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Commercial multi-channel energy spectrometers have good performance, they have multiple in- put signal channels and multi-channel analyzers, which can simultaneously acquire the energy spectrum of multiple nuclear pulse signals. But the input signal channel of this general multi-channel energy spectrometer cannot be switched between the internal multi-channel analyzers, and an input signal channel can only be fixed to the corresponding multi-channel analyzers. Hence, to resolve this issue, this paper designed a nuclear pulse signal array switching circuit. The core of the array switching circuit is a switch array chip with low internal resistance and high bandwidth, which controls the signal connection between the input signal channel with the multi-channel analyzers. Using 137Cs and uranium ore as radioactive sources, the energy spectrum test and spectrum data analysis were carried out using a Nal detector, respectively, when the nuclear pulse signal passed through and did not pass through the array switching circuit. The results showed that the circuit demonstrates little effect on the energy resolution and linearity of the multi-channel analyzers but causes a small drift of the high-energy photopeak, and improve the reliability of the circuit by energy spectrum data accumulation. This circuit can make the application of a multi-channel energy spectrometers more flexible and reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital core models reconstructed using X-ray tomography (X-CT) enable the quantitative characterization of the pore structure in three dimensions (3D) and the numerical simulation of petrophysics. When the X-CT images accurately reflect the micro structures of core samples, the greyscale threshold in the image segmentation determines the accuracy of digital cores and the simulated petrophysical properties. Therefore, it is vital to investigate the comparison parameter for determining the key greyscale threshold and the criterion to describe the accuracy of the segmentation. Representative coquina digital core models from X-CT are used in this work to study the impact of grayscale threshold on the porosity, pore percolation, connectivity and electrical resistivity of the pore scale model and these simulations are calculated by Minkowski functions, component labeling and finite element method, respectively, to quantify the pore structure and simulate electrical resistivity. Results showed that the simulated physical properties of the digital cores, varied with the gradual increase of the greyscale threshold. Among the four parameters related to the threshold, the porosity was most sensitive and chose as the comparison parameter to judge the accuracy of the greyscale threshold. The variations of the threshold change the micro pore structures, and then the electrical resistivity. When the porosity of the digital core model is close to the experimental porosity, the simulated porosity exponent matches the experimental porosity exponents well. The good agreement proved that the porosity is the critical comparison parameter to describe the accuracy of image segmentation. The criterion is that the porosity of the digital core after segmentation should be close to the experimental porosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bond performance of mortar anchor under dynamic load was simulated by dynamic pull-out test of steel bar. The influence of the loading rate, anchoring length and mortar strength on the bond performance was analyzed. The results showed that with the increase of the loading rate, the peak of bond stress increased gradually and the rising part of the bond stress curve changed rapidly. Meanwhile, the strain of the steel along the anchoring depth gradually decreased and the decreasing rate increased gradually. With the increase of the anchoring length, the sum of the bond stress at each point in the anchoring section increased gradually and the bond performance improved. With the increase of the mortar strength, the peak of the bond stress curve moved toward the loading end and the distance transferred by the bond stress along the anchoring depth was small. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Combined with the plasticity - damage constitutive model of hydraulic concrete obtained from the test by considering the strain rate effect, the elastic-plastic numerical simulation of Koyna concrete gravity dam under different seismic waves is carried out with ABAQUS software. The effect of strain rate on the dynamic performance of concrete gravity dam under earthquake is discussed by comparing the results of high strain rate and quasi-static loading. The results show: when the peak acceleration is small, the acceleration and displacement of the feature point calculated by considering the strain rate effect are smaller than those without considering the strain rate effect, and the difference is not obvious. With the increase of the seismic peak acceleration, the difference gradually increases. Considering the effect of concrete strain rate, the principal tensile stress in the dam is higher than without considering the strain rate, and more in accordance with the actual damage form. It is suggested that the strain rate effect of concrete should be considered