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Multiaxial fatigue failure is the most common problem in engineering structures. It is worth noting that short crack growth accounts for most of the fatigue life. Hence, it is necessary to study the short crack growth models for multiaxial fatigue life assessment. The primary focus of this study is to develop a hierarchical Bayesian linear regression method to estimate parameters in multiaxial fatigue crack growth model. The Bayesian method is used to estimate the intercept and slope of the regression equation for each loading path and ensemble test datasets. The method of this work was demonstrated on three multiaxial fatigue crack growth datasets. The main results obtained in this paper were that the parameters of the multiaxial fatigue crack growth model changed significantly with different loading paths, and the parameters of the model depended on the multiaxial loading path. Highlights: An equivalent strain‐based intensity factor ΔKESA was proposed.Hierarchical Bayesian linear regression is developed for parameter estimation.Hierarchical Bayesian model considers the differences of each loading paths.The parameters of the fatigue crack growth model depend on the loading path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, multifunctional hydrogels have received a great deal of attention because they are biocompatible and can mimic the extracellular matrix. Herein, we prepared hydrogels of biocompatible cross-linked networks with photothermal properties. In this study, a chitosan/polyaniline/laponite (COL) hydrogel with photothermal conversion capability was designed. Polyaniline was firstly grafted onto chitosan and its solution was mixed with oxidized dextran, which was then cross-linked into a hydrogel via a Schiff base reaction. Furthermore, an aluminosilicate clay material, laponite (LAP), was incorporated into the hydrogel. The swelling ratio of the COL hydrogel in various solutions was greater than 580%, and it showed good degradation ability (the mass–loss ratio was over 45% after 28 days). This composite hydrogel was demonstrated to have good photothermal conversion properties and biocompatibility at both the cell (cell viability was over 97%) and animal levels. The COL hydrogel showed a photothermal conversion efficiency of 23.7% under the irradiation of a near-infrared laser. Coupled with the osteogenic differentiation-inducing potential of LAP, the COL hydrogel has the potential to kill tumors via hyperthermia or serve as scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new type of photochromic spirooxazine (SO-OH) containing dihydroxyl structure was synthesized and introduced as a functional chain extender into the polyurethane system to prepare a smart photochromic polyurethane material. In comparison to conventional surface grafting and physical blending, the photochromic film developed in this paper displays more excellent properties. On the one hand, SO-OH has better stability and fatigue resistance. On the other hand, the mechanical properties and thermal stability of the polyurethane film are also improved. Interestingly, this method overcomes many problems faced by spirooxazine in practical applications since the addition amount of the photochromic substance is uniform and controllable. It is worth noting that in this study the molecular weight of the soft segment PTMG is also changed to study the structure and performance of SO-OH in different polyurethane systems. The results of the research prove that the polyurethane films bonded with SO-OH show a good response in terms of reversible switching wettability. In addition, the contact angle difference of the photochromic films before and after ultraviolet light irradiation can reach up to 8.61. This method makes the photochromic films prepared in this study highly promising candidates for application in the fields of smart devices, light detection, biomedical materials, cell culture, and nonenzymatic desorption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent studies have found that there are significant associations between body iron status and the development of diabetes. In the present study, we aimed to analyze the association among iron overload (IO), insulin resistance (IR), and diabetes in Chinese adults, and to explore the sex difference. Methods: Men and women (age >19 years) who participated in the Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey and did not have diabetes at baseline were followed between 2009 and 2015 (n=5,779). Over a mean of 6 years, 75 participants were diagnosed with incident diabetes. Logistic regression was used to assess the risk factors associated with IO. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the risk of incident diabetes and to determine whether the risk differed among subgroups. Causal mediation analysis (CMA) was used to explore the mechanism linking IO and diabetes. Results: According to sex-stratified multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazards regression, IO increased the risk of incident diabetes. Women with IO had a higher risk of diabetes than men. Subgroup analysis with respect to age showed that the association between IO and diabetes was stronger in older women and younger men (P<0.001). CMA showed that liver injury (alanine transaminase) and lipid metabolism abnormalities (triglyceride, apolipoprotein B) contributed to the association between IO and diabetes. Conclusion: IO is associated with diabetes and this association is sex-specific. IO may indirectly induce IR via liver injury and lipid metabolism abnormalities, resulting in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To classify different walnut varieties based on water and oil content of walnut, and determine their storage conditions, the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LFNMR) technology was used to obtain the NMR transverse relaxation time (T2) of the samples based on the physical and chemical indicators of the walnut quality. The relationship between the relaxation time and phase state of the internal material of the sample was investigated, and the characteristic parameters of the NMR spectrum signals were statistically analyzed using cluster analysis to determine the different walnut varieties, and three different components, as well as their contents, were detected by a LFNMR spectrometer: firmly bound water, weakly bound water, and weakly bound oil. Test results indicated that the oil peak was dominant in the overall signal intensity compared to the water peaks, in which the firmly bound water phase contributed more to the overall water signal between the water peaks. Using the analytic hierarchy process of cluster analysis, 21 walnut samples were classified into three different classes, based on the characteristic parameters of the water-content and oil-content spectrum signals. The first class contains four walnut varieties characterized by least water and highest oil contents; the third class contains two walnut varieties, with the highest water content and least oil content; whereas, the second class contains 15 walnut varieties, with both water and oil contents at medium levels. The results showed that LFNMR led to a rapid detection of moisture and oil contents in walnuts, while cluster analysis classified different walnuts varieties based on these parameters. This study also provided the basis for optimizing the storage methods and storage conditions of walnuts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study theoretically and experimentally the acoustic Purcell effect induced by quasi-bound states in the continuum (quasiBICs). A theoretical framework describing the acoustic Purcell effect of a resonant system is developed based on the system's radiative and dissipative factors, which reveals the critical emission condition for achieving optimum Purcell factors. We show that the quasiBICs contribute to highly confined acoustic field and bring about greatly enhanced acoustic emission, leading to strong Purcell effect. Our concept is demonstrated via two coupled resonators supporting a Friedrich-Wintgen quasiBIC, and the theoretical results are validated by the experiments observing emission enhancement of the sound source by nearly two orders of magnitude. Our work bridges the gap between the acoustic Purcell effect and acoustic BICs essential for enhanced wave-matter interaction and acoustic emission, which may contribute to the research of high-intensity sound sources, high-quality-factor acoustic devices and nonlinear acoustics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: We evaluated