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Toward turbulent skin-friction drag reduction, a novel layout of plasma actuator with a grid anode is devised (grid edge length: L), capable of producing an array of wall-normal plasma jets. The characteristics of this plasma jet array and its interaction with a turbulent boundary layer are investigated experimentally with a particle imaging velocimetry. Results show that the quiescent flow field of the plasma actuator is dominated by a standing vortex ring attached at the inner sides of the square grid, a wall-normal jet flow issued from the grid center, and a downwash flow between adjacent grids. When a tandem array of 11 plasma jets are issued into the cross flow, an equilibrium stage is reached after the third jet. In this stage, the main body of the wall-normal jet bends noticeably to the cross flow, and its leeward side hosts a reverse flow zone, extending downstream to form a slender low-speed wedge (LSW). Two vortical structures are prominent: the streamwise counter-rotating vortex pair residing in the two sides of the jet body, and the arch-shape negative spanwise vortex situated on the LSW root. In the grid-middle plane, the production of turbulence is enhanced across the entire boundary layer, and a second production peak is identified at y + = 26. Reduction of the spanwise-averaged wall shear stress is achieved downstream of plasma actuation at x / L ≥ 19.4 , and part of the drag reduction fruit earned by ejection is offset by the spanwise transportation of high-velocity fluids toward the middle plane. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereo particle imaging velocimetry measurements and reduced-order modeling are combined to provide a full picture of the interaction of plasma jets with a turbulent boundary layer (TBL). Three working modes of the plasma actuator are investigated, corresponding to a unidirectional jet (mode A), a steady crashing jet (mode B), and a spanwise oscillating jet (mode C). The results show that in mode C, a periodical alteration of two opposite wall jets can only be achieved at a low modulation frequency of 20 Hz. As the frequency increases to 100 Hz, the two unsteady wall jets collide in the middle, producing a meandering vertical jet column. In the cross-flow TBL, mode A induces a single streamwise vortex, which grows in size within the plasma actuation zone and decays rapidly in strength after propagating beyond. As a comparison, modes B and C produce a counter-rotating vortex pair during the interaction. The skin-friction drag variations within the plasma actuation zone are dominated by the cross-stream momentum transportation of streamwise vortices. In the vortex upwash zone where a strong shear is present, high levels of turbulent kinetic energy are produced. Physically, the spanwise shaking and vertical jumping of plasma jet heads contribute noticeably to turbulent fluctuation. Experimental evidence supports the simplification of a streamwise momentum equation into a nonlinear transportation–diffusion equation, resulting in a reduced-order streamwise vortex transportation model. Detailed comparison with the experimental data shows that this model is able to give a reasonable prediction of the cross-stream flow patterns and streamwise velocity variations within minutes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, phase-locked tomographic particle image velocimetry measurements are performed to obtain the complex three-dimensional vortex system created by the interaction of plasma synthetic jets with external crossflow. Three orifice configurations (round, transverse slot, and longitudinal slot) are investigated. For the round orifice case, the vortex system consists of a starting vortex ring surrounding the jet head, a hanging vortex pair residing in the two lateral sides of the jet body, several shear layer vortices bridging the two legs of the hanging vortex pair, and a hairpin vortex induced by the low-speed secondary jet. For the slot orifice cases, the above vortex system is also present; nevertheless, the interconnections of the vortices are further intersected by the rib vortices that are branched out of the elongated vortex ring during axis switching. The counter-rotating vortex pair observed in the far field is essentially evolving from the hanging vortex pair in the near field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of partial substitution of Zr by Al in Zr35-xTi30Cu7.5Be27.5Alx (x≤10) alloys on the glass forming ability (GFA) is studied. The thermal and the elastic criteria in evaluating the GFA of the alloys are examined. The calorimetric quantities are measured to determine the width of the supercooled liquid region ΔTx and γ indexes. Parallel