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This study intends to explore the effect of depressive symptoms on adverse clinical outcomes in middle-aged and elderly hypertensive patients. This post hoc analysis was conducted using data from the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), and we used cox proportional risk regression to examine the relationship between depressive symptoms and adverse clinical outcomes (primary outcome, all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease(CVD) mortality, heart failure(HF), myocardial infarction(MI), non-myocardial infarction acute coronary syndrome(non-MI ACS)). In a follow-up study of 9259 participants, we found that depression symptoms was significantly and positively associated with the primary outcome (HR 1.03, 95%CI 1.01–1.05; p for trend = 0.0038), all-cause mortality (HR 1.03, 95%CI 1.01–1.05; p for trend = 0.0308), HF(HR 1.05, 95%CI 1.01–1.08; p for trend = 0.0107), and non-MI ACS(HR 1.06, 95%CI 1.01–1.10; p for trend = 0.0120). Kaplan-Meier survival curves for depression symptoms severity (none, mild, moderate, and above) and adverse clinical outcomes suggested that for all but primary clinical outcomes, the cumulative risk of adverse clinical outcomes increased with increasing depression symptoms severity. For middle-aged and elderly hypertensive patients, depression symptoms exacerbates the risk of adverse clinical outcomes (primary outcome, all-cause mortality, CVD death, MI, HF, and non-MI ACS), and the risk increases with the severity of depression symptoms. • The relationship between depressive symptoms and clinical outcomes in patients with hypertension was explored. • Depression could exacerbate the risk of adverse clinical outcomes. • With the severity of depression increasing, the risk of adverse clinical outcomes increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are key devices for the modern-day electronic technologies. During the production of these boards, defects may occur. Several methods have been proposed to detect PCB defects. However, detecting significantly smaller and visually unrecognizable defects has been a long-standing challenge. The existing two-stage and multi-stage object detectors that use only one layer of the backbone, such as Resnet's third layer ( C 4 ) or fourth layer ( C 5 ), suffer from low accuracy, and those that use multi-layer feature maps extractors, such as Feature Pyramid Network (FPN), incur higher computational cost. Founded by these challenges, we propose a robust, less computationally intensive, and plug-and-play Attentive Context and Semantic Enhancement Module (ACASEM) for two-stage and multi-stage detectors to enhance PCB defects detection. This module consists of two main parts, namely adaptable feature fusion and attention sub-modules. The proposed model, ACASEM, takes in feature maps from different layers of the backbone and fuses them in a way that enriches the resulting feature maps with more context and semantic information. We test our module with state-of-the-art two-stage object detectors, Faster R-CNN and Double-Head R-CNN, and with multi-stage Cascade R-CNN detector on DeepPCB and Augmented PCB Defect datasets. Empirical results demonstrate improvement in the accuracy of defect detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SimRank is a widely used metric for evaluating vertex similarity based on graph topology, with diverse applications such as large-scale graph mining and natural language processing. The objective of the single-source and top-k SimRank query problem is to retrieve the kvertices with the largest SimRank to the source vertex. However, existing algorithms suffer from inefficiency as they require computing SimRank for all vertices to retrieve the top-k results. To address this issue, we propose an algorithm named HitSimthat utilizes a branch and bound strategy for the single-source and top-k query. HitSim initially partitions vertices into distinct sets based on their shortest-meeting lengths to the source vertex. Subsequently, it computes an upper bound of SimRank for each set. If the upper bound of a set is no larger than the minimum value of the current top-k results, HitSim efficiently batch-prunes the unpromising vertices within the set. However, in scenarios where the graph becomes dense, certain sets with large upper bounds may contain numerous vertices with small SimRank, leading to redundant overhead when processing these vertices. To address this issue, we propose an optimized algorithm named HitSim-OPT that computes the upper bound of SimRank for each vertex instead of each set, resulting in a fine-grained and efficient pruning process. The experimental results conducted on six real-world datasets demonstrate the performance of our algorithms in efficiently addressing the single-source and top-k query problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An independent set is a set of vertices in a graph in which no two vertices are adjacent to each other. The maximum weighted independent set is the independent set with the largest sum of weights in a weighted graph. Considering that existing methods are inefficient when computing the maximum weighted independent set, we propose a combined neighbor reduction rule and a loss value-based greedy strategy to improve the efficiency and increase the weight of the independent set. Additionally, we propose the efficient approximate algorithms for the maximum weighted independent set on dynamic graphs. We decompose the weight change problem into five cases and propose corresponding strategies for each case. Finally, we conduct experiments on 8 real-world datasets to verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of plastic waste, due to lack of recycling, has led to serious environmental pollution. Although mechanical recycling can alleviate this issue, it inevitably reduces the molecular weight and weakens the mechanical properties of materials and is not suitable for mixed materials. Chemical recycling, on the other hand, breaks the polymer into monomers or small‐molecule constituents, allowing for the preparation of materials of quality comparable to that of the virgin polymers and can be applied to mixed materials. Mechanochemical degradation and recycling leverages the advantages of mechanical techniques, such as scalability and efficient energy use, to achieve chemical recycling. We summarize recent progress in mechanochemical degradation and recycling of synthetic polymers, including both commercial polymers and those designed for more efficient mechanochemical degradation. We also point out the limitations of mechanochemical degradation and present our perspectives on how the challenges can be mitigated for a circular polymer economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accumulation of plastic waste, due to lack of recycling, has led to serious environmental pollution. Although mechanical recycling can alleviate this issue, it inevitably reduces the molecular weight and weakens the mechanical properties of materials and is not suitable for mixed materials. Chemical recycling, on the other hand, breaks the polymer into monomers or small‐molecule constituents, allowing for the preparation of materials of quality comparable to that of the virgin polymers and can be applied to mixed materials. Mechanochemical degradation and recycling leverages the advantages of mechanical techniques, such as scalability and efficient energy use, to achieve chemical recycling. We summarize recent progress in mechanochemical degradation and recycling of synthetic polymers, including both commercial polymers and those designed for more efficient mechanochemical degradation. We also point out the limitations of mechanochemical degradation and present our perspectives on how the challenges can be mitigated for a circular polymer economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemically recyclable polymers offer a promising