work presents a facile and efficient one-pot melting-assisted and solvent-free method to prepare low-cost N-rich polymer SFRH. Furthermore, the polymer derived N-enriched porous carbon could be used for highly selective mixed-gas separation, CO 2 storage and PSA. Highlight • Facile one-pot and solvent-free method to preparation. • N-doped porous carbons. • Outstanding gas mixture selectivity. • Excellent pressure/vacuum swing adsorption (P/VSA) working capacity. • 10-fold scaled up production. Abstract A facile one-pot melting-assisted and solvent-free method was successfully developed for the first time for preparing nitrogen-containing polymers. Followed by activation at temperatures ranging from 600 to 800 °C led to the formation of N-rich microporous carbons possessing narrow pore size distribution (ca. 0.5–3 nm), high specific surface area (ca. 1021.4–3657.0 m2 g−1), large pore volume (ca. 0.43–2.00 cm3 g−1) and high nitrogen content (ca. up to 5.11 wt%). Particularly, the porous carbons exhibited outstanding CO 2 adsorption capacity of 2.65 and 7.38 mmol g−1 at 273 K and 0.15 and 1 bar, respectively; meanwhile, it also exhibited extremely large CO 2 storage capacity of 22.06 mmol g−1 at 298 K and 20 bar. Moreover, the outstanding CO 2 /N 2 , CO 2 /CH 4 and CH 4 /N 2 selectivity up to 36.5, 6.9 and 5.1 at 298 K and 1 bar were achieved. The determinant factors on CO 2 capture at 0.15, 1 and 20 bar were carefully investigated. Furthermore, this method could be 10-fold scaled up to produce almost identical high-performance carbons. For real-world applications, pressure/vacuum swing adsorption (P/VSA) working capacity, gas-mixture transit breakthrough experiment, and recycle feasibility are evaluated. Thus, these novel materials are promising candidates for CO 2 capture from dilute gas mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aims: Gq protein-coupled receptors (GqPCRs) regulate various cellular processes including mainly proliferation and differentiation. In a previous study, we found that in prostate cancer cells, the GqPCR of GnRH induces apoptosis by reducing the PKC- dependent AKT activity and elevating JNK phosphorylation. Since it was thought that GqPCR induces mainly activation of AKT, we undertook to examine how general is this phenomenon and understand its signaling. Methods: We used various cells to follow the phosphorylation of signaling components using western blotting. Results: In a screen of 21 cell lines, we found that PKC activation results in the reduction of AKT activity, which correlates nicely to JNK activation and in some cases to apoptosis. To further understand the signaling pathways involved in this stimulation, we studied in detail the SVOG-4O and αT3-1 cells. We found that PGF2α and GnRH agonist (GnRH-a) indeed induce significant Gq- and PKC- dependent apoptosis in these cells. This is mediated by two signaling branches downstream of PKC, which converge at the level of MLK3 upstream of JNK. One branch consists on c-Src activation of the JNK cascade and the second involves reduction of AKT activity that alleviates its inhibitory effect on MLK3, to allow the flow of the c-Src signal to JNK. At the MAPKK level, we found that the signal is transmitted by MKK7 and not MKK4. Conclusion: Our results present a general mechanism that mediates a GqPCR-induced, death receptors-independent, apoptosis in physiological, as well as cancer-related systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration of higher alcohols in kiwifruit wine is often excessive, posing the risk of toxic effects on the health of drinkers. To lower the higher alcohol content in kiwifruit wine, this study tested five indigenous S. cerevisiae strains, two types of nitrogen sources (inorganic and organic), and five chaptalization methods. The results showed that the total higher alcohol production of three versions of resulting kiwifruit wines: (i) fermented by S. cerevisiae LFN524, (ii) adding 300 mg/L diammonium phosphate (DAP), using the Th-Tw-S chaptalization strategy, were decreased by 32%, 43%, and 26%, respectively. Integrating the above technologies, that is, fermentation by S. cerevisiae LFN524, the addition of 300 mg/L DAP, and use of Th-Tw-S chaptalization strategy, for pilot-scale kiwifruit wine production, showed a 52% reduction in total higher alcohol production (222.00 ± 24.91 mg/L) and a 14% reduction in total acidity production (13.32 ± 0.06 g/L). In pilot-scale kiwifruit wine, sensory analysis showed that with the reduction of higher alcohol content, the typical aromas of kiwifruit wine became more prominent, resulting in a purer aroma of kiwifruit wine. Taken together, the results of this research provide a viable means for producing lower-higher-alcohol kiwifruit wines. [Display omitted] • The primary higher alcohols in kiwifruit wine were isobutanol and isoamyl alcohol. • The higher alcohols content was reduced by 52% in the pilot-scale TG. • With a decrease in higher alcohol content, the typical flavors of kiwifruit wine did not weaken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to improve the conventional wire-guided localization biopsy (WGLB) of breast microcalcifications to overcome disadvantages associated with the procedure, including inaccurate localization and large specimen volume. The novel approach described in the present study was termed double wire-guided localization and rotary cutting biopsy (DWGLB). Prior to surgery, the precise localization of the lesions was assessed using two wires under the assistance of mammography X-ray and ultrasound, followed by complete excision of the lesions using a novel rotary cutting tool. The cylindrical specimen was placed on a scaled specimen holder for pathological examination. DWGLB was performed in 108 patients with the classification of as Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System score 4A. Percutaneous localization of the lesions guided by a mammography X-ray and ultrasound were successful in all 108 lesions (100%) with one puncture attempt. The lesions were precisely excised in all of 108 patients, and included 13 malignant lesions (DCIS of breast in 7 cases, DCIS with focal invasive carcinoma in 3 cases and invasive ductal carcinoma in 3 cases). The average distance of the BARD Dualok to the lesion was 4.1 mm; the average weight of specimens was 8.5 g. Compared with WGLB, DWGLB offers several advantages, including more accurate localization of lesions, a more standardized biopsy method and a smaller specimen volume. DWGLB can also provide the precise position of lesions in the specimen for further pathological examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radial tidal ridge system is present throughout the coastal waters of the southwestern Yellow Sea (China) with