whether the increasing number of genetic loci for coronary artery disease (CAD) identified in the general population could be used to predict the risk of major CAD events (MCE) among participants with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk.Research Design and Methods: A weighted genetic risk score (GRS) derived from 204 variants representative of all the 160 CAD loci identified in the general population as of December 2017 was calculated in 5,360 and 1,931 white participants in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) and Outcome Reduction With Initial Glargine Intervention (ORIGIN) studies, respectively. The association between GRS and MCE (combining fatal CAD events, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and unstable angina) was assessed by Cox proportional hazards regression.Results: The GRS was associated with MCE risk in both ACCORD and ORIGIN (hazard ratio [HR] per SD 1.27, 95% CI 1.18-1.37, P = 4 × 10-10, and HR per SD 1.35, 95% CI 1.16-1.58, P = 2 × 10-4, respectively). This association was independent from interventions tested in the trials and persisted, though attenuated, after adjustment for classic cardiovascular risk predictors. Adding the GRS to clinical predictors improved incident MCE risk classification (relative integrated discrimination improvement +8%, P = 7 × 10-4). The performance of this GRS was superior to that of GRS based on the smaller number of CAD loci available in previous years.Conclusions: When combined into a GRS, CAD loci identified in the general population are associated with CAD also in type 2 diabetes. This GRS provides a significant improvement in the ability to correctly predict future MCE, which may increase further with the discovery of new CAD loci. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A spiral case refers to a water passage in a substructure of a hydropower house. The substructure is thus also known as a spiral case structure (SCS). For medium and high head hydroelectric power plants (HPPs), inner walls of spiral cases are steel-lined. For a steel-lined SCS, the embedment condition of the steel liner (steel spiral case) in the concrete is the dominant factor to determine the composite system's structural performance. Hence the issue of embedment of steel spiral cases has been a controversial and much disputed subject concerning the design and construction of HPPs. The purpose of the current work was to share China's experience on methods of embedment of steel spiral cases in concrete. The work has highlighted China's design philosophy of P-type and M-type SCSs. It is a joint-IWP-resisting philosophy for balancing the structural strength against integrity of SCSs. The work has also underlined an innovative solution (NM-hybrid-type SCSs) for excessively uneven lifts of generator pedestal structures confronting N-type SCSs. We believe that the experience can broaden the world's current knowledge of the design and construction of HPPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify genetic determinants of increased cardiovascular mortality among subjects with type 2 diabetes who underwent intensive glycemic therapy in the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial.Research Design and Methods: A total of 6.8 million common variants were analyzed for genome-wide association with cardiovascular mortality among 2,667 self-reported white subjects in the ACCORD intensive treatment arm. Significant loci were examined in the entire ACCORD white genetic dataset (n = 5,360) for their modulation of cardiovascular responses to glycemic treatment assignment and in a Joslin Clinic cohort (n = 422) for their interaction with long-term glycemic control on cardiovascular mortality.Results: Two loci, at 10q26 and 5q13, attained genome-wide significance as determinants of cardiovascular mortality in the ACCORD intensive arm (P = 9.8 × 10-9 and P = 2 × 10-8, respectively). A genetic risk score (GRS) defined by the two variants was a significant modulator of cardiovascular mortality response to treatment assignment in the entire ACCORD white genetic dataset. Participants with GRS = 0 experienced a fourfold reduction in cardiovascular mortality in response to intensive treatment (hazard ratio [HR] 0.24 [95% CI 0.07-0.86]), those with GRS = 1 experienced no difference (HR 0.92 [95% CI 0.54-1.56]), and those with GRS ≥2 experienced a threefold increase (HR 3.08 [95% CI 1.82-5.21]). The modulatory effect of the GRS on the association between glycemic control and cardiovascular mortality was confirmed in the Joslin cohort (P = 0.029).Conclusions: Two genetic variants predict the cardiovascular effects of intensive glycemic control in ACCORD. Further studies are warranted to determine whether these findings can be translated into new strategies to prevent cardiovascular complications of diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The elastic, thermodynamic, and optical properties of Mo 2 TiAlC 2 are investigated by first-principles calculations. Our results indicate that the a axis is stiffer than c axis within 0–100 GPa. Elastic constants calculations predict the large stability range of Mo 2 TiAlC 2 under pressure. Several important thermodynamic properties are discussed detailedly, including the Debye temperature, thermal expansion coefficient, and heat capacity. The bonding properties are studied from the elastic quantities and electronic properties. The electronic properties are investigated, including the energy band structure, and density of states. The evidence of the instability of Mo 3 AlC 2 and stability of Mo 2 TiAlC 2 are successfully obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a scheme for generating high-efficient acoustic focusing capable of circumventing obstacles in the propagating medium. This distinct feature that is highly desirable for practical applications is realized by employing two symmetrical Airy beams, and a different type of acoustic lens is designed by using a zero-index medium to provide the required phase profile with extremely high resolution. Furthermore, the scheme has the flexibility of generating tunable focal length. We anticipate our design to open possibilities for the design of acoustic lens and have potential applications in various important scenarios such as biomedical imaging/therapy and non-destructive evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accuracγ of Einstein's equivalence principle (EEP) can be tested with the observed time delaγs between correlated particles or photons that are emitted from astronomical sources. Assuming as a lower limit that the time delaγs are caused mainlγ bγ the gravitational potential of the Milkγ Waγ, we prove that fast radio bursts (FRBs) of cosmological origin can be used to constrain the EEP with high accuracγ. Taking FRB 110220 and two possible FRB/gamma-raγ burst (GRB) association sγstems (FRB/GRB 101011A and FRB/GRB 100704A) as examples, we obtain a strict upper limit on the differences of the parametrized post-Newtonian parameter γ values as low as [γ(1.23 GHz) - γ(1.45 GHz)] < 4.36 x 10-9. This provides the most stringent limit up to date on the EEP through the relative differential variations of the γ parameter at radio energies, improving bγ 1 to 2 orders of magnitude the previous results at other energies based on supernova 1987A and GRBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human motion capture (mocap) data has been widely utilized for realistic character animation, and the missing marker problem caused by occlusions or a marker falling off often results in an incomplete collection. In this paper, we present a hierarchical block-based incomplete human mocap data recovery approach by using adaptive nonnegative matrix factorization, which mainly consists of two layers: interior layer and exterior layer. In the interior layer, we first decompose the underling human skeleton model into five blocks and represent the whole human mocap data in terms of the block-based sub-chain motion clips, in which the moving trajectories of each sub-chain motion clip always share the approximately low-rank property. Then, an adaptive nonnegative matrix factorization method aiming at exploiting the low-rank structure and the nonnegativity constraint is presented to restore each incomplete sub-chain motion clip individually. In the exterior layer, we integrate the recovered sub-chain motion clips and further utilize the known entries within the raw mocap data to refine the corresponding restored data of same positions, whereby the whole incomplete human mocap data can be well recovered. Without any user assistance and the training