studies are performed to measure the elastic moduli with the emphasis of the ratio of the shear to the bulk modulus G/B. The addition of Al is found to have remarkable influence on the GFA of the alloys. While ΔTx and γ decrease with the deterioration of the GFA, G/B is observed to decrease as well, contrasting with the general tendency among various glass forming metallic systems. The thermal and elastic criteria of GFA are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is a widely accepted form of treatment worldwide for aging men with late-onset hypogonadism syndrome. Urologists have been concerned about the possibility of TRT causing prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between TRT and prostate cancer.Methods:A literature review was performed to identify all published, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of testosterone treatment for hypogonadism. The search included the MEDLINE, Embase and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register databases. Fixed-effect model was chosen for homogeneous studies; otherwise, a random-effect model was used. Inconsistency was quantified by using the I2 statistic, which tests the proportion of heterogeneity across studies.Results:Results of 22 RCTs involving a total of 2351 patients were analyzed. Eleven RCTs were short-term (<12 months) and 11 were long-term (12-36 months) comparisons of TRT with a placebo; TRT was administered transdermally, orally or by injection. Respective odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) values for injection, transdermal administration and oral administration of short-term TRT were as follows: prostate cancer: 0.39 (0.06-2.45), 1.10 (0.26-4.65) and no oral; biopsy: 5.28 (0.24-113.87), 2.11 (0.32-13.73) and no oral; and prostate nodule: 1.01 (0.13-7.60), no injection and oral. Respective OR and 95% CI values for injection, transdermal administration and oral administration of long-term TRT were as follows: prostate cancer: 2.09 (0.18-24.73), 3.06 (0.12-76.70) and 0.19 (0.01-4.03); biopsy: 2.09 (0.18-24.73), 3.65 (0.88-15.20) and 0.97 (0.13-7.03); and prostate nodule: 3.13 (0.12-80.68), 1.00 (0.06-16.41) and 0.97 (0.13-7.03). Though for some routes of administration and some end points, the OR associated with testosterone administration were >1 indicating increased risk, none of these reached or even approached statistical significance (all P>0.10), which was consistent with the results of subgroup analyses and sensitivity analysis. Besides, sensitivity analysis indicated that short-term TRT was more likely to increase PSA levels than treatment with placebo (P<0.00001).Conclusions:This meta-analysis shows that regardless of the administration method, TRT is the short-term safety and does not promote prostate cancer development or progression but long-term data are warranted with justifiable end points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: The objective of this study was to compare efficacy and safety of alemtuzumab, antithymocyte globulin (ATG), and daclizumab for induction therapy in organ transplantation. Methods: We searched PUBMED, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases to identify randomized controlled trials that compared alemtzumab, ATG, and daclizumab for induction therapy in kidney as well as pancreas transplantation. According to the inclusion criteria, the collected data included general characteristics of the studies and their major outcomes. The meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.0.25 software. Results: We identified 9 studies involving 777 patients. No differences between alemtuzumab, daclizumab, and ATG were observed in terms of patient survival, graft survival, or acute rejection episodes at a 24-month follow-up (P = .62, P = .55, and P = .08, respectively). Infections within 36 months were greater between the alemtuzumab and the ATG group (P = .03). There was no significant difference in terms of infection at 24 months. Conclusions: Alemtuzumab and daclizumab appeared to be as effective as ATG for induction therapy in kidney transplantation at a follow-up of 24 months. However, alemtuzumab showed a lower rate of infection at 36 months compared with ATG. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The microstructure of the aluminum-silicon (Al-Si) alloy solidified under high pressure was compared with that solidified under normal pressure. High-pressure solidification was performed at 4.0 and 5.0GPa. The phase constitution of the Al-Si alloy solidified under high pressure was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The microstructures of the samples were observed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The effects of pressure were analyzed by examining the microstructure of the alloy. The XRD result shows the absence of a new phase under high pressure, in contrast to the microstructure solidified under normal pressure. The observed microstructures show an additional amount of primary α(Al) phase in the Al- 13at% Si alloy solidified under high pressure; this indicates the existence of a eutectic point moving toward the silicon direction with increasing pressure, as shown in the Al-Si alloy phase diagram. The eutectic cells of the Al-Si alloy solidified under high pressure are evident, and the eutectic silicon phases are presented as curved and near-parallel lamellar crystals, signifying that the growth mechanism of the eutectic silicon phase changed from faceted to non-faceted. The eutectic silicon lamellar phase and the primary β(Si) phase were refined by the applied pressure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: In this study, we attempted to increase the productivity of Candida glycerinogenes yeast for ethanol production from non‐detoxified sugarcane bagasse hydrolysates (NDSBH) by identifying the hexose transporter in this yeast that makes a high contribution to glucose consumption, and by adding additional copies of this transporter and enhancing its membrane localisation stability (MLS). Methods and Results: Based on the knockout and overexpression of key hexose transporter genes and the characterisation of their promoter properties, we found that Cghxt4 and Cghxt6 play major roles in the early and late stages of fermentation, respectively, with Cghxt4 contributing most to glucose consumption. Next, subcellular localisation analysis revealed that a common mutation of two ubiquitination sites (K9 and K538) in Cghxt4 improved its MLS. Finally, we overexpressed this Cghxt4 mutant (Cghxt4.2A) using a strong promoter, PCgGAP, which resulted in a significant increase in the ethanol productivity of C. glycerinogenes in the NDSBH medium. Specifically, the recombinant strain showed 18 and 25% higher ethanol productivity than the control in two kinds of YP‐NDSBH medium (YP‐NDSBH1G160 and YP‐NDSBH2G160), respectively. Conclusions: The hexose transporter mutant Cghxt4.2A (Cghxt4K9A,K538A) with multiple copies and high MLS was able to significantly increase the ethanol productivity of C. glycerinogenes in NDSBH. Significance and Impact of the Study: Our results provide a promising strategy for constructing efficient strains for ethanol production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate-5-kinase (PI4P5K) has been proposed to facilitate regulated exocytosis and specifically insulin secretion by generating phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP(2)). We sought to examine the role of the α isoform of PI4P5K in glucohomeostasis and insulin secretion.Research Design and Methods: The response of PI4P5Kα(-/-) mice to glucose challenge and a type 2-like diabetes-inducing high-fat diet was examined in vivo. Glucose-stimulated responses and PI4P5Kα(-/-) pancreatic islets and β-cells were characterized in culture.Results: We show that PI4P5Kα(-/-) mice exhibit increased first-phase insulin release and improved glucose clearance, and resist high-fat diet-induced development of type 2-like diabetes and obesity. PI4P5Kα(-/-) pancreatic islets cultured in vitro exhibited decreased numbers of insulin granules docked at the plasma membrane and released less insulin under quiescent conditions, but then secreted similar amounts of insulin on glucose stimulation. Stimulation-dependent PIP(2) depletion occurred on the plasma membrane of the PI4P5Kα(-/-) pancreatic β-cells, accompanied by a near-total loss of cortical F-actin, which was already decreased in the PI4P5Kα(-/-) β-cells under resting conditions.Conclusions: Our findings suggest that PI4P5Kα plays a complex role in restricting insulin release from pancreatic β-cells through helping to maintain plasma membrane PIP(2) levels and integrity of the actin cytoskeleton under both basal and stimulatory conditions. The increased first-phase glucose-stimulated release of insulin observed on the normal diet may underlie the partial protection against the elevated serum glucose and obesity seen in type 2 diabetes-like model systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semantic surface decomposition (SSD) facilitates various geometry processing and product re‐design tasks. Filter‐based techniques are meaningful and widely used to achieve the SSD, which however often leads to surface either under‐fitting or over‐fitting. In this paper, we propose a reliable rolling‐guided point normal filtering method to decompose textures from a captured point cloud surface. Our method is built on the geometry assumption that 3D surfaces are comprised of an