varied and complicated ridges and channels between them. A newly designed ground-wave high-frequency (HF radar), with full-coverage and high spatial-temporal resolution, was employed in this study to measure the surface currents and bathymetric features correlated wave celerity in the study area from July 17 to August 6, 2011. We found that the spatial distribution pattern of the tidal channels is generally stable with periodic adjustments during a spring-neap tidal cycle and with higher degree of spatial orderliness from neap to spring tides than from spring to neap tides; the nearshore part of the channels is most stable in lateral, the middle part is relatively lateral unstable, and the offshore part changes complicatedly; flood-dominated channels and ebb-dominated ridges are identified using HF radar signals. The horizontal Kelvin number ( K eh ) is workable in lateral stability evaluation. This study reveals the potential of HF radar in morphodynamic studies on shallow coastal waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we employed shore-based eddy covariance systems for a continuous measurement of the coastal CO 2 flux near the northwestern coast of Taiwan from 2011 to 2015. To ensure the validity of the analysis, the data was selected and filtered with a footprint model and an empirical mode decomposition method. The results indicate that the nearshore air–sea and air–land CO 2 fluxes exhibited a significant diurnal variability and a substantial day–night difference. The net air–sea CO 2 flux was −1.75 ± 0.98 μmol-C m −2 s −1 , whereas the net air–land CO 2 flux was 0.54 ± 7.35 μmol-C m −2 s −1 , which indicated that in northwestern Taiwan, the coastal water acts as a sink of atmospheric CO 2 but the coastal land acts as a source. The Random Forest Method was applied to hierarchize the influence of Chl-a, SST, DO, pH and U 10 on air-sea CO 2 fluxes. The result suggests that the strength of the diurnal air-sea CO 2 flux is strongly influenced by the local wind speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two monosubstituted diiron complexes, namely (µ-SCH2CH2CH2S-µ)Fe2(CO)5L (L = P(2-C4H3O)3, 2; Ph2PCH2CH2CH3, 3), have been prepared by the carbonyl substitution of the parent complex (µ-SCH2CH2CH2S-µ)Fe2(CO)6 (1) with the corresponding monophosphine ligands in the presence of Me3NO·2H2O. The new complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple, sensitive, reliable method was developed for the simultaneous determination of organochlorine and pyrethriod pesticide residues in Chinese patent medicines Six ingredient rehmannia pills and Xiaoyao pills. These pesticides were extracted by ethyl acetate. The extraction time and volume of ethyl acetate were optimized. Cleanup of extracts was performed with dispersive-solid phase extraction using graphitized carbon black as the sorbent. The determination of pesticides in the final extracts was carried out by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry in multiple reaction monitoring mode (GC-MS/MS, MRM). The linearity of the calibration curves is good in matrix-matched standard and yields the coefficients of determination (R²) ≥0.99 for all of the target analytes. Under optimized conditions, the average recoveries (five replicates) for most pesticides range from 75.5% to 114.6%, and RSDs are less than 10.0%. The LODs of 18 pesticides in Six ingredient rehmannia pill and Xiaoyao pills are in the range of 0.01-8.82 mg kg-1. The developed method meets the requirements of pesticide residue analysis and could be effectively used for routine analysis of the organochlorine and pyrethriod pesticide residues in Six ingredient rehmannia pills and Xiaoyao pills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The aim of this study was to explore the prognostic value of copeptin for predicting all-cause mortality in heart failure (HF). Methods PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases were systematically searched to identify if a 2 × 2 contingency table could be constructed based on both the copeptin level and the all-cause mortality in patients diagnosed with HF. The characteristics of test performance were summarized using forest plots and summary receiver operating characteristic curves (SROC). Q-test and I 2 index were used to evaluate heterogeneity. Results Ten prospective cohort studies comprising 4473 patients were eligible in this meta-analysis. An elevated copeptin level was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality in HF patients (Relative risk (RR) was 2.64 (95% CI, 2.09–3.32)). The pooled sensitivity (SEN) and specificity (SPE) of copeptin were 0.57 (95% CI, 0.50–0.63) and 0.74 (95% CI, 0.69–0.79), respectively. The positive likelihood ratio was 2.2 (95% CI, 1.90–2.60) and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.58 (95% CI, 0.52–0.66). Furthermore, the summary Diagnostic Odds Ratio (DOR) was 4.00 (95% CI, 3.00–5.00) and the AUC was 0.70 (95% CI, 0.66–0.74) similar to the AUC of NT-proBNP 0.71 (95% CI, 0.67–0.75). Conclusions Elevated levels of copeptin are associated with all-cause mortality in HF patients. The predictive value of copeptin is comparable with NT-proBNP for all-cause mortality in HF patients. Further studies are warranted to explore the prognostic value of copeptin in conjunction with other biomarkers and to determine an optimal cut-off level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study information transfer routes among cross-industry and cross-region electricity consumption data based on transfer entropy and the MST (Minimum Spanning Tree) model. First, we characterize the information transfer routes with transfer entropy matrixes, and find that the total entropy transfer of the relatively developed Guangdong Province is lower than others, with significant industrial cluster within the province. Furthermore, using a reshuffling method, we find that driven industries contain much more information flows than driving industries, and are more influential on the degree of order of regional industries. Finally, based on the Chu-Liu-Edmonds MST algorithm, we extract the minimum spanning trees of provincial industries. Individual MSTs show that the MSTs follow a chain-like formation in developed provinces and star-like structures in developing provinces. Additionally, all MSTs with the root of minimal information outflow industrial sector are of chain-form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Chaptalisation is commonly used to ameliorate the potential alcohol of kiwi wine prior to fermentation. It can be performed either by one‐time sugaring or via multiple supplementations of sugar. However, for both approaches, their precise effects on chemical composition of kiwi wine are unclear. Thus, this study evaluated