solution to address the issues associated with the unsustainable use of plastics by converting the traditional linear plastic economy into a circular one. Central to developing chemically recyclable polymers is to identify the appropriate monomers that enable practical conditions for polymerization and depolymerization and ensure useful stability and material properties. Our group has recently demonstrated that trans‐cyclobutane‐fused cyclooctene (tCBCO) meets the abovementioned requirements and is a promising candidate for developing chemically recyclable polymers. Herein, encouraged by the success with tCBCO, we investigate the thermodynamics of polymerization of a relevant system, trans‐benzocyclobutene‐fused‐cyclooctene, which can be viewed as tCBCO with an additional benzene ring. The study shows that introducing an additional benzene ring favors polymerization and disfavors depolymerization, and the effect is predominantly entropic. The benzo‐effect can be leveraged to fine‐tune the thermodynamics of polymerization and depolymerization to facilitate the chemical recycling of polymers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study systematically investigated the impact of different calcination temperatures and holding times on MgO reactivity, as well as the influence of varying reactivity and lattice distortion of MgO on the properties of magnesium oxysulfate cement (MOSC). Results indicated that at temperatures of 700–900℃, magnesite underwent decomposition, resulting in increased lattice distortion, and heightened reactivity. At temperatures of 1000–1100℃, magnesia began sintering, nucleating, and experienced reduced crystal distortion, leading to decreased reactivity. Notably, the appearance of the pseudomorphic mother rock at calcination temperatures of 900℃ and 1000℃ was associated with decreased magnesia reactivity. Moreover, the compressive strength of MOSC prepared using MgO calcined at 900℃ for 6 h increased to 77 MPa after 28 d of air curing. The hydration reactivity and lattice distortion of MgO could be regulated through changing the calcining temperature and holding time, which provided a theoretical basis for the preparation of magnesium oxysulfate cement with excellent mechanical properties. • MgO reactivity was assessed using both the hydration method and the citric acid discoloration method. • The pseudomorphic mother rock was observed when magnesite was calcined at 900–1000℃. • Magnesia preferred orientation in the case of small crystal size and tended to grow toward crystal plane (2 0 0). • MgO with adsorption pore sizes ranging from 27.3 to 100 nm is more suitable for preparing magnesium oxysulfate cement. • MgO with citric acid reactivity of 56 s and hydration reactivity of 89.06 % contributed to the strength development of magnesium oxysulfate cement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining dense subgraphs in bipartite graphs is a fundamental problem in graph analysis. However, existing cohesive models for dense subgraph mining often encounter practical limitations. For example, biclique requires that any vertex from one set connects all vertices from the other set, leading to an NP-hard computational problem, while (α,β)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$(\alpha ,\beta )$$\end{document}-core requires that any vertex from one set connects at least a certain number (α\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$(\alpha $$\end{document} or β)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$\beta )$$\end{document} of vertices from the other set, potentially extracting vertices with weak internal relationships. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel model called (α,β)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$(\alpha ,\beta )$$\end{document}-butterfly. The (α,β)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$(\alpha ,\beta )$$\end{document}-butterfly computation makes an optimal balance between preserving strong internal relationships between vertices and ensuring computational efficiency. The (α,β)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$(\alpha ,\beta )$$\end{document}-butterfly employs butterfly number rather than degree as the metric, thereby preserving strong internal relationships between the extracted vertices. We propose a bloom-based structure called BC (Blooms-Cluster) which records the butterfly relationship between vertices. Based on BC, we devise an efficient approach by directly finding and updating affected vertices on BC instead of visiting the neighbors of removed vertices on the original graph, enabling the computation to achieve a high computational efficiency. We further propose a BC-based index, which supports efficient computation of satisfactory results in response to changes in parameter values. We theoretically prove that BC can correctly maintain the butterfly relationship between vertices to ensure the correctness of our algorithms. Also, we conduct extensive experiments on 9 real-world datasets. The experimental results demonstrate that our algorithms can efficiently compute (α,β)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$(\alpha ,\beta )$$\end{document}-butterfly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertain graphs are widespread in the real world. Enumerating maximal cliques over uncertain graphs is a fundamental problem in many applications. This paper studies the problem of enumerating the top k maximal cliques with the most number of vertices satisfying that their probabilities ≥ α , where each maximal clique is called an α -maximal-clique. Existing works are inefficient due to suffering from expensive computations on the cliques carrying little information. To address this problem, we propose an index-based top k α -maximal-clique enumeration algorithm which computes α -maximal-cliques based on an index to improve the efficiency. We propose two efficient indexes, called degree-based index and core-based index, which sort the vertices in descending order according to their degrees or core numbers to help prune unpromising vertices, such that to avoid enumerating redundant α -maximal-cliques. We propose a support-based pruning strategy to further avoid enumerating the not chosen α -maximal-cliques to speed up the enumeration. The experimental results on 20 real-world datasets show that our algorithms can return the top k α -maximal-cliques efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To evaluate the immune function of gastric cancer patients after single-incision laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (SIDG) or multiport laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (MLDG) guided by enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed on 120 patients who underwent laparoscopic distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. The patients were divided into two groups according to operation method: group A (MLDG) and group B (SIDG), both guided by ERAS concept. The indicators reflecting immune function and inflammation, such as CD3+, CD4+, CD8+ and NK cell count, CD4+/CD8+ cell ratios, IgA, IgM and IgG levels, C-reactive protein (CRP), total lymphocyte count (TLC) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were tested 3 days and 7 days after surgery. Results: The skin incision length of patients in group B was significantly shorter than that in group A, but the operation time was significantly longer in group B than that in group A (P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in preoperative CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, natural killer (NK) cells, CD4+/CD8+, IgA, IgM and IgG levels between two groups (P < 0.05). Three days after surgery, the immune function indices were decreased in both groups, but with no significant difference between two groups (P > 0.05). On the 7th day after surgery, the immune indexes of both groups recovered somewhat, approaching the preoperative level (P > 0.05). Inflammation