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Addressing issues such as mutual occlusion of items and small scale of prohibited items in X-ray security inspection image detection, we propose an improved X-ray contraband detection model based on YOLOv7 named STRay. Firstly, in the backbone network, the model employs Swin Transformer, applying a sliding window multi-head self-attention mechanism to suppress background interference, enabling the network to focus more on contraband items and reducing the false negative rate. Secondly, conventional convolutions in E-ELAN are replaced with deformable dilated convolutions, adjusting the convolutional kernel's shape by learning sampling offsets to better match the contours of contraband items and effectively address mutual occlusion issues. Lastly, the detection head in the head section is replaced with an Efficient decoupled detection head, decoupling separate feature channels for localization and classification tasks, thereby enhancing the classification and localization capabilities for small-scale contraband items. The proposed model is tested on large datasets SIXray, OPIXray, and PIDray, achieving mAPs of 95.3%, 88.8%, and 83.1% respectively, effectively improving contraband detection capabilities while maintaining fast detection speeds. Compared to current mainstream models, it demonstrates certain advancements, providing excellent technical support for ensuring public safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray Raman scattering (XRS) spectroscopy is an emerging inelastic scattering technique used to measure local electronic structure and chemical bonding around low-Z atoms with hard X-rays. This technique is useful in environments where traditional soft X-ray techniques are not applicable. However, the small cross section of XRS requires that the spectrometer must simultaneously achieve large solid angles and good energy resolution. A large XRS spectrometer named 'Qian Kun' is currently under construction at the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS) in China, which can hold up to 100 analyzers with an energy resolution in the range 0.4-1.0 eV. Here, the batch production and performance evaluation of the spherically bent crystal analyzers fabricated for this spectrometer are reported. The stress-relief effect of various dicing patterns and their impact on the reflectivity properties of crystal analyzers to achieve good energy resolution when studying the near-edge features of carbon and oxygen K edges were investigated. It was discovered that radially dicing the thin silicon wafers is more effective in relieving stress than conventional strip cuts in the case that the total number of divided blocks is roughly the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

X-ray security inspection for detecting prohibited items is widely used to maintain social order and ensure the safety of people's lives and property. Due to the large number of parameters and high computational complexity, most current object detection models are challenging to deploy on portable mobile security inspection devices. Therefore, this paper proposes an improved YOLOv7-tiny model for application in prohibited item detection tasks. Firstly, the feature extraction backbone network is replaced with the lightweight GhostNet network to reduce computational complexity and improve detection speed. Secondly, the FPN in the Neck is replaced with BiFPN, further reducing computational complexity and memory access through skip connections. Finally, a lightweight CA attention mechanism is embedded between the Backbone and Neck layers, and the Focal-EIoU Loss function is employed to enhance the detection capability for small-sized items. Experimental results on the SIXray public dataset show a 14.8% reduction in model parameters, a 19.7% reduction in computational complexity, and a 15.9% reduction in volume after the improvements. The detection speed increases from 82.4 to 90.2, and the detection accuracy for prohibited items reaches 90.3%. The experimental results demonstrate that the improved model achieves overall lightweighting while maintaining a high detection rate and improving detection speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) - cetyltrimethyl ammonium (CTMA) is spinning coated on top of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(styrenesulphonate) (PEDOT: PSS) to fabricate a new type of bioorganic photovoltaics with a structure of ITO/PEDOT:PSS/DNA-CTMA/P3HT:PCBM/Al by an all-solution method. The highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the proposed bioorganic photovoltaics with PEDOT:PSS/DNA-CTMA buffer layer are improved to 3.53%, which is very similar to the devices with PEDOT:PSS buffer layer doped with V2O5 nanowires. Growth of PCE is mainly driven by the enhancement of short circuit current density (Jsc). Also, significant increase of external quantum efficiency (EQE) from 350 to 550 nm are obtained due to the unique photonic and optical properties derived from double-helix structures. Compared to V2O5 nanowires dopant, DNACTMA nanowires is innocuous and inherently biodegradable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point cloud data’s ability to preserve precise geometric details makes point cloud semantic segmentation crucial for 3D visual perception. Within a perception system, the realtime performance of the model holds pivotal significance, particularly concerning its ability to conduct semantic segmentation on large-scale point cloud data. RanSeNet, a lightweight neural architecture based on attention mechanisms, directly operates on each individual point in the point cloud data, eliminating the need for preliminary processing steps. The experiment shows that RanSeNet achieves fast processing, high segmentation efficiency, and handles millions of points simultaneously. Compared to existing results, the proposed method achieves 88.6% Overall Accuracy (OA) and 64.27% Mean Intersection over Union (MIoU) in area 5 of the S3DIS dataset, which is a challenging large-scale semantic scene segmentation task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective(s): Occlusal trauma is one of the most common forms of oral biting dysfunction. Long-term occlusal trauma could weaken the stomatognathic system; especially damage one's masticatory muscle. Through using the rat model, this study investigated the trophic effect of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) on injured masseter muscle. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar rats (n=36) were randomly divided into five experimental groups and one control group (6 rats per group). Animals in the experimental group were cemented modified crowns on their mandibular first molars to artificially induce occlusal trauma in 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28 days. Control group was sham-treated with forced mouth-opening for about 5 min, while no crowns were placed. After 28 days of treatment, all rats were euthanized and their masseter muscle was collected. Through immunofluorescence and real-time quantitative PCR, the expression of desmin, CNTF, and CNTFRa was investigated in rat masseter muscle. The microstructure of masseter muscle was observed by transmission electron microscope. Results: The expression of desmin showed a time-dependent decrease on traumatic and non-traumatic sides masseter, until reached the nadir at the 14th day, then restored to its normal level at the 28th day; however, the expression of CNTF and CNTFRα on the traumatic and non-traumatic sides increased from day 7, reached the peak at the 14th day, and returned to normal level on the 28th day. Conclusion:CNTF, as an important neurotrophic factor, was tightly associated to the restoring of rat injured masseter muscle, which provides new target and treatment method for clinical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose was to determine the influence of irrigation solution osmolarity on articular chondrocytes survival and metabolic state following mechanical injury. Methods: Osteochondral explants were harvested from patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis and then cut through their full thickness to establish mechanical injury models. Cartilage explants were incubated in irrigation solutions (saline and balanced salt) with different osmolarities (180, 280, 380, 580 mOsm/L) for 2 h. The percentage of cell death (100 × number of dead cells/number of dead and live cells) was quantified with the laser confocal microscopy. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed to detect apoptosis index of injured cartilage. The contents of proteoglycan elution were determined by spectrophotometer at 530 nm, and HIF-1α and type II collagen mRNA yields were quantified with real-time PCR. Results: In situ dead chondrocytes were mainly localized to the superficial tangential region of injured cartilage edge after mechanical injury. The percentage of cell death was decreased, and proteoglycan elution was gradually reduced with the increasing of osmolarity. The apoptosis indices of TUNEL assay in different osmolarities had no significant difference (P = 0.158). HIF-1α and type II collagen mRNA yields were the least for chondrocytes exposed to 180 mOsm/L medium and were the greatest for chondrocytes exposed to 380 mOsm/L medium. Compared with the saline group, the cell death of superficial zone was significantly decreased (P = 0.001) and contents of proteoglycan elution were also significantly decreased (P = 0.045) in the balanced salt. HIF-1α (P = 0.017) and type II collagen (P = 0.034) mRNA yields in the chondrocytes exposed to the balanced salt were significantly more than the saline group. Conclusion: The osmolarity of irrigation solutions plays an important role in the survival and metabolic state of chondrocytes following mechanical injury, and the chondrocyte death is not caused by apoptosis. Increasing osmolarity of irrigation solutions may be chondroprotective with decreasing the chondrocyte death, reducing inhibition of metabolism and proteoglycan elution, ultimately preventing cartilage degeneration and promoting integrative repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The purpose was to determine the influence of irrigation solution osmolarity on articular chondrocytes survival and metabolic state following mechanical injury. Methods Osteochondral explants were harvested from patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis and then cut through their full thickness to establish mechanical injury models. Cartilage explants were incubated in irrigation solutions (saline and balanced salt) with different osmolarities (180, 280, 380, 580 mOsm/L) for 2 h. The percentage of cell death (100 x number of dead cells/number of dead and live cells) was quantified with the laser confocal microscopy. The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay was performed to detect apoptosis index of injured cartilage. The contents of proteoglycan elution were determined by spectrophotometer at 530 nm, and HIF- 1a and type II collagen mRNA yields were quantified with real-time PCR. Results In situ dead chondrocytes were mainly localized to the superficial tangential region of injured cartilage edge after mechanical injury. The percentage of cell death was decreased, and proteoglycan elution was gradually reduced with the increasing of osmolarity. The apoptosis indices of TUNEL assay in different osmolarities had no significant difference (P = 0.158). HIF-1a and type II collagen mRNA yields were the least for chondrocytes exposed to 180 mOsm/L medium and were the greatest for chondrocytes exposed to 380 mOsm/L medium. Compared with the saline group, the cell death of superficial zone was significantly decreased (P = 0.001) and contents of proteoglycan elution were also significantly decreased (P = 0.045) in the balanced salt. HIF-1a (P = 0.017) and type II collagen (P = 0.034) mRNA yields in the chondrocytes exposed to the balanced salt were significantly more than the saline group. Conclusion The osmolarity of irrigation solutions plays an important role in the survival and metabolic state of chondrocytes following mechanical injury, and the chondrocyte death is not caused by apoptosis. Increasing osmolarity of irrigation solutions may be chondroprotective with decreasing the chondrocyte death, reducing inhibition of metabolism and proteoglycan elution, ultimately preventing cartilage degeneration and promoting integrative repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BN/Si3N4 ceramics performed as wave-transparent material in spacecraft were fabricated with boron nitride powders, silicon nitride powders and Y2O3-MgO nanopowders by gas pressure sintering at 1700 °C under 6 MPa in N2 atmosphere. The effects of Y2O3-MgO nanopowders on densification, phase evolution, microstructure and mechanical properties of BN/Si3N4 material were investigated. The addition of Y2O3-MgO