the influence of five different multi‐step chaptalisation strategies on physicochemical parameters, potentially harmful alcohols, nutritional composition and volatile compounds of kiwi wine. Results show that multi‐step chaptalisation significantly reduced total acidity and harmful alcohols of the resulting kiwi wine. Among the harmful alcohols, the greatest reduction was seen for isoamyl alcohol and isobutanol. Additionally, multi‐step chaptalisation also modified volatile profile of the kiwi wine, particularly in acetate esters (isoamyl acetate and phenethyl acetate), ethyl esters, n‐octanal and decanal. Together, our results highlight the potential of using multi‐step chaptalisation to produce 'healthier' kiwi wines with more balanced alcohol and more complexed flavour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to summarize the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of carcinoma showing thymus-like differentiation of the thyroid (CASTLE). A search of the relevant literature was conducted, which identified 82 cases of CASTLE reported to date. A review of the clinical and auxiliary examination data, treatment, pathological findings and follow-up of these cases was performed. The clinical manifestations of CASTLE varied and did not demonstrate specificity. During ultrasound examination, CASTLE was described as a solid and hypoechoic mass, and the echo was typically observed to be heterogeneous. In computed tomography (CT), CASTLE was demonstrated to be a well-defined, soft tissue density mass without calcification, which appeared enhanced following administration of contrast medium. In emission CT, CASTLE was revealed as a 'cold nodule'. A total of 78 patients underwent radical surgery, and 12 patients experienced recurrence. Lymph node metastasis did not promote recurrence, and postoperative radiation was not able to reduce the recurrence rate (P=0.144 and 1.000, respectively). The median follow-up time was 14 months (range, 1-312 months). Typical immunohistochemical examinations demonstrated the specimens to be positive for cluster of differentiation (CD)5, CD117, cytokeratin 19, epithelial membrane antigen and tumor protein 63, and negative for calcitonin, thyroglobulin and thyroid transcription factor-1. Thyroid CASTLE is a rare malignancy whose exact diagnosis relies on pathological examination, particularly immunohistochemistry, since preoperative examinations are usually unable to provide an exact diagnosis. Radical resection is the primary treatment for CASTLE, which presents favorable prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

RATIONALE The pivotal challenge associated with miniature mass analyzers is their proper design and construction without sacrificing performance. In order to analyze and improve the performance of a miniature linear ion trap with odd and even multipole fields, we designed a novel asymmetrical arc-shaped electrode ion trap (AAEIT), and tested the properties of AAEITs with different dimensions. METHODS A series of asymmetrical ion traps using arc-shaped electrodes were designed to optimize the properties (resolutions and intensity) of the coupling effects between odd and even multipole fields. Using arginine and reserpine, we evaluated the performance of mass resolution, ion intensity ratio and deduced the collision-induced dissociation (CID) efficiency using a self-constructed electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) platform. RESULTS An AAEIT with field radius dimensions of 5 mm × 5.75 mm exhibits a good performance: its maximum resolution of 833 (FWHM) at m/z 175 was achieved for the side of small electrode. With this AAEIT, a tandem mass (MS/MS) capability with 91.0% CID efficiency was obtained with reserpine ( m/z 609). CONCLUSIONS The results indicated that the AAEIT, comprising both odd and even multipole fields, could act as a qualified linear ion trap mass analyzer with compact structure, high resolution, and high tandem mass analysis efficiency. It has a great potential in miniature mass spectrometry. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has been shown that many complex networks share self-similar properties. To reveal the ubiquitous characteristics that many real networks may have in common, we first improve the box covering algorithm and use it to measure several real industrial competition networks. As a result, we find that some real industrial competition networks illustrate the fractal properties. As the improved box covering algorithm could not reflect the structure characteristic of the industrial competitive network efficiently, and the scale of the network namely the average length path is not enough for quantifying the fractal properties, we use the clustering coef-ficient as the scale measure index and present a systematic analysis of some real industrial competition networks from the perspective of multifractal features. We find that many real industrial competition networks can also be characterized by the multifractal features. Finally, with a motif-hierarchical model, we simulate how the fractal structure of the industrial net-works may be formed, and to some extent verify that the disassortative process is an important self-organizing mechanism in industry system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Magnetic dendrites of CoPb were fabricated through potentiostatic electrochemical deposition on Cu substrates in boric acid solution at room temperature. The as-deposited dendrites were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electrodeposition (ED), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). SEM results indicate that the CoPb dendrites are highly symmetrical in structures. The diameters of the branches are about 50 ~ 200 nm, and the backbones are continuous with lengths up to about 10 μm. XRD patterns show that the as-deposited dendrites are solid solutions. The annealing treatment can result in the recrystallization of these metastable alloys into two separate phases. TEM, ED, and EDS results also reveal that the backbones and the branches of the dendrites are composed of different amounts of cobalt. Magnetic measurements confirm that the as-deposited CoPb dendrites have a softly ferromagnetic behavior, and a small coercive force (about 80 Oe). Also the saturation magnetizations of the CoPb dendrites decrease rapidly with the temperature increasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An effective method has been developed for quantitative determination of six bile acids including lithocholic acid (LCA), deoxycholic acid (DCA), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), hydodeoxycholic acid (HDCA), cholic acid (CA) and ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in biological tissues including