in the seismic response analysis of concrete gravity dam. Highlights • The plasticity-damage constitutive model of hydraulic concrete is obtained. • The elastic-plastic numerical simulation of Koyna concrete gravity dam is carried out with ABAQUS software. • The effect of strain rate on the dynamic performance of concrete gravity dam under earthquake is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of the rate of penetration (ROP) is significant for drilling optimization. While the intelligent ROP prediction model based on fully connected neural networks (FNN) outperforms traditional ROP equations and machine learning algorithms, its lack of interpretability undermines its credibility. This study proposes a novel interpretation and characterization method for the FNN ROP prediction model using the Rectified Linear Unit (ReLU) activation function. By leveraging the derivative of the ReLU function, the FNN function calculation process is transformed into vector operations. The FNN model is linearly characterized through further simplification, enabling its interpretation and analysis. The proposed method is applied in ROP prediction scenarios using drilling data from three vertical wells in the Tarim Oilfield. The results demonstrate that the FNN ROP prediction model with ReLU as the activation function performs exceptionally well. The relative activation frequency curve of hidden layer neurons aids in analyzing the overfitting of the FNN ROP model and determining drilling data similarity. In the well sections with similar drilling data, averaging the weight parameters enables linear characterization of the FNN ROP prediction model, leading to the establishment of a corresponding linear representation equation. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis of each feature's influence on ROP facilitates the proposal of drilling parameter optimization schemes for the current well section. The established linear characterization equation exhibits high precision, strong stability, and adaptability through the application and validation across multiple well sections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to investigate the functional role of gap junction protein a 5 (Gja5) in arterial endothelial cells in the arteriogenesis that occurs during acute ischemic cardiovascular disease. Gja5 knockout mice and the femoral artery occlusion (FAO) model were used in the current study. Perfusions of both hindlimbs were obtained separately prior to FAO, immediately following FAO and 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after FAO using a Laser Doppler Flow Imager. Genetic evidence concerning the gastrocnemicus (GC) muscle was collected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. There were significant reductions in the hindlimb perfusion of Gja5-/- mice compared with Gja5+/+ mice 1, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days following FAO. In Gja5+/- and in Gja5+/+ mice, the expression of Gja5 in the GC muscle was increased 4-fold in the ischemic hindlimb 3 days following FAO. Levels of Gja5 expression then returned to baseline values 7 days after FAO. The results of the present study demonstrated that arterial Gja5 expression serves a functional role in acute ischemic cardiovascular disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate string correlations in an infinite-size spin-1/2 bond-alternating Heisenberg chain. By employing the infinite matrix product state representation with the infinite time evolving block decimation method, a finite string correlation for extremely large lattice distances is directly observed, in contrast to an extrapolated extreme value for finite size chains. We find that a topological quantum phase transition occurs between two different phases separated and characterized by two different long-range string orders in the space of bond-alternating interactions. Also, the critical exponent ß from the long-range string orders is obtained as ß = 1/12 and the central charge at the critical point is obtained as c ≃ 1, which shows that the topological phase transition belongs to the Gaussian universality class. In addition, it is shown that, for the topological quantum phase transition, the phase boundary can be captured by the singular behavior of the von Neumann entropy and the pinch point of the fidelity per site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conspecific brood parasitism (CBP) is a widespread alternative female reproductive tactic in birds. We monitored CBP and nesting biology of Mandarin Ducks (Aix galericulata) using nest boxes for six breeding seasons in Zuojia, northeast China. CBP occurred commonly (46.2% of completed clutches) during the study and frequency was positively associated with nest densities. The frequency of CBP declined as the nesting season progressed. On average, ~2.5 females laid eggs in each parasitized nest. There were significant differences in clutch initiation dates and mean laying period between parasitized and un-parasitized nests; no difference was detected for the mean incubation period. Clutch size for un-parasitized nests decreased with advancing initiation date, but not for parasitized nests. The hatching rate for eggs in successful nests was 87.1%, and no significant difference was detected between parasitized and un-parasitized