nanopowders was found beneficial to the mechanical properties of BN/Si3N4 composites. The BN/Si3N4 ceramics with 8 wt% Y2O3-MgO nanopowders showed a relative density of 80.2%, combining a fracture toughness of 4.6 MPa m1/2 with an acceptable flexural strength of 396.5 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Si3N4 wave-transparent composites with different volume content of BN nanoparticles (BNnp/Si3N4) were prepared by gas pressure sintering at 1800?C in N2 atmosphere. The effects of BN nanoparticles on the dielectric and mechanical properties of BNnp/Si3N4 composites were investigated. The results showed that the addition of the BN nanoparticles improved the dielectric properties of BNnp/Si3N4 composites effectively and decreased the mechanical properties. When the volume content of BN nanoparticles was 10%, the dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent were 4.31 and 0.006, respectively, and the bending strength and fracture toughness still reached 198.9MPa and 3.36 MPa·m1/2. The high mechanical properties of BNnp/Si3N4 composites with 10% BN nanoparticles were attributed to homogeneously dispersed BN nanoparticles which were embedded in the pores formed by the rod-like β-Si3N4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel piezoelectric composite has been developed using white cement as matrix, lead zirconate titanate as the piezoelectrically active phase, and carbon black (CB) as the conducting additive. By increasing the overall conductivity of the composites, CB facilitates the poling process of the composites so that it can be carried out at room temperature. The influences of CB on the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the composites are investigated. A percolation threshold is observed with the threshold value for CB in the composites at about 1.4 vol.%. Before the threshold point, piezoelectric activity of the composites increases with increasing CB content. The highest piezoelectric strain factor (d33) is measured to be 28.5 pC/N, obtained by adding 1.0 vol. % CB. This is 148% higher than that of the composite without CB. This enhanced performance makes the composite particularly attractive for practical applications in the field of civil engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Over-expression of AND-34/BCAR3/NSP2 (BCAR3) or its binding-partner p130Cas/BCAR1 generates anti-estrogen resistance in human breast cancer lines. Here, we have compared BCAR3 to two related homologs, NSP1 and NSP3/CHAT/SHEP, with regards to expression, anti-estrogen resistance, and signaling. BCAR3 is expressed at higher levels in ERα-negative, mesenchymal, than in ERα-positive, epithelial, breast cancer cell lines. Characterization of “intermediate” epithelial-like cell lines with variable ER-α expression reveals that BCAR3 expression correlates with both mesenchymal and ERα-negative phenotypes. Levels of the BCAR3/p130Cas complex correlate more strongly with the ERα-negative, mesenchymal phenotype than levels of either protein alone. NSP1 and NSP3 are expressed at lower levels than BCAR3 and without correlation to ERα/mesenchymal status. Among NSP-transfectants, only BCAR3 transfectants induce anti-estrogen resistance and augment transcription of cyclin D1 promoter constructs. Over-expression of all homologs results in activation of Rac, Cdc42 and Akt, suggesting that these signals are insufficient to induce anti-estrogen resistance. BCAR3 but not NSP1 nor NSP3 transfectants show altered morphology, transitioning from polygonal cell groups to rounded, single cells with numerous blebs. Whereas stable over-expression of BCAR3 in MCF-7 cells does not lead to classic epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, it does result in down-regulation of cadherin-mediated adhesion and augmentation of fibronectin expression. These studies suggest that BCAR's ability to induce anti-estrogen resistance is greater than that of other NSP homologs and may result from altered interaction of breast cancer cells with each other and the extracellular matrix. J. Cell. Physiol. 212:655–665, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retroposition is a shot-gun strategy of the genome to achieve evolutionary diversities by mixing and matching coding sequences with novel regulatory elements. We have identified 69 retroposons in the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome by a computational approach. Most of them were derivatives of mature mRNAs, and 20 genes contained relics of the reverse transcription process, such as truncations, deletions, and extra sequence additions. Of them, 22 are processed pseudogenes and 52 genes are likely to be actively transcribed, especially in tissues from apical meristems (roots and flowers). Functional compositions of these retroposon parental genes imply that not the mRNA itself but its expression in gamete cells defines a suitable template for retroposition. The presence/absence patterns of retroposons can be used as cladistic markers for biogeographic research. Effects of human and the Mediterranean Pleistocene refugia in Arabidopsis biogeographic distributions were revealed based on two recent retroposons (At1g61410 and At5g52090). An evolutionary rate of new gene creation by retroposition was calculated as 0.6 genes per million years. Retroposons can also be used as molecular fossils of the parental gene expressions in ancient time. Extensions of 3′ untranslated regions for those expressed parental genes are revealed as a possible trend of plant transcriptome evolution. In addition, we reported the first plant functional chimeric gene that adapts to intercompartmental transport by capturing two additional exons after retroposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the elastically induced magnetic phase transition of FeRh thin films on BaTiO3 (001) at the successive phase transitions of BaTiO3, which is accompanied by abrupt variations of magnetization and resistance of FeRh at saturated magnetic fields. In-situ X-ray diffraction at different temperatures reveal that the compressive strains are induced accompanied by the tetragonal to orthorhombic and the orthorhombic to rhombohedral structural phase transition of BaTiO3 during cooling, due to the changes in the lattice constant and domain structure in different phases. The compressive strain further stabilizes the antiferromagnetic phase of FeRh and accounts for the magnetization and resistance changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to