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In preparation for an experiment with a laser-generated intense proton beam at the Laser Fusion Research Center at Mianyang to investigate the 11B(p,α)2α reaction, we performed a measurement at very low proton energy between 140 keV and 172 keV using the high-voltage platform at the Institute of Modern Physics, Lanzhou. The aim of the experiment was to test the ability to use CR-39 track detectors for cross-section measurements and to remeasure the cross-section of this reaction close to the first resonance using the thick target approach. We obtained the cross-section σ = 45.6 ± 12.5 mb near 156 keV. Our result confirms the feasibility of CR-39 type track detector for nuclear reaction measurement also in low-energy regions.

Background. Previous studies showed that a decline in BP can reverse pressure-overloaded left ventricular hypertrophy in the long term. Whether this structural remodeling and improved cardiac function were due to reduced BP levels or sympathetic tone is unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of renal denervation (RDN) on cardiac function and left ventricular hypertrophy in patients diagnosed with resistant hypertension with systolic and diastolic dysfunction. Methods. Thirteen patients diagnosed with resistant hypertension underwent bilateral RDN (RDN group), and 13 patients were selected as the control group (drug group) who received regular antihypertensive drugs for the first time. Demographic analysis and hematologic tests were performed to determine renal function as well as BNP levels. Echocardiogram was performed at baseline and 12 months after RDN. Results. All the baseline characteristics are comparable in two groups. Both RDN and drug regiments resulted in significant reduction from baseline in SBP/DBP at 12-month follow-up (all P values < 0.01), and the decline due to two interventions showed no statistically significant difference ( F = 1.64 , P = 0.213 and F = 0.124 , P = 0.853 for SBP and DBP, respectively). RDN significantly reduced mean LV mass index (LVMI) from 151.43 ± 46.91 g/m2 to 136.02 ± 37.76 g/m2 ( P = 0.038 ) and ejection fraction (LVEF) increased from 57.15 ± 5.49 % at baseline to 59.54 ± 4.18 % at 12 months ( P = 0.039 ). No similar changes were detected in the drug group ( P values, 0.90 for EF and 0.38 for LVMI). Renal parameters including BUN, Cr, UA, and eGFR at baseline, 3 months, and 12 months showed no marked difference ( P = 0.497 , 0.223 , 0.862 , 0.075 , respectively). Conclusions. Our findings show that in addition to hypertension and its progression, elevated sympathetic hyperactivity is related to left ventricular hypertrophy and cardiac function.

The detection of electromagnetic signals by satellites often uses a two-step method. The proposed direct position determination (DPD) method has improved the accuracy of passive location. However, the DPD method requires the signal carrier frequency as an input parameter, and the carrier frequencies of multiple unknown signals are challenging to measure accurately. In this paper, we propose a DPD method with carrier frequency estimation of multiple unknown sources using low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites, which estimate the carrier frequencies of each source while localizing.

Purpose To evaluate the Metabolic syndrome(MetS) in patients with unilateral and bilateral staghorn calculus(SC) and compare the impact on the outcome of percutaneous nephrolithotomy(PCNL).Methods The patients who underwent PCNL for the treatment of SC were retrospectively reviewed between 2019–2022. SC were divided into unilateral and bilateral. The variables of the patients were calculated to evaluate the MetS difference between unilateral and bilateral SC and the impact on the outcome of PCNL.Results 1778 patients were received PCNL between 2019 and 2022, After screening computed tomography, A total of 379 patients with staghorn calculus, patients without follow-up and incomplete data were excluded, finaly 310 patients with SC were included. 84 with bilateral SC and 226 with unilateral. More higher body mass index, complete staghorn and metabolic syndrome were found in the patients with bilateral SC. Higher body mass index, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, MetS were 62.58%, 44.84%, 21.94%, 60.65% and 27.42% in patients. 85 patients with MetS(+) resulted in higher rate of overall complication(Number(N)(%), 29(38.10) VS 54(23.89), p = 0.013) and comparable stone free rate with 225 MetS(-). Multivariable analysis confirmed that hyperlipidemia(p = 0.044, odds ratio[OR] = 1.991, 95% confidence interval[CI] 1.020–3.888) and MetS ( p = 0.005, OR = 2.427, 95%CI 1.316–4.477) were independent risk factors for overall complication.Conclusions MetS are strongly correlated with the formation of bilateral SC and is the core predictor in assessing overall complication for PCNL.