pig liver, pig kidney and bovine liver by gas chromatography-chemical ionization/tandem mass spectrometry (GC-CI/MS/MS). Camphor-10-sulphonic acid (CSA) was proposed as effective catalyst for bile acid derivatization. Reactions were accelerated ultrasonically. The effects of different catalysts and reaction times on derivatization efficiency were evaluated and optimized. Bile acids were determined as methyl ester-trimethylsilyl ether and methyl ester-acetate derivatives. The efficiency of trimethylsilylation and acetylation was evaluated. Trimethylsilylation was done with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA) as the trimethylsilyl donating reagent in a ultrasonic bath for 20min. Acetylation was done in pyridine with acetic anhydride at 40–45°C for 4h. The former reaction was faster than the latter. Thus, trimethylsilylation was employed for the quantitative analysis. Negligible interferences from sterols in biological matrices were observed when the biological samples were treated with solid phase extraction before GC-CI/MS/MS. The linearity, reproducibility, detection limit and recovery were evaluated under the optimized conditions. Satisfactory results were obtained when bile acid derivatives of LCA, CDCA, HDCA, and UDCA were determined with total ion chromatograms (TIC) while DCA and CA were determined with extracted ion chromatograms (EIC), respectively. The detection limits (S/N =3) for six bile acids in biological tissues were ranging from 0.40 to 1.6ng/mL and the recoveries indicated that the proposed method was feasible for the determination of trace bile acids in the biological samples studied. The experimental results for the animal tissues purchased from five different markets were compared. Interestingly, all of the six bile acids were present in pig liver while only the dihydroxy bile acids, DCA, CDCA and HDCA were found in pig kidney. In addition to DCA and CDCA, trihydroxy bile acid, CA, are the major bile acids in bovine liver. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The ERK5 cascade is a MAPK pathway that transmits both mitogenic and stress signals, yet its mechanism of activation is not fully understood. Using intracellular calcium modifiers, we found that ERK5 activation by EGF is inhibited both by the depletion and elevation of intracellular calcium levels. This calcium effect was found to occur upstream of MEKK2, which is the MAP3K of the ERK5 cascade. Co-immunoprecipitation revealed that EGF increases MEKK2 binding to the adaptor protein Lad1, and this interaction was reduced by the intracellular calcium modifiers, indicating that a proper calcium concentration is required for the interactions and transmission of EGF signals to ERK5. In vitro binding assays revealed that the proper calcium concentration is required for a direct binding of MEKK2 to Lad1. The binding of these proteins is not affected by c- Src-mediated phosphorylation on Lad1, but slightly affects the Tyr phosphorylation of MEKK2, suggesting that the interaction with Lad1 is necessary for full Tyr phosphorylation of MEKK2. In addition, we found that changes in calcium levels affect the EGF-induced nuclear translocation of MEKK2 and thereby its effect on the nuclear ERK5 activity. Taken together, these findings suggest that calcium is required for EGF-induced ERK5 activation, and this effect is probably mediated by securing proper interaction of MEKK2 with the upstream adaptor protein Lad1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human family of MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) signal-integrating kinases (Mnks) comprises four related proteins derived from two genes by alternative splicing. The MNK1 gene gives rise to two proteins, Mnk1a and Mnk1b, which possess distinct C-termini and properties. Despite lacking the C-terminal MAPK-binding site, Mnk1b shows higher basal activity than Mnk1a. In contrast, the activity of Mnk1a is tightly regulated by signalling through ERK (extracellular-signal-regulated kinase) and p38 MAPK. We show that the short C-terminus of Mnk1b confers on it a ‘default’ behaviour of substantial, but unregulated, activity. In contrast, the longer C-terminus of Mnk1a represses the basal activity and T (activation)-loop phosphorylation of this isoenzyme while allowing both properties to be stimulated by upstream MAPK signalling. Two features of the C-terminus of Mnk1a appear to account for this behaviour: the known MAPK-binding site and a region (predicted to be α-helical) which occludes access to the catalytic domain and the T-loop. The activation of Mnk1a results in a marked conformational change leading to a more ‘open’ structure. We also identified a conserved phenylalanine residue in an Mnk-specific insert as playing a key role in governing the ease with which Mnk1a can be phosphorylated. These studies help to identify the features that give rise to the diverse properties of human Mnk isoforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extracellular signal-regulated kinase cascade is a central signaling pathway that is stimulated by various extracellular stimuli. The signals of these stimuli are then transferred by the cascade's components to a large number of targets at distinct subcellular compartments, which in turn induce and regulate a large number of cellular processes. To achieve these functions, the cascade exhibits versatile and dynamic subcellular distribution that allows proper temporal and spatial modulation of the appropriate processes. In this review, we discuss the intracellular localizations of different components of the ERK cascade, and the impact of these localizations on their activation and specificity. © 2009 International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To investigate genes with essential functions during hyphal growth or sporulation in the asexual filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei, we screened a collection of T-DNA insertion mutants and identified the genomic integration events. Two mutants with abnormal phenotypes, named as ccdO and ccdP, were found to have independent T-DNA insertions into a putative TrCCD1 gene locus, the product of which has significant homology to carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs). Compared to the parental strain, both mutants tended to produce slow-growing hyphae and had a more than 50% reduction in colony growth rate. Simultaneously, the hyphae of the growing mutants formed wilting tip while the parental strain elongated straightly. To the effect of the TrCCD1 mutation on the conidiospore development, less spores were formed in the mutants than in the parental strain. In addition, disruption of TrCCD1 resulted in another phenotype characterized by a remarkable enhancement in the total carotenoid content. When the wild-type TrCCD1 gene was reintroduced into the ccd mutants, the abnormal phenotypes were rescued. These results suggest that TrCCD1 is involved in carotenoid metabolism and likely required for hyphal growth and conidiospore development in filamentous fungi T. reesei. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A reliable method was established for the determination of tin in pure copper by flow-injection hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. The determination of tin in pure copper often suffers from interference from the copper matrix. In this work, cupferron was used as a chelating reagent to separate the copper from the tin. At pH 3.0. copper ion could form stable cupferron complex and could be removed from sample solution by chloroform extraction without loss of tin. After most of the chloroform dissolved in the aqueous solution had been removed, tin could be determined at 224.6 nm with the optimized conditions of 1.0% HCl as carrier solution and 0.8% m/v NaBH4 as reductant. A pure copper standard reference material. SRM 396 unalloyed copper, was analyzed with the proposed method. A calibration curve was obtained with a linear range of 1∼13 µgL-1 and a detection limit of 0.25 µgL-1. The experimental results obtained for certified values were 0.76 ± 0.3 and 0.8 ± 0.03 µgg-1, respectively. A recovery of 93.7 ± 2.6% (n = 5) was obtained. This established that the method was applicable to the determination of tin in pure copper with good accuracy and precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One pot synthesis of 2,5‐dimethylfuran (2,5‐DMF) from saccharides under mild conditions is of importance for the production of biofuel and fine chemicals. However, the synthesis requires a multitude of active sites and suffers from slow kinetics due to poor diffusion in most composite catalysts. Herein, a metal‐acid functionalized 2D metal‐organic framework (MOF; Pd/NUS‐SO3H), as an ultrathin nanosheet of 3–4 nm with Lewis acid, Brønsted acid, and metal active sites, was prepared based on the diazo method for acid modification and subsequent metal loading. This new composite catalyst gives substantially higher yields of DMF than all reported catalysts for different saccharides (fructose, glucose, cellobiose, sucrose, and inulins). Characterization suggests that a cascade of reactions including polysaccharide hydrolysis, isomerization, dehydration, and hydrodeoxygenation takes place with rapid molecular interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One pot synthesis of 2,5‐dimethylfuran (2,5‐DMF) from saccharides under mild conditions is of importance for the production of biofuel and fine chemicals. However, the synthesis requires a multitude of active sites and suffers from slow kinetics due to poor diffusion in most composite catalysts. Herein, a metal‐acid functionalized 2D metal‐organic framework (MOF; Pd/NUS‐SO3H), as an ultrathin nanosheet of 3–4 nm with Lewis acid, Brønsted acid, and metal active sites, was prepared based on the diazo method for acid modification and subsequent metal loading. This new composite catalyst gives substantially higher yields of DMF than all reported catalysts for different saccharides (fructose, glucose, cellobiose, sucrose, and inulins). Characterization suggests that a cascade of reactions including polysaccharide hydrolysis, isomerization, dehydration, and hydrodeoxygenation takes place with rapid molecular interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In crustaceans, especially economic shrimp and crabs, autotomy significantly affects the survival rate and growth performance. At present, the molecular mechanism of the limb regeneration process of economic crustaceans is rarely studied. In this study, we used the pressure method to remove the pereopods of Exopalaemon carinicauda and recorded the regeneration process in detail. Moreover, regenerated pereopod tissue was sliced and stained with H.E. Microscopic observations revealed significant changes in the type and number of associated cells including outer epithelial cells, granulocytes, embryonic cells, and so on. This study performed a comparative transcriptome analysis of samples from different stages of limb regeneration and identified multiple differentially expressed genes that may be associated with crustacean growth or molting. The sequence and expression characteristics of the innexin gene were analyzed. Our study explored the morphological and molecular changes during limb regeneration of E. carinicauda, and laid a foundation for further research on molecular regulatory mechanisms. With the increase in breeding density of Exopalaemon carinicauda, appendage breakage may occur, which seriously affects survival and economic benefits. To study the limb regeneration process of E. carinicauda, we induced autotomy of the pereopods. After a period of time, wound swelling disappeared, the pigment gradually accumulated, and a tawny film subsequently formed in the wound. The healing period of the wound occurred 24 h after autotomy, and the blastema formation stage occurred 48 h after autotomy. After 4 days of cutting, the limb buds began to differentiate, grow, and expand rapidly, and this process lasted approximately 15 days. Microscopic observations revealed significant changes in the type and number of associated cells including outer epithelial cells, granulocytes, embryonic cells, columnar epidermal cells, elongated cells, and blastoma cells, during the process from limb fracture to regeneration. A comparative transcriptome analysis identified 1415 genes differentially expressed between the J0h (0 h post autotomy) and J18h (18 h post autotomy), and 3952 and 4366 differentially expressed genes for J0 and J14d (14 days post autotomy) and J18h and J14d, respectively. Some of these genes may be related to muscle growth or molting, as indicated by the presence of troponin C, chitinase, actin, innexin, and cathepsin L. As a functional gene involved in epidermal formation, the mRNA expression level of the innexin inx2 in the pereopod of E. carinicauda changed significantly in the experimental groups (p < 0.05). The results of this study contribute to existing knowledge of regeneration mechanisms in crustaceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce drowning fatalities and health damage during recreational activities in coastal waters, this paper proposes a dynamic risk management system. Based on the operational definition of risk management, potential risks of coastal recreational activities are first identified as surfzone hydrodynamic and water quality. The safety criteria for each factor are discussed accordingly. The depth-velocity product is adopted to evaluate hydrodynamic safety. Salinity is adopted as a