compare the effects of grazing and non-grazing on the physicochemical properties, stoichiometry, ecto-enzyme activities, and microbial element limitations of soils at five depths in subtropical grassland, China, and to identify the influencing factors of enzyme activities and element limitations. Results showed that grazing, soil depth, and the interaction between grazing and depth remarkably changed soil available phosphorus (AP), available potassium (AK), available calcium (ACa) and available magnesium contents (AMg), bulk density (BD), water content (WC), and β-glucosidase activity (βGC) (p = 6.702e-9 - 0.04739). Compared with no g razing, g razing remarkably declined the 0-5 cm soil AP by 73.10% (p = 0.0250), the 0-5, 5-10, 10-20 cm soil WC by 47.19% (p = 0 .0042), 3 7.19% ( p = 0 .0090), a nd 3 0.80% ( p = 0.0034), however, grazing remarkably increased the 0-5, 5-10, 10-20, 20-30 cm soil ACa by 188.76% (p = 7.9e-05), 93.24% (p = 0.0177),84.18% (p = 0.00067), and 38.77% (p = 0.01368), the 0-5, 5-10 cm soil AMg by 186.69% ( p = 0.0016), 78.89% (p = 0.0109), t he 0-5, 5-10, 1 0-20 c m s oil pH b y 0 .51 ( p = 0.0013), 0.37 (p = 0.0006), and 0.27 (p = 0.0114) units, the 0 -5, 5-10, 10-20 cm soil BD by 59.03% ( p = 0.0077), 44.14% ( p = 0.0147), and 35.55% (p = 0.0071), the 30-50 cm soil WC by 22.88% (p = 0.0241), the 0-5 cm soil βGC by 89.49% (p = 0.0011), the 0-5, 5-10 cm soil ACP by 7.87% (p = 0.0300), 6.57% (p = 0.0240), respectively. Grazing exacerbated the microbial C limitation of 0-5 and 10-20 cm soils by 20.51% (p = 0.0078) and 40.38% (p = 0.0209) and switched the soil microbiome from under N limitation to under P limitation at 5-10 cm (p = 0.0390). Specific soil available cations were identified as the important factors that significantly explained the variation of soil ecto-enzyme activities and soil microbial carbon and nutrient limitations. These findings present basic information for the future improvement management of subtropical grassland and understanding the impact of grazing on microbial element limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-doped ZnO nanorods arrays on NiO nanofibers to construct a typical ZnO-NiO heteronanostructure on Al2O3 substrate have been obtained by electrospinning and hydrothermal methods. The sensors based on this hetero-nanostructures exhibit high selectivity and sensitivity towards triethylamine gas under operating temperature of 250 °C, and Al doping has a great influence on the air-sensitive performance of the sensors. Our results indicate that the ZnO-NiO heteronanostructure is a potential candidate for gas sensors with good performances for practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the land use and vertical patterns of the soil organic carbon (SOC) and soil inorganic carbon (SIC) pools in the subalpine grassland of the Guizhou Plateau with experienced extensive landuse changes. We investigated Unused natural grassland (UG), Buffalo grazing grassland (BG), Mosaic grassland (MG), Shrubland (SL), Afforest land (AL), Secondary forest land (SF) and Cropland (CL) to depict the land use- and depth-related patterns of SOC and SIC in the upper half-meter soils. The results displayed that MG had the highest SOC stocks (16.21 kg m-2), but BG had the lowest SOC stocks (3.62 kg m-2). BG had the highest SIC stock (2.01 kg m-2), but SL had the lowest SIC stock (0.93 kg m-2). SOC stock was more affected by land use and SIC stock was more affected by soil depth. In addition, land use impacted the SOC stock within specific soil chemical ranges, land use indirectly changed the SIC stock via its influence on soil chemical properties. This study provided interesting snapshots on the effects of land use and soil depth on soil physicochemical properties, enzyme activities and SOC and SIC stocks with the regulations of soil factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the control problem of the chaotic system subject to disturbance. The sliding mode surface is designed by singular system approach, and sufficient condition for convergence is given. Then, the adaptive sliding mode controller is designed to make the state arrive at the sliding mode surface in finite time. Finally, Lorenz system is considered as an example to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of transgenic livestock increases, reliable detection and molecular characterization of transgene integration sites and copy number are crucial not only for interpreting the relationship between the integration site and the specific phenotype but also for commercial and economic demands. However, the ability of conventional PCR techniques to detect incomplete and multiple integration events is limited, making it technically challenging to characterize transgenes. Next-generation sequencing has enabled cost-effective, routine and widespread high-throughput genomic analysis. Here, we demonstrate the use of next-generation sequencing to extensively characterize cattle harboring a 150-kb human lactoferrin transgene that was initially analyzed by chromosome walking without success. Using this approach, the sites upstream and downstream of the target gene integration site in the host genome were identified at the single nucleotide level. The sequencing result was verified by event-specific PCR for the integration sites and FISH for the chromosomal location. Sequencing depth analysis revealed that multiple copies of the incomplete target gene and the vector backbone were present in the host genome. Upon integration, complex recombination was also observed between the target gene and the vector backbone. These findings indicate that next-generation sequencing is a reliable and accurate approach for the molecular characterization of the transgene sequence, integration sites and copy number in transgenic species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a fluid-saturated porous formation, acoustics and electromagnetic waves are coupled based on Pride seismoelectric theory. An exact treatment of the nonaxisymmetric seismoelectric field excited by acoustic multipole sources is presented. The frequency wavenumber domain representations of the acoustic field and associated seismoelectric field due to acoustic multipole sources are formulated. The full waveforms of acoustic waves and electric and magnetic fields in the time domain propagation in borehole are simulated by using discrete wave number integration, and frequency versus axial-wave number responses are presented and analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