nests. The average number of ducklings that left from successful un-parasitized and parasitized nests was 8.4 and 15.4, respectively. Nest desertion was the main cause for nest failure and sibling trampling was the only cause of duckling loss before departure from nests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the change of phosphorylated p44/42 extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK1/2) and c-fos expression induced by single-prolonged stress (SPS) in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and to determine whether extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathway plays a role in SPS. Before exposure to SPS, Wistar rats were bilaterally infused with PD98059, inhibitor of ERK, into the mPFC. Animals were then tested in the open field (OF), elevated plus-maze (EPM), and Morris water maze (MWM). Brains were removed for immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting of pERK1/2. And reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed to detect the c-fos mRNA, a member of immediate early genes (IGEs) family. SPS exposure resulted in pronounced anxiety-like behavior compared to control animals. SPS-exposed animals also displayed marked learning and spatial memory impairments. PD98059 significantly ameliorated anxiety-like behavior, learning, and spatial memory impairments. Expression of pERK1/2 in mPFC was significantly increased after rats were exposed to SPS, and the increase induced by SPS was significantly abolished by PD98059. The results of RT-PCR showed that the expression of c-fos mRNA had a significant increase in SPS rats compared with control rats, and the increase was significantly abolished by PD98059. The results suggest that pERK1/2 may be related to signal transduction pathway in single-prolonged stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous silicon (PS) was incubated in an organic solution of metal acetylacetonates of Mn(acac)3, Fe(acac)3, Co(acac)3, and Ni(acac)2(acac MeCOCHCOMe) at room temperature. Crystal-like domains were found to be spontaneously self-assembled on PS surfaces by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Spectroscopic studies with attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed that the domains were grown from metal acetylacetonates. Current sensing atomic force microscopy (CSAFM) was used to measure the I-Vcurves of domains in nanoscale and specific step-jump currents on the manganese and cobalt acetylacetonate domains were surprisingly detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shandong and Fujian are two important provinces regarding the development of the seaweed industry, which shared three-fourths of the national seaweed yield in the year 2020. The present study has analyzed the overall situation of the seaweed industry in Shandong and Fujian provinces by comparing annual output, farming area, and species structure. The current status of Laminaria japonica cultivation in two provinces is also compared to the production process, industrial organization, progress, and innovation. On this foundation, the following development strategies are proposed for the seaweed industry in Shandong Province: (1) change the mindset based on the present industrial basis, (2) retain and transform innovative achievements, (3) enhance the services of associations and organizations and (4) construct brands based on current market share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

N6-Methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal RNA modification catalyzed by host RNA methyltransferases. As obligate intracellular parasites, many viruses acquire m6A methylation in their RNAs. However, the biological functions of viral m6A methylation are poorly understood. Here, we found that viral m6A methylation serves as a molecular marker for host innate immunity to discriminate self from nonself RNA and that this novel biological function of viral m6A methylation is universally conserved in several families in nonsegmented negative-sense (NNS) RNA viruses. Using m6A methyltransferase (METTL3) knockout cells, we produced m6A-deficient virion RNAs from the representative members of the families Pneumoviridae, Paramyxoviridae, and Rhabdoviridae and found that these m6A-deficient viral RNAs triggered significantly higher levels of type I interferon compared to the m6A-sufficient viral RNAs, in a RIG-I-dependent manner. Reconstitution of the RIG-I pathway revealed that m6A-deficient virion RNA induced higher expression of RIG-I, bound to RIG-I more efficiently, enhanced RIG-I ubiquitination, and facilitated RIG-I conformational rearrangement and oligomerization. Furthermore, the m6A binding protein YTHDF2 is essential for suppression of the type I interferon signaling pathway, including by virion RNA. Collectively, our results suggest that several families in NNS RNA viruses acquire m6A in viral RNA as a common strategy to evade host innate immunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the influence of continuous running of ground water, the uranium atoms can be separated physically from their daughters for the reason of different solubilities and the uranium deposit often shows the disequilibrium feature between uranium and its daughter products (radium principally). It is important, when spectral gamma