Purpose To compare the outcomes of standard-percutaneous nephrolithotomy combined ultrasonic lithotripsy system(s-PCNL+ULS) and mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy combined high-power holmium laser(m-PCNL+hHL) for the treatment of staghorn calculus. Methods The data of patients who underwent PCNL for the treatment of staghorn calculus were retrospectively reviewed between 2019 and 2022 from the second hospital of Tianjin medical university. The nephrostomy tracts were dilatated to 24 F in standard PCNL and 16-18 F in mini PCNL, standard PCNL combined ultrasonic lithotripsy system and mini PCNL combined high-power holmium laser. The preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative variables of the patients were calculated to evaluate the efficacy and reliability of the two groups. Results 1778 patients were received PCNL between 2019 and 2022, After screening computed tomography, finaly 310 patients with staghorn calculus were included. 98 underwent s-PCNL+ULS and 212 underwent m-PCNL+hHL. The total operative time (min) ,haemoglobin deficit (ΔHGB (g/L)) ,the postoperative hospitalization days for s-PCNL+ULS and m-PCNL+hHL groups were 76.07±26.68 vs 103.93±24.84(P＜0.001), 9.30±9.26 VS 7.73±7.50(P=0.017); 7.32±5.14 VS 4.71±2.42(P＜0.001). The incidence complications for s-PCNL+ULS and m-PCNL+hHL groups were 28.57% vs 16.04%(P = 0.064), s-PCNL+ULS group had more severity complications (9.18% vs 2.83%, P = 0.022) . The firist and second stone-free rates of PCNL were 56.12% VS 57.08%(P=0.902) and 92.86% VS 86.32%(P=0.126) for the m-PCNL+hHL and s-PCNL+ULS groups. Conclusion The efficacy of m-PCNL+hHL was comparable to s-PCNL+ULS in the treatment of staghorn calculus. The advantages of m-PCNL+hHL included the lower haemoglobin deficit, shorter hospital stay and lesser severity complications.

Kluyveromyces marxianus is expected to be used in the production of yeast extracts due to its good fermentation ability and nutritional properties. Yeast autolysis is a key process to produce yeast extract and vacuum negative pressure stress can be used as an effective way to assist autolysis. However, the molecular mechanism of initiating Kluyveromyces marxianus autolysis induced by vacuum negative pressure and the higher temperature is still unclear. In this study, RNA-seq technology was performed mainly to analyze autolytic processes in Kluyveromyces marxianus strains. Considerable differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of downregulation were significantly enriched in 7 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways related to synthesis and transport of RNA and ribosome, which indicated that abnormal protein translations had already occurred in autolytic process. Interestingly, due to obvious change of related DEGs, endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation (ERAD) and autophagy were activated and cell wall integrity pathway was hindered. Under the continuous influence of the external stress environment, the long-term changes of the above pathways triggered a vicious circle of gradual damage to yeast cells, which is the main cause of yeast autolysis. These results may provide important clues for the in-depth interpretation of the yeast autolytic mechanism.

International audience; Antimony selenosulfide, Sb-2(SSe)(3), is recognized as an excellent photoactive material owing to its light harvesting capability. There is still room for improvement of the film quality for device performance improvement. Herein, an organic chloride salt [diethylamine hydrochloride, DEA(Cl)] has been introduced for fabricating Sb-2(SSe)(3) solar cells for the first time. A champion device with a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 9.17% has been achieved with a relatively improved fill factor and open-circuit voltage (V-OC). It has been revealed that DEA(Cl) successfully interacts with Sb-2(SSe)(3), which can facilitate the crystallization process to give rise to the closely packed bigger grain sizes with reduced surface cracks; it successfully suppressed the oxidized Sb species (Sb2O3) in the Sb-2(SSe)(3) film to give rise to phase purity, thus leading to superior surface morphology and electrical characteristics of DEA(Cl)-modified Sb-2(SSe)(3) absorber films. Chloride modification is thus efficiently helpful in suppressing interfacial defects, improving junction quality, and optimizing energy-level alignment. This facile interfacial modification demonstrates the remarkable potential for efficient Sb-2(SSe)(3) solar cells.

The recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after cryoablation still needs to be prioritized, including discriminating predictive indicators.Eighty-seven patients aged 43-83 years who underwent cryo-balloon ablation were divided into paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) and non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (non-PAF) groups. Baseline data, intraoperative index, and miRNA21, IL-18, NLRP3, and visfatin levels in peripheral venous blood and left atrial blood were assessed. Follow-up was performed for 6 months to observe the recurrence of AF. A Cox risk ratio model was used to analyze indicators for predicting AF recurrence.The non-PAF and PAF group recurrence rates of AF were statistically different (p 0.05) at 9/22 (40.9%) and 11/65 (16.9%), respectively. Biomarker levels in the left atrial blood were higher in the non-PAF group than in the PAF group (p 0.05). The effects of non-PAF and levels of miRNA21 and IL-18 in left atrial serum on the recurrence of AF after cryoablation statistically differed (p 0.05).The levels of miRNA21 and IL-18 were higher in left atrial blood than in peripheral blood, which may be related to the severity of AF and recurrence of AF after cryoablation.

IntroductionAbscisic acid (ABA) is an important sesquiterpene compound that regulates the stress resistance of plants. Botrytis cinerea can synthesize ABA via the mevalonic acid pathway. To identify the functional genes that are involved in the biosynthesis of ABA, we performed insertion mutagenesis into B. cinerea TB-31.MethodsWe obtained the ABA-reduced mutant E154 by insertion mutagenesis, and we identified the insertion site was located upstream of the gene bcfrp1 by Thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR. We performed a detailed phenotypic characterization of the bcfrp1 knockout and complementation mutants in TB-31. Furthermore, transcriptome and proteome analyses were conducted to explore how bcfrp1 affects the level of the ABA biosynthesis.ResultsThe bcfrp1 gene encodes an F-box protein. The phenotypic results confirmed the positive contribution of bcfrp1 to the biosynthesis of ABA and growth. Between TB-31 and ΔBcfrp1, we obtained 4,128 and 1,073 differentially expressed genes and proteins, respectively. The impaired ABA biosynthesis in the ΔBcfrp1 mutants was primarily affected by the different levels of expression of the ABA biosynthetic gene cluster and the genes involved in the mevalonic acid pathway. In addition, we further characterized the differentially expressed genes and proteins that participated in the growth, secondary metabolism, and signal transduction in B. cinerea based on the transcriptome and proteome data.DiscussionThis research based on the transcriptome and proteome analyses to display the changes after the deletion of bcfrp1 in B. cinerea TB-31, will help us to explore the molecular mechanism of ABA biosynthesis in B. cinerea.

Purpose Steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (SONFH) was a refractory orthopedic hip joint disease in the young and middle-aged people, but the pathogenesis of SONFH remained unclear. We aimed to identify the potential genes and screen potential therapeutic compounds for SONFH. Methods The microarray was obtained for blood tissue from the GEO database, and then it identifies differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The DEGs were analyzed to obtain the differences in immune cell infiltration. The gene functional enrichment analysis of SONFH was analyzed. The PPI of DEGs was identified through the STRING database, and the cluster modules and hub genes were ascertained using MCODE and CytoHubba, and the ROC curve of hub genes was analyzed, and the tissues distribution of hub genes was understood by the HPA, Bgee and BioGPS databases. The hub genes and target miRNAs and corresponding upstream lncRNAs were predicted by TargetScan, miRDB and ENCORI database. Subsequently, we used CMap, DGIdb and L1000FWD databases to identify several potential therapeutic molecular compounds for SONFH. Finally, the AutoDockTools Vina, PyMOL and Discovery Studio were employed for molecular docking analyses between compounds and hub genes. Results The microarray dataset GSE123568 was obtained related to SONFH. There were 372 DEGs including 197 upregulated genes and 175 downregulated genes by adjusted P value 2FC|> 1. Several significant GSEA enrichment analysis and biological processes and KEGG pathway associated with SONFH were identified, which were significantly related to cytoskeleton organization, nucleobase-containing compound catabolic process, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway, MAPK signaling pathway, FoxO signaling pathway, neutrophil-mediated immunity, neutrophil degranulation and neutrophil activation involved in immune response. Activated T cells CD4 memory, B cells naïve, B cells memory, T cells CD8 and T cells gamma delta might be involved in the occurrence and development of SONFH. Three cluster modules were identified in the PPI network, and eleven hub genes including FPR2, LILRB2, MNDA, CCR1, IRF8, TYROBP, TLR1, HCK, TLR8, TLR2 and CCR2 were identified by Cytohubba, which were differed in bone marrow, adipose tissue and blood, and which had good diagnostic performance in SONFH. We identified IRF8 and 10 target miRNAs that was utilized including Targetsan, miRDB and ENCORI databases and 8 corresponding upstream lncRNAs that was revealed by ENCORI database. IRF8 was detected with consistent expression by qRT-PCR. Based on the CMap, DGIdb and L1000FWD databases, the 11 small molecular compounds that were most strongly therapeutic correlated with SONFH were estradiol, genistein, domperidone, lovastatin, myricetin, fenbufen, rosiglitazone, sirolimus, phenformin, vorinostat and vinblastine. All of 11 small molecules had good binding affinity with the IRF8 in molecular docking. Conclusion The occurrence of SONFH was associated with a “multi-target” and “multi-pathway” pattern, especially related to immunity, and IRF8 and its noncoding RNA were closely related to the development of SONFH. The CMap, DGIdb and L1000FWD databases could be effectively used in a systematic manner to predict potential drugs for the prevention and treatment of SONFH. However, additional clinical and experimental research is warranted.