indexes increased 3 days after surgery and decreased 7 days after surgery in both groups, among them the CRP level in group A was higher than that in group B (P < 0.05). The 3-year survival rate were 96.7% in group A and 91.7% in group B, respectively, with no statistically significant difference. Conclusion: Compared with MLDG guided by ERAS, SIDG under the guidance of the ERAS concept has better cosmetic effect and similar effect on immune function of gastric cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing graphene‐like two‐dimensional materials naturally possessing a band gap has sparked enormous interest. Thanks to the inherent wide band gap and high mobility in the 2D plane, covalent organic frameworks containing triazine rings (t‐COFs) hold great promise in this regard, whilst the synthesis of single‐layer t‐COFs remains highly challenging. Herein, we present the fabrication of a well‐defined graphene‐like t‐COF on Au(111). Instead of single/multiple‐step single‐type reactions commonly applied for on‐surface synthesis, distinct stepwise on‐surface reactions, including alkynyl cyclotrimerization, C−O bond cleavage, and C−H bond activation, are triggered on demand, leading to product evolution in a controlled step‐by‐step manner. Aside from the precise control in sophisticated on‐surface synthesis, this work proposes a single‐atomic‐layer organic semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.41 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing graphene‐like two‐dimensional materials naturally possessing a band gap has sparked enormous interest. Thanks to the inherent wide band gap and high mobility in the 2D plane, covalent organic frameworks containing triazine rings (t‐COFs) hold great promise in this regard, whilst the synthesis of single‐layer t‐COFs remains highly challenging. Herein, we present the fabrication of a well‐defined graphene‐like t‐COF on Au(111). Instead of single/multiple‐step single‐type reactions commonly applied for on‐surface synthesis, distinct stepwise on‐surface reactions, including alkynyl cyclotrimerization, C−O bond cleavage, and C−H bond activation, are triggered on demand, leading to product evolution in a controlled step‐by‐step manner. Aside from the precise control in sophisticated on‐surface synthesis, this work proposes a single‐atomic‐layer organic semiconductor with a wide band gap of 3.41 eV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The FSR of a multi-longitudinal mode LD cavity to be measured is 78.95 GHz. • The applicable amplitude limitation range of the MLM-LD-SMVS system is 0 < A l ≤ 2. 0 53 × 1 0 - 3 . • The optimum optical feedback regime of the MLM-LD-SMVS system is 0 < C < 4. 6. The free spectral range of the resonant cavity is calculated to be 78.95 GHz based on 1.90 mm of the waveform separation period as a multi-longitudinal mode laser diode is employed as the light source of the self-mixing vibration measurement system. As such, the influence of the vibration amplitude of the loudspeaker to the self-mixing vibration signal waveform is further researched by means of the feasible theoretical analysis and experimental characterization. The primary experimental results demonstrate that the amplitude limitation ratio coefficient A l of this sensing system is required to design below 2.053 × 10−3 corresponding to an entire waveform separation period, of which is to prevent the self-mixing signal waveform from distorting effectively in the context of the integral order of the external cavity mode. Furthermore, the feedback levels of the multi-longitudinal mode laser self-mixing vibration system are studied in detail. It has been shown that the experimental result of the free spectral range fits well with theoretical value when this system is matched to the applicable amplitude limitation range 0 < A l ≤ 2. 0 53 × 1 0 - 3 and the optimum optical feedback regime 0 < C < 4. 6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper proposed a new method for measuring the feedback coefficient in the self-mixing interference. In experiment, the value of feedback coefficient is obtained by measuring the power difference at power jump point that based on the self-mixing vibration sensing system. It realized the measurement of feedback coefficient in range of 1–7.8 and shows a good agreement with the theoretical derivation and the corresponding simulation. Meanwhile, there is a good fitting result with the determination coefficient of 0.98 and line-width broadening factor of 3.245 respectively, which also realized measurement of feedback coefficient and line-width broadening factor at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A method based on MML-SMV is presented to measure the FSR of the laser cavity. • The FSR of the He-Ne laser cavity to be measured is 0.633 GHz. • The precision of self-mixing FSR measurement system is 2.67 MHz. • The method is also suitable for a laser diode, which the FSR is 88.24 GHz. A method by tracing the multi-longitudinal mode laser self-mixing vibrator waveform with adjusting of the external cavity length based on the laser self-mixing effect is proposed to measure the free spectral range of the laser cavity. According to the variation period of the external cavity, the free spectral range of the He-Ne laser cavity is calculated to be 0.633 GHz with the resolution of 2.67 MHz. Simultaneously, we further investigate the relationship between the waveform separation degree and the phase delay of two adjacent peaks caused by the superimposed self-mixing vibration signal waveforms of different modes. The experimental results have been demonstrated that this strategy is appropriate for the measurement of the free spectral range of the laser cavity duo to the significant merits of general complexity and cost, and non-contact measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS) is a rare autosomal dominant disease characterized by the development of multiple jaw keratocysts and basal cell carcinomas (BCC) and accompanied by diverse phenotypes. The establishment of diagnosis lies on the identification of a heterozygous germline pathogenic variant in the patched homolog 1 gene (PTCH1). PTCH1 has alternative splicing and selective initial coding exon, leading to three types of encoding proteins (PTCHL, PTCHM and PTCHS). The expression of each protein in NBCCS remains ambiguous, especially the importance of the first two exons in translation. Here, we report a Chinese NBCCS family of a novel PTCH1 heterozygous mutation (IVS 2, c.394+1G>T, g.10652G>T) identified by genomic sequencing and reverse-transcription-PCR as aberrant splicing. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of NBCCS with a splicing site mutation in intron 2 resulting in exon 2 skipping. Our finding suggests that exon 2 plays an important role in the development of NBCCS and further speculates that the role of longer isoforms PTCHL and PTCHM is crucial in NBCCS, while that of short isoform PTCHS might be dispensable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new polymer showing low dielectric constant and good film‐forming ability derived from a renewable plant oil (anethole) and thermo cross‐linkable benzocyclobutene is developed. This polymer with anethole content of more than 50% is prepared through a thermal cross‐linking reaction of an anethole‐based monomer with active benzocyclobutene unit, and it displays a low dielectric constant of less than 2.70 varying from 0.1 to 30 MHz, low water uptake of below 0.1%, and good thermostability (5% weight loss of up to 430 °C). The polymer film also exhibits high transparency and low surface roughness. These results are comparable to that of the commercial benzocyclobutene‐based high performance polymers widely used in electronic/microelectronic industry, suggesting that the renewable anethole could be considered as a new sustainable feedstock supply to produce the benzocyclobutene‐like high performance materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the