ray logging, to quantify the uranium content which can cause inaccuracy of the result. This paper, based on spectral у ray logging method, proposes a neutron-gamma logging method to determine the coefficient of uranium-radium disequilibrium. In this method, characteristic peak count rate of uranium is taken from prompt fission neutron logging, whereas characteristic peak count rate of radium, thorium and potassium are taken from spectral gamma ray logging. Based on this method, the union logging tool including epithermal neutron, thermal neutron, and gamma detector along with D-T generator, have been developed. The experimental results, in standard model wells, show that this method is in good agreement within 7% in core assay results. It shows that the union neutron-у logging method can be used for field uranium logging jobs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of the Tethys Ocean has received much research attention; however, the timing and subduction mechanisms involved in the closure of the Bangong-Nujiang MesoTethys Ocean remain poorly constrained. In this study, we present geological, geochronological, geochemical, and zircon isotopic data from Cretaceous magmatic rocks and combine these with previously published data within the central Bangong-Nujiang suture zone in the north-central Tibetan Plateau. The integrated data update the regional tectonic framework and enable a comprehensive geodynamic model to be developed for the subduction and ocean closure events. In detail, temporal and spatial variations in the Jurassic–Cretaceous magmatism reflect the influence of the northward subduction of the Dongqiao-Amdo oceanic basin and the bidirectional subduction of the Bangong-Nujiang Meso-Tethys oceanic crust. The evolution of the Bangong-Nujiang Meso-Tethys Ocean further involved initial intra-ocean subduction, slab rollback, and flat subduction, as evidenced by two phases of north-south migration of magmatism at ca. 190–160 and 160–130 Ma and a magmatic hiatus at 160–140 Ma. The ocean closed during a two-stage process, including the closure of the Dongqiao-Amdo oceanic basin to the north and the Bangong-Nujiang Meso-Tethys Ocean to the south. The Dongqiao-Amdo oceanic basin closed soon after ca. 180 Ma, accompanied by continent-continent collision between the Amdo microcontinent and the South Qiangtang terrane. The Bangong-Nujiang Meso-Tethys Ocean closed at 130–120 Ma, corresponding to a period of waning magmatism. This closure represented complete oceanic closure and caused an arc-continent collisional event involving the Baingoin magmatic arc, the Amdo microcontinent, and the Lhasa terrane. The Lower Cretaceous terrestrial strata and their basal unconformity mark the final closure of the ocean, and the Early Cretaceous ocean islands might have formed before ca. 130 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stunt nematodes belong to an important group that feeds on the roots of many types of crops worldwide. They include Tylenchorhynchus spp. and Merlinius spp., which although, at present are classified as minor pests, but are a potential biosecurity threats to global agriculture production and food security. Molecular and morphological studies of Tylenchorhynchus thermophilus, T. annulatus and Merlinius brevidens were conducted in this study with the main aim of accurate identification and classification of the pest. This is necessary in planning of protective and preventive measures to reduce the risk of transmission of these nematodes. The phylogenetic relationships were analyzed using ITS 1 and 18S genes of ribosomal DNA. These analyses indicated that sequence identity ranged from 97.1% to 99.8% among six Merlinius populations and 91.4% to 98.9% between two Tylenchorhynchus populations. The results of this study are significant in biosecurity measures at plant quarantine stations at sea and airports and also useful to scientists, extension agencies and farmers involved in nematode research and control. © 2014 Friends Science Publishers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of existing solar ventilation envelope systems adopt a single structure including a glass cover a massive wall, which possesses the drawbacks of low thermal efficiency and poor stability. In recent decades, auxiliary power generation devices, led by photovoltaic (PV), have made epochal achievements in integrated building applications, while the superior thermal regulation capability of thermal storage materials, represented by phrase change materials (PCM), has further helped to improve the thermal environment of buildings, and the above two technologies have demonstrated great energy conservation potential. In order to explore the application and synergistic effect of the above two energy-conservation technologies in passive ventilation envelopes, a novel functional ventilation building envelope (FVBE) integrated with PV panel and PCM is proposed in this paper. A comprehensive exploration of the influence of various key parameters on the thermal performance of the FVBE-PV/PCM system. The electrical and thermal performance of the system is explored based on different seasonal climates. Specifically, effects of thickness as well as the melting temperature of PCM and the air channel width has been provided in this study. Taking the inner wall