miR-375-3p is a significantly downregulated miRNA in bladder cancer (BC). However, its role in BC regulation is still unclear. In this study, we reported that miR-375-3p overexpression inhibited proliferation and migration and promoted apoptosis in BC cells. Frizzled-8 (FZD8) gene is identified as the direct miR-375-3p targeting gene. miR-375-3p blocks the Wnt/β-catenin pathway and downstream molecules Cyclin D1 and c-Myc by inhibiting the expression of FZD8 directly, it could increase caspase 1 and caspase 3 expression and promote T24 cell apoptosis as well. miR-375-3p also showed a significant inhibitory effect in vivo in bladder tumor-bearing nude mice, as demonstrated by the reduced tumor volume and Ki67 proliferation index in tumor tissue. Collectively, miR-375-3p is a suppressor of BC that inhibits proliferation and metastasis, and promotes apoptosis in BC cells as well as suppresses tumor growth in a T24 xenograft mouse model, which could be used as a potential therapeutic approach for BC in future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little information available on the mediating effects of soil nutrient stoichiometry and enzyme stoichiometry on soil carbon (C) during shrub encroachment and their contributions to changes in soil C. Here, we characterized the concentration and stock of soil organic carbon (SOC), inorganic carbon (SIC) and total carbon (STC) along the shrub encroachment sequence (SES). We constructed linkages between soil C and SES with soil nutrient stoichiometric ratios and C-, nitrogen- and phosphorus-acquiring enzyme stoichiometry ratios using structural equation modeling (SEM), and disentangled the contributions of the soil nutrient stoichiometric ratios and enzyme stoichiometric ratios to shaping SOC and SIC using redundancy analysis (RDA) and SEM. Results revealed that the increases in STC stock derived from the increases in both the SOC stock and the SIC stock. Soil stoichiometric ratios played a mediating role in structuring soil C over SES, the mediating pattern depended on soil stoichiometry types (nutrient stoichiometry or enzyme stoichiometry) and soil C types (SOC, SIC or STC). Soil nutrient stoichiometric ratios contributed more than soil enzyme stoichiometric ratios to the variation in SOC and STC, while the contributions of these two types of soil stoichiometric ratios to the variation in SIC changed with soil stoichiometry types. Soil nutrient stoichiometry had positive or negative or threshold effects on soil C, but soil enzyme stoichiometry had monotonously increasing effects on soil C. This study showed that the soil stoichiometry had modulatory effects on soil C during shrub encroachment in the subalpine grassland, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ginseng, which contains ginsenosides as bioactive compounds, has been regarded as an important traditional medicine for several millennia. However, the genetic background of ginseng remains poorly understood, partly because of the plant's large and complex genome composition. We report the entire genome sequence of Panax ginseng using next-generation sequencing. The 3.5-Gb nucleotide sequence contains more than 60% repeats and encodes 42 006 predicted genes. Twenty-two transcriptome datasets and mass spectrometry images of ginseng roots were adopted to precisely quantify the functional genes. Thirty-one genes were identified to be involved in the mevalonic acid pathway. Eight of these genes were annotated as 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductases, which displayed diverse structures and expression characteristics. A total of 225 UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) were identified, and these UGTs accounted for one of the largest gene families of ginseng. Tandem repeats contributed to the duplication and divergence of UGTs. Molecular modeling of UGTs in the 71st, 74th, and 94th families revealed a regiospecific conserved motif located at the N-terminus. Molecular docking predicted that this motif captures ginsenoside precursors. The ginseng genome represents a valuable resource for understanding and improving the breeding, cultivation, and synthesis biology of this key herb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Activation of phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K), Ras, and Her2 signaling plays a critical role in cancer development. Hotspot constitutive activating mutations in oncogenes, such as PIK3CA encoding the p110α catalytic subunit or RAS, as well as over-expression of Her2, are frequently found in human tumors and cancers. It has been well established that activation of these oncogenes profoundly promotes tumor metastasis, whereas decreased expression of ΔNp63α, the major protein isoform of the p53-related p63 expressed in epithelial cells, has been associated with cancer metastasis. In this study, we demonstrate that hotspot oncogenic mutations on PIK3CA and RAS, including p110αH1047R, K-RasG12V, and H-RasG12V, as well as activation of Her2, all led to suppression of ΔNp63α expression via Akt-fork-head transcription factor 3a (Akt-FOXO3a) signaling, resulting in increased cell motility and tumor metastasis. Expression of ΔNp63α effectively reversed p110αH1047R-, K-RasG12V-, H-RasG12V-, or Her2-induced cell motility in vitro and tumor metastasis in mouse models. We show that ΔNp63α was a direct FOXO3a transcriptional target and that expression of FOXO3a and ΔNp63α was correlated in human cancer biopsy samples. Together, these results demonstrate that ΔNp63α is a common inhibitory target of oncogenic PI3K, Ras, and Her2, and that ΔNp63α may function as a critical integrator of oncogenic signaling in cancer metastasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the ever-increasing research activities in multiferroic driven by its profound physics and enormous potential for application, magnetic force microscopy (MFM), as a variety of atomic force microscope (AFM), has been brought to investigate the magnetic properties and the voltage controlled magnetism, especially in thin films and heterostructures. Here by taking a representative multiferroic system BiFeO3/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 heterostructure and a ferroelectric PMN-PT single crystal for examples, we demonstrated that the MFM image is prone to be seriously interfered by the electrostatic interaction between the tip and sample surface, and