manufacturing industries are continuously challenged by achieving high-quality products and clean production in order to remain competitiveness. Surface roughness is one of the important factors in evaluation of the quality of a machined part. Meanwhile, it is vital to correlate energy usage with operations being performed in the production lines for the green and energy-saving manufacturing. A novel surface roughness prediction model based on the energy consumption is proposed. Specific cutting energy consumption (SCEC) and cutting parameters are employed as inputs to the prediction model. Particle swarm optimization-support vector machine (PSO-SVM) is used to predict the surface roughness value in turning. Furthermore, this method is verified by conducting experiments in turning process and compared with the PSO-relevance vector machine (PSO-RVM). Besides, the prediction performance of the energy based model is compared with the model with different combinations of cutting parameters, energy, and vibration features. The result shows that the proposed model obtains the lowest mean relative error and indicates that the model is effective and straightforward for practical implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The core difficulty of text-based person search is how to achieve fine-grained alignment of visual and linguistic modal data, so as to bridge the gap of modal heterogeneity. Most existing works on this task focus on global and local features extraction and matching, ignoring the importance of relational information. This paper proposes a new text-based person search model, named CM-LRGNet , which extracts C ross- M odal L ocal- R elational- G lobal features in an end-to-end manner, and performs fine-grained cross-modal alignment on the above three feature levels. Concretely, we first split the convolutional feature maps to obtain local features of images, and adaptively extract textual local features. Then a relation encoding module is proposed to implicitly learn the relational information implied in the images and texts. Finally, a relation-aware graph attention network is designed to fuse the local and relational features to generate global representations for both images and text queries. Extensive experimental results on benchmark dataset (CUHK-PEDES) show that our approach can achieve state-of-the-art performance (64.18%, 82.97%, 89.85% in terms of Top-1, Top-5, and Top-10 accuracies), by learning and aligning local-relational-global representations from different modalities. Our code has been released in https://github.com/zhangweifeng1218/Text-based-Person-Search. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An optimized tunable fiber laser has been proposed by using a novelty developed silver diaphragm at the end of coupled cavity of the tunable fiber laser. The total tuning range is about 15 nm by using a combination of axial compressive strain and a tensile strain. The lasing mode regime of tunable fiber laser is determined by the fiber laser compound cavity. Experimental results demonstrate that the characteristics of tunable fiber laser with external cavity not only present good stability performances with the output power variation about 0.2 dB and the wavelength fluctuation less than 0.08 nm, but also could reduce threshold pump power, decrease the linewidth from 19.557 kHz to 7.271 kHz by coupling silver membrane at the end of the fiber truncation. The optimized tunable fiber laser of external cavity configuration is in good agreement with the theoretical analysis and has many potential applications in sensing and communication system for high sensitivity and remote measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three s -triazine-based functional monomers with thermo-polymerizable propargyl-ether units were synthesized by a facile procedure. These monomers can be thermally cured to form the crosslinked networks, which showed 5-wt% loss temperature of up to 400 °C and the char yields of more than 50% at 1000 °C. Moreover, the crosslinked networks exhibited the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) of below 43 ppm °C −1 varying from 30 to 300 °C and glass transition temperatures ( T g ) of up to 290 °C, respectively. These monomers were also used to improve the thermostability of a commercial bismaleimide (4,4′-bismaleimidodiphenylmethane). The results indicated that blending the bismaleimide and the triazine monomers gave the new resins, which showed higher T g and lower CTE than the bismaleimide, suggesting the triazine monomers can be considered as the modifiers for enhancement of the thermostability of the commercial bismaleimides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficiently answering XML keyword queries has attracted much research effort in the last decade. The key factors resulting in the inefficiency of existing methods are the common-ancestor-repetition (CAR) and visiting-useless-nodes (VUN) problems. To address the CAR problem, we propose a generic top-down processing strategy to answer a given keyword query w.r.t. LCA/SLCA/ELCA semantics. By “top-down”, we mean that we visit all common ancestor (CA) nodes in a depth-first, left-to-right order; by “generic”, we mean that our method is independent of the query semantics. To address the VUN problem, we propose to use child nodes, rather than descendant nodes to test the satisfiability of a node $v$ w.r.t. the given semantics. We propose two algorithms that are based on either traditional inverted lists or our newly proposed LLists to improve the overall performance. We further propose several algorithms that are based on hash search to simplify the operation of finding CA nodes from all involved LLists. The experimental results verify the benefits of our methods according to various evaluation metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aim: A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the possible predictors of the positive PALN(para-aortic lymph nodes) for identifing specific patients who are at high risk of PALN metastases and for whom super-extended lymphadenectomy or pre-operative DCS therapy could be recommended. Methods: Five databases (PUBMED, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library and the China Biological Medicine Database, CNKI) were searched that finally identified 11 candidate studies. Original data were abstracted from each study and used to calculate odds ratios. The random effects or fixed-effect model was used to combine odds ratios to determine the strength of the associations. Results: In this study, we eventually found 6 risk factors in the clinicopathologic characteristics including tumour located in the upper third(P < 0.01, OR = 2.19), tumour size exceeding 5 cm(P < 0.01, OR = 3.42), tumour infiltrating deeper than T2 (P < 0.01, OR = 2.07), tumour in the stage N2 and N3(P < 0.01, OR = 12.03), and tumour regarded as the poorly differentiated type by the histologic classification (P < 0.01, OR = 2.49)and the Borrman 3,4 type by the macroscopic classification(P < 0.01, OR = 2.58). Moreover, the metastasis of lower lymph nodal stations may be the predictors of the positive PALN especially NO.1, NO.3, NO.7 and NO.9 stations which had evidently higher odd ratios (OR>7) over others. Conclusion: Although we cannot conduct a multivariate logistic regression to assess all risk factors together because of the limited information extracted from the studies, the risk factors above-mentioned may also have some indications especially when they have strong relationships with the positive PALN(OR>3). D2 Plus Para-Aortic Lymphadenectomy or pre-operative chemotherapy may be required for those patients who have a high risk for metastasis to PALN so that they may get better prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of photovoltaic (PV) cell is affected by the model structure and corresponding parameters. However, these parameters are adjustable and