surface temperature (T inner_wall), equivalent indoor load (Q load) and electrical efficiency (η e) as evaluation indexes, the thermal efficiency, electrical performance and the coupling mechanism was assessed. Specifically, the coupling mechanism between the thermal performance and electrical performance of the FVBE-PV/PCM system was analyzed from the perspective of combined heat and power, revealing the functional characteristics of the system. Meanwhile, the article conducted a comparative study on the thermal and electrical performance of a typical building integrated PV (BIPV), FVBE-PV system FVBE-PV/PCM system. In particular, energy and exergy analysis is carried out to characterize the energy utilization of the FVBE-PV/PCM system in different structural systems. The research found that increasing the thickness of both the PCM and air channel leads to lower indoor temperature and heat flux, with different optimal phase transition temperatures for summer and winter. Although the FVBE-PV system exhibited a maximum 3.12 % reduction in power generation efficiency compared to the BIPV system due to increased PV temperature caused by air layer insulation, incorporating PCM can reduce exergy losses by an average of 31.731 % to mitigate this drawback and improve energy efficiency. Additionally, the analysis revealed varying coupling correlations between thermal performance and power generation based on two key parameters. This study could contribute to the functional improvement of the building envelope and simultaneous indoor thermal regulation. • A FVBE system is proposed for power generation and indoor thermal regulation. • The numerical model of FVBE-PV/PCM is developed. • The influence of several parameters are analyzed. • Energy and exergy analysis on different systems are clarified. • Coupling relationship between electrical and thermal performance are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Betatrons have the advantages of small size, lightweight, and simple operation. They are widely used in non-destructive testing, cargo, and vehicle safety inspection systems. Magnetic field distribution is an essential parameter of betatrons and has been investigated via experimental methods. Recently, simulations have been performed for the magnetic field distribution generated by different magnetic pole parameters. In this study, the finite element method is employed to simulate the magnetic field distribution. The effects of the different magnetic end face opening angles, pole protrusion sizes, number of central magnetic pads, and magnetic pole bottom width on the magnetic field distribution are simulated. Based on the simulation results, magnetic poles are developed, and the magnetic field distribution is measured by a gauss meter. The relative error of the measured and simulated equilibrium orbit is 2.1 %, and the relative error of the magnetic field decay index is 3.3 %. The magnetic field distribution can satisfy the essential conditions that the magnetic field at equilibrium orbit of the betatron is equal to half of the average magnetic field within equilibrium orbit and the magnetic field decay index is greater than 0 and less than 1. The results show that the finite element simulation method and established model have high reliability and effectively improve the design accuracy of magnetic poles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experience with surveying practices has shown that correlated observations are very often encountered, especially in preprocessed observations. Hence, it is not only of theoretical interest, but also of practical interest, to investigate the detection of outliers for correlated observations. The so-called quasi-accurate detection (QUAD) of outliers for correlated observations is developed. The corresponding computation principle and its implementation are investigated in detail. The key of QUAD is how to select the quasi-accurate observations (QAO) reasonably. A new, distinctive sensitivity-analysis based method is proposed for selecting the QAO. For illustrative purposes, an application to global positioning system network adjustment is analyzed. The numerical results demonstrate that more than one outlier can be correctly identified and localized by using the proposed procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns the determination of the singular stress fields in bonded bimaterial wedges under inplane loading. The mathematical complexity required for deriving the eigen solutions is avoided by an ad hoc developed one-dimensional finite element formulation. The computed eigen solutions are here adopted in the assumed stress fields of hybrid stress elements which are employed to determine the stress intensities. To illustrate the efficacy of the suggested procedure, stress intensities for cracks in homogeneous, interfacial cracks, bimaterial free edges and other configurations are computed and compared with the existing analytical/reference solutions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-degree-of-freedom multiple table systems are developed for seismic testing of large-span structures to spread the loads evenly on the tables. Synchronous control of multiple shaking tables is challenging because of coupling between different shaking tables and complex dynamics of the testing