proxy indicator, which could be monitored in real-time, of Escherichia coli colonies in order to avoid the 18–24 h delay for cultivation. Then, technologies for surfzone hydrodynamic and water quality monitoring are developed and implemented as the basis for real-time risk assessment. This system is tested on the north-western coast of Taiwan. The results are discussed as a case study. The results from drifter cluster and miniature wave buoy for mapping the current and waves demonstrates a rotating eddy induced by tidal current. The range of safe water areas could be clearly marked. By applying this dynamic risk management system for coastal recreational activities, an early alert can be provided with the hope to reduce drowning. • A dynamic risk management system was proposed to give an early alert. • Salinity is proved as a proxy indicator of Escherichia coli colonies. • Low-cost drifter and mini wave buoy are developed for the surfzone measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Some studies have reported that the prognosis of total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) for early‐stage cervical cancer (CC) is worse than that of open surgery. And this was associated with the use of uterine manipulator or not. Therefore, this study retrospectively analyzes the efficacy and safety of TLH without uterine manipulator combined with pelvic lymphadenectomy for early‐stage CC. Methods: Fifty‐eight patients with CC (stage IB1‐IIA1) who received radical hysterectomy from September 2019 to January 2020 were divided into no uterine manipulator (n = 26) and uterine manipulator group (n = 32). Then, clinical characteristics were collected and intraoperative/postoperative related indicators were compared. Results: Patients in the no uterine manipulator group had significantly higher operation time and blood loss than in the uterine manipulator group. Notably, there was no significant difference in hemoglobin change, blood transfusion rate, number of pelvic nodules, anal exhaust time, complications and recurrence rate between the two groups. Additionally, patients in the uterine manipulator group were prone to urinary retention (15.6%) and lymphocyst (12.5%), while the no uterine manipulator group exhibited high probability of bladder dysfunction (23.1%) and urinary retention (15.4%). Furthermore, the 1‐year disease‐free survival rate and the 1‐year overall survival rate were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in the efficacy and safety of TLH with or without uterine manipulator combined with pelvic lymphadenectomy in the treatment of patients with early‐stage CC. However, the latter requires consideration of the negative effects of high operation time and blood loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ELMO3 is a member of the engulfment and cell motility (ELMO) protein family, which plays a vital role in the process of chemotaxis and metastasis of tumor cells. However, remarkably little is known about the role of ELMO3 in cancer. The present study was conducted to investigate the function and role of ELMO3 in gastric cancer (GC) progression. The expression level of ELMO3 in gastric cancer tissues and cell lines was measured by means of real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and Western blot analysis. RNA interference was used to inhibit ELMO3 expression in gastric cancer cells. Then, wound-healing assays, Transwell assays, MTS assays, flow cytometry, and fluorescence microscopy were applied to detect cancer cell migration, cell invasion, cell proliferation, the cell cycle, and F-actin polymerization, respectively. The results revealed that ELMO3 expression in GC tumor tissues was significantly higher than in the paired adjacent tissues. Moreover, knockdown of ELMO3 by a specific siRNA significantly inhibited the processes of cell proliferation, invasion, metastasis, regulation of the cell cycle, and F-actin polymerization. Collectively, the results indicate that ELMO3 participates in the processes of cell growth, invasion, and migration, and ELMO3 is expected to be a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker for GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A certain class of photonic crystals with conical dispersion is known to behave as isotropic zero-refractive-index medium. However, the discrete building blocks in such photonic crystals are limited to construct multidirectional devices, even for high-symmetric photonic crystals. Here, we show multidirectional emission from low-symmetric photonic crystals with semi-Dirac dispersion at the zone center. We demonstrate that such low-symmetric photonic crystal can be considered as an effective anisotropic zero-refractive-index medium, as long as there is only one propagation mode near Dirac frequency. Four kinds of Dirac multidirectional emitters are achieved with the channel numbers of five, seven, eleven, and thirteen, respectively. Spatial power combination for such kind of Dirac directional emitter is also verified even when multiple sources are randomly placed in the anisotropic zero-refractive-index photonic crystal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to 3,5-disubstituted 2-aminopyridines the 4,6-substituted isomers are isolated in trace to significant amounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat flux sensors composed of inclined epitaxial La1−xCaxMnO3 (LCMO) films have been fabricated on c-axis miscut SrTiO3 (001) single crystal substrates. Based on the transverse thermoelectric (TTE) effect originated from the anisotropic Seebeck coefficient between ab-plane and c-axis of LCMO films, the obvious response voltages perpendicular to the temperature gradient are detected, and their amplitudes show good linearity with heat fluxes. The sensitivities of heat flux sensors are 8.64, 11.88, 12.66, and 14.25 μV/(kW/m2) for LCMO films with inclined 12°, 18°, 20°, and 24°, respectively. Additionally, the response frequency of the sensor reaches ∼300 kHz at −3 dB, which is comparable with the reported TTE heat flux sensors composed of YBa2Cu3O7-δ. The above results demonstrate the potential of the LCMO-based TTE heat flux sensors in high-frequency heat flux measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) internalization involves invasion of cells by the bacterium. Several studies have shown that H. pylori can invade human gastric epithelial cells, immune cells, and Candida yeast in vivo and in vitro. Whether bacterial invasion plays a role in eradication failure is unclear. Aim To investigate the relationship between H. pylori invasion of GES-1 cells and H. pylori eradication failure. Materials and Methods Forty-two clinical strains isolated from H. pylori-positive patients with different outcomes after treatment