variable, which play an available role in regarding to the efficiency and effectiveness of PV generation. Due to strong non-linear characteristics, existing PV model parameters identification methods cannot easily obtain accurate solutions. To tackle this, this paper proposes an adaptive differential evolution algorithm with the dynamic opposite learning strategy (DOL), named DOLADE. In DOLADE, the opposite learning method expands the current elite population and the population of poor performance, improving the particles' exploration capability. In the process of particles work, the searching area of particles is adjusting dynamically so that the particles' exploitation capability is enhanced. The experimental data of different types of PV are tested, respectively. Three PV models are used to verify the new strategy's accuracy and effectiveness. The proposed DOLADE is compared with several general advanced algorithms, and comprehensive experimental results are demonstrated. The results illustrate that DOLADE well extracts optimal parameters for each PV cell model and brought great competition in terms of accuracy, reliability, and computational efficiency in solving the problem. • Differential evolution variant is proposed to estimate the photovoltaic models' parameter. • Dynamic opposite learning strategy aims to improve exploration and exploitation abilities. • The proposed method is tested under various experimental data and cases. • A series of experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Elemental substitution of part Ti by Zr has been carried out for Ti2Ni alloy to form Ti2−x Zr x Ni (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4) alloys. Mechanical milling and subsequent heat treatment have been used to prepare non-equilibrium Ti–Zr–Ni alloys. The effects of Zr addition on the structure and discharge properties of Ti2Ni alloy were investigated. The addition of Zr could enhance the discharge capacity of the non-equilibrium Ti2Ni alloy at electrolyte temperatures of 313 and 333 K. For instance, the non-equlibrium Ti1.6Zr0.4Ni alloy had a stable discharge capacity of about 210 mAh/g at 313 K. However, the protective surface layer formed during heat treatment was destroyed at a high electrolyte temperature of 333 K, and thus a severe capacity loss during cycling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A solvent processable, low water uptake, partially fluorinated copoly(arylene ether) functionalized with pendant quaternary ammonium groups (QAPAE) was synthesized and uses as the ionomer in alkaline electrodes on fuel cells. The quaternized polymers containing fluorinated biphenyl groups were synthesized via chloromethylation of copoly(arylene ether) followed by amination with trimethylamine. The resulting ionomers were very soluble in polar, aprotic solvents. Highly aminated ionomers had conductivities approaching 10mScm−1 at room temperature. Compared to previous ionomers based on quaternized poly(arylene ether sulfone) (QAPSF) with similar ion exchange capacity (IEC), the water uptake of QAPAE was significantly less due to the hydrophobic octafluoro-biphenyl groups in the backbone. The performance of the fuel cell electrodes made with the QAPAE ionomers was evaluated as the cathode on a hybrid AEM/PEM fuel cell. The QAPAE alkaline ionomer electrode with IEC=1.22meqg−1 had superior performance to the electrodes prepared with QAPSF, IEC=1.21meqg−1 at 25 and 60°C in a H2/O2 fuel cell. The peak power densities at 60°C were 315mWcm−2 for QAPAE electrodes and 215mWcm−2 for QAPSF electrodes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this study, the performance of the anionic electrodes for hybrid polymer electrolyte fuel cells was improved. The anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrodes were initially characterized as the cathode on a proton exchange membrane (PEM) anode/membrane half-assembly (i.e. hybrid polymer electrolyte fuel cell). The electrode performance was improved by tailoring the ionomer distribution within the electrode structure so as to better balance the electronic, ionic, and reactant transport within the catalyst layer. An ionomer impregnation method was used to achieve a non-uniform ionomer distribution and higher performance. Traditional electrode fabrication methods (i.e. thin-film method) lead to a uniform ionomer distribution. The peak power density at 70°C for a H2/O2 hybrid fuel cell was 44mWcm−2 using the thin-film electrode, and 120mWcm−2 using the ionomer impregnated electrode. A hydrophobic additive used in the catalyst layer further improved the electrode performance, giving a peak power density of 315mWcm−2 for H2/O2 at 70°C. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used as an in situ diagnostic tool to help understand the origin of the electrode improvements. The increase in performance was attributed to improved catalyst utilization due to the creation of facile gas transport domains in the AEM electrode structure. Similarly, the AEM anode prepared by ionomer impregnation with polytetrafluoroethylene resulted in a three-fold increase in the peak power density compared to ones made by the thin-film method, which has no polytetrafluoroethylene. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effect of hydrophobicity in alkaline electrodes has been investigated in an effort to improve their performance in passive direct methanol fuel cells. Two approaches have been used to increase the hydrophobicity within the electrodes. One is using a more hydrophobic ionomer, and the other is introducing polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) into the catalyst layer. Two types of anion exchange ionomers with different hydrophobicity have been synthesized for this study. The effect of ion exchange capacity, ionic conductivity, and water uptake of the ionomers on the electrode performance has been studied using a half-cell test. The use of a hydrophobic ionomer resulted in enhanced cathode performance even though the ionic conductivity was lower than the more hydrophilic ionomer. Also, the addition of PTFE improved both the cathode and anode performance. The improved alkaline electrode performance was compared to a traditional acid electrode using Nafion as the ionomer. The performance increased threefold as a result of higher hydrophobicity in alkaline electrode. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In a synchronous clock-distribution network of typical automotive chips, digital circuits switch simultaneously on the clock edge; therefore, they generate high-switching (or di/dt) noise on the power supply lines due to sharp peaks of the supply current, which is the source for electromagnetic emissions (EME). In this paper, we demonstrate an effective combination of two design techniques for di/ dt noise reduction based on the supply current-shaping technique: 1) introducing an EME-suppressing regulator (EME-SR) with a digital feedback loop and 2) FM of the discrete-time EME-SR’s clock. The former technique reduces the time-domain peaks as well as the spectral power of the supply current by a discrete-time EME-SR and a tank capacitor. The latter technique reduces the peak spectral power of the supply current by spreading this power into the sidelobes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A synchronization-free, and all digital design technique for the generation of a spread spectrum clock is presented and simulated in 0.35 \mum CMOS technology with a low power consumption of 1.45 mW at 10 MHz. The proposed technique uses a period locking delay-locked loop, multiple phase generator, and a digital controller to modulate the input clock frequency. The peak power of the clock and the supply current are reduced up to 8.5 and 11 dB without any interface circuit for the synchronization between the nonspread spectrum and spread spectrum clock domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Anion conductive polysulfone membranes were successfully crosslinked via epoxy functionalities resulting in improved mechanical properties. The concentration of the epoxy crosslinker, tetraphenylolethane glycidyl ether (4EP), controlled the degree of crosslinking. All the crosslinked membranes had good thermal stability, low water uptake, low swelling, and low methanol permeability compared to non-crosslinked membranes. The crosslinked membranes showed good dimensional stability in pure methanol while non-crosslinked ones were highly soluble. Although the ionic conductivity of crosslinked membranes was slightly lower, a higher selectivity (ratio of the ionic conductivity to the methanol permeability) was obtained. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Poly(arylene ether sulfone) ionomers containing fluorenyl groups and functionalized with benzyltrimethylammonium groups were synthesized through polycondensation, chloromethylation, and amination reactions. The resulting polymers were characterized by 1H NMR, FT-IR and TGA. Polymer membranes were solvent cast from DMF on Teflon plates to form clear, flexible anion exchange membranes (AEMs). Carbonate anions had conductivities in the AEMs up to 63.12mScm−1 at 70°C and were used in a carbonate fuel cell. The membranes were stable in 1M carbonate solution (pH 11). However, conductivity loss was observed during soaking in 1M hydroxide solution (pH>14) at 50°C. A carbonate fuel cell operating at room temperature with H2 at the anode and O2 and CO2 at the cathode had a maximum power density of 4.1mWcm−2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: We aimed to explore the association between bedtime at night and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) measured by liver ultrasound transient elastography (LUTE).Methods: A total of 4572 individuals were included. The diagnosis of NAFLD was based on the controlled attenuated parameter (CAP) score of LUTE. CAP score ≥ 263 dB/m and CAP score ≥ 285 dB/m were used as the criterions for the diagnosis of NAFLD.Results: For the weekday bedtime, a positive association was identified in CAP (263 dB/m) (OR, 1.04 [95 %CI, 0.99, 1.09]) and CAP (285 dB/m) (OR, 1.00 [95 %CI, 0.95, 1.05]). For the weekend bedtime, a positive relationship was found in CAP (263 dB/m) (OR, 1.05 [95 %CI, 1.00, 1.10]). The positive relationship still presented in CAP (285 dB/m) (OR, 1.05[95 %CI, 1.00, 1.10]). When NAFLD defined as CAP score ≥ 263 dB/m, the relationship between weekday bedtime and NAFLD was a straight line. For the weekend bedtime, the association was nonlinear. Before 22:00 o'clock, the association was positive (OR, 1.26 [95 %CI, 1.06, 1.50]), while between 22:00 and 1:00 o'clock, the relationship was negative (OR, 0.96 [95 %CI, 0.88, 1.05]) without a significant P value. After 1:00o'clock, the relationship was positive (OR, 1.26 [95 %CI, 1.02, 1.57]).Conclusion: Later bedtime was positive associated with NAFLD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A series of well-defined two-armed polymers containing a crown ether core, poly(stearyl methacrylate)-crown ether-poly(stearyl methacrylate) (PSMA-crown-PSMA), with different molecular weight were synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The resultant polymers were characterized by 1H NMR and GPC. The self-assembly behaviors of this kind of polymer in selective solvents were studied by TEM, and it was found that polymers with different molecular weight can directly self-assemble into hollow spheres, solid spheres and a monolayer film with regular pores by varying molecular weight and water content. The possible molecular packing motels for their self-assembly behaviors were proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A novel brush-type amphiphilic copolymer of PSMA-b-PTMSPMA was synthesized via ATRP technique. As-synthesized polymer was characterized by GPC and 1H NMR. It was of interest that the resultant polymer could self-assemble into micelles with different morphologies and sizes in selective solvents by adjusting the copolymer concentrations. These aggregates could be prepared into novel stable organic/inorganic hybrid nanomaterials by the gelation process. The size and structure of these aggregates and the corresponding hybrid nanomaterials were observed by TEM. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Amphiphilic maleic anhydride–stearyl methacrylate (MA–SMA) random copolymer was synthesized via the free radical copolymerization and its amide was prepared through the MA moieties being reacted with morpholine. Polymers obtained were characterized by GPC and 1H NMR. The aggregating behaviors of copolymers were investigated by first dissolving them in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and then adding water to induce association of the long alkyl chains and observed over the range of copolymer concentrations from 0.028 to 0.22wt% and water content from 5.32 to 34.85wt%. Resultant aggregates show new potential application in the fields of drug delivery systems, microcapsules and so on. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The unreacted shrinking core model for the degradation scheme of a mineral particle. • The leaching behaviors of potassium and aluminum were investigated. • Potassium was preferentially leached compared to aluminum. • The higher dissolved fraction of potassium compared with aluminum was successfully interpreted. • The leaching kinetics obeys a semiempirical kinetic model based on the classical shrinking core model. • There are two distinct stages in the leaching process controlled by the chemical reaction. The leaching behaviours of potassium and aluminum from phosphorus-potassium associated ore in HCl-CaF 2 media were investigated at temperature from 60 to 90 °C. The higher dissolved fraction of potassium compared with aluminum was found in this study though they were mainly incorporated into the same mineralogical phase of potash feldspar in the ore. Moreover, the dissolved fraction of potassium was always higher than aluminum in all the investigated conditions due to the existence of secondary precipitation phase such as amorphous alumino-silicate or the formation of insoluble AlF complex in the leaching process. In addtion, the leaching kinetic data were successfully examined by a semiempirical kinetic model based on the classical shrinking core model. It was found that there are two distinct stages in the leaching process and the kinetics of both stages follows the semiempirical kinetic model with chemical reaction being the rate-controlling step. The activation energies for potassium and aluminum from the ore were 39.031 and 44.260 kJ·mol−1 at first leaching stage, and 59.274 and 62.944 kJ·mol−1 at second leaching stage, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD) is a hereditary myopathy characterized as triad of muscular dystrophy, joint contractures, and conduction cardiomyopathy. In this study, we diagnosed a X‐linked recessive EDMD patient with severe conduction cardiomyopathy while noteless muscular and joint disorders. Methods: A Chinese cardiomyopathy family spanning four generations was enrolled in the study. Targeted next‐generation sequencing (NGS) was performed to identify the underlying mutation in the proband and validated by Sanger sequencing. Segregation analysis was applied to all 13 participants. Results: A novel frameshift mutation (c.253_254insT, p.Y85Lfs*8) of emerin gene (EMD) was found and co‐segregated with family members. Other than the typical manifestations of X‐linked EDMD, this patient presented inconspicuous muscular disorders which were later diagnosed after the mutation been identified. Conclusions: This study enriches the EMD gene mutation database and reminds us of the possibility of EDMD while encountering patients with severe heart rhythm defects or dilated cardiomyopathy of unknown etiology, even if they have neither obvious skeletal muscle disorder nor joint involvement. X‐linked Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy is a hereditary myopathy. A Chinese family with initial diagnosis of conduction cardiomyopathy. A novel frameshift mutation (c.253_254insT, p.Y85Lfs*8) of emerin gene(EMD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, short rod-shaped bacterium, designated as strain HZ0627T, was isolated from the appendiceal pus of a patient with appendicitis in Yongzhou, Hunan, China. This strain was subjected to comprehensive phenotypic, phylogenetic, and genomic analyses using polyphasic taxonomic methods. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed that this strain belonged to the genus Proteus and the family Morganellaceae, whereas that based on the rpoB gene sequence and phylogenomic analysis demonstrated that this strain was distinctly separated from other type strains of Proteus species. Moreover, whole-genome-based analyses, including in silico DNA–DNA hybridization (isDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI), revealed that strain HZ0627T had much lower isDDH rates (24.5–55.6%) and ANI (82.04–93.90%) than those of the thresholds (i.e., 70% and 95%, respectively) for species delineation, when compared to the type strains of other Proteus species. The cellular fatty acid profile of strain HZ0627T was dominated by C16:0 (34.5%), cyclo C17:0 (25.8%), C14:0 (12.6%), C16:1 iso I/14:0 3-OH (7.7%), C18:1ω7c/18:1ω6c (6.5%), and C16:1ω7c/16:1ω6c (4.9%), which clearly differentiated it from the documented type strains of Proteus species. In addition, several specific physiological traits, including optimal growth temperature, tolerance to sodium chloride, and carbon source utilization, differed from those of other Proteus species. Therefore, we propose the name Proteus appendicitidis sp. nov. for strain HZ0627T (= CCTCC AB 2022380T = KCTC 92986T), which represents the type strain of this novel Proteus species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bio‐based allylphenol (eugenol)‐functionalized fluoro‐containing maleimide derived from easily available cyanuric chloride is synthesized, and it is thermally transformed to a cross‐linked polymer. It is found that the polymer displays a 5% weight loss temperature of up to 413 °C, a glass transition temperature (Tg) of up to 274 °C, and a thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) of 66.21 ppm °C−1 varying from 50 to 300 °C. The polymer is also found to exhibit lower water uptake (1.06%) than commercial 4,4′‐bismaleimidodiphenylmethane (BMI) resins (3%) and allyl‐modified bismaleimides (4.5%). This polymer is also found to indicate good dielectric properties with a dielectric constant (Dk) of below 2.9 and a dissipation factor (Df) of less than 7 × 10−3 for frequencies varying from 40 Hz to 25 MHz. It is reported that, compared to the commercial BMI with CTE of 77.85 ppm °C−1 and Dk of 3.50, this eugenol‐functionalized fluoro‐containing maleimide possesses good properties, suggesting that this new maleimide has potential application in the microelectronic industry. A new eugenol‐functionalized fluorinated maleimide with low dielectric constant and good water absorption is synthesized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of continuous community search in temporal graphs aims to identify dense subgraphs that exist continuously over time, which is widely used in sociology, biology, communication, and other fields. Existing methods can find communities that satisfy both temporal and structural constraints, but did not consider constraints on vertex attributes. In this paper, we investigate the continuous community search problem with attribute constraints in temporal graphs. Specifically, we aim to identify graphs that meet temporal, structural, and attribute constraints. To solve the problem efficiently, we first propose a pruning enumeration algorithm (PRUNE_ENUM), which uses the properties of the lower bound of vertices of k-core, the upper bound of attribute intersection, and subgraph continuity to prune useless search space during computation. We then propose an optimized enumeration algorithm (FILTER_ENUM) that first generates much smaller subgraphs using subsets of the given query attributes, then takes these smaller subgraphs as input for enumeration. During the enumeration, we propose two pruning rules to reduce search space based on attribute similarity and subgraph maximization to improve the efficiency. We conduct comparative experiments on four real-world temporal networks, and the experimental results demonstrate the high efficiency of our algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between malnutrition assessed by the Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria and the occurrence of severe postoperative complications (SPCs) after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer. Methods: A total of 220 patients with gastric cancer were included in this retrospective study. According to the GLIM criteria, the first step was to use the Nutrition Risk Screening Score 2002 to conduct nutritional risk screening for patients and the second step was to diagnose and grade the severity of malnutrition in patients at risk of malnutrition. According to the Clavien-Dindo classification system, SPCs were defined as C-D Grade IIIa or higher. Results: Overall, 66 (30.0%) patients were diagnosed with malnutrition, including 32 (14.5%) with moderate malnutrition and 34 (15.5%) with severe malnutrition. The incidence of SPCs was 14.5%, and the most frequent postoperative event was anastomotic leakage. In the multivariate regression analysis, malnutrition was considered an independent risk factor for SPCs (P < .001). After adjusting for various factors, the grading association remained statistically significant. Compared with patients with normal nutrition, patients with moderate and severe malnutrition have a nearly 15-fold (OR = 15.682, 95% CI: 4.481–54.877, P < .001) and 20-fold (OR = 20.554, 95% CI: 5.771–73.202, P < .001) increased risk of developing SPCs, respectively. Conclusions: Malnutrition assessed by GLIM was an independent risk factor for SPCs in gastric cancer patients. Therefore, early identification of malnourished patients is crucial for timely implementation of nutritional treatment and reducing the occurrence of postoperative complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aberrant expression of tumor suppressor Smad4 often occurs in colorectal cancer (CRC), and this phenomenon is believed to be associated with drug resistance. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of Smad4 on the sensitivity of CRC cells to cetuximab, and the possible mechanism underlying such an effect. A total of 629 colorectal adenocarcinoma cases were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and a Smad4 mutation rate of ~21% was demonstrated among the cases. Low expression of Smad4 was present in CRC tissues analyzed by TCGA and in four CRC cell lines, as determined by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and western blot analysis. Cell Counting kit-8 (CCK-8) was used to measure the effects of different concentrations of cetuximab on SW480 cell viability at 24 and 48 h. The results demonstrated that treatment of SW480 cells with 20 µg/ml cetuximab for 48 h markedly reduced cell viability. In addition, plasmids were transfected into SW480 cells to induce Smad4 silencing or overexpression. Silencing Smad4 attenuated the sensitivity of SW480 CRC cells to cetuximab; this effect was reflected in increased cell viability and slightly increased migration and invasion, as determined by CCK-8, wound scratch and Transwell analyses. RT-qPCR and western blotting was performed to assess the expression levels of apoptosis- and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT)-related genes. Silencing Smad4 partly reversed the effects of cetuximab on the mRNA and protein expression levels of vimentin, Bax/Bcl-2 and E-cadherin. However, Smad4 overexpression enhanced SW480 cell sensitivity to cetuximab. In