misleads the predication of multiferroic. Assisted by the scanning Kelvin probe microscopy (SKPM), the origin and mechanism were discussed and an effective solution was proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphoryl functionalized mesoporous silica (TBP-SBA-15) was synthesized by modified mesoporous silica with γ-amino propyl triethoxy silane and tributyl phosphate. The obtained samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXRD), thermo-gravimetric/differential thermalanalyzer (TG/DTA), N 2 adsorption–desorption (BET) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) techniques. Results showed that TBP-SBA-15 had large surface areas with ordered channel structure. Moreover, the effects of adsorption time, sorbent dose, solution pH, initial uranium concentration and temperature on the uranium adsorption behaviors were investigated. TBP-SBA-15 showed a high uranium adsorption capacity in a broad range of pH values. The U(VI) adsorption rate of TBP-SBA-15 was fast and nearly achieved completion in 10 min with the sorbent dose of 1 g/L. The U(VI) adsorption of TBP-SBA-15 followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Freundlich isotherm model, indicating that the process was belonged to chemical adsorption. Furthermore, the thermodynamic parameters (ΔG 0 , ΔH 0 and ΔS 0 ) confirmed that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The blood glucose modifier metformin is used to treat type II diabetes and has also been shown to possess anticancer activities. Recent studies indicate that glucose deprivation can greatly enhance metformin-mediated inhibition of cell viability, but the molecular mechanism involved in this inhibition is unclear. In this study, we report that, under glucose deprivation, metformin inhibited expression of ΔNp63α, a p53 family member involved in cell adhesion pathways, resulting in disruption of cell matrix adhesion and subsequent apoptosis in human squamous carcinoma cells. We further show that metformin promoted ΔNp63α protein instability independent of AMP-activated protein kinase and that WWP1, an E3 ligase of ΔNp63α, was involved in metformin-mediated down-regulation of ΔNp63α levels. In addition, we demonstrate that a combination of metformin and the glycolysis inhibitor 2-deoxy-D-glucose significantly inhibited ΔNp63α expression and also suppressed xenographic tumor growth in vivo. In summary, this study reveals a new mechanism for metformin-mediated anticancer activity and suggests a new strategy for treating human squamous cell carcinoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide (ZnO), with the unique chemical and physical properties of high chemical stability, broad radiation absorption range, high electrochemical coupling coefficient, and high photo-stability, is an attractive multifunctional material which has promoted great interest in many fields. What is more, its properties can be tuned by controllable synthesized morphologies. Therefore, after the success of the abundant morphology controllable synthesis, both the morphology-dependent ZnO properties and their related applications have been extensively investigated. This review concentrates on the properties of morphology-dependent ZnO and their applications in catalysis, mainly involved reactions on green energy and environmental issues, such as CO2 hydrogenation to fuels, methanol steam reforming to generate H2, bio-diesel production, pollutant photo-degradation, etc. The impressive catalytic properties of ZnO are associated with morphology tuned specific microstructures, defects or abilities of electron transportation, etc. The main morphology-dependent promotion mechanisms are discussed and summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are important in the tumorigenesis and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play crucial roles regulating CD133+ and EpCAM+ CSCs in HCC, although it is unclear whether miRNAs regulate CD90+ CSCs in HCC. Methods: The miRNA profiles of CD90+ and CD90- HCC cells were analyzed using a miRNA microarray and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). CSC characteristics were examined by qRT-PCR and Western blot of pluripotency-associated genes, clone and sphere formation assay, transwell migration assay, and nude mice tumorigenicity assay. miR-589-5p mimic transfection was used to overexpress miR-589-5p in vitro. The CD90 and miR-589-5p expressions of HCC samples were detected by immunohistochemistry and qRT-PCR, respectively. Results: miR-589-5p and miR-33b-5p were down-regulated in CD90+ cells. Overexpression of miR-589-5p suppressed CD90+ CSC characteristics such as Oct4, Sox2 and Nanog expression, a high likelihood of forming cell spheres, high invasiveness and high tumorigenicity. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated that miR-589-5p directly binds to the 3'-untranslated region of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 8 (MAP3K8) mRNA, and exogenous miR-589-5p down-regulated MAP3K8 expression. In addition, siRNA inhibition of MAP3K8 also suppressed CD90+ CSC characteristics, even in the absence of miR-589-5p overexpression. In HCC tissues, miR-589- 5p expression was inversely correlated with CD90 expression, and high CD90 expression and low miR-589-5p expression were positively correlated with vascular invasion and recurrence and significantly decreased disease-free and overall survival by clinical analysis. Conclusion: In HCC, miR-589-5p down-regulates the stemness characteristics of CD90+ CSCs in part by silencing MAP3K8. CD90 and miR-589-5p expression predict HCC outcomes and might be novel molecular targets for HCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Hepatocyte mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage is an important cause of mitochondrial and hepatic function impairment in obstructive jaundice (OJ). This study investigated the protective effect of recombinant human augmenter of liver regeneration (rhALR) on hepatocyte mtDNA in rats with OJ. Materials and methods Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups as follows: sham-operation, biliary obstruction and recanalization with rhALR treatment (BDO-RBF-rhALR), and BDO-RBF-Vehicle (n = 48 per group). After biliary obstruction, rats were intraperitoneally injected with 40 µg/kg rhALR in BDO-RBF-rhALR group and same volume of normal saline in other two groups once every 12 h, until sacrifice. Mitochondrial transcription factor A (mtTFA) and nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1) expression in hepatocytes were detected by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot. Hepatocyte mtDNA damage was evaluated by real-time-polymerase chain reaction. Mitochondrial and hepatic functions were also assessed. Results After biliary obstruction, hepatic function was clearly impaired, as shown by the increases in serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and total bilirubin levels, and the decrease in albumin level. Mitochondrial respiratory control ratio, phosphorus oxygen ratio, and ATP levels (all indicators of mitochondrial function) were decreased. The relative amount of total mtDNA, mtTFA, and NRF-1 expression in rat liver tissues were decreased, whereas the relative amount of deleted mtDNA was increased. However, the damage was significantly improved in the BDO-RBF-rhALR group. After recanalization, these changes were gradually restored, but the recovery was faster in the BDO-RBF-rhALR group than in BDO-RBF-Vehicle group. Conclusions rhALR may protect and improve mitochondrial and hepatic functions in rats with OJ by promoting the expression of mtTFA and NRF-1 and by protecting and repairing damaged mtDNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soy isoflavones are compounds found in soybean and soybean products. They have been reported to possess numerous physiological properties, such as antitumor, anti-menopausal (female) osteoporosis and anti-aging. They have also been reported to improve learning and memory skills in menopausal women and aid in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, diabetes and Kawasaki disease (KD). In this review, the effects of soy isoflavones on various diseases were analyzed. Based on the analysis, it was hypothesized that the function of soybean isoflavones in the prevention and treatment of various diseases results from their phytoestrogen and antioxidant properties. However, due to their phytoestrogen properties, it is recommended that the risks of soy isoflavone intake as food and/or medical treatment be further evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: High invasion and metastasis are the primary factors causing poor prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these biological behaviors have not been completely elucidated. In this study, we investigate the molecular mechanism by which hypoxia promotes HCC invasion and metastasis through inducing epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods: The expression of EMT markers was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Effect of hypoxia on induction of EMT and ability of cell migration and invasion were performed. Luciferase reporter system was used for evaluation of Snail regulation by hypoxia-inducible factor -1a (HIF-1a). Results: We found that overexpression of HIF-1a was observed in HCC liver tissues and was related to poor prognosis of HCC patients. HIF-1a expression profile was correlated with the expression levels of SNAI1, E-cadherin, N-cadherin and Vimentin. Hypoxia was able to induce EMT and enhance ability of invasion and migration in HCC cells. The same phenomena were also observed in CoCl2-treated cells. The shRNA-mediated HIF-1a suppression abrogated CoCl2-induced EMT and reduced ability of migration and invasion in HCC cells. Luciferase assay showed that HIF-1a transcriptional regulated the expression of SNAI1 based on two hypoxia response elements (HREs) in SNAI1 promoter. Conclusions: We demonstrated that hypoxia-stabilized HIF1a promoted EMT through increasing SNAI1 transcription in HCC cells. This data provided a potential therapeutic target for HCC treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advancing age is associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and cancer, and shows significant inter-individual variability. To identify ageing-related biomarkers we performed a proteomic analysis on 1890 Chinese Han individuals, 1136 males and 754 females, aged 18 to 82 years, using weak cation exchange magnetic bead based MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. The study identified 44 peptides which varied in concentration in different age groups. In particular, apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA1) concentration gradually increased between 18 to 50 years of age, the levels of fibrinogen alpha (FGA) decreased over the same age span, while albumin (ALB) was significantly degraded in middle-aged individuals. In addition, the plasma peptide profiles of FGA and four other unidentified proteins were found to be gender-dependent. Plasma proteins such as FGA, ALB and ApoA1 are significantly correlated with age in the Chinese Han population and could be employed as indicative ageingrelated biomarkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cutaneous T cell lymphomas (CTCLs) represent a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin lymphomas that affect the skin. The pathogenesis of these conditions is poorly understood. For example, the signaling mechanisms contributing to the dysregulated growth of the neoplastic T cells are not well defined. Here, we demonstrate that loss of nuclear localization of pro-IL-16 facilitates CTCL cell proliferation by causing a decrease in expression of the cyclin dependent-kinase inhibitor p27Kip1. The decrease in p27Kip1 expression was directly attributable to an increase in expression of S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2). Regulation of Skp2 is in part attributed to the nuclear presence of the scaffold protein pro-IL-16. T cells isolated from 11 patients with advanced CTCL, but not those from healthy controls or patients with T cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (T-ALL), demonstrated reduction in nuclear pro-IL-16 levels. Sequence analysis identified the presence of mutations in the 5' end of the PDZ1 region of pro-IL-16, a domain required for association of pro-IL-16 with the nuclear chaperone HSC70 (also known as HSPA8). HSC70 knockdown led to loss of nuclear translocation by pro-IL-16 and subsequent increases in Skp2 levels and decreases in p27Kip1 levels, which ultimately enhanced T cell proliferation. Thus, our data indicate that advanced CTCL cell growth is facilitated, at least in part, by mutations in the scaffold protein pro-IL-16, which directly regulates Skp2 synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural variations of DNA greater than 1 kilobase in size account for most bases that vary among