with furazolidone-based therapy were examined (17 failures and 25 successes). The H. pylori strains were shown to be susceptible to amoxicillin and furazolidone, and the patients also exhibited good compliance. Genotyping was performed for cagA and vacA (s and m). The antibiotic susceptibility of the strains to amoxicillin, furazolidone, clarithromycin, metronidazole, and levofloxacin was determined by E-tests. The levels of H. pylori invasion of GES-1 cells were detected by gentamicin colony-forming unit assays. Results The internalization level in the eradication success group was 5.40±5.78 × 10−3 cfu/cell, and the median was 6.194 × 10−3 cfu/cell; the internalization level in the eradication failure group was 8.98±5.40 × 10−3 cfu/cell, and the median was 10.28 × 10−3 cfu/cell. The eradication failure group showed a greater invasion level than the eradication success group ( P<.05). No significant difference was observed between the susceptible strains and the resistant strains when the internalization levels were compared ( P>.05). Conclusions The results showed that H. pylori invasion of the gastric epithelia might play a role in eradication failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Determining the age at death of females by skeletal features is extremely difficult and important, both in forensics and in physical anthropology. Our previous study of male pubic symphysis suggests that the indicators of morphological changes provide the best results for personal age identification. The indicators that help deduce of the age of females was approximately the same as males except for two specific indicators, which are bone density of the symphysial surface and viz. Viz are ridges and furrows on the symphysial surface, ossific nodules, lower extremities, ventral and ridge of the rampart, dorsal margin, ventral beveling and general macroscopic changes on the symphysial surface. Samples were drawn from 338 female individuals. The study procedures are as follows: Firstly, we examined the morphological features of pubic symphysis using the criteria similar to Hanihara''s, Gilbert–McKern and Suchey–Brooks''s methods. Secondly, we evaluated each stage with an appropriate score. Thirdly, we deduced four equations to assess the morphological features of the ages of females by statistic analysis. The results were discussed by comparing with Hanihara''s, Gilbert–McKern and Suchey–Brooks''s methods. The results were consistent and the developing methods for determining the age of death of females were produced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: To evaluate the value of preoperative CT energy spectrum imaging in detecting lymph node metastasis of colorectal cancer. Methods: From September 2019 to November 2021, a retrospective study was performed for the eighty-two patients with colorectal cancer through preoperative colonoscopy or surgical pathology confirmed in our hospital. Based on the lymph node metastasis status, these cases were divided into the metastasis and non-metastasis groups. GE Revolution CT scanner was used to scan the patients with energy spectrum imaging, it measured and recorded the single-energy CT values from 40 to 140 keV and various energy spectrum parameters of lymph nodes around the lesions in the arterial and venous phases, and statistically analyze the above indices. Results: In the arterial and venous phases: the single-energy CT values of 40–140 keV in the non-metastatic group were higher than those in the metastatic group (all P < 0.05); the parameter values of IC (iodine concentration), NIC (normalized iodine concentration), λ (the slope of the energy spectrum curve), and Eff-Z (effective-Z) in the non-metastatic group were higher than those in the metastatic group (all P < 0.05). Further evaluation of ROC curve showed that the higher AUC (area under curve) of the single-energy CT value of 50 keV in the arterial phase was 0.889, among the energy spectrum parameters of IC, NIC, λ, and Eff-Z, the NIC had the better diagnostic efficiency and the AUC of the NIC was 0.873, the highest AUC of the combination of NIC and λ was 0.885 when the energy spectrum parameters were combined. The higher AUC of the single-energy CT value of 60 keV in the venous phase was 0.853, among the energy spectrum parameters of IC, NIC, λ, and Eff-Z, the λ had the better diagnostic efficiency and the AUC of the λ was 0.822, the higher AUC of the combination of NIC, λ, and Eff-Z was 0.840 when the energy spectra were combined. Conclusions: Parameters of energy spectrum CT imaging can effectively evaluate whether lymph nodes have metastases, and provide favorable imaging diagnosis basis for the range and the number of lymph nodes to be cleaned during clinical operation and can evaluate the prognosis of patients. It is worthy of clinical recommendation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mutations of SARS-CoV-2 strains were mainly located in eight viral genes among three groups. • The negative conversion time (NCT) of the WT and delta groups was significantly longer than the omicron group. • NCT was significantly negatively correlated with the frequencies of five mutations in omicron variants. Previous studies on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have focused on factors that influence the achievement of negative conversion of viral RNA. This study aimed to investigate the effects of the genetic mutations in different SARS-CoV-2 strains on the negative conversion time (NCT) among imported cases in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, in order to provide valuable insights for developing targeted epidemic prevention guidelines. This retrospective study involved 146 imported SARS-CoV-2 cases in Hangzhou from 8 April 2021 to 11 June 2022. We compared the SARS-CoV-2-specific indicators, clinical indexes, and NCT among the wild-type (WT), Delta, and Omicron groups. Spearman correlation analysis was used to identify the correlations of NCT with mutation types/frequencies. The mean age of the imported cases was 35.3 (SD: 12.3) years, with 71.92 % males and 28.08 % females. The mean cycle threshold (Ct) values of open reading frame 1ab (ORF1ab) and nucleocapsid (N) RNA were 25.17 (SD: 6.44) and 23.4 (SD: 6.76), respectively. The mutations of SARS-CoV-2 strains were mainly located in N, membrane (M), spike (S), ORF1a, ORF1b, ORF3a, ORF6, and ORF9b genes among the WT, Delta, and Omicron groups. NCT was significantly prolonged in the WT and Delta groups compared to the Omicron group. T lymphocyte, white blood cell, eosinophil, and basophil counts were dramatically higher in the WT group than the Delta group. White blood cell, red blood cell, and basophil counts were significantly lower in the Delta group than the Omicron group. Spearman correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between the NCT of viral RNA and mutation types of viral genes of WT and Omicron strains. Additionally, NCT was markedly negatively correlated with the frequencies of five mutations in Omicron strains (ORF1b:P1223L, ORF1b:R1315C, ORF1b:T2163I, ORF3a:T223I, and ORF6:D61L). This study indicates that five mutations in Omicron strains (ORF1b:P1223L/R1315C/T2163I, ORF3a:T223I and ORF6:D61L) shortened NCT in imported SARS-CoV-2 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a new fluorescent method for sensitive detection of pyrophosphate anion (P 2 O 7 4− , PPi) in the synovial fluid was developed using fluorophore labeled single-stranded DNA-attached Fe 3 O 4 NPs. The sensing approach is based on the strong affinity of PPi to Fe 3 O 4 NPs and highly efficient fluorescent quenching ability of Fe 3 O 4 NPs for fluorophore labeled single-stranded DNA. In the presence of PPi, the fluorescence would enhance dramatically due to desorption of fluorophore labeled single-stranded DNA from the surface of Fe 3 O 4 NPs, which allowed the analysis of PPi in a very simple manner. The proposed sensing system allows for the sensitive determination of PPi in the range of 2.0×10 −7 –4×10 −6 M with a detection limit of 76 nM. Importantly, the protocol exhibits excellent selectivity for the determination of PPi over other phosphate-containing compounds. The method was successfully applied to the determination of PPi in the synovial fluid, which suggests our proposed method has great potential for diagnostic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emergency incidents, including natural disasters, terrorist attacks, public health outbreaks, and industrial and mining accidents, and so forth, result in severe human casualties and property losses. Emergency facilities, which provide relief materials and services, play an important role in rescue management. The decision of where to locate the emergency rescue facilities is very important, as it determines the efficiency and effectiveness of the emergency management process. This paper develops a modified p-median problem model that accounts for rescue time limitations. A variable neighbourhood search- (VNS-) based algorithm is developed for the model considered. Themodified VNS algorithmexhibits good performance on p-median benchmark problems. A case from Western China is studied, and a reasonable location decision is then made for emergency rescue facilities using the modified VNS algorithm. The paper also compares the results with and without considering the rescue time limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, neuronal current MRI (nc-MRI) was proposed as a new imaging method to directly map the magnetic field change caused by neuronal activity. Nc-MRI could offer improved spatial and temporal resolution compared to blood hemodynamics-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In this paper, with a finite current dipole as the model of dendrite or dendrite branch, we investigated the spatial distribution of the magnetic field generated by synchronously activated neurons to evaluate the possibility of nc-MRI. Our simulations imply that the existence of a dendrite branch may not only increase the strength of the neuronal magnetic field (NMF), but also raise the non-uniform and unsymmetry of the NMF; therefore, it can enhance the detectability of the neuronal current magnetic field by MRI directly. The results show that the signal phase shift is enlarged, but it is unstable and is still very small, [?]1 radian, while the magnitude signal may be strong enough for a typical MRI voxel to be detected. We suggest making further efforts to measure the magnitude signal which may induce a large effect in an nc-MRI experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is growing interest in the relation between the brain and music. The appealing similarity between brainwaves and the rhythms of music has motivated many scientists to seek a connection between them. A variety of transferring rules has been utilized to convert the brainwaves into music; and most of them are mainly based on spectra feature of EEG. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study, audibly recognizable scale-free music was deduced from individual Electroencephalogram (EEG) waveforms. The translation rules include the direct mapping from the period of an EEG waveform to the duration of a note, the logarithmic mapping of the change of average power of EEG to music intensity according to the Fechner's law, and a scale-free based mapping from the amplitude of EEG to music pitch according to the power law. To show the actual effect, we applied the deduced sonification rules to EEG segments recorded during rapid-eye movement sleep (REM) and slow-wave sleep (SWS). The resulting music is vivid and different between the two mental states; the melody during REM sleep sounds fast and lively, whereas that in SWS sleep is slow and tranquil. 60 volunteers evaluated 25 music pieces, 10 from REM, 10 from SWS and 5 from white noise (WN), 74.3% experienced a happy emotion from REM and felt boring and drowsy when listening to SWS, and the average accuracy for all the music pieces identification is 86.8%(k = 0.800, P<0.001). We also applied the method to the EEG data from eyes closed, eyes open and epileptic EEG, and the results showed these mental states can be identified by listeners. Conclusions/Significance: The sonification rules may identify the mental states of the brain, which provide a real-time strategy for monitoring brain activities and are potentially useful to neurofeedback therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report here a facile and efficient synthesis route for the preparation of symmetrical PbTe dendritic structures consisted of orderly and regular particles via electrochemical deposition without any templates. The electrochemical reactions relevant to the growth of PbTe intermetallic compounds were studied by cyclic voltammetry, and the formation mechanism of PbTe dendritic structures was investigated. The electrode potential oscillation was relevant to the formation of the PbTe dendrites. The sizes of the particles in dendritic structures were tunable from 100 to 500 nm and the shapes could be controlled to be either starlike or trigonal. These prepared PbTe dendrites were characterized by SEM, EDS, XRD, HRTEM, and SAED, respectively. The DSC analyses were conducted to study the thermal properties of the prepared PbTe dendritic structures. The high transmittance of the PbTe dendritic structures between 500 and 4000 nm were observed, and the band gap energy of the prepared PbTe was calculated about 0.272 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]