underlying shape (US) and a variety of bump ups and downs (BUDs) on the US. We have three core contributions. First, by considering the BUDs as surface textures, we present a RANSAC‐based sub‐neighborhood detection scheme to distinguish the US and the textures. Second, to better preserve the US (especially the prominent structures), we introduce a patch shift scheme to estimate the guidance normal for feeding the rolling‐guided filter. Third, we formulate a new position updating scheme to alleviate the common uneven distribution of points. Both visual and numerical experiments demonstrate that our method is comparable to state‐of‐the‐art methods in terms of the robustness of texture removal and the effectiveness of the underlying shape preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the nontraditional but practically meaningful reversibility problem of mesh filtering. This reverse‐filtering approach (termed a DeFilter) seeks to recover the geometry of a set of filtered meshes to their artifact‐free status. To solve this scenario, we adapt cascaded normal regression (CNR) to understand the commonly used mesh filters and recover automatically the mesh geometry that was lost through various geometric operations. We formulate mesh defiltering by an extreme learning machine (ELM) on the mesh normals at an offline training stage and perform it automatically at a runtime defiltering stage. Specifically, (1) to measure the local geometry of a filtered mesh, we develop a generalized reverse Filtered Facet Normal Descriptor (grFND) in the consistent neighbors; (2) to map the grFNDs to the normals of the ground‐truth meshes, we learn a regression function from a set of filtered meshes and their ground‐truth counterparts; and (3) at runtime, we reversely filter the normals of a filtered mesh, using the learned regression function for recovering the lost geometry. We evaluate multiple quantitative and qualitative results on synthetic and real data to verify our DeFilter's performance thoroughly. From a practical point of view, our method can recover the lost geometry of denoised meshes without needing to know the exact filter used previously, and can act as a geometry‐recovery plugin for most of the state‐of‐the‐art methods of mesh denoising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Aims: This study aimed to strengthen the reducing equivalent generation in Klebsiella pneumoniae for improving 1,3‐propanediol (PDO) production. Methods and Results: Disruption of the arcA gene activated the transcription levels of the TCA cycle genes and thus increased the NADH/NAD+ ratio by 54·2%, leading to the improved PDO titre and yield per cell from 16·1 g l−1 and 4·0 g gDCW−1 to 18·8 g l−1 and 6·4 g gDCW−1 respectively. Further ldhA gene deletion eliminated lactate accumulation and promoted the PDO titre to 19·9 g l−1. Finally, the glucose effect was weakened by deleting the crr gene to enhance the co‐utilization of glucose and glycerol, resulting in the increased PDO production to 23·8 g l−1 with the glycerol conversion rate of 59·5%. The PDO titre in bioreactor was promoted from 61·2 to 78·1 g l−1. Conclusions: Deletions of the arcA and the crr genes showed positive effects on the TCA cycle activity and the co‐utilization of glucose and glycerol, leading to the strengthened reducing equivalent generation and the improved PDO titre by 47·8% in shaker. The PDO titre in the bioreactor was enhanced to 78·1 g l−1. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provided novel information on generating reducing equivalent for the PDO biosynthesis by strengthening the TCA cycle and weakening the glucose effect in K. pneumoniae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Androgenetic alopecia ( AGA), or male pattern baldness ( MPB), is the most common form of hair loss in males. A combination of genetic and androgen causes have been suggested as factors that contribute to the development of AGA. However, the specific molecular mechanisms that underly AGA remain largely unknown. Long non-coding RNAs (lnc RNAs), a new class of regulatory non-coding RNAs that are longer than 200 nucleotides, have been shown to play important roles in a number of cellular processes, including transcription, chromosome remodelling and post-transcriptional processing. The dysregulation of lnc RNAs is associated with many forms of diseases, but it remains unknown whether lnc RNAs are associated with AGA. Objective The aim of this study was to identify AGA-associated lnc RNAs and predict the potential roles of these lnc RNAs in AGA. Methods A genomewide microarray was used to identify lnc RNAs that are differentially expressed between AGA and adjacent normal tissues. Real-time qRT- PCR was used to validate the microarray data. Results A large number of lnc RNAs were differentially expressed (fold change >2.4) between AGA and adjacent normal tissues. Of these, 770 were upregulated and 1373 were downregulated. Moreover, pathway analysis revealed that 53 functional pathways were associated with the upregulated transcripts, while 11 pathways were associated with the downregulated transcripts. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate AGA-associated lnc RNAs. lnc RNA profiles are altered in AGA, and these lnc RNAs and their target genes may serve as novel candidates for preventing and treating AGA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) carry out post-transcriptional control of a multitude of cellular processes. Aberrant expression of miRNA can lead to diseases, including cancer. Gliomas are aggressive brain tumors that are thought to arise from transformed glioma-initiating neural stem cells (giNSCs). With the use of giNSCs and human glioblastoma cells, we investigated the function of miRNAs in gliomas. We identified pro-neuronal miR-128 as a candidate glioma tumor suppressor miRNA. Decreased expression of miR-128 correlates with aggressive human glioma subtypes. With a combination of molecular, cellular and in vivo approaches, we characterize miR-128's tumor suppressive role. miR-128 represses giNSC growth by enhancing neuronal differentiation. miR-128 represses growth and mediates differentiation by targeting oncogenic receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) epithelial growth factor receptor and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α. Using an autochthonous glioma mouse model, we demonstrated that miR-128 repressed gliomagenesis. We identified miR-128 as a glioma tumor suppressor that targets RTK signaling to repress giNSC self-renewal and enhance differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor replying to comments made on the authors' article, published in the periodical "Kidney International," concerning changes in red blood cell deformability.

Cordyceps sinensis, a well-known traditional Chinese medicine, possesses activities in anti-tumour, anti-oxidation and stimulating the immune system; however, the identity of active component(s) is not determined. By using anti-oxidation activity-guided fractionation, a polysaccharide of molecular weight ∼210 kDa was isolated from cultured Cordyceps mycelia by ion-exchange and sizing chromatography. The isolated polysaccharide, having strong anti-oxidation activity, contains glucose, mannose and galactose in a ratio of 1 : 0.6 : 0.75. The pre-treatment of isolated polysaccharide on the cultured rat pheochromocytoma PC12 cells shows strong protective effect against hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced insult. Treatment of the cells with the isolated polysaccharide at 100 μg/ml prior to H2O2 exposure significantly elevated the survival of PC12 cells in culture by over 60%. In parallel, the H2O2-induced production of malondialdehyde in cultured cells was markedly reduced by the polysaccharide treatment. Moreover, the pre-treatment of the isolated polysaccharide significantly attenuated the changes of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities in H2O2-treated cells in a dose-dependent manner. This is the first report in identifying a polysaccharide from Cordyceps, which protects against the free radical-induced neuronal cell toxicity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This talk reports the phenomenological model and the nonperturbative QCD studies of the nucleon spin and magnetic moment structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Corrosive injury of the esophagus and stomach is never been reported after intoxication of hand warmers. Herein we reported a case that had grade IIA corrosive injury found by endoscopic examination. Case report. An 84 year-old woman with a history of dementia ingested the contents of hand warmers. She had radiopaque patches in the stomach and duodenum. Upper endooscopic examination revealed corrosive injury of the esophagus and stomach. She recovered with the use of deferoxamine and proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Discussion. The hand warmer contains activated charcoal, salt, and vermiculite, and 50% of iron powder. In previous literature, ingestions of one hand warmer packet or less are considered less toxic. But in our case, corrosive injury of the esophagus and stomach is obvious. Conclusion. It appears that significant toxicity will occur after ingestion of one hand warmer packet. Appropriate gastrointestinal decontamination and aggressive management are needed for all patients who are hand warmers intoxicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]