human genomes, but are still relatively under-ascertained. Here we use tiling oligonucleotide microarrays, comprising 42 million probes, to generate a comprehensive map of 11,700 copy number variations (CNVs) greater than 443 base pairs, of which most (8,599) have been validated independently. For 4,978 of these CNVs, we generated reference genotypes from 450 individuals of European, African or East Asian ancestry. The predominant mutational mechanisms differ among CNV size classes. Retrotransposition has duplicated and inserted some coding and non-coding DNA segments randomly around the genome. Furthermore, by correlation with known trait-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), we identified 30 loci with CNVs that are candidates for influencing disease susceptibility. Despite this, having assessed the completeness of our map and the patterns of linkage disequilibrium between CNVs and SNPs, we conclude that, for complex traits, the heritability void left by genome-wide association studies will not be accounted for by common CNVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The retinoblastoma protein (Rb) plays a pivotal role in regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. Nutlin-3, a small molecule MDM2 antagonist blocking interaction between MDM2 and p53, activates p53 resulting in cell growth arrest or apoptosis in various cancer cells. However, the molecular basis for the different cellular responses upon nutlin-3 treatment is not fully understood. In this study, we show that nutlin-3 activates p53 resulting in a dramatic increase in MDM2 expression and a marked reduction in total Rb protein levels. Interestingly, nutlin-3 reduces the levels of hypophosphorylated Rb and induces massive apoptosis in SJSA-1 cells, which can be largely rescued by knockdown of MDM2 or by expression of constitutively active Rb. By contrast, nutlin-3 treatment of several human cancer cells, including A549, U2-OS, and HCT116, results in an accumulation of hypophosphorylated Rb and cell cycle arrest but not apoptosis. Furthermore, we show that down-regulation of Rb by nutlin-3 does not lead to E2F1 activation nor does E2F1 play a critical role for nutlin-3-induced apoptosis in SJSA-1 cells. Taken together, these results suggest that Rb plays a critical role in influencing cellular response to activation of p53 pathway by nutlin-3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demonstrates that there are functional protein kinase CK2 and cdc2 kinase substrate sites in the immunomodulatory cytokine interleukin-16 precursor, pro-IL-16. Association of the mutation of the protein kinase CK2 substrate site with a decreased level of accumulation of the N-terminal domain of pro-IL-16 in the nucleus; Association of the cdc2 kinase substrate site with an increased level of the N-terminal domain.

J.B.S. Haldane proposed in 1947 that the male germline may be more mutagenic than the female germline. Diverse studies have supported Haldane's contention of a higher average mutation rate in the male germline in a variety of mammals, including humans. Here we present, to our knowledge, the first direct comparative analysis of male and female germline mutation rates from the complete genome sequences of two parent-offspring trios. Through extensive validation, we identified 49 and 35 germline de novo mutations (DNMs) in two trio offspring, as well as 1,586 non-germline DNMs arising either somatically or in the cell lines from which the DNA was derived. Most strikingly, in one family, we observed that 92% of germline DNMs were from the paternal germline, whereas, in contrast, in the other family, 64% of DNMs were from the maternal germline. These observations suggest considerable variation in mutation rates within and between families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temperature dependence of the band gap is crucial to a semiconductor. Bulk black phosphorus is known to exhibit an anomalous behavior. Through optical spectroscopy, here we show that the temperature effect on black phosphorus band gap gradually evolves with decreasing layer number, eventually turns into a normal one in the monolayer limit, rendering a crossover from the anomalous to the normal. Meanwhile, the temperature-induced shift in optical resonance also differs with different transition indices for the same thickness sample. A comprehensive analysis reveals that the temperature-tunable interlayer coupling is responsible for the observed diverse scenario. Our study provides a key to the apprehension of the anomalous temperature behavior in certain layered semiconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural variation (SV) is a rich source of genetic diversity in mammals, but due to the challenges associated with mapping SV in complex genomes, basic questions regarding their genomic distribution and mechanistic origins remain unanswered. We have developed an algorithm (HYDRA) to localize SV breakpoints by paired-end mapping, and a general approach for the genome-wide assembly and interpretation of breakpoint sequences. We applied these methods to two inbred mouse strains: C57BL/6J and DBA/2J. We demonstrate that HYDRA accurately maps diverse classes of SV, including those involving repetitive elements such as transposons and segmental duplications; however, our analysis of the C57BL/6J reference strain shows that incomplete reference genome assemblies are a major source of noise. We report 7196 SVs between the two strains, more than two-thirds of which are due to transposon insertions. Of the remainder, 59% are deletions (relative to the reference), 26% are insertions of unlinked DNA, 9% are tandem duplications, and 6% are inversions. To investigate the origins of SV, we characterized 3316 breakpoint sequences at single-nucleotide resolution. We find that ⇔/416% of non-transposon SVs have complex breakpoint patterns consistent with template switching during DNA replication or repair, and that this process appears to preferentially generate certain classes of complex variants. Moreover, we find that SVs are significantly enriched in regions of segmental duplication, but that this effect is largely independent of DNA sequence homology and thus cannot be explained by non-allelic homologous recombination (NAHR) alone. This result suggests that the genetic instability of such regions is often the cause rather than the consequence of duplicated genomic architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]