conclusion, Smad4 may serve a vital role in the sensitivity of CRC cells to chemotherapeutic drugs by promoting EMT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A characteristic immunopathology of human cancers is the induction of tumor antigen-specific T lymphocyte responses within solid tumor tissues. Current strategies for immune monitoring focus on the quantification of the density and differentiation status of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes; however, properties of the TCR repertoire ‒ including antigen specificity, clonality, as well as its prognostic significance ‒ remain elusive. In this study, we enrolled 28 gastric cancer patients and collected tumor tissues, adjacent normal mucosal tissues, and peripheral blood samples to study the landscape and compartmentalization of these patients’ TCR β repertoire by deep sequencing analyses. Our results illustrated antigen-driven expansion within the tumor compartment and the contracted size of shared clonotypes in mucosa and peripheral blood. Most importantly, the diversity of mucosal T lymphocytes could independently predict prognosis, which strongly underscores critical roles of resident mucosal T-cells in executing post-surgery immunosurveillance against tumor relapse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: Selective circular myotomy (CM) is recommended in peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) for achalasia, but completeness of myotmoy is the prerequisite for excellent long-term results of conventional surgical myotomy. The aim of our study was to compare the efficacy and safety between peroral endoscopic full-thickness and simple CM for the treatment of severe achalasia.Materials and Methods: A total of 123 severe achalasia patients who underwent POEM from August 2011 to May 2013 were included. They were divided into circular or full-thickness myotomy (FTM) groups according to the depth of myotomy. Demographics, Eckardt score, procedure-related parameters, perioperative adverse events, pre- and postoperative esophageal diameter, esophageal manometry, and follow-up results were retrospectively collected and compared between the two groups.Results: All the 123 patients underwent POEM successfully, and the mean operation time was significantly shorter in FTM group compared with CM group (57.4 ± 8.2 minutes versus 63.2 ± 12.3 minutes, P < .05). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of treatment success, pre- and postoperative Eckardt score, esophageal diameter, esophageal manometry, and perioperative adverse events (P > .05). Twenty-four-hour pH monitoring was performed in 19 patients (11 in FTM, 8 in CM). Although no statistical difference was detected in rate of abnormal esophageal acid exposure between groups, this rate was higher in FTM group than CM group (60% versus 40%, P > .05).Conclusion: Treatment efficacy in short-to-medium term are comparable between circular or FTM. FTM significantly reduce the operative duration, but it may increase potential risk of gastroesophageal reflux disease incidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automotive ICs work in wide ambient temperature range up to 150C. It is important to design an over temperature protection mechanism for the reliability of ICs and systems. A thermal protection module for the automotive ICs is reported in this paper. Dual channel detection and decision scheme was designed based on band gap voltage reference. Precision thermal protection point was set by serial resistors and the variations of power supply, temperature and the process were removed by the resistor ratio. The thermal protection module was implemented in CSMC 0.5 60 V BCD process, incorporated in a CAN transceiver chip. The area of the module was about 0.02 mm2 and thus it was very compact and low cost to integrate in chips. The performance of the thermal protection parameters was measured in incubators. The thermal shutdown temperature was about 164.4C and the thermal recovery temperature was about 153C with hysteresis temperature of 10 K. Additionally, the thermal protection module showed good consistency with different chips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daphnetin (Daph), a natural coumarin derivative isolated from plants of the Genus Daphne , possesses abundant biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer properties. In the present study, we focused on investigating the protective effect of Daph against tert -butyl hydroperoxide ( t -BHP)-induced oxidative damage, mitochondrial dysfunction and the involvement of underlying molecular mechanisms. Our findings indicated that Daph effectively inhibited t -BHP-stimulated cytotoxicity, cell apoptosis, and mitochondrial dysfunction, which are associated with suppressed reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) formation, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) levels and glutathione (GSH)/GSSG (oxidized GSH) ratio. Further investigation indicated that Daph significantly suppressed cytochrome c release and NLRP3 inflammasome activation and modulated apoptosis-related protein Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 expression. Moreover, Daph dramatically induced the expression of the glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier (GCLM) subunit and the glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic (GCLC) subunit, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), and NAD (P) H: quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1), which is largely dependent on upregulating the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation, reducing the Keap1 protein expression, and strengthening the antioxidant response element (ARE) promoter activity. Additionally, Daph remarkably activated a c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, but ERK and JNK inhibitor pretreatment exhibited an evident decrease of the level of Daph-enhanced Nrf2 nuclear translocation. Furthermore, Daph exposure suppressed t -BHP-induced cytotoxicity and ROS overproduction, which are mostly blocked in Nrf2 knockout RAW 264.7 cells and peritoneal macrophages. Accordingly, Daph exhibited protective roles against t -BHP-triggered oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction by the upregulation of Nrf2 antioxidant signaling pathways, which may be involved in the activation of JNK and ERK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to investigate the microstructure and mechanical properties of surfacing layers (wear layer and transition layer) of a hot forging die manufactured by the bimetal-gradient-layer surfacing method, which is based on ZG29MnMoNi cast steel before and after forged 5761 parts on a 63MN hot die forging press. The finite element model of a die was established. Subsequently, a simulation was conducted to analyze the temperature field of the die and its cycle features under working conditions. Microstructure and mechanical property were measured. Results indicated that the microstructure of the wear layer mainly consists of temper sorbite, ferrite and carbides. The transition layer before and after service is mainly composed of both temper sobrite, lower bainite, and a small amount of temper martensite. The mechanical properties of wear and transition layers declined significantly after service. The tensile strength, yield strength, reduction of area, and elongation of wear layer declined by 41.6, 32.5, 28.3, and 24.5 %, respectively. With those indexes the transition layer decreased by 36.6, 34, 24.4, and 19.8 %, respectively. Microhardness and impact energy of wear and transition layers have showed a decrease of 17, 6 % and 51.2, 32.6 %, respectively. The impact fracture mode of both wear and transition layers is typically intergranular fracture after service. As a conclusion, it was determined that the service process sufficiently influenced the mechanical properties of the surfacing layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]