Background: Frailty has been described as the most problematic expression in the context of considerable aging progression. Moreover, frailty-associated disability severely affects individuals and the society. Evidence has suggested that assistive devices (ADs) usage can slow functional decline, improve dependency and well-being with aging. Considering there is a paucity of published evidence on elderly assistive aids for the management of frailty, the present study aimed to shed light on the potential mediating effect of assistive devices usage on the frailty through the relationship between frailty and disability, and provide a theoretical basis for a health behavior intervention for frailty. Methods: Convenience sampling method was used to select 335 older adults aged over 60 years using the FRAIL scale and the Barthel index for Activities of Daily living (ADL). Pearson’s r correlations were used to examine the association between the frailty, disability and assistive devices use and structural equation modelling (SEM) was to test a hypothetical mediation model. Results: Of the 335 sample aged 60 or older, the participants’ mean age was 70.8 years old (SD = 6.6), mean scores of frailty and ADL disability was 2.71 (SD = 1.3) and 50.39 (SD = 24.5), respectively. Merely 21.8% of the participants were using ADs. Pearson’s ranalsysi demonstrated that ADL disability and ADs use were significantly correlated with frailty. Lastly, ADs use mediated the relationship between frailty and disability. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that ADs usage may potentially serve as a tool for frailty management by mediating the association between frailty and disability. However, at present, ADs usage rate is rather low at the context of amounting rates of frailty. Therefore, the routine assessment of frailty and prescription of elderly assistive products are crucial when designing and implementing health promotion programme for elderly persons.

In this study, the CANON (Completely Autotrophic Nitrogen-removal Over Nitrite) process was successfully started-up inoculate by anammox sludge which was under cold preservation for three-months, and the stable operation of CANON process for low-strength wastewater treatment were achieved through ultrasonic enhancement. In accordance with the optimal parameters determined in batch tests, which controlled (DO=0.3-1.5mg/L, HRT=4.0-12h and pH 7.5±0.3) three critical factors to repressed the NOB (Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria). The CANON process was started-up within 15 days. Subsequently, effect of ultrasonic was gradually added to the CANON system to investigate its impact. Results showed that, through ultrasonic (intensity of 0.3 w/cm2, act on time 4 min/d), the NH4 +-N and TN removal efficiency were 95% and 76.7% in the CANON process(~50 mg N.L-1), respectively. The 16S rRNA analysis showed that the abundance of dominanted phylum has remarkablely conversion after ultrasonic enhancement. The relative abundance of AOB were increased form 12.15% to 24.14%. Moreover, the NOB were decreased from 2.97% to 1.64%. The relative abundance of Candidatus brocadia and Candidatus Kuenenia were accounted for 27.07% and 11.52%, respectively. The Nitrosomonas was also enriched to 12.15% significantly. In general, a certain intensity of ultrasonic (intensity of 0.3 w/cm2, act on time 4 min/d) could provides an effective promotion for AOB and suppression for NOB. The results provide technical assistance for the starting-up and stably performance in the mainstream CANON system.