systems. This article presents an adaptive waveform control for a two-degree-of-freedom dual electrohydraulic shaking tables testing system to improve the acceleration tracking performance. Synchronous control of the two electrohydraulic shaking tables is transformed into the motion control of a two-degree-of-freedom over constrained shaking table driven by 10 actuators. The force control loop based on the null space of the Jacobian matrix is developed to reduce the cross-coupling among the actuators. An adaptive acceleration waveform control method based on the DFP optimization algorithm in a complex domain is presented to improve the convergence and stability of the compensation algorithm in the outer control loop and replicate the acceleration reference waveforms accurately. Experimental results obtained in step responses, acceleration frequency responses measurement, and two- degree-of-freedom waveform replication tests are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the clinical effect of the application of CT navigation in the treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis with minimally invasive surgery - transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 30 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis who were continuously treated in linyi central hospital from May 2018 to March 2019.The patients were divided into two groups,15 patients treated with MIS-TLIF with the aid of CT navigation during the operation were included into an observation group. Another 15 patients were treated with open transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion as the control group. The baseline information, including gender, age and course of disease, perioperative period and imaging conditions, and VAS and ODI scores of patients in the two groups were collected and analyzed. Results: Fifteen patients were included into the observation group, including 9 male and 6 female patients with an average age of 52.60 ± 6.31 and a course of disease of 16.33 ± 6.00 months. The other 15 patients were included into the observation group, including seven male and eight female patients with an average age of 52.87 ± 7.38 and a course of disease of 19.13 ± 9.89 months. The difference in the gender, age and course of disease between the two groups had no statistical significance (P > 0.05). However, the difference in the duration of operation and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups had statistical significance (P< 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in wound complications, neurological complications, preoperative slippage rate, postoperative slippage rate, slippage reduction rate and screw placement accuracy (P > 0.05). VAS scores of the two groups were statistically significant from six months after surgery (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in ODI between the two groups at any time point (P >0.05). VAS and ODI scores were improved at each time point compared with those before surgery. Conclusion: The minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar fusion performed with the aid of CT navigation during the operation shortens the duration of operation and the amount of bleeding, reduces the back pain, is beneficial to the early postoperative functional exercise, and speeds up the postoperative recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some athletes are diagnosed as suffering from sports anemia because of iron deficiency, but the regulatory mechanism remains poorly understood. It is reported that hepcidin may provide a way to illuminate the regulatory mechanism of exercise-associated anemia. Here the authors investigate the hepcidin-involved iron absorption in exercise-associated anemia. Twelve male Wistar rats (300 ± 10 g) were randomly divided into 2 groups, 6 in a control group (CG) and 6 in an exercise group (EG, 5 wk treadmill exercise of different intensities with progressive loading). Serum samples were analyzed for circulating levels of IL-6 by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The expression of hepatic hepcidin mRNA was examined by real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis. The protein levels of divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), ferroportin1 (FPN1), and heme-carrier protein 1 (HCP1) of duodenum epithelium were examined by Western blot. The results showed that the amount of iron and ferritin in serum were lower in EG than in CG (p < .05). The levels of IL-6 and white blood cells were greater in EG than in CG (p < .01). The expression of DMT1, HCP1, and FPN1 was significantly lower in EG than in CG (p < .01). The mRNA expressions of hepatic hepcidin and hemojuvelin in skeletal muscle were remarkably higher in EG than in CG. The data indicated that inflammation was induced by strenuous exercise, and as a result, the transcriptional level of the hepatic hepcidin gene was increased, which further inhibited the expression of iron-absorption proteins and led to exercise-associated anemia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infection with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) is closely associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The osmoregulatory transcription factor nuclear factor of activated T-cells 5 (NFAT5) has been shown to play an important role in the development of many types of human cancers. The role of NFAT5 in HBV-associated HCC has never previously been investigated. Methods: We compared expression profiles of NFAT5, DARS2 and miR-30e-5p in HCC samples, adjacent nontumor tissues and different hepatoma cell lines by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and /or Western blot. Clinical data of HCC patients for up to 80 months were analyzed. The regulatory mechanisms upstream and convergent downstream pathways of NFAT5 in HBV-associated HCC were investigated by ChIP-seq, MSP, luciferase report assay and bioinformation anaylsis. Results: We first found that higher levels of NFAT5 expression predict a good prognosis, suggesting that NFAT5 is a potential tumor-suppressing gene, and verified that NFAT5 promotes hepatoma cell apoptosis and inhibits cell growth in vitro. Second, our results showed that HBV could suppress NFAT5 expression by inducing hypermethylation of the AP1-binding site in the NFAT5 promoter in hepatoma cells. In addition, HBV also inhibited NFAT5 through miR-30e-5p targeted MAP4K4, and miR-30e-5p in turn inhibited HBV replication. Finally, we demonstrated that NFAT5 suppressed DARS2 by directly binding to its promoter. DARS2 was identified as an HCC oncogene that promotes HCC cell cycle progression and inhibits HCC cell apoptosis. Conclusion: HBV suppresses NFAT5 through the miR-30e-5p/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway upstream of NFAT5 and inhibits the NFAT5 to enhance HCC tumorigenesis via the downstream target genes of DARS2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Escopoletin, a phenolic compound belonging to anthocyanin family shows promising antioxidant activities. In the present study, anticancer effects of escopoletin treatment in DU145 cells were investigated. The sulphorhodamine-B staining and annexin V and propidium iodide were respectively used for the analysis of cell viability and death. The results revealed a significantly higher cytotoxicity by escopoletin that caused cell death in DU145 cells. Escopoletin treatment in DU145 cells markedly inhibited cell growth through non-apoptotic cell death and induced significant reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. It also induced G1 cell cycle arrest and cyclin D1 accumulation through the enhanced expression of p21. However, the effect of escopoletin on DU145 cells was reversed by pretreatment with glutathione antioxidant. This suggests that escopoletin induced generation of ROS is responsible for the increased cytotoxicity in DU145 cells. Thus, escopoletin exhibits potential therapeutic efficacy for the treatment of prostate cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B7-H3, a member of the B7-family molecules, plays an important role in adaptive immune responses, and was shown to either promote or inhibit T-cell responses in various experimental systems. B7-H3 was expressed in some human cancers and correlated with poor outcome of cancer patients. However, its exact role in cancer is not known. In the present study, we studied the expression of B7-H3 in the pathologic specimens of 102 patients treated for colorectal carcinoma (CRC) by immunohistochemistry. Strong B7-H3 expression was found in cancer tissues from 54.3% CRC patients, while minimal expression was found in adjacent normal colorectal tissues. Higher B7-H3 expression in tumor positively correlated with a more advanced tumor grade. In addition, consistent with a role of B7-H3 in suppressing tumor immune surveillance, the expression of B7-H3 in cancer cells negatively correlated with the intensity of tumor infiltrating T lymphocytes in both tumor nest and tumor stroma. Furthermore, we found that the level of soluble B7-H3 in sera from CRC patients was higher than healthy donors. TNF-α, an important cancer-promoting inflammatory molecule, was subsequently found to significantly increase the release of soluble B7-H3 in colon cancer cell lines. Therefore, our data suggest that both soluble and membranous B7-H3 proteins are involved in colon cancer progression and evasion of cancer immune surveillance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining adiabatic passage and Rydberg antiblockade, we propose a scheme to implement a two-qubit phase gate between two Rydberg atoms. Detuning parameters between frequencies of atomic transitions and those of the corresponding driving lasers are carefully chosen to offset the blockade effect of two Rydberg atoms, so that an effective Hamiltonian, representing a single-photon detuning Λ-type three-level system and concluding the quantum state of two Rydberg atoms excited simultaneously, is obtained. The adiabatic-passage technique, based on the effective Hamiltonian, is adopted to implement a two-atom phase gate by using two time-dependent Rabi frequencies. Numerical simulations indicate that a high-fidelity two-qubit π-phase gate is constructed and its operation time does not have to be controlled accurately. Besides, owing to the long coherence time of the Rydberg state, the phase gate is robust against atomic spontaneous emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mol­ecules of the title compound, C12H26N4S2, have 2/ m symmetry. Intra­molecular N—H⋯N and N—H⋯S hydrogen bonds are observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]