priors, the experimental results have shown the reliable recovering performance in comparison with the state-of-the-art competing approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iron-based mixed-polyanion compound, Li9Fe3(P2O7)3(PO4)2, is introduced as a possible cathode material for Li-ion batteries. Phase-pure Li9Fe3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 is successfully prepared by a sol-gel method, and its physicochemical properties are investigated in detail. Special attention is paid on making clear the variation of the phase composition with the annealing temperature and the effect of carbon coating on the electrochemical performance. Apparently phase-pure Li9Fe3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 can only be obtained in a narrow temperature range, either higher or lower annealing temperature outside this temperature range always leads to the impurity phase. The pristine Li9Fe3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 is suffering from its low electronic conductivity (10-9S cm-1) and theoretical capacity (85 mA h g-1), it has a first discharge capacity of only 36 mA h g-1. Carbon coating is employed to improve the electrochemical performance. When the carbon content is 10 wt%, the discharge capacity of Li9Fe3(P2O7)3(PO4)2/C reaches the maximum value of 60 mA h g-1. The electronic conductivity of the composite, the exact discharge capacity of Li9Fe3(P2O7)3(PO4)2 in the composite and the capacity retention of the composite after 30 cycles vary in the same fashion with an increase in carbon content, i.e. first quickly increase and then stabilize. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) followed by radiotherapy is generally the preferred treatment for women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer. This study aimed to investigate the proportion of patients who receive BCS versus mastectomy and post-BCS radiotherapy, and explore factors associated with receipt of these treatments in Alberta, Canada. Methods A retrospective population-based study was conducted that including all patients surgically treated with stage I-III breast cancer diagnosed in Alberta from 2002-2010. Clinical characteristics, treatment information and patient age at diagnosis were collected from the Alberta Cancer Registry. Log binomial multiple regression was used to calculate stagespecific relative risk estimates of receiving BCS and post-BCS radiotherapy. Results Of the 14 646 patients included in the study, 44% received BCS, and of those, 88% received post-BCS radiotherapy. The adjusted relative risk of BCS was highest in Calgary and lowest in Central Alberta for all disease stages. Relative to surgeries performed in Calgary, those performed in Central Alberta were significantly less likely to be BCS for stage I (RR = 0.65; 95% 0.57, 0.72), II (RR = 0.58; 95% 0.49, 0.68), and III (RR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.95) disease, respectively, adjusting for patient age at diagnosis, clinical and treatment characteristics. No significant variation of post-BCS radiotherapy was found. Conclusions Factors such as region of surgical treatment should not be related to the receipt of standard care within a publicly-funded health care system. Further investigation is needed to understand the significant geographic variation present within the province in order to identify appropriate interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in women, and metastatic breast cancer usually has a poor prognosis. Hence, it is urgent to identify new biomarkers to promote precise medication in breast cancer. LHX2 has been reported to promote the proliferation of numerous solid tumors, but its role in breast cancer has not been elucidated. Our study explored the prognostic value and the immune cell infiltration of breast cancer related to LHX2. We found that LHX2 can serve as an independent prognostic factor in breast cancer. In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that LHX2 promoted cell proliferation, migration ability, and invasive ability but inhibited apoptosis in breast cancer. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence experiments were conducted to investigate LHX2-related immune infiltration in breast cancer tissues. A Western blot assay proved that LHX2 activated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and the apoptosis pathway. Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common malignancy. LHX2, a member of the LIM homeobox gene family and a transcription factor, plays a crucial role in numerous tumors, but the function of LHX2 in breast cancer progression remains unknown. In this study, we show that LHX2 is upregulated in breast cancer tissues and positively correlated with breast cancer progression. Meanwhile, the clinical characteristics of breast cancer and LHX2 expression showed a strong correlation. GSEA showed that a high LHX2 expression may activate the T-cell activation pathway, PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, and apoptosis pathway. Moreover, ssGSEA showed that Th1 cells and Th2 cells had a positive correlation with LHX2 expression in breast cancer. Experiments showed that LHX2 promotes the proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion of breast cancer cells. Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence assays helped to analyze LHX2-associated immune infiltration in breast cancer. A Western blot assay proved that LHX2 activated the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and the apoptosis pathway. A TUNEL assay confirmed that LHX2 inhibited apoptosis. Taken together, LHX2 plays a vital role in breast cancer's progression and prognosis and could be an immune infiltration biomarker for breast cancer, and LHX2 activates the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and apoptosis pathway in breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phospholipase A (PLA) gene family plays a crucial role in the regulation of plant growth, development and stress response. Although PLA genes have been identified in various plant species, their specific functions and characteristics in oil quality formation of rice grains (Oryza sativa L.) have not been studied yet. Here, we identified and characterized 35 rice PLA genes, which were divided into three subgroups based on gene structures and phylogenetic relationships. These genes are distributed unevenly across 11 rice chromosomes. The promoter sequence of rice PLAs contain multiple plant hormones and stress-related elements. Gene expression analyses in various tissues and under stress conditions indicated that PLAs may be involved in rice growth, development and stress response. In addition, metabolomics, transcriptomics and qRT-PCR analyses between two rice varieties Guang8B (G8B, high oil content) and YueFengB (YFB, low oil content) revealed that the different expressional levels of rice PLA genes were closely related to the differences in the oil content between 'G8B' and 'YFB' grains. The findings of this study provide potential novel insights into the molecular information of the phospholipase A gene family in rice, and underscore the potential functions of PLA genes in rice oil content accumulation, providing valuable resources for future genetic improvement and breeding strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Success of modern agriculture relies heavily on breeding of crops with maximal regional adaptability and yield potentials. A major limiting factor for crop cultivation is their flowering time, which is strongly regulated by day length (photoperiod) and temperature. Here we report identification and characterization of Days to heading 7 (DTH7), a major genetic locus underlying photoperiod sensitivity and grain yield in rice. Map-based cloning reveals that DTH7 encodes a pseudo-response regulator protein and its expression is regulated by photoperiod. We show that in long days DTH7 acts downstream of the photoreceptor phytochrome B to repress the expression of Ehd1, an up-regulator of the "florigen" genes (Hd3a and RFT1), leading to delayed flowering. Further, we find that hap-lotype combinations of DTH7 with Grain number, plant height, and heading date 7 (Ghd7) and DTH8 correlate well with the heading date and grain yield of rice under different photoperiod conditions. Our data provide not only a macroscopic view of the genetic control of photoperiod sensitivity in rice but also a foundation for breeding of rice cultivars better adapted to the target environments using rational design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optimization of network topology structure is an important research direction on the research of interconnection network. Locally twisted cube (LTQn) is the optimized variant of hypercube (Qn). However, if LTQn is upgraded, it will multiply the number of nodes of the network, which goes against the application and development of LTQn. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposed a kind of new network topology structure: locally twisted cube-connected ring interconnect network (LRN). It gave the definition of LRN and its topology structure, and studied the problems on the diameter, connectivity, Hamilton-connectivity, pancyclicity and routing of LRN. At last it proves the LRN is a kind of hierarchical ring interconnection networks (HRN), and it is easy to upgrade and has many excellent properties of LTQn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variants in the CDH13 gene have been identi ed as determinants of blood levels of adiponectin, an insulin-sensitizing adipokine. However, their association with other metabolic risk factors remains unclear. We examined variants at CDH13 in relation to total and high-molecular-weight (HMW) adiponectin using data from a genome-wide association study performed in 2,434 Singaporean Chinese with replication in up to 3,290 Japanese and 1,610 Koreans. The top signal rs4783244 in CDH13 showed strong associations with total adiponectin (standardized β [βb]= 20.34, 95% CI -0.38 to -0.30, P = 2.0 x 1070), HMW adiponectin (β = 0.40, 95% CI -0.43 to -0.36, P = 1.1 x 10-117), and the HMW-to-total adiponectin ratio (β = -0.44, 95% CI -0.49 to -0.40, P = 3.2 x 10-83). In the replication study, this single nucleotide polymorphism explained 4.1% of total and 6.5% of HMW adiponectin levels. No association was observed between rs4783244 and metabolic traits associated with insulin resistance before adjustment for HMW adiponectin levels. After adjustment for HMW adiponectin levels, the minor allele was associated with lower BMI (β = -0.15, 95% CI -0.19 to -0.11, P = 3.5 x 10-14), homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index (β = -0.16, 95% CI -0.20 to -0.12, P = 9.2 x 10-16 ), and triglycerides (β = -0.16, 95% CI -0.19 to -0.12, P = 1.3 x 10-16) and with higher HDL (β = 0.16, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.19, P = 2.1 x 10-17). CDH13 variants strongly influence plasma total and HMW adiponectin levels in East Asian populations but appear to alter adiponectin sensitivity, resulting in better metabolic health than expected based on circulating adiponectin levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a method of chemical cooling is put forward, that is, C-CO endothermic reaction is applied to instantaneous heat removal under high heat flux. A method in which theoretical research is in combination with numerical simulation is used to study C-CO endothermic reaction. In comparison with the theoretically computational results, numerical code is validated. A high heat flux of 500 W/cm is applied to the research of the heat dissipation characteristics of C-CO endothermic reaction. The theoretical calculation results show that, under a certain temperature and pressure condition, the C-CO chemical endothermic reaction could remove heat from the system promptly; the product CO could be used as a supplementary medium of power source for cycling. Compared with water phase change, the C-CO endothermic reaction appears to have stronger heat removal ability. 'Species Transport' module in FLUENT was adopted to simulate the reaction. Under the same temperature and pressure condition, the numerical simulation results are found to be well congruous with theoretical results. The C-CO endothermic reaction could make a high temperature in the reaction system due to a high heat flux reduce to a low temperature (below zero) promptly. The heat removal and reaction time are in consistence with theoretical calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If double neutron star mergers leave behind a massive magnetar rather than a black hole, then a bright early afterglow can follow the gravitational wave burst (GWB) even if there is no short gamma-ray burst (SGRB)-GWB association or if there is an association but the SGRB does not beam toward Earth. Besides directly dissipating the proto-magnetar wind, as suggested by Zhang, herewe suggest that themagnetar wind could push the ejecta launched during the merger process and, under certain conditions, would reach a relativistic speed. Such a magnetar-powered ejecta, when interacting with the ambient medium, would develop a bright broadband afterglow due to synchrotron radiation. We study this physical scenario in detail and present the predicted X-ray, optical, and radio light curves for a range of magnetar and ejecta parameters.We show that the X-ray and optical light curves usually peak around the magnetar spin-down timescale (~103-105 s), reaching brightnesses readily detectable by wide-field X-ray and optical telescopes, and remain detectable for an extended period. The radio afterglow peaks later, but is much brighter than the case without a magnetar energy injection. Therefore, such bright broadband afterglows, if detected and combined with GWBs in the future, would be a probe of massive millisecond magnetars and stiff equations of state for nuclear matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The adipocyte-secreted protein adiponectin is associated with insulin sensitivity in observational studies. We aimed to evaluate whether this relationship is causal using a Mendelian randomization approach. In a sample of Swedish men aged 71 years (n = 942) from the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (ULSAM), insulin sensitivity (M/I ratio) was measured by the euglycemic insulin clamp. We used three genetic variants in the ADIPOQ locus as instrumental variables (IVs) to estimate the potential causal effect of adiponectin on insulin sensitivity and compared these with results from conventional linear regression. The three ADIPOQ variants, rs17300539, rs3774261, and rs6444175, were strongly associated with serum adiponectin levels (all P ≤ 5.3 3 10-9) and were also significantly associated with M/I ratio in the expected direction (all P ≤ 0.022). IV analysis confirmed that genetically determined adiponectin increased insulin sensitivity (β = 0.47-0.81, all P ≤ 0.014) comparable with observational estimates (β = 0.50, all Pdifference ≥ 0.136). Adjustment for BMI and waist circumference partly explained the association of both genetically determined and observed adiponectin levels with insulin sensitivity. The observed association between higher adiponectin levels and increased insulin sensitivity is likely to represent a causal relationship partly mediated by reduced adiposity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land plants have evolved increasingly complex regulatory modes of their flowering time (or heading date in crops). Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a short-day plant that flowers more rapidly in short-day but delays under long-day conditions. Previous studies have shown that the CO-FT module initially identified in long-day plants (Arabidopsis) is evolutionary conserved in short-day plants (Hd1-Hd3a in rice). However, in rice, there is a unique Ehd1-dependent flowering pathway that is Hd1-independent. Here, we report isolation and characterization of a positive regulator of Ehd1, Early heading date 4 (Ehd4). ehd4 mutants showed a never flowering phenotype under natural long-day conditions. Map-based cloning revealed that Ehd4 encodes a novel CCCH-type zinc finger protein, which is localized to the nucleus and is able to bind to nucleic acids in vitro and transactivate transcription in yeast, suggesting that it likely functions as a transcriptional regulator. Ehd4 expression is most active in young leaves with a diurnal expression pattern similar to that of Ehd1 under both short-day and long-day conditions. We show that Ehd4 up-regulates the expression of the “florigen” genes Hd3a and RFT1 through Ehd1, but it acts independently of other known Ehd1 regulators. Strikingly, Ehd4 is highly conserved in the Oryza genus including wild and cultivated rice, but has no homologs in other species, suggesting that Ehd4 is originated along with the diversification of the Oryza genus from the grass family during evolution. We conclude that Ehd4 is a novel Oryza-genus-specific regulator of Ehd1, and it plays an essential role in photoperiodic control of flowering time in rice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Yersinia pestis synthesizes the attached biofilms in the flea proventriculus, which is important for the transmission of this pathogen by fleas. The hmsHFRS operons is responsible for the synthesis of exopolysaccharide (the major component of biofilm matrix), which is activated by the signaling molecule 3', 5'-cyclic diguanylic acid (c-di-GMP) synthesized by the only two diguanylate cyclases HmsT, and YPO0449 (located in a putative operonYPO0450-0448). Methodology/Principal Findings: The phenotypic assays indicated that the transcriptional regulator Fur inhibited the Y. pestis biofilm production in vitro and on nematode. Two distinct Fur box-like sequences were predicted within the promoter-proximal region of hmsT, suggesting that hmsT might be a direct Fur target. The subsequent primer extension, LacZ fusion, electrophoretic mobility shift, and DNase I footprinting assays disclosed that Fur specifically bound to the hmsT promoter-proximal region for repressing the hmsT transcription. In contrast, Fur had no regulatory effect on hmsHFRS and YPO0450-0448 at the transcriptional level. The detection of intracellular c-di-GMP levels revealed that Fur inhibited the c-di- GMP production. Conclusions/Significance: Y. pestis Fur inhibits the c-di-GMP production through directly repressing the transcription of hmsT, and thus it acts as a repressor of biofilm formation. Since the relevant genetic contents for fur, hmsT, hmsHFRS, and YPO0450-0448 are extremely conserved between Y. pestis and typical Y. pseudotuberculosis, the above regulatory mechanisms can be applied to Y. pseudotuberculosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) have variable light curves. Although most models attribute the observed variability to one physical origin (e.g., central engine activity, clumpy circumburst medium, or relativistic turbulence), some models invoke two physically distinct variability components. We develop a method, namely, the stepwise filter correlation method, to decompose the variability components in a GRB light curve. Based on a low-pass filter technique, we progressively filter the high-frequency signals from the light curve, and then perform a correlation analysis between each adjunct pair of filtered light curves. Our simulations suggest that if a mock light curve contains a "slow" variability component superposed on a rapidly varying time sequence, the correlation coefficient as a function of the filter frequency would display a prominent "dip" feature around the frequency of the slow component. Through simulations, we demonstrate that this method can identify significant clustering structures of a light curve in the frequency domain, and we prove that it can catch superposed signals that are otherwise not easy to retrieve based on other methods (e.g., the power density spectrum analysis method).We apply this method to 266 Burst and Transient Source Experiment bright GRBs. We find that the majority of the bursts have clear evidence of such a superposition effect. We perform a statistical analysis of the identified variability components and discuss the implications for GRB physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague. The two transcriptional regulators, PhoP and RovA, are required for the virulence of Y. pestis through the regulation of various virulence-associated loci. They are the global regulators controlling two distinct large complexes of cellular pathways. Methodology/Principal Findings: Based on the LacZ fusion, primer extension, gel mobility shift, and DNase I footprinting assays, RovA is shown to recognize both of the two promoters of its gene in Y. pestis. The autoregulation of RovA appears to be a conserved mechanism shared by Y. pestis and its closely related progenitor, Y. pseudotuberculosis. In Y. pestis, the PhoP regulator responds to low magnesium signals and then negatively controls only one of the two promoters of rovA through PhoP-promoter DNA association. Conclusions/Significance: RovA is a direct transcriptional activator for its own gene in Y. pestis, while PhoP recognizes the promoter region of rovA to repress its transcription. The direct regulatory association between PhoP and RovA bridges the PhoP and RovA regulons in Y. pestis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The cAMP receptor protein (CRP) is a global bacterial regulator that controls many target genes. The CRP-cAMP complex regulates the ompR-envZ operon in E. coli directly, involving both positive and negative regulations of multiple target promoters; further, it controls the production of porins indirectly through its direct action on ompR-envZ. Auto-regulation of CRP has also been established in E. coli. However, the regulation of porin genes and its own gene by CRP remains unclear in Y. pestis. Results: Y. pestis employs a distinct mechanism indicating that CRP has no regulatory effect on the ompR-envZ operon; however, it stimulates ompC and ompF directly, while repressing ompX. No transcriptional regulatory association between CRP and its own gene can be detected in Y. pestis, which is also in contrast to the fact that CRP acts as both repressor and activator for its own gene in E. coli. It is likely that Y. pestis OmpR and CRP respectively sense different signals (medium osmolarity, and cellular cAMP levels) to regulate porin genes independently. Conclusion: Although the CRP of Y. pestis shows a very high homology to that of E. coli, and the consensus DNA sequence recognized by CRP is shared by the two bacteria, the Y. pestis CRP can recognize the promoters of ompC, F, and X directly rather than that of its own gene, which is different from the relevant regulatory circuit of E. coli. Data presented here indicate a remarkable remodeling of the CRP-mediated regulation of porin genes and of its own one between these two bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The osmotic regulator OmpR in Escherichia coli regulates differentially the expression of major porin proteins OmpF and OmpC. In Yersinia enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis, OmpR is required for both virulence and survival within macrophages. However, the phenotypic and regulatory roles of OmpR in Y. pestis are not yet fully understood. Results: Y. pestis OmpR is involved in building resistance against phagocytosis and controls the adaptation to various stressful conditions met in macrophages. The ompR mutation likely did not affect the virulence of Y. pestis strain 201 that was a human-avirulent enzootic strain. The microarray-based comparative transcriptome analysis disclosed a set of 224 genes whose expressions were affected by the ompR mutation, indicating the global regulatory role of OmpR in Y. pestis. Real-time RT-PCR or lacZ fusion reporter assay further validated 16 OmpRdependent genes, for which OmpR consensus-like sequences were found within their upstream DNA regions. ompC, F, X, and R were up-regulated dramatically with the increase of medium osmolarity, which was mediated by OmpR occupying the target promoter regions in a tandem manner. Conclusion: OmpR contributes to the resistance against phagocytosis or survival within macrophages, which is conserved in the pathogenic yersiniae. Y. pestis OmpR regulates ompC, F, X, and R directly through OmpR-promoter DNA association. There is an inducible expressions of the pore-forming proteins OmpF, C, and × at high osmolarity in Y. pestis, in contrast to the reciprocal regulation of them in E. coli. The main difference is that ompF expression is not repressed at high osmolarity in Y. pestis, which is likely due to the absence of a promoter-distal OmpR-binding site for ompF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The transcription regulator PhoP has been shown to be important for Y. pestis survival in macrophages and under various in vitro stresses. However, the mechanism by which PhoP promotes bacterial intracellular survival is not fully understood. Our previous microarray analysis suggested that PhoP governed a wide set of cellular pathways in Y. pestis. A series of biochemical experiments were done herein to study members of the PhoP regulon of Y. pestis biovar Microtus. Results: By using gel mobility shift assay and quantitative RT-PCR, a total of 30 putative transcription units were characterized as direct PhoP targets. The primer extension assay was further used to determine the transcription start sites of 18 PhoP-dependent promoters and to localize the -10 and -35 elements. The DNase I footprinting was used to identify the PhoP-binding sites within 17 PhoP-dependent promoters, enabling the identification of PhoP box and matrix that both represented the conserved signals for PhoP recognition in Y. pestis. Data presented here providing a good basis for modeling PhoP-promoter DNA interactions that is crucial to the PhoP-mediated transcriptional regulation. Conclusion: The proven direct PhoP targets include nine genes encoding regulators and 21 genes or operons with functions of detoxification, protection against DNA damages, resistance to antimicrobial peptides, and adaptation to magnesium limitation. We can presume that PhoP is a global regulator that controls a complex regulatory cascade by a mechanism of not only directly controlling the expression of specific genes, but also indirectly regulating various cellular pathways by acting on a set of dedicated regulators. These results help us gain insights into the PhoP-dependent mechanisms by which Y. pestis survives the antibacterial strategies employed by host macrophages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imprint pressure uniformity is crucial to the pattern uniformity and yield of nanoimprint lithography (NIL) and, hence, its applications. We studied a novel imprint method, air cushion press (ACP), in which the mold and substrate are pressed against each other by gas pressure rather than solid plates, and compared it with a common method, solid parallel-plate press (SPP). We found that (a) under normal imprinting conditions the measured pressure distribution across a 100-mm-diameter single imprint field in ACP is nearly an order of magnitude more uniform; (b) ACP is immune to any dust and topology variations on the backside of the mold or substrate; (c) when a dust particle is between the mold and substrate, ACP reduces the damage area by orders of magnitude; (d) ACP causes much less mold damage because of significantly less lateral shift between the mold and substrate; and (e) ACP has much smaller thermal mass and therefore significantly faster speed for thermal imprinting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The joint detection of GW170817 and GRB 170817A indicated that at least a fraction of short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) originate from binary neutron star (BNS) mergers. One possible remnant of a BNS merger is a rapidly rotating, strongly magnetized neutron star, which has been discussed as one possible central engine for gamma-ray bursts. For a rapidly rotating magnetar central engine, the deposition of the rotation energy into the ejecta launched from the merger could lead to bright radio emission. The brightness of radio emission years after an SGRB would provide an estimate of the kinetic energy of ejecta and, hence, a possible constraint on the BNS merger product. We perform a more detailed calculation on the brightness of radio emission from the interaction between the merger ejecta and circumburst medium in the magnetar scenario, invoking several important physical processes such as generic hydrodynamics, relativistic effects, and the deep Newtonian phase. We use the model to constrain the allowed parameter space for 15 SGRBs that have late radio observations. Our results show that an injection energy of Einj ∼ 1052 erg is allowed for all the cases, which suggests that the possibility of a supramassive or hypermassive neutron star remnant is not disfavored by the available radio data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To optimize nanoimprint lithography (NIL), it is essential to be able to characterize and control the NIL process in situ and in real time. Here, we present a method for in situ real-time NIL process characterization using time-resolved diffractive scatterometry (TRDS). A surface relief diffraction grating is used as the imprint mold, and the diffracted light intensity is monitored continuously during the imprint process. We use a scalar diffraction model to calculate the diffraction intensity as a function of the mold penetration ratio. Simulations show good agreement with the experimental results. Our results indicate that TRDS offers a powerful characterization tool that can be used for in situ, real-time NIL process control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive dispersion measure (DM) of fast radio bursts (FRBs) has been proposed to be a powerful tool to study intergalactic medium (IGM) and to perform cosmography. One issue is that the fraction of baryons in the IGM, fIGM, is not properly constrained. Here, we propose a method of estimating fIGM using a putative sample of FRBs with the measurements of both DM and luminosity distance dL. The latter can be obtained if the FRB is associated with a distance indicator (e.g., a gamma-ray burst or a gravitational-wave event), or the redshift z of the FRB is measured and dL at the corresponding z is available from other distance indicators (e.g., SNe Ia) at the same redshift. As dL/DM essentially does not depend on cosmological parameters, our method can determine fIGM independent of cosmological parameters. We parameterize fIGM as a function of redshift and model the DM contribution from a host galaxy as a function of star formation rate. Assuming fIGM has a mild evolution with redshift with a functional form and by means of Monte Carlo simulations, we show that an unbiased and cosmology-independent estimate of the present value of fIGM with a ∼12% uncertainty can be obtained with 50 joint measurements of dL and DM. In addition, such a method can also lead to a measurement of the mean value of DM contributed from the local host galaxy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) amplifier is widely used in the field of weak signal detection for its low input impedance, low noise, and low power consumption. In this paper, the SQUIDs with identical junctions and the series SQUIDs with different junctions were successfully fabricated. The Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb trilayer and input Nb coils were prepared by asputtering equipment. The SQUID devices were prepared by a sputtering and the lift-off method. Investigations by AFM, OM and SEM revealed the morphology and roughness of the Nb films and Nb/Al-AlOx/Nb trilayer. In addition, the current–voltage characteristics of the SQUID devices with identical junction and different junction areas were measured at 2.5 K in the He3 refrigerator. The results show that the SQUID modulation depth is obviously affected by the junction area. The modulation depth obviously increases with the increase of the junction area in a certain range. It is found that the series SQUID with identical junction area has a transimpedance gain of 58 Ω approximately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zhang et al. propose to redefine the true γ-ray burst (GRB) central engine activity duration, , by considering the contributions from the prompt γ-ray emission, X-ray flare, and internal plateau features. With a comprehensive study of a large sample of Swift GRBs, it is shown that the distribution in the observer frame consists of a bimodal feature, suggesting the existence of a new population of ultra-long GRBs. In this work, we make a series of further studies on : we update the Swift GRB sample up to 2016 June; we investigate the properties of distribution in the rest frame; we redefine by involving external plateau contributions; and we make a multiple parameter analysis to investigate whether the bursts within the ultra-long population are statistically different in the sense of other features besides the duration distribution. We find that for all situations, the distribution of requires two normal distributions in logarithmic space to provide a good fit both in the observer frame and in the rest frame. Considering the observational gap effect would not completely erase the bimodal distribution feature. However, the bursts within the ultra-long population may have no statistical difference in the sense of other features besides the duration term. We thus suggest that if the ultra-long population of GRBs indeed exists, their central engine and radiation mechanisms should be similar to those of the normal population, but they have a longer central engine activity timescale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neutron stars may sustain a non-axisymmetric deformation due to magnetic distortion and are potential sources of continuous gravitational waves (GWs) for ground-based interferometric detectors. With decades of searches using available GW detectors, no evidence of a GW signal from any pulsar has been observed. Progressively stringent upper limits of ellipticity have been placed on Galactic pulsars. In this work, we use the ellipticity inferred from the putative millisecond magnetars in short gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs) to estimate their detectability by current and future GW detectors. For ∼1 ms magnetars inferred from the SGRB data, the detection horizon is ∼30 Mpc and ∼600 Mpc for the advanced LIGO (aLIGO) and Einstein Telescope (ET), respectively. Using the ellipticity of SGRB millisecond magnetars as calibration, we estimate the ellipticity and GW strain of Galactic pulsars and magnetars assuming that the ellipticity is magnetic-distortion-induced. We find that the results are consistent with the null detection results of Galactic pulsars and magnetars with the aLIGO O1. We further predict that the GW signals from these pulsars/magnetars may not be detectable by the currently designed aLIGO detector. The ET detector may be able to detect some relatively low-frequency signals (<50 Hz) from some of these pulsars. Limited by its design sensitivity, the eLISA detector seems to not be suitable for detecting the signals from Galactic pulsars and magnetars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The merger of a double neutron star (NS–NS) binary may result in a rapidly rotating massive NS with an extremely strong magnetic field (i.e., a millisecond magnetar). In this case, the magnetic spin-down of the NS remnant provides an additional source of sustained energy injection, which would continuously power the merger ejecta. The thermal emission from the merger ejecta would give rise to a bright optical “magnetar-powered merger-nova.” In this work, we carry out a complete search for magnetar-powered merger-nova from a Swift short gamma-ray burst sample. We focus on short GRBs with extended emission or internal plateau, which may signify the presence of magnetars as the central engine. We eventually find three candidates of magnetar-powered merger-nova from the late observations of GRB 050724, GRB 070714B, and GRB 061006. With standard parameter values, the magnetar remnant scenario could well interpret the multi-band data of all three bursts, including the extended emission and their late chromatic features in the optical and X-ray data. The peak luminosities of these merger-novae reach several times , more than one order of magnitude brighter than the traditional “kilo-novae” with peak luminosity of . Intense, multi-color, late-time observations of short GRBs are encouraged to identify more merger-novae in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC), a heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer (BC), had poor prognosis. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress was responsible for cellular processes and played a crucial role in the cell function. ER stress is a complex and dynamic process that can induce abnormal apoptosis and death. However, the underlying mechanism of ER stress involved in TNBC is not well defined. Methods: We identified ubiquitin‐specific protease 19 (USP19) as a TNBC negative regulator for further investigation. The effects of USP19 on BC proliferation were assessed in vitro using proliferation test and cell‐cycle assays, while the effects in vivo were examined using a mouse tumorigenicity model. Through in vitro flow cytometric analyses and in vivo TUNEL assays, cell apoptosis was assessed. Proteomics was used to examine the proteins that interact with USP19. Results: Multiple in vitro and in vivo tests showed that USP19 decreases TNBC cell growth while increasing apoptosis. Then, we demonstrated that USP19 interacts with deubiquitinates and subsequently stabilises family molecular chaperone regulator 6 (BAG6). BAG6 can boost B‐cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) ubiquitination and degradation, thereby raising ER calcium (Ca2+) levels and causing ER stress. We also found that the N6‐methyladenosine (m6A) "writer" methyltransferase‐like 14 (METTL14) increased global m6A modification. Conclusions: Our study reveals that USP19 elevates the intracellular Ca2+ concentration to alter ER stress via regulation of BAG6 and BCL2 stability and may be a viable therapeutic target for TNBC therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a penstock serves a water supply purpose for multiple hydrogenerators in a hydroelectric power plant (HPP), a bifurcation structure should be installed between the main pipe and the branch pipes. This study focuses on a rib-strengthened steel bifurcation structure (RSSBS) with an emphasis on its hydraulic load-bearing mechanism. The finite element method is used with the contact and material non-linearities considered. The numerical simulation results agree reasonably well with in-situ measured data. Our research has underlined the critical role of the crescent-shaped rib (CSR) in lessening the stress-concentration at the bifurcation. The CSR is found to separate from the surrounding concrete under the internal water pressure (IWP), thus causing less IWP to be transmitted to the concrete. Despite the fact that the CSR is not in tension-stress-only status, however, the tensile-stress level is well within an acceptable range. In this context, the CSR should not necessarily be in tension-stress-only status, which is recognized as an ideal stress state in the conventional design philosophy. The findings also suggest that the importance of the concrete should not be stressed too much in the structural design of RSSBSs considering its backfilling role. The role of the crescent-shaped rib in strengthening local stiffness is underlined. The rib is found to separate from the concrete under the internal water pressure. The simulation results agree reasonably well with in-situ measured data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the first association between an ultra-long gamma-ray burst (GRB) and a supernova was reported, i.e., GRB 111209A/SN 2011kl, enabling us to investigate the physics of central engines or even progenitors for ultra-long GRBs. In this paper, we inspect the broadband data of GRB 111209A/SN 2011kl. The late-time X-ray light curve exhibits a GRB 121027A-like fallback bump, suggesting a black hole (BH) central engine. We thus propose a collapsar model with fallback accretion for GRB 111209A/SN 2011kl. The required model parameters, such as the total mass and radius of the progenitor star, suggest that the progenitor of GRB 111209A is more likely a Wolf–Rayet star instead of a blue supergiant, and the central engine of this ultra-long burst is a BH. The implications of our results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the framework of the external shock model of gamma-ray burst (GRB) afterglows, we perform a morphological analysis of the early-optical light curves to directly constrain model parameters. We define four morphological types, i.e., the reverse shock-dominated cases with/without the emergence of the forward shock peak (Type I/Type II), and the forward shock-dominated cases without/with νm crossing the band (Type III/IV). We systematically investigate all of the Swift GRBs that have optical detection earlier than 500 s and find 3/63 Type I bursts (4.8%), 12/63 Type II bursts (19.0%), 30/63 Type III bursts (47.6%), 8/63 Type IV bursts (12.7%), and 10/63 Type III/IV bursts (15.9%). We perform Monte Carlo simulations to constrain model parameters in order to reproduce the observations. We find that the favored value of the magnetic equipartition parameter in the forward shock () ranges from 10−6 to 10−2, and the reverse-to-forward ratio of ϵB () is about 100. The preferred electron equipartition parameter value is 0.01, which is smaller than the commonly assumed value, e.g., 0.1. This could mitigate the so-called “efficiency problem” for the internal shock model, if ϵe during the prompt emission phase (in the internal shocks) is large (say, ∼0.1). The preferred value is in agreement with the results in previous works that indicate a moderately magnetized baryonic jet for GRBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Einstein Equivalence Principle (EEP) can be probed with astrophysical sources emitting simultaneously different types of neutral particles, or particles with varying energies, by testing their time of flight through the same gravitational field. Here we use the time delays between correlated photons from cosmological transients to constrain the accuracy of the EEP. We take data from two gamma-ray bursts as an example and, as a lower limit to the theoretical time delays between different energies, we use delays arising from only the gravitational field of our own galaxy. We then show that the parameterized post-Newtonian parameter γ is the same for photons over energy ranges between eV and MeV and between MeV and GeV to a part in 10−7, which is at least one order of magnitude better than previous limits. Combining this bound on the wavelength dependence of γ with the absolute bound from light-deflection measurements at optical (eV) wavelengths, we thus extend this absolute bound on γ to GeV energies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GRB 080503 is a short gamma-ray burst (GRB) detected by Swift and has been classified as a GRB originating from a compact star merger. The soft extended emission and the simultaneous late re-brightening in both the X-ray and optical afterglow light curves raise interesting questions regarding its physical origin. We show that the broadband data of GRB 080503 can be well explained within the framework of the double neutron star merger model, provided that the merger remnant is a rapidly rotating massive neutron star with an extremely high magnetic field (i.e., a millisecond magnetar). We show that the late optical re-brightening is consistent with the emission from a magnetar-powered “merger-nova.” This adds one more case to the growing sample of merger-novae associated with short GRBs. The soft extended emission and the late X-ray excess emission are well connected through a magnetar dipole spin-down luminosity evolution function, suggesting that direct magnetic dissipation is the mechanism to produce these X-rays. The X-ray emission initially leaks from a hole in the merger ejecta pierced by the short GRB jet. The hole subsequently closes after the magnetar spins down and the magnetic pressure drops below ram pressure. The X-ray photons are then trapped behind the merger-nova ejecta until the ejecta becomes optically thin at a later time. This explains the essentially simultaneous re-brightening in both the optical and X-ray light curves. Within this model, future gravitational-wave sources could be associated with a bright X-ray counterpart along with the merger-nova, even if the short GRB jet beams away from Earth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gamma-ray burst (GRB) central engine intrinsic activity time is usually described through either the γ-ray duration T90 or through a generalized burst duration that includes both the γ-ray emission and (when present) an extended flaring X-ray plateau. Here, we define a more specific operational description of , and within the framework of the internal–external shock model, we develop a numerical code to study the relationship between T90 and , as well as between and , for different initial conditions. We find that when s, late internal collisions or refreshed external collisions result in values of and larger than , usually by factors of 2–3. For s, the is always a good estimator for , while T90 can underpredict when the late central engine activity is moderate. We find a clear bimodal distribution for , based on our simulations as well as on the observational data for T90 and . We suggest that is a reliable measure for defining “ultra-long” GRBs. Bursts with T90 of order 103 s need not belong to a special population, while bursts with s, where the late central engine activity is more moderate and shows up in X-rays, may represent a new population. These conclusions are insensitive to the initial conditions assumed in the models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the transfer of sub-10 nm half-pitch grating patterns created through a combination of block copolymer directed self-assembly and sidewall spacer-based self-aligned double patterning into Si substrates. Low substrate bias reactive ion etching of TiOx conformally deposited onto carbon mandrels using atomic layer deposition renders distinct, pitch-halved spacers with minimal etch byproduct redeposition. Independent spacer and mandrel width control and the use of an underlying CrNx hard mask deposited by reactive sputtering facilitates etching of Si lines with low roughness and fine placement control. The insights into pattern transfer presented here are directly applicable to the fabrication of rectangular bit pattern nanoimprint templates at densities above 1.5 Td in−2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vibrio cholerae is an important human pathogen and environmental microflora species that can both propagate in the human intestine and proliferate in zooplankton and aquatic organisms. Cholera is transmitted through food and water. In recent years, outbreaks caused by V. cholerae-contaminated soft-shelled turtles, contaminated mainly with toxigenic serogroup O139, have been frequently reported, posing a new foodborne disease public health problem. In this study, the colonization by toxigenic V. cholerae on the body surfaces and intestines of soft-shelled turtles was explored. Preferred colonization sites on the turtle body surfaces, mainly the carapace and calipash of the dorsal side, were observed for the O139 and O1 strains. Intestinal colonization was also found. The colonization factors of V. cholerae played different roles in the colonization of the soft-shelled turtle's body surface and intestine. Mannose-sensitive hemagglutinin (MSHA) of V. cholerae was necessary for body surface colonization, but no roles were found for toxin-coregulated pili (TCP) or N-acetylglucosamine-binding protein A (GBPA). Both TCP and GBPA play important roles for colonization in the intestine, whereas the deletion of MSHA revealed only a minor colonization-promoting role for this factor. Our study demonstrated that V. cholerae can colonize the surfaces and the intestines of soft-shelled turtles and indicated that the soft-shelled turtles played a role in the transmission of cholera. In addition, this study showed that the soft-shelled turtle has potential value as an animal model in studies of the colonization and environmental adaption mechanisms of V. cholerae in aquatic organisms. IMPORTANCE Cholera is transmitted through water and food. Soft-shelled turtles contaminated with Vibrio cholerae (commonly the serogroup O139 strains) have caused many foodborne infections and outbreaks in recent years, and they have become a foodborne disease problem. Except for epidemiological investigations, no experimental studies have demonstrated the colonization by V. cholerae on soft-shelled turtles. The present studies will benefit our understanding of the interaction between V. cholerae and the soft-shelled turtle. We demonstrated the colonization by V. cholerae on the soft-shelled turtle's body surface and in the intestine and revealed the different roles of major V. cholerae factors for colonization on the body surface and in the intestine. Our work provides experimental evidence for the role of soft-shelled turtles in cholera transmission. In addition, this study also shows the possibility for the soft-shelled turtle to serve as a new animal model for studying the interaction between V. cholerae and aquatic hosts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is currently the best therapy for triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC), resistance still occurs in a considerable proportion, thus it is crucial to understand resistance mechanisms and identify predictive biomarkers for patients selection. Methods: Biopsy samples were collected from 21 patients with TNBC who underwent NAC. Whole‐exome sequencing (WES), targeted sequencing, and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) were carried out on the clinical samples and used to identify and validate potential biomarkers associated with response to NAC. In addition, data on 190 TNBC patients who had undergone chemotherapy were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and analyzed to further validate our findings. Results: Both the tumor mutational burden (TMB) and tumor neoantigen burden (TNB) were significantly higher in responders than in non‐responders. Higher response rates and longer survival rates were observed in patients with higher TMB. Patients with higher ratios of CD8 to M2 macrophages had higher response rates and improved survival rates. Finally, the integrated analysis demonstrated that the combination of TMB and the ratio of CD8 T cells to M2 macrophages could further distinguish patients who benefitted from the treatment in both enrolled patients and public data. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that the combination of TMB and the ratio of CD8 T cells to M2 macrophages may be a potential biomarker for improving the recognition of NAC responders, thereby providing a basis for developing precision NAC regimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Numerical Study of a Chemical Method Applied to Instantaneous Heat Removal Under High Heat Flux" in the July 5, 2014 issue is presented.