Due to unhealthy diet and living habits, the incidence of gout is on the rise and has become a common disease with a high incidence. Danggui Niantong decoction (DGNTD), as a classic formula composed of 15 common herbs, has been widely used in clinical practice since ancient times to prevent and treat gout. However, the pharmacological mechanism and target of DGNTD are not clear.The potential active compounds and targets of DGNTD were obtained by traditional Chinese medicine systems pharmacology (TCMSP) database, and the differential genes of gout patients and controls were analyzed in gene expression omnibus (GEO) database. GSEA analysis of differential genes with GSEA 4.1.0 software and then the differential genes were intersected with the gout-related disease targets searched by GeneCard, CTD and OMIM disease database to obtain the final disease target. The "Traditional Chinese medicine-Active compounds-Targets" network was constructed by Cytoscape3.7.2 software. The R packet is used for enrichment analysis. The molecular docking between the active compound of DGNTD and the core target was verified by AutoDockTools software.Two hundred eighty six and 244 targets of DGNTD-related active components and 652 targets of gout were obtained, of which 13 targets were potential targets of DGNTD in the treatment of gout. GSEA analysis showed that the differential genes were mainly involved in apoptosis, inflammatory reaction, and receptor metabolism and so on. Gene ontology (GO) functional enrichment analysis shows that DGNTD regulates many biological processes, such as the response to purine-containing compound and response to lipopolysaccharide, positive regulation of acute inflammatory response and other cellular components. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis shows that DGNTD treatment of gout is mainly related to interleukin-17 (IL-17), Toll-like receptor, rheumatoid arthritis, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and so on. The results of molecular docking showed that the five active compounds in DGNTD had strong binding activity to core protein receptors.The active compounds of DGNTD may achieve the purpose of treating gout by acting on the core target (CASP8, CXCL8, FOS, IL1B, IL6, JUN, PTGS2, STAT1, MMP1, TNF) to regulate cell metabolism, proliferation and apoptosis, and improve inflammatory response, which is the result of multi-component, multi-target and multi-pathway interaction. It provides an idea for the development of new combined drugs for gout.

As opposed to the "low beta low risk'' convention, we show that low beta stocks are illiquid and exposed to high liquidity risk. After adjusting for liquidity risk, low beta stocks no longer outperform high beta stocks. Although investors who ``bet against beta'' earn a significant beta premium under the Fama--French three- or five-factor models, this strategy fails to generate any significant returns when liquidity risk is accounted for. Our work helps understand the beta premium from a new liquidity-risk perspective, and draws useful implications for both fund and corporate managers.

To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effect of electroacupuncture (EA) in experimental models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in vivo.Senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice were used as AD models and received EA at Yingxiang (LI 20, bilateral) and Yintang (GV 29) points for 20 days. For certain experiments, SAMP8 mice were injected intravenously with human fibrin (2 mg). The Morris water maze test was used to assess cognitive and memory abilities. The changes of tight junctions of blood-brain barrier (BBB) in mice were observed by transmission electron microscope. The expressions of fibrin, amyloid- β (Aβ), and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBa-1) in mouse hippocampus (CA1/CA3) were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blot or immunohistochemical staining. The expression of fibrin in mouse plasma was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of tight junction proteins zonula occludens-1 and claudin-5 in hippocampus were detected by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescence staining. Apoptosis of hippocampal neurons was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining.Fibrin was time-dependently deposited in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice and this was inhibited by EA treatment (P0.05 or P0.01). Furthermore, EA treatment suppressed the accumulation of Aβ in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice (P0.01), which was reversed by fibrin injection (P0.05 or P0.01). EA improved SAMP8 mice cognitive impairment and BBB permeability (P0.05 or P0.01). Moreover, EA decreased reactive oxygen species levels and neuroinflammation in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice, which was reversed by fibrin injection (P0.05 or P0.01). Mechanistically, EA inhibited the promoting effect of fibrin on the high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1)/toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE)/nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) signaling pathways (P0.01).EA may potentially improve cognitive impairment in AD via inhibition of fibrin/A β deposition and deactivation of the HMGB1/TLR4 and RAGE/NADPH signaling pathways.

The bias of growth opportunity (BGO), measured as the difference between market and fundamental values of a firm's growth opportunity, has an ability to predict future stock returns. In the portfolio sort, downward-biased BGO firms earn higher returns than upward-biased BGO firms, which is unexplained by the common asset pricing models. Cross-sectional regression results also confirm BGO's power in predicting stock returns. To explain the anomaly, we show that the BGO premium is more pronounced when investor sentiment is high or when limits-to-arbitrage is severe, which suggests that the BGO is more likely to capture behavioral biases than systematic risk.

A novel protein-polysaccharide conjugate NFP-A4 was isolated and purified from water extracts of Nervilia fordii. The polysaccharide chain of NFP-